Another year at our favorite place on earth in south central Kansas. If you’ve followed this annual post the last number of years, you’ll recall the recurring theme that each year is so very different from previous years and this year did not disappoint.
For starters, we arrived to 8" of fresh snow on the ground - yep, these cheeseheads had to go south to find snow this year. It rarely lasts long in that part of the country but after a day or two of the deer laying low and getting over the shock of that much white stuff, they’d be back to their normal routines.
It became apparent pretty quickly the deer that were calling the ranch home were traveling quite a ways off the place to get to wheat fields a couple of miles away. We had some wheat on the place this year but it was planted pretty late so the deer were favoring eating out vs. staying put. And it doesn’t take long for the neighboring places to interrupt/divert the deer travel patterns.
On each morning and afternoon prior to the season, we setup on hills that give us visibility to a lot of country, hoping to get a general feel for what the deer are doing. And per always, we find a good buck or two that are rarely or never to be seen again. There was a fair bit of rutting activity which is good and bad because it’s not like the bucks need to work to find does, and that generally means if you see a decent buck, expect he’ll be locked down with a doe by the next morning. Oh, and we had a full moon - with temps on the rise.
On Monday evening (prior to season), I was in the truck en-route to pick up my dad from his observation point after darkness had fallen. About a 1/2 mile from the pickup point, I happened to look to the east on a big hill and, there, with the full moon fully back-lighting him was a magnificent buck - truly one of those things that are forever etched in memory...“Meh, fat chance of seeing him again - he’s obviously cruising - probably a FNG anyway”.
The following day we continued to monitor what movement we could, and ended up seeing a different buck chasing a doe over that same hill. One of us would need to sit in that area but the wind wasn’t going to cooperate the first couple of days of the season.
Dad had seen a pretty decent buck on the west side of the ranch so we decided I’d sit the pasture up top and he’d man the river bottom for the opener. We’d both seen deer and a couple of bucks apiece but with the wind due to swap direction soon, I’d need to change locations. When I arrived at the truck around noon, I could see the hill in the distance where we’d seen the bucks the previous days, and another freaking buck came walking over that hill, I knew we had to somehow at least get into that area where my stank and the southerly wind wouldn’t blow the deer out of that area.
I texted pops and asked him if he wanted a change of scenery but he was pretty comfortable on his perch and reported seeing mid-day activity. My plan was get down by the river where I could at least see to a hedgerow that was about a 1/4 mile from that hill, monitor, and bide the time until Friday when we’d get a wind shift.
Well, at 3:30, guess who jumped the fence and into that hedgerow – yep, the deer I’d seen in the moonlight - he was promptly dispatched at 240 yards (6.5 Creedmoor & 123 Scenar). Pure, unadulterated, horseszchit luck to see him again.
This was a first - one of us had pulled the trigger on opening day and I was pretty pumped that I’d get to hunt with pops now - though I’m not sure how excited he was on the proposition.
Well, I turned out to be horrible luck for him. The buck movement from the previous days had seemingly shut off overnight. Over the next handful of days, it was work to even see a 2.5 y/o. We dinked and dunked all over the place where we’d had success in the past and came up goose eggs. We decided to split up so we had another set of eyes in a different area. And when I finally managed to lay eyes on a good buck in an area long referred to as “The Maple Grove”, he was tight on a doe (see video). And of course the wind direction made even getting at the area an impossibility and when the wind was right to hunt that area - 25-30mph winds.
Finally, a full week into the season, while dad was sitting in the NW pasture that fed to the river bottom, around 11 o’clock, a buck followed a doe out of a bunch of cedars and into a 150 gr Hornady from his .308 (760).
78 years young, still climbing through-and-over fences with nary a complaint about my harebrained whims and overthoughts.
Twas finally time to turn our attention to the baldies and the coyotes – and of course, prayers for a tag or two again next year.
Huge shout-out to the ranch owner that entrusts us to be his eyes and ears throughout the season – truly a special human...the big guy broke the mold when he made him.
Well done yet again Scott. Your trophy room must rival Cabela"s. And what a treat to be able to share it with your dad all these years. Cherish that time together.
My other auto is a .45
The bitterness of poor quality is remembered long after the sweetness of low price has faded from memory
Another long, hard hunt this year with the best hunting partner an 'old fart' could have. In addition to being my guide he had to put up with me being consistently 40yds behind him on our treks across the pastures, pointing out trip hazards for me, helping me cross the 'banjo string' fences, opening gates to avoid fences, and helping me get up out of my chair at the end of the day's hunt with never a complaint! Oh, and, gutting/dragging my buck to the truck. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!
A BIG THANK YOU, too, to the owner of this honey hole, for allowing me to join Scott on our annual 'pilgrimage to his pastures'.
I hope all you guys approaching 80 are equally lucky to have a son, or daughter for that matter, who can help make your last hunts possible and enjoyable.
'Tis far better to walk alone than to follow a crowd going the wrong way.
Looks like a great hunt. Merry Christmas to you and Dad. Be Well Brothers, RZ.
Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy. Its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery. Winston Churchill.
Good stories and great deer. Best part is hunting with Dad. Don't take it for granted - my dad has gone on but he still hunts with me each time I take his rifle out. Congratulations...
“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” ISAIAH 41:10
Cool video. Sounds like you're overrun with song dogs. Makes my heart palpitate a bit ...
Likely more this year than at any other time we'd hunted there and we didn't get nearly as many dead as we'd hoped to do. Appears a return visit when the night/thermal season opens in January is in order.
So very well done!! Very much dig you two making the time to do this together. Rickey (my father) has been gone 15 deer seasons now. Would give anything for a week like that with him. So awesome!
PS- I was kinda hoping to see the 6.5 pumper used again this year.
So very well done!! Very much dig you two making the time to do this together. Rickey (my father) has been gone 15 deer seasons now. Would give anything for a week like that with him. So awesome!
PS- I was kinda hoping to see the 6.5 pumper used again this year.
Hey Pointer. I guy I hunt with in WI gave me (that's right GAVE me) an old 760 in 308 that turned out to be laser beam accurate with plane Jane 150gr. Hornadys, so the decision of which pump to take to Kansas was easy. One shot bang flop. That old rifle, known to me as "Black Betty" is now at the top of my favorite pump list. I nailed a coyote, which Scott called in for me, at 197yds. What's not to like about that old girl? Frankly, the 6.5 CM would have done the same thing! Just had to try something different this year.
Have you done any more bear hunts recently? I've lost track of most of the guys that hunted with us in SK--way back when.
Hope you and your family have a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!
'Tis far better to walk alone than to follow a crowd going the wrong way.
So very well done!! Very much dig you two making the time to do this together. Rickey (my father) has been gone 15 deer seasons now. Would give anything for a week like that with him. So awesome!
PS- I was kinda hoping to see the 6.5 pumper used again this year.
Hey Pointer. I guy I hunt with in WI gave me (that's right GAVE me) an old 760 in 308 that turned out to be laser beam accurate with plane Jane 150gr. Hornadys, so the decision of which pump to take to Kansas was easy. One shot bang flop. That old rifle, known to me as "Black Betty" is now at the top of my favorite pump list. I nailed a coyote, which Scott called in for me, at 197yds. What's not to like about that old girl? Frankly, the 6.5 CM would have done the same thing! Just had to try something different this year.
Have you done any more bear hunts recently? I've lost track of most of the guys that hunted with us in SK--way back when.
Hope you and your family have a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!
That's as good a tribute to the person that gifted you that rifle as can be! Well done! I have not done any bear hunts in years and I do terribly need to change that. Hard to find the time for a spring hunt as my oldest is still playing lots of baseball.
Thank you for the well wishes and I hope you and yours have a great holiday season!
Coyotes were thick in my favorite hunting spots this year. Going to spend some time thinning them this winter. Thanks for the report and video. Keep up the good work as Dads scout. You will never regret it! F01
Hi Scott, I don't visit here much since I hardly hunt deer anymore. But thanks for sharing. Congrats! Love seeing your dad getting it done with the Amish Machine Gun!
“Perfection is Achieved Not When There Is Nothing More to Add, But When There Is Nothing Left to Take Away” Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Hi Scott, I don't visit here much since I hardly hunt deer anymore. But thanks for sharing. Congrats! Love seeing your dad getting it done with the Amish Machine Gun!
Thanks. Dad shoots left-handed but right-handed in/for everything else. He can't warm up to a left-handed bolt action so Amish Machine Gun it is.
Remember back in the good ol' days when all the magazines were touting the .260 and 7mm-08 as "perfect" deer cartridges? Apparently all the weak deer are dead and now we must use something that burns at least 60 grains of powder.
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