back in about 1973 or so I and a few friends decided that we would make an out of state hunt to Colorado for mule deer.
back then over the counter mule deer licenses cost about $88 if I remember correctly so it was fairly decent as far as price of the license
(remember back in 1973 ,$88 was worth a good deal more than it is now) any way I found 4 other friends that were willing to make the trip and share expenses and we had access to two vehicles for the trip, an older ford 6 cylinder bronco and a Chevy Vega station wagon, we calculated the expenses
Like GAS,LICENSES, food, equipment etc and even back then the 5000 mile round trip for two weeks would cost each guy about $900 each so it was hardly dirt cheap but it was do-able if your into hunting.(certainly a screaming bargain by comparison to today's costs) now as back ground Ive driven from Florida to Colorado at least 40 times to hunt and back then it used to take between 40-48 hours actual; drive time, to make the trip from south Florida to eagle Colorado which is about 2400 miles one way, so we try hard to average 55-57 miles an hour , that meant swapping drivers about every 4-6 hours and driving around the clock, and trying to sleep in the car and grab meals at truck stops along the way.
any way we made that trip dozens of times and having two vehicles was a huge help as it allowed us to carry more gear in a less cluttered enviroment and have more area to stretch out, plus if either car broke down we had a way to go get parts or help or tow the disabled car, not ideal, but better than nothing.
Well we drove this particular year out to an area we knew of near gypsum Colorado , that was usually very good hunting.
we sleep in tents or under tarps we pitched in aspen groves, in sleeping bags and cook over camp fires, or Coleman stoves to save cash.
well the trip was about average in one respect, and we arrived nearly exhausted ,after driving for about 44 hours strait thru in shifts. and set up camp the day before the season opened, we had topo maps and from previous trips we knew the area, so we got some sleep and got up before dawn the next day which was opening day.
weather changes rather frequently, you can start out at below 30F and see 60F degree afternoon temps or start out at 50F and see 4" of snow 5 hours later
on the opening morning I and one other guy got dropped off on one side of a couple square miles of mixed aspen and oak brush, in a canyon we had selected as one that was very likely to have low hunting pressure as it was difficult to get access to with the vega, parked along a long abandoned logging road.
while the other three guys drove the bronco over and parked on the far side, of the canyon slope , the plan being we would still hunt slowly toward each other and if we got lucky we would have the man power to drag the deer we got back to the truck or car , which ever was closer, we would then drive the car or truck we were near too at dusk back to camp at the end of the day.
after wandering in a planed zig zag pattern , along the slope we had selected, as potentially a great place to locate mule deer, I heard distant shots and within about 30 minutes, I spotted a nice legal 4 point buck with about a 24" antler spread, sneaking thru the aspen, he had no idea I was watching him approach, I sat down and watched as he snuck closer as he avoided the guys far down slope below that had kicked him out of his prior bedding area.I dropped him with a shot from my browning 78. I was able to get a good solid resting shot at about 80 yards by steadying the fore end of the rifle on my hand as I grasp a large aspen tree, from a very quickly acquired sitting position, while I use the sling and tree trunk to get a rock solid hold.
The 200 grain speer , 30 caliber bullet from my 30/06 falling block rifle, hit that mule deer,nearly broad side,but angling slightly to the rear as he was slightly facing toward me as he traveled thru the area, that bullet hit and punched thru in the area just behind the shoulder and exited the far side ribs , instantly destroying the arteries over the heart, resulting in a quick lunge and face in the dirt near instant kill.
theres a good deal of satisfaction in making a well placed shot from a very accurate rifle.
and this was one of the very rare times I found it was all down hill to the truck from where the deer dropped, and to add to the hunt FRANK was the source of the earlier shot we had heard, and he also had shot a nice 4x5 mule deer.
by7 the time that years hunt was over all of the members of our hunt group, on the trip, but one guy who stubbornly held out for a really much larger trophy racked mule deer, had collected a decent deer and brought home venison
RELATED THREADS
viewtopic.php?f=90&t=1180&p=2415&hilit=ww760#p2415
viewtopic.php?f=97&t=1095
back then over the counter mule deer licenses cost about $88 if I remember correctly so it was fairly decent as far as price of the license
(remember back in 1973 ,$88 was worth a good deal more than it is now) any way I found 4 other friends that were willing to make the trip and share expenses and we had access to two vehicles for the trip, an older ford 6 cylinder bronco and a Chevy Vega station wagon, we calculated the expenses
Like GAS,LICENSES, food, equipment etc and even back then the 5000 mile round trip for two weeks would cost each guy about $900 each so it was hardly dirt cheap but it was do-able if your into hunting.(certainly a screaming bargain by comparison to today's costs) now as back ground Ive driven from Florida to Colorado at least 40 times to hunt and back then it used to take between 40-48 hours actual; drive time, to make the trip from south Florida to eagle Colorado which is about 2400 miles one way, so we try hard to average 55-57 miles an hour , that meant swapping drivers about every 4-6 hours and driving around the clock, and trying to sleep in the car and grab meals at truck stops along the way.
any way we made that trip dozens of times and having two vehicles was a huge help as it allowed us to carry more gear in a less cluttered enviroment and have more area to stretch out, plus if either car broke down we had a way to go get parts or help or tow the disabled car, not ideal, but better than nothing.
Well we drove this particular year out to an area we knew of near gypsum Colorado , that was usually very good hunting.
we sleep in tents or under tarps we pitched in aspen groves, in sleeping bags and cook over camp fires, or Coleman stoves to save cash.
well the trip was about average in one respect, and we arrived nearly exhausted ,after driving for about 44 hours strait thru in shifts. and set up camp the day before the season opened, we had topo maps and from previous trips we knew the area, so we got some sleep and got up before dawn the next day which was opening day.
weather changes rather frequently, you can start out at below 30F and see 60F degree afternoon temps or start out at 50F and see 4" of snow 5 hours later
on the opening morning I and one other guy got dropped off on one side of a couple square miles of mixed aspen and oak brush, in a canyon we had selected as one that was very likely to have low hunting pressure as it was difficult to get access to with the vega, parked along a long abandoned logging road.
while the other three guys drove the bronco over and parked on the far side, of the canyon slope , the plan being we would still hunt slowly toward each other and if we got lucky we would have the man power to drag the deer we got back to the truck or car , which ever was closer, we would then drive the car or truck we were near too at dusk back to camp at the end of the day.
after wandering in a planed zig zag pattern , along the slope we had selected, as potentially a great place to locate mule deer, I heard distant shots and within about 30 minutes, I spotted a nice legal 4 point buck with about a 24" antler spread, sneaking thru the aspen, he had no idea I was watching him approach, I sat down and watched as he snuck closer as he avoided the guys far down slope below that had kicked him out of his prior bedding area.I dropped him with a shot from my browning 78. I was able to get a good solid resting shot at about 80 yards by steadying the fore end of the rifle on my hand as I grasp a large aspen tree, from a very quickly acquired sitting position, while I use the sling and tree trunk to get a rock solid hold.
The 200 grain speer , 30 caliber bullet from my 30/06 falling block rifle, hit that mule deer,nearly broad side,but angling slightly to the rear as he was slightly facing toward me as he traveled thru the area, that bullet hit and punched thru in the area just behind the shoulder and exited the far side ribs , instantly destroying the arteries over the heart, resulting in a quick lunge and face in the dirt near instant kill.
theres a good deal of satisfaction in making a well placed shot from a very accurate rifle.
and this was one of the very rare times I found it was all down hill to the truck from where the deer dropped, and to add to the hunt FRANK was the source of the earlier shot we had heard, and he also had shot a nice 4x5 mule deer.
by7 the time that years hunt was over all of the members of our hunt group, on the trip, but one guy who stubbornly held out for a really much larger trophy racked mule deer, had collected a decent deer and brought home venison
RELATED THREADS
viewtopic.php?f=90&t=1180&p=2415&hilit=ww760#p2415
viewtopic.php?f=97&t=1095