Last Hurrah for My California Deer Hunting Season
Just got home from my last blacktail deer hunt of the year. No meat for my freezer, but plenty of great, fresh air, beautiful California scenery, and plenty of miles on my boots. And no, “my” bear didn’t make a return appearance.
I don’t really have a play-by-play of this hunt, but a couple of things stood out that I thought I’d share.
First, and coolest, was the opportunity to get fairly up close and personal with a mountain lion. I’d just stopped for a snack, and was sitting under a little fir tree, and he came slinking down the same trail I was following (from the opposite direction). Just like every other time I’ve seen a lion in the field, the cat was in full view for at least a second before my mind registered what I was seeing. It was only as he disappeared from view that I thought about the video camera.
He was coming toward me, but at about 100 yards he dropped into a ravine and didn’t come back out. I gave him a couple of minutes, then grabbed the video camera out of my pack and took off to see if I could get some footage of him. I figured he’d gone up the draw toward the oaks and manzanitas. Hey, that’s where I’d have gone to find a deer. If I was lucky, I would catch him working the trail in the open ground under the trees.
When I hit the draw, I saw his tracks coming down and where he turned at the bottom, but I couldn’t see him in the open. I glassed under the oaks, and decided he must’ve gone up and over the ridge. I decided to go on up a little ways and if he didn’t show up, I’d go on with my hunt. Just as I topped the hill, there was an explosion of movement from the manzanitas about 20 yards to my left… sneaky devil. I couldn’t decide if I should aim the camera or the rifle, but of course the big kitty had no intention of waiting for me to decide as he high-tailed it in the opposite direction. I swear he rose up and disappeared all on the same breeze. I didn’t even have time to get the video on him… which is just as well because all I saw was a flash of tawny yellow.
Anyway, that was cool. I know, a lot of folks are saying we really have too many lions in this state and that they’re wreaking havoc on the deer populations. But I really wasn’t thinking about that yesterday. I was only thinking what a cool critter it is, and how awesome they are to watch.
So, second thing of note…
ATVs. Quads. Four-wheelers.
They’re just machines. They’re tools, and used properly and safely they can be really handy… beneficial even.
But lord have mercy! How many people really think they’re going to spend the full day rumbling around on a quad and somehow sneak up on and shoot a deer? Saturday was an absolute ATV parade, with machine after machine rolling down the road, riders in full camo and rifles cradled in gun racks. At times, when the incessant noise wasn’t driving me buggy, it was almost humorous. From my vantage point, I could watch them “hunting”, poking slowly down the road in broad daylight. One would pass, then another would come along on the same trail… soon to be followed by yet another one.
Anyway, if these guys were having fun, then far be it from me to condemn their happiness. Hunting, as we’ve all said so many times, is about much more than just killing stuff. Whatever works… I just wish they would put some decent mufflers on those things.
Finally, there’s a train of thought that came to me last night as I was sitting, shivering on the darkening hillside. It’s the last hour of the last day of the hunt. I’m tired and cold (and a little annoyed at the never-ending rattle of ATVs), and I suddenly found myself sort of hoping that NO big buck would show up. If I shot him, then I’d have to dress him, break him down, and pack him back to the truck.
It’s not the first time this has occurred to me. How about ya’ll?
it happens to my dad all the time,
of course he is 82.
October 12th, 2008 at 7:06 pm
ATVs are annoying. They are fun to ride, but they are loud. I can’t imagine anyone on an ATV would see a deer anywhere near them.
October 13th, 2008 at 5:52 am
I had to smile – I’ve wondered about the ATVers myself…but you make a good point. I’d hate to be critical of their happiness…at the same time, though – they doa mighty fine job of pushing my tolerance to the limit and darn near destroying my own happiness! Personal problem, I know.
As to having the thought – I can’t say I’ve ever thought that unless I’ve been in the bottom of a canyon that happens to be five or six miles from camp. Then the thought is definitely in my mind. Sometimes I just wonder if it’d be worth it…I mean an animal dropped in a deep canyon that far from camp can only mean a lot of work – and not a ton of meat on a deer. Makes a body think twice…until the animal comes in view. Then instinct takes over and adrenaline and all that…and after you pull the trigger, the original thought that was nagging at the back of your mind comes back to the forefront. Ain’t it wonderful?!
October 13th, 2008 at 7:44 am
Dang, Rex… I’m wounded. Nice jab!
And Tom, you’re absolutely right… despite that feeling,and literally moments after the thought gelled in my mind, a doe walked out under the oaks I was watching. The rifle came up and my finger went to the safety. If she’d had antlers, she’d(he’d)have been in deep trouble… and I’d have had a load of work on my hands.
October 13th, 2008 at 10:05 am
They do make one heck of a racket. With all the silencers on the market for ATV’s I will never understand why any hunter uses a loud one. I feel your pain Phillip.
And to be honest–I have hunted many a night hoping that I didn’t kill anything. I was just enjoying the scenery and the peacefulness.
October 13th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
Agreed on the ATVs and on the sunset shooting doubts. But I do like duck hunting the sunset – a few little ducks aren’t so hard to clean…
Tick tick tick tick tick… Duck season starts in about 96 hours!!!!!
October 14th, 2008 at 5:01 am
You are far, far nicer than I am about ATV’s on the forest lands. I’ve seen too many guys try to mimic the commercials and go “off the beaten path.” If they would stay on designated roads, and if they followed the law and didn’t drive around with loaded guns (I’ve got in-law outlaws), I’d feel better about it, in part because its nicer for the habitat if they are poking around on them than in Suburbans. But the temptation is too great for too many to just kick it into low gear and drive up to the ridgeline.
I felt the way you did about packing out after walking out to a favorite spot last weekend, myself. Being in my thirties, I don’t know what that makes me!
October 14th, 2008 at 8:04 am
Josh, it’s hard to do sometimes, but it’s important to be fair-minded about the ATVs. Yes, they are annoying as heck, but to hate them all because of the actions of a few… well, doesn’t that sound like something another group of folks deals with in the public eye? Not every hunter shoots road signs, hunts with a beer in one hand and a rifle in the other, or dumps garbage at every trailhead. Likewise, not every quad rider gives in to that temptation to break the rules and leave tracks all over the landscape.
The quads I watched and heard this weekend, with one possible exception, followed the rules and stayed on the roads and jeep trails. Of course this is on one of the Golden Ram properties, so anyone caught breaking the rules gets kicked off, and may well lose their membership. The odds of getting caught AND PUNISHED are much higher in this situation than getting caught by DFG or the Forest Service… and these guys know it.
I’ve seen the bad and the ugly when it comes to ORV users, and it sure gives me a nasty taste in my mouth every time I witness it. But I’ve also utilized these machines to get into some remote areas, and I’ve hunted with some really responsible quad riders who recognize these things for what they are… useful tools for backcountry transportation.
But I’ll say this much in honest candor too… I’m much more likely to be polite and forthcoming with info if I meet a fellow hunter on foot or horseback than if I meet someone who is riding around on a quad. The former will likely get a friendly greeting and I may even share a little intel about what I’ve seen so far. The latter… more than likely will get a nod of my head as I pass him by.
October 14th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
Just for the record last year 8 of us went hunting and we all have quads. Of course we dont ride around all day hunting on them, but we do ride them. 5 of the 7 bucks we spotted and killed last year were from our quads. They were killed actually driving down a road, spotting them, hopping off the quad and shooting them. 2 of the bucks were huge, one being a record blacktail weighing just over 200 pounds with the horns being 22 inches wide by 20 inches tall. I just wanted to add this little tid bit of info, if you know where and when to go…you will see the deer. And yes this was all on Public Land. Thanks
August 7th, 2009 at 3:00 pm