Last Day Success Stories

[FREAK]

It ain’t over till it’s over, let’s hear some stories of getting it done on the last day of the hunt.

Was on my best behavior the last few days and somehow managed to get approval for a last day hunt to see if I can find a buck. It’s Montana public land MD hunting, unlikely but if there’s a chance you can bet I’ll be out there.

 

[Mica Man]

Last year somewhere in North Idaho.

 

[Treeshark]

Last day here, suiting up to go try to make it happen. Fresh snow overnight, will be pretty at least

 

[MITCHMO]

I’m in a tree right now getting snowed on down in a nasty swamp. Last day of rifle deer for me!

I shot a really nice mule deer my last day in idaho a few years back. My brother bumped it as he was coming down the mountain and it ran right by me. Dumped it and couldn’t believe what happened.

 

[.270Rem]

Take the luck whenever it finds you. I kinda like having to deal with success on the planned last day since it means I got to hunt the whole time.

 

[antlerradar]

On Thanksgiving day of 81 Dad, I and one dads longtime friends spotted a big non typical buck across the canyon. We muffed the stock badly. Dad and I went back on the last day of the season and the buck was in nearly the same spot. This time we make a better plan. Had we not been successful it would have been the first of many years when I hunted the last day only to eat the tag for dinner.

 

[Irrelevant]

I killed four bucks last day throughout college. I'd go explore some part of the State, stomp around on public land, never see shit, then last day I'd go back home and hunt my grandparents property. It was a small deer factory that always had a small buck or two. Felt more like grocery getting. Now it's all surrounded by homes and unsafe to shoot. Plus, my mom's fessed up and admitted she'd prefer to have them around than get shot.

 

[TheTone]

I’ve shot a couple last day spike elk and been along for last day deer this year and last year. I’ll say I felt like I hunted a little smarter on all the last day critters

 

[Ben Nicholson]

Last hour of the last day of muzzleloader season a couple of years ago. Play until the whistle.

 

[Doublecluck]

Last hour of last day 2017. On a 1x1 mile section of state within 15 miles of Bozeman. I was only there looking down the fence line for a pistol my BIL thought he lost that morning, I didn’t find it, turned out it was in his truck and fell between his seat. I did find this guy chasing a doe though.

 

[Little Big Man MT Chris]

2017 I tagged out on the 2nd to last day of Blacktail season on my 19th day hunting and my girlfriend now my wife got her buck on the last day , in the last 20 min of shooting light… we always took vacation the last week to hunt every day . Took us a few hours to find that buck, and 3 extra people looking as he didn’t leave a blood trail. Good memories what @Ben Nicholson said play until the whistle

He tipped over in a little depression just a few 100 feet from where he was shot , and the doe that was with him stayed right down there and then when we got down there, she took off the opposite direction and that made me think that was the buck and so we chased the wrong direction and then it was pitch black, and then help arrived but in the pitch black of the coastal rain forest it started to feel hopeless .

After 2 hours and some people gave up , Our buddy Jim found a couple drops of blood going straight in to the from the clearcut, and so I just started zigzagging that direction, and then caught a faint glimpse of white in the flashlight and went right to it, and pretty relieved not to have lost that buck

 

[elkfanatic]

2023 third rifle elk in Colorado. No legal bulls all week. Last day worked our way to a ridge and glassed the opposite hillside for a couple hours with no luck. Hour or so before dark we heard elk up high in the thick timber and decided to hustle up there to try and intercept them. We made our way thru the valley and start climbing, as we stop for a breather a bull ripped a bugle behind us 318 yards on the ridge we had just left! Pretty sure he was letting me know he wanted to go home with me! So with half hour of shooting light left I went prone and dropped him where he stood!

 

[FREAK]

Had a great day hunting. Saw a surprising number of deer ~30 does and 6 different bucks, weather was great. Great memories were made, glad I got after it.

A couple small bucks rutting:



We spotted a decent buck in some new growth and I decided I was going to punch the tag this year. Caught some does moving and started scanning the surrounding area with the spotter when I caught his antler and body bedded behind a log. Got set up and connected 450yards.


I haven’t punched a deer tag in 3 years and to be honest If I had more time and a better look at him he’d still be on the mountain. Still very thankful for the deer and the experience I shared with a couple good friends.

 

[Southern Elk]

I just got in from helping a friend with his deer. He got it about 15 minutes before sunset today. Last day of season.

 

[Mallardsx2]

I’ve killed a ton of animals on the last day. I guess it doesn’t say much for my abilities. Lol
My wife always jokes that I need to hunt until the last minute of the last day because I have killed so much stuff on the last day over the years.

Below are a few memorable last day Kills. Most of them were in the last few minutes of the last day. Not enough time in the day to tell the stories but I will say that I tracked that bear in the snow from daylight to dark and killed it with 5 minutes of shooting light left on a long shot out through the woods.

 

[F250]

I shot a cow elk with my muzzleloader in New Mexico with 7 minutes left on the last day of the season. Very disappointed when NM stopped offering those late season tags to nonresidents.

 

[SD_Prairie_Goat]

Got lucky and bumped this Whitetail while going to sit for a mule deer on the last day of the SD season this year. Just lucky enough that he went and grazed in a creek bottom on the piece of public I was camping on. Shot him ten mins into shooting light a quarter mile from the camper. Had almost given up and shot the doe with him until I saw him down in the creek.

 

[Sask hunter]

In 2020 and 2022 I shot bull moose the last morning of season. Some guys like the last couple days as everyone has gone home. Some years that’s true some not as it’s only a five day season. I think my most memorable was a spike elk on the last morning of season. I had hunted for 12 days put on 60km and had seen about a dozen elk but no bulls. Last day he came sneaking in through the timber. Another good one was a big bear I shot in 2022. Bumped him while baiting middle of afternoon one day and he would hit at random times then disappeared. My last day to hunt, second last day of season and with 7 minutes to go he came in cracking branches shaking trees and showing who was boss of that bait

 

[D4570]

To set the scene a little, My boy loved to go with me hunting, anything.
When he turned 11 he got a paper route and saved almost every cent.
Shortly before he was 12 he bought his first gun a Winchester pump 12 gauge shotgun. we practiced most weekends after that. He was a natural anything he pulled the trigger on fell dead.
First waterfowl season we started hunting, hard. He was able to bag many asst ducks, as well as rabbits. He was having a great time but dreamed of getting a Canada goose. We would get very close but never in the right spot, we always passed shot back then. Finally in the last day 30 minutes before the end of shooting time, one lone honker started to fly right to him. He held tough and let it just cross over him as it did he stood and shot. the goose folded and fell 20 feet past him on the river bank.
WOW, and I got to see it close up, outstanding.
That was 38 years ago, he never misses a waterfowl season and still uses the same gun...

 

[FREAK]

2019 I had a pretty packed season trying to fill my elk, antelope, and Colorado 3rd season deer tags. Weather wasn't great in Montana for deer hunting that year. I remember I was kind of at a loss of where to go so I picked a completely new area with high hopes of finding a deer on a last day hunt. I hiked way up to the top of this divide, and it started snowing on me and the wind was really howling. After spending a few hours behind the glass and not seeing anything I decided to call it. I was a bit under dressed for sitting on a divide all day. On the way out I cut a nice buck track that was over my boot tracks from the hike in. I ended up following it to where it veered off the trail to a south face with broken up timber patches. I wasn't 50 yards into hiking in the general direction I thought the buck went when I saw a flash of antler and a big front fork and thought "good enough". I grunted to try and stop him, we played cat and mouse for what felt like a few minutes, and I finally got him settled in the crosshairs.