'07 bow alpine mulies

[BottomDweller]

well, finished out my first ten days off from work, and here's some pictures for you guys.

me as i start off on the trailhead:


stairway to heaven:


"big buck ridge" from cover


on opening day, sept 1, i spotted six bucks moving away from where i was, and then traversing a tiny trail across what is essentially a band of cliffs, to end up bedding down on "big buck ridge".  i watched them for the day, then when they got up in the late afternoon and slipped over the opposite side of the ridge to feed, i decided to kamikaze it and follow their obscure trail across the cliffs, using the ridge between us as cover, and tried to get within bow range of them.  i was surprised when the "space walk" proved easy despite going over and under sheer vertical drops, but the trail was so thin and unstable that instead of advancing with an arrow nocked and ready to go, i was forced to walk with the bow in the wrong hand with all the arrows in the quiver.  when i neared the ridgeline, two sentry forked-horns bounced down the incline, alerting the bigger bucks on the other side to something wrong.  i wasn't really paying enough attention, thinking more about being as quiet as possible, when i looked up and the whole band of velveteen bucks were staring at me wide-eyed at about forty yards, having come back over the ridge to investigate the ruckus.  of course, i was left standing there completely caught off guard.  as i struggled to (as quickly & quietly as possible) extract an arrow from the quiver and nock it, all three dandy bucks bounced off and down into the timber, leaving me shaking my head and laughing.

this is a close-up of the "big buck ridge," where i came in from the left, and all of the bucks were on the ridgeline stretching down and to the right:


this photo was taken right after scaring all the bucks out of their hideout:


here's some pictures of the beds the bucks were frequenting on "big buck ridge":





this is one of the two forked-horns that busted out, and then were left behind as sentries to keep an eye on me while the big bucks looked for better cover:



scheming on the big bucks on "big buck ridge"


rendezvous mountain, the behemoth overlooking my adventures


some nice scenery shots from the area




my home ridge, where i missed a 190-class buck on opening day last year





glassing


a ruffed grouse strutting around my camp


my camp


and then after several more failed stalks, and eventually just pushing my group of bucks out of their hidey-holes, i came across this little guy on my walk back to camp, and decided to try and stalk him just for practice, but when i was able to close the distance to about thirty yards, and considering the fact that it was only about 300 yds, downhill, to the trail (making for an extremely easy pack out), i decided on the spur of the moment to harvest him.  it was a perfect double lung shot and the buck only ran about 80 or 90 yds.





                                                            ~

[BottomDweller]

it was; now on to elk    four quick days of work, and then i've got 12 days to get a bruiser.

[FishN4Eyes]

Incredible photos.

Congrats on the buck, great bow kill.

Good luck with the elk!

[BoneHead]

great story, great pictures, and great job! congrats on a fine animal and thanks for sharing.

[adkRoy]

congrats on the buck!!!! nice pictures.

[GAMEDOG]

Nice job! Did you have to pack him out on your back?

[BottomDweller]

yeah, boned it out.  was an easy one-man job - maybe sixty pounds total    good meat though

[Chucker]

Incredible pics.  My heart nearly blew out of my chest just thinking about going up and down those ridges.  I'm in much better shape for a 1/2 mile walk across a field to a treestand   

[LT]

C0ngrats on the biuck, thanks for the great high-country shots 
                                                     ICENSNWMNSTR

[luckyduck22]

wow!! thats amazing scenery. good job on the buck and the good shot and good luck on the upcoming elk season. take lots of pics

[BIG NINE!!!]

BottomDweller,
Great pics! Although I have never been out West before, it is on my checklist of things to do before I get too old to handle it.

It is amazing what a difference the hunting is from the East to the West. Tent?? How about a cabin with a woodstove and a queen bed? Your cooking over the open fire. We are putting a turkey in the oven or a backstrap on the propane grill. Beer? Their in the refrigerator. I can't imagine having to pack my deer out of the woods. My method of packing my deer out=tie it to the 4 wheeler and drive away!!!   

Great job on the Mulie! I hope to be able to post my own adventure someday!!

Later,

Big Nine

[BottomDweller]

thanks everyone; good luck to you all too

[elkcrazedfrk]

Looks like my kind of terrain..Nice muley..Hope you smoke a bruiser bull. I'm starting to jones hard for some more hunting..I'm done till november.