TBinKodiak
Member
Well I was going to hold out for a big one, but I'd also planned on hunting a couple times before this (too much work and no fun). I went back in the area I shot my buck last fall. There are 4 mts along the "low ridge" when you hike back in and they create 2 hanging valleys and the last one is a big valley. I shot my buck on the side of the 4th mt last year. On the way in I spotted a decent buck up in the 2nd hanging valley, but decided to go check the spot I went to last year. I only got a glimpse of him as he fed into some alder brush, but figured he was decent. Anyway I went back and glassed for an hour and spotted 3 bucks and a few does. One buck was a good one but I only got a glimpse of him too. The other two were a 3x3 and a decent fork horn (heavy). I decided against crossing over and going after them though and decided to climb up Mt #3 and glass up in the big valley. So I beat brush up the side and looked up into the valley and spotted 2 bucks right away. One was a dandy, but I just spotted him as he walked into a 100 acre patch of alders. Also spotted 21 Mt goats at the head of the valley, looked to be about 17 nannies and kids and a separate group of billies. It was about 10:30 now and the deer were starting to bed so I decided to sidehill around the front of the Mt and drop into the second hanging valley and see if I could spot the first decent buck I had seen. I got in there and glassed the opposite side for half an hour seeing a scrub fork and a couple does. I also had a spike walk by about 100 yards above me, kinda cool he had real thick stubby spikes about 6” long. I decided to hike up to the head of the valley and see if I could spot the buck. I got about another 200 yards and jumped a doe. As I was watching her I spot the buck. He was about 150 yards away looking right at me. I had plenty of time and still wasn’t sure he was the one I wanted so I put the spotting scope on him and looked him over good on 45 power. He seemed decent and was definitely bigger than last years buck. I decided to shoot him. I put the crosshairs on his chest and he dropped at the shot. He had some ground shrinkage and I was a little disappointed. He is bigger than last years buck, and a decent 3x3 with eye-guards so I’m happy with him. He’s respectable and rough scores about 80 after some small deductions. All in all a pretty decent hunt, I saw 12 bucks, a bunch of does and a bunch of goats. Oh yeah and the worlds most vicious weasel. I think his home was right were I shot the buck and he “charged” me a bunch of times. Poking in and out of the rocks, I think he forgave me though once he found a piece of scrap to make him feel better. Kinda glad to, you hear about guys getting attacked by bears on their kills, but I’d hate to have to explain to Fish and Game how a 4 oz weasel ran me off my kill. : )
Here are the pics. The last two are taken right at the edge of the hanging valley. She drops off pretty fast and it was a bit hairy getting out of there with the 80lb pack. The good news is all my old blisters from the sheep hunt have been peeled off and now I got some new ones.
Here are the pics. The last two are taken right at the edge of the hanging valley. She drops off pretty fast and it was a bit hairy getting out of there with the 80lb pack. The good news is all my old blisters from the sheep hunt have been peeled off and now I got some new ones.
