Deer hunting with Randy....
- Thread starter JohnCushman
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ShootsManyBullets
Well-known member
I believe the sound was more like Silverbacks or some kind of Rhino - from 50' away I knew without a doubt that no human could make a noise like that until Michael and I realized it indeed was Cush. We have the famous Dr. Sleephammer in our camp so we know a thing or 2 about snoring, but OMG that is not a snore. It's like a rhino mounted to the front of a locomotive warning you to get off the tracks!
ShootsManyBullets
Well-known member
I'll figure out how to get the photos loaded up this weekend. Still lots to go on this story fellas. Some real characters were hanging around this week and Gerald, Cush, Finn were laying down some average footage.
Wish I had a photo of Gerald hustling across the campground with his French press in the early morning darkness. Once I figured out what I was looking at, I couldn't stop laughing at the sight. My cup was empty so I didn't laugh long...
Wish I had a photo of Gerald hustling across the campground with his French press in the early morning darkness. Once I figured out what I was looking at, I couldn't stop laughing at the sight. My cup was empty so I didn't laugh long...
JohnCushman
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Sniper school!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kiwi
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Looks like a great trip! Thanks for sharing.
pointingdogsrule
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dcopas78
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I've gotten used to sleeping with ear plugs in because my dad snores something awful, but with your description of Cushman's snore, I don't think they would help.
VAspeedgoat
Well-known member
Man... that's a BIG orange vest
good luck to all
the dog
I agree, there has to be a story behind it. Maybe a new line of clothing?
Gerald Martin
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By the time I rolled into camp, Ross(MinnesotaHunter) had the charcoal lit in my grill and getting hot. I did a quick marinade on the elk loin with smoked paprika, Johnny's seasoning, olive oil and Greek seasoning. Once the loins were seared, I basted them with butter to add flavor and keep them moist.
I put Mike (shootsmanybulletspartner) to work carmelizing onions and set the water to boil for the instant mashed potatoes. Open a couple cans of green beans while the guys enjoyed a few adult beverages and told many lies, some of which contained a faint relationship to truth.
By the time everything was ready, we all had a pretty good appetite. I didn't get many pictures because I was cooking but I think maybe some of the others got a few.
I put Mike (shootsmanybulletspartner) to work carmelizing onions and set the water to boil for the instant mashed potatoes. Open a couple cans of green beans while the guys enjoyed a few adult beverages and told many lies, some of which contained a faint relationship to truth.
By the time everything was ready, we all had a pretty good appetite. I didn't get many pictures because I was cooking but I think maybe some of the others got a few.
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It's an experience you'll never forget,,, first time I met Cush we shared a hotel room the night before the first HT bear hunt,,,,, it's actually pretty astonishing a human can make those sounds! :hump: Nothing but love John!
Nick87
Well-known member
Congrats! looks like you you guys had an awesome time!
JohnCushman
Well-known member
It's my selfish way of letting the world know I'm there eventhough I'm asleep :W:
7mm08mo
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Sound like an adventure of epic proportions. Congrats Cush, Finn,and Gareth. By the way I never realized pumpkins have arms legs and a wooly face.:hump:
The Hedgehog
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This will make a very entertaining episode.
Gerald Martin
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- 8,643
Saturday morning was another up and at 'em at an early hour. Big Fin wanted to take us to his secret spot in hopes there would be fewer hunters. With John's buck tag filled and my boys worn out from all the previous day's activity they elected to stay in the truck while Randy, Michael and I hiked a couple hundred yards up to the glassing knob.
As soon as we made the summit we spotted a herd of mule deer with a decent buck, heading off of private land toward the public land to bed. Michael was eager to shoot his first muley buck. He and Randy took off to intercept theme while I stayed back to glass from the knob.
Their stalk fell apart when a sharp eyed doe either saw or smelled them and led the herd and the buck out of range and around the mountain. I spent the next couple of hours watching more deer on both public and private. Around 9 a.m. I saw three whitetail does come around the knob where I had last seen Randy and Michael. They cut the distance from 800 yards to 400 yards and I realized they would be coming within 250 yards of where I was glassing.
I ran back to the truck to see if John or Timothy wanted to fill their doe tags. Timothy elected to stay in the warm truck but John was ready to head up the hill. When we popped up over the hill, the does were already within 300 yards. In the time it took to get the camera ready and John in position for a shot, I lost track of the deer in the burned timber. The wind shifted and a doe snorted at us and ran. They were less than 250 yard from us, but I hadn't seen them move through the opening.
While we were looking for the does, we heard shots in the direction of Randy and Michael. Something good was happening! We found out later that several whitetail bucks had come past them and Michael elected to pass, hoping for a mule deer. Randy needed no extra encouragement to fill his tag with the biggest buck in the group.
The whitetail does were now out of sight, but a few mule deer does came into view. A decent sized 2x3 buck was with them and I knew Gareth would be more than happy to shoot that deer for his first buck. John volunteered to go tell him about the buck while I kept an eye on him. When the boys joined me the buck was within range but we had a difficult time finding shooting lanes. After about 15 minutes, the wind swirled and the does spooked taking the buck with them.
Timothy and John headed back to the warmth and comfort of the truck while Gareth stayed on top with me. There were still a lot of deer in sight, nearly all on private land more than a mile away from us. We were watching various deer through Randy's Leupold spotting scope when I saw a nice whitetail buck following two does. He was making his way from the open grassy hills toward the timber on public land but I assumed he was on private. Gareth and I watched him for a while until he bedded in a shallow draw where he could keep an eye on the two does who were still feeding. Gareth asked if we were going to go after him, but I told him probably not since I was pretty sure they were on private land and it didn't look like they would be coming any closer. He was getting cold and headed back down to the truck.
This was a brand new area for me and I wasn't exactly sure how the boundaries lay. As I was watching the buck, I decided I better check the GPS and the OnX chip to see if the were for sure on private and not public. As I took ranges as best as I could and matched it against the property boundary shown on the GPS, I realized the buck was actually bedded several hundred yards onto the public side of the fence. As soon as I realized that, I head down to get Gareth as well as some water and some food. It was after 10 a.m. and I hadn't eaten anything except a small donut and a cup of coffee.
Gareth grabbed the gear he needed and his rifle and we set out to kill this buck. Moving closer, we were able to confirm that the buck was for sure on public land. I started getting pretty optimistic that we might kill this deer. That optimism took a drastic turn for the worse while we were still 400 yards out from where the deer were bedded. I saw one of the does running down through the open grasses and disappearing across the hill. The buck and the other doe followed soon after. I didn't know what spooked them. We had a good wind and I don't think she could see us because of the terrain.
I just about headed back at that point, but I figured we were far enough into this stalk that we should push on to see whether they stopped on public or ran clear down onto private land. Several hundred yards later, I glassed a small patch of brush and saw a doe staring straight at us. Then I saw another doe bedded beside her. Even though they were 400 yards away, she had seen us moving and was keeping a close eye on us.
We sat down and glassed as much of the brush as we could, hoping to see if the buck was with them or if they were different deer. Operating under the assumption these were the two does the buck was with, we eased another hundred yards closer when her attention waned and she seemed to relax. Then we were out of cover to move closer, so we settled down to wait until they stood on their own.
We must have waited 45 minutes or more before both does got to their feet and started feeding. Just as I had hoped, the buck stood from another brush patch and joined them. When he finally turned broadside, Gareth shot at him twice, missing both times. None of the deer ran, but they quickly were out of sight in the brush. We waited a bit and eased forward another 50 yards, hoping to get a better angle and shorten the distance.
The buck was out in the open again, but before Gareth could set up on the shooting sticks and get steady he started walking away. Just when we thought he would turn, he bedded down. Snow was starting to blow pretty heavily now. The buck was bedded with his rump toward us and all we could see was hindquarters and neck. Nothing to do but get as comfortable as we could and wait for him to stand. Another 20 minutes went by.
When he finally stood he started walking to where one of the does had passed through earlier. Gareth's shooting lane was pretty tight and I was concerned he was going to get through it. I gave a loud "BAA" to stop him and he locked up. As soon as he stopped, Gareth touched the trigger. This shot was good and hit the buck hard. We found out later the shot was a bit too low. Gareth had to finish the buck off when we walked up on him, but when the smoke cleared he had a really nice buck for his antlered deer.
I was extremely proud of him for keeping his composure and making good some challenging shots. He handled it better than many adults I've been around. A quick text to Randy and Michael and they said they'd be down to help us pack. It sure was nice having extra hands to help with the meat packing.
As soon as we made the summit we spotted a herd of mule deer with a decent buck, heading off of private land toward the public land to bed. Michael was eager to shoot his first muley buck. He and Randy took off to intercept theme while I stayed back to glass from the knob.
Their stalk fell apart when a sharp eyed doe either saw or smelled them and led the herd and the buck out of range and around the mountain. I spent the next couple of hours watching more deer on both public and private. Around 9 a.m. I saw three whitetail does come around the knob where I had last seen Randy and Michael. They cut the distance from 800 yards to 400 yards and I realized they would be coming within 250 yards of where I was glassing.
I ran back to the truck to see if John or Timothy wanted to fill their doe tags. Timothy elected to stay in the warm truck but John was ready to head up the hill. When we popped up over the hill, the does were already within 300 yards. In the time it took to get the camera ready and John in position for a shot, I lost track of the deer in the burned timber. The wind shifted and a doe snorted at us and ran. They were less than 250 yard from us, but I hadn't seen them move through the opening.
While we were looking for the does, we heard shots in the direction of Randy and Michael. Something good was happening! We found out later that several whitetail bucks had come past them and Michael elected to pass, hoping for a mule deer. Randy needed no extra encouragement to fill his tag with the biggest buck in the group.
The whitetail does were now out of sight, but a few mule deer does came into view. A decent sized 2x3 buck was with them and I knew Gareth would be more than happy to shoot that deer for his first buck. John volunteered to go tell him about the buck while I kept an eye on him. When the boys joined me the buck was within range but we had a difficult time finding shooting lanes. After about 15 minutes, the wind swirled and the does spooked taking the buck with them.
Timothy and John headed back to the warmth and comfort of the truck while Gareth stayed on top with me. There were still a lot of deer in sight, nearly all on private land more than a mile away from us. We were watching various deer through Randy's Leupold spotting scope when I saw a nice whitetail buck following two does. He was making his way from the open grassy hills toward the timber on public land but I assumed he was on private. Gareth and I watched him for a while until he bedded in a shallow draw where he could keep an eye on the two does who were still feeding. Gareth asked if we were going to go after him, but I told him probably not since I was pretty sure they were on private land and it didn't look like they would be coming any closer. He was getting cold and headed back down to the truck.
This was a brand new area for me and I wasn't exactly sure how the boundaries lay. As I was watching the buck, I decided I better check the GPS and the OnX chip to see if the were for sure on private and not public. As I took ranges as best as I could and matched it against the property boundary shown on the GPS, I realized the buck was actually bedded several hundred yards onto the public side of the fence. As soon as I realized that, I head down to get Gareth as well as some water and some food. It was after 10 a.m. and I hadn't eaten anything except a small donut and a cup of coffee.
Gareth grabbed the gear he needed and his rifle and we set out to kill this buck. Moving closer, we were able to confirm that the buck was for sure on public land. I started getting pretty optimistic that we might kill this deer. That optimism took a drastic turn for the worse while we were still 400 yards out from where the deer were bedded. I saw one of the does running down through the open grasses and disappearing across the hill. The buck and the other doe followed soon after. I didn't know what spooked them. We had a good wind and I don't think she could see us because of the terrain.
I just about headed back at that point, but I figured we were far enough into this stalk that we should push on to see whether they stopped on public or ran clear down onto private land. Several hundred yards later, I glassed a small patch of brush and saw a doe staring straight at us. Then I saw another doe bedded beside her. Even though they were 400 yards away, she had seen us moving and was keeping a close eye on us.
We sat down and glassed as much of the brush as we could, hoping to see if the buck was with them or if they were different deer. Operating under the assumption these were the two does the buck was with, we eased another hundred yards closer when her attention waned and she seemed to relax. Then we were out of cover to move closer, so we settled down to wait until they stood on their own.
We must have waited 45 minutes or more before both does got to their feet and started feeding. Just as I had hoped, the buck stood from another brush patch and joined them. When he finally turned broadside, Gareth shot at him twice, missing both times. None of the deer ran, but they quickly were out of sight in the brush. We waited a bit and eased forward another 50 yards, hoping to get a better angle and shorten the distance.
The buck was out in the open again, but before Gareth could set up on the shooting sticks and get steady he started walking away. Just when we thought he would turn, he bedded down. Snow was starting to blow pretty heavily now. The buck was bedded with his rump toward us and all we could see was hindquarters and neck. Nothing to do but get as comfortable as we could and wait for him to stand. Another 20 minutes went by.
When he finally stood he started walking to where one of the does had passed through earlier. Gareth's shooting lane was pretty tight and I was concerned he was going to get through it. I gave a loud "BAA" to stop him and he locked up. As soon as he stopped, Gareth touched the trigger. This shot was good and hit the buck hard. We found out later the shot was a bit too low. Gareth had to finish the buck off when we walked up on him, but when the smoke cleared he had a really nice buck for his antlered deer.
I was extremely proud of him for keeping his composure and making good some challenging shots. He handled it better than many adults I've been around. A quick text to Randy and Michael and they said they'd be down to help us pack. It sure was nice having extra hands to help with the meat packing.
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shoots-straight
Well-known member
Sounds like a great time and should make for a great show.
VAspeedgoat
Well-known member
What a nice buck, any weight guesstimates? Truthfully, who was more excited?
Addicting
Well-known member
Absolutely awesome first buck!
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