Deer Hunting 2015...

[carbinemike]

I hunted for 10 years before i got my first deer. Its more about the experience then the game taken.

I know I'll have a great time regardless. I am hoping that he won't get bored if we don't get a deer. I don't think he will. For his age he seems to be able to stick with interests with long term goals like karate and the trumpet.

Thanks guys and good luck with your bow and muzzle loader MikeD!

 

[cmcdonald]

Trip update....Sigh.

Yeah...got shut out this season. On the bright side, got out and hiked some beautiful country. Sipped hot coffee while sitting on a stump looking over miles and miles of pristine wilderness. Pushed myself to go further than I had before and hunted alone part of the time this season. Self-reliance in the bush is priceless to me. All in all...I'm a lil disappointed no meat for the freezer but I enjoyed the time immensely.

I am truly blessed to able to explore such beautiful country. It's still awe inspiring even after all these many years. These very mountains were my childhood summer playground every August of every year I can remember.





Closest I got to a deer...unfrozen droppings...

Some really gnarly, slippery logging and forest service roads...fun driving though. Spent a lot of time in 4 low.

Yeah...not big on the selfies. But wanted to give some scope to the view. This was Monday...temps were climbing back to normal at about -6C. Lil bit more comfortable than the daytime high of -10C the day before.

Might do some coyote hunting this winter and expect to go out for a spring black bear too. Will see...

Edit: While out on the trail I met another hunter...we chatted about the abundance of sign...but no sightings. He joked about also not being able find a good recipe for "Deer Track Soup"....hunting humour! Cheesy but funny nonetheless!

 

[John A.]

That is some beautiful territory you're hunting in.

I would even say breathtaking.

 

[MikeT]

Here's some of mine while camping with my 13 and 18 year old sons. He bedded down less than 10 yards from our camp. No fear what so ever. From him or his does. Pardon the pic quality, it was taken with my phone.

 

[MikeT]

Even rewarded my youngest with his first knife for setting up a very nice shelter and even getting the fire started on his own.

 

[MikeT]

Got caught up in the knife thing and bought my second Damascus steel knife.

 

[cmcdonald]

That is some beautiful territory you're hunting in.

I would even say breathtaking.

I'm sure you'd love it here John. Summer or winter it's gorgeous and punishing terrain; however winter is just that much "more" pretty and ominous even...can be unnerving at times. You can run the full gamut of predators in this area too. Grizz, blackies, cats of several varieties, wolves and coyotes. When you're hiking/hunting alone...gotta keep your head on a swivel.

Seems like you don't hike further than a couple yards before you're going up or down again. It's good exercise for a guy like me who spends far too much time on his arse nowadays.

 

[carbinemike]

Nice country there CMD!

My boy and I were shut out on the first two days of buck season. No snow but it was in the 40's for temperature and we had a lot of light rain and misting. Nice and damp for us. We had a good time. He was ready to call it a day on Tuesday before I was but is up for trying again this weekend. No deer but we agree it beat the heck out of school and work.

 

[cmcdonald]

Nice country there CMD!

My boy and I were shut out on the first two days of buck season. No snow but it was in the 40's for temperature and we had a lot of light rain and misting. Nice and damp for us. We had a good time. He was ready to call it a day on Tuesday before I was but is up for trying again this weekend. No deer but we agree it beat the heck out of school and work.

True dat!! A bad day in the wilderness beats a good day in the city anytime!!!

 

[MikeD]

I got my first deer of the season, a small doe.

The Chevy 1500 stopped her in her tracks.

First one Ive hit ever in 30+ years of driving. Fortunately i had slowed enough it didnt do any real damage.

 

[cmcdonald]

I got my first deer of the season, a small doe.

The Chevy 1500 stopped her in her tracks.

First one Ive hit ever in 30+ years of driving. Fortunately i had slowed enough it didnt do any real damage.

Nice shootin' tex!! LOL!!!

 

[MikeD]

Im sitting in a stand humting in the middle of Dec and it 65 deg. WTF

 

[old mossy]

Don't feel bad Mike,it's 82 down here today.

 

[cmcdonald]

Im sitting in a stand humting in the middle of Dec and it 65 deg. WTF

Is that hunting or humping or both?
Sounds like an ok temp for the 2nd choice.....LOL

 

[MikeD]

Hunting!!

Well I blew it today. Hit a big one and could not find it. Tracked and searched for several hours. The blood just came to an end. I think he crosssd the big river. Checked to see if he backtracked but could not find any other blood. Did several circles around the end of the blood trail and nothing. Rain was then coming down destroying any sign that might be found across the river.

Not sure what happened. The shot was only 50 yards it should have been a chip shot. I must have hit too far back. Makes me sick to not find bim. Big 8+. Bigger deer than I took last year.

 

[carbinemike]

Hunting!!

Well I blew it today. Hit a big one and could not find it. Tracked and searched for several hours. The blood just came to an end. I think he crosssd the big river. Checked to see if he backtracked but could not find any other blood. Did several circles around the end of the blood trail and nothing. Rain was then coming down destroying any sign that might be found across the river.

Not sure what happened. The shot was only 50 yards it should have been a chip shot. I must have hit too far back. Makes me sick to not find bim. Big 8+. Bigger deer than I took last year.

Ouch. Sorry to hear that Mike.

 

[cmcdonald]

Hunting!!

Well I blew it today. Hit a big one and could not find it. Tracked and searched for several hours. The blood just came to an end. I think he crosssd the big river. Checked to see if he backtracked but could not find any other blood. Did several circles around the end of the blood trail and nothing. Rain was then coming down destroying any sign that might be found across the river.

Not sure what happened. The shot was only 50 yards it should have been a chip shot. I must have hit too far back. Makes me sick to not find bim. Big 8+. Bigger deer than I took last year.

Crappy dude! You gonna back at first light? Or work calling in the AM?

 

[John A.]

Sorry to hear it Mike. I know how hard you've worked to get here, and then losing the trail, has to be sickening to you.

The last week I had my camera out, I had a grand total of 2 deers on the camera and one bear, and the doe had a huge mark on her hindleg where it looked like maybe a big cat or bear had gotten hold of it.

I don't know what I'm going to do. Damn bears have destroyed my honey hole and legally, there's not a thing I can do about it.

 

[cmcdonald]

Sorry to hear it Mike. I know how hard you've worked to get here, and then losing the trail, has to be sickening to you.

The last week I had my camera out, I had a grand total of 2 deers on the camera and one bear, and the doe had a huge mark on her hindleg where it looked like maybe a big cat or bear had gotten hold of it.

I don't know what I'm going to do. Damn bears have destroyed my honey hole and legally, there's not a thing I can do about it.

View attachment 10161

That's a nasty gash on the hind quarter of that buck!! Holy smokes! Surprised he made it. If he survives over to another season you might just have to let him live!! Ok, just kidding.

Can you harvest bear in your area John? If you can, why don't you and a few buddies get some tags and thin the population a little?

 

[aksavanaman]

Does Caribou count???


It was a great adventure flying out to Adak. I've been out the Aleutian chain before but never quite this far. I went with 3 other co-workers and together we brought home 8 caribou total for the week. Four more were shot just beyond that ridge behind us in the first picture not 20 min later. It was A LOT of hiking (around 10 mi a day) and even though the terrain isn't too harsh out there, it still left a sore...but definitely worth it. After deboning, we had just under 100lbs of meat for each person (small caribou out on that Island). Flight was on miles and we shared one house and brought our food with us, so a pretty cheap hunt all things considered. We had a blast!

P.S.= Incase you're wondering why we're killing baby Rudolf.... no limits. The herd was transplanted there in the 50's and has grown pretty much out of control since then. And with no natural predators on the island, hunters are the the only thing that keeps them from overwhelming the place. We had no moral issues with shooting Rudolf... he'll be darn tasty for sure!