Crippledsledge64
Lil-Rokslider
So after catching covid for the two weeks of general rifle deer here in SE Idaho I decided to head to the panhandle with hopes of getting any legal deer for meat. Knowing that mule deer were rare in the area, I was just hoping for a whitetail doe or small buck for the freezer. After driving several hours on icey roads and one pucker moment of my truck spinning around on the highway, I landed at my hunting location that I scouted online only to find more snow than I thought my truck could handle. Scrambling to come up with another plan I decided to hike up a trail I had seen on the map. After sleeping in the truck overnight, I left at shooting light due to being alone and having a healthy fear of grizzlies. After two hours of hiking on this trail through some of the thickest and steepest country I've seen, I decided to sit down and enjoy a snack while catching my breath.
Since I was overlooking a couple of benches below me I decided to use a doe bleat to see if I could get anything to step out. Fifteen minutes later after finishing a snickers I was about to get up and continue up the trail when I hear a rock roll right behind me, again thinking of grizzlies I spin around and find myself 5 yards from a Muley buck who is just as surprised as I am. I was able to get my scope cover off and a round in the camber as he stop 30 yards away to look back, not quite sure what I was. One shot through the shoulder and I got to watch him roll a good ways down the hill.
Deciding that since it was so steep I proceeded to make one of the worst decisions of my life and decided to drag him a mile to the truck, forgetting how thick it was on the way up. Several near heart attacks and one antler tine in my left check ( the lower left cheek, I) finally made it to the truck exhausted. After feeling like every single thing that could go wrong did go wrong and scrambling to make a last minute plan that through sheer dumb luck actually worked, this is hands down one of the best hunting experiences I've hand. He's not a huge buck but definitely don't think I could be happier!
Since I was overlooking a couple of benches below me I decided to use a doe bleat to see if I could get anything to step out. Fifteen minutes later after finishing a snickers I was about to get up and continue up the trail when I hear a rock roll right behind me, again thinking of grizzlies I spin around and find myself 5 yards from a Muley buck who is just as surprised as I am. I was able to get my scope cover off and a round in the camber as he stop 30 yards away to look back, not quite sure what I was. One shot through the shoulder and I got to watch him roll a good ways down the hill.
Deciding that since it was so steep I proceeded to make one of the worst decisions of my life and decided to drag him a mile to the truck, forgetting how thick it was on the way up. Several near heart attacks and one antler tine in my left check ( the lower left cheek, I) finally made it to the truck exhausted. After feeling like every single thing that could go wrong did go wrong and scrambling to make a last minute plan that through sheer dumb luck actually worked, this is hands down one of the best hunting experiences I've hand. He's not a huge buck but definitely don't think I could be happier!
