Vanish and FireTiger's Journal - Season 6
- Thread starter vanish
- Start date
Nice play on words
That's everyone for the response! There's more to come, with highlights being FireTiger's Mule Deer and Elk hunts and our annual Whitetail trip.
We got back home pretty late and definitely slept in! The entire Sunday was spent taking care of meat.
Mule Deer hind quarter (lower leg had been removed because it thawed first)
Pronghorn Hind Quarter
Got burger?
Vanish's Pronghorn Buck
Tenderloin 0.63
Backstrap 2.92
Stew Meat 1.57
Flank 1.11
Roast 7.71
Hamburger 16.73
Total 30.67
FireTiger's Pronghorn Doe
Tenderloin 0.51
Backstrap 3.46
Stew Meat 1.87
Flank 0.72
Roast 8.71
Hamburger 14.41
Total 29.68
FireTiger's Pronghorn Buck
Tenderloin 0.69
Backstrap 3.91
Stew Meat 2.23
Flank 0.86
Roast 7.74
Hamburger 18.81
Total 34.24
Vanish's Mule Deer Buck
Tenderloin 1.13
Backstrap 5.88
Stew Meat 2.89
Flank 1.94
Roast 14.85
Hamburger 27
Total 53.69
Mule Deer hind quarter (lower leg had been removed because it thawed first)
Pronghorn Hind Quarter
Got burger?
Vanish's Pronghorn Buck
Tenderloin 0.63
Backstrap 2.92
Stew Meat 1.57
Flank 1.11
Roast 7.71
Hamburger 16.73
Total 30.67
FireTiger's Pronghorn Doe
Tenderloin 0.51
Backstrap 3.46
Stew Meat 1.87
Flank 0.72
Roast 8.71
Hamburger 14.41
Total 29.68
FireTiger's Pronghorn Buck
Tenderloin 0.69
Backstrap 3.91
Stew Meat 2.23
Flank 0.86
Roast 7.74
Hamburger 18.81
Total 34.24
Vanish's Mule Deer Buck
Tenderloin 1.13
Backstrap 5.88
Stew Meat 2.89
Flank 1.94
Roast 14.85
Hamburger 27
Total 53.69
bobbydean
Well-known member
Followed this thread from Day 1. Great detail in the story. I love how you end one hunt and go into the other. Your wife is a keeper. She almost is the same fanatic about hunting as you are. A keeper.
Just thanks for the story. Do it again next year. Very enjoyable!
Just thanks for the story. Do it again next year. Very enjoyable!
Oh, we're not even half way through the seasons yet, much more to come!
Haha thanks, yes I got very lucky with my wife. About 6 months after we met, she was in Colorado on an internship. I was talking on the phone with her and she started telling me fishing stories... I was like ... HOLD THE PHONE, YOU LIKE FISHING?! Somehow, this had slipped past us to this point. I booked my tickets to come join her in Colorado for a month.
She didn't start hunting until we moved to Colorado in 2010, and her first animal was a 10 point whitetail in Nebraska that year. Bigger than any I had ever tagged!
bobbydean
Well-known member
You must have had a ton of tags. That is a good thing.
Looking forward to the rest of the story.
You have done well so far!
Looking forward to the rest of the story.
You have done well so far!
Bwana
Well-known member
Can't wait to hear about the remainder of your season.
Yes, indeed we do! Getting to hunt three or more species of big game is one of the joys of living in Colorado. The irony is, we didn't expect to have much this year, as we had both burned our pronghorn and deer points last year. However, we generally focus on getting out there and hunting over trying for trophy units. I got lucky with the mule deer tag, and we picked up our pronghorn and doe tags off the leftover list. FireTiger's muzzeloader cow elk tag was also a leftover, and our archery elk tags are over the counter. FireTiger burned her points and drew an E/S Ranching For Wildlife elk hunt for the end of November, while I am saving my elk points and applying in the hybrid draw. Growing up hunting Whitetails, its nearly impossible to break the tradition of a family trip to Nebraska public land.
The downside to Colorado is its short seasons, generally 7 to 9 days. Combine this with limited vacation time, a lot of my hunts are either one or two weekends, so I typically don't hold out for a bigger animal. Even with my 3 Colorado tags this year, I had been considering an archery tag in Nebraska for pronghorn or deer ( I choose to spend my money on tags and gas instead of gear.
), as I was done big game hunting in Colorado by October 2nd!You may remember my Dad had left to deal with some family obligations. On Wednesday last week, I was talking to my grandmother on the phone, who was at their house. She casually mentioned that my Dad had stumbled in the night before, looking dead tired and that he and my mother were butchering today. Wait, what? He didn't even tell me he was going back out, let alone that he got one?!
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Back when we parted ways, we had discussed that if a weather change was to move in, that could be really good for the deer movement, rather than this bluebird 80 degree stuff we'd been having. Dad said he'd try to come back on Monday, predicting he would have the place to himself. Turns out that is exactly what he did. After an eventful Monday morning where Dad was within range of a nice 4x4 and was just waiting for the right shot, a storm moved in HARD, ending the opportunity. It dumped several inches of snow, knocked down a pile of trees, and blew out Monday night.
The final day of the season found my Dad heading up the same logging road where we had jumped two bucks out of their beds the week before, with the larger one slipping away just before Dad could shoot. Wouldn't you know it, those same two bucks bedded in that same exact clump of young aspens. Though they bailed in the same directions as the previous encounter, the smaller buck made a fatal error and looked back. And while he wasn't the 30 incher we'd dreamt of for the last month, Dad was able to tag his first ever mule deer buck!
I have to say, I'm really proud of my Dad with this one. He quartered up and hauled this buck out from 2.5 miles back. It took him two trips, as he's not quite as prepared as I am for dealing with such a situation, using what I would call a grade school backpack, but he did it! That would be over 10 miles for him in one day, 5 miles of it under a load, which is more than I would have given him credit for. Good job Dad!
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Back when we parted ways, we had discussed that if a weather change was to move in, that could be really good for the deer movement, rather than this bluebird 80 degree stuff we'd been having. Dad said he'd try to come back on Monday, predicting he would have the place to himself. Turns out that is exactly what he did. After an eventful Monday morning where Dad was within range of a nice 4x4 and was just waiting for the right shot, a storm moved in HARD, ending the opportunity. It dumped several inches of snow, knocked down a pile of trees, and blew out Monday night.
The final day of the season found my Dad heading up the same logging road where we had jumped two bucks out of their beds the week before, with the larger one slipping away just before Dad could shoot. Wouldn't you know it, those same two bucks bedded in that same exact clump of young aspens. Though they bailed in the same directions as the previous encounter, the smaller buck made a fatal error and looked back. And while he wasn't the 30 incher we'd dreamt of for the last month, Dad was able to tag his first ever mule deer buck!
I have to say, I'm really proud of my Dad with this one. He quartered up and hauled this buck out from 2.5 miles back. It took him two trips, as he's not quite as prepared as I am for dealing with such a situation, using what I would call a grade school backpack, but he did it!
That would be over 10 miles for him in one day, 5 miles of it under a load, which is more than I would have given him credit for. Good job Dad!Vanish, this is such a great thread! Really detailed. Guys don't know how hard it is to keep everyone updated on these live hunt threads until they try it themselves! (like I just figured out this last week) Congratulations on all of the successes and I'm definitely looking forward to seeing how the rest of your season treats you.
I'm out on the plainside where Fire Tiger has a whitetail doe tag. Tough tag to fill, but why not try? Her first day, she saw 3 mule deer, and her second, 7 mule deer. Yesterday, we saw 6 mule deer does and one buck. At a different spot today, we were socked in with fog, but I spotted a doe. Finally, it's a whitetail. She stalked under 30 yards (it's muzzy season) but couldn't get a shot. I ended up seeing two bucks and another doe, so hooray, we've found where some whitetails live!
After prime hours were over, I took Hank out to nearby walk in areas to look for cottontails. They must have gone into serious hiding as we had flushed a bunch while deer hunting, but none while looking for them. Thus heat isn't helping.
On a positive note, he flushed 8 roosters, and I saw 3 more. It was great to watch him work the birds. Too bad pheasant season is 4 weeks out yet.
After prime hours were over, I took Hank out to nearby walk in areas to look for cottontails. They must have gone into serious hiding as we had flushed a bunch while deer hunting, but none while looking for them. Thus heat isn't helping.
On a positive note, he flushed 8 roosters, and I saw 3 more. It was great to watch him work the birds. Too bad pheasant season is 4 weeks out yet.
Last night resulted in no deer sightings at all. More pheasants, though! It didn't help that apparently the locals use some land across the street from where she was hunting for target practice. They were shooting over there for like 4 hours straight! Ah well, at least she knows where she has a chance to fill the tag. Probably won't get back out there until the 29th, when it switches to rifle season.
Ah well, at least she knows where she has a chance to fill the tag. Probably won't get back out there until the 29th, when it switches to rifle season.
Sask hunter
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 20, 2016
- Messages
- 2,951
Looks like a goose season so far!
Packing up the truck. This afternoon we make the 3 hour drive to FireTiger's deer country. We've hunted this unit 3 times and have yet to really figure it out, but have had one chance at a good buck every year. I'm going to try another VLOG if she lets me, otherwise I'm just eyes and muscle.
There's a bit more to the story. She had spotted a buck and motioned me over, saying it was a big one. I caught it's but moving into the pj's but we lost sight of it . A few minutes later I spotted a buck in the genreal direction the first had headed. As I had not seen the first one's antlers, I figured they were they same deer, but it didn't look that big. Before Firetiger could find him, he walked behind the pj's too.
WE kept glassing but couldn't turn them up, so Firetiger had me wait and watch exits while she climbed above. She was overy there awhile, but finally came back all excited.
AS she popped over the ridge, a doe no busted her, alerting 3 other deer, including the two different bucks we had seen. She was on the big buck, but he was standing with his vitals covered. Finally, after about 10 minutes he began to move. Very large framed 3x3 ... but she couldn't get her scope settled on the uneven terrain! DAng!
WE kept glassing but couldn't turn them up, so Firetiger had me wait and watch exits while she climbed above. She was overy there awhile, but finally came back all excited.
AS she popped over the ridge, a doe no busted her, alerting 3 other deer, including the two different bucks we had seen. She was on the big buck, but he was standing with his vitals covered. Finally, after about 10 minutes he began to move. Very large framed 3x3 ... but she couldn't get her scope settled on the uneven terrain! DAng!
