2001 Deer Hunting Journal-I'll try to keep a journal for the season here this year. If it goes well, this will become a regular thing. Who knows, if nothing else, it's something to look back at when the freezer is empty, the rains of winter fall, and cabin fever sets in hard.
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I drew B-zone and G-1 tags for this season. This means I'll be able to hunt from 9/15 through 11/4. |
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11/03-11/04- Tehama Hunt Well, this is it... seven weekends of deer hunting all boils down to this final weekend. This last entry is a long one, but it was a very active weekend. Probably saw more deer this weekend than I saw over the whole course of the season. We rolled in very late on Friday night (actually, Saturday morning). Dave (BigDog) had a dinner to attend, and as a result we ended up meeting in Red Bluff after midnight. We drove into Tehama Wildlife Area and found the first decent roadside area to stop and sleep. When I set the alarm, it was already past 0200. Saturday, 11/03- 0530- The alarm goes off. The moon is huge, and the whole place looks like daylight. By the time I get Dave and Kat up and moving, the sun is already joining the moon in the morning sky. This is OK, though, since we have no idea where we want to be. Fortunately, Dave has some maps marked up from his last hunt in the area, and we choose a nice canyon area. We're climbing ridges by 0730. There is a ton of fresh sign, but not many deer. I bump a pair of does out of a brushy creek bed. We put Kat on a hillside, and Dave and I dive into the bottom of the canyon to try to push deer out of the thick stuff. Dave (aka Dozer) disappears around a bend and apparently finds the motherlode. Unfortunately, he is out of sight and neither Kat nor I see any of the deer he is pushing. I come out onto a hillside that is literally trampled. Fresh scat abounds, along with day beds and trails that are cut clean down into the dirt. I've never seen so much sign in one place. Best of all, the tracks go all over...this is not just another migration route. These deer are milling about in the area. The day is hot, and around 1300, we head back to camp to eat lunch and catch a nap. None of us has had enough sleep. Sitting in camp we watch the trucks coming down from the other areas. Several really nice racks protrude from the back of passing pickups, and my hopes rise. These are nice deer, and there really are a lot of them coming out of this place. I'm eager for the evening hunt, but lack of sleep wins out and I crawl into the back of the truck. 1500- DAMN! I slept way too much. The shadows are already lengthening over camp as I struggle to motivate Dave and Kat. A half-hour later, they're finally dressed and moving. Kat and I will sit together over the first ridge, while Dave bushwacks around the backside of the canyon. 1710- I notice movement in a tiny clearing about 300 yards away. I spot the deer with the binocs, and at first I'm sure it's a doe. I continue to glass the area, but keep coming back to this deer. Finally, it turns its head against a patch of chemise and I see the movement of antlers! I zoom in, and can't make out the mass, but there are definitely antlers. A buck, at last! I scramble up behind some bushes, and creep around to get Kat. I want her to get this shot. We make our way along the ridge, keeping the deer in sight. It's totally unaware that we're up here, so we creep to around 200 yards out. The light is fading fast, and I can't get a good look at the antlers. They're definitely longer than his ears, but I can't see forks. Kat is having a hard time seeing him at all. Finally, in desperation, I move down even further, closing the range to 150 yards. He moves into a thicket, and I move a little closer until I see him pop out into the open. There are voices up above, and I see the silhouettes of three or four hunters with ATVs. I'm afraid they will spook this guy before we get the chance to take him. Finally, he crosses into a meadow straight across from me, at around 100 yards. I see the antlers clearly now. No forks. No shot. Damn. We sit down and watch the area until it gets too dim for further glassing, then walk back to pick up the backpacks. I step out of the brush near the packs and am rewarded with the thump of a deer bounding back into the brush...probably fifty feet from where Kat had been sitting. Missed opportunity? Maybe...no way to know. But at least we know the area is definitely holding deer. Sunday, 11/04- 0445- I set the alarm for 0500, but wake up in advance. We had a great dinner last night, but a little too much wine. I have a feeling it's going to be tough to get everyone up and out into the woods. I set the coffee on to brew, take care of my morning "ritual", and set to waking everybody up. 0530- With a lot of grumbling, I have Kat and Dave moving. It even looks like they might be dressed and ready to hunt before lunchtime. (Major error on my part, by the way...should have packed a lunch when I headed out. It would have extended my day and my range. Got in a hurry, though, and forgot...c'est la vie). The moon is still huge and bright, and I really don't need the lantern in camp. This doesn't bode well for the deer, I figure. They'll be all bedding down by now. 0600- I head out by myself. Kat hurt her knee yesterday, and doesn't want to try to keep up with me over the ridges. Dave hasn't decided where he wants to go, but he's not ready. So I'm up and over the ridge, then down into the creek and up the next ridge. I want to scope the hillside where I saw all that sign yesterday. 0645- I'm side-hilling along the ridge when I see movement across from me. First one, then two-three-four deer come into sight. I find a good rock for a rest and plop down beside it. I ditch the backpack and set up. A little over-eager, as it turns out. Every one of these deer is slick as Elmer Fudd. I watch as they browse their way along the hillside, right where I thought they'd be. I'm also pleasantly surprised to see the way they're moving after sunrise. 0800- Another group of four slick-heads comes along the same trail. These four turn and go downhill into the creek bed. I imagine they'll bed there, but a few moments later I see them come out on the other side of the canyon and keep on going. 0900- I need to stand up and stretch. As I do, I see movement across the canyon. Another deer. The sun is directly behind it, and I strain my eyes to look for horns. None there. This deer is moving nervously. Something has upset it. It trucks across the open spots, then angles up into the chapparal at the top of the hill. As I'm watching it I hear brush crackling below me. Another doe is cruising along a different trail, just above the creekbed. She disappears into a thick patch of tall grass and doesn't emerge. I figure she's bedded down. What a hot location! 1000- I'm ready to move a little bit. Just as I'm about to stand, three deer come trotting in from the opposite direction (all the others came across from east to west). I drop back down and glass for antlers. None. All of these deer are panting and nervous. Something has pushed them. They look back a few times, then appear to relax as they top the hill. They even browse a little for a few minutes before they suddenly stop and look directly back in my direction. The wind is in my face, and I am well hidden. They can't be looking at me. They stare a moment later then trot into the brush, breaking into a full run shortly afterward. As the deer disappear, I hear the sound of movement on the ridge above me. I figure it must be Dave finally coming out. I sit tight. Then I hear voices in conversation. That's not Dave. Down to my right, I spot a red shirted figure moving into the creekbed. He crosses, then climbs the hill I have been watching. At the top is a large boulder, and he climbs up and takes a seat. He then waves back in the direction he came from, and I hear him talking into a radio. A moment later, I hear more hunters coming down the hill working dogs. Damn, damn, and double damn! They had to know we were in here hunting, and they come busting in anyway. Inconsiderate assholes. But, it's public land...nothing to do but sit tight. Sweet karmic revenge would be to shoot a buck that their dogs push out. And the dogs DO push a lot of deer. Doe after doe backtrails the dogs and cruises along the trail below me. I keep looking for antlers, but nothing. Finally I hear one of the guys yelling, "It's a doe...no, wait! There's a buck behind it!" I hear commotion about 100 yards down from me in the thickest area of brush. A doe bursts out of the brush ahead of me and I begin to raise my rifle when "BANG!" not more than 75 yards away. There's only one shot, and then the whooping begins. Apparently the hunter who scored is a teenager, and his partially changed voice is charged with excitement. I mentally congratulate him, in spite of my own disappointment. The scene becomes clear, as I realize there were five people down there
altogether. The teenager and two others work on the deer. Meanwhile,
the hunter in the red shirt takes a dog and begins to work the next
ravine. I stand to move, and standing just above me is one of his buddies.
He seems a little nonplussed at my sudden appearance. "Figured
there must be somebody in here," he said. I wanted to respond, "then why did you come on in anyway?" But I didn't. It's public land, and the last day of the season. But it was still inconsiderate in my opinion, to come right in past a camp and put the dogs in. I later found out that one of the guys told the others he didn't think they should hunt here, because of our camp...but the rest ignored him or told him to shut up. I watch red-shirt go across canyon after canyon. Deer are breaking from their beds ahead of him and out of his sight. With no one over there to work ahead or above him, he doesn't even know how many deer he's pushing. He moves off, and I sidehill along until I get tired of it. He's flushing deer out of range. Besides, I'm getting hungry and haven't heard from Dave or Kat. I head up and run into Kat. We hike back to camp together, where we find Dave. He went out in a different direction, and his report is does, does, and more does...and lots of hunters. Dave's talking about packing it in for the season and leaving early. I can't even consider leaving before the last moment of shooting light, so I begin to make my plans for the evening. I want to eat lunch and head right back in. Instead we sit and talk for a while. As we do, the dog-hunters come down the hill with their buck on the front of an ATV. The buck was a smallish 3 point, with a basket rack. No trophy, but I can't help feeling a tinge of jealousy and anger... that should have been my deer. But of course, that's silly. He'd probably never have left that cover without the dogs pushing him. 1400- I begin to gear up. Kat has decided she doesn't want to hike up any more ridges with her knee, so I suggest that she walk down the road and scope the canyon bottom across the way. Better than not hunting at all. Dave has his second wind, so he decides to gear up and join me. We make our way up to the first ridge, then decide where to hunt. I was thinking about covering that same hill side again, since I figured all those disturbed deer would be drifting back in as the evening quieted down. But there is also a beautiful thicket up on another ridge. No one has been up there all weekend, and it looked like it had deer haven stamped all over it. We push a deer as we first cross the canyon bottom, and Dave waves me back uphill. I go up and wait to see what he pushes out. I hear some crashing, but nothing shows. After a few minutes, I see Dave heading up the opposite side, leaving me in the dust. I boogie on down the hill, cross the creek, and begin to follow. He's already out of sight, so I decide to work the opposite side of the ravine, hoping to push something between us. At first the hillside seems barren, especially compared to that other hill. But about two-thirds of the way up the trails start to get heavy. I step around a chemise bush, and two deer bound out of a bed. I hear them crashing through, but never get a good look. I run back out and around the thicket to try and get a look. As I exit the thicket, I see two deer moving out of the next thicket. Then I see two more, then a group of four crossing the next ravine. Deer are running everywhere! And not a bloody antler in the mix! As I'm trying to grow antlers on one of the deer, I see Dave come bursting out of the thickest section near me. That's where all those deer came from. Bulldozer...that's what he is! We rest for a moment, then push on across the ravine and into the next thicket. Several more does come out, but still no bucks. It's getting late. Already the shadows are long and cool on the east-facing hillsides. I move on past Dave and head up the ridge toward the crest. I find concentric circles of brush, each enclosing a few acres of meadow area. I figure if there's a buck anywhere, he's gotta be using one of these private meadows. Each one has a good growth of wild oat, and two or three small oaks pop up among the lava rocks. Nearly dark, and I want to start working my way down hill. There's a barbed wire fence I need to get past before it gets all the way dark. I slip on my pack and start to walk when two deer come charging into the meadow. At first I think Dave must have spooked them, but then I see that they're playing tag. The larger one charges the smaller, then dives off into a bush. The small one stands for a second. Then the big one jumps out and nips the smaller on the butt. They chase each other around like this, hide and seek, for a couple of minutes. Finally, the larger one goes into a bush and beds down, while the little one begins to browse. I'm caught in the open, and hunkered down on my knees on top of this lava rock. I can't stand it, but I don't want to spook these deer just in case there are more that haven't entered the meadow yet. Finally, the small deer puts her head behind a rock, and I'm able to sit down and get a little more comfortable. She grazes to within 25 feet of me at one point, then grazes back out. The sun is dropping fast, but I'm hoping that more deer are coming into the meadow. Finally, I decide it's getting too dark to wait any longer. I stand and begin to hike out. I find a gate in the barbed wire fence separating the Wildlife Management Area and the National Forest. This is much better than climbing over barbed wire. I meet up with Dave and we begin the tortuous hike out. I'll leave out the details, but suffice it to say that there was a point there where we were both very happy we hadn't killed a deer. So, my California deer season ends with a big empty spot in my freezer. Out of the whole season, I saw only one legal buck (see last weekend's hunt). But I had a great time, saw some incredibly beautiful country, and spent a lot of time outside of the damned city. The sad thing is, I'm already starting to get pig hunting fever.
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