First California Buck

[SDHunter11]

Well I did not get drawn in AZ this year and had to settle for an over the counter San Diego deer tag. Growing up and hunting in Arizona, I did not know much about hunting in California, but thought I would give it a try. I went out scouting a few times and found a few spots that looked promising. I did not see a single person while I was scouting, but come opening morning, I saw about 20 hunters all in the spot I thought looked good. I also noticed about half of them did not even have binoculars with them. Even a few guns with no scopes. The land out here is not thick forrest, and you can see a long ways. There is not much huntable land that is not private out here, so I understood the amount of people, but the lack of experience was amazing. I decided not to hike down into the valley and to simply observe for a few hours. I saw hunters walk within 100 yards of deer and not see them. I heard hunters having conversations from 500+yards away. After all this I decided I was not going to be hunting on the weekends. I talked to the game warden and he said my best bet was a Wednesday morning.

 

So Wednesday morning was cold and windy...a perfect time to find few hunters in the field. A buddy and I went out to the same spot we were opening morning and saw only one hunter. I glassed up some deer about 2 miles away and decided to hike over and check them out. When we got over there, we crested a hill and saw some deer feeding above us about 300 yards out. In California, a legal deer must have at least one fork on one side. One of the small bucks had little forks on either side, so I knew he would be fine. I was really trying to get my budy a deer, so I wanted him to take the shot. He was having some difficulty finding the deer in his scope and avoiding the oak branches hanging down in front of us. An old doe had caught a glimpse of our movement and was staring us down pretty bad. After about an hour of slow movements under the watchful eye of the doe, I thought I would try to get the bucks attention to make him stand up. I sat up and made some noise and the doe trotted over a nearby saddle. I told my friend to get ready and watch for the buck to pass through the same spot. Sure enough the buck popped out right where the doe had. My friend could not see him and was unable to get into position. He told me to go ahead and take the shot if I had it. I was now laying prone and I ranged him at 262. I took the shot and heard that wonderful thwap. We could not see him but I was confident he was down in the area. When we walked over, we found him a couple of yards from where I hit him. The shot went through both lungs and the heart. He is not a huge deer, but considering the circumstances, I am very happy to have meat in the freezer. The drag out was about 2-3 miles with many changes in elevation.

 

Hunting in California is as much about out smarting the deer as it is about out smarting other hunters. Lets just say I hope I get drawn in Arizona next year. Here are a few pictures of the little guy.

Deer_Oct_2009_1.pdf

Deer_Oct_2009_2.pdf

Deer_Oct_2009_3.pdf

 

 

 

[stanley]

Way to keep after it!!! Congrats on the deer!! Also, I like the shirt!!!

 

S.

 

 

 

[Coues Archer]

nice little muley.

[nlacost]

So did ya get a chance to hunt Cuyamaca or along the mtn border near Campo? just curious if any advice helped?

[SDHunter11]

So did ya get a chance to hunt Cuyamaca or along the mtn border near Campo? just curious if any advice helped?

 

I did some scouting down there and ran into a bunch of hunters. I was going to go down there as my second spot, but ended up getting this little guy first. I think I will take my buddy down there and give it a try. The country looks really good. It is just a little too warm down there right now.

[deersniper]

Dad's proud of you! Of course I taught you everything you know... ha! ha!