sept.1 big game opener

catnthehat · #1 09-03-2022, 09:43 AM

The thread on taking care of meat in hot weather prompted me to post this thread .
Normally my good buddy sdvc and I go out for birds on our first day out every year, but this year we decided to do some walleye fishing and maybe spot a deer on the river.
Well after spotting a 4 point muley on the far bank while Steve was brewing a pot of his very fine coffee, ( dang it all, the buck could have waited to appear AFTER we had coffee!)

and after two badly executed tries ( ten minutes of windage was not enough!)
We headed over when the buck headed into the deep underbrush for a nap.

After a quick decision and successful stalking /blocking plan ( with much help from the high wind to deaden our crashing around in the thick underbrush!)
the end result was an extreme downhill shot at 33 yards from my 280 Ruger .
The buck had bedded down in a small sandy opening , and I was able to get a high shoulder shot on him.The angle was so extreme that the bullet exited about midway on the off shoulder, as you can see in the pic! I'm not certain what the result would have been if I had aimed like on a flat shot, but I know wouldn't have aimed there for sure!

In the end, we found a good game trail to the river, with only one blow down to negotiate, we activated the high pressure water hose on the boat and cleaned out the buck 's body cavity and headed home with four walleye and my first velvet mule deer.
Pretty danged good day , hunting with a good friend , and meat in the freezer!
After I got home, I broke down the fronts and hinds, tenderloins and backstraps, and wrapped them up , putting them in the freezer. Yesterday I finished cutting the deer and vacumn sealed everything. The meat was cool but not overly frozen to where it could not be boned out ( the boning knife that Clint Chisan made me is fantastic!)
Cat

aragor764 · #2 09-03-2022, 09:46 AM

Congrats Cat, it was windy af that day! Good way to make the most of it!

marky_mark · #3 09-03-2022, 09:48 AM

congrats cat on a fantastic velvet buck

catnthehat · #4 09-03-2022, 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aragor764

Congrats Cat, it was windy af that day! Good way to make the most of it!

Thanks
I have never had to hold that much wind on an animal before, even at that range!
Interestingly enough , where I shot that buck was only about 100 yards from where we beached the boat, maybe even less!
There is no way in the World he would have stayed where he was if there was no wind, anybody who has ridden in a Jet boat knows how danged loud they are !

Cat

catnthehat · #5 09-03-2022, 09:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by marky_mark

congrats cat on a fantastic velvet buck

Thanks Mark, the buck itself is not an unusual or larger racked animal ( as a rule the only thing sdvc and I look for is a legal animal ), except that he was in the middle of getting his winter coat on, which I have never been able to see close up,before, I normally kill white tails.
The real trophy for me was the hunt itself, the plan was executed perfectly , and I was able to hunt with a good friend who hunts the same as I do !

Cat

Moo Snukkle · #6 09-03-2022, 10:34 AM

Hell of a day in my book. Jealous
Say hi to Stevo for me

catnthehat · #7 09-03-2022, 10:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moo Snukkle

Hell of a day in my book. Jealous
Say hi to Stevo for me

Yup, heckuva a day for sure!
I sure will tell him you said hello!
Let us know when you guys are coming through this fall so I can help out if need be.

Cat

Dick284 · #8 09-03-2022, 10:50 AM

Good friends.
Good times.
Great memories.

bessiedog · #9 09-03-2022, 12:09 PM

Way to get er done on opening day Cat!

Great adventure!

DRhunter · #10 09-03-2022, 03:19 PM

Great buck Cat! Love those early season bucks.

Thanks for sharing.

DR

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

StiksnStrings · #11 09-03-2022, 03:20 PM

Fantastic photo! Congrats.

catnthehat · #12 09-03-2022, 03:43 PM

Thanks all, I enjoy sharing the pics and the hunt details with you guys....
Cat

Positrac · #13 09-03-2022, 04:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catnthehat

Congrats on a fine velvet Muley on opening day Cat! I was just north on opening day so I can attest to the wind that day.

They are few and far between up there so getting any Muley buck is a pretty big accomplishment. That one is a dandy!

Dustee · #14 09-03-2022, 04:54 PM

Congratulations Cat! Awesome muley!

CJ

Bushrat · #15 09-03-2022, 09:02 PM

Cool story, nice deer, got pics of the walleye?

DiabeticKripple · #16 09-03-2022, 09:04 PM

Conditions were just perfect! Nice muley!

Bushrat · #17 09-03-2022, 09:09 PM

Cool story, nice deer, and walleye to boot!

catnthehat · #18 09-03-2022, 09:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bushrat

Cool story, nice deer, got pics of the walleye?

I took a pic of two that are in the meat going bad thread, we caught 4 altogether, lost a few more do to short strikes.
Cat

catnthehat · #19 09-03-2022, 09:20 PM

A few guys asking me if that is my .303, and the answer is no, the rifle that I was using that day was my 280 No.1 .
It was rebarreld by Full Curl Earl , who did a super job BTW ( Thanks Rob!)
26" Shilen, Sendaro taper, 1:9 twist.
The Picatinny rail on it is a 700 Remington rail, on this barrel it works out to around a 25MOA mount IIRC.
Scope is a 4-16X Tac Vector 2ndFP, which I prefer instead of a 1stFP when trying to use the lower power - I have enough trouble with my eyes! LOL.

I'd also like to thank Watson for building great deer hide roper gloves, Smithbilt hats for doing a superb job on my Campaign hat, Levi Strauss for the fantastic camo, and of course Dakota boots for their knock off Blundstones!
The hunt wouldn't be the same without these fine hunting clothes!

Cat

fordtruckin · #20 09-03-2022, 09:23 PM

No way you shot that deer! Your not wearing any camo so it could see you coming from miles away…..j/k lol, Good job!!

catnthehat · #21 09-03-2022, 09:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fordtruckin

No way you shot that deer! Your not wearing any camo so it could see you coming from miles away…..j/k lol, Good job!!

Check the above post , Truckin'

Cat

roper1 · #22 09-03-2022, 09:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dick284

Good friends.
Good times.
Great memories.

I'll second this! Well done Cat!

ClutchCanadian4 · #23 09-03-2022, 10:04 PM

Beauty looking buck you got. Jealous, I'm on shift rotation right now. Otherwise I would probably be out fishing too! This get's me super excited to get out. Can't wait.

fordtruckin · #24 09-03-2022, 10:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catnthehat

Check the above post , Truckin'

Cat

Dang posted that while I was typing mine! Haha

Howard Hutchinson · #25 09-04-2022, 12:19 AM

Nice furry horned buck Cat! Great job,

Silly question so bear with me. Is this a special early license draw you attained? Honest question as I am obviously missing something.

Again, great early season buck!
>>
Edit, found them Cat. Real early season for them this year I see- 512, 514, 515, 516, 517, 518, 519, 528, 529, 530, 531, 532, 534, 536, 539,
540, 541, 542

Positrac · #26 09-04-2022, 05:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Howard Hutchinson

Nice furry horned buck Cat! Great job,

Silly question so bear with me. Is this a special early license draw you attained? Honest question as I am obviously missing something.

Again, great early season buck!
>>
Edit, found them Cat. Real early season for them this year I see- 512, 514, 515, 516, 517, 518, 519, 528, 529, 530, 531, 532, 534, 536, 539,
540, 541, 542

You can hunt antlered Muley’s on a over the counter general tag for 3 months up around Fort McMurray. It’s basically a money grab. There are very few of them around so it’s quite the accomplishment to get one let alone a good buck like Cat’s. I hunted up there for the last 9 years straight and I spent a lot of time in the bush and along the river and in those 9 years I saw a grand total of 4 Mule deer bucks off Syncrude or Suncor property and not one of those were in hunting season. There is a decent population at both the previous mentioned sites but off those sites it’s very rare to see one. It’s not great Mule deer country and talking with a few different CO’s over the years there’s never been a great population of them around.

I’m sure the odd one gets shot but Cat’s is actually the first pic I’ve seen confirming an actual kill in all the years I’ve been there and it couldn’t have gone to a better guy!

catnthehat · #27 09-04-2022, 07:16 AM

This is my third buck in 21 years out of 518 And the first in velvet.It is also the smallest. As Positrac said, they atrxacgeneral tag up here.
.my other two were much bigger..
I will dig up a pic of one of them.
Cat

Positrac · #28 09-04-2022, 07:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catnthehat

This is my third buck in 21 years out of 518 And the first in velvet.It is also the smallest. As Positrac said, they atrxacgeneral tag up here.
.my other two were much bigger..
I will dig up a pic of one of them.
Cat

That’s a record that would be hard to beat by anyone. Great job Cat!

Phil McCracken · #29 09-04-2022, 07:41 AM

Great job Cat!

14 sleeps for me...

catnthehat · #30 09-04-2022, 08:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Positrac

That’s a record that would be hard to beat by anyone. Great job Cat!

Thanks Positrac, but in all fairness I probably spend more time hunting those benches in a season than most guys do in 10 seasons , and I have been doing it for over 25 years as well.
You know yourself the amount of game that can be seen on the river at random times, but seeing it at the RIGHT time is the trick! LOL.
A person would have a hard time patterning a critter in there for sure, and it is getting tougher for me every year to get in there . It's pretty danged rough country !