PorterHouse
Well-known member
Ding ding ding...we have a winner.
You know, I really should have added a Daily Coyote Count to this thread to go along with the Deer Seen and Miles Hiked numbers.
Two Southern Boys Head North...WAYYY North!
- Thread starter PorterHouse
- Start date
You know, I really should have added a Daily Coyote Count to this thread to go along with the Deer Seen and Miles Hiked numbers.
PorterHouse
Well-known member
Literally any of those would have been better than another dog!
PorterHouse
Well-known member
Day 5:
The next morning broke much colder with a few inches of snow on the ground. We had decided to try a new area for the morning hunt. This spot was closer to town, and not knowing how many others might have the same idea, we made sure to get moving early. After a quick 20 minute drive, we parked the truck at a pull-in just off the blacktop and waited to start our hike in.
As shooting light neared, we got our packs on and started our 1 mile trek to the knob we had scoped out as a good glassing spot overlooking the large drainage we would be hunting that morning. The air was fresh, and though it was cold out, the snow was a welcome change of pace. We knew the deer would “pop” against the white background.
We got to our glassing spot, put extra layers on, and started glassing…me facing south and T-Beau facing north. As the sun rose and started to light up the different folds of the creek drainage below us, T-Beau says, “I got deer." Sure enough, to the west, you could see a buck pushing some does…didn’t even need binos to see them.
I checked OnX cause I knew we didn’t have a ton of public real estate to work with in that direction and sure enough, they looked to be right on the boundary. We quickly discussed and decided to make a move. Hopefully they would continue on their current path and we could head them off and maybe get a shot (they were on public, or at least very close, when we spotted them).
The descent to the bottom was steeper than most other places we had been during the week and we did a little slipping and sliding in the snow on the way down. We hustled across the bottom and tried to get back up on top on the other side. Long story short, we pushed to within about 200 yards of the boundary only to find the deer deeper on private, seemingly no closer than when we started our pursuit.
T-Beau exclaimed, “I’m starting to think mule deer only head one direction, and that’s away from us!” I chuckled and told him, “Sure feels like it.”
We ended up making a loop and hunted our way back to the truck. Not seeing anything, we decided it was on to the next spot.
The next morning broke much colder with a few inches of snow on the ground. We had decided to try a new area for the morning hunt. This spot was closer to town, and not knowing how many others might have the same idea, we made sure to get moving early. After a quick 20 minute drive, we parked the truck at a pull-in just off the blacktop and waited to start our hike in.
As shooting light neared, we got our packs on and started our 1 mile trek to the knob we had scoped out as a good glassing spot overlooking the large drainage we would be hunting that morning. The air was fresh, and though it was cold out, the snow was a welcome change of pace. We knew the deer would “pop” against the white background.
We got to our glassing spot, put extra layers on, and started glassing…me facing south and T-Beau facing north. As the sun rose and started to light up the different folds of the creek drainage below us, T-Beau says, “I got deer." Sure enough, to the west, you could see a buck pushing some does…didn’t even need binos to see them.
I checked OnX cause I knew we didn’t have a ton of public real estate to work with in that direction and sure enough, they looked to be right on the boundary. We quickly discussed and decided to make a move. Hopefully they would continue on their current path and we could head them off and maybe get a shot (they were on public, or at least very close, when we spotted them).
The descent to the bottom was steeper than most other places we had been during the week and we did a little slipping and sliding in the snow on the way down. We hustled across the bottom and tried to get back up on top on the other side. Long story short, we pushed to within about 200 yards of the boundary only to find the deer deeper on private, seemingly no closer than when we started our pursuit.
T-Beau exclaimed, “I’m starting to think mule deer only head one direction, and that’s away from us!” I chuckled and told him, “Sure feels like it.”
We ended up making a loop and hunted our way back to the truck. Not seeing anything, we decided it was on to the next spot.
cahunter805
Well-known member
- Joined
- May 27, 2014
- Messages
- 2,464
Excellent story so far!
General question- I’m curious why people don’t shoot coyotes while hunt? I heard and read this all the time. I used to be this way also but now shoot them any chance I can. I’ve shot a coyote and walked 10-15 yards around the hill and deer are feeding there. I don’t think a distant gun shot scares away deer.
General question- I’m curious why people don’t shoot coyotes while hunt? I heard and read this all the time. I used to be this way also but now shoot them any chance I can. I’ve shot a coyote and walked 10-15 yards around the hill and deer are feeding there. I don’t think a distant gun shot scares away deer.
i just have no interest. waste of time, waste of ammo, won't change anything about coyote population and distribution. and even if on some occasions it doesn't, it could absolutely bust out the buck that was hiding out of sight, in fact more times than not you run that risk IMO.
and really killing stuff out of spite just doesn't really interest me, personally.
PorterHouse
Well-known member
Day 5 continued:
We had a few places marked on the map much further north of where we had been the previous days. We figured now was as good a time as any to make the trek up there. There were some county roads and two tracks leading to some areas we wanted to check out so we figured we’d do a little road hunting of our own midday…see if anything was still up and moving, get a lay of the land, and make a plan for where we wanted to hike into that afternoon.
I wasn’t particularly optimistic. At this point, in my mind, we’re checking spots off the map and going to grind it out until the bitter end…if I end up with tag soup, it ain’t gonna be for lack of effort.
We drive the 30 miles or so north to where we will pull off the blacktop and onto a dusty (I mean snowy) two track. What do you know but we find ourselves in a massive fog bank where we can’t see 50’ in front of us in certain spots. I get a text from my wife asking, “How's it going?” I tell her, “I feel like we can’t catch a break”, with a picture of the fog we’re sitting in.
T-Beau and I sit in the truck for a while debating what to do. There’s more snow on the ground here and it’s about 10 degrees colder than where we came from so we know there’s a possibility for animals to still be out and about, we just have to be able to see them.
I’m not sure exactly how long we sat there. I was looking at other potential options on OnX when he finally says, “Hey, it looks like it’s lifting some.” Sure enough, we can see patches of blue sky starting to appear. That being the case, we decide to stick to the plan that brought us up here in the first place, and we head in off of the pavement.
There is a set of tire tracks in the snow as we cross the cattle guard so we know someone has already been in here. Undeterred, we press on. It’s not long before T-Beau says, “Stop the truck”.
Y’all can probably predict what happens next. Pull the binos out…another coyote. We keep going.
At about the 2 mile mark, whoever was in there before us decided they had seen enough and turned around and headed out. Now, except for rabbit tracks we can see over the hood, we know we have untouched snow in front of us. As we keep putt-putting along, we see more rabbit tracks but I comment to T-Beau on the lack of deer tracks. Not five minutes after those words leave my mouth, we cut our first set. That’s a positive…we know deer have at least been in here at some point since the snow fell.
Minutes later, we come around a corner and off to our left in this little swale, I see something that catches my eye. Before I even get the binos up, I’m almost positive I’m looking at a deer.
We had a few places marked on the map much further north of where we had been the previous days. We figured now was as good a time as any to make the trek up there. There were some county roads and two tracks leading to some areas we wanted to check out so we figured we’d do a little road hunting of our own midday…see if anything was still up and moving, get a lay of the land, and make a plan for where we wanted to hike into that afternoon.
I wasn’t particularly optimistic. At this point, in my mind, we’re checking spots off the map and going to grind it out until the bitter end…if I end up with tag soup, it ain’t gonna be for lack of effort.
We drive the 30 miles or so north to where we will pull off the blacktop and onto a dusty (I mean snowy) two track. What do you know but we find ourselves in a massive fog bank where we can’t see 50’ in front of us in certain spots. I get a text from my wife asking, “How's it going?” I tell her, “I feel like we can’t catch a break”, with a picture of the fog we’re sitting in.
T-Beau and I sit in the truck for a while debating what to do. There’s more snow on the ground here and it’s about 10 degrees colder than where we came from so we know there’s a possibility for animals to still be out and about, we just have to be able to see them.
I’m not sure exactly how long we sat there. I was looking at other potential options on OnX when he finally says, “Hey, it looks like it’s lifting some.” Sure enough, we can see patches of blue sky starting to appear. That being the case, we decide to stick to the plan that brought us up here in the first place, and we head in off of the pavement.
There is a set of tire tracks in the snow as we cross the cattle guard so we know someone has already been in here. Undeterred, we press on. It’s not long before T-Beau says, “Stop the truck”.
Y’all can probably predict what happens next. Pull the binos out…another coyote. We keep going.
At about the 2 mile mark, whoever was in there before us decided they had seen enough and turned around and headed out. Now, except for rabbit tracks we can see over the hood, we know we have untouched snow in front of us. As we keep putt-putting along, we see more rabbit tracks but I comment to T-Beau on the lack of deer tracks. Not five minutes after those words leave my mouth, we cut our first set. That’s a positive…we know deer have at least been in here at some point since the snow fell.
Minutes later, we come around a corner and off to our left in this little swale, I see something that catches my eye. Before I even get the binos up, I’m almost positive I’m looking at a deer.
PorterHouse
Well-known member
Stop the truck, throw up the binos…it’s a doe.
T-Beau is looking too, with my rifle sitting in his lap, and says, “I think there’s a buck in there.” I’m looking at doe #2 when he says that, so I respond, “No, it’s just does.”
The words that come out of his mouth next are much more emphatic. “Dude, there’s a buck in there! TAKE YOUR RIFLE!”
As he is saying that, I have looked over the other two does in the group (four in total) and now am looking at the buck that is bedded in the back. OH SHOOT, there is a buck with ‘em!!
Binos go on the console, I snatch the rifle out of his hands and bail out of the truck into the snow.
The deer are on their feet at this point, trying to figure out what has interrupted their calm, quiet midday rest. The fog is gone and it’s now a sunny blue bird day with not a cloud in the sky. I flip the bipod legs down, slam a round into the chamber, and start reaching for my rangefinder.
Pause for a minute…
Remember the morning before when I was stalking across the valley hoping to find those bucks in their beds? Yeah, well, before I left the truck that morning, I turned my rangefinder brightness setting all the way down so as to not be blinded by the red LED display in the low light of the morning. Great thinking on my part…except for the fact that I never turned the brightness back up.
Ok, back to the story…
T-Beau is looking too, with my rifle sitting in his lap, and says, “I think there’s a buck in there.” I’m looking at doe #2 when he says that, so I respond, “No, it’s just does.”
The words that come out of his mouth next are much more emphatic. “Dude, there’s a buck in there! TAKE YOUR RIFLE!”
As he is saying that, I have looked over the other two does in the group (four in total) and now am looking at the buck that is bedded in the back. OH SHOOT, there is a buck with ‘em!!
Binos go on the console, I snatch the rifle out of his hands and bail out of the truck into the snow.
The deer are on their feet at this point, trying to figure out what has interrupted their calm, quiet midday rest. The fog is gone and it’s now a sunny blue bird day with not a cloud in the sky. I flip the bipod legs down, slam a round into the chamber, and start reaching for my rangefinder.
Pause for a minute…
Remember the morning before when I was stalking across the valley hoping to find those bucks in their beds? Yeah, well, before I left the truck that morning, I turned my rangefinder brightness setting all the way down so as to not be blinded by the red LED display in the low light of the morning. Great thinking on my part…except for the fact that I never turned the brightness back up.
Ok, back to the story…
PorterHouse
Well-known member
I get the rangefinder out. Adrenaline is pumping good. I try to steady myself and get the deer in the center of view. Click the button…nothing!
This can’t be happening right now!!! My first thought was it’s dead, but that couldn’t be…there’s a new lithium battery in there. Click it again and this time, ever so faintly, I can make out the red crosshairs in the middle...still no yardage though. I luckily have the presence of mind to realize I need to look at something with a dark background. Click it again, turn and look at the truck…285 yards. Rinse and repeat…263 yards.
T-Beau has been in the front passenger seat this entire time thinking to himself, “What in tarnation is taking so long?!” It probably has only taken a minute for all of this to transpire but it felt like an eternity and I just knew the deer were going to bolt at any moment.
285 and 263. I don’t have time to try and take another range. He’s somewhere between 250-300 yards and that’s what I have to work with. I float the vitals between some of the hashes in the scope (I shoot MIL based reticles) and squeeze one off.
THWACK! I hear the round impact and watch the buck jump and star to hobble forward.
Run the bolt and get back on him while T-Beau is in the truck saying, “Shoot him agaaiiinnnn!”
I send another one…THWACK! The buck is still on his feet and T-Beau, as before, is telling me to, “Shoot him agaaiiinnnnnn!”
For some reason, the extractor doesn’t fully strip the casing after the second shot so I’m now fiddling with the rifle trying to get the brass out. I successfully do but that, combined with the fact that the deer is still on his feet, led to me rushing and missing completely on the next shot.
Slam the bolt home a 4th time. At this point, I think my brain realized this deer wasn’t going anywhere. I slow down, take a deep breath and squeeze.
THWACK! The last one buried him.
T-Beau jumps out of the truck and about tackles me in the snow (he is, after all, a former LSU walk-on). We celebrate and take a minute to process what just happened. Like we had talked about a few days earlier, all it takes is one moment for things to change, and we just finished going through “that” moment.
I put my rifle on the bed cover of the truck and we excitedly start walking over to the downed buck. We take some pictures and agree that the best part of this whole deal is the pack-out we’re about to do. A 300 yard drag back to the truck…GRUELING, I know!
After looking the deer over, and evaluating what just went down, we conclude that the first range I got was the more accurate of the two. He was actually pushing 300 yards when we first saw him. First shot was a touch low but ended up breaking his offside leg on the exit. Second one traversed the bottom of the chest cavity (he was dead on his feet at that point). 4th shot (3rd impact) was perfect, right in the pocket.
We drug him back to the truck and got to work breaking him down.
Between the snow and the fact it was 14 degrees out, the meat cooled quickly.
Once we were done with the deer, we got the truck organized and squared away and instead of spending another night in the truck bed, decided we would begin the journey home. As we headed back out the way we came, the fog started rolling in again. Not going unnoticed by either of us, we commented on how thankful we were to get the window of opportunity we did. With spirits high, we pulled onto the pavement and pointed the truck south.
Deer Seen: 9
Miles Hiked: 4
This can’t be happening right now!!! My first thought was it’s dead, but that couldn’t be…there’s a new lithium battery in there. Click it again and this time, ever so faintly, I can make out the red crosshairs in the middle...still no yardage though. I luckily have the presence of mind to realize I need to look at something with a dark background. Click it again, turn and look at the truck…285 yards. Rinse and repeat…263 yards.
T-Beau has been in the front passenger seat this entire time thinking to himself, “What in tarnation is taking so long?!” It probably has only taken a minute for all of this to transpire but it felt like an eternity and I just knew the deer were going to bolt at any moment.
285 and 263. I don’t have time to try and take another range. He’s somewhere between 250-300 yards and that’s what I have to work with. I float the vitals between some of the hashes in the scope (I shoot MIL based reticles) and squeeze one off.
THWACK! I hear the round impact and watch the buck jump and star to hobble forward.
Run the bolt and get back on him while T-Beau is in the truck saying, “Shoot him agaaiiinnnn!”
I send another one…THWACK! The buck is still on his feet and T-Beau, as before, is telling me to, “Shoot him agaaiiinnnnnn!”
For some reason, the extractor doesn’t fully strip the casing after the second shot so I’m now fiddling with the rifle trying to get the brass out. I successfully do but that, combined with the fact that the deer is still on his feet, led to me rushing and missing completely on the next shot.
Slam the bolt home a 4th time. At this point, I think my brain realized this deer wasn’t going anywhere. I slow down, take a deep breath and squeeze.
THWACK! The last one buried him.
T-Beau jumps out of the truck and about tackles me in the snow (he is, after all, a former LSU walk-on). We celebrate and take a minute to process what just happened. Like we had talked about a few days earlier, all it takes is one moment for things to change, and we just finished going through “that” moment.
I put my rifle on the bed cover of the truck and we excitedly start walking over to the downed buck. We take some pictures and agree that the best part of this whole deal is the pack-out we’re about to do. A 300 yard drag back to the truck…GRUELING, I know!
After looking the deer over, and evaluating what just went down, we conclude that the first range I got was the more accurate of the two. He was actually pushing 300 yards when we first saw him. First shot was a touch low but ended up breaking his offside leg on the exit. Second one traversed the bottom of the chest cavity (he was dead on his feet at that point). 4th shot (3rd impact) was perfect, right in the pocket.
We drug him back to the truck and got to work breaking him down.
Between the snow and the fact it was 14 degrees out, the meat cooled quickly.
Once we were done with the deer, we got the truck organized and squared away and instead of spending another night in the truck bed, decided we would begin the journey home. As we headed back out the way we came, the fog started rolling in again. Not going unnoticed by either of us, we commented on how thankful we were to get the window of opportunity we did. With spirits high, we pulled onto the pavement and pointed the truck south.
Deer Seen: 9
Miles Hiked: 4
Last edited:
PorterHouse
Well-known member
Over 3000 miles on the truck, 40 miles of hiking, two punched tags, and a week with a great buddy…I’d say it was a pretty successful trip!
I'm excited to see where we find ourselves in 2024.
Thanks for reading along.
I'm excited to see where we find ourselves in 2024.
Thanks for reading along.
duck wrangler
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2019
- Messages
- 161
Really enjoyed the read
Congrats to you both!
Congrats to you both!
Kwmountainman
New member
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2018
- Messages
- 11
Great story, congrats.
Flatbrimmer
Well-known member
Choot eem aggaaaiiiiinnn 
Usually I'm the guy yelling that hahahaChoot eem aggaaaiiiiinnn
track1
Well-known member
Great job on the hunt and the write up! Had fun following along.
Dougfirtree
Well-known member
Congrats on a great adventure!
Walkathon
Well-known member
Nice!!!!!
Corn king 60
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- Joined
- Feb 4, 2021
- Messages
- 747
Congrats.
enjoyed the show
enjoyed the show
WNC2500
Well-known member
Great write up and thanks for sharing with us! Did you ever drop the hammer on any coyotes?
rtraverdavis
Well-known member
Really fun hunt, really great read. Congratulations!
PorterHouse
Well-known member
No, unfortunately not.
Of course, once I said to T-Beau that no more coyotes are getting a pass, we didn't see another one that was within range or around long enough to get a shot off.
One of their southern kinfolk ate a bullet over Thanksgiving week though.
