You know this year unfortunately I didn’t draw a deer tag in Utah, so we came to Colorado to hunt with my good buddy Steve Smith. You’ve seen Steve before hunting tiger musky or hunting big bass on the lake. Today we are going after a big buck. I’ve got to stop here at Sportman’s Warehouse and grab a couple of things before we head out.
(hat) got orange, perfect. Need that.
I just bought a brand new Winchester 300 Win mag, so I’m pretty excited to try it out on this hunt. Got my orange, some Havilon blades, I think we are good. Let’s go see if Steve has found some bucks.
Our destination for our hunt is Gunnison, Colorado. Steve and I both have second season deer tags for a unit just south of town. We hope to find a couple of good bucks that this area is known for.
Well we just got into Gunnison and look at this Steve is waiting, raring to go. Look at this he’s looking at his watch. Hey! you ready to go get some deer? Yeah just a little bit. We’ve got to go. Alright, let’s go find a…let’s go scout. How you doing? I’m doing good man, good to see you.
I first met Steve back in the early ninties when Reece Stein took a young, wide eyed photographer down to bugle in some elk for a story. Steve was our guide.
(Steve Smith, Salina Hunter) We very first hooked up on the Monroe Mountain. You was carrying your wooden sticks with that camera. I felt so bad for you, that thing weighed a ton. We had a great time.
Got some great footage and spend some time with you and it’s a relationship that has been hanging in there every since. 25 years ago, 20 years ago, it’s been a long time.
Steve was there on my first big bull hunt on Mount Dutton in 2002. It was here he met my dad…Roy. The man who had taught me everything I know and cherish about the outdoors.
(Adam) We shot a lot of antelope. (LeRoy Eakle) Yes we did, an awful lot of them.
I lost my dad about a month ago. Now my old friend Steve will be filling that void, my dad left behind.
(Adam) so last year the tables turned. A little bit. as far as your and I relationship. Yup. You guided me on hunt last year, we was up on Deseret and boy it a..very special. it was fun. We worked our butts off. Yeah but you know we killed a great bull.
(Steve) and again this year what happens we draw tags to go hunt deer in Colorado. In some of the best.
He’s a nice deer. yeah I’d say. twenty seven, twenty eight. Short on the one back end.
what was wrong with him? Nothing. What do you always say, let’s go where they are bigger and thicker? Lets go where they are bigger and thicker Johnny. (laughs) Nice deer, we’ve seen five bucks so far just driving in the truck. we are trying to learn the area a little bit, because I don’t know it at all. Steve has been here once and so we are just driving around trying to figure out what we are doing, where we are going. But we’ve seen five bucks this morning. The two early ones that we didn’t get to show you were nice deer, not quite first day shooters, but nice deer.
That gets the blood pumping when you see a nice buck. yeah in Utah you would have shot any of them. Yeah isn’t that the truth.
That was a very nice buck and we seen what about five decent bucks in about the first 15-20 minutes. That’s kind of like how it was the whole hunt last year. The deer were moving and we were able to get on a bunch of different deer. it’s just been too hot.
Last year, Steve took a great buck, but the weather was much cooler, the deer were more active.
This year we are having to bump them from their beds.
I don’t know Smith, they don’t look. they don’t look as good as the ones we saw this morning.
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