Hunting whitetails in the Canadian Rockies with grandson

[Okanagan]

Grandson Code and I hunted a few days on the BC side of the Canadian Rockies, and each got a buck.   We hit the best whitetail hunting situation and conditions I've found in many years, but didn't fully realize that till about the time we had filled our tags. 

Code with his buck, a fine buck for that area.  28 yard shot with my Mohawk 600 which he had borrowed for the hunt.  It is a .243 shooting 95 grain Nosler Partitions.  The pic above is slightly long armed but the one below is to scale.  Then a photo as it lay.





And a pic of Code with my buck.  Code spotted my buck near us but it took off running and he stopped it with a beep kind of bleat, ranged later at 187 yards.  No possible rest in the flat ground with no stumps, trees etc. so I shot it offhand.  I would not expect to make that shot but it felt good and hit exactly where the crosshairs steadied for the moment of truth needed. 



Bucks have been scarce the past three years and I was concerned enough about getting skunked that that I probably shot one too soon.  I had passed two smaller bucks and late on our first day of hunting decided this one was a shooter.

Code had held off on buying a non-resident license until we had looked around and decided whether the hunting was good enough to make it worthwhile. We found lots of tracks and saw small bucks the first day. He bought his tag the second day and killed his buck a few hours later on the second evening of our hunt. 

The rut was on along with a kind of drifting migration down a major river valley but we had to drive a lot of roads and look at a lot of tracks before we began to put the pattern together, and meanwhile we happened across bucks that we shot, though on Code's we were zeroing in on the best place.  Each buck was shot about a half hour before dark and it was getting pretty dark by the time we took pics. 

We rattled some without success and were astounded at how many cougar tracks we found.  Fresh tracks every where we went for miles and miles.  I'd guess the cougars are migrating along with the deer, snacking on the way to the wintering grounds. 

Code had the best spot of a hidden animal I've ever seen.  We were driving past a clear-cut when he spotted a bedded buck.  We drove on out of sight and sneaked back.  The fork horn was 82 yards from the road, bedded well down on a brushy hillside of hogback with brushy clear-cut way back beyond it and only its face showing.  It was so hard to see he had to direct my eye from a leaning tree on the ridge to bush to rock etc. and then it was still hard to spot. 

[pitw]

It always kinda/sorta erks me when someone has to tell me where to look and it's amazing how once you see them, they stand out.  Good job on the hunt by the way.  I never tagged any deer this year cause I just didn't shoot.  Dropper came home last eve with a little 4x4 muley he shot cause he had passed on all the big guys waiting for bigger.  
On a funnier note, I was parked talking to a nieghbor hunter when a couple young bucks pulled up to brag about there kill.  I was looking towards their truck while talking and saw fog coming outta the back every few seconds .   I started laughing and said I don't think you killed him yet.  Just then he started moving and the fun commenced as one tried pulling it out while the other was gonna shoot.  Me and Jim about pissed ourselves and were thankful no one[including us] got shot or worse.  I sure couldn't give them [L] as they ain't the only ones to have ever loaded a live dead animal.

[Okanagan]

Wish I could have seen that.  I thought you were going to say that it jumped out and ran away!

[pitw]

I wish.

[HaMeR]

Congratulations on a couple of fine looking bucks Ok!! You guys done real good!! Gonna be a good end of season party for you again!!

I passed on quite a few deer this year. I hunted the 1st 3 days of gun season this past week & just didn't feel like gutting & dragging. 

[JohnP]

Congratulations to the both of you, couple of nice bucks for sure.