Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Snubbie & Rock Chuck's pack hunt (Long & pic heavy)

It has taken some time to get photos edited and uploaded, bags as yet, are yet to be totally unloaded. I opened my backpack last night and my nose was met by some rather strange odors!

So...After a good night's sleep at Rock Chuck's house, Mrs. RC sent us off with a belly full of blueberry pancakes and ham & eggs. We drove to the Sawtooth mountains with llamas in tow.

We got the llamas unloaded, situated and saddled.


After hanging the loaded panniers, we set off at the trailhead to pack in a few miles to get beyond the road hunters.







"Backpacking" takes on a whole new meaning when the "backs" doing the "packing" are attached to four legs!


We hunted some big country with some beautiful views, stopping frequently to glass promising areas, like Rock Chuck is doing here.


And Snubbie here.
[img]http://i1116.photobucket.com/a...o%20Hunt%202013/Idaho2013_0160.jpg[/img]

At first we hunted separately all day long, both of us climbing high. We both found plenty of does and a few small bucks. I had my first mulie buck stand broadside for a number of minutes giving me a classic opportunity for a clean shot. However, he was what appeared to be a spike but could have been a forkhorn. He was staring straight at me in the shade of a tree. Rock Chuck explained that rarely has he seen a spike buck, and had seen a small forkhorn in the same area. Either way, I decided to pass on him. We gathered back at camp right at dark and compared notes.
The next day, we hunted together, climbing back up to the area where we both saw deer the day before.
Here we are up on top of "the rockpile" a large, flat topped rocky promontory and prominent landmark. It was around here we had seen deer but today we saw very few.
[img]http://i1116.photobucket.com/a...o%20Hunt%202013/Idaho2013_0140.jpg[/img]

There was, however, some beautiful scenery up there, making the climb well worth the effort.

[img]http://i1116.photobucket.com/a...o%20Hunt%202013/Idaho2013_0141.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i1116.photobucket.com/a...o%20Hunt%202013/Idaho2013_0143.jpg[/img]

So finding no bucks, we pulled out a map and decided to follow the trail toward the west, where it would meet up with the trail we were camped on, and follow it east down the draw to our camp. We estimated 6-7 miles and while we were tired already, it would be 6-7 trail miles rather than cross country, and we'd get to cover a lot of ground. We found lots of deer sign and a whole lot of elk sign where they had been crossing a major saddle between drainages. We also found an elk wallow up there. Several miles from the trail juncture, Rock Chuck says, "Hey, you want a buck?" I stop and look back and he has a buck spotted on a distant hillside. We both look, trying to evaluate. I say, "I see a nice deep fork". Rock Chuck says, "I can't tell a lot from here but I can see he has a pretty tall rack." He squats to dump(the buck, not RC!) and I say, "He's the best we've seen yet." Rock Chuck asks, "Do you want him?" I reply that yes, I'm going back after him, "Do you want to come or watch from here?" RC replies he's coming with me, so we start to backtrack. We have to skirt around the head of a deep draw that is between us and him. There is a little finger ridge stretching toward the south and the buck is out that ridge. It takes an hour for us to stalk around the draw and get where he is. There is a rock outcropping with shale slides on either side. We know we're getting close but no way are we going to cross that shale. We decide the best route is over the top of the rock. We get to the top and I peek over and there he is, at about 85 yards! I duck back down and we both freeze. I unclip my rifle from the gunbearer and when I peek over again the buck is locked on me like a laser! Don't know if he heard us whisper or heard the clip holding my rifle unclick. He is standing facing me, in shade but I confirm antlers and assume he's our boy. I shoulder my rifle offhand in a half squat position, decide that won't work, ease down, crawl forward a few feet and raise to one knee. Still a little unsteady, I settle the crosshairs and pray, "Lord, let my aim be true or miss entirely but no wounding please." I pull the trigger. The buck wheels around and runs full-bore down into the draw. In my peripheral vision I see another buck bound down the mountain, catching only a glimpse of antler.
We go to where he was standing and finding no blood or hair, start criss-crossing, looking for blood. Finding none, my heart began to sink, wondering if I had only wounded him. We found his tracks and realized he was apparently stumbling, tearing up the ground and at one point, he ran into the side of the tree. A couple hundred yards down we found him, dead as a hammer. WooHoo! My first mulie! As we looked and took pictures, we realized this was not the buck we spotted on the hillside originally. This buck had a smaller rack and was not nearly as tall as the one Rock Chuck spotted. Oh well, we never considered another buck there. When I spotted him over the rock outcropping, I just assumed he was our boy.
However, this did not diminish my joy. While he wasn't a big buck, I had a decent mulie and was happy as a pig in mud!









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We field dressed him and considered our distance from camp. We pulled out the map and realized we were only about 3/4 mile above the lower trail that leads back to camp. So we dragged him down that draw and were very fortunate to find the whole draw, all the way down, covered in grass! We skidded that boy all the way to the bottom! We decided God's hand was in this as looking at the map revealed this was the ONLY draw in that whole area that would have worked out this way, and even cutting off close to four miles of hiking! So we propped him open and left him there overnight.
We hiked about 3 miles back to camp at O'Dark Thirty, completely exhausted, thirsty and hungry. We hastily ate supper and crawled in the sack.

Early the next day, Rock Chuck saddled them up and we took the two largest llamas back up to retrieve the buck.


It wasn't terribly steep but continuous climbing and after the last few days, the fatigue was taking its toll!


We butchered him up, packing all the meat in bags


And headed back to camp.






[img]http://i1116.photobucket.com/a...o%20Hunt%202013/Idaho2013_0085.jpg[/img]

We packed up camp and bugged out to head for another area.
It took all day to get the butchering, packing, and hiking out. We arrived at the trailhead around supper time.
Rock Chuck leading his "boys" back out.
[img]http://i1116.photobucket.com/a...o%20Hunt%202013/Idaho2013_0128.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i1116.photobucket.com/a...o%20Hunt%202013/Idaho2013_0087.jpg[/img]

Next day we awakened to snow. We went to Rock Chuck's "honey hole" to try and find him a buck. We hiked in in the pre-dawn darkness and was up high during sunrise.






Rock Chuck took me on a gut busting climb to his "honey hole". Very tough climb on legs that were protesting loudly but the scenery was worth it.

Unfortunately, that day didn't produce a buck. We hiked out, went back and broke camp, loaded llamas and headed to Rock Chuck's home, where we were welcomed to a hot shower and great meal from Mrs. Rock Chuck.
The next day, we butchered deer while the Mrs. wrapped. Sweet Molly got a leg bone but ended up having to share with the two yappers!


We feasted on fresh grilled tenderloin for lunch! That evening I headed back to Salt Lake City and spent the next day flying back to NC. Rock Chuck refreshed his gear, turned around and headed back to the mountains to try for elk, or that buck that has thus far eluded him.

What a great trip! I cannot even begin to express the level of hospitality shown to me from Rock Chuck and his bride, who graciously opened their home to me and made me feel like family. Thank you, thank you, Rock Chuck!

I'm sure when Rock Chuck get's back to civilization he may add his comments and photo's here too. He has some pictures I don't and some insights too!

Great adventure!

Oh yeah, Tikka T-3 in 7mm-08 with 150 grain Nosler Partition over 44.5 grains of IMR 4350 @2430 fps.

Funny thing, the bullet did something kinda screwy. It broke three ribs as it went in, took out a lung and somehow ended up turning into the left shoulder, breaking the bone and turning the whole shoulder to bloodshot mush! There was also an exit at the top of his carcass above the left shoulder. Not sure what happened unless the bullet somehow fragmented and/or the bone fragmented. We never did find the bullet but were appalled at the damage done, and the distance he covered with that damage. We trimmed off what was useable but ended up leaving almost a whole shoulder to the wolves. We packed out around 80 lbs. of meat.

Awesome trip!

Very nice! I'm thinking I could get along with some llama's or goats...

Great trip, congratulations on the buck!

That sounds like a perfect hunting trip.

Looks like an enjoyable trip and a nice buck too. Congrats

Congrats. Interesting story.

Very cool...

I have this urge to go llama shopping!

John

Awesome... good to see the North Carolina/Idaho connection.

Nice buck, great pics, and looks like a good time.

Congratulations on a great hunt, looks like very nice country.

Congratulations on a great trip.

So do I ^^!!
Thanks everyone, it was a great trip!

Great story and photos! Congratulation.

Great write up Snubbie! Thanks. Sounds like a great trip that will hold memories for a lifetime.

Superb!

I must say, you both look like very classy folks wearing wool trousers and such. Top notch!

No camo required