liecabucks
Very Active Member
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- 1,223
I’m pretty dazed at the last few days events and how this season has written itself. Having scored on a September high country slob already, I wasn’t in any way shape or form expecting to put my hands on another giant. I had 2 tags coming into the 2020 season, with hopes of snagging some sort of Colorado tag one way or another. The stars aligned, and I was holding a pretty good third season tag. With only a few weeks to make calls and learn the unit, I knew it could be a tough go. I’m lucky to have good friends on this site willing to share experiences and unit info with me on occasion.
Monday rolled around and the season had been open for three days now and I was trying to figure out how I’m the world I could make the drive in time to hunt Tuesday morning. I loaded everything and headed out at 11:00 PM driving straight through, only to pick up my tag and get fuel. 9:00 AM Tuesday morning found me cresting the unit boundary, it was game on. I spent the rest of the day checking various areas marked on my map, it was bitter cold with a windchill near 0.
I didn’t even have a place to stay lined up so I did what any other crazy Muledeer nut does, sleep in the back of the truck. Wednesday morning rolled around pretty quickly at a mere 9 degrees, I knew it things could get western real quick! I glassed up 120 deer by 9:00 AM but nothing was even close to a shooter. I continued higher, up through the draw where the road followed a ridge over looking prime real estate rolling down off the high country. I continued to glass deep and that’s when I turned up a tree stump buck at 3 away. When I zoomed the old Lieca into the stump buck, I caught movement behind, this was a real buck on the move! He was solo and headed down the draw on a mission it seemed. With the heat waves, I couldn’t see much more than a heart shaped frame and a big back end. Good enough for a closer look I decided as I lost him moving through the scrub. I had a hunch, he was headed for a pocket of does I turned up lower.
An hour later, I had pulled up to glass the draw. From my truck, I put the spotter to the hill. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I picked out an antler from beneath a cedar tree. It was definitely him, those giant backs were teasing me as he bobbed his head drifting into one of the last dreams he’d have. It was that moment I realized this buck was really good and the buck fever shot through my veins. There were people driving the roads, glassing the very side hill the buck was beaded on. My nerves were were going crazy! The trucks created out and i made my move. The buck was 800 yards from me and my pickup and I figured if i could get to a rocky outcropping above him it would afford me a shot opportunity I was comfortable with. Halfway into my stalk, two more pickups emerged from below, slowly studying the draw in from of them. I quickly dove for cover, I didn’t want anyone knowing that I could be after a buck and I was blazing bright orange. I waited for the trucks to clear once again and continued to my ambush point. I settled behind a cedar and prepped, dialing old “COVID” for 365 and setting up my spotter and phone scope to get the shot, in case it was less than favorable. I dropped into prone, with the buck in clear view still dozing off.......it was time to send it. Everything felt great
as the ackley jumped but when I looked through the scope for a follow up shot, the buck hadn’t moved!! It was pretty apparent it was game over for him. I knew he was a 200 inch buck by this time but what I found laying under that cedar borderline blew my mind!
Monday rolled around and the season had been open for three days now and I was trying to figure out how I’m the world I could make the drive in time to hunt Tuesday morning. I loaded everything and headed out at 11:00 PM driving straight through, only to pick up my tag and get fuel. 9:00 AM Tuesday morning found me cresting the unit boundary, it was game on. I spent the rest of the day checking various areas marked on my map, it was bitter cold with a windchill near 0.
I didn’t even have a place to stay lined up so I did what any other crazy Muledeer nut does, sleep in the back of the truck. Wednesday morning rolled around pretty quickly at a mere 9 degrees, I knew it things could get western real quick! I glassed up 120 deer by 9:00 AM but nothing was even close to a shooter. I continued higher, up through the draw where the road followed a ridge over looking prime real estate rolling down off the high country. I continued to glass deep and that’s when I turned up a tree stump buck at 3 away. When I zoomed the old Lieca into the stump buck, I caught movement behind, this was a real buck on the move! He was solo and headed down the draw on a mission it seemed. With the heat waves, I couldn’t see much more than a heart shaped frame and a big back end. Good enough for a closer look I decided as I lost him moving through the scrub. I had a hunch, he was headed for a pocket of does I turned up lower.
An hour later, I had pulled up to glass the draw. From my truck, I put the spotter to the hill. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I picked out an antler from beneath a cedar tree. It was definitely him, those giant backs were teasing me as he bobbed his head drifting into one of the last dreams he’d have. It was that moment I realized this buck was really good and the buck fever shot through my veins. There were people driving the roads, glassing the very side hill the buck was beaded on. My nerves were were going crazy! The trucks created out and i made my move. The buck was 800 yards from me and my pickup and I figured if i could get to a rocky outcropping above him it would afford me a shot opportunity I was comfortable with. Halfway into my stalk, two more pickups emerged from below, slowly studying the draw in from of them. I quickly dove for cover, I didn’t want anyone knowing that I could be after a buck and I was blazing bright orange. I waited for the trucks to clear once again and continued to my ambush point. I settled behind a cedar and prepped, dialing old “COVID” for 365 and setting up my spotter and phone scope to get the shot, in case it was less than favorable. I dropped into prone, with the buck in clear view still dozing off.......it was time to send it. Everything felt great
as the ackley jumped but when I looked through the scope for a follow up shot, the buck hadn’t moved!! It was pretty apparent it was game over for him. I knew he was a 200 inch buck by this time but what I found laying under that cedar borderline blew my mind!
