Beauty bush buck.

[OL_JR]

Great buck and to hunt it in the matter you did takes some skill for sure. Awesome stuff.

[Tikka Hunter]

Well done, nice buck!!

[graybeard]

He is a beauty, good work....

[Bushleague]

Originally Posted by Flight01

Jealous. I attempted this last week. It was fun but no sightings. Got up on him multiple times.
Going to try again soon. Slower and slower and slower than last time. And have received tips from a few AO members.

Nice buck

What makes whitetail so damn hard to track, is that you can not simply track them slowly. The buck you are tracking is very likely on his feet and cruising, in many situations he will easily outdistance you unless you put on some speed.

I once picked up a buck track first thing in the morning that I knew for a fact was only 1/2 hour old. It was the first week of November and I figured the smart move was to go slow, and eventually I'd find the buck bedded. A couple hours in I knew he was gaining on me so I sped up... by nightfall I had tracked him 14 kilometers and he never stopped once.

I've done more tracking than anyone I know, and I still consider myself an absolute amature at tracking whitetails. If you give me good conditions and a fresh moose track its pretty much a done deal, but whitetail are a totally different game. These days unless I pick up a very large deer track early in the day, and conditions are nearly ideal, I stick to still hunting. I'll follow tracks while stillhunting, but I really don't consider that the same as tracking.

All that said, following a buck track is never a waste of time. There are areas that I have scouted, hunted, and otherwise explored for over a decade. I can almost guarantee that the next buck track I follow in those areas will show me new things. If I could get back every hour I've ever spent sitting in a stand, and spend it following buck tracks, I would be a far smarter hunter.

[58thecat]

That is what it is all about....a little adventure makes for great stories later on....

When I get a deer back in the bush I tend to use the gutless method and lessen the weight in the sled...takes 30 minutes tops and works like a charm....I have the same sled you do and will be drilling a series of holes just under the rim so that I can run cord/rope zig zag type pattern to prevent things from coming out if the sled shifts which it often does....I have dragged mine literally hundreds of Klicks since 2007...moose, deer, yotes, fire wood etc.....dam fine buck ya got there....

[58thecat]

Originally Posted by Bushleague

What makes whitetail so damn hard to track, is that you can not simply track them slowly. The buck you are tracking is very likely on his feet and cruising, in many situations he will easily outdistance you unless you put on some speed.

I once picked up a buck track first thing in the morning that I knew for a fact was only 1/2 hour old. It was the first week of November and I figured the smart move was to go slow, and eventually I'd find the buck bedded. A couple hours in I knew he was gaining on me so I sped up... by nightfall I had tracked him 14 kilometers and he never stopped once.

I've done more tracking than anyone I know, and I still consider myself an absolute amature at tracking whitetails. If you give me good conditions and a fresh moose track its pretty much a done deal, but whitetail are a totally different game. These days unless I pick up a very large deer track early in the day, and conditions are nearly ideal, I stick to still hunting. I'll follow tracks while stillhunting, but I really don't consider that the same as tracking.

All that said, following a buck track is never a waste of time. There are areas that I have scouted, hunted, and otherwise explored for over a decade. I can almost guarantee that the next buck track I follow in those areas will show me new things. If I could get back every hour I've ever spent sitting in a stand, and spend it following buck tracks, I would be a far smarter hunter.

Your right every time out is learnings....I do know I tend to walk slow and check my six often when so called still hunting and when the tracks start meandering and have no real sense of direction I slow right down cuz the bugger nine times outta ten is feeding close by or bedded......man I remember loosing light thinking holy crap I gotta walk outta this area now....again job well done...

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by Bushleague

I picked up a track with a huge offset this morning, snow was falling and there was a little snow in the track, so I decided to follow it aggressively until the tracks were clean and then slow down. A couple kilometers later the tracks were getting pretty clean and he got weaving around in a bunch of other deer tracks, so I just slowed down and started still hunting. Cant be 100% sure this guy made the tracks I was following, but he's got a chest like a bulldog so I'm going to go ahead and claim that its the best buck I've taken tracking.

DSCF1814 by , on Flickr

DSCF1816 by , on Flickr

The recovery was a 5 hour nightmare, about 4 km in total, though I was able to use the toboggan for some of it.

DSCF1820 by , on Flickr

At first, frost on the bottom of the sled was keeping it from overrunning me, then it wasnt. After a few panicked moments that resembled the boulder scene from Indiana Jones, my toboggan took itself for a ride and ended up down into this mess. After about a hour of struggling I had to get some help and as much rope as I could round up. Big thanks for the considerable help I recieved in getting this buck out of the creek.

DSCF1822 by , on Flickr

GREAT SUCCESS! Bin thar, dun that , got rope capstan and snatch blocks now !
Cat

[Bushleague]

Originally Posted by 58thecat

Your right every time out is learnings....I do know I tend to walk slow and check my six often when so called still hunting and when the tracks start meandering and have no real sense of direction I slow right down cuz the bugger nine times outta ten is feeding close by or bedded......man I remember loosing light thinking holy crap I gotta walk outta this area now....again job well done...

Yeah, that's basically the trick to tracking them IMO... recognizing when to slow down.

This particular buck was weird, in that he wandered all over the place without any apparent direction. If I didn't have the falling snow to gauge the tracks with I would likely have gone too slow, assuming he was bedding down nearby, and never caught up with him.

[58thecat]

Originally Posted by Bushleague

Yeah, that's basically the trick to tracking them IMO... recognizing when to slow down.

This particular buck was weird, in that he wandered all over the place without any apparent direction. If I didn't have the falling snow to gauge the tracks with I would likely have gone too slow, assuming he was bedding down nearby, and never caught up with him.

Oh I just want to point out something very obvious....you are not using a proper bush stalking rifle...it needs to be a open sighted or low powered scoped lever action rifle with a 20" or less barrel....chambered in a classic cartridge too...say 30-30, 35rem, 444marlin, 45/70...44rem mag.....never a bolt action rifle with a 22-24" barrel.....still room for improvement


But what the heck eh....I got no buck and you got a buck....

[catnthehat]

Oh Lord , thanks for pointing that out as well, 58thcat, I just realized I have been doing it wrong for over 50 years!
Looks like I have to go out and buy a new rifle !!
Cat

[58thecat]

Originally Posted by catnthehat

Oh Lord , thanks for pointing that out as well, 58thcat, I just realized I have been doing it wrong for over 50 years!
Looks like I have to go out and buy a new rifle !!
Cat

I am still looking for a Marlin 1894 JM stamped pre cross bolt safety in 44 Rem mag....the quest continues for another rifle

I do everything wrong and sometimes all the wrongs makes a right and a deer is taken home....more than not they win though when stalking them....

[Bushleague]

Originally Posted by 58thecat

Oh I just want to point out something very obvious....you are not using a proper bush stalking rifle...it needs to be a open sighted or low powered scoped lever action rifle with a 20" or less barrel....chambered in a classic cartridge too...say 30-30, 35rem, 444marlin, 45/70...44rem mag.....never a bolt action rifle with a 22-24" barrel.....still room for improvement


But what the heck eh....I got no buck and you got a buck....

Hey, its got a 20" barrel! Being a pretty dedicated bush hunter, I've tried most of the classic "bush rifles" over the years. What I found is the only thing that really matters in a bush rifle is that you are extremely familiar with it, which IMO makes a good case for using only one rifle. For me a Husky carbine with a low powered scope works in pretty much any situation, so thats what I stick with these days.

[DRhunter]

Tremendous story and pictures. Thanks for sharing!

DR


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Drewski Canuck]

Guys,

You are on page two and NOT guessing at the score???

I'll go first.

Appears to be about 22" main beams, inside is about 24", G1 is 8" a side, G2 is 12" ... 155 Gross.

Now your turn.

Drewski

[Bushleague]

Originally Posted by Drewski Canuck

Guys,

You are on page two and NOT guessing at the score???

I'll go first.

Appears to be about 22" main beams, inside is about 24", G1 is 8" a side, G2 is 12" ... 155 Gross.

Now your turn.

Drewski

I don't measure my antlers, and to be honest I don't really want to know. I have a totally different method of scoring my deer...

-Around 20 days spent hunting.
-Over 50 km covered on foot.
-One 50 yard shot (in this column, the lower the numbers the better)
-Easily over 200 lbs dressed.
-5 hour recovery

By my method he measures out one hell of a trophy, but perhaps the biggest indication of his quality, for me, is that he's probably the first buck I've shot pre rut without feeling any regret.

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by Drewski Canuck

Guys,

You are on page two and NOT guessing at the score???

I'll go first.

Appears to be about 22" main beams, inside is about 24", G1 is 8" a side, G2 is 12" ... 155 Gross.

Now your turn.

Drewski

Won't know the true score until it's on the plate next to the mashed potatoes and gravy.
As a member of the Boom and Crockpot club I volunteer to score it for Bushleague!
Cat

[hayseed]

Well done sir, well deserved trophy, thanks for sharing your hunt, congrats!!

[Ice Fishing Maniac]

Congrats. Your hunch and effort paid dividends !!

[338Bluff]

Originally Posted by 58thecat

Oh I just want to point out something very obvious....you are not using a proper bush stalking rifle...it needs to be a open sighted or low powered scoped lever action rifle with a 20" or less barrel....chambered in a classic cartridge too...say 30-30, 35rem, 444marlin, 45/70...44rem mag.....never a bolt action rifle with a 22-24" barrel.....still room for improvement


But what the heck eh....I got no buck and you got a buck....

Yah that's going to be real smart when you walk out onto a pipeline or clear cut and the trophy of a lifetime is 300+ away. Good luck with those old plugs. 1920 was 100 years ago.

BTW nice buck and story OP.

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by 338Bluff

Yah that's going to be real smart when you walk out onto a pipeline or clear cut and the trophy of a lifetime is 300+ away. Good luck with those old plugs. 1920 was 100 years ago.

BTW nice buck and story OP.

Anything 300 meters and in, it's down, anything further me and my 303 let it walk, no matter how big, no regrets!
Cat

[Bushleague]

Originally Posted by 338Bluff

Yah that's going to be real smart when you walk out onto a pipeline or clear cut and the trophy of a lifetime is 300+ away. Good luck with those old plugs. 1920 was 100 years ago.

BTW nice buck and story OP.

Best thing about those old bush rifles, is their limitations keep you hunting where you belong... in the bush. And I don't mean that in a sarcastic/negative way at all.

The downside is that most people only use them occasionally, which often means that the high degree of familiarity needed for good bush shooting is never properly developed.

[58thecat]

Originally Posted by Bushleague

Hey, its got a 20" barrel! Being a pretty dedicated bush hunter, I've tried most of the classic "bush rifles" over the years. What I found is the only thing that really matters in a bush rifle is that you are extremely familiar with it, which IMO makes a good case for using only one rifle. For me a Husky carbine with a low powered scope works in pretty much any situation, so thats what I stick with these days.

ok 20" is acceptable but the bolt is on the wrong side

[58thecat]

Originally Posted by 338Bluff

Yah that's going to be real smart when you walk out onto a pipeline or clear cut and the trophy of a lifetime is 300+ away. Good luck with those old plugs. 1920 was 100 years ago.

BTW nice buck and story OP.

old plugs I am not as old as Cat......


ohhhh and I got a beanfield rig too...6-284....mostly my southern rifle..up here in the bush I like the plugs....shots well under 100 yards...

[58thecat]

Originally Posted by Bushleague

I don't measure my antlers, and to be honest I don't really want to know. I have a totally different method of scoring my deer...

-Around 20 days spent hunting.
-Over 50 km covered on foot.
-One 50 yard shot (in this column, the lower the numbers the better)
-Easily over 200 lbs dressed.
-5 hour recovery

By my method he measures out one hell of a trophy, but perhaps the biggest indication of his quality, for me, is that he's probably the first buck I've shot pre rut without feeling any regret.

and you did it your way which is dam right awesome!!!

[marlin1]

nice buck , congrats . I have a similar sled and your story reminds me of the cow moose retrieval a couple years back . Sometimes the snow is a blessing

[yidava25]

What a beast. That's gotta be rewarding when you finally have him at the truck and every time you'll look at the antlers.

[338Bluff]

Originally Posted by catnthehat

Anything 300 meters and in, it's down, anything further me and my 303 let it walk, no matter how big, no regrets!
Cat

He never mentioned a 303. Only a handful of lever gun cartridges with rainbow trajectory. Furthermore, how many guys have spent the range time you have. In sports terms you are a "student of the game" and your experience cant really be held as typical for anyone. Though they can aspire to it.

That's a compliment by the way.

[338Bluff]

Love the retrieval. Just marginally short of hiking back in there with a frying pan, pound of butter, salt shaker and a roll of toilet paper.

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by 338Bluff

He never mentioned a 303. Only a handful of lever gun cartridges with rainbow trajectory. Furthermore, how many guys have spent the range time you have. In sports terms you are a "student of the game" and your experience cant really be held as typical for anyone. Though they can aspire to it.

That's a compliment by the way.

And thanks for the compliment!
I never quit studying and training for the hunt!
The .303 I use is a capable round for further distances in the rifle I shoot it in, and is easier to use at longer distances than say, the 30/30, but I like to keep it inside 300.
Inside the bush at really close ranges though , it is stellar even if it is a single shot !
Cat

[Bushleague]

Originally Posted by marlin1

nice buck , congrats . I have a similar sled and your story reminds me of the cow moose retrieval a couple years back . Sometimes the snow is a blessing

Lol, my wife would disagree with me heartily, but IMO snow is pretty much always a blessing during the hunting season. If its November and I don't have tracking snow, I start to wonder what I ever did to the universe to deserve such a fate