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5 states, 4 species, and hopefully a boys first deer.

Headed out in the morning for Colorado. Looks like lots of snow has hit should make the deer hunting good and the traveling interesting.



My hopes are high but trying to remain realistic. Used 6 points for this tag more than I've ever used for any tag in Colorado. I suspect I'll see a ton of small deer and then eventually shoot one of them but I'd love to hang my tag on a mature mule deer. Only ever killed forky's and a small 4x4 as far as mule deer go.
 
Camp is all setup and scouting is going well. Have seen probably around 30 deer this evening including 2 4x4s one being a older deer. The weather definitely has then moving. I'm very optimistic so far gonna check out couple other places tomorrow but plan A is looking promising.20241107_150341.jpg
 
Camp is all setup and scouting is going well. Have seen probably around 30 deer this evening including 2 4x4s one being a older deer. The weather definitely has then moving. I'm very optimistic so far gonna check out couple other places tomorrow but plan A is looking promising.View attachment 348207
Kodiak cabin? I have the 10x10 with a floor and stove. Love that thing. Not as much as my camper though 🤣
 
Probably seen upwards of 50 deer this morning. Went up high early that got a bit sketchy and no deer. Almost as soon as I came back down ran into these guys. Ones a older 3x3 I'd love to hang my tag on. Watched a forky get rejected by some does and a younger 4x4 absolutely birddog a doe. 20241108_074752.jpg20241108_074841.jpg
 
Been a long day gonna break camp tomorrow and head home. Will do the whole write up when I get home. Had something happen that's never happened to me on a live animal before. Went to send my first round and get a big Click. I assumed I must have short stroked the bolt so I worked the bolt and hear a shell hit the ground. Looks like a light strike? Wondering if snow and below zero weather may have caused it.20241109_115322.jpg20241109_150300.jpg
 
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Been a long day gonna break camp tomorrow and head home. Will do the whole write up when I get home. Had something happen that's never happened to me on a live animal before. Went to send my first round and get a big Click. I assumed I must have short stroked the bolt so I worked the bolt and hear a shell hit the ground. Looks like a light strike? Wondering if snow and below zero weather may have caused it.View attachment 348436View attachment 348437
Exact same thing happened to me on my bull this year. I'm guessing the firing pin was slightly frozen for mine. Similar conditions.
 
Anytime now.....
Slept half of Monday and had to go in to work today to put out some fires. But taking tomorrow off and gonna climb into a stand on my place the ruts getting going here. Will finish my Colorado hunt write up tomorrow after the morning hunt. Unless I run a arrow through something then just more excuses 🤣.
 
Alright I've been putting this one off but it's time to finish my Colorado write up. It'll be short and not so sweet but it's what happened.



Opening morning found me parked at a area a good hour before first light. I had watched a 4x4 chase a doe around in this same area the morning before and this spot notably lacked the many UTV trails that criss cross the unit. I hiked in the dark to a area that would provide a good area to glass. At first light I glassed the field I'd watched the 4x4 chase the doe on Friday. There where 6-10 does and fawns feeding and two forky's playfully sparring nearby. I hiked deeper in to the piece of blm and to my surprise found 19 cow/calf elk feeding in a drainage near some private. Around that time I heard a shot from the where I had glassed the deer earlier. They could be seen from a two track so I figured one of the forky's bit the dust or maybe a good one came out while I was gone. Around 10 after not seeing any deer I headed back to the truck to try a new spot. I headed down a wooded ridge and about the time I hit the treeline at the sage flat I jumped up two deer. It was the forky's and they'd held tight to cover only running when I was about 30 yards from them. As they ran across a draw to the treeline on the other side about 200 yards away. One of the deer has Obviously been shot it's driver side leg flopping around as it ran. I walked over to wear it had been bedded and found plenty of blood on the snow. The wounded deer beds under a tree the other stands around in the sage nearby watching me between feeding. I moved in a little closer and put glass on the deer. I could see blood on the deers chest and it's leg was clearly shattered. Sometimes doing the right thing is hard. I wish I could say I immediately decided to kill the deer but I wrestled with the decision for probably 10 minutes. It's easy to do the right thing with everyone watching but you learn someone's true nature when nobody's looking. I set my tripod up ranged the deer at 167 yards and after a initial failure to fire due to I believe a build up of ice on the firing pin sent a 165gr 30-06 accubond straight through his heart. The deer never got out of his bed. I was kinda pissed and the truck was all downhill and not to far so I tagged the deer and literally drug it the whole way back. It was dumb but helped me blow off some steam. Not how I thought a hunt I waited a half decade plus would go. Sometimes things don't go the way we want that's just life. 20241109_115322.jpg20241109_115728.jpg


I spent the rest of the day cutting up my deer and packed up camp early the next morning. I had the whole next week scheduled off and figured the rut would be starting at home. With my schedule this was my best bet to get some hunting in at home plus I told my boy we could do some hunting that weekend to see if we could get his first buck. To end on a brighter note here's a sneak Pic of the next story about this Friday evening's hunt.20241116_113931.jpg
 
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