Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Another Awesome Year in the High Country with My Friends

Can't wait for the full story.

Great Mulie!

AHM:

Great story and trophy. Please tell us about your gear, food, packs, how you got into the high country, elevations you were hunting etc.

looks like a real nice buck

You asked for it, so here we go. Sorry for the book.

It is rare that I have time to hunt more than 1 week out of the year, so this is no doubt a very special time for me to spend with my best friends and family doing what I love most, high country mule deer hunting. The anticipation is overwhelming and getting out of contact from the rat race and day to day life is cherished up there with the best of �em.

I�m sure we�re the same as the rest of you in that planning for next year�s hunting trip starts the minute you return from the current year�s hunting trip. Any excuse to get together for some beers, look at past pictures and watch past videos, get on google earth and look at topo maps etc�.. is easy to come by. That�s pretty much how our entire year was. As October approached, phone calls, emails, trips to Cabelas, and meeting with the fellas starts to happen exponentially more often. I figured out how to get my PC up on my big screen which makes Google earth come alive for all of us to look at areas to hunt while enjoying some brews on the couch. Every body had their assignment to find an area and present it to the group when we got together. So we looked at a few different units in Idaho and finally decided on an area we had kind of discussed in the past, but never put the effort it. Not far from where we had spent the first 8 years hunting in Idaho, but much higher elevation.

Idaho mule deer hunting has captured a special place in my heart and contributed to many life long memories over the past 12 years. The country, the animals, the friends, the effort, the education and so much more keep us coming back for more every year, applying what we�ve learned to new challenges in hopes of catching a glimpse of our dream buck, and perhaps if we�re lucky, get a good shot off at one. So I could go on and on about the majestic country, the memories, and the other fluffy stuff, but let�s get to the story of this years hunt�..I think we all get the sentimental stuff.

Over the past few years, we�ve matured as backpack hunters and changed methods somewhat from just doing day hunts out of base camp to setting up a base and a spike camp. We usually ride quads in to an area where we can setup base camp, then get as far away from easy access as possible with our feet to setup a spike camp at high altitude where we will spend most of our time hunting with the occasional trip down to base camp packing out an animal. We�d been putting some time into learning a new area over the last couple years, and unfortunately our access was cut off to that area given our current means of transportation (now you need horses, llamas, or goats�..we�ll be back though). So with that came a lot of research - Topo maps, google earth, calling around, etc�. Unfortunately a scouting trip was difficult to find the time for as the drive to the area we had identified was about 13 hours and well, let�s just say it�s hard for me to get out for a few days as vacation is limited and life is just plain busy. My buddy did happen to have a chance to stop by the area on his way back from a trip to Wyoming and he hiked a mile up the trail we were looking at to at least figure out possible access points and a base camp location. Unfortunately he didn�t have time to hike the 5 mile hike to the top where we were planning on hunting. I don�t think his 6 and 3 year old who were with him were quite ready for that (apparently the 1st mile was no problem for them though). So with that, we had a plan.

Opening morning was Sat. Oct. 10th. The plan, as was the last couple years, was to leave Thursday morning, drive all day, sleep at the gas station in the truck before we head into the hills Friday morning. Friday would consist of driving 3 hours on dirt roads, unload the truck and load up the quad (also had trailer for the quad and a Honda Trail 90), drive in, setup base camp, hike all the way to the top (5 miles), setup spike camp and get to sleep. Wake up opening morning and go for it. Well, we ran into a couple setbacks and didn�t quite make it to the top Friday night. As we started down the quad trail, we ran into several areas where we had to winch the quad and use the chainsaw to cut wind fall out of the way. Once we got to the base camp location, camp went up quickly. It was like clockwork, everyone knows what needs to be done and within 1-2 hours we had our wall tent setup, wood cut, cots out, dressed and ready to go with our prepackaged backpacks. Unfortunately, 330 in the afternoon came fast. We contemplated going for it, but realized by the time we got up top, we would be limited on time to really find the ideal spot to have spike camp�.besides, we were beat and the fact that we were finally here, in the Idaho wilderness once again made the decision to brake open the Gentleman Jack early was an easy one (getting some serious rest after a long trip was also another reason).

As we were sitting enjoying a few drinks, we greeted a few motorcycles that were riding by to test out the trail for opening morning, we didn�t realize it would have that much traffic. Each time we heard one, we would walk out to the trail to see if they would stop and introduce themselves. 4 of the six did, and everyone was very nice. We asked as many questions as possible, as they had all hunted the area for a while. For the most part, everyone was open and gave some good �basic info�. Of course nobody was giving up any secrets, nor did we expect to hear any.

Opening morning came quick after getting to bed after midnight�..got a little carried away. We were up and out of base camp just as the sun was coming up and oh my, that 4.5 miles turned into a long exhausting hike. We each had close to 60 lbs going up, including guns, binos, range finders, 3 liters of water, etc�..the whole shebang. About 3 miles up we were starting to get into deep snow, and I couldn�t believe we were still following motorcycle tracks at that point. The snow was at least 18 inches deep at that point and someone knew that trail like the back of their hand. It was a big wheel bike and somehow they navigated through all the trees and deep snow until they finally stopped and turned around (at our 3.5 mile mark). We continued on following a group of deer tracks as the snow as getting deeper and we were getting more tired�.taking turns blazing trail. We finally found a decent area for a spike camp, not too far from the creek, it only had a slight slope to it. So Troy and I began setting up the Kifaru 8 man while Mike went down to the creek with 2 2.5 gallon water jugs and the water pump. Upon mikes return, we had most of the tipi setup and began to cut wood with the hand saw for the tent stove. As we were finishing setting up, a decent little 4 point was walking up above us about 300 yards moving up the drainage towards the top. We stopped to watch it for a while thinking it was a great sign to see that deer already, right out of camp. Not a shooter for the first day. The hike was rough, we were exhausted, and the only bucks that were going down were going to be wall hangers. We quickly figured out that the way we were setup, we probably didn�t have the capacity for all of us to get big deer while we were up top, it would be quite the effort shuttling deer up and down 5 miles. We figured it would be 3 trips per person to get out of there, if each of us got a deer�..maybe 2 trips if we could do one whole deer each (wall hanger sized deer) in one trip, then come back up for camp��... but figured we�d worry about that later and go for it anyhow.

We were camped at about 8300 ft. For dinner, heated some water in the Jet Boil and enjoyed my favorite Mountain House meal (Teriyaki Chicken with Rice). The temperature that night got down to 6 degrees and well, I must say I was a teetering on the cold side. I had my mummy bag cinched tight around my head with only a small spot for my eyes to peep out. Any more open than that and I would start to go down the cold path. The fire in the Kifaru stove was awesome, but it burned out after an hour or so��. My 15 degree bag did its job well with the help of a base layer. In case you�re wondering��I use a Montbell Ultralight Super Stretch Down Hugger #1 with an Exped Downmat 9 deluxe sleeping pad, a super comfortable setup. The bag definitely lives up to its rating and the stretch is unmatched in comfort for a mummy bag, in my opinion.

So the fire get�s lit up in the morning and we all get ready for the days hunt with some cozy heat from the stove. We trample out way through the snow to the top of the ridge and Mike brakes off one way, and Troy and I brake off the other way, both to loop around the upper ridge tops of the huge bowl we are camped in, then to drop back down. At the top, we observed freeways of tracks heading to lower elevations on the south slopes, unfortunately the snow was deep up top and going that direction was just getting farther and farther away from base camp�.So anyhow, Troy and I watched a fox for a while. He caught some kind of varmint for food, buried it, and kept on trucking. Mike had the tough hike and ended up circling the entire bowl�..seeing nothing the entire day until jumping a couple doe as he was nearing camp. Troy and I glassed into another large drainage for a few hours, didn�t see a thing the entire day and headed back down to spike camp. In short, up top was a bit of a disappointment. It appeared that the snow had pushed everything down and out of the area. The fact that we didn�t see any deer the entire day, and were feeling limited to maybe one large deer between the 3 of us due to the effort to get out of there, we decided to pack up spike camp and head back down to base camp where we could hunt the snowline.

We packed up camp within 40 minutes and were on our way down, finally returning in the dark��questioning whether we had given the top a good enough chance or not. What�s done was done, we gave it a shot, there were very little deer up there and we were pretty far from base which would�ve limited us to pretty much one deer and out.

So, again we treated ourselves to too many beers and drinks and didn�t get up quite as early as we should have the next morning�..rolling out of the tent at somewhere around 900. But hey, we can make excuses all day and felt like we had just run the gauntlet. So we head off to hit small drainage that started a half mile down from base camp. Se we crossed the creek and began heading up the drainage. Troy and Mike were staying low and I decided to go the steep route to get up to the ridge top and walk up from there.

It took me a bit, but I finally made it to the top of the ridge�..where I found another set of foot prints. I was hoping they were a day or two old because I wasn�t going to let them ruin my hunt for the day��if I ran into someone, I would deal with it then. They appeared to be a day or two old anyhow, so I began moving slowly up the ridge.

Now I love to hunt with a buddy or buddies, and I really enjoy glassing large areas sitting next to someone, but there�s something about hunting alone that makes me feel like my chances of getting something are somewhat greater. I�m not quite sure what it is. Maybe I move slower, I don�t know, but even on past hunts I always seem to get lucky when I am on my own. It�s truly an uncanny feeling, but great none the less. So I make my way up the ridge stopping to glass every little bit. I finally realize I am kind of walking up an over grown quad trail. There�s about 5 inches of snow on the ground and I�m still following those foot prints. As I cam around a corner I stopped to look directly out in front of me where I followed a finger ridgeline up from the bottom in hopes of seeing something. It didn�t take me long to see what I thought might be a decent deer silhouetted on the ridgeline out in front of me between some old burnt trees. I quickly pulled up my bino�s and sure enough, there were some decent forks poking out to the left. The deer was bedded down facing away from me keeping an eye on the drainage below him. Now I didn�t realize quite how big he was at first, so buck fever didn�t begin to set in. I took my time at this point thinking he might not be a shooter. I took a seat about 15 yards up in front of me where my body was somewhat hidden behind one of the pine trees. I adjusted my hiking pole down so I could rest my binoculars on them to hold steady. I got out my doubler and screwed it onto the eyepiece of my EL 10X42�s. I still couldn�t get a good look at the full rack. An occasional peek at the rear forks on the left side along with the front forks was all. The front forks were obviously nice, and ended up being the reason I decided to pull the trigger on this guy. But I wasn�t so sure yet. I pulled out my range finder and ranged the deer at 370 yards. I wasn�t comfortable taking the shot I had from that distance, so I decided I needed to get closer. I pretty much narrowed my approach down to two options. Option 1: brake off behind the ridge I was walking up, which would require the deer to be out of sight for a good bit of time. I also didn�t like the fact that I wasn�t quite sure if I�d be able to see him from where I was thinking of popping out back up above him on the ridge. Option 2: stay on the over grown quad trail which continued on in the bright sun on the open hillside 15 yards below the ridge top, in full sight of the deer. I would try to get to a finger ridge that was out between my current position and the deer. Again, not exactly sure what that location would present for a shot and if he decided to look back while and catch me while I was making my way, I was toast. To make things even harder, the snow was a little loud too. So ultimately I opted for option 2. I hate losing sight of deer and didn�t want to spook him out trying to get on top of him.

So I made my way veeerrrrry slowly one step at a time towards my destination. Each step I would stop and look to see what he was up to. After about 30 minutes I got to within 250 yards (again ranged). I got to a point where I could lay down my pack and setup my gun and binos over my pack with my body laying down hidden behind a pine tree that was down the hill in front of me. I looked again for about 10 minutes at this guy, still not positive that I should be shooting, which of course helped me stay relaxed. I finally decided this guy was a good one based on his front forks and my recollection of my very first impression the moment I saw him silhouetted with my naked eye. I set the scope to 12 and quickly reviewed the settings on my ballistic reticle. I have a Z6 with BR reticle. He was about 247 yards and I am zeroed at 264, so I knew I wasn�t far off at all from aiming dead on. I shoot a .270 weatherby made by lex webernick of Rifle�s Inc. It�s the titanium strata model and the gun weighs a total of 6 lbs 3 ounces all up and shoots like a lazer. I spent quite a bit of time at the range and am very confident and comfortable with this little cannon. So all I had was ass, neck, and half of the antlers. I decided I didn�t want to ruin the cape, so a neck shot was out. I didn�t want to hit him in the ass and ruin a whole bunch of meat. What I did want, was to make sure I hit this guy somewhere where he wouldn�t get a way (thoughts of missing a 200 class buck 2 years prior in his bed, which still eats me alive to this day, were all that were running through my head). Don�t F�ing miss is what I was thinking to my self. So I decided to try to squeeze one at the top of his back, at a slight angle, being careful not to shoot over him and miss. I started to kick the ground with one foot to try to get the deer to look back so I could confirm his rack and get a peek at his spread, but this guy was not looking, maybe he was sleepy? And, the next moments are somewhat of a blurr. Safety is off, and I started to apply pressure on the trigger, which is set at 2.5 lbs, always just enough to perfectly surprise me. The gun went off and I was quickly back on the deer through my scope. His head went back around slowly in a circular motion and I knew I put a good one on him��Then he got up slowly. I figured he wasn�t going anywhere, but you never know. He was standing broadside at the moment so I quickly put another one in the chamber and put it through his front shoulder, heart, and out the lungs dropping him right where he was.

I got on the radio right away and let Troy and Mike know there was going to be some meat in camp. They were excited and congratulated me. They were probably 1000 yards down below me a couple ridges back and started making their way up. So I snapped a couple of pictures from where I was and recorded a few seconds of video on my flip, then made my way over to the deer.

What a freakin� moose. This thing had the largest body I had ever seen on a deer and the rack was much bigger than I had thought, always a nice surprise vs. the other way around. It had a nice kicker off the rear and after measuring later, gave it a spread just under 32 inches. I tried to move the deer by myself for a couple pictures but that wasn�t going to happen so I propped my camera up on my backpack and snapped a few shots with the timer. By the time I was finished with pictures, Troy and Mike were there to join me in the excitement. It took the 3 of us to move it a little for a few additional pictures. We caped most of him there and finished with the face down at camp. I took the head, cape and all of the loose meat in my pack, which seemed like it weighed about 90 lbs. Troy and Mike each had a rear and front quarter, which were damn heavy as well. They stayed to hunt while I walked out the quad trail that I came in on. I couldn�t go down the steep way I came up, so I walked out the entire quad trail which ended up being at least 3 miles from camp. I called Troy and Mike on the radio and let them know they could take their time as I could ride the quad back a good amount of the way to pick them up, which I did later.

Needless to say, it was celebration time for me that night in camp. An awesome prize and experience with some great friends.

Now, that was the short version and I could keep this book going as we had two more great, successful hunts over the next 3 days where Troy and Mike each ended up with 4 points as well and I have several stories that fall in between just getting deer (we all know hunting is more than just killing animals). Each story would be another 5 pages and I�m happy to tell it if you�d like to hear it, but for the time being, I hope you enjoyed the story of how I got this big fella.

I�ll do a gear review on a lot of my stuff as I enjoy them too and use the information I read on this sight to determine some of my choices on gear.

I need to get Mike�s pictures from him still, but in the meantime, enjoy some of mine.

Happy Hunting!

On the way in on the new Trail 90


On the way in, Troy and Mike with the Rincon and Trailer


A little Gentleman Jack after getting settled in base camp


When Troy and I were glassing the next drainage over up top. Half way up that other side was over 1400 yards away....to give perspective.


Troy in front of Spike Camp


Mike and I on the trail on the way up to spike camp (or down from, I can't remember) Deep snow.....


Cutting wood for the stove with the hand saw at spike camp
[img]http://i339.photobucket.com/albums/n465/a-train73/hunting/2009/smaller%20pics/DSCN4833.jpg[/img]

Me, all geared up for the day hunt up top...as requested I'll touch on some of the gear we used later. That's Browning Quest outer layer.
[img]http://i339.photobucket.com/albums/n465/a-train73/hunting/2009/smaller%20pics/DSCN1595.jpg[/img]

So this is where I shot my deer from. The deer is actually dead in the middle of the screen on the far ridge if you look hard (see the zoom on the next picture). I was laying on the ground and my body was blocked from the deer's view by this pine tree right here to the left.
[img]http://i339.photobucket.com/albums/n465/a-train73/hunting/2009/smaller%20pics/DSCN1602.jpg[/img]

Zoomed up, now you can see the deer easily.
[img]http://i339.photobucket.com/albums/n465/a-train73/hunting/2009/smaller%20pics/DSCN1601.jpg[/img]

It won't let me put more pics, so I'll start another reply....

Walking up to my deer for the first time


A shot with my rifle


One of my favorite pics


My other favorite pic


Boning and caping it out


Break time


The dreadful packout
[img]http://i339.photobucket.com/albums/n465/a-train73/hunting/2009/smaller%20pics/DSCN1620.jpg[/img]

Troy hanging Mike's meat in the tree
[img]http://i339.photobucket.com/albums/n465/a-train73/hunting/2009/smaller%20pics/DSCN1637.jpg[/img]

Me Passed Out by the fire....this was pretty much all of us every night.
[img]http://i339.photobucket.com/albums/n465/a-train73/hunting/2009/smaller%20pics/DSCN4872.jpg[/img]

Troy's Buck slid 130 yards down hill when he shot it (I gotta get more pics of Mike's buck)
[img]http://i339.photobucket.com/albums/n465/a-train73/hunting/2009/smaller%20pics/DSCN4857.jpg[/img]

Our Line Up


On the way out

Awesome stuff right there!

Thanks. You guys like your stoney point pole cats? I love mine! Can't wait to here about boots,packs,bags etc.

Again thanks for taking the time to do a write up!!

Applause.

well done

almost as good as being there......almost


congrats on a very nice deer and time with your buds, great trip, great photos and hunt description, I really enjoyed it.

Heck of a hunt, heck of a story, heck of a buck!!!
Thanks for the great post & pictures. Congrats to all, that looks fun:) Also, nice to see an old Trail 90 still being used, I have a 1979 Trail 90 but never seem to bring it along, maybe I need to!!

Thanks All, it was a great time and I'm happy to share it.

Shag....You know, I really really like my Stoney Point Pole. Last year I tried to do a super light weight pair of poles (ti goat poles), but they aren't for hunting. Both me and my bro each broke a pole. And I don't really like having 2 poles. Too much to fiddle with in addition to a rifle. I actually put my stoney point on my pack this year when I saw my deer, just so I didn't have to fumble with it. I love hiking with it though and it is awesome to hold my binos steady when glassing. I would miss it if I didn't have it.

Reading your story and looking at those pics sure brings back memories of my time spent in Idaho hunting mulies.

Next to dalls and moose, mulies are my favorite animals to hunt. Love the high alpine country!

Awesome story and fantastic pics, congrats to your whole crew on a great deer hunt!

That's a great story and a very fine buck. 30 inch class bucks are quite rare.
A couple of suggestions. On the trekking poles, I lash them to my pack until needed. In snow, particularly on snow covered slopes, they are needed. Without a heavy load, one works fine. But with a heavy load, two are much better.
The other thing I carry are light, or short, crampons. Mine are Kahtoolas. I've beat the he!! out my aluminium models and they still work fine. Again, worth their weight in gold on the steeper, snow and ice covered slopes. E

Loving it. Great story and what a hog of a buck!

Last year's story if you are interested and haven't read it or if you like a decent hunting story with some pics...... A good backpack trip and some gear review in there too. I got some new gear this year so I'll try to comment on it here sooner than later.

Old post, but if you're bored and like this style of hunt.......
http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/2539406/1

Yes the Stoney Points work well! Real well!! My glassing ability has improved 110% since I started using the SP to steady the glass.. I spot alot more critters than I used to. I use two SP's.

That was a great day you had!!

Just had the chance to read and savor your story.

A hardy thank you!

Loved it. What a great hunt and now great memories.

Great narrative and photos. Thanks for all the information you've provided us.