Glassing for Deer, Round Valley

Sat in my chair and glassed the sage brush, rabbit bush, bitter brush, black brush and white-thorn ceanothis for deer.

Saw somewhere between 30 and 50 deer this morning and 23 in the evening. Hard to know which are repeats. Mountain lions in the area. Probably should have seen more.

Actually had six or seven does run past me in two separate groups an hour apart (at full speed.) Mule deer are terrified by lions. Sometimes they will not only run a half mile at full speed, but they’ll also bleat frantically as they run in fear for their life.

I have personally observed this on a hunt at Anderson Flat about twenty years ago. The deer was screaming as it ran towards me and I saw it cross the ridge top while sitting in my tree stand.

Seconds later the lion came into view for a brief period of time. This took place just before sunset.

The next day I came back and could find no evidence that the lion had brought down the deer.

As for the current hunt, I saw only two bucks today. This evening a 3×3 was following a doe. That’s a good sign.

Looking for a big one. Four days left here. Hard hunting.

Posting from my cell phone.

Round Valley

Today I saw Round Valley for the first time. It is a valley inside a round bowl. Here are some pics.

This is a photo of a cottonwood, beehives and Round Valley Peak, which stands west of Round Valley.

Looking at the eastern rim of Round Valley.

This is a panorama with Round Vally Peak to the left ( west) and a rothe next mountain range to the east.

Found deer this morning. They were mostly near the small town named Rovana, which is on Pine Creek Road just south of Round Valley.

Along with about 30 does, there was one buck. I’ll post a photo of him later. Just a forked horn, but he was with the does. The rut is starting.

The weather is beautiful, for rock climbing, not for deer hunting.

I’m probably moving north tomorrow, towards Mammoth Lakes. The deer, especially the bucks, are still high. Probably Seven to eight thousand feet. The valley floor is about five thousand feet in elevation.

May have to put my ankle to the test and climb. We’ll see.

Buttermilk Country

Buttermilk Country is the lower elevation area between Bishop and the big mountains to the west that divide the Owens and San Joaquin drainages.

This is where mule deer migrate over the passes and drop down into the Owens valley.

Tomorrow the hunt starts.

Duck Openers

2019 opened with a glorious sunrise.

October is a great month for hunters. Coastal deer season is over, but late season and out-of- state hunts are looming. The weather is changing and the days are growing short, but the highlight of October for me so far this year was yesterday and  the opening day of the 2019 duck season.

Back in the glory days of Mayberry Farms, opening day was always full straps of mallards.

Brother Rob, myself and Fred Hilke on opening day 2006.

Those days ended when the seasonal marsh was replaced by permanent marsh.

In 2009, I was concerned about river otters: 2009 https://hunterlandowner.wordpress.com/2009/10/

In 2010 the Giants were in the World Series: 2010 https://hunterlandowner.wordpress.com/2010/10/28/opening-day-ducks-and-baseball/

Opening day 2011 was a winner and brought back memories of the “good old days” : 2011 https://hunterlandowner.wordpress.com/2011/10/

In 2014 I joined the Kerry Duck Club in the Grasslands to fill the void. My disappointment with Mayberry was mitigated by grasslands teal.

2014 https://hunterlandowner.wordpress.com/2014/10/

Last year provided good action as I covered the hunt in detail.

2018 https://hunterlandowner.wordpress.com/2018/10/

2019 was a success in many ways. The Friday night dinner was perfect and the mood of the club members was optimistic and lively.

On Saturday morning we were greeted with more ducks than I can recall for a grasslands opener. I was lucky to have my son-in-law Brett with me. Lola made it to another year of duck hunting, a little slower, but able.

Brett and I both had our hits and misses. We each had six ducks by about 9 o’clock – mostly green-wing teal. Then we decided to wait for a shot at pintail. Brett connected right away and got to watch me miss.

I missed three drake pintails in a row, each time emptying my shotgun. Finally I figured that I needed a bigger lead. The “teal” lead did not work for the faster-flying pintails. On the next bird I “aimed to miss” and the bird dropped with one shot. I was disappointed to see that I’d shot a hen – something I try hard not to do. You would think that it was be just about impossible to shoot a hen.

However, I did. And, we were done.

Lola’s retrieves were slow but effective.

Brett with his strap.

When we signed out, we found that everybody to that point had reported limits.

Planning Your California Muzzleloader Deer Hunt

On October 26th, many California muzzleloader hunts open. Make sure you are properly prepared.

One of the main issues with muzzleloader hunting is the amount of paraphernalia it takes to operate. The best way to get past this obstacle is to practice several times before going afield.

However, California laws regarding toxic shot are throwing a new wrinkle into the program. For several years, muzzleloader bullets have had the appearance of being made of copper. In fact, I was one who thought I was shooting lead-free bullets until recently.

Now I’ve found out that the so-called “Copper” bullets I’ve been shooting for over two years are actually only copper coated. To complicate things, I’ve not found any bullets that call themselves “lead free.” However, Barnes does make an all-copper 45 Cal. bullet that fits into a 50 Cal. sabot and it meets the California standards as far as I can tell.

Check them out. Here’s a photo of the POWERBELT so-called “Copper” bullets on the left and the BARNES bullets with sabots on the right.

The POWERBELT “Copper” Bullets on the left call themselves “copper” bullets, but as near as I can tell they have lead in them. The BARNES bullets on the right are described as pure copper. They are 45 caliber with a 50 caliber sabot.

I shot the Barnes bullets and they were accurate in my Bonecrusher model 50 caliber muzzleloader. The sabots are a very tight fit and it takes a bit or work to get the bullet down the barrel. Make your first shot count and carry a bullet starter. If you have only a long ramrod, you may never get your firearm loaded.

Sunrise at Lake Almanor

Got up early. At 6:45 the horizon was established. At 7:20 the sun popped up.

It was worthwhile. It always is.

Planning Late Season Buck Hunting

One of the best parts of owning an Open Zone deer tag is planning the trip.

Especially as one grows older, it’s better to be looking ahead than looking back.

My foot troubles are mostly behind me. Still a bit of healing going on, but I’m about 90% healed and by November, who knows how far along I’ll be, but whatever, it will be good enough.

During my previous Open Zone escapades, 2016 & 2018, I went to places that I really wanted to see and hunt. Now that the ice is twice broken, I’m going to be a bit more systematic and practical.

I’m leaning towards focusing on two or three November hunts and taking into account my resources. I’m going to do as much scouting as possible during October. I also have some friends who are imbedded in the areas I’m considering.

And, I have the house at Almanor which is located near several of the best late-season muzzleloader hunts. The house can be my home base and  muzzleloader shooting takes less preparation (practice) than archery.

Now that I’ve spent the summer laid up, the time I needed to hone my archery shooting is mostly gone making it unlikely that I could attain the level of confidence I would need to shoot a great buck with a bow, but I can reach that point with a lesser amount of practice with the muzzleloader.

The late-season muzzleloader hunts begin during the last week of October and run through November. And, one of my favorites, M3 (Doyle) ends before Thanksgiving, meaning I won’t have to come home in the middle of the hunt.

This is a Doyle buck I decided not to shoot.

This was the best buck I saw during the M9 hunt in 2018, but not good enough. I figured he was close, but the decision wasn’t hard. He came by on the next to last day of the hunt, following a doe. Keep in mind that I had an Open Zone tag so I could continue to hunt after the M9 hunt was over. If I’d had only an M9 tag, he would have been a shooter.

This guy was competing with other similar bucks (M9).

This is my 2018 Goodale Buck. He’s not a big deer. His width is 21 inches, and height just under 18 inches tall. He has all four points on each side and also nice eye guards. Everybody who hunts Goodale wants a monster buck, but the truth is that they are hard to find. I am very happy with this buck.

This 2016 M3 buck is my favorite California deer. He has lots of mass and huge eye guards.

This Devil’s Garden buck is very pretty. I couldn’t shoot him, even if I’d wanted to. He was 30 yards outside the boundary of the zone.