Quick trip out West for muleys

[Scoot]

Hi Everyone, I was lucky enough to be able to make a quick trip out to Western ND to chase muleys for a few days with my buddy Slevy. I usually hunt with Slevy 3-5 different times each year, but this year I hadn't teamed up with him at all. Between Minot's flooding problems (Slevy's in Minot and I'm in West Fargo), some family health concerns, my moose hunt, and a handful of other things, we hadn't managed to hunt together at all so far this year. Slevy's a great friend and hunting buddies don't get any better than him, so I really wanted to get out and chase some critters with him for a while. Wife and work gave me clearance, so off I went last Thurs night to hunt with Slevy on Fri, Sat, and maybe Sun morning.

Muley reports range from bad to terrible across most of Western ND this year. I know one guy who hunted for three straight days and didn't see a single deer... This past Winter did a serious number on the muley herd and the whitetails have really been whooped by EHD, according to many. We went knowing that the odds of finding many deer to hunt were not very good, but I figured it'd be worth it to get in that country again and to hunt with a good friend.

I didn't get a lot of pictures, but I got a few that I think are worth sharing, so I'll do so in subsequent posts. I hope there's enough there for people to enjoy and get a bit of a feel for the beauty of that country...

[Scoot]

To start the first day we headed to an area I haven't spent much time at in the past. Slevy has been there a few more times than me, but not a lot either. The wind was perfect for it and for no real reason, we decided to go there.

We got to our glassing spot just as it got light enough to see. We were sitting together to start, but planned to split up a ways down the draw. Ten minutes after we started glassing I heard something off to my right- I looked and saw two yearling does coming through the willows at about 100 yards. Not too far behind them a 140" buck came down the hill. They were obviously going to either go right past us or the opposite way- it was really nasty below them, so they'd have to turn towards or away from us. Sure as heck, they turned and walked straight away from us. I bleated twice with my mouth and the buck was curious, but wouldn't leave the does he was behind. Slevy remembered he had a rattle bag in his pack, so he took it out and give it a crack. The buck walked towards us about 20 yards, then walked back with the does. He hit the horns again and the buck turned and trotted at us at a good clip. I readied my bow and ranged a few landmarks he was heading towards.

At about 80 yards the buck stopped and looked for the source of the noise. Not finding anything, he walked away. We continued this game for ten minutes- he'd come closer looking for the horns, but remember his does and leave us. Eventually he walked away and gave up on us. I tried to sneak on him about ten minutes later when he was chasing a doe around, but he busted me at about 80 yards and off he went.

A mile or so later Slevy and I had been split up for a while. I tipped over a little rise and glassed a small drainage below me. Not seeing anything, I tipped over the edge and took a seat on a fallen tree. I dug in my pack and looked for a snack and some water. Just as I opened up the powerbar I was about to eat, I looked to my left and saw a deer about 120 yards away. It was a decent buck and he was working up the draw towards me. He caught me with my pants down- he was too close for me to dig my camera out, so I decided to try shoot him and skip the pictures (sorry). At 100 yards everything was perfect- he had no clue of me and I was slowly working down towards the bottom of the draw, where he was headed to. However, he looked as though he might come up my side by leaving the bottom through a little saddle just ahead of him, so I didn't dare go too low in the draw. I moved half way down and waited to see what would happen next.

[pumper317]

Can't wait to hear the rest. Great Reads Scoot!

[mrklean]

love the stories scoot

[Scoot]

The little draw wasn't terribly far across, so if he didn't come up my side I'd have a legitimate chance at a shot in the bottom of the draw or across on the other side if he didn't get too high up it. As soon as he got a little closer I knew I wanted to get lower than I already had, but the conditions didn't allow me to move anymore- the snow wasn't terribly quiet, there wasn't much wind, and he was well inside of 100 yards. I moved as far as I dared go and waited...

He continued on in the dried/frozen up creek bed in the very bottom of the draw. About 40 yards before he got below me, he cut up the other side and continued on his path, now paralleling me on the opposide side of the little draw. Searching across from me I found a small shooting lane near a big tree- he was headed right for it and it was 40 yards away. When he got two steps from it I was just about to draw, but he stopped. He stood, surveying the area a little, and began to paw the ground with his front hooves. [PoorWordUsage]! I knew what that meant- right there, 40 yards in front of me and two steps from my shooting lane, he was going to bed down. Yep, he plopped down and faced directly at me.

I waited. I waited.. I waited... I didn't so much as wiggle a finger for the next half-an-hour. Soon I realized he had a little different look in his eye- even in his bed I could tell his posture and attitude had changed. He leaned forward and scrunched up his eyes, straining to see what he was looking at. He was staring with all his might right at me- he knew something was amiss and he wanted to figure out what it was. He stood and stared for about five minutes. After I finally won this Mexican stand off, he walked into a different spot- I ranged him, drew, and let my arrow go. Unbeknownst to me, my jacket came untucked at the collar while I was sliding down the hill, trying to get closer to the buck. This is a jacket that MUST be tucked in at the collar, or I get string contact. My string raked across the collar and the shot came out untrue- I missed low and a little left.

The buck took off like a rocket and I grabbed another arrow, just in case he stopped quickly and offered another chance. He ran 50 yards up the draw and stopped, looking back wondering "What the heck just happened?" When he stopped I made a bleat call with my mouth. The buck promptly walked back towards where I had just missed him for about ten yards. I bleated again- he walked back further and further. I ranged the shooting lane I had just missed in. He walked right into it! I drew back, took careful aim again, leaned forward to ensure I'd clear my untucked collar, and let the arrow go. This time the arrow came out perfectly and flew directly towards teh exact spot I'd aimed for. I saw the arrow dropping, but it wasn't dropping enough- it skipped harmelessly off the top of his back, shot straight up into some branches, and fell harmlessly a few yards behind the buck. With that, he took off like a rocket!

Three minutes earlier Slevy had decided to glass up the little draw to the North. He spotted me on the hillside and his first throught was, "Whoa, he looks lik he's on point!" Seconds later he saw me use my range finder, draw, and shoot. He watched the second shot unfold too. The buck then blew by him at about 40 yards, but wasn't much more than a bown blur when it barrelled by, so he didn't get a shot.

Afterwards I realized I'd ranged the shooting lane at 47 yards, but he walked across the front of it at about 41 or 42 yards. I made a great shot for the wrong distance and the result was- no deer.

Here's a pic of the spot where the deer bedded in, I took it while standing in my shooting lane. Two little steps...

This next pic is pretty interesting- can you see what I find so amuzing about it?

In the pic above, both of my misses can be seen. Amazingly, the buck had covered about 100 yards in between shots- about 50 yards away and then back again, but my two arrows ended up less than 18" from each other! The pic below shows where they are- the one near the bottom is a lot tougher to see, but if you look closely, you might see it in there.

[Scoot]

Wow! That last post was a duzy! I don't like to write that many words compared to the pics I post, but like I warned you- I don't have as many pics from this trip as usual. The good news is the next day I write about I've got some more pics that should make for an easier read. I'll try get them posted today still.

[DonBo]

Always a great read Scoot. Don't forget, we're used to happy endings, hope you don't dissapoint.

[Scoot]

The next morning we were greated by some really cold temps- below zero with a windchill somewhere around -20. We split up from where we parked the truck and planned on sitting about one mile apart on a huge draw we have done well at in the past. I had about a mile hike in and after a while I finally made my way down the edge of a ridge towards an area I wanted to glass from. I was greated by a beautiful sunrise (closing picture to this write up) and just as I went to sit down and start glassing, I saw a doe silhoutted against the skyline on the next ridge over. What a beautiful sight and what a great way to start the day! This is my favorite pic from the trip.

It was dang cold that morning. I ended up putting on my "sneaky socks" (two pairs of huge wool socks sewn together by a friend to make my foot falls quieter when sneaking a deer) and slipping hand warmers inside the toes of them. This works well when you want your feet to stay warm, but to keep light enough boots on to hoof it through those hills.

After almost an hour I spotted something that didn't look quite right on a grassy slope on the far side of the draw. It's in the pic below, in nearly the middle of the screen. The frist pic isn't zoomed in at all.

This next pic is of the same area, but zoomed in a bit. Look below the left side of the juniper bush that is in the middle of the pic towards the top.

There was a decent buck bedded and he was only about 800 yards away. If I humped it across the the draw, made it past him, then came over the ridge to his left, I might be able to get within bow range. Judging by the way he was bedded, I knew I'd have to get past him, then come back along the ridge to avoid my scent getting to him.

I ended up hiking too far up the far side of the canyon, so I worked back about 400 yards and finally found him again. He had heard me coming, but had no idea what the sound was.

Eventually he went back to feeding.

When I was able to, I moved closer and ended up just insdie of 100 yards. However, that was as far as I could go- no way to close the distance from there. He had no idea I was in the same county, but I could have just as well been a mile away.

I decided to wait him out and see what he would do next. After almost an hour, he jumped up out of his bed and seemed startled. He took two quick steps towards me, then trotted in my direction. Soon, he trotted over to withing bow range, immediately below me. I ranged him, put my release on my string, and just when I was about to draw my bow, He moved. We played that game three different times in the exact same sequence of events- range, release attached, almost draw, he'd move. Soon, he was so close to the cliff below me I could only see his rack. Sadly, I watched the top of his rack walk away up the draw and finally trot off at a good clip. Seconds later, I looked back and spotted Slevy coming from behind where he'd been bedded. Ironically, Slevy had spotted the same buck from his vantage point and made a play on him too. This almost worked perfectly to my advantage, but it didn't quite pan out. Dang!

That night we hunted near my buddy's aunt and uncle's place- they had seen a couple nice bucks in the past week. Long story short is that I passed a forky at 18 yards and we saw a few does otherwise.

That night I talked with my wife and my son was sick (again). She took him to the walk-in clinic and he was struggling with a viral deal. I decided to get some sleep, then head home early in the AM to help out at home. After two neary sleepless nights, my wife was still kind enough to tell me to hunt on Sun, but my consciounce got the best of me and I pulled the pin a half-day early.

That's it- my quick Western ND muley adventure. It was a great trip under tough conditions and we almost got it done. But... that's muley hunting! Fun and frustrating all wrapped into one!

[DonBo]

Good for you for putting family first.

Still a great read and nice photos! That mulie would have made a fine late season trophy, oh well. There's always next year.

[Scoot]

Always a great read Scoot. Don't forget, we're used to happy endings, hope you don't dissapoint.

LOL- if an animal down means a happy ending, I'll dissappoint more times than not! This was a successful trip to me though- I got to team up with a very close friend and hunting buddy, I got two sneaks in two days, and I had a blast! No complaints from me!

Oh, one point of clarification-- if it sounded like I was making excuses for why I missed twice, I did not intend it to come across that way. There's only one reason why I missed both times- I screwed up! I'm in charge of my jacket and my range finder and I'm the one who blew it regarding both of them in my chance at that buck. No excuses- I had my chances and I didn't make good on them.

[Stratosman]

I sure hope the population bounces back soon as that is a trip we have been wanting to do. Thanks for the story!

[Powerstroke]

A great story as always Scoot. One of my favorite parts of the hunt is sharing it with a great hunting buddy. Glad you had a great time and thanks for sharing it with us.

[BRULEDRIFTER]

You should look into some Steger Mukluks. Silent and deadly, and you get more warmth, traction and ankle support than your sneak socks.

Sweet trip! Wish I had someone that was up for doing a trip like that sometime.

[BoxMN]

Great story Scoot! Thanks!

[TylerS]

What a story Scoot! We should team up sometime. You can hunt to your heart's content without having to decide between the weapon or the camera, for once, and I'll sit back and document the whole show. Sounds like a hoot!

[Scoot]

What a story Scoot! We should team up sometime. You can hunt to your heart's content without having to decide between the weapon or the camera, for once, and I'll sit back and document the whole show. Sounds like a hoot!

That'd be cool! I had a buddy running the camera for me during the moose hunt and it was pretty neat. I'm almost always the one behind the camera on the hunts I go on, so I don't get my ugly mug in many of the shots. It'd really be cool to have someone come along and take some pics...

BTW, if you want to team up and do some searching in ND for some fishing spots close to Fargo, let me know (I saw your thread in the ND forum). I don't have nearly as much free time in the Winter, but I'd love to sneak out and do a little snooping.

[TylerS]

Scoot,

PM sent

[sticknstring]

Great recap Scoot! Sounds like you had a successful late-season hunt. Shot opportunities don't come easy in December and they're generally much tougher to cash in on. Some great pics you captured as well. Thanks for sharing!