After spending days and days and gallons after gallons of gas, I finally filled my second buck tag -- on public land!
If you're a public land hunter in California, you know how hard it is to fill a buck tag. There just isn't enough population of deer to make it easy for the average hunter to see a buck, let alone have the opportunity to shoot and harvest it.
Because we actually get out and hike, glass, and even pack in, we aren't what we'd consider "average" hunters. Even then, finding a buck is still extremely hard. The deer population is low and bears and lions are high. Not to mention northern California is primarily a forest with not a lot of grassland. So, as you can imagine, luck is a huge component in harvesting a buck.
It's not all luck, though. I was able to get a buck simply because we didn't just throw in the towel, pack, and leave. We had hope, and that little bit of hope kept us going. It kept us motivated to get up at 5 in the morning, drive to our destination, and hike the last few hundred yards to our chosen vantage point. There, we glass and glass in hope of seeing something moving. And when you see something moving, you hope it's not a dang bear. I kid you not, this year I spotted a total of 11 bears in a span of 3 3-hour early evening hunts. I saw more bears than deer. It's alarming. Am I the only one who notices the disproportionately high numbers of predators versus deer? Most importantly, is the California Department of Fish and Wildlife even aware of this? And if so, what are they doing to solve the issue?
Before I go off tangent, I want to express how grateful I am to have a supportive spouse. This time, we were exploring a new road that we hadn't been on. We stopped, parked the truck at a small turnout, and glassed the first gorgeous open canyon down the road due southeast. About 3 seconds after he started glassing, Tyler said "There's a buck." With excitement and disbelief, I whispered "No?!" Grasping my binoculars, I hurried to Tyler as he pointed to where the buck was. "See that live oak near the bottom of the ridge? He's bedded right underneath it. You can see him with your bare eyes." I glassed him, and there he was looking straight up at us. He didn't move or seem afraid. The millisecond I saw legal antler on one side, I instantly said, "I am going to shoot him."
So I walked the short distance to the truck and grabbed my rangefinder, rifle, and a sweatshirt. I ranged the buck and it was 267 yards away, so I adjusted my scope elevation up to 1.2 MRAD. After, I laid on the road and started digging my bipod feet in to get stable. I needed more height on the but stock so I looked to my left and loudly whispered to Tyler (who was beside me watching the buck through the spotting scope), "I need my small backpack!" So he went and got my pack. I secured it underneath my butt stock, checked to make sure my bidpods were stable, aimed high shoulder, took 3 super deep breaths, and carefully squeezed the trigger. There was a loud boom, and almost immediately after that I saw the buck just drop. He didn't run up or down. He just died in its bed. Perfect shot. The bullet went through the vitals and broke the spine. The buck wasn't going anywhere.
(Bonus: All this happened while Leo was asleep in his car seat. This made it easier for Tyler and I to work as a shooter-spotter team.)
After a brief moment of celebration, we strategized how on earth were we going to pack the buck out. So, we drove up the road to the finger ridge where the buck was on. We parked, and Tyler got out, walked down the road to look for possible game trail he could use. He was lucky to find a deer trail through a thick mixture of live oak and other brush. He walked back up the road to me and Leo and explained to me his entry route, had a change of clothes and shoes, prepared his pack, and made sure he had the necessities to gut the buck int the field--like strings, knives, etc. He also brought a walkie-talkie with him so we could keep communication.
So, he left and started heading down the canyon. He radio'd us about 10-15 minutes later to say he was at the scene. 45 minutes later, he radio'd me again to say that he's done gutting the buck and that he's ready to walk back up. About another later, he buzzed me and said while trying to catch his breath, "I'm alive. I'm on the road." I saw him walking up the road 30 seconds after that. I could also hear a 4-wheeler/quad driving up the road, so we decided I better go to the pack with the buck tied on it, which Tyler left alongside the road near his trail. Holding Leo in my arms and with a huge smile on my face, we walked down the road to it. I was thinking, "Oh, dead buck!" It was a feeling of relief, excitement, and pride. It was amazing.
The older guy in the 4-wheeler stopped and asked, "Does he need help getting out?" Smiling, I just pointed to the dead and gutted buck alongside the road. The old man smiled, congratulated me, and kept on his way.
Not too long after that, 2 younger men in a white pickup pulled up. The driver asked, "See any bucks?" His buddy answered him for me, "There's one right there."They were happy to see a dead buck. I told them how I shot the buck almost 300 yards away and that my husband had to pack the whole buck up and out it. They said "That's hard work. Congratulations! 300 yards is a far shot. Most hunters aren't willing to do it" And I said, "300 yards? That's not far. I laid prone and I have a bipod so I was very stable. He just dropped dead." I was feeling happy and proud. Why not? We worked hard for it and I made a perfect shot.
I am grateful for Tyer. He not only spotted this buck for me and watched him through the spotting scope as my 7-.08 bullet penetrated through the animal thereby dropping it in its bed, but he also hiked down the canyon, gutted it, and packed the whole animal up and back to the road. He did the hard work. All part of the "I Do" contract we signed some years ago. :)
When we got home late Sunday that weekend, Tyler hang the buck in the garage. Monday afternoon, I started skinning and quartering it. I was done by mid-afternoon. All this I enjoyed. It was a moment of celebration.
We now have 3 bucks, cleaned and quartered in the freezers in the garage. They are to be processed when the season is over. Our deer zone closes on October 27, Sunday.
My husband still has 1 more tag to fill, which he hopefully will this weekend. He will be doing a solo back country hunt. He is excited. I know he will have fun. The weather is supposed to be dry but not too warm. Good hiking weather.
To those of you who have yet to harvest a buck, best of luck to you! Don't give up. Keep on walking that extra step, and keep on driving that extra yard. You never know where you see one bedded or standing up.
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