MTPharmHunter
New member
I had an awesome opportunity last Wednesday to go spotting for a good friend as he hunted his western MT mule draw tag. This is what we came up with! It was his first mule deer and an awesome hunt, we saw bucks everywhere rutting their brains out. Watched two bucks fighting on the hill above us from the pickup after dragging his buck out.
All of the rut activity got me really fired up to do some hunting. The only problem was I had to be in Sheridan WY a day and a half later for work. My solution was to leave Alberton MT at 4:00 am 11/14 drive to eastern Mt where I had bow hunted deer a couple days, try to kill a deer that afternoon and then continue on to Sheridan to work Friday morning. 529 miles after leaving home that morning I was hunting! I had seen a ton of deer on this particular state land during bow season including passing on a forky at 13 yards with my bow! I covered a good portion of the public land without seeing anything and then it happened. I spotted a buck standing in some brush 2 draws away. I quickly closed the distance to 220 yds and started getting set up for the shot. As I was getting in a good shooting position I heard a pickup coming towards me (there are no open roads on this state land). I watched as a pickup with 4 hunters drove between me and the buck, about 70 yards from the buck. I was intensely watching the buck as he stared at the pickup obliviously and illegally driving between us. I got ready and when the buck presented a shot I put him down with the .257 Weatherby!
While watching to make sure he was down for good it hit me what I had just done... I had killed a deer 500 miles from anyone I know that may have been able to help me, I had a reservation at the Holiday Inn Express for the next 6 days for work, and was over a mile from my pickup... Unfortunately my mild state of panic lead to very few and fairly poor quality field photos. I immediately went into work mode. After just over an hour (my first attempt at the gutless method) I had the entire deer quartered and the head strapped on my pack. I had to do the old, sit on the ground and strap the pack on, then roll onto my hands and knees, and then stand up maneuver to get myself upright. After a very rewarding 1 mile + I was back at my pickup as darkness moved in.
I made it to Sheridan around 8:00 that night. My plan was to find a meat locker in town to hang the deer for me for several days and then cut it up either on my tailgate in the hotel parking lot or in my room, however, I found a place in Buffalo WY that would take the quartered deer and process it for me for a very reasonable price.
This is the first deer I've ever packed out completely on my own! It was an awesome experience that I will never forget. It always pays off to be in the woods during the rut, no matter how far you have to drive!
Hopefully these pictures come through, I've never attempted to upload pictures to a thread before.
All of the rut activity got me really fired up to do some hunting. The only problem was I had to be in Sheridan WY a day and a half later for work. My solution was to leave Alberton MT at 4:00 am 11/14 drive to eastern Mt where I had bow hunted deer a couple days, try to kill a deer that afternoon and then continue on to Sheridan to work Friday morning. 529 miles after leaving home that morning I was hunting! I had seen a ton of deer on this particular state land during bow season including passing on a forky at 13 yards with my bow! I covered a good portion of the public land without seeing anything and then it happened. I spotted a buck standing in some brush 2 draws away. I quickly closed the distance to 220 yds and started getting set up for the shot. As I was getting in a good shooting position I heard a pickup coming towards me (there are no open roads on this state land). I watched as a pickup with 4 hunters drove between me and the buck, about 70 yards from the buck. I was intensely watching the buck as he stared at the pickup obliviously and illegally driving between us. I got ready and when the buck presented a shot I put him down with the .257 Weatherby!
While watching to make sure he was down for good it hit me what I had just done... I had killed a deer 500 miles from anyone I know that may have been able to help me, I had a reservation at the Holiday Inn Express for the next 6 days for work, and was over a mile from my pickup... Unfortunately my mild state of panic lead to very few and fairly poor quality field photos. I immediately went into work mode. After just over an hour (my first attempt at the gutless method) I had the entire deer quartered and the head strapped on my pack. I had to do the old, sit on the ground and strap the pack on, then roll onto my hands and knees, and then stand up maneuver to get myself upright. After a very rewarding 1 mile + I was back at my pickup as darkness moved in.
I made it to Sheridan around 8:00 that night. My plan was to find a meat locker in town to hang the deer for me for several days and then cut it up either on my tailgate in the hotel parking lot or in my room, however, I found a place in Buffalo WY that would take the quartered deer and process it for me for a very reasonable price.
This is the first deer I've ever packed out completely on my own! It was an awesome experience that I will never forget. It always pays off to be in the woods during the rut, no matter how far you have to drive!
Hopefully these pictures come through, I've never attempted to upload pictures to a thread before.
