Western ND DIY- 2nd trip

[Scoot]

Cool picture with those 3 bucks. How far away from them were you when you took the picture?

We were just inside of 150 yards.

Sorry for the delay, fellas. The combo of work and a sick kid kept me from updating today. I'll do my best to get an update in tomorrow. If I remember right tomorrow's update will have lots of pics...

Hey, is that a Rockin' Rod sighting!?!

[walleyehunter80]

awesome read

[Scott M]

great read Scoot, as usual...keep it up!

[harvey lee]

The big question, what do they shoot??

[Scoot]

By this point in the trip Mitch was realling starting to get the feel for mule deer hunting. After being in muley country for a few days and doing nothing but talk muleys that time, he was starting to think like a mule deer. He ever started to look like a mule deer!

After the blown opportunity on the three bucks, we spent more time driving around and looking for roads that would allow passage. In the process, we found lots of cool stuff, including some deer.

Grouse

Deer

Porqy

Turkeys

Bucks

A few more bucks

But... nothing came together, in terms of a real opportunity. I really wanted Mitch to get a crack at a buck and I was mad at myself for letting him talk me into going after the buck that I missed- not because I missed, but because I should have given him the chance. I should have insisted on him going out there so he'd get a crack at him. I've shot mule deer and been in that country my fair share of time, this was Mitch's first trip and I hoped he'd get a shot.

That evening, just at the end of legal shooting time we decided to run down to my buddy's relatives' place and look for the buck I missed. On the way down, just off the road we found the buck and eight does. I stopped the truck, backed up 100 yards, and dropped Mitch off. It was windy and the snow was fluffy, so he made a sneak in about 50 seconds flat! He creeped up over a little rise, lifted his range finder, drew his arrow back, and let 'er rip! I caught up to him and he said "we've got a hit!" We went up to where the buck stood and found... nothing. We followed the deer's tracks for 100 yards and never found a speck of blood. The snow was perfect and even a color-blind guy like me could have seen any blood, if there was blood to see.

We went back to where the buck was where Mitch had shot and found his arrow in a little bushy tree, immediately behind where the buck stood. Dang!!! It was, as Mitch again called it, a "slick, clean miss".

Under tough conditions we'd gotten two chances, but hadn't so much as cut a hair. Neither of our opportunities came under what I'd call classic muley hunting conditions (both happened right off the road), but beggars can't be choosers and we took advantage of the chances we were given... well... we TRIED to take advantage of those chances.

We had one morning left to hunt and we hoped the fog would clear and we'd get decent conditions to hunt (and see).

Oh, one last pic-- here's a shot of the hoarfrost on a tree by the cabin where we stayed. Everything was covered in it from the heavy fog in the air.

[DonBo]

Dang! Missed opportunities, sounds alot like my season.....Can't wait to hear about your last morning.

[Scoot]

The big question, what do they shoot??

Half-a-day left, but in spite of lots of pictures, not a dang thing was shot by us this day...

I think I have quite a few pics for tomorrow too though...

[Scott M]

Good tease. Keep em coming.

[Coach1310]

My "Scoot-Story-Magazine" subscription said nothing about teasing!!!

Thanks for sharing Scoot.

Looking forward to the conclusion.

[mrklean]

your trip sounds like my trip to south dakota

[engfish]

One of the reasons it's so much fun to read your stories is because you're a good story teller, and you're a good writer, too. Your honesty resonates with all of us who battle the elements and the nerves and the senses of the animals. It's what make the hunt "the hunt."

Best of all, you provide us with pictures of magnificent landscapes, places where many of us dream to hunt, but where you regularly hunt. We appreciate your willingness to share that experience with all of us. Just seeing the pictures, so that we know what YOU GUYS saw live, puts us right there with you in spirit.

And just so we don't get too carried away and think you're superhuman, you cut short your stories to take care of your son who is sick. So we wait patiently because many of us have stood in those shoes, too.

If you ever had your own television show, we'd all be fans. It's always a pleasure to read your stories.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Awesome thread again.. simply awesome!

[Scoot]

Wow! Thanks so much for the very kind words. I am very lucky to live where I do-- I have a lifetime license in MN that allows me to hunt there, but I live in ND and I'm extremely fortunate to have been allowed to hunt an awesome place about 45 minutes from my house. Also, being able to sneak out to Western ND once or twice a year is awesome! One thing to keep in mind is that it's really not that far away from anyone in MN and it's worth a look. CO, MT, WY and many other states have much larger muleys than ND, but the quality of the hunt and the numbers of deer on public land is impressive in ND. Also, if you get a few guys together and stay in a tent, it's a really inexpensive hunt. I'm extremely fortunate to get a tag out there every year and to have a wife and family that put up with me going (well... mostly )

[sticknstring]

I think we're all ready for some more pictures now!

[Scoot]

And just so we don't get too carried away and think you're superhuman...

I've got to tell ya- there's nothing superhuman about anything I do. In fact, most of what I do is pretty magoo. I try to stay in decent shape, I try to work really hard on a hunt, and I try to stay positive. After that, I do my best to make use of a bunch of little nuggets of info I've gathered over the years hunting. But really, I don't do anything that anyone else couldn't do.

The first time I ever saw a post like these stories I write up was on another HSOforum. The guy who wrote them up was phenomenal! He's an amazingly talented photographer and writer and really impressive. My first response was- wow, how arrogant! He must really be impressed with himself to take all those pictures, then crow about his hunt online. However, I eventually realized that I was wrong- dead wrong. I got to know the guy a little bit through PMs and e-mails and the reason he shared the stories like he does is to simply share with others the wonders of the outdoors and to allow people who haven't been in those places to get some enjoyment out of his hunts. Rather than being self-agrandizing, his stories were actually selfless and his efforts were for others, not himself. I'd like to think this is why I write up these stories and I hope people don't see me sharing as arrogant, like I incorrectly did of the first stories I read. It's incredible to get out and enjoy this country, but it's a lot of fun to share the experience with others who, for many at least, haven't been there.

[DonBo]

I agree with you Scoot. My wife was watching me write one of my SoDak journals for this site, she asked "Do you think anyone cares enough about your hunt to read that?"

With over 1000 hits the first couple days and nearly 1700 before it was over, I'd say yes, peolple like to hear about others adventures. Someday I'll actually kill something nice out there, then it may even be as exciting as your stories.

Keep it up!

[Scoot]

We got up early on the last morning and hunted out of the cabin again. It was cold- somewhere around -10. There was very little wind, but the snow was still soft and might allow for decent sneaking conditions.

We walked a tough mile to get into a spot that'd allow us to glass a fair bit of country. Soon, Mitch and I ended up split up. Here's a shot that Mitch took of me, looking for a buck we'd seen head into a draw from a distance.

After I couldn't find the buck we teamed back up. Just as we walked into our final position to glass Mitch immediately spotted a deer moving from right to left. He was going from one little side cut into a much larger cut.

We immediately devised a plan- Mitch was going to try to intercept this buck. There was a fairly obvious spot that he could try get to, but it was down a very steep hillside to get there. He left his pack and took off. Here's where he and the buck, a 130 class whitetail, were headed for.

I watched as everything unfolded. Soon, I could no longer hear Mitch quickly going down the hillside and I lost sight of the buck. The last I saw him, he was headed the right direction, but he got too far below me, down the steeply cut bank. I watch and waited. Then, I saw movement where I'd seen the buck the first time. Sadly, it was the buck headed back the way he came.

Just then I saw Mitch settle in to his final hideout. We don't know if he got winded, heard, or seen, but any way you slice it, the jig was up. It would have been tough for Mitch to get there in time, but he almost pulled it off.

While I waited for Mitch to make the tough climb back up, I took some pics of the hoarfrost that thickly coated everything.

Just before Mitch made it back up I saw some movement off to the North. It was a muley doe. With her was a nice 4x4. He bedded right behind a piece of sage and all I could see was his rack. The wind was perfect for a sneak, but Mitch wouldn't have a clue where I went. I didn't want to ditch him because this was all new country to him and I didn't feel good about leaving and letting him wonder where the heck I went. So, I waited. It's a good thing I did because about the time I would have gotten down the steep bank and half way to the buck, he stood up and fed away from me with the doe.

We saw a few more deer, like this guy.

However, we eventually made our way back to the cabin. I snapped one last picture back at the cabin that I thought was pretty neat.

The hoarfrost really gave this spiderweb a Christmas feel!

From there, we packed up and got on the road, headed home to the real world. It was a fun trip! I really enjoyed hunting and hanging out with Mitch. I felt bad that he had such tough conditions to deal with on this trip, but I appreciated that he fully understood that that's hunting! He never once whined about tough conditions, uncooperative weather, or struggles finding deer. I'll happily go hunting with him again.

One last picture from the trip- this is a shot of the sunrise on the final walk out during the morning of the last day. I thought about using a shot were I didn't use a flash, but I really like the fact that the flash shows our tracks. To me, this picture tells a story all by itself.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone! I wish you safe and fun holidays with your families and friends. I also hope we all have visions of sugar plumbs and big bucks in our dreams.

[Scoot]

Someday I'll actually kill something nice out there, then it may even be as exciting as your stories.

Haha! Nothing killed on this trip! However, it was a great trip in really tough conditions. We got two good chances, but sadly, I didn't get pics of either of them. That's the only real bummer of the trip- I wish I would have thought to grab the camera when I piled out of the truck to go after that buck. Such is life...

But I really don't need to shoot a deer to have fun. Once in a while it's nice, but not all that often. If I really wanted to shoot a deer, I'd be out there with a weapon that could shoot a couple hundred yards or more. However, I LOVE to bowhunt and I enjoy the challenge. As challenging as it is, it often ends with no deer taken. Fortunately for me, I don't guage a successful hunt on whether or not I punched my tag. For me, this was definitely a successful hunt.

[harvey lee]

Isn't that the truth Scoot.

I have made many trips where the harvest was not exactly what I was looking for but, the scenery and friends that were along made the trip a memorable one.

It's great to harvest something every trip but the other memories are what last forever.

[MNpurple]

Thanks for sharing all of that. I love "going along" on someone elses hunt.

[sticknstring]

The scenery, pursuit, & company are what make a hunt special. In that regard, you had a successful hunt, even if no tags were filled. That's what bowhunting is all about. Thanks for sharing your hunt and as usual, great photographs. Hopefully Wanderer can give us a play by play of his hunt as well when he returns. I wasn't able to sneak away for a late-season out-of-stater this year so I'm counting on you guys to share!

[Monkster]

Great story and pics Scoot! I enjoyed it.

My brother lives in Fargo also. I am planning to take my 13 year old out on an archery hunt in ND within a couple years. I have my brother checking around for land.

Great read, thanks

[engfish]

"Do you think anyone cares enough about your hunt to read that?"

Scoot's good, but you're the greatest, DonBo! I especially appreciate the fact that you can cover THREE states with your hunting adventures and still stay married. Best of all, not only can you dish it out, you can take it. You keep us all humble.

[PopRocks]

I'd much rather read and be involved with a story told like this, than watch a half hour of product whoring and elitism on the outdoor channel. Thanks Scoot

[Coach1310]

Scoot's good, but you're the greatest, DonBo! I especially appreciate the fact that you can cover THREE states with your hunting adventures and still stay married. Best of all, not only can you dish it out, you can take it. You keep us all humble.

The wives of the world will never admit it, but TIME AWAY from each other keeps more folks married than they care to admit!!

Thanks for sharing Scoot...... A successful hunt is one where everyone walks away unharmed and with some great memories and stories to boot!!