Holy $#!#, I'm Tired.

[TOGIE]

I made my way back that night. Fixed up some dinner, called the wife, complained to her that i'm an idiot and i probably just screwed this whole thing up. She said, nah, it's already a success if you got on elk and had a shot opportunity. She was right, but it didn't feel that way.

I'd almost gotten stuck every time I drove to the windblown area on the road that was my designated stopping/starting point. The road drifted so bad you'd need to rev up some serious momentum, hop off the road to get up on the more wind blown prairie and fish tail along and hop back on the road once past the drifted areas. Sometimes the truck would grind to a halt and just spin, backing up wouldn't work, so you just spin the wheels till they grind down to dirt and you lurch forward. It wasn't fun, especially when it happened at night. Even just after 30 minutes of glassing in the truck i'd look behind me to see that my tracks had totally drifted in. Great.

I grabbed a six 60lb tubes of sand to throw in the back of the truck that morning, that helped.

you really couldn't glass anything to the south, toward the sun

This would be a part of today's problem.

 

[TOGIE]

wise choice to pass IMO. And nice photos! Definitely not a fan of hunting (and field processing) in freezing conditions like that. But hiking way the heck over there to realize it was not something I wanted to follow through on so I can have a long hike out in the dark? do that way too often.

Look forward to reading how it goes from this point.

thank you.

It's nice hearing plenty of people saying that passing was the right choice.

IMO looking back on it, anything but passing was both unsafe and unwise. It took me yet another two hours to trudge back to the truck, let's say it would've taken 2 hours to quarter it up, just gutting it, maybe 30 minutes, but in that cold let's be honest, it would be difficult with freezing fingers. Without being able to drink more water, in conditions where if any small thing goes wrong, i'm in very very unsafe temperatures and wind.

Probably could've shot one and gutted it. But I don't know how the coyotes do in these conditions. I suspect they're still out and about. Not many places to hang the meat.

 

[TOGIE]

Driving in that morning there is a big white dodge diesel romping out. I back up to a point where there is room to pass. He pulls up rolls down the window and I ask if he's got the cow tag.

There are two guys both probably close to my age and they say yes. They tried to go in farther and realized it wouldn't be happening on wheels so they just glassed a while and decided conditions were too rough, they were locals. For them the season is long, no need for them to kill themselves in here like i am.

I told them about my debacle last night and where I got on the elk and the driver was like "actually we were thinking we saw elk up there this morning, I really can't be sure though, i've only got my 8x binos"

There were lots of patches of bushes up there that look like animals, so I was skeptical, especially knowing I busted the elk last night. But it gave me hope. I romped the rest of the way in to my spot and started glassing.

Those hills had the morning sun rising behind them, I glassed hard but couldn't for the life of me be sure about anything I was looking at. It was so bright, so much snow, my eyes hurt. I glassed in the other direction for a long time wondering if there were herds over there. I saw none.

I became very certain that guy had not seen the elk.

The wind was still whipping and damn it's very cold out. That morning was well into the negatives and it had not warmed up very much. Then combine the wind. I had no intention of hiking in there without locating elk first. I did not want to burn out my pitiful new "dad legs" in this snow without knowing they were burning out on a march towards located elk.

I stood out in the wind briefly and realized after last night I needed somethign I did not have: a face covering. Glassing being useless in the sun right now in the area of interest I decided to run back in to town and grab a face covering. I did not want frost bite on my nose. By the time I get back the sun should have moved enough to see into those hills much better.

 

[rtraverdavis]

It's nice hearing plenty of people saying that passing was the right choice.

Not me.

I think you should have shot one of those cows on night #1, opened it up, hopped inside, and spent the night staying warm in its body cavity, writing journal entries about early fatherhood.

This has been a really fun thread to read.

 

[Elite7]

Congratulations on the baby. Lots more tired times ahead. Cherish every moment of it. I ended up putting some of my hunts on the back burner while kids are small.
Once my son started having seizures every time he got a fever I quickly realized I needed to make the most out of all of my time with them now. There’s nothing better than hearing those foot steps come running into our bedroom on a weekend morning or taking a weekend camping trip away from the busy lives.

 

[RobertD]

Mostly, I just like to know. I keep yardages in my spreadsheet of data on all my kills. I like having that information.

But more mostly and more importantly, i never want miss and I want every time I pull that trigger I can say I did everything I could to have done it right.

The one time I didn’t range an animal I thought was only 120ish yards away I blew off it’s front right leg because it was actually around 200 yards away. Bullet went under its quartering away chest. This was a buck pronghorn.

I never ever ever want to see that happen again. Gosh I hated that.

But also, data

This resonates with me after my whole debacle this year. I had the opposite problem of thinking the shot was further than it was. That wasn't actually the problem but when I realized how much closer the deer had been it got in my head bad for a few days.

I have been carrying a rangefinder and ranging deer/hogs/objects to kinda get the mental block straightened out.

Enjoying the story just had to comment here in response to what you just shared.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

It's nice hearing plenty of people saying that passing was the right choice.

Probably a good call you don't want to be another NR that @BuzzH has to save...

 

[TOGIE]

Probably a good call you don't want to be another NR that @BuzzH has to save...
View attachment 258253

i was imagining the Wyo Task Force using my frozen remains as an excuse to recommend new legislation requiring NRs to hire guides after November

 

[RobertD]

It's funny but also revealing how having a kid makes you less of a dumbass. Or at least makes you less willing to give in to the urge to be a dumbass.

 

[noharleyyet]

 

[TOGIE]

It's funny but also revealing how having a kid makes you less of a dumbass. Or at least makes you less willing to give in to the urge to be a dumbass.

big time.

that should've been in my narrative so far. I can't believe i forgot to add it because it absolutely is something that I realized I couldnt stop thinking about while I was out there.

 

[TOGIE]

It was about 10:30 when i left to get a face mask, still bitterly cold.

I make it back shortly after noon and start glassing. Munching on cold Taco Bell bean and cheese burritos i bought the day before to have as hiking food.

I glass for over an hour, taking 5 minute breaks to rest my eyes, when suddenly I come back to the same hills i'd been scanning constantly. What in the world? How did they just suddenly appear like that?



gawddammit. it's like 1:30 now. I'm gonna have the same issue all over again aren't I?

screw it. Let's go.

 

[Arrogant1]

It was about 10:30 when i left to get a face mask, still bitterly cold.

I make it back shortly after noon and start glassing. Munching on cold Taco Bell bean and cheese burritos i bought the day before to have as hiking food.

I glass for over an hour, taking 5 minute breaks to rest my eyes, when suddenly I come back to the same hills i'd been scanning constantly. What in the world? How did they just suddenly appear like that?

View attachment 258274

gawddammit. it's like 1:30 now. I'm gonna have the same issue all over again aren't I?

screw it. Let's go.

Type faster.....it's dead at my office and I am hitting refresh every 10 seconds waiting for the next post!

 

[TrumpkinTheDwarf]

Type faster.....it's dead at my office and I am hitting refresh every 10 seconds waiting for the next post!

Me too!

 

[SwaggyD]

Type faster.....it's dead at my office and I am hitting refresh every 10 seconds waiting for the next post!

Me too!

you guys shoulda been here yesterday when he was making out with dudes!!

 

[TOGIE]

Type faster.....it's dead at my office and I am hitting refresh every 10 seconds waiting for the next post!

It’s ironic that being off work is making it much harder to keep this thread updated.

Stuck doing my posts between shifts of dad duties and stuff to get done around the house. Not to mention making legit bean, green chile, cheese, and bacon burritos at home!

This update comes to you from Costco looking for diapers.

 

[Arrogant1]

you guys shoulda been here yesterday when he was making out with dudes!!

I was but I am not going to judge especially after yesterday in my office. I was discussing my new diet goal for 2023 with my staff and how I am taking up intermittent fasting. Except I said intermittent fisting! I am still catching hell for it!

 

[Arrogant1]

It’s ironic that being off work is making it much harder to keep this thread updated.

Stuck doing my posts between shifts of dad duties and stuff to get done around the house. Not to mention making legit bean, green chile, cheese, and bacon burritos at home!

This update comes to you from Costco looking for diapers.

Sir, I am going to need you to step away from the Costco and get that baby down for a nap. Need some more posts to get me through the rest of the day. Oh, and once you finish with this story, you might as well recap your hunting excursions from last year!

 

[Wild Bill]

I was but I am not going to judge especially after yesterday in my office. I was discussing my new diet goal for 2023 with my staff and how I am taking up intermittent fasting. Except I said intermittent fisting! I am still catching hell for it!

You do you. Could help in some fashion, maybe.

 

[TrumpkinTheDwarf]

It’s ironic that being off work is making it much harder to keep this thread updated.

Stuck doing my posts between shifts of dad duties and stuff to get done around the house. Not to mention making legit bean, green chile, cheese, and bacon burritos at home!

This update comes to you from Costco looking for diapers.

Not to brag, or anything, but I made a legit Apple Crumble/Crisp thingy last night. #realmenbake