When is it too hot to hunt deer
Too Hot to Hunt
hi friends and welcome to the program
hey we're headed out west today headed
for the rocky mountains and shelton
ranch outfitters out maker colorado our
good friends Pete and Judy and Paul and
Susan everybody out there treats us are
good every time we come there I can't
wait to get out there and try to fill my
archery elk and archery mule deer tag
now I should mention just in case you
don't have the weather channel where you
live or perhaps you haven't seen the
evening news in the last say three
months the West has experienced the
hottest driest summer they've had in
record number of years in fact it hasn't
been this bad since the Dust Bowl era
the 1930s so I have adjusted my
expectations a little anyway I figure
the hunting's going to be a little
tougher and I got to tell you my
expectations were right on the money
save one little thing it wasn't a little
tougher it was tremendously hot
afternoon temperatures in the 80s and
90s had suppressed the elk movement
totally and the deer movement was
confined to the first hour or so of
daylight so you know me I decided we'll
fish for what's bitin will try to get on
a good mule deer back and hope for some
cooler weather a little more elk
activity by the end of our week hey I'm
your host Kyle Randall this is my
wilderness journal and we're headed out
to the mountains for some real hot
hunting right now just as the shadows of
that first afternoon began to stretch
dan and I came across a dandy buck we
actually bounced him up out of his bed
down in a draw all we could do was stand
there and watch him slowly walk away but
I'm here to tell you friends this was a
deer worth hunting and it certainly gave
me hope that maybe you know maybe we
could get this done even in this
terrible heat long before Sun up the
next morning we were set up in the side
of that very same draw when I looked up
on the hill and there was my buck all
the way at the top of the next ridge
standing at a fence crossing I don't
know why he was up there why he wasn't
down working his way along this side
Hill but as I watched him clear the
fence and then slowly make his way
around the bowl
and as we SAT there watch and it
suddenly occurred to me you know if he
stays up there and we're down here there
is no way we can move on him he was no
more than a hundred yards away but the
simple truth was he was above us and as
such if we to move just a little bit he
depict us in a heartbeat all I could do
was just sit there and hope somehow he'd
make a mistake he'd go buy something
he'd go over a small Ridge something
that would give us a little bit of cover
so we could close the distance
unfortunately he didn't he worked all
the way around the rim of that bowl as
if he knew we were there all the way out
to the road so he could cross the fence
and go up and a bed and the whole of the
time he was making that big old circle I
was sitting there motionless making sure
I didn't spook him and thinking to
myself you may have won this time but
trust me dear I'm paying attention that
friends was a smoker of a mule Ibaka he
was a gorgeous four by four with decent
brow tines certainly a trophy in
anybody's book certainly in mine anyway
and even though he had me pinned that
first morning I couldn't get up and take
a run at him I did go to school a little
bit of learn something from it I knew
where he was feeding I knew which way he
had taken to go to bed and you could bet
come the morning I'd be putting what I'd
learned to use as the nearly full moon
was now rising the following afternoon i
was still remembering the other thing i
learned a long time ago while deer
huntin and never count your chickens
before he got him blocked it in the Bata
i was at least seeing a few deer it was
late in the afternoon just before sunset
when a few doze and fawns started
feeding down off the mountain and out
into the alfalfa field in front of where
we were set up it took another half hour
before more deer started working their
way down the shadows were almost all the
way across the valley floor when another
group started working out including a
couple of smaller box followed by
at least two older more mature obviously
shooter bucks were working their way
down the problem with them they were
almost a half a mile away they'd really
have to hustle if they were going to get
out here in time for me to get his shot
before the light faded I watched these
boxes they leisurely walk down across
the valley headed down toward the horse
pasture and probably a drink out of the
pond and I thought to myself how amazing
is it that every time I hunt the West
I'm out there cooking in the Sun
especially in the early season praying
for that Sun to go down so it'll cool
off and then when it finally does it
never fails I need to reach back over my
shoulder and prop it up for 15 more
minutes in order to get a shot it just
seems to always work that way
some of the deer did in fact work their
way into the horse pasture and down to
the pond for a drink some stayed up on
the flat just feeding but the whole
bunch of them didn't seem to be in any
hurry to work their way down to the
alfalfa where we were set up at a fence
crossing we only had 20 maybe 30 minutes
a usable light left I needed these bucks
to work their way down and get out in
front of us in order to get a shot
before I couldn't see the shoot
then finally the deer started moving in
our direction that is some of them two
of the biggest bucks for whatever reason
took a left turn and started feeding
back up into the fire Valley some of the
younger bucks had made it to the first
of two fence crossings they'd have to
use in order to get to us but
unfortunately those bigger bucks the
shooters yeah they weren't coming
anywheres near here at least not yet all
i could do now is just sit there and
hope listen into my watch tick like
thunder in my ears it truly seemed to be
getting darker faster than normal and
then I realized you know that isn't my
watch ticking like thunder in my ears
it's actually Thunder a weather front
was blowing in over the mountain behind
us obviously was going to get dark
really fast now if there was going to be
any hope for a shot these bucks needed
to get over here in the next 10 minutes
yes I know what you're thinking it's the
same thing I was thinking no not too
likely I figured it had truly take a
miracle to get a shooter from the other
side of that Creek over into the alfalfa
field in front us so we had even a
chance to get a shot before we took a
shot of lightning friends pretty quick
we were going to need to get off of this
mountain I do remember thinking as I SAT
there Just My Luck to show up in
Colorado the one day it's going to rain
in the last two months still you
couldn't begrudge these folks the rain
they needed it so bad
we'd have another day all I can think of
now really was well i hope that
lightning doesn't start any more fires
the weather closing us out that
afternoon wasn't nearly as troubling as
seeing all that lightening popping
around in the mountains the state of
Colorado already had far more forest
fires than they could deal with you know
we could go to bed that night and get up
and tomorrow would be just another day a
huntin that is unless hours or some one
of the neighbors mountains were on fire
you don't know how scary this is friends
unless you live in the West especially
in a year like this was we could just
say our prayers and try to sleep in
hopes that nobody was ringing the alarm
bell when we got up unfortunately there
were no calls to fight fire that next
morning we were watching a group of
spike balls working their way to bed it
was warm and pretty windy but it was
clear and we couldn't see smoke in any
direction what we could see was yeah a
whole bunch of elk unfortunately they
were already well above us on their way
up the mountain and headed to bed for
the day it was about then I spotted a
group of bachelor bucks working their
way around the hill below us and I
suddenly realized you know if we grab
our stuff and run right now we might be
able to get out ahead of them they're
gonna cross where that big buck did the
other morning we might get there ahead
of them friends I could show you how far
we had to go how hot and miserable it
was trying to get down and around and
back out in front of those bucks before
they cross the road and went up to bed
that morning I could show you that or
you could just look at the sweat running
down the back of my neck as we got
skidded into that last spot saw him
coming up the field we actually made it
now all we needed was just a little bit
out from the deer with literally seconds
to spare we've made it into position the
deer were already headed up the hill
more or less toward us
there was one shooter buck in this group
and if he would come just a little bit
out in the open he was only 56 yards
kind of fire but not too far what I
needed for him to do was stop in an
opening where I had a shot before they
got to the road
yeah that's what I needed and I went
right on need Nick that buck never
uncovered he passed by at less than 40
yards but there was so much brush there
was no way we could take a shot all dan
and I could do would just sit there
watch him walk across the road hop the
fence and wander right on out of my life
we hunted hard all the following day but
it was until sunset when we actually saw
some critters I decided to try calling
at these three spike balls a little bit
they obviously weren't legal it takes
four points on a side to be legal in
this part of Colorado but you never know
when there's an elk traveling with a
group that you can't see and besides
this was one of the only times we saw
any elk movement during the daylight
unfortunately I didn't see any mature
bulls responding to my calls what we did
see was a whole bunch of cows and calves
and a couple other bulls working their
way out into one of those hay fields and
before long our three fellows decided
they were going to wander over and join
the party no legal bulls ever answered
my call and I didn't see any with this
group of spikes still at least we were
seeing some out and you know I can't say
that nothing responded to my Colin we
did have a cow with two cabs come to
within about forty yards and check us
out ambiens how it's legal to take a cow
elk on an archery tag in Colorado I
certainly could have taken a shot had I
wanted to believe me when I tell your
friends trying to archery elk hung in 90
+ degree heat well let's just say it's a
real tough ticket
with temperatures that afternoon in the
90s I wasn't really surprised we weren't
seeing much still our week was beginning
to wear on and we had to make a decision
the elk weren't moving at all at least
not in the daylight there were plenty of
cows and calves we could see them at
first light at last light and if you
know anything about ELQ you know where
cows and calves are Bulls will soon be
the problem was there wasn't hardly any
movement in the daylight in the camera
hours at least the deer were moving some
in that first hour two hours of each day
and where I'm from friends when it comes
to hunting at least some is always
better than none that next day we did
manage to get on some deer we'd seen a
couple of bucks including this hi ty
track three by three work and their way
down through an alfalfa peel and then
headed up to bed i SAT there thinking
for a couple of minutes you know maybe
this really isn't what I'd consider a
shooter but maybe we ought to try
working down and around and getting out
in front of this buck isn't it funny how
your opinion of a deer changes as the
days of a hunt go by in the beginning of
the week do you thinking man this is a
great place they have awesome dear no
way I'm shooting anything but a real
smoker and then with a day or two left
you're thinking you know yeah the truth
was first or last day he just wasn't the
shooter and then there was one just one
day left in my hunt in Colorado and when
Paul said you know what we're not seeing
much how about we try hiking up over
this hill and looking into a little Bowl
I know of that stays shadier later in
the day I thought what could it hurt we
could try it that's what you have to do
when it's tough you just have to keep
trying
after a short climb to the top of the
ridge Paul and I worked ourselves along
into a place where we figured we could
glass and see most of that bowl without
being seen ourselves we got to looking
around and holy smokes there was the
monster four by four the very same buck
we'd seen the very first day the one we
tried to set up on and head loop around
us he was already three quarters of the
way up out of the bowl working his way
along with a couple of dozen fawns I
thought man there's probably no way I'm
ever gonna get close enough for a shot
but it's the last day I gotta try
Paul and I made a hasty plan he would
squat down and try to keep an eye on the
buck as I dropped below the rim so as
not to skyline myself and work my way
around in my head I knew that a lot of
things we're gonna have to break in my
favor in order for this to work but I
also knew that if you never try if you
never take the chance well you never
bump into a deer like this blocking your
path not only was there a forked horn
there was a doe right beside me they
were deer coming up out of this bowl we
hadn't seen and they were all around me
all I could do was just sit there wait
for him to go by and then creep ahead a
little bit I kept looking and it was
another big old buck a huge three by
three with a big sword up one side was
standing there looking back he'd seen
something but he hadn't spooked this
buck was only 50 60 yards out already
within the outside edge of my bow range
it was decision time in Colorado did I
take a run at this buck did I continue
on and try to find the other buck it was
the last day the Sun was coming up the
temperature was rising with it and and
yeah I tried to never look a gift dear
in the mouth especially on the last day
I started creeping forward to get into
position for a shot it immediately
bumped into a big old forked horn buck
this deer wasn't 30 yards away and
fortunately feedin I looked over and the
big three by three was actually coming
down the edge of the bowl he was getting
closer
ever so carefully I eased forward to a
spot I figured I had an opening you know
a chance for his shot through the brush
and there he was he'd seen something he
was looking right at me but he didn't
spook in fact he took a couple of steps
closer and a gammy caught movement I
just froze we stood there in the mother
of all stare downs I couldn't believe it
I come this far all I needed was for
this buck to just turn his head to look
the other way
to them finally he started moving again
there was another opening I drew the bow
I lifted my body as high as I thought
I'd dare in order to get over the
Russian you see that hey you see that
Wow oh well been a great week we give it
a try last day that's how it goes
friends sometimes eat venison backstrap
and sometimes it's baloney sandwiches we
did our very best to beat the heat but
in the end all we left Colorado with was
a sunburn and some great memories
that was obviously the camera man's
fault friends I guess sometimes it
really is too hot to hunt and still we
had a great time we saw plenty of
critters despite the weather and I want
you to know that Pete and Judy and Paul
and Susan everybody out at the Shelton's
did everything in their power to put
that together and we could have
certainly filled both our tags I could
have shot a smaller buck I certainly
could have taken a cow elk that's legal
on an archery tag I was the one that
decided to wait for something special
and you know I got it I got a truly
special trip with some really wonderful
people and while I'm handing out thanks
I need to thank misty and certainly Dan
the cameraman for pounding up and down
the mountain sweating through that hunt
with me we really did have a good time
and if that's something that interests
you if you know archery elk or mule deer
or your thing you get a hold of pieten
Junie pulses and anybody out there at
Shelton's and they're going to show you
the very same great huntin and the very
same great effort that they always show
us hey I hope I see you out there hope
your stocking up on a big old bowl or a
nice buck or your own and if I do well
you know we're going to stop and share a
cup and a fire and if I don't see out
there friends well at the very least I
hope to see you right back here for
another adventure from my wilderness
journal thanks again Pete and Judy Paul
and Susan everybody out its Shelton's
