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Nevada muleys, here I come!

elk_hunter

elk_hunter

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Gotta get this thread going...I leave early tomorrow morning for my backcountry area. Early season rifle for muleys is in order and we've had some great antler growth this year from such a wet spring so I'm hoping I get lucky...er, I hope I score...hmmm, there's no really good way to put that is there?!? :eek: Change gears...I hope to knock one dead opening morning (Monday, 10/5). Forecast calls for really cold weather and flirting with snow so this should be interesting... :D
 
Man, only 2 good lucks out of all the members? :eek: Well, I hope both of you guys are blessed with animals this year and for years to come! As for the others...well, the jury is out... :p

Well, I'm back from the hunt....early! Yes, a nice NV muley hit the dirt yesterday morning. I'll upload the story in multiple posts and take you along for a fun ride...stick around and you'll even see some pics!
 
Well get 'em up Elk Hunter. Enough writing about it, get the pics and story where we can read it. Looking forward to what kind of bucks you found in those big sage mountains. :D
 
Friday, October 2nd (season starts October 5th)

I left for hunting grounds early in the morning. I got out to the area I had been "map scouting" for a couple months, around 1pm. I had some general ideas based on the maps but wasn't 100% sure where exactly I would park and backpack in from there but figured winging it would work out fine. So, up the mountains I climbed in my truck, trying to find the spot that felt "right". I drove way up into the hills and tooled around a bit before I finally settled on a spur road that ran down the length of one of the small ridges.

The area up high consisted mostly of very open landscape, mostly with low sage cover. Very few trees but pockets of manzanita, mahogany and some aspen stands. Some great opportunities to glass and look at a distance for monster bucks in the high country in Nevada. :)

By the time I parked and got settled it was around 3pm; definitely too late to start hiking into the big canyon to the northwest of where I was, so I got things in order to head out in the morning. The weather was nice; mostly sunny with temps in the upper 50s with some light wind starting to pick up.

So I finished packing and getting everything ready and started glassing. About 4pm I see something about 1100 yards away flicker out of the corner of my glass so I run out a little further on the point and put the binos to work. Low and behold, it's a pretty big 5 point bull elk! Talk about cool; I haven't ever found elk here in NV, but I managed to find one. That right there made the trip worth it. But, things are about to get even better. So, I head back to the truck and have a little dinner when I hear elk bugles around 5pm. So I start glassing again and now the bull has fed up out of the ravine and into a giant basin and there's a half dozen cows and calves there as well; very cool! In the meantime, I find a doe and her two yearlings bedded in some thick sage, right smack in the middle of all these elk but they weren't bothered...just hung around watching everything.

Over the next couple hours I proceeded to videotape a herd of around 30-some elk, 6 of which were bulls and the rest cows and calves. One of them was the absolute herd bull running a massive racked and symmetrical 6x6, pushing the upper 300s area for size; the others were very respectible 4 and 5 points. All the bulls were trying to push cows but the cows weren't quite ready for mounting...they kept circling around the bulls and trying to face them head-on so the bulls couldn't pull any funny business. :) The herd bull kept trying to chase away the other bulls to keep the cows to himself -- it was really funny because he'd chase one bull and one or two others would move in on the cows he left. So the herd bull was getting a workout chasing all those other bulls and trying to sneak a few moments with some of the cows. Good times and what a blast to watch. Now I know where to draw for NV elk next year! They were screaming well into the evening even after I went to sleep.

But, a couple hours into my sleep and the wind had picked up pretty good and it got really cold...could this be a sign of something to come? Naww, this is just high country weather in NV, so back to sleep I went.
 
Saturday, October 3rd

The alarm wakes me at 5:45 and I have some breakfast. By 6, it's light enough to make out shapes so I start glassing from inside the truck (window rolled down). A mere 380 yards from the truck near a ridge are 2 fat does; one with 2 yearlings and the other with one. Feeding right next to them are three big bucks. One of them is the monster I had been hoping to see; now the adrenaline is flowing. He was a very heavy and tall racked symmetrical 4x4 around 30" pushing the 200" mark. The other two bucks were very respectible symmetrical 3x3s around 25-26" wide. I watch them feed for 30 minutes or so and they feed out of sight over the ridge.

The wind picked up quite a bit and I can see snow showers down in the valley but they are working their way up toward the mountains...on second thought, maybe I should wait to pack in until the weather calms down. The storm hits within 30 minutes and it's raging. 40mph winds and snow. Zero visibility so no glassing. Gee, let's check out the weather report and see what they say; significant accumulation for elevations above 7000' (I was around 8000-8500). Greeeeeeat; good thing I threw in my snowshoes. Man, I hope this weather improves...

There were periods where the snow would let up and I could glass a little so I continued to do that the entire day. I got one more glimse at the 3 big bucks; they came toward me around 1200 yards away, up and over a saddle and down into the basin the elk had been in the night before. They fed out of sight just before dark and it started snowing again. The day was now done and it was time for bed. Maybe the storm would blow through and I could get out tomorrow...
 
elk_hunter,

Great story so far and I'm looking forward to the pics. A NV muley hunt is high on my priority list in the next few years!
 
What happened to the story? This elkhunter guy some kind of tease? LOL
 
Okay, sorry for being such a tease...everyone else does it, so why can't I? :D


Sunday, October 4th

The storm blew through...but carried with it even more fury. It's absolute blizzard conditions and I can't see anything. Those that have ever hunted the "desert" know these kinds of storms can be anywhere in the spectrum from tame to extreme. There's no way I'm hiking anywhere. Plus, I had been seeing plenty of deer in this basin, so why the heck would I go somewhere else?!? Now with the change of plans, it's time to regroup and plan an attack for the opener tomorrow morning.
 
Monday, October 5th (season opener)

I wake at 5:45, have a quick bite and get outside the truck and start glassing by 6am. I see a few deer to the east, around 1500 yards. No deer in my new honeyhole basin. Dang. That's exactly how it always happens, right? Season hits and everything disappears. However, the herd of elk is just on the west side of the ridge and I can hear elk bugling! What a great way to start the day with the sound of animals.

I'm glassing when I hear a vehicle rumbling from the southeast down a dirt road toward me. I watch the deer to see how they react and they are instantly on alert (duh). Here's a fine example of polite Nevada hunters; two guys in an F150 come SCREAMING down my spur road and seriously about drive off into the canyon as they zoom past me and my truck and even further down the finger into the sagebrush. Great. Now what? These yay-hoos going to hunt exactly where I am? I couldn't be more thrilled. So, after about 10 minutes of them glassing, they back up their truck and slide backward in the snow, roll their windows down and yell out "Any luck?". I reply "Nope". They proceed to tell me they have seen over 80 deer but none with horns; I congratulate them. Then they tell me
they are elk hunting. Literally there are elk bugling about 1200 yards away and you can see racks just outside of the basin but because they were so extremely rude I decided to keep my mouth shut. They turn around and scream off back toward where they came from. Bastards.

So I continue glassing, looking for any sign of deer in the basin and after a bit I see some does and yearlings wandering around feeding. I thought to myself, maybe I should head over there and see if I can kick something up, especially since I had seen bucks in there a couple times. So I load up my Mystery Ranch CC and rifle and head out. I go about 450 yards and get to a good, open spot to glass so I sit down in the snow and start glassing. By this time, there are around 2 dozen does and yearlings grazing so I watch them for awhile, continuing to look for horns. Out of the left side of my glass, I catch a flicker of something. Low and behold, the 3 bucks, including the monster are feeding out of the far aspen ravine and out into the sage, heading toward all the females. Problem is, they are suspicious and looking all around. So, I watch them walk from about 750 yards (when I first see them) to around 900 yards. All the while, at least one of the three bucks is covering every angle and keeping an eye on the blob in the open. Remember in 'Water Boy' when Vicki Valencourt tells Bobby to "get out there and make something happen"? That's exactly what I did; I wanted the big guy so when he walked into some thick manzanita/mahogany, I decided I didn't care about the other bucks and I'd make a run for it. About 100 yards to my left was a deep ravine with aspen trees and I knew if I could make it there, the shot wouldn't be that bad on the buck. So I took off running across the hill and made it to the ravine. I worked my way to the end of it where the aspen trees stopped and got behind the last aspen tree. As luck would have it, there was a perfect rest for my gun on a dead aspen.

I pulled out the binos and started glassing, trying to locate animals. Gone. Not a deer in sight! They must have seen me and bailed. Dangit! But, I stayed there and continued to look; about 20 minutes later, guess what I see? The big boy coming out from behind a patch of manzanita/mahogany close to the patch he entered before I took off running! I figure he must have not been spooked because he didn't see me but all the others went ahead and took off. Didn't matter to me; he was the one I was after! So, he moves out into the open, looking around cautiously. He never really gave a good broadside shot so I waited patiently for the right time. He mulled around for about 10 minutes and weaved in and out of thick cover and open areas. But, I wasn't worried. I had plenty of time and continued to wait for the opportunity. About then, he meanders into another grove of
manzanita/mahogany and never comes out. I watched that patch intently for what seemed like forever. 5 minutes turned to 45 and ended up pushing 60... All the while, the only thing I see are some does/yearlings feeding back into the basin, apparently not scared of the blob that ran across the hillside not too long ago. Right around that 1 hour mark, I catch some movement out of the patch. However, it's not the big boy. It was one of the 3 points! But wait, was there a trap door the big guy used to escape? Impossible! Then, a couple minutes later, the other big 3 point walks out. Finally, a few minutes later, the big guy steps out. He's perfectly broadside and I range him at 450 yards. I've been shooting for awhile out to 600 yards comfortably so this was going to be pretty easy. In my mind he was already boned out and in the cooler on the way to the butcher. I pull up the 300WSM and put the BDC scope to work, resting the notch on his vitals.......
 
Monday, October 5th (continued)

I squeeze the trigger and after the recoil, look to see the result of the shot. Inconcievable! A clean miss. WTH happened? The bucks don't move but instead start looking around to find the shooter. Good luck; I'm camo'd to the hilt embedded in the aspen and sage! I jack another shell and squeeze again. Another miss. No way. What is going on?!?! I jack another and fire. Missed again. Load the final shell and squeeze. Another miss. My heart sinks as all the bucks and does take off and bail into the canyon below at full tilt. I cannot believe I just missed with a steady rest and all the time in the world. My shots were all over the place; over his back, low and hitting rocks, to the left...it was like looking at the scatter pattern of a shotgun...absolutely ridiculous! I thought to myself, okay, maybe you were flinching and pulling the gun so let's get back in the game and do this again. I get out the binos and to my surprise, I see the 3 big bucks working their way secretly coming up the other side of the deep canyon and weaving through another aspen patch, about ready to head into the wide open, rocky hillside. I use another aspen tree for a rest and steady the gun. Range = 550 yards. Still a comfortable distance so I squeeze again at the big guy. I look but don't see any bucks at all. Yay! Could it be that I nailed him and he's down behind that little fir tree in the aspen patch and rocks? I grab my pack and gun and head down toward the bottom of the canyon. I stop and look for blood where I first shot. Nothing. I start working my way on a steep sidehill, opposite the side they were on and start glassing, looking for the monster. I glass the grove where I last saw and shot and continue for about 5 minutes. I don't see a thing. I sit there on the incline and take a break before I head down and over to the patch to check for blood. About 15 minutes later, I see the 3 bucks coming out of a ravine with some heavy manzanita/mahogany cover and they are headed up their steep side of the rocky canyon, toward a deep ravine with aspens! What luck is this?!?! I don't deserve this many chances! Range = 300 yards. Closest shot yet, so I steady the rifle and squeeze. A miss as I hear the thwack and spit of dust as I nail a rock below the big guy. I shoot again and another miss; another rock hit to the side of him. I think I'm going to be sick. Either I'm flinching or my gun is seriously screwed up. I call it quits and watch in shame as the bucks walk off calmly.

I head down to the bottom of the canyon, up the other side and check for blood. Nothing. I go back down into the canyon and get some water from the stream. On a positive note, I find a lot of really great elk grounds down there so that was cool. By this time, it's around 3pm and I start hiking out of this hole and back to the truck. I get to the truck around 4:30 and get some grub. I start glassing and by about 6pm I see the 3 big bucks pushing some does about 3 or 4 miles away, higher on the mountain and on the same side of the canyon they traversed earlier. Dark set in but I was optimistic they would circle back and come hang out in their favorite basin by the morning. I was so demoralized I was pretty much ready to leave first thing in the morning if I didn't see anything.
 
Tuesday, October 6th

Again, I woke and was glassing by 6am but the only animals I found were does and yearlings about 1500 yards to the east and a bunch more to the southeast, close to 2000 yards. No horns. No animals whatsoever in the basin. No bucks or does up in the high
country where they had been the night before. At this point, I was so frustrated I packed up and started thawing the truck, ready to head home. I started driving out of the high country and look to my right down a ravine and see a bunch of deer. Stop the truck and start glassing. A bunch of does and yearlings. Curiosity gets the better of me and I wonder how close I can get to them so I drive down the spur road to within 100 yards and they continue to feed, knowing they are safe from the diesel rig coming down the hill. I glass the ridges coming up out of the ravine and see a spike or forked horn meandering through the trees and range him at 200 yards. Feeling a renewed zest for the hunt, I take the truck down the road about a half a mile and park on a knob. My plan is to circle around the knob with the ridge the buck was coming up and intercept him for a close range shot. I load up my pack and get everything in order to head out. But, I get the feeling I'm being watched so I start looking around and within a minute or so, I find 4 bucks on a high ridge above the basin I had been watching the past few days (picture positionally I'm south of the big basin I had been hunting and I'm looking north toward it). Range = 900 yards. 1 spike and 3 new bucks; 2 - 4 points and a 3 point. These aren't the same bucks as the other 3 big ones I had been hunting, but they were still very respectible bucks. They were feeding with 2 does and were out in the open (sage). Nothing but sage in between them and myself. How in the world could I get close to them? In the meantime I notice another herd of about a dozen deer about 2000 yards away to the west, feeding up a steep rocky slope to a rim. Talk about awesome country and loads of animals!

I figure that there's no way I could close the distance to get a shot off at any of the bucks on the ridge so I hatch a plan; I unload the quad and throw my pack on it. I start heading back down the road I just drove down with the truck and figure that since it climbs in elevation, I can use that to my advantage and then sidehill it over toward those bucks and try to intercept them as they fed along the ridge. No sooner than I head down the road then all 6 deer bail up and over that ridge and down into the basin. I continue on, knowing that I have that basin down like the back of my hand and have a good chance at getting on the animals. I run up and park the quad next to the road and start my trek up. Along the way I pass several does and yearlings at 100 yards and they feed without worry. I make it up to the ridge and cross over the top and then begin glassing. I decide to backtrack a little and sit out on a rocky outcropping for a bit since it gave a better vantage point of both aspen ravines, along with the basin; essentially I had almost a 360 degree spot to watch for animals. About 15 minutes of sitting and glassing and I see something flicker to my right; it's the little dinky spike slowly grazing up the ravine, about ready to head over the saddle I just came up. So I slowly peel down the rock face and run down the rocky ridge and find a nice rock to rest my gun on. I range the end of the aspens and the open area is only 125 yards. The spike walks out and stops and I squeeze the trigger while he's broadside. A poof of sage near the deer explodes and he looks around nervous. What?!?! Another miss? No way. I jack another shell and squeeze another; the bullet hits one of the big aspen trees! Another clean miss. What the hell is going on??? I could have just pulled out my knife and thrown it for a kill at that distance. He takes off and heads back down the ravine where he came from. Now I'm convinced something is seriously screwed on my rifle. The remainder of the morning and through to the evening was fairly uneventful from a buck perspective; I found 2 new 3 point bucks that fed up out of the bottom of the canyon and into the basin but they never materialized up high on the ridge with me. I did see loads and loads of does and yearlings. They are plenty safe from me and my retarded gun, not to mention they can't be shot anyway.


Stay tuned for the finally tomorrow................
 
Sounds like a snipe hunt to me... Who misses that many times w/o resighting their gun?
 
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