2020 Western Boondoggle Part Two - Wyoming Deer

ncstatehunter

Twelve Pointer
Switched units, two missed turns caused us to get here way past legal light. Stalked a canal and saw two mulie does. But the surprise was fresh bear tracks. Talked to a farmer, said he’s cane down from the mountains getting fat on corn. We’d found where he’d gotten in beehives this morning and last night. Figuring out how much pressure is up here now before lunch.
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ncstatehunter

Twelve Pointer
About pulled it off this evening on mule deer even though we were thinking we’d be on whitetail back along the river. Had 3 mulies within 100 yards in the last 30 minutes of light. Doe and two bucks, one small guy and one decent dark horned buck I think was Just 2x2. Just no shot for my buddy through the cluster of cottonwoods they were on the other side of and they walked off before he could get in position. As much as we want to push back to that same spot and setup a little differently first thing in the morning we are going to setup on this little bank above that bottom 125 yards from where we setup this evening. Hope is to gain some elevation advantage in case of a shot as well as not pushing them across the river/hoping to catch them on the way back in there. Mid-morning we will start slowly still hunt those trees along the river. Feels good to finally be on deer!
 

ncstatehunter

Twelve Pointer
Saw 3 mulies does before 8 then jumped up a whitetail doe down where we saw the bucks yesterday while trying to see why we couldn’t see them too good that close. Small depression in there hurt us. Will give it one more shot in there this evening, as much as I don’t want to I’m going to sit in this ladder stand back in there since my buddy doesn’t fee comfortable doing so. Have to get elevation or you barely have any shots. He’s gonna try to setup on the river bank to get some elevation as well. Never would have thought I’d be wishing I had a tree stand out here.
 

ncstatehunter

Twelve Pointer
This stand is a killing stand I’m sure. I had wondered why someone put it here but I understand now that I’m up In it. Have to go buy the guy a drink if I end up shooting one out of it, his name and address are on one of the rungs. Just got up it and have already seen a mulie doe back in behind me. Blows my mind they are using this river bottom like whitetails.
 

ncstatehunter

Twelve Pointer
Let me preface this by saying I’m the guy that goes out of his way to avoid places where other people hunt, I won’t even climb a tree I’ve climbed before if I’ve seen someone in law has climbed it. Mainly from the fact I don’t know how they hunt and whether or not they have gotten caught in said tree. Now all that said, I did hunt that ladder stand today because no one had been in it either yesterday evening or this morning and elevation was needed to have a chance of seeing deer in the high grass and getting a shot or game planning a stalk. Until an hour and a half before end of legal time I see a guy walking down the main road over half a mile away and it turns out it’s his stand and even though I was legally in the right and he saw me from that distance, he still decided to walk all the way to the stand with an hour or so of daylight left. All while I had a mulie buck at 300 yards I was trying to get a shot at to my back left. I got down and gave it up to him just to not have a conformation. He wasn’t mad but I could tell frustrated because he said he’d not seen anyone back there since season opened the 15th. And he was frustrated that his info was tagged on it but did acknowledge that it was public land and it happens. I’m just frustrated and a little pissed how it all played out that late in the day. Neither of us were in the wrong but in my mind, you put up a stand you better get there first and if beat to a spot then back off. I get the feeling if we had been setup on the ground like yesterday and waved at him he still would have climbed in the stand even though we were within 200 yards and looking at the same stuff. And I’m mainly frustrated at the fact there is a good chance my tag could have been filled this evening. Ended up seeing 17 whitetail does, 4 mule deer does and that buck. He had good mass but that’s all I could tell. Time to find a new area of that bottom to hunt now as I’m not dealing with that section anymore now.
 

hog&deerhunter

Ten Pointer
Tough situation. Was he a local? He wasn't wrong and neither were you. Maybe he didn't see you until he got close? I would have done the same as you as far as getting down. Maybe things are done differently there. That said, I probably wouldn't have gotten in his stand to start with.

Good luck tomorrow!
 
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Hunting Nut

Old Mossy Horns
Tough situation for sure.... At least there wasn't a confrontation.
Very sorry your evening got ruined. In my mind, the other guy should've just backed out this evening. Public means public but I understand your side. (y)
 

ncstatehunter

Twelve Pointer
Tough situation. Was he a local? He wasn't wrong and neither were you. Maybe he didn't see you until he got close? I would have done the same as you as far as getting down. Maybe things are done differently there. That said, I probably wouldn't have gotten in his stand to start with.

Good luck tomorrow!
I really didn’t want to get up in it but I took the chance just because no one back in there prior and it was a weekday. Plus like I said, without getting elevation or off the ground it’s impossible in there to hunt effectively. He lived up the road, he said he saw me when he was coming down the road. His stand was legal and I was legal to be in it. One of those damned if you do damned if you don’t situations. Just plan to leave that to him so we don’t have any other issues back in there. We were cordial through it all and I’d like to leave it at that.
 

Hunting Nut

Old Mossy Horns
I really didn’t want to get up in it but I took the chance just because no one back in there prior and it was a weekday. Plus like I said, without getting elevation or off the ground it’s impossible in there to hunt effectively. He lived up the road, he said he saw me when he was coming down the road. His stand was legal and I was legal to be in it. One of those damned if you do damned if you don’t situations. Just plan to leave that to him so we don’t have any other issues back in there. We were cordial through it all and I’d like to leave it at that.

If he saw you coming down down the road, he came in to run you out of the stand. He was wrong, completely. Selfish and jealous on his part.
You handled things great, IMO.
There was no other option without things getting sour, and you were in the right.
 

ncstatehunter

Twelve Pointer
Hindsight being 20/20, we should have started the hunt here instead of down in the other unit. Every place we have hunted we have seen deer so far here. Had a small whitetail buck broadside at 100 yards this morning right at first light while easing to get in the tree line I wanted to. Passed him up, wish he would have been in front of my buddy as he has never shot a buck and is not passing up a legal deer this trip with 2.5 days to go. Had a parade of does and yearlings after that 130 yards out. Back out for the evening now.
 

ncstatehunter

Twelve Pointer
Covered up in deer this evening, no clue how many does we saw. Saw at least 6 mulie bucks, buddy ended up shooting the biggest we saw but took a center of mass frontal chest shot with a cup and core bullet at about 130-150 yards. He’s still newish to deer hunting and hasn’t been presented with that kinda shot opportunity and know what to do. I wasn’t thinking to tell him I hate those and he would be better off to shoot in the neck or wait. He said the buck fell, thrashed around then stopped. He waited a bit then got ansy when he thought another guy was coming in there. Walking over it for up and was favoring one of the legs, he shot and it fell again. Then when I was about to him I saw it get up and watched it in the binos not knowing that’s the one he shot. It wasn’t moving fast but also wasnt moving slow. I couldn’t see anything wrong with it from what I could tell. I looked and couldn’t find blood where he said it was both times. I picked up where I think it ran and couldn’t find blood nor deer in the 75ish yards I walked. Backed out and will go back in the morning, give it from 7 to 8 to see if something comes through for me or his buck is up and hurting. Then we will spend all morning looking, really hope we can find it or decide it will live. I told him asked on what he’s telling me and what I saw, it will either bed up and die, bed up and we get another crack at it or will live. Tough, long night for him.
 

appmtnhntr

Twelve Pointer
If he put two in it, you’ll find something this morning. Might be alive still, but I think you’ll find him.
 

ncstatehunter

Twelve Pointer
If he put two in it, you’ll find something this morning. Might be alive still, but I think you’ll find him.
No luck, did find where he grazed it the second shot. Just a little piece of skin scrapped off with hair. That was all, no blood and no deer found after some grid searching. We will go back in There in a few hours in case he decides for some reason to slip through. I think he’s long gone, alive and well. My belief is my buddy, even though he held center of chest ended up hitting towards the side and in the shoulder. Basically knocked him off his feet the first time and the second shot grazed the back and stunned it. When I saw it after it got up the second time I couldn’t tell it had been hit and thought he had shot a different deer. Hard lesson for him and I hate it, especially since that’s the first buck he’s shot and subsequently first deer he’s lost. Like I said, from what he told me and what I saw with the deer taking off and only having a little hair and no blood, I think it’s alive now and will end up living.
 
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appmtnhntr

Twelve Pointer
No luck, did find where he grazed it the second shot. Just a little piece of skin scrapped off with hair. That was all, no blood and no deer found after some grid searching. We will go back in There in a few hours in case he decides for some reason to slip through. I think he’s long gone, alive and well. My belief is my buddy, even though he held center of chest ended up hitting towards the side and in the shoulder. Basically knocked him off his feet the first time and the second shot grazed the back and stunned it. When I saw it after it got up the second time I couldn’t tell it had been hit and thought he had shot a different deer. Hard lesson for him and I hate it, especially since that’s the first buck he’s shot and subsequently first deer he’s lost. Like I said, from what he told me and what I saw with the deer taking off and only having a little hair and no blood, I think it’s alive now and will end up living.
Tough break. Did your due diligence. Keep after it.
 

ncstatehunter

Twelve Pointer
Story time. So we slipped back in there yesterday evening around 1 and setup a little east of where we had been. Quiet, windy afternoon til about 4 pm (that’s when we had started to see mule deer consistently every afternoon). Looked behind my buddy who was 80 yards away and saw a body shining down where we had originally setup Tuesday afternoon. Get binos up and it’s a deer with its head down, picks it up and I can tell it’s a little mulie buck. Watched him bed down after that and after 15 minutes of back and forth and trying to tell my buddy where and how to setup he gets in position and has the buck in the scope, just needing him to stand up. I turn back around looking in front of me and there is a mulie doe standing at 60 yards that materialized seemingly out of nowhere. Watch her feed off while occasionally checking the little buck to keep tabs on him. Sun finally disappeared behind clouds and I knew he was gonna be standing up soon. Sure enough, as soon as get binos on him he starts moving. He stands up and I get to watch a perfect bang-flop through the binos. I was pumped for my buddy and it was now my turn.
 

ncstatehunter

Twelve Pointer
Sat there glassing after the shot, watched a deer out past my buddy who was at his buck and had a yearling run in behind us. About 6 o’clock I’m scanning and see a head directly in front of me coming from the river. Binos up and it is like a clown car, here is a herd headed right for me. Watching them I can see them shaking the water off which was cool as hell. End up walking right towards me, closest one was at 20 yards and still coming. I’m still not sure how many, 8-10, but I do know there were 2 bucks and I knew the first one was the better of the two and about the size of the second or third biggest we had seen in this unit. I know when I ease the gun up I need to be ready to shoot, so when I see I have a clear shot at the buck I want up comes the gun and about every eye is one me minus his because he has his head down. Crosshairs settle on right edge of shoulder, squeeze the trigger and he runs 5 yards and is down for the count. Then the work began. 4 hours later we are back at the truck and worn out After carrying out two bucks in one trip about a mile. Fun trip and to double up on the second to last evening is icing on the cake. The memories will be etched in my mind forever.
 

ncstatehunter

Twelve Pointer
Headed down to Casper instead of over the bighorns, actually a little faster. Thought about 16 but didn’t want to have to worry about weather.
 
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