Got one yesterday, I'm told he's a decent buck, but he's sure not huge, so let's just get THAT out of the way <grin>... Some camp-neighbor's insisted I put the meat in their chest freezer last night, so with it nearly frozen by this morning (meaning no ice crises), i decided to stay another day and just fished and hung out and played guitar today. The fishing here is spectacular. Small rivers, big native redbands, artificial only, catch and release. Biggest I got was about 16". I cut my teeth in small rivers in NM and CO so I love it. Started with ol' faithful, black bodied Panther Martin, yellow dots, brass blade, 4 lb test. Never had cause to switch.
Great groups of guys have been camped in this area. Just was given a bunch of salmon and traded weed samples with some guys. Hey, that's how we roll here in Oregon, don't like it, don't read it. Lots of good antelope intel and advice and beer has flowed in the last week between camps.
The guys who gave me the salmon are hunting the next unit over. It would've taken a few MORE years to save up for (this tag took 14 years). They are seeing lots of bucks and are holding out for Mr. Big. I guess I'll try that unit next..... when I'm 68.
I got a few pics of my buck. It was mid-afternoon and hot as hell and photos were not my first priority. But I got a few and as soon as I feel like dealing with imgur I'll post 'em. Had Photobucket down pat but that ship has sailed. Imgur is kind of a pain and cell is slow here.
The actual shooting of the [bleep] was a bit of a rodeo. All I can do is laugh. I'll post details here in a bit with the pics. In the end I killed him cleanly with one hit but there was some funny chit between deciding to shoot and that. Had an equipment fail that almost screwed the whole thing up- which is just funny since I was carrying a rifle that had born the full brunt of my OCD.
Let me finish this IPA and maybe taste the neighbor's sample and I'll put up a couple pics and tell my tale.
