My California Muzzleloader Hunt for Mule Deer

The countdown has begun. My M-8 Bass Hill Muzzleloader hunt starts this Saturday and I cannot wait.

Weather has moved in and snow is starting in the high country this week, which should start driving the bucks down to the lower elevations.  A layer of snow would be nice.

I hunted this area two years ago and had a great hunt. I never had shot a muzzleloader before. I won a TC Triumph 50 caliber at a SCI fundraiser back in 2010 and never had a chance to try it out. Talk to an expert at Sportsmans's Warehouse, he got me the right powder and sabots, instructed me on how to clean and sight it in. Went to the range out in Ione, and shot at 50 yds, 100 yds and 150 yds. Guess what, with open sights and no scope, the bead on the barrel covers up almost the total target, tougher than I thought.

Needless to say, I hit the 8-inch pie plate target consistently and headed out to my hunt. My son, Dan, was my guide and was able to get access thru private land-to-land locked BLM land.

Opening morning found us on the road and we immediately glassed a big 4x4 buck bedded down about 500yds up on the burn. We put on a stalk and got to about 150 yds when he made us.  I used sticks, aimed and fired. He bounded off, a clean miss?  We climbed the hill to glass the bowl and up the burn on the other side.

We soon spotted  another buck headed up the burn chasing does, rut started. We worked down the mountain as fast as I could keep up with Dan, got with in 150yds, aimed again and fired, missed again?   Now I was getting frustrated on where I was shooting.

Needless to say this went on for two days and two weekends, seeing 13 bucks and never the same one twice.  Big bucks were everywhere  and the rut was on. 

On the last day of the season, we drove down a fire road, Dan spotted a buck up on the hill about 150yds again. I decided its time to just aim at the buck and not try to adjust for drop as before. I put the bead on his vitals and fired. He flinched and started to roll down the hill.  Buck down.  We climbed the mountain, took pics and dragged him down to the truck.

This was a great hunt with my son Dan.  Two years later, I drew again, not sure how I did with no pts, and Dan drew the tag also. I borrowed a Knight Shadow since Dan is shooting the Triumph. I have been shooting it often to get real comfortable, and I think I understand the aim point with open sights.

We have some great mule deer, antelope, and elk tags in this state, you just have to put in and you never know what tags you will draw, get in the game and go hunting.

Will let you know how we do next week so stay tuned on Ryan's Roost!  Check me out on facebook also to follow my hunts this year.  This is my Colorado deer and looking to break my record.

Hunt of a Lifetime

Hunt of a lifetime?  Memories of a lifetime!

 

My Colorado mule deer hunt started eleven years ago when I began playing the preference point game in Colorado.  I had drawn a good elk tag over this period in Colorado and did not connect but I really wanted a good mule deer hunt.

I am 65 and realized that if I do not put in soon, I may never be able to do this hunt.  My son Dan is by far the best hunter I know and kept bugging me with “Dad, don’t you want to just go hunting, why are you waiting”. The odds were also getting worse every year with more applications with high points and I was told by the Colorado Parks and Game, it would take another five points to get drawn for the units I wanted. Five more years, forget it.

We studied the stats and came up with a unit that I could draw with my points and success history was good so we put in.  Yes, one of my hunting buddies, Bob and I got drawn and were ready for the late mid November rut hunt.  Dan agreed to guide us.

We arrive in Colorado the day before the opener, went scouting to see the lay of the land and access points.  A lot of camps and hunters doing the same since this area is also during an over the counter elk season so hunting pressure was going to be a factor.  We found a mesa we could get to and planned opening morning. 

We woke up to snow falling but the roads were passable to get on top of the mesa.  We got to the turnoff to park and there were two hunter unloading ATVs. After talking to them, they were from the area and going to go in  deeper with their ATVs so we would not be pushing them. We headed out to the end of a finger ridge, sat down with snow falling and waited for shoot time.  What a beautiful site.

We soon saw deer movement, bucks chasing does and the rut activity was starting to heat up.  The bucks were nice 4x4s and under but nothing for opening day shooting.  The snow continued so at 1:00 we headed back to the trucks.  Bob was already there putting on chains and the two ATV hunters were there chaining up also. Dan had big mud tires so we felt we could get down the mountain with no trouble. We all did but what a muddy mess, slipping and sliding.  Spent the rest of the day driving other roads and glassing, seeing a lot of deer but no shooters. The majority of the hunters were in there camps since the roads were pretty tough to navigate.

Day 2, we decided to go back on top since the roads would be frozen and passable since the storm blew through and it was around 17 degrees, freezing the mud and snow. Day 2 found us on the same ridge point looking over a snow covered burn. Deer movement was constant and ongoing. I even had my sights on a 160 class 5x4 at 125 yards. Really tempting but I had harvested a 160 class deer in  Kaibab, Arizona and what they say is “if you want a big one, you cannot shoot the smaller ones.”, so we watched and enjoyed the experience. 

I began realizing that the real hunt experience was being in a beautiful area, seeing game, but experiencing being with my 25 year old son doing what we both enjoy doing.  We sat together, glassed together, talk about life and how fun this experience was.  This beats harvesting any animal anyday, really!

Day 3 was the same, seeing lots of deer but not the one I wanted.  We even got stuck in the mud and worked putting rocks and branches under those snow tires to get up the hill.  Those mud tires really were an asset and  Dan also knew his tires limitations, it was fun.  Dan would just say we are not stuck, just delayed a bit.

On Day 4, my buddy Bob decided to head home and call it a hunt.  Dan and I decided we would go back on top and see what materializes. Blue sky, roads dried up so getting up there was no problem. 

 

Again, we saw bucks and I was tempted on another 5x4 pushing does.  We decided to drive the road further on the mesa and see what deer activity was farther down the road.  We were coming back across the mesa when we saw deer on the side of a hill. A big bruiser was pushing eight does up the hill. I jumped out, put the cross hairs on the buck and waited for Dan to give me a distance reading. Dan said 325 yds and shoot!  I put the reticle on his shoulder and pulled the trigger, missed. Could not believe it. We jumped back in the truck and drove down the hill, the buck was slowly pushing the does and really did not care what just happened, the rut was on.

I got out again and steadied on the hood of the truck, the buck skylined at the top of the hill at 225 yds . I put the crosshairs in the shoulder crease and pulled again. I heard the wack and the buck started moving down the hill towards us, obviously hit. Dan and I started walking toward him up the hill.  He bedded down behind a big rock and as we moved up to him, he rose and I was able to finish him off with a follow up shot.

I could not believe how great a deer he was as I walked up to him. While going up the hill, I pulled my back out so I was pretty useless when we got to the deer. Dan propped me and the deer up for pics and then he dragged him down the hill to the truck. I slowly worked my way down in pain but made it. 

 

We, no Dan, boned and caped him out as I layed on my back to try and stop the spasms.  I really was not a lot of help to my guide.

We headed back down the mountain and called my buddy Bob who was half way home to L.A.  Needless to say, you have to spend the time in the field to give yourself the best chance of harvesting an animal you desire.

 
While this is the biggest deer I have harvested, 180 SCI score, 31’ spread and probably will be my biggest ever, the real satisfaction is being with my son on this experience.  You cannot measure our experience, deer or no deer, my memories of being with him in the wild is what I will cherish.  Dads, go hunting with your kids every chance you can, the harvest is secondary.  Want to see more photos, follow me on facebook, @calvinryan. Enjoy, Cal Ryan

Take Risks Mentally and Physically but do not be Stupid!

Take Risks Mentally and Physically but do not be Stupid!

What the H… does that mean Cal?  Let me share an experience I had this week.

As you go thru life, you take risks that teach you lessons and hopefully you learn from them and not repeat them consistently. But, as you grow older and wiser(?), you sometimes think you are invincible and get a little risky and push the risk to danger.

I walk every morning on a 2-3 mile jaunt thru the woods where we live in the foothills.  The trails are good and maintained but we do have coyotes and sometimes mountain lions show in the area so you have to be alert.  I usually carry a mace spray just to be on the safe side.  Most of the time those predator critters want to stay away from humans and run away.

There are other predators out there I forgot about. I was walking down the trail to an historic homestead that the building have been consistently vandalized of historic items.  As I approached the site, I came around the corner and there was this small car hidden behind the curve with a guy kneeling down looking like he was changing his license plate. I kind of startled him and  he stood up quickly.  Stupid 1:  I stopped and asked him what he was doing (confrontation, not smart). He said just hanging. I noticed another guy in the passenger side, both looked tired and little grungy.  A pit bull pup came to sniff me.

Stupid 2:  I told them they were trespassing and were on private property, they said ok and would leave.  They continued to ask me about the old buildings?

Stupid 3:  I kept talking instead of walking away quickly.  I then put my headphones in my ears and headed up the trail looking back periodically.

I got home and did not call the police. Later that morning, I drove by the property and saw two more cars in the area. I went home, called the Sheriff to report the suspicious activity.  The sheriff came to our house and I explained what I experienced and saw.

He said the two guys matched the description of two car thieves in a silver Tercel. They had chased them at 3:00am down from Colfax but never caught them and were still on the run. OMG!  He said they would check the property out but reminded me that anyone who looks suspicious usually is and could be dangerous and should not be confronted and pressured, just leave quickly and call the police.

Hey, we watch Cold Case and CSI and there are always crimes against innocent people who just were in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Wow,  did I get lucky.

Needless to say I did not sleep well that night just thinking of all the things that could have happened.  I took a stupid risk that could have gone bad, you never know.

Lesson:  I now carry my mace, walkie- talkie and a big hunting knife but I have learned that do not think your invincible out there: Take risks mentally and physically, that’s how you learn and grow and push your limits but DO NOT BE STUPID! 

Thanks for listening to my experience, let me know if you have one to share. Follow me on facebook and twitter accounts.

Ryan's Roost Goes Live!

Hola!  Thanks so much for following my blog and becoming part of my Ryan’s Roost like minds or not.  This blog is all about sharing experiences, ideas, failures, successes, and words of wisdom that I have acquired over the years.

I have raised three great children who are exceptional people who make this world a better place.  They keep me in check and make sure my negative nuances do not surface too much.  It’s amazing how our parent’s scripts come to the surface at times. My kids keep me in the now as best they can, I still think Neil Diamond is an Icon in music, ha!

I am married to the love of my life and even though this is trivialized, my soul mate.  For 35 years we have experienced this life we have been given and tried to live for every Passage we enter.  She amazes me daily, I am so blessed that she continues to put up with me for this long. However, we have a 50-year commitment and in 15 years she can go paint the town red or renew our contract.  Wow, I could be so lucky to hit 50 years with this lady. 

This blog will talk about my passions: family, hunting, some politics and wildlife and habitat conservation.  I am a Montanan at heart, born and raised in my early years and consider the Big Sky Country my basic roots.  I love the Mountains, the rivers, and the resources they have to offer so this will be a major topic for me to help share this wonderful place with others.

Why is the Male Sage Grouse and his hens my logo for this blog? Well,  I read an article about this marvelous bird and how his survival impacts how his habitat survives.  His sage habitat is so critical to many other animals, plants, and birds in the west. His survival is a great indicator of the health of the West for elk, deer, pronghorn, sheep, birds and all the other plants that need to have a healthy environment.

That’s enough for now, check my facebook and twitter if you want to stay connected. Take care and see you in the SAGE!