Sorry for the late post. I didn’t connect phone to charger correctly last night. I made my glassing point about 6:25. I was about 10 minutes late but still glassed some bucks. Saw 7. Best one still that heavy bodied buck. Glad I checked as more bucks were there than before so I got to look at more. I was done glassing by 30 minutes after sunrise as the good bucks were in the cover by then. I cut a good track. Check this guy out:
That can is 2.5″ diameter and the track is wider and longer, so a good buck. Very fresh. Since last night. Below is a track of an average deer:
Notice it’s “pointy” while the good buck is blocky on the ends. It doesn’t show up in the pic well, but I can tell he weighs more too by how the back of his track sets deep when he walks. His stride was about 24-26″. About right for a good buck. I tracked him for about a half mile around the rim he was walking. There is lots of 6 ft Gamble Oak, Pinyon Pine, tall sage, and Juniper below the rim and I’ve seen good bucks bed there before. I follwed him for about an hour but never did see him. Without knowing where he bedded, it would be a very very lucky shot to get him as he busted out, so I’ll just note it and check on him in a few days if I don’t turn up something else. If you’re interested in learning more about tracking, check my blog post Killing Big Mule Deer: Tracking
While glassing will show you the most bucks, it’s often tracking, ambushing, or still-hunting that gets you the shot, especially with a muzzleloader.
8:52 PM update. I got back to camp around 11 this morning. After being on the hunt basically since August 28th, and the fact that it’s Sunday, I decided to take a break. Took a nap, ate a great lunch, read, and caught up on phone calls with the wife and kids. I went out right at dark and glassed some of the low country below camp where that good buck was last year. No dice, but man it felt good to rest.
This is what a great wife I have. I’m deer hunting and she’s acting as general contractor for our bathroom remodel. She painted today so the tile guys could come tomorrow. Now how’s that for having it made? She’s also running the house and keeping our three great kids occupied. They hit the climbing wall last night.
Thanks baby, I owe you BIG TIME.
Back out at first light looking for a good buck.
Nice heavy bodied deer track, good luck.
Looks life a calf elk track next to that musket cap can…….
Big buck tracks are very similar to calf elk tracks. Except calf elk are rarely alone or just with other deer
You mentioned in your last post that you cover a lot of ground until you find one. How do you do that, and more specifically how do you decide when to glass a new area? Especially if you’re seeing deer.
MOHunter, Good to have you along as always.
yes, when I don’t have a good buck pre-scouted, I cover lots of country. That always means glassing and lots of walking and in units like this one, driving to different areas. That is why scouting is so important. If I knew where a good buck was, I could have spent the last two days focusing on killing him. But not always possible to prescout. Next best thing is to know your area well.
As far as when to glass a new area, I usually give an area a few mornings and evenings, like I have the last few days. This time of year, the bucks aren’t wandering much, so they’re either there or not. If I’ve looked at some prime country at prime times for a few days, and seen bucks that don’t make the grade, I’m comfortable moving on. Hope that helps.
Yep, I wasn’t questioning it should have worded it differently. I was commenting on how big it was in relation to caps. 🙂 Those are the type that get’s a persons heart racing seeing them in hunting area. Hope to see ya whack the owner if he fills the bill.
Looking forward to this hunt as usual. Best – Madnik
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