Off The Grid: 2011

After going along on earlier seasons with buddies, taking photos and shooting the game with my camera it is finally my turn. I was looking forward to filling my 4th season buck tag. I was hunting unit 191, in a State Wildlife Area that is also a wintering area for deer and elk.
Usually I pride myself in the wonderful photography that these posts are about, with the script only being secondary. However on this trip I only carried my Pentax DSLR on the scouting day prior to the season. During hunting I used my little Canon point and shoot. This was to save weight and space in my pack, if I was so fortunate to harvest I would need that space to carry boned out meat. The few photos shot with the DSLR will be marked with an * .
To start things off I elected to go set up camp on Monday the 14th and avoid a high wind storm the weekend preceding. Arriving Monday afternoon I erected our old Hillary canvas tent and unloaded my truck. With enough to remain comfortable for a week, I settled in leisurely changed and went on a short hike to stretch my legs after the 2.5 hour drive from my home in Lakewood. I scouted an area near camp, not seeing any animals and just exposing my self to some strong winds.

Camp at sunset. Photo: Cory Arola*

Remaining blustery through the night I slept in on Tuesday as the season would start on Wednesday the 16th. Rising from bed I gathered my gear and drove a couple miles to the trailhead I would be hunting out of. The area we hunt requires an immediate climb for about 30 min to reach an area I have historically seen deer. Along this road I jumped 4 deer, watching them sneak over a ridge top at 40 yards I assumed the would circle to catch my wind and try and see me in the open. I myself circled as well to hide myself and see them. To my surprise it was a nice 4x4 and three does. I switched to my telephoto lens and shot this while I had them in the open.

Photo: Cory Arola*

After watching them search for me, they wandered off. I continued to scout the area and gain elevation to glass a larger area. Two hours later glassing where I jumped the deer I saw the buck feeding, shortly a single doe rose. The rut was on, that buck was harassing her non-stop! I watched them for near 45 min. The area I would put myself opening day was decided.

A celebratory drink waiting for the harvest to happen. Photo: Cory Arola*

Photo: Cory Arola

I rose early at 4:30, still being windy I was not thrilled with how animals might react. I figured wind would decrease activity and I would see less deer. I was right. The spent the day glassing open spaces and still hunting north facing timber. I saw one doe all day long. Wednesday night became very still, I was surprised because this was very uncommon for the area. I awoke to a very still clear morning, as I climbed from the trailhead again the weather changed. Clouds came in and it began to flurry snow on me. I remained cold all day even after the snow stopped about noon. I covered much ground looking for deer, the only being seen were a forkhorn and three does about 3.5 miles from the trailhead.

Photo: Cory Arola

That night my dad came up to camp.

Photo: Cory Arola

We enjoyed delicious elk chili that I made from the year before's harvest. The entire hunt was fueled by last years elk, only opening a store bought can saturday night. On Friday my father and I rose early, once again, we climbed to the area I had seen the 4x4 on Tuesday. Here my dad elected to sit and watch as I would climb higher to check another ridge top. In the process of climbing I glassed the field my dad would we watching. A deer! I immediately lost it in my binoculars. As we continued to watch and found the deer once again, by seeing a glint of sun on the antlers. We snuck lower to the field for a better view I saw him dart across in my peripheral to the trees.
At this point we chose to regroup. My dad would sit higher and watch a field near the top of one of the ridges and I would sneak lower into the field and try and see into the forrest where he had disappeared.
I slowly made my way down the path avoiding stepping in the crunchy old snow as much as possible. As I rounded a tree I rose my binoculars and look through the trees and find the deer. After about 15 seconds I saw the buck staring at me, 220 yards away. I dropped my pack pulled out my shooting sticks, and stepped out from behind the trees. Kneeling I set my rifle on the shooting sticks. Turning up my scope to 9x, settled the crosshairs on the chest of the deer. At least what I thought was the chest of the deer, facing east at sunrise I had so much sunflare in my scope I could not aim. While looking through the binos I was in the shade the the tree, after kneeling I was in full frontal assault of the sun rays. I tried to aim, in that time the buck turned and bounded off....
In my last ditch effort I packed up and circled around the buck to still hunt through hillside and hopefully catch him looking backwards for me. I saw three does in the process, but no buck.

Photo: Cory Arola*

Savage 99 .308 WIN Photo: Cory Arola

That night after getting to camp my father wasn't feeling so well, and at 4:30 when the alarm went off he told me it would be better for him to stay in camp Saturday. I rose, dressing, eating breakfast, shoveling and clearing off my truck as it had snowed a couple inches that night and left for the trailhead. With fresh snow my plan was to cut a fresh track and follow it to deer.
I finally saw a track after gaining the highest ridge in the area, at about 7:15. I followed the tracks down a ravine into the field and into the hillside I had seen the buck the day before. I slowly made my way through the hillside about midway up, looking for deer ahead of me. The new snow made areas silent, however pocked of the old snow was still crunchy. I could hear and make out deer moving ahead of me. I concluded to myself I would never sneak up on these deer, the snow was too loud. I dropped to the valley floor circled ahead of where I thought the deer were, and found a stump to sit on. Here I added a layer of clothing, drank water and had a snack of a bagel and peanut butter. Resting from 8:30 until about 8:50 I turned and looked at the ridge above me, only a about 150 yards away straight up. I figured I will gain that and look into the forrest below and could possibly see deer moving.
As I crested the ridge I found myself at the edge of a field that my dad and I had visited the day before. I remember making the comment to him that it was such a nice area but I never see animals here. I slowly strode into the open, swiveling my head thinking this one time it might be different.
stepped out from behind a short fat juniper, a buck quartering heavily towards me staring was in the field. I raised my rifle, looking through the scope my crosshairs bounced wildly. Out of breath from the straight uphill climb I could not hold the rifle steady. I took a knee, knowing this was a more steady position. I aimed, my crosshairs still moved around. I told myself this is it, you have to do it now. Taking a deep breath I settle on the chest and squeezed. I regained my sight picture through the scope and saw the buck collapse where he stood. I stood and yelled.

Photo: Cory Arola

The excitement was overwhelming, five years of trying to harvest a buck, I had finally succeeded.
My child hood dream of finding a buck in the snow while walking through the forrest had culminated! As I yelled three does I had never seen broke from behind him running off.

3x3 Mule Deer 11-19-11 Photo: Cory Arola

I proceeded with a max text that I had finally done it! I called my mother, not able to understand her through the excitement she was sharing with me, I had to interrupt her. My cell phone was dying, I need her to try to contact my dad and let her know I had harvested and would be boning out a deer to pack back to the truck.
Two and a half hours later I started the trek back to my truck with a little over half the deer in my pack and approximately 80 lbs. on my back. Luckily I was only 1.28 miles from the truck. I arrived at the trailhead to meet my dad, unloaded my pack and start the return trip to collect the rest of my meat and the head and hide.
My dad carried the head and cape down and I the rest of the meat. Our trip had been successful, I turned in 58 lbs of meat to the game processing plant and await my wonderful meals to come.

Photo: Cory Arola

Four bags of meat and one rack of ribs, 58 lbs to the butcher. Photo; Cory Arola

Photo: Cory Arola

Analogous with using a point and shoot camera to document my hunt, I ended up harvesting a buck not off my shooting sticks but by pointing and shooting offhand. Practicing field positions is vital when preparing for big game season. For those that wonder, I hit the deer frontally in the chest, grazing the right lung, the 180 gr, .308 WIN Remington Corelokt bullet bounced of the inside of the right shoulder angled back through the body, going through the liver and ending its trip in the intestine.

I look forward to a year of deer meat and finishing the rest of my elk from the season prior. I have just purchased a bow and and excited about preparing for an archery elk hunt in August of 2012.

Of course the Lucky Bunny! Photo: Cory Arola

We are finally getting some snow in the high country. You would think I would have been on my board this weekend but no. My schedule was full, on Saturday I went to the range to sight in my rifle for deer season then replaced my shocks on my truck that afternoon.

From here the plan was to drive to Como, CO and sleep on some public land near there, hunt rabbit/scout for deer and elk terrain then go to Fairplay, CO and do some engagement photos for a friend.

Engagement photos were cancelled due to illness, so I had to scout and hunt the whole day..... Big loss!

Hahaha enjoy!

Photo: Cory Arola

I drove in at about the 10 p.m. and parked. Climbing in the back of my truck, I got into my sleeping bag and went to sleep. Apparently it got cold that night, when I woke up, everything was frozen, even my contacts in their case.

After defrosting I went hunting.

Snow had fallen the day before. Photo: Cory Arola

Photo: Cory Arola

I didn't see a single rabbit, lots of tracks though. Needless to say this is the only one I shot.

Lucky Bunny. Photo: Cory Arola

Photo: Cory Arola

After hunting I decided to get a few more "field position" shots under my belt to practice for upcoming deer season. With it being October and Halloween approaching a pumpkin was the perfect target...

Photo: Cory Arola

Entrance whole. Photo: Cory Arola

Exit. Photo: Cory Arola

And now for some perspective of how controlled expansion bullets perform.

Photo: Cory Arola

After my carefully aimed shot off shooting sticks, I moved it forward to 50 yards to shoot like a man.

Upright on my feet holding the rifle, know as offhand or standing. I took two rapid fire shots, being a lever action rapid just means two in a row. Exploding a pumpkin was fun!