One last Hunt

Leaving the beach soon after dawn - there was a hard frost the night before.

Since we failed to bring home the meat on the elk hunt our freezer was looking a little low on meat.  I had been counting on the elk hunt to fill our own freezer.  This summer and fall I have done a lot of hunting and I have brought home a good number of deer and a goat.  But most of the meat has been shared with the other hunters and with the families that I proxy hunt for.  It was time for a late season deer hunt.

So yesterday Gregg and I motored off of the road system to go deer hunting.  We intended to shoot ONLY does because by this time of year the bucks are in the rut and taste awful.  My big fear was that we would run into a huge buck, and unable to resist the temptation - shoot it.  And end up with a pile of rutty meat.

Anyway we hiked up into the alpine and it was a glorious day.  We saw lots of deer and even a buck with a big rack and HUGE neck.  But we resisted and just shot the does.  It has been a while since I hunted so late in the season.  I think I last went hunting in November back in 2009.  It has been even longer since Gregg and I went on a late season doe hunt.

The late season is a totally different experience than my normal deer hunts in August and September.  Dead and frosty grass instead of tall green grass and leaves.  White mountain tops and slating low light instead of GREEN all around.  Patrick

Gregg with half a deer.

Snow on the mountains.

Gregg with a whole deer on his back.

Homeward bound with meat.