Hunting Tomorrow

Got my A Tag this week, so I’ll be sitting in my tree stand tomorrow 9-5, just like work.

Hopefully a nice buck will lay down in the shade of the tree my stand is in. Pics Sunday?

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The Giant Buck of Snowdrift Ridge

The mule deer is one of the most difficult species to take with bow and arrow. Large bucks are often incredibly wary and know how to travel using the terrain and other deer to their safety advantage.

One of the advantages of archery hunting is that during the early season these big bucks will often be found in open country and often on high ridges or in high-elevation bowls. One ridge we used to hunt in Southeast Idaho held a few big bucks during the first week of the Idaho archery season.

It was during one such early-season hunt that my brother, Rob, and I watched a very large buck disappear into a rock pile near the very top of a high ridge. The buck was so far away that we could only guess at how big he was, but we knew he was at least big enough.

It takes a special type of confidence to climb a huge mountain with the goal of hunting for one buck and at that, a buck that is probably one of the most experienced and wise old bucks in the country. The climb to the top of Snow Drift Ridge, as the mountain is called, takes about three hours from the point where we sat. Per our usual understanding, Rob got to go after the big buck as he had spotted it first. I set out after a smaller buck that we had also seen from below.

The climb was every bit as tough as it looked. When we reached the top, the wind was whistling at a good clip and the air was much cooler than it was below. Cloud cover added an ominous cast to the scene as we split up, each taking up position above the bucks we were after.

To add a little excitement to the hike, Rob had walked to within 15 yards of a bedded five point bull elk on the way up. We had elk tags, but the bull was gone before Rob had any chance.

I looked over at the point where Rob would start his descent and my knees felt a little wobbly. The descent would be off a very steep avalanche shoot with loose rocks that were perfect for falling. The cold wind and cloud cover made the approach even unfriendlier looking.

From this point on, I can only repeat Rob’s story as I recall it. He hadn’t climbed very far down the mountain before he spotted antlers below him. He knew right away that it wasn’t the large buck we had seen from below, but it was a four-point buck. He estimated that the bucks spread would be about 24 inches, and the times were all long and evenly matched. Since it was a good scoring set of antlers, Rob figured that it would probably make the Pope and Young minimum score of 145 points. This had been his goal from the start. The buck was in range and hadn’t seen him yet.

He used his range finder and found the range to be about fifty yards and down hill. He re-estimated the range, reducing his range estimate by a few yards to allow for the steep slope of the hill and knocked an arrow. At the shot, the buck ran a few yards and stopped. Rob thought the shot had been on target, but couldn’t see any wound on the buck. The buck walked off and stepped out of sight. Rob quickly climbed down to the spot where the buck had stood and spotted a few drops of blood on the rocks. He figured that the shot had been a non-vital hit, but hoped that he could track the buck and get another shot at him.

Rob sneaked slowly along the buck’s trail occasionally finding a drop of blood, while watching for any sign of the buck. He had traveled only a short distance when he spotted movement ahead. Huge antlers appeared before him as the original buck (the one we had spotted from the bottom of the mountain) fed slowly in his direction. The buck was enormous. He had a mainframe spread well outside his ears and massive antlers with cheater points sticking out several inches past his main frame on both sides.  This buck had five points on each side of his antlers, counting the cheaters, and the bases had the largest circumference Rob had ever seen on a live buck.

At fifteen yards the buck acted suspicious and turned to walk away. At 30 yards the large buck stood broadside to gaze ahead. If Rob had been free to shoot, it would have been the chance of a lifetime. As it was, he felt an obligation to continue after the buck he had hit and only watched as the largest buck he had ever seen within archery range stood broadside at 30 yards.

Unfortunately, the first buck was never found. Rob felt certain his arrow had only clipped the buck’s leg. The actions of the buck after he hit it and the lack of blood sign indicated that this had been a non-fatal hit. At dark, he gave up on the buck and climbed down the mountain and later related his story to me.

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A Lifetime Hunter Reflects on the Hunt of a Lifetime

 A couple months after the 2006 Buck-O-Rama, I purchased a northern BC Stone Sheep hunt. Having hunted mule deer since I was 21, I wasn’t sure exactly how I’d be getting all the value out of the hunt, because a great mule deer hunt could be purchased for less than one third the price of the sheep hunt. However, I wanted to find out for myself what was so good about hunting sheep. As you’ve probably figured out, sheep hunting is very much like hunting remote-country mule deer with that one major exception. And, if you like, you can hunt great remote-county mule deer on a self-guided hunt for less than a couple thousand dollars. 

The out-the-door cost of my two week 2006 BC stone sheep hunt was almost exactly $25,000, not including equipment costs. My typical mule deer hunt costs between $100 and $2,000. This last fall, I archery hunted mule deer in Alberta for a week and paid about $7,000 including all costs.

Although I’ve never paid for a two-week pack trip to hunt trophy mule deer, I’d imagine that a exceptional two week wilderness deer/elk hunt could be had for $10,000 including travel. Not all sheep hunts cost $25,000 either, but that is a good representative number. I’ve had many questions asked since the returning from the hunt, most of them from my spouse, Linda. 

“What did you get for your $25,000?” 

“Was it worth it?”  

“Would you do it again?”  

Worthy questions, but difficult to answer, because I didn’t want to endanger my future hunting options and I can honestly say that I didn’t attempt to compare hunts from a financial perspective. Why not? Because that’s what the hunt cost and I decided to do it.  In retrospect, I’m now much more prepared to evaluate the situation than I was before the hunt.

 What did I get for my $25,000?  I got travel from my front porch to a remote wilderness camp at the base of a BC mountain where several legal stone sheep rams resided. To get there I traveled in a limousine (one hour), 737 commercial jet (five hours), pickup (two hours), float plane (half hour) and on horseback (four hours). After that came the hiking and there was plenty of that as well. Naturally, the process was reversed for the return trip. There were many meals, about 50 of them, ranging from steak and eggs to moose meat sandwiches with great home baked bread, rolls and pies. But, I didn’t go there to eat.  

My entourage included outfitter, guide, wrangler, cook and assistant – not to mention the concession owner who tagged along and helped out for about half the trip. I’ve never had so much attention. And, with the four hours a day of horseback riding for eleven days in a row, I needed all the help I could muster to get on and off my pony. What did this entourage do? They did everything, but dress me and wash me.

Meals were all prepared and coffee brewed constantly. When I needed a horse, it was ready. These people made sure that I had all the support necessary to make sure I would have my best chance to bag a ram when the opportunity presented itself. That’s all I could have asked for. To be valid, the outfitter had to provide me with a legitimate chance to bag a ram.

That was the case. In fact, we found a legal ram the first day out of camp. We spent the first four days attempting to get in position to stalk the ram and take him with archery equipment. On day four, it looked as though we would finally get into position for a chance with my bow. However, the legal ram and six younger rams with him moved off before I could get into position. I spotted them at 100 yards, staring in my direction as I stalked the spot where they had been. 

After four days of failure, I reconsidered my prospects for taking a ram with bow and arrow and elected to switch to the 300 magnum. On day six, I connected with a beautiful ram. On the remainder of the hunt I searched unsuccessfully for a mountain caribou to shoot with my bow. I think that answers the first question.  

“Was it worth it?” 

My best answer for that came from my mother who told me she never regretted the things she’d done, only the things she’d not done. That statement covers it for me, but there is more. Each activity or action we undertake becomes part of the richness of our life. If you can find a way to afford a trip like this, by all means take it. There’s nothing that can replace the first-hand experience of a wilderness hunt for sheep. 

For those who decide they don’t think the product justifies the price, go mule deer hunting and don’t look back. In my opinion, mule deer are every bit the quarry that sheep are. Hunting mule deer is not sheep hunting, but it’s very similar and can be every bit as satisfying, challenging and exciting. 

Mule deer are sheep with a little less sizzle. 

And the last question,

“Would you do it again?” 

Since my return, people keep referring to my sheep hunt as “the trip of a lifetime.” Mistakenly, I used to think that meant that I could go only once. Lately I’ve realized that “trip of a lifetime” only means it’s the trip of a lifetime so far.

    Caption: The first ram was the smallest, the second was almost legal and the third is the one I eventually shot. The photo was taken from about 600 yards about two hours before the shot.   

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