MT/WY Safari

[mtlion]

I drew a pretty good tag here in my home state of MT and decided to pick up a WY leftover tag and head down to hunt with a buddy in Sheridan. I did both hunts back to back, leaving western MT on a Thursday and returning the following Wednesday.

I started out with a coyote.

Then some elk came by.

I spent the first evening looking for a good buck and looked at a lot of them. After much debate I settled on a buck that stood out from the rest due to his length.

The next morning I went looking for the long buck and climbed a ridge to glass after glassing about 60 head for 30 minutes I moved about 50 yards to get a different vantage. That was when I saw the buck I wanted bedded with 4 others right below me. After a short and exciting stalk I had a perfect 190 yard shot.

 

[mtlion]

He was just what we thought he was, nice and long.

Next we had a couple doe tags to fill. But first, what's that up there in the rocks?

My buddy found a group of goats in some trees and was able to stalk in for a nice close shot with his muzzleloader.

After he got his doe I took one with my rifle and then my buddy killed a turkey towards evening. Final MT tally: a 16 inch buck, 2 does, a coyote. a turkey, and 3 elk sheds. Pretty good for a day and a half!

 

[mtlion]

Now on to Wyoming. I took a ton of the most beautiful scenery pics while I was there that won't be posted due to the recent rash of internet scouting going on

About an hour or so into our hunt there my buddy decides he wants a nice wide heavy buck we spotted bedded with another buck. After a sweet stalk he put the hammer down on him at 65 yards.

We spent the rest of the day getting into goats only to have road hunters screw me up at the moment of truth. This went on into the next morning. I would find a good buck, spend an hour so wallowing in the sage to get on him only to have someone try to drive up and jump out shooting as I waited for my shot. I never did see any of those guys kill anything. After having this happen for about the 4th time I decided to head up into a more remote area where we had seen a lot of goats but no nice bucks. The move paid off and I spotted a good one bedded up in a draw with about 4 others. A quick half mile stalk and I was rewarded with a nice braodside shot at 280 yards. This is what I saw when I walked up on him, a nice 14 incher.

Here's a couple of the two together on our meat pole.

 

[mconway951]

that looks like a great way to spend a week congrats on some great animals

 

[CabinFever]

Some serious productivity and great bucks, thanks for sharing.

 

[AZ402]

Great job man! That MT buck is way cool, congrats!

 

[Oak]

Nice! Like the "pipes" from MT.

 

[BiggWimm]

Very cool, looks like a fun trip!!

 

[FishN4Eyes]

Ryan,

Nice photo essay, buddy!

Some nice goats, very well done.

Good luck this weekend.

Chris

 

[L. I. Yankee]

you guys are gonna get writers cramp filling all those tags.....

 

[1_pointer]

Now that is my type of 'safari'! Congrats! I could easily see myself spending a week chasing pronghorns. IMO, they are about as fun to hunt as anything.

 

[BuzzH]

Very nice...congratulations.

 

[----]

Both awesome bucks, but that MT one is a freak.

Sounds like a hunt for the ages.

 

[sluggo6850]

congrats on a fun week.

 

[HUNTMAN]

What a trip. Nice work.HUNT

 

[canvsbk]

That Montana buck is extra special. Sounds like a fun week, congrats.

 

[Florida Boy]

really nice bucks.

 

[havgunwilltravel]

Great photos and a real nice look at how the hunt went. Certainly a pair of good trophies to be proud of. Well done.

 

[fishing4sanity]

Lots of great animals there, I especially like your MT buck, congrats! Lots of great photos too - the kind of post I like, lots of pics & not too many words.

 

[dustinf]

Awesome.