March 12th, 2023Sunday gunDay: Hunt to Remember with.30–06 Tikka T3 LiterA Hunt to Rememberby Colton Reid
Great opportunities in hunting are rare and precious. Hunting is one of the most challenging, yet rewarding, activities I have ever tried. This is because of their scarcity and the difficulty of learning clear lessons from them. Tom Hanks summed it up in A League of Their Own: “The hard is what makes hunting great.” “The hard is what makes it great,” Tom Hanks aptly stated in A League of Their Own.
Colton was using a Tikka T3Lite* chambered to the.30-6 Springfield. The scope was a SWFA Super Sniper 3-15x42mm, with 0.1 MRAD clicks. Colton used a mixture of colors to camouflage the Tikka scope and rifle. Colton made the cheek pad from balsa wood, which he sanded to the correct height and covered it with a tactical PIG rifle stock package. Colton used a pair of Leica Geovid 3200.com 10x40LRF binoculars for spotting and range. Badlands was the location of the carry bags. Drop was approximately 13? At 300 yards. October Hunt in Utah’s Central Mountain Range. In late October, I went on a week-long trip to Utah’s Central Mountain Range in search of mule deer. This area was new to me and there were many snowstorms throughout the week. Simply put, it was a difficult hunt. Because the area was new and there was no way to scout before the season, I decided to spend the first few days hiking slowly from various vantage points in order to find the best animal activity. I did see a few mature bucks, but none that I wanted to harvest. My efforts were rewarded on day three with one of those rare opportunities.
This buck was seen early in the hunt with a family of does. This image was captured through my Swarovski spotting telescope. The buck was approximately 150 yards away. Six inches of snow covered it. The night before, a storm had rolled in and started to color the forest of brown and green pines in a beautiful winter white. As I began my morning hunt in a new location, snow was still falling. It was now in the teens and it was a constant reminder that I needed to keep my jacket zipped and layers on. I began my hike along a rugged ridgeline road and occasionally peeked through nearby pine trees to see a small valley from the hillside. After stopping several times to look through my Leica Geovid 3200.com 10-inch 40 LRF binoculars, a monster was seen grazing on the grass near a group of bare-leaf poplar trees. I was able to see this buck at 1100 yards. He was grazing close to a group of does who were slowly moving towards mine. However, the buck was slowly moving to the right and up. He would soon be at the corner of his hill, where I couldn’t see if he continued on this path. I was concerned that he would move away from my sight so I tried a quick stalk to cut him off. My first mistake. I made my first mistake. I didn’t know the terrain so I set out to find the shortest route. My second mistake. My second mistake. That was my plan. As I began to descend the hillside, I realized that the does that I had spotted were coming towards me. I decided to avoid disturbing them by climbing the hillside at my current elevation to find a new area that changed the site of the hillside and the spot where I saw the buck. Great! I had solved one problem and created another. I moved down my hill to find a new location that would allow me to see the buck again. But, I didn’t know what was ahead of me. This “new” area was not visible to me when I was looking up at the ridge. Now I was close enough that I could see the buck’s area. I had to slow down and waste the time I didn’t have. I finally spotted the poplars marking the spot where I last saw the buck. 600 yards away, the trees obscured the area where buck was feeding. I continued through the snow, believing that this was my only option. I was less than 50 yards from a young doe and buck as I reached the 400-yard mark. I had two options: I could either continue forward and spook the deer in front of my, or I could move downhill and try to climb up to the top directly below where I spotted it. I chose the latter. I made a mistake number 3. I made mistake number 3.
This buck was found among the trees early in the hunt. Scroll down to see the bigger buck Colton took on Day 3. The snow and slope of the hill made it difficult to see far ahead of me, but I felt I was getting close. I was unable to see beyond the trees and only bare trunks. The snow-covered ground was all that I could see. I felt a sense of frustration and disappointment. I had missed my window. I didn’t think twice and let my guard down. I could see a blurred of brown and white moving through the trees. I only caught glimpses of a white rump, large antlers and the buck moving around the corner. I was devastated. I was exhausted and defeated, so I returned to the ridge.
There was snow everywhere at higher elevations. Winter wonderland in October Utah. My long hike back to my car gave me time to reflect. I walked along the ridge where I spotted the buck, and discovered that the road intersected at this point. I realized that following the road would have given a good vantage point for the poplar trees, which obscured my view until I reached the ridgeline at the buck’s hill. This was all I knew! I replayed the events over and over in my head throughout the night. What went wrong? What could I have done differently? I realized that it was my best way to learn from it, and that my first hasty decision placed me in a difficult situation from which I made even more poor decisions. I would have had more time to find a better stalking route (like the road) if I had sat down and watched the deer bed. I wanted to get a clear and ethical shot of the animal. I noticed a lot of signs in the area so I decided to give it another try. The next morning I was back on my road, stopping at various vantage points to view the valley from a variety of vantage points. I was wondering if I would get another chance to take a bite of the apple. I began to glass at the first opening by slowly scanning the poplars, where I had seen deer earlier in the day. I noticed a brown spot moving through trees. I grabbed my tripod to increase stability and focused on the area where I had seen movement. Yes limping. With yesterday’s failure fresh in my mind, I decided to wait until the buck stopped moving. After some slow grazing, he settled at the base of a large oak tree just above his grazing area. I was now free to move above the buck. The buck was limping slowly so I decided to take my time and work my way to the ridgeline where I could get an ethical shot. I learned from yesterday’s mistakes and walked along the ridgeline road, looking for signs of movement. I did not see the buck but I could see that he was moving. It had several other advantages. I was able to refresh my site picture while I moved between positions, and I checked my range to poplars. I finally found the location and range I wanted to photograph. As I was walking, I noticed a strong wind that was threatening to make the stalk even more difficult. I continued on the road until I reached the intersection of the buck’s hill and turned to go towards the buck.
Click Photo to see a larger, full-frame photo of the stalking path. I moved through the trees to a spot that was perpendicular to the spot where the buck should have been placed and crept towards the ridgeline. I carefully moved from tree to tree as I crested the ridge, making sure that the wind wasn’t behind me. I also used my binoculars to locate the buck at each stop. I came to a large grassy area between the trees and the poplars. I saw him lying down exactly where I had seen him. He was only 330 yards away but I didn’t have the right angle to get a clear vital shot. The trees were thinned at my location, and I didn’t intend to blow my stalk by being seen within the last 30 yards. I dropped to the ground, took off my backpack, and then crawled in the snow to find a log to rest my rifle.
Colton used the Sierra 165gr TSX GameKing bullet for this Utah hunt. This photo shows the Tikka magazine’s 168gr Barnes all copper TSX bullet. I checked my range and angle — 301 feet and a 5-degree drop from me to the target. There was no wind from any direction. I had sighted my rifle at 1000 feet above the sea level in 75 degree weather. Now, I was at 9500 feet and the temperature was bone-chillingly cold. Instead of the 1.1 MRAD, I estimated 1 MRAD and held my vitals directly. Slow steady breaths calmed me, I took deep, slow, steady breaths, held for a while, and then exhaled halfway. The rifle roared with a smooth squeeze of its trigger. I kept my sight picture and re-acquired buck. The bolt was cycled. He was by his side, making one last attempt to run. He was like a dog running after a rabbit in his sleep. Twenty seconds later, his chase was over. I looked behind the scope and saw snow falling around me. The storm held on until the job was done. As if my rifle was the signal to the heavens to let loose. It is an exaggeration to say that I was happy at this moment. I was happy with my success, and I was grateful for the opportunity. I was also sad about the loss of such a majestic animal. I was proud to have learned my lesson the day before, and had executed the best stalk of all my life while also harvesting my biggest buck. My hunt was successful. My hunt was over. The real work began. I walked up to the downed deer and checked for anything. He had passed. My shot passed through his heart and he had already lost most of his blood within the first 15 seconds. As ethical as it gets. I was getting more wind now. I had to decide whether to quarter the deer and hang it tomorrow or drag it to the road. It was only a mile away. With the snow from previous storms, it was easier to drag the deer with my body harness (Muddy DeluxeDeer Drag Harness). It reminded me of grandpa’s route to school: 20+ miles in the snow and uphill both directions. It was hard. Every incline felt like I was climbing vertically at 100-lb. pack. The snow helped my body slide, and I made it to the truck in just over an hour. It was quiet on the return trip to camp. I tried to take in as much of the experience as possible. I wanted to fully appreciate the chance that was given to me. My family made the sacrifice to allow me to be here. * Colton Reid owns the Tikka T3Lite, which was superseded in favor of the T3XLITE, which offers some more features. This Tikka Product Video explains the notable T3X LITE upgrades.
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