Holy $#!#, I'm Tired.

[TOGIE]

It had been a couple of hours at this point since i broke off from my friends. Luckily, I had driven separately so there was no need to try and meet back up before leaving. No shots had rung out through the air, so there was especially no need to try and find each out there.

I started picking my way back towards the truck, taking a different route. I stopped along the way to glass some once thickly timbered slopes heading down into a valley in hopes maybe the deer were hiding somewhere in there.




No deer. It was getting to be a about 10:30 or 11. Time to head back, get some lunch, and hang with the boys.

I already knew there would be no hunting this evening. Tonight was the main night of the bachelor party. When everyone who was invited would be there. Some people only stayed Friday night and Saturday, others, like us hunting, were staying Friday thru Tuesday, some just Saturday. So tonight was the night to be together. We'd be cooking steaks, drinking, and generally just having a good time.

Later I would learn my two buddies had seen two cow elk some time after I had broken off from them. The cows were just topping over a ridge as they crested the opposing ridge. But somehow, even in these moonscapes, elk can just disappear. As they hurried to make it to the next ridge to see where they went they were nowhere to be found.

I'll hit it hard by myself tomorrow morning, hopefully.... I didn't realize how much whisky and nicotine the night would bring about. Well of course I knew, I just figured it'd be no problem. It's just hard to accept that we're REALLY not in college anymore.

 

[TOGIE]

In the state in which I went to bed that night I had decided the best course of action was to go hunt my D spot. In my D spot, I was going to hunt my C spot. The C spot was the closest drive of all the spots in my D spot. It was also only a mile hike to my e-scouted glassing locations.

I dragged myself out of bed about an hour before sunrise, tried to chug burning hot coffee and get ready. Ugh. Bachelor parties and hunting do not mix.

It was below zero that morning. As I parked the truck roughly 10 minutes before sunrise it read -4 on the dash. The first 3/4 miles or so of the hike was downhill, so I dressed a little extra heavy and grabbed some handwarmers for my gloves.

My hike took me downhill towards a small river. I felt the odds of finding, if nothing else, some does feeding out in the early morning light near this river were decently high. I made my way down and climbed a little ridge to glass down upon the river. Nothing.

I made my way down to the river and started hiking parallel to it. Running perpendicular to this river in succession were steep, deep canyons that worked their way up with sparse pine trees lining the steep sided hills.

There was a particular canyon I was interested in. One side had more thick pines on the top and it leads up to somewhat of a bowl in which there some dense thickets of pines and some aspens. This is what i wanted to get a good look at.

Imagine this canyon, two parallel ridges working upwards in elevation towards the bowl. If you're standing at the bottom looking up the canyon, the ridge on the right comes back down towards you and angles sharply towards your left. This feature allows you to sit on this ridge and look up the canyon. This ridge is where i wanted to set up and glass up into the bowl.

 

[TOGIE]

The hills are steep. I start up towards this ridge, quickly starting to feel hot, but it's not far up to my glassing spot, so I don't shed layers knowing i'm just going to be getting there to sit.

I reach my spot, nestled amongst some rock outcropping providing a great view of the entirety of the ridge opposite me an okay view of the ridge i'm on and a great view of the bowl at the end/top of the ridge.

I start getting settled. I reach down to pull out my tripod, take a few sips of water and start setting up the tripod. I then reach into my backpack to grab my bino attachment for the tripod and glance up and catch movement.

Not 100 yards away is a deer slowly meandering up the steep hillside.

You can't be serious, right?

 

[TOGIE]

Sudden moment of panic.

Has this deer seen me? It seems relaxed. I whip out my binos and do a quick scan of it. I catch antlers.

Not that it matters. I have a doe tag too. I was going to try and shoot this thing no matter what I saw or didn't see.

He glances in my direction and stares. Shit.

For once, I remain very calm. I tuck my binos back in my bino pouch. Carefully put the ear plugs hung around my neck in my ears and slowly pick up my rifle. He's not moving.

I pull off my gloves and rack a round. Take a quick range. 105 yards.

He hasn't moved. But is still looking in my direction. Dragging my Mystery Ranch backpack into position for a rest is too risky. I raise the rifle for an off hand shot, settle on the vitals an inch behind the shoulder and squeeze the trigger.

Even through my ear plugs I could hear the boom reverberating off the steep hillsides around me.

 

[TOGIE]

It was about 7:01 am.

I had seen a poof of dust above and right of the deer. Bad sign. He about faces and runs behind a pine tree he was about 10 yards away from and I can't really see him anymore. I rack another round and wait and see if he emerges from either side of the pine tree.

Through my scope I suddenly catch him tumbling down the hill side from behind the tree and come to a stop after about 20 yards. Quite a fall.

I finally take a deep breath and say out loud, "you're $*)Q!#@$ kidding right?"

That's really how this is going to work? Hungover, a mile from the truck, in the C spot of my D spot, 20 minute drive from the cabin?

 

[TOGIE]

I sat there for a minute before grabbing my pack and very carefully picking my way across the hillside. I kept the rifle loaded as i was still unsure of the nature of that hit.

I slowly approach. He lay still. I unload the rifle and stuff the round in my bino harness.

Wait, there is only one antler on this guy? Damn, he's actually decently big. Huh. That was a gnarly fall. Did he break it on the fall? It does look broken, not dropped. But I didn't look very closely.

I poke his eyeball with the rifle to make sure he's dead and then immediately drop my pack and start canvasing for an antler.

 

[TOGIE]

I only look for about 5 minutes before coming back to examine him more closely. Very immediately I realize this was not a fresh break.

 

[TOGIE]

I took it all in. I've really come to love the "As They Lay" thread. To me nothing sums up a hunt better sometimes than a picture of the animal, exactly as it ultimately died, with a rifle laying nearby that you know was just shot. Sometimes I like to think the muzzles are still a little warm.

 

[TOGIE]

I texted the group chat asking if anyone wants to help pack some meat. I knew a few guys who were hunters but didn't have tags had stayed in that morning. They were just there for the fun when it comes to hunting. Being so close I knew I'd have some help. this was a decently big bodied deer too.

Another one of my closest friends, who is also an elk hunting guide at a ranch in Colorado, immediately texted back asking for the way point. I told him to take his time, i'll get the thing taken care of and it should just be ready to pack out when you get here. Being so close to the cabin this wasn't a huge ask either.

I took my video selfie to get my picture and got to work.

Holy chit, it was still mega cold out. Sun wouldn't reach my spot for a good while. But at least the sun was rising instead of setting.

 

[TOGIE]

I had to stop several times while butchering to hike up and down the hill to try and warm up. My toes were getting freezing. I'm sure it remained below zero for a good while during this process.

My friend made it to me with just a hind quarter to remove and the head. After that I grabbed the tendies and the heart and we started making our way.

I like to make a habit of snapping a pic of where everything went down on the way out. Deer was shot roughly on the circle. I was out of view on the right on nearly exactly the same elevation line, slightly above. The ridge that kinda extends into the canyon allowing you to look up into it that i was on is out of view.

 

[SwaggyD]

After that I grabbed the tendies and the heart and we started making out

this makes sense driving the suby and all..... lmao

 

[TOGIE]

this makes sense driving the suby and all..... lmao

damnit, i just fixed that typo.

not quick enough apparently

 

[SwaggyD]

damnit, i just fixed that typo.

not quick enough apparently

I knew I had to be quick! Helluva story. I've had some of my best luck hungover as hell too. Congrats on the deer. Still got 3 days left!

 

[TOGIE]

Not much else to tell of the bachelor party. I only went out one more time to help the bachelor find an elk. None were shot. Between the exhaustion of the bachelor party, having a cool buck, and just wanting to soak up some fun time in the mountains with the boys I didn't have much more motivation to keep going out.

I had taken the rest of the week off. I used that time after getting home to butcher the deer and get the head taken care of. Temps remained very cold across Colorado. I let the meat hang for a few days in the garage as I worked on a quarter each day or so. Found another use for the step ladder.



Had the head taken care of shortly after finishing up the meat. Pretty unique euro mount. I really like it.

 

[jvanhoy]

Great thread! Congrats.

 

[TOGIE]

Everything is all set and taken care of for now. Time to resume husband and dad duties. Time to get back to work. Can't skip a beat. Especially because I'm headed to Wyoming in less than a month to look for late season cow elk.

If only I'd had realized the weather experienced thus far was really just a prelude for what was to come. It had been cold and snowy. In hindsight, that really wasn't going to change.

CWD results finally come back negative (I was in a mandatory testing unit) and we chow down on smoked deer steaks and whisky. Delicious, as always.

 

[TOGIE]

we also managed to load up the baby and go cut down a christmas tree. this was truly our first excursion "outside" with the baby. really glad we made that happen.



wyoming cow elk was seemingly closing in fast. I'd been watching the forecasts closely. things were looking like they could get dicey.

 

[Arrogant1]

we also managed to load up the baby and go cut down a christmas tree. this was truly our first excursion "outside" with the baby. really glad we made that happen.

View attachment 258101

wyoming cow elk was seemingly closing in fast. I'd been watching the forecasts closely. things were looking like they could get dicey.

Great thread. Thanks for sharing!

 

[TOGIE]

As the weekend of December to go out looking for cow elk was approaching, so was a mighty dip in the jet stream.

With this dip, extreme cold, snow, and wind was about to overtake Wyoming. The North Central Mountains of Colorado were going to be hit pretty hard too.

I was starting to wonder how well this would work out. Much of my hunt area was only accessible by BLM road. With too much snow, too much cold, too much ice, I wasn't even going to be able to access the primary area I was hoping to hunt.

Sure enough, that's exactly what happened. The morning before I was going to leave (thursday), everything shut down. I was planning to leave that thursday night. The roads accessing the BLM roads, I80, everything. I received word from some locals and former residents that the ancillary roads accessing the BLM would likely be done for the season.

Damn.

Luckily, there was one area still accessible from a highway. As long as the highway remained open I was good to go.

I80 opened again that afternoon but i decided best to not drive up at night while snow is still blowing and the highway is most certainly still slick in many spots.

 

[TOGIE]

Morning comes and I80 remained open. Time to go.

wife, baby, and dog were all settled with her parents again and I was good to go. Wife was little more nervous about this trip for me given the conditions.

Off I went.

I80 was, well.... it was I80 in december