Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Bowhunting No Venison !BWAH! but nice pics

Well We had fun,
Got to an area we have never been (fun exploring) friday before season in the dark and set up camp at the first campspot of the NFR. We had a few drinks to celebrate. Got up first morning after light since we had no clue were we were and started exploring, lots of deer just cant get within 30yds and have them stand still (does anyone know the deer command for that ? sit, heal, halt?)

We found this spring and propped up this old pipe and this was our water source


We hunted for 2.5 days seeing many deer just not getting close enough. Putting many miles on the old leather.
So they needed a drying by the fire.

Then we realized I had left Chads license on my counter. So we went to Glewood spring to get a duplicate copy and the sporting goods store could not print one, so we had to wait till morning to get one. So we went to the glenwood brew pub ate watched football and proceeded to get sloshed, ended up going to three bars and Chad had his guitar out singing again. We grilled my special recipe elk onion brat burger on a picnic table by the railroad depot and slept there also, got up and to the DOW before they opened got Chads tag and headed back to the hills were we moved our camp to this spot

We had the ghosts of hunters past visiting us in camp

We ran into a sage grouse and I shot it from 10yds with my 30 carbine ruger new model blackhawk one shot

We cooked the grouse over the open fire (much better in foil with bacon but you gotta make do).


We hadn't been really pushing for a deer becuase we were runnning into so many we "ASSUMED" we would get a shot, well the day a doe stands in front of me my rangefinder battery takes a crap. I miss judge and miss (AHHHH three times ) go ahead laugh at me, I am. Chad misses also realizes he needs a range finder. I get a new battery in and find a real nice buck (5X5 about 25-30inch spread in full velvet) at 70yds, I drop my pack and low crawl to 35yds he lays down in a tree, I have to wait 30minutes for him to stand up, Since I am above him and it is 35yds I decide 30pin is right choice (ooops it was not really that much down hill and I forgot to aim high in the kill zone) Rookie mistakes he should be on my plate and wall Darn it.

We stunk pretty bad with all the hiking etc, So we found this mountain stream to bath in (BRRRRRR!!!)
[img]http://broncolope.com/2008bowhunt/bathing_hole.jpg[/img]

We got serious and hunted a little harder ran into deer every day but couldn't get a good shot. Went home after opening week empty.

Came back last weekend for serious hunting brought no food or alchohol.

We caught some brookies out of this stream to eat
[img]http://broncolope.com/2008bowhunt/brookie_stream.jpg[/img]

We backpacked up to the ridge above were we saw the majority of deer
[img]http://broncolope.com/2008bowhunt/ernie_backpack.jpg[/img]
[img]http://broncolope.com/2008bowhunt/chad_backpack.jpg[/img]

Our main problem was the deer had gone nocturnal becuase of pressure and the areas they were in were impossible to sneek in becuase of the underbrush as seen in the pic below
[img]http://broncolope.com/2008bowhunt/deer_brush.jpg[/img]

Our camp up on the ridge,
[img]http://broncolope.com/2008bowhunt/camp_ridge.jpg[/img]

We found a tree stand the last day that probably would have been the ticket if we had used it. Chad had another shot but without a rangefinder was off in yardage again, I tried a 50yd shot but the deer heard the snap of the string and was gone before the arrow got there. But we had fun got exercise and saw nice country.
[img]http://broncolope.com/2008bowhunt/stomping_ground.jpg[/img]
[img]http://broncolope.com/2008bowhunt/stomping_ground2.jpg[/img]

Almost forgot we ran into this horny guy chasing a calf
[img]http://www.broncolope.com/2008bowhunt/bullwinkle.jpg[/img]

Great pictures! Thanks for sharing.

We wouldn't have sage grouse that high up around here. Mostly blues.

I am thinking he is mistaken and that is a blue grouse. You can see the yellow comb above its eye.