Our 2015 deer season went out with a bang

[gamestalker]

So myself, son, DIL, and two friends just finished our deer season last night, and everyone filled their tags. My son just came along to help guide, as he killed his 2015 deer during the January archery hunt.

My DIL smoked her buck with a 466 yd. perfect lung shot with her brand new Tika Lite in .270 win.. My son was carrying it out for her, and before he got 50 yds., he slipped on the near vertical slope, injuring his ankle and knee. So what does she do, she hands him her rifle, then throws the deer up on her neck and over her shoulders, and walks it all the way back to the truck. And without skipping a beat, she guts it, then skins it, and then hung it in our tree back at camp, bagged and ready for the meat cutter. When she took all 4 deer to the meat cutter, she cut up the deer, and two elk that arrived while she was there. After a full week of camping, she stayed up until about 5:00 am this morning cutting meat, a simply amazing young lady.

I didn't do anything really, I just shot him. My DIL packed him out, gutted him, and skinned him for me.

The hunt was amazing though. We got to see a lot of really great deer and other wildlife over the last 7 days. I shot at a trophy 6x6 couse deer, no excuses, I just blew the shot.

But for me, the high point of the week was when I glassed up a big beautiful mountain lion and her cub from about 2000 yards away. It was simply awesome to watch her and the cub as they interacted with one another.

Saw a bunch of javelina, mearns quail, coatimundi, coyotes, fox, just an amazing week.

GS

 

[hq]

Wow. Sounds like a fantastic week. It's been a while since I've had a chance to take anyone from my family hunting with me for longer than an extended weekend.

By the way, does your DIL by any chance happen to have a sister? My oldest son is single and the dates he has brought to meet us so far have been city slickers who'd most likely faint at the first sight of blood or guts. You know, the "meat comes from supermarket freezer" -types. Lucky you...

 

[gamestalker]

As a matter of fact HQ, when my son first met her she was a hard core city slicker. I don't think she had ever seen a deer, much less shoot, gut, skin, or eat one. Now she out glasses most of us seasoned tripod glasser's, to the extent that she has been the one to glass them up in the bed the last couple years. And some of the deer she finds are all but completely concealed, a truly talented young lady.

And yes she does have a sister, but she is married, and she doesn't hunt, camp, or even eat venison, or any other flavor of game meat for that matter.

GS

 

[wankerjake]

Sounds pretty fantastic.

Say GS, you guys packing these deer out with the guts still in?

 

[jim in Anchorage]

You carry whole deer rather than drag them? That's one strong woman.

 

[sixgunner455]

Coues deer aren't that big, jim. Still impressive that she hauled him out by herself, though.

 

[gamestalker]

Oh ya, we always pack them out before gutting them, doing so helps to keep grit and dirt from getting in the meat, not too mention cholla cactus and all the other nasty cacti we have in Az.

And yes, couse deer are a very small white tail specie, they average about 70 lbs. or so, though I have killed a few that went over 100 lbs., it isn't really the norm. They have their very own place in the records books also, and I think the minimum to get into the B&C is something like 107".

GS

 

[sixgunner455]

GS, what unit were you in? I hunted with my son in 35A for the Thanksgiving whitetail hunt.

 

[jim in Anchorage]

Coues deer aren't that big, jim. Still impressive that she hauled him out by herself, though.

I didn't realize they where that small. Been hunting moose to long.

 

[wankerjake]

80lbs draped over your back is heavy compared to 60lbs... it's rough country down there. I would never pack out guts, if you aren't dragging them it's easy enough to keep crap out of the cavity. I only open them up to the sternum.

But, I'm a small guy.

 

[gamestalker]

We were in 36B again this year.

That unit is treacherous, one miss placed step can be deadly, and even more so if you have a deer draped over your shoulders. Last year I slipped on a slope, I ended up going home at the end of the hunt with a concussion, and a large deep gash in my head. That was on the very first morning, and right after my son and his buddy had just smoked two nice bucks. I took a couple days off to recuperate a bit, then hit it hard for the remaining 7 or 8 days. I don't think I can recall any of us not having met the ground at one time or another while hunting in those units. It's about like trying to walk on bowling balls and marbles.

GS

 

[jim in Anchorage]

As a old sheep hunter I find this thread interesting. Why not gut the deer, skin it, remove the head [saw or chop off the top of the skull to save the horns/antlers] the shins and cut the rest into quarters and ribs and bone them out and load it all into a meat frame? You know the ones with a shelf on the bottom? I have, [with a person helping me] packed out 250lb on the hoof sheep over the roughest terrain you can imagine doing this.

 

[H&Hhunter]

Ditto on the pack frame or even a pack like the J-34 Just One. I've packed out quartered deer in mine several times. https://www.eberlestock.com/J34 Just One.htm

I absolutely love this pack.

 

[gamestalker]

Anything bigger than the little bitty couse deer, and we do take them out in quarters. But a 60-70 lb. deer is easy enough if the distance isn't extreme.

The country we hunt in is nothing like what you deal with in Alaska Jim, you guys have some of the most inhabitable terrain and weather on the planet. All we deal mostly with is cactus, and steep shale slopes. It's the cactus that poses a major risk to a gutted skinned animal in our neck of the woods.

GS

 

[jim in Anchorage]

Anything bigger than the little bitty couse deer, and we do take them out in quarters. But a 60-70 lb. deer is easy enough if the distance isn't extreme.

The country we hunt in is nothing like what you deal with in Alaska Jim, you guys have some of the most inhabitable terrain and weather on the planet. All we deal mostly with is cactus, and steep shale slopes. It's the cactus that poses a major risk to a gutted skinned animal in our neck of the woods.

GS

No I sure never encounter cactus but I will take all your cactus if you take all my Devils club. Nasty, nasty plant and they always appear on a slope where you are looking for a hand hold. Like grabing barb wire. With poison on it.

 

[jim in Anchorage]

Ditto on the pack frame or even a pack like the J-34 Just One. I've packed out quartered deer in mine several times. https://www.eberlestock.com/J34 Just One.htm

I absolutely love this pack.

I have been thinking of buying one of them for years. What do you think of the rifle scabbard?

 

[gamestalker]

Sounds like a major bummer Jim. We do deal with other very nasty plant life, such as cat claw. You brush up against that stuff, and it will shred anything. I've literally gotten stuck in that stuff, and the worst part is, there is no possible way to get out of it without getting your flesh and clothing torn up real bad.

During the hunt, my DIL literally got wrapped up in some, we had to break out our multi tools and cut the branches off, then pull her out of it. By the time we got her out of it, she looked like she had gone through a cheese grater. She tried to use the synthetic stock on her Tika held out in front of her to try and avoid making contact with it, but once it gets hold of you, it's similar to getting stuck in quick sand, the more you struggle, the worse things get.

Cholla cactus should have been named devil cactus. You get into that stuff, and your going to remember it for weeks, even months, probably even years before you get it all out. I once swung my arm into a Cholla when going for a triple on quail, and I kid you not, I was digging it out of my forearm for months.

Cholla, cat claw, prickly pear, pencil cactus, mesquite, barrel cactus, and probably a good dozen others that will ruin your day if you get complacent and take a wrong step. Barrel cactus and mesquite, those two can do some major damage also.

And if one should get nailed by mesquite, it can lead to a very bad infection, and very quickly. Just getting poked by mesquite is all it takes to start brewing a deadly infection. Back in the early 90's I ended up in the hospital 3 days after I broke a mesquite needle off in the palm of my hand. I was literally fighting for my life, blood poisoning.

GS

 

[jim in Anchorage]

Sounds like a major bummer Jim. We do deal with other very nasty plant life, such as cat claw. You brush up against that stuff, and it will shred anything. I've literally gotten stuck in that stuff, and the worst part is, there is no possible way to get out of it without getting your flesh and clothing torn up real bad.

During the hunt, my DIL literally got wrapped up in some, we had to break out our multi tools and cut the branches off, then pull her out of it. By the time we got her out of it, she looked like she had gone through a cheese grater. She tried to use the synthetic stock on her Tika held out in front of her to try and avoid making contact with it, but once it gets hold of you, it's similar to getting stuck in quick sand, the more you struggle, the worse things get.

Cholla cactus should have been named devil cactus. You get into that stuff, and your going to remember it for weeks, even months, probably even years before you get it all out. I once swung my arm into a Cholla when going for a triple on quail, and I kid you not, I was digging it out of my forearm for months.

Cholla, cat claw, prickly pear, pencil cactus, mesquite, barrel cactus, and probably a good dozen others that will ruin your day if you get complacent and take a wrong step. Barrel cactus and mesquite, those two can do some major damage also.

And if one should get nailed by mesquite, it can lead to a very bad infection, and very quickly. Just getting poked by mesquite is all it takes to start brewing a deadly infection. Back in the early 90's I ended up in the hospital 3 days after I broke a mesquite needle off in the palm of my hand. I was literally fighting for my life, blood poisoning.

GS

Wow. I will quit complaining even when I have bears in the tent. All you wrote sounds like some nightmare. I will take raging rivers over poison plants anytime.

 

[H&Hhunter]

I have been thinking of buying one of them for years. What do you think of the rifle scabbard?

The rifle scabbard is a very nice addition. After I hunted with it for the first time the word I used for it was "liberating"! It is so nice to not have to keep adjusting and shifting a rifle on a sling when hiking in rough country. You simply put you rifle in the scabbard and go hike, hands free. What it's not however, is quick to get to your rifle. When the rifle in in the scabbard it's in transport mode. If amongst game the rifle is out of the scabbard. This pack makes a decent day pack when folded up and it makes a decent expedition size pack when unfolded with the zip on duffel attached. It's also a decent meat transporter. But like ALL general purpose tools it's not the best of any of those things. I find it so versatile however that I use it for almost everything I do now days. In the case of my moose, I used a pack frame, for super heavy high volume loads nothing beats a pack frame. For stuff like a deer or even an elk the J-34 works but you can not bring out as big of a load it is simply not a pack frame. You have to reduce you loads accordingly. To give you an idea what it can do, I've had 75 to 80lbs of meat in it multiple times. That is about the max for that pack.

 

[H&Hhunter]

Sounds like a major bummer Jim. We do deal with other very nasty plant life, such as cat claw. You brush up against that stuff, and it will shred anything. I've literally gotten stuck in that stuff, and the worst part is, there is no possible way to get out of it without getting your flesh and clothing torn up real bad.

During the hunt, my DIL literally got wrapped up in some, we had to break out our multi tools and cut the branches off, then pull her out of it. By the time we got her out of it, she looked like she had gone through a cheese grater. She tried to use the synthetic stock on her Tika held out in front of her to try and avoid making contact with it, but once it gets hold of you, it's similar to getting stuck in quick sand, the more you struggle, the worse things get.

Cholla cactus should have been named devil cactus. You get into that stuff, and your going to remember it for weeks, even months, probably even years before you get it all out. I once swung my arm into a Cholla when going for a triple on quail, and I kid you not, I was digging it out of my forearm for months.

Cholla, cat claw, prickly pear, pencil cactus, mesquite, barrel cactus, and probably a good dozen others that will ruin your day if you get complacent and take a wrong step. Barrel cactus and mesquite, those two can do some major damage also.

And if one should get nailed by mesquite, it can lead to a very bad infection, and very quickly. Just getting poked by mesquite is all it takes to start brewing a deadly infection. Back in the early 90's I ended up in the hospital 3 days after I broke a mesquite needle off in the palm of my hand. I was literally fighting for my life, blood poisoning.

GS

I've hunted Arizona extensively, I've also hunted New Mexico and Texas extensively. The ranch I used to lease in Texas was 204,000 acres that was in areas absolutely covered in mesquite. I've been stabbed, poked, prodded, scratched, and otherwise molested by mesquite. I've dug mesquite out of just about every square inch of my hide. I've sure as heck never got blood poising from it. GS you are the unluckiest dude on the planet when it comes to the outdoors.

 

[X-Rap]

I had a lab that would attack mesquite as we drove through it an she rode in the bed. I marveled at how she would mouth the limbs and somehow not get stuck.

 

[Morrey]

Hunting for the right reasons

To me, the OP captured the essence of what hunting and outdoorsmanship is all about.....witnessing nature at her finest!

I took my wife deer hunting in a buddy tree stand and she was amazed as the setting sun illuminated a spider spinning a complicated web several feet in front of the stand. We watched a comedy show as a mother raccoon fed on wild grapes as her young cubs learned the skills and hung off branches in an awkward fashion nearly falling. The hair on our necks tingled as a flock of wild turkeys thundered from the ground making the trees for roost at dusk.

We saw no deer that evening. But what we saw was the splendor of nature and the real reason we all hunt. To me, and now my wife, hunting is communing with nature in the more appreciative and respectful way possible.

 

[gamestalker]

Well, I'm either very unlucky, or I'm just careless. When I was gutting one of the deer my DIL was helping to hold the back legs out for me, and re-positioning this and that, when she says, "Dad, be careful, don't cut yourself". So what happens at that very instant, I gash my thumb with a razor knife.

I also got blood poisoning twice and landed in the hospital, from a bee sting none the less.

Had a black bear almost land on top of me when it fell out of a tree while turkey hunting.

I had just watched a video at the LGS I worked at, and the guy was calling a bull elk in by doing nothing more than smashing a large limb against a tree, which supposedly mimics a bull elk. Living just minutes from good elk, I decided to find one that was actively bugling and give it a try. The bull came in hot and chased me around a large ponderosa pine for about 10 minutes. If he hadn't given up, he would have had me within the next couple of minutes, I was running out of steam. Note to self, don't encourage bull elk to come in unless you actually have a tag to fill, as well as the ways and means to dispatch said elk.

Got stalked and chased away from a roosted gobbling turkey by a mountain lion that was after the same bird.

The countless hair raising encounters with wildlife I've had, are memories I'll cherish for the rest of my life. And they will be preserved and passed on by my sons and other family members some day.

No, I'm not unlucky, I'm just inclined to do stupid and foolish things while hunting and fishing.

GS

 

[jim in Anchorage]

I've been chuckling over the elk story for a good 10 minutes now
I live right next to military property thats full of moose and I take advantage of that to practice my calling. But I always climb a tree first to avoid your elk scenario.

 

[gamestalker]

Awesome Jim, I'm glad you got a good chuckle. I shared that story with a couple of guys at camp last week, and the reaction was the same, they laughed uncontrollably. And although it does have an obvious humor to it, but as you can imagine, I wasn't laughing while being chased around that tree by that big 5x5 bull.

GS