OYOA Goes to ND for Mule Deer
- Thread starter Big Fin
- Start date
NDhunter33
New member
Great job!! Anyone who can hunt in ND this time of year ,gets a big thum's up.The real cold is on the way,this is just the start!
stillkickin
Well-known member
Great job Randy, good luck to Buschy to top off another great episode!!!!!!!!!!
T Bone
Well-known member
Way to stick with it guys!
Randy, now you know first hand why bowhunting is the ultimate high. no matter the conditions, being up close and personnal makes it all worthwhile. surprising how fast you warm up after that arrows take flight. congrats on a great hunt. and a true trophy.
sweetnectar
New member
I did some ranching around the Beach ND area one summer. If I remember correctly I saw 2 or 3 deer the whole time I was there. I hope all of North Dakota isn't like that.
shoots-straight
Well-known member
Great hunt Fin, congrats on a great trophy.
I wish all these posts didn't start out with the weather was blah blah blah....... So, I will just post a pic to show the temp when we left the truck this morning.
It was one of the coolest mornings I have ever spent in the field hunting. Not so much the amount of game, but it had the coolest sunrise and the heaviest layer of hoarfrost (as some call it, pogonip) I have ever seen. I was glad to not be carrying my bow, and was allowed to run around with my camera in hand, cold hands to be exact. Took enough pics that my battery died.
The morning started great. Immediately, we located a nice 4X4 with a group of does. I thought Buschy was going to be done in the first twenty minutes. As he snuck towards the ledge above the draw they were in, the does spooked and tool the buck with them. Buschy really had no cover and the does were high on the bank. The only hope was to move quietly, and like most exposed stalks, did not work out.
Shortly after, we hiked out to the end of a point overlooking a big basin. We could see a lot of fresh tracks in the snow, so I volunteered to circle the basin while Buschy and Troy set up on the most likely exit route. Really, I just wanted to get some circulation going.
I waited for those guys to get set up, then dropped down the ridge and into the bottom. I had not gone 300 yards and I noticed a very nice 3X3 off to my left, He was headed my way, coming the wrong direction. I intentionally made some racket as I climbed a small knoll to make myself very visible. The very heavy beamed buck did just what I hoped. He turned tail and headed right up the draw Buschy and Troy were set in. Wow, this was too good.
I watched as the buck rounded the corner and went out of site, I climbed higher to gain a vantage point and hope to watch Buschy arrow this tall 24" dude. The last I saw the buck, he was just below the crest of a bench where I thought the guys were hidden in the brush. I then lost site of him. I circled higher and further, until I relocated the buck. He was now headed back toward where he had just come, only higher on the ridge. When I saw Buschy and Troy emerge from the brush, they had been only 120 yards from the buck. Had the buck come up the bench, he would have been no more than 60 yards at the crest, and closer, had he walked down the direction of the trail. Not sure what happened, but it sure looked good for a while.
After meeting up with Buschy and Troy, I told them I had seen where some other deer had exited to our north. Buschy knew a trail that would take us to a bench up above that. We climbed to the highest knob and instantly glassed a small group of deer. Then another group. And another. There were over thirty deer on that hillside, starting to bed.
A plan was made where Buschy and Troy would circle way around and set up where the deer would most likely leave this basin. I waited the forty minutes for them to get in position, then slowly started down the ridge, making myself visible as I moved in and out of the brush. My intention was not to spook the deer, but make them uncomfortable enough that they would move out of the basin.
The plan worked to perfection. The deer moved out of the basin on the trail Buschy thought they would take. I really had to do nothing, other than walk the half mile it took to get up that hill. I watched as the deer got to the crest where I had seen Buschy set up. I was pretty excited, as he would have had thirty yard shooting, and their were four nice bucks in the group, the nicest being a very wide and tall 4X3.
I arrived to the set-up and watched from afar as Buschy and Troy were messing around and filming deer. What the hell. I walked up and saw that Buschy had all of his arrows still in his quiver. No blood on the snow. Not sure what happened in the situation, as I was not there. I guess I will have to let Buschy or Troy give that recount.
The rest of the day was spent continuing to hike. No other close calls were had. We spotted close to fifty deer in the evening, but no bucks that were worth the long walk it would take to get near them. I at dark, we saw a very heavy and wide 3X3 that had some injury to his hinds. On the top of his rump is a big piece of fur sticking up about three inches. I think this is one Buschy wants to try for tomorrow. I hope we can relocate him.
Very tired and need to get to bed. Posting a few of the pics from today. A very cold day.
Troy filming the pre-morning glow.
Troy filming the sun as it just peaks over the horizon.
A full moon and some serious frost on the pumpkin (well not a pumpkin, but an ash tree).
Buschy and Troy hoofing it down the ridge as Fin tries to get his frozen pinkies to work the camera.
The sun just starting to burn the frost off another tree. I was finally starting to feel my cheeks.
Buschy doing his best to smile with frozen lips and face.
It was one of the coolest mornings I have ever spent in the field hunting. Not so much the amount of game, but it had the coolest sunrise and the heaviest layer of hoarfrost (as some call it, pogonip) I have ever seen. I was glad to not be carrying my bow, and was allowed to run around with my camera in hand, cold hands to be exact. Took enough pics that my battery died.
The morning started great. Immediately, we located a nice 4X4 with a group of does. I thought Buschy was going to be done in the first twenty minutes. As he snuck towards the ledge above the draw they were in, the does spooked and tool the buck with them. Buschy really had no cover and the does were high on the bank. The only hope was to move quietly, and like most exposed stalks, did not work out.
Shortly after, we hiked out to the end of a point overlooking a big basin. We could see a lot of fresh tracks in the snow, so I volunteered to circle the basin while Buschy and Troy set up on the most likely exit route. Really, I just wanted to get some circulation going.
I waited for those guys to get set up, then dropped down the ridge and into the bottom. I had not gone 300 yards and I noticed a very nice 3X3 off to my left, He was headed my way, coming the wrong direction. I intentionally made some racket as I climbed a small knoll to make myself very visible. The very heavy beamed buck did just what I hoped. He turned tail and headed right up the draw Buschy and Troy were set in. Wow, this was too good.
I watched as the buck rounded the corner and went out of site, I climbed higher to gain a vantage point and hope to watch Buschy arrow this tall 24" dude. The last I saw the buck, he was just below the crest of a bench where I thought the guys were hidden in the brush. I then lost site of him. I circled higher and further, until I relocated the buck. He was now headed back toward where he had just come, only higher on the ridge. When I saw Buschy and Troy emerge from the brush, they had been only 120 yards from the buck. Had the buck come up the bench, he would have been no more than 60 yards at the crest, and closer, had he walked down the direction of the trail. Not sure what happened, but it sure looked good for a while.
After meeting up with Buschy and Troy, I told them I had seen where some other deer had exited to our north. Buschy knew a trail that would take us to a bench up above that. We climbed to the highest knob and instantly glassed a small group of deer. Then another group. And another. There were over thirty deer on that hillside, starting to bed.
A plan was made where Buschy and Troy would circle way around and set up where the deer would most likely leave this basin. I waited the forty minutes for them to get in position, then slowly started down the ridge, making myself visible as I moved in and out of the brush. My intention was not to spook the deer, but make them uncomfortable enough that they would move out of the basin.
The plan worked to perfection. The deer moved out of the basin on the trail Buschy thought they would take. I really had to do nothing, other than walk the half mile it took to get up that hill. I watched as the deer got to the crest where I had seen Buschy set up. I was pretty excited, as he would have had thirty yard shooting, and their were four nice bucks in the group, the nicest being a very wide and tall 4X3.
I arrived to the set-up and watched from afar as Buschy and Troy were messing around and filming deer. What the hell. I walked up and saw that Buschy had all of his arrows still in his quiver. No blood on the snow. Not sure what happened in the situation, as I was not there. I guess I will have to let Buschy or Troy give that recount.
The rest of the day was spent continuing to hike. No other close calls were had. We spotted close to fifty deer in the evening, but no bucks that were worth the long walk it would take to get near them. I at dark, we saw a very heavy and wide 3X3 that had some injury to his hinds. On the top of his rump is a big piece of fur sticking up about three inches. I think this is one Buschy wants to try for tomorrow. I hope we can relocate him.
Very tired and need to get to bed. Posting a few of the pics from today. A very cold day.
Troy filming the pre-morning glow.
Troy filming the sun as it just peaks over the horizon.
A full moon and some serious frost on the pumpkin (well not a pumpkin, but an ash tree).
Buschy and Troy hoofing it down the ridge as Fin tries to get his frozen pinkies to work the camera.
The sun just starting to burn the frost off another tree. I was finally starting to feel my cheeks.
Buschy doing his best to smile with frozen lips and face.
photofin
New member
I had to give my two cents in this plot being as cameramen are usually blamed for messing up the hunt. Randy pulled out an amazing feat yesterday. I was behind him the whole time filming and watched him shake and bake for 17 minutes. How in the world he drew the bow back after having his gloves off in freezing temps like that, I don't know, but the footage is epic. This show is going to be one of our best if we can keep it going.
I've already hacked into Buschy pretty deep about not seeing bucks but after yesterday's kill I've been a lot more lenient on him. Today the true colors of his feminine gloves were shining thru(his lucky sparkly gloves) While they haven't been lucky for him yet we did see a TON of deer today. We had 3 nice bucks run past us at 30 yards...on the uphill side with thick brush between us. I was of course blamed for Buschy not getting a shot even though he didn't have a shot if I wasn't there. But I took it like a man, like most cameramen have to, and we moved to the next spot. We were close again right at dark.
The hoarfrost was epic today. I took a ton of still photos and will post them when we get back to Montana. I'm sure Randy will post a few shortly of what he took. Started the day out at 14 below, 3 days straight of tropical North Dakota weather. Hopefully we can get Buschy to stop chasing bucks who still love the taste of milk and go after the "mysterious" big dogs we keep hearing him talk about.
I've already hacked into Buschy pretty deep about not seeing bucks but after yesterday's kill I've been a lot more lenient on him. Today the true colors of his feminine gloves were shining thru(his lucky sparkly gloves) While they haven't been lucky for him yet we did see a TON of deer today. We had 3 nice bucks run past us at 30 yards...on the uphill side with thick brush between us. I was of course blamed for Buschy not getting a shot even though he didn't have a shot if I wasn't there. But I took it like a man, like most cameramen have to, and we moved to the next spot. We were close again right at dark.
The hoarfrost was epic today. I took a ton of still photos and will post them when we get back to Montana. I'm sure Randy will post a few shortly of what he took. Started the day out at 14 below, 3 days straight of tropical North Dakota weather. Hopefully we can get Buschy to stop chasing bucks who still love the taste of milk and go after the "mysterious" big dogs we keep hearing him talk about.
sweetnectar
New member
You guys will be smiling for the next 5 days until your faces thaw.
photofin
New member
this is the kind of deer we keep hearing about......not sure where he lives...but I'm thinking somewhere outside of North Dakota.
Randy and I are just trying to figure out where Buschy bought his big mule deer bucks in previous years so that he could take his picture with them.
Randy and I are just trying to figure out where Buschy bought his big mule deer bucks in previous years so that he could take his picture with them.
I am at the truck waiting for Buschy. We split up and were glassing different areas this morning. He and Troy headed NE, and said they would meet me at the truck after a "while.". Well, maybe a while is a few hours here in ND. Or, maybe Buschy found a buck, but to do so in this whiteout, the buck would have to be decked out like Rudolph to be visible. Thought about heading their direction to watch the action unfold, but would probably stumble into his set up.
Seems like a good nap time for me. More when I wake up.
Seems like a good nap time for me. More when I wake up.
upper deck
Member
Fin. Sounds like the plan of attack I would take. Or course you could alway go stand by the fence post from day one it sounds like they would be in that area a couple time in the next few hours.
montanadogs
New member
Big Fin, Buschy is lost. Might as well head back to the hotel for a nap. He'll come wandering in sometime this weekend with more mysterious pictures of gigantic bucks.( I hope he has one down the weather is getting nasty)
Buschy finally showed up about an hour after that post. He thought he could see some bucks through the snow. Troy confirmed that what Buschy was seeing was some sort of mirage indicative of hypothermia. All the footage showed was just a whiteout blizzard.
Once we got back in synch, we glassed up a big batch of deer, with two bucks. Buschy and Troy circled in down wind and about 80 yards behind them. I made a half mile loop and came out above them and made myself visible, hoping to cause the deer to move to Buschy. Plan worked to perfection. The deer came by at ranges of 5 to 50 yards. Unfortunately, none of the bucks stopped and given that we cannot shoot running deer, and given that Buschy doesn' try to arrow running deer, those bucks are still out there.
We then made another attempt on the same spot where I pushed the deer to Buschy yesterday. This time, they set up in a better location. I really didn't have to do much on this bump. A badger did the work for me. I have never seen a badger run around like this one, but he ran right into the brush where the deer were bedded and sent them on their way. The deer came out about 30 yards from Buschy and then turned and walked right up to the set up, probably to a distance of less than 15 yards. But, no bucks in the group.
In the late afternoon we glassed up over 40 deer. A few bucks, and one we made a last-light stalk on. Like most mature mule deer bucks, as soon as we dropped out of sight for the stalk, he got up and moved off, leaving nothing but a bed of melted snow.
Not sure what the plan will be for tomorrow. It is the last day. Today was downright balmy compared to the other days. It was all the way up to 14F and the wind only blew to gusts of maybe 15 mph. Thought about taking a few layers off, but better judgment dictated otherwise. Tomorrow is supposed to have highs of single digits, so that should be weather like we have grown more accustomed to in the last week. Just our style.
Didn't take any pics today. Was too busy running up and down the coulees hoping to find a buck or carrying out some hair brained scheme that Buschy had diagrammed in the snow. Still at a loss for how he has shot the archery bucks he has the last three years. I told him that since ND allows game farms, I might do a close inspection of those pictures he posted and make sure there are no ear tags in those bucks. He laughed, knowing how rare of a feat it is to shoot a big mule deer using spot and stalk archery methods. Hope we get to see one the size of what he has shot in the past, but as of today, those are still a phantom. As of this time tomorrow, I hope one of them is a reality and no longer a ghost of the badlands.
Once we got back in synch, we glassed up a big batch of deer, with two bucks. Buschy and Troy circled in down wind and about 80 yards behind them. I made a half mile loop and came out above them and made myself visible, hoping to cause the deer to move to Buschy. Plan worked to perfection. The deer came by at ranges of 5 to 50 yards. Unfortunately, none of the bucks stopped and given that we cannot shoot running deer, and given that Buschy doesn' try to arrow running deer, those bucks are still out there.
We then made another attempt on the same spot where I pushed the deer to Buschy yesterday. This time, they set up in a better location. I really didn't have to do much on this bump. A badger did the work for me. I have never seen a badger run around like this one, but he ran right into the brush where the deer were bedded and sent them on their way. The deer came out about 30 yards from Buschy and then turned and walked right up to the set up, probably to a distance of less than 15 yards. But, no bucks in the group.
In the late afternoon we glassed up over 40 deer. A few bucks, and one we made a last-light stalk on. Like most mature mule deer bucks, as soon as we dropped out of sight for the stalk, he got up and moved off, leaving nothing but a bed of melted snow.
Not sure what the plan will be for tomorrow. It is the last day. Today was downright balmy compared to the other days. It was all the way up to 14F and the wind only blew to gusts of maybe 15 mph. Thought about taking a few layers off, but better judgment dictated otherwise. Tomorrow is supposed to have highs of single digits, so that should be weather like we have grown more accustomed to in the last week. Just our style.
Didn't take any pics today. Was too busy running up and down the coulees hoping to find a buck or carrying out some hair brained scheme that Buschy had diagrammed in the snow. Still at a loss for how he has shot the archery bucks he has the last three years. I told him that since ND allows game farms, I might do a close inspection of those pictures he posted and make sure there are no ear tags in those bucks. He laughed, knowing how rare of a feat it is to shoot a big mule deer using spot and stalk archery methods. Hope we get to see one the size of what he has shot in the past, but as of today, those are still a phantom. As of this time tomorrow, I hope one of them is a reality and no longer a ghost of the badlands.
Grizzley
Member
Good luck on the final day of filming...with Buschy's luck this year he will pull one out tomorrow!
Dinkshooter
Well-known member
If you are born stupid.........you better be tough
Dinkshooter
Well-known member
Bushy's Beautiful Buckhole before:
Bushy's Beautiful Buckhole after:
Bushy's Beautiful Buckhole after:
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