Mule Deer Sept. 10th, 2010 Slope County, ND By Jeremy Rodgers
This was my sixth year bowhunting southwestern North Dakota and the intended target was deer only, since the antelope season was closed by the ND Game and Fish due to harsh winters and low antelope population. I had tags for both whitetail and muley does as well as my bowhunting tag for any deer. I had yet to shoot a muley buck and I went with the intent of shooting at least one animal with my new bow. In July I had bought a new Hoyt Maxxis 35 with a Spot-Hogg seven pin sight. I left right after work on Friday Sept. 3rd and got to the campsite where I met my dad who already had his camper all set up. We got up early to seasonable weather with partly cloudy skies and temps in the 40's. We hunted hard on Saturday, but didn't find a buck to stalk. Sunday we got up early again and looked until early afternoon before we found this buck bedded with a small three pointer. He was bedded about 3/4 mile from the truck in a small ravine off a large drainage. This was likely the same buck and in the exact same spot as I stalked the year before. We circled to the West and South to stay out of view and get above the two bucks. We got within 30 yards, but I blew it. I couldn't find the rocks that I used for a landmark and I lost track of the deer during the approach. I walked out on a ravine tip to get a better look and this buck was right underneath me. Both bucks bolted from their beds thirty yards below me and they circled to the East and South through the nearest saddle to put land between us. I was disappointed as this was at least the tenth stalk I had blown by not being able to mark the animal properly.
My dad left Monday morning and I was on my own. It started raining hard Sunday afternoon and continued throughout Wednesday. During those three days I stalked numerous bucks and even got within 100 yards a few times, but I couldn't seal the deal. My closest opportunity was on Wednesday when I found a bedded buck in the late morning. I worked for two hours to get in closer when I ran out of cover about 150 yards from him. I sat there and watched the deer for a half hour before deciding to sit in a nearby ravine where I hoped it would feed that evening. As I circled around I found two other bucks in the ravine where I was headed. They weren't more than three pointers, but I know any muley with a bow is a trophy, so I went after them. All the while the clouds were really beginning to build up behind me. As I crept to within 85 yards it started to rain. I had dropped my pack 50 yards behind me so I only had one layer of clothing when the hail began. It poured rain and then hailed 1/2" to 2" hail for a half hour while I huddled underneath a small evergreen tree. Afterwards the hail was piled up everywhere and it took hours to melt even though it was 50 degrees. I heard later that the nearest town, Belfield, got seven inches of rain from that storm. In the meantime the deer disappeared to thicker cover and I was drenched. Luckily I covered my Badlands 2800 pack with its rain cover when I set it down so it was relatively dry. I hunted hard that evening and the next day, Thursday, with no success. On Friday it rained most of the day, but the wind had switched back to the SW. This was the same direction as the previous Sunday when I located the buck that my dad and I stalked. I drove for an hour to get to his area and located him and his three-point companion laying within 50 yards of our previous encounters. At 1:00pm the rain was increasing so I added a base layer under my layers of fleece and wool before I started my walk. When I got above the buck I couldn't locate him. I cautiously looked for an hour before covering all the nearby terrain and determining that the bucks must have winded me. I hiked, then crawled back to the ridge top to find my pack without skylining myself. Knowing that those bucks gave me the slip through the saddle towards the south ravines, I carefully glassed this area before locating the two bucks feeding 1/2 mile to the south of me. I used a fenceline, a lone juniper, and the only bush on the nearby hill as landmarks. By 5:30 I was within 115 yards of the juniper that they were near, but I still couldn't see them. I slowly glassed and stood higher until finally seeing the antler and ear of the smaller buck through the brush in front of me. I had the sun in my face, so I had to keep cover between us or get busted. I crawled under a barped wire fence out to the last bush on my side of the ravine, so I couldn't go any farther. Problem was that I was still 100 yards from the deer, so I waited. The wind went from 5 mph to nothing at about 7:15 and the bugs started to bother me and the deer. Luckily that got the larger buck up and feeding to my left. I ranged him at 85 yards, drew low behind the bush, and held for the shot. I shook so badly that I couldn't even keep the deer in the ring of the sight guard. I sunk down and tried to calm my nerves and reposition myself. I rechecked the W.A.R. (Wind, Angle, and Range). I calculated the wind at 5 to 10 mph from left to right, the angle as negligable since we were within 10 degrees of level, and the range at 91 yards. To steady myself, all I could think of was to slide back a foot to clear the cactus underfoot and sit on my rear using my left knee against my left elbow. I held my 80 yard pin for 87 yards at the top of the back, then raised up about four inches and also about four inches to the left for the wind. I felt good and steady and slowly pressured the trigger. I held steady until impact when I heard the whack. I couldn't see the impact, but the buck sprinted downhill. After 50 yards I could see a hole with blood in his heart area. He wobbled and trotted another 40 yards and collapsed. I finally got him, and it was actually my 4th sneak on him in the last 2 years. I learned that hunting in the rain is great as long as you have the correct clothing, since you see more deer and you can be much stealthier. My new bow and sight, sighting in with broadheads, hours of practice in the wind at long range, and fleece and wool clothing also really paid off. That hunt was quite a testimate to finding shooting methods that work for you and practicing in the wind at long range.
Equipment: Hoyt Maxxis 35, Shaffer drop away rest, 28" Gold Tip arrows 405 grains, 100 gr. Grim Reaper Razor Tip broadheads, Fuse quiver, Tru Ball handheld release, Swarovski EL 10x42, Leica 1200 rangefinder, Badlands 2800 pack, Danner Pronghorn
My dad left Monday morning and I was on my own. It started raining hard Sunday afternoon and continued throughout Wednesday. During those three days I stalked numerous bucks and even got within 100 yards a few times, but I couldn't seal the deal. My closest opportunity was on Wednesday when I found a bedded buck in the late morning. I worked for two hours to get in closer when I ran out of cover about 150 yards from him. I sat there and watched the deer for a half hour before deciding to sit in a nearby ravine where I hoped it would feed that evening. As I circled around I found two other bucks in the ravine where I was headed. They weren't more than three pointers, but I know any muley with a bow is a trophy, so I went after them. All the while the clouds were really beginning to build up behind me. As I crept to within 85 yards it started to rain. I had dropped my pack 50 yards behind me so I only had one layer of clothing when the hail began. It poured rain and then hailed 1/2" to 2" hail for a half hour while I huddled underneath a small evergreen tree. Afterwards the hail was piled up everywhere and it took hours to melt even though it was 50 degrees. I heard later that the nearest town, Belfield, got seven inches of rain from that storm. In the meantime the deer disappeared to thicker cover and I was drenched. Luckily I covered my Badlands 2800 pack with its rain cover when I set it down so it was relatively dry. I hunted hard that evening and the next day, Thursday, with no success. On Friday it rained most of the day, but the wind had switched back to the SW. This was the same direction as the previous Sunday when I located the buck that my dad and I stalked. I drove for an hour to get to his area and located him and his three-point companion laying within 50 yards of our previous encounters. At 1:00pm the rain was increasing so I added a base layer under my layers of fleece and wool before I started my walk. When I got above the buck I couldn't locate him. I cautiously looked for an hour before covering all the nearby terrain and determining that the bucks must have winded me. I hiked, then crawled back to the ridge top to find my pack without skylining myself. Knowing that those bucks gave me the slip through the saddle towards the south ravines, I carefully glassed this area before locating the two bucks feeding 1/2 mile to the south of me. I used a fenceline, a lone juniper, and the only bush on the nearby hill as landmarks. By 5:30 I was within 115 yards of the juniper that they were near, but I still couldn't see them. I slowly glassed and stood higher until finally seeing the antler and ear of the smaller buck through the brush in front of me. I had the sun in my face, so I had to keep cover between us or get busted. I crawled under a barped wire fence out to the last bush on my side of the ravine, so I couldn't go any farther. Problem was that I was still 100 yards from the deer, so I waited. The wind went from 5 mph to nothing at about 7:15 and the bugs started to bother me and the deer. Luckily that got the larger buck up and feeding to my left. I ranged him at 85 yards, drew low behind the bush, and held for the shot. I shook so badly that I couldn't even keep the deer in the ring of the sight guard. I sunk down and tried to calm my nerves and reposition myself. I rechecked the W.A.R. (Wind, Angle, and Range). I calculated the wind at 5 to 10 mph from left to right, the angle as negligable since we were within 10 degrees of level, and the range at 91 yards. To steady myself, all I could think of was to slide back a foot to clear the cactus underfoot and sit on my rear using my left knee against my left elbow. I held my 80 yard pin for 87 yards at the top of the back, then raised up about four inches and also about four inches to the left for the wind. I felt good and steady and slowly pressured the trigger. I held steady until impact when I heard the whack. I couldn't see the impact, but the buck sprinted downhill. After 50 yards I could see a hole with blood in his heart area. He wobbled and trotted another 40 yards and collapsed. I finally got him, and it was actually my 4th sneak on him in the last 2 years. I learned that hunting in the rain is great as long as you have the correct clothing, since you see more deer and you can be much stealthier. My new bow and sight, sighting in with broadheads, hours of practice in the wind at long range, and fleece and wool clothing also really paid off. That hunt was quite a testimate to finding shooting methods that work for you and practicing in the wind at long range.
Equipment: Hoyt Maxxis 35, Shaffer drop away rest, 28" Gold Tip arrows 405 grains, 100 gr. Grim Reaper Razor Tip broadheads, Fuse quiver, Tru Ball handheld release, Swarovski EL 10x42, Leica 1200 rangefinder, Badlands 2800 pack, Danner Pronghorn
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 Buck Mount |
Buck's Heart
