Hunting Lacreek Refuge
10-24-2011, 07:09 PM
#1
Nontypical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Rapid City, South Dakota
Posts: 3,732
Hunting Lacreek Refuge
Tuesday past i left home to hunt a muzzle loader season. In my possession were 2 doe tags. Iron sights only allowed here during muzzle loader season. A few days before i left, this fella bade me good hunting from just outside our dining room.
The first afternoon and evening found me cruising around with binocular, and trying to figure out how to hunt the area. Chet had given me a guided tour previously that turned out to be invaluable. Just before dark, i found about 30 deer that had ventured out from the marshy brushy area they seem to nap in during day light hours.
This had me at the same location at dawn.
It was 22 degrees at dawn, and i was wearing some real cold weather clothing. I tried to sneak on them deer by walking down an irrigation ditch, but the ditch failed to get close enough to them deer for a shot. I walked back to the truck, and glassed other deer on the other side of the lake. I tried a sneak on them deer, but they weren't there when i was. By then i had to change to warmer weather clothes. Then i went to camp for lunch.
After lunch i went into the marshy brush pictured. By then i was wearing one shirt, and a cotton blaze orange vest, and no cap.
Wandering around in the thick, i was quite worried about getting wet, but even the cattails were near dry. After awhile i jumped a few deer, but never got a shot. Finally i had a deer stand and look at me. I wasn't sure about taking the shot down there in the marsh, and checked the gps to see how far from the truck i was. It say i was 0.87 mile as the crow fly from the truck. Still not being sure about killing the deer and dragging it through the marsh, i pulled the primer, and counted 'coup' when i pulled the trigger on the X7. Then i loaded the primer, but didn't pull the trigger again. Seems it was over 3 minute the deer and i looked at each other. One step taken by me, and the deer was gone. Before i had walked back to the truck, i was sad i didn't kill that deer.
The next morning i decided to just drive around and see where the other 19 tag holders were hunting. That is when i saw what i believe was hundreds of Sandhill Crane with some geese flying over head. After it warmed up, i stripped to warm weather clothing, and headed back into the marsh. Several deer i jumped without a shot. After a bit 2 deer let me have a shot. I glassed them, and decided to shoot at the one on the left. At 55 yard, i made a perfect shot at the only thing i could see in the tall grass--the neck. Load was 260g Nosler, 100g BH, crush rib sabot, and STS primer. It was a long 0.37 mile drag to get out of the growth taller than me, which included cattails, and all kind of brush and trees. I was quite thankful, i was packing the X7 whilst dragging that deer through the brush. Then i hoofed it to the truck, and got the cart. It was 3/4 mile to the truck up hill, and over prairie grass, and marsh grass. I believe i drank about 1/2 gallon of water.
The next morning i went where i had seen zero trucks parked the morning before, but there were 2 parked there, and 5 parked at the next closet parking place. I really wanted to hunt there, because i had seen about 75 deer wandering around in the alfalfa, and i thought i could ambush them. One has to park in designated places to hunt the refuge, and when them spot were overloaded, i gave up, and came home.
The first afternoon and evening found me cruising around with binocular, and trying to figure out how to hunt the area. Chet had given me a guided tour previously that turned out to be invaluable. Just before dark, i found about 30 deer that had ventured out from the marshy brushy area they seem to nap in during day light hours.
This had me at the same location at dawn.
It was 22 degrees at dawn, and i was wearing some real cold weather clothing. I tried to sneak on them deer by walking down an irrigation ditch, but the ditch failed to get close enough to them deer for a shot. I walked back to the truck, and glassed other deer on the other side of the lake. I tried a sneak on them deer, but they weren't there when i was. By then i had to change to warmer weather clothes. Then i went to camp for lunch.
After lunch i went into the marshy brush pictured. By then i was wearing one shirt, and a cotton blaze orange vest, and no cap.
Wandering around in the thick, i was quite worried about getting wet, but even the cattails were near dry. After awhile i jumped a few deer, but never got a shot. Finally i had a deer stand and look at me. I wasn't sure about taking the shot down there in the marsh, and checked the gps to see how far from the truck i was. It say i was 0.87 mile as the crow fly from the truck. Still not being sure about killing the deer and dragging it through the marsh, i pulled the primer, and counted 'coup' when i pulled the trigger on the X7. Then i loaded the primer, but didn't pull the trigger again. Seems it was over 3 minute the deer and i looked at each other. One step taken by me, and the deer was gone. Before i had walked back to the truck, i was sad i didn't kill that deer.
The next morning i decided to just drive around and see where the other 19 tag holders were hunting. That is when i saw what i believe was hundreds of Sandhill Crane with some geese flying over head. After it warmed up, i stripped to warm weather clothing, and headed back into the marsh. Several deer i jumped without a shot. After a bit 2 deer let me have a shot. I glassed them, and decided to shoot at the one on the left. At 55 yard, i made a perfect shot at the only thing i could see in the tall grass--the neck. Load was 260g Nosler, 100g BH, crush rib sabot, and STS primer. It was a long 0.37 mile drag to get out of the growth taller than me, which included cattails, and all kind of brush and trees. I was quite thankful, i was packing the X7 whilst dragging that deer through the brush. Then i hoofed it to the truck, and got the cart. It was 3/4 mile to the truck up hill, and over prairie grass, and marsh grass. I believe i drank about 1/2 gallon of water.
The next morning i went where i had seen zero trucks parked the morning before, but there were 2 parked there, and 5 parked at the next closet parking place. I really wanted to hunt there, because i had seen about 75 deer wandering around in the alfalfa, and i thought i could ambush them. One has to park in designated places to hunt the refuge, and when them spot were overloaded, i gave up, and came home.
