Live Hunts - Montana Archery Deer Hunt

September 11, 2002
Montana Archery Deer Hunt

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Wednesday A.M.

Justin Trail took my camera again this morning but was so covered up in bucks that he didn't have time to take any photos. He saw over 20 bucks while waiting again for the big 160" class 10-point he's seen the last 2 days. Like clockwork, the buck came along, albeit on a different trail. Justin ran to intercept him in the bottom and had the buck at a ranged 41 yards, but the buck was behind a screen of brush and try as he might Justin just couldn't get a shot.

We spent several hours this morning looking for Larry Davis' buck that he hit last evening, and we never found the arrow or found the first drop of blood. Four of us covered the whole area for probably 600 yards in every direction and didn't find a sign of the buck that Larry shot, so we are assuming that the hit was not vital.

We'll go after them again this evening!

Wednesday P.M.

This evening we went with Justin Trail spot and stalking for mule deer. We found several smaller bucks that we didn't bother shooting, but Justin did sneak up to about 10 feet from a 3x3 and took a photo from above. Then a little later we found a good buck that Justin has already tried to get in on several times this week, unsuccessfully. This evening we found him bedded on a side hill above a creek bottom. The buck made the mistake of staying put as we drove past. We got past him and Justin bailed out around the hill out of the buck's sight, to get down into the creek bottom, a.k.a. the buck's escape route. When Justin was all set we drove back by the buck and stopped. Sure enough, the buck lumbered to his feet and started hopping down the draw, right to where Justin was waiting. The buck walked by at 33 yards and got an arrow in the lungs/liver for his trouble. He ran about 125 yards and we watched him lay down and he was finished. Finally! The buck is a nice 4x5 and is Justin's first archery mulie buck, so he was real happy with the buck.

The young 3x3 that Justin snuck up on

Here is the buck that Justin took
I took this photo through a spotting scope
shortly before Justin got him

Larry Davis sat this evening in the blind where I killed my buck on Saturday. He had a nice 8-point buck come past, and he took the shot, estimating the range at 25 yards. Well, the buck actually was 35 yards, and so Larry's arrow fell short and went under the buck's chest. He also had a big, massive 6-point that walked by at 15 yards, but he passed the buck up, waiting for an 8-point or better. Larry has one more day to try to connect with a buck and put him on the ground.

Check back for more action tomorrow!

Trip Notes
This hunt takes place in southeast Montana, near the Wyoming border. We are hunting with outfitter Tracy Weyer on an 18,000 acre private ranch in the Little Missouri River bottom. There are lots of Whitetail on the ranch, and good numbers of Mule Deer as well. Our Archery tags are good for either species. There is also an abundance of Pronghorn Antelope and Merriam Turkeys on the ranch.

For Whitetail we will be hunting the bottoms in the mornings and the Alfalfa fields in the evenings, from treestands and ground blinds. The Alfalfa fields are THE ticket for deer in this area. The evening before the hunt started, we saw probably close to 200 Whitetails while scouting. This area has some very good bucks, probably a few of which will still be in velvet right now. One of the neat things about hunting this time period is that the bucks are still in their summer routines and somewhat predictable in their patterns.

If interested in hunting with this outfitter, contact:

- Longleaf Hunting Adventures -
longleaf@huntinfo.com

Equipment
I'm shooting a Martin Jaguar bow, set at 67 lbs. Arrows are 29-inch Easton 3-60 ACC's, and I'm trying out Simmons LandShark 160 Grain 2-blade broadheads for the first time.

Joshua Flournoy owns and manages the Livehunts.com web site. He also arranges exciting hunts through his business Longleaf Hunting Adventures. Joshua resides in east Texas with his wife and four children.

e-mail Joshua Flournoy

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