Hunting on the HiLine 2013, Vol. 3: Buck Found on Lost River

The hype on the Lost River WMA (See Previous Post) proved true right away on Friday evening.

I had the chance to join Jeff and Jeremy on their evening hunt. We had barely driven into the WMA when we spotted a group of mule deer on a coulee bank. After scrambling out of the vehicle and slightly away from the road, Jeff and Jeremy scoped the deer and spotted a large buck. Jeremy was able to take a shot before the buck went out of sight around the bend of the coulee. It's pretty amazing he was able to take a shot after all the scrambling around and loud noises we were making. The deer were on the move.

 All except the one who took the bullet. He went nowhere.

We field-dressed the deer on the side of the point and loaded him in the pickup. With several daylight hours left, we decided to bird hunt in the flat along the south bank of the Milk River. We had a nice hike through some prime pheasant habitat. Harvey was with us and he trailed a few birds, but only pointed and flushed a pheasant hen. The hike was roughly two miles. We enjoyed working with the dog and the guys also took the opportunity to scout some prime deer and elk habitat. There were definite signs of elk having been in the river bottom recently.

This photo was taken from where we field dressed Jeremy's deer. The flat light makes the photo lose some dimension, but still gives an idea of the striking landscape and river valley.

We also saw three beavers and lots of gnawed trees and branches. It will be cook to see over the next few hunting seasons whether or not the beavers build a successful dam and watch their progress doing so.

As twilight fell, we began our trek out of the river and headed for home. We saw many, many deer on our drive back home but none were exactly what Jeff wanted to shoot. Most of them were does and fawns, which you're not supposed to shoot anyway.

The next morning, Jeff and Jeremy went out again. This time, they went to an old standby hunting ground which is actually the pastureland of a family friend of ours. Jeff got his buck that morning.

Group Photo

 This was the largest deer Jeremy had ever shot. Once they had both deer back to the yard, the guys measured and scored the size of the animals. I don't really understand the measurement process, but I think it involves measuring the width between both racks, the length of the racks as well as each of their tines, and the circumference of each rack at some strategic locations.  Jeff's buck scored 148 and Jeremy's was 172.  I think they are both planning to have at least the antlers mounted. The well-planned and executed decorating scheme at our house consisting of mismatched, second-hand furniture, and antlers on the wall will gain another statement piece.

The measuring process.

Now that they both have shot pretty nice buck mule deer, the guys are switching their concentration to hunting elk and working Harvey on some game birds. Jeremy will be back in a few weeks and the hunt will be on again. You can bet they'll be spending some more time in the Lost River. It has definitely shown it is prime habitat for many different types of animals. It's a neat place to hike. I'm also interested to come back during different seasons to see how the landscape changes.