Well, Saturday for me actually started Friday night. I made the drive to Edmonton with my wife and we crashed on an inflatable mattress in a buddies basement. We were off to Viking in the AM, with 3 whitetail bucks and my mulie draw to fill.
Getting up at 5 am was easy this trip, the inflatable mattress gently set me down on the hard floor at about 4 am, when it gave up the last of it's air.
The fact that i was essentially on the floor didnt bother me much, but the prospect of my lovely wifes "morning mood" disturbed the hell out of me, i couldnt get back to sleep.
Fast forward to 5:30 AM, i fire up the diesel, and notice i dont really need to warm it up, its 3 degrees and windy, great weather for hunting.
I brave freezing rain and make it to our destination by daybreak.
We decide to check some new spots, as i traditionally hunt mule deer in this area and we have more whitetail hunters on board this time. We spot some deer almost immeadeatly in a farmyard, and send in our ace in the hole for permission, a 12 year old boy camoed head to toe with an innocent prepubescent voice. We get a yes before he can finish the sentance. Some how, the first set of deer give us the slip, and then the driving rain starts, just beautiful.
We get to a peice of property i am familiar with and have permission on and decide to walk into the wind, and unfortuanately, horizontal rain. My buddy mentions that it might be a truck hunting day, and i say, "yeah, after this walk, we can do that" Meanwhile, the freezing rain is hitting us head on and really enhancing the "morning mood" of my wife.
My wife and i opted to split from my buddy and his two boys, we walked the high side of the coulee and they walked low. Just as we got to the end of where i wanted to finish the walk, without seeing any game, a couple of guys in a jeep pulled up and explained how they were driving the coulee edge and throwing rocks down the draws to see if they could flush anything out. Hell of a technique
The mrs. and i then sat down, waiting for Ken and his boys to catch up, but they were not showing. We sat for 15 minutes or so and then the sky finally began to clear. We opted to head a little further west and see if they had passed us somehow. We got oursselves around the mouth of a major draw, and were making our way across open country when Mrs. Swifty shouted, in a whispering voice, "deer!!!". Sure enough, paralleling the fenceline that was about 200 yds in front of us, a whitetail buck and doe were into the afterburners headed for the depths of the coulee. I brought up my 280, stoked with 140 gr accubonds, and let fly, i heard the solid whack of a hit and he went down. He attempted to rise, and was given one more for encouragement to stay down.
By the time the work was finished with my deer, the sun had began to prevail and the rain was gone for the day, it had turned into a wonderful afternoon. We decided we would load my buck and continue west on the coulee's edge, just to see what we could. We picked a good vantage point and started glassing, when i spotted a whitetail moving his way through the willows at about 250 yards. I told my buddy, who had tagged out on a cranker earlier in the season, but who's youngest was still after a deer. I then called the play and sent them down the lip of the coulee above where he was and sat tight with my wife should he reappear where i first spotted him. After a short 5 or 10 minute wait, he reappeared and made his way into us. Although i had to coach her for patience, waiting for him to clear his vitals and turn for us, with no obstructions, Mrs. Swifty made no mistake when he finally presented a shot at 40 yards. A 260 launched 120 gr ballistic tip was sent on its way and her first whitetail buck was in the bag. Funny how sometimes a day can just turn around.
Getting up at 5 am was easy this trip, the inflatable mattress gently set me down on the hard floor at about 4 am, when it gave up the last of it's air.
The fact that i was essentially on the floor didnt bother me much, but the prospect of my lovely wifes "morning mood" disturbed the hell out of me, i couldnt get back to sleep.
Fast forward to 5:30 AM, i fire up the diesel, and notice i dont really need to warm it up, its 3 degrees and windy, great weather for hunting.
I brave freezing rain and make it to our destination by daybreak.
We decide to check some new spots, as i traditionally hunt mule deer in this area and we have more whitetail hunters on board this time. We spot some deer almost immeadeatly in a farmyard, and send in our ace in the hole for permission, a 12 year old boy camoed head to toe with an innocent prepubescent voice. We get a yes before he can finish the sentance. Some how, the first set of deer give us the slip, and then the driving rain starts, just beautiful.
We get to a peice of property i am familiar with and have permission on and decide to walk into the wind, and unfortuanately, horizontal rain. My buddy mentions that it might be a truck hunting day, and i say, "yeah, after this walk, we can do that" Meanwhile, the freezing rain is hitting us head on and really enhancing the "morning mood" of my wife.
My wife and i opted to split from my buddy and his two boys, we walked the high side of the coulee and they walked low. Just as we got to the end of where i wanted to finish the walk, without seeing any game, a couple of guys in a jeep pulled up and explained how they were driving the coulee edge and throwing rocks down the draws to see if they could flush anything out. Hell of a technique
The mrs. and i then sat down, waiting for Ken and his boys to catch up, but they were not showing. We sat for 15 minutes or so and then the sky finally began to clear. We opted to head a little further west and see if they had passed us somehow. We got oursselves around the mouth of a major draw, and were making our way across open country when Mrs. Swifty shouted, in a whispering voice, "deer!!!". Sure enough, paralleling the fenceline that was about 200 yds in front of us, a whitetail buck and doe were into the afterburners headed for the depths of the coulee. I brought up my 280, stoked with 140 gr accubonds, and let fly, i heard the solid whack of a hit and he went down. He attempted to rise, and was given one more for encouragement to stay down.
By the time the work was finished with my deer, the sun had began to prevail and the rain was gone for the day, it had turned into a wonderful afternoon. We decided we would load my buck and continue west on the coulee's edge, just to see what we could. We picked a good vantage point and started glassing, when i spotted a whitetail moving his way through the willows at about 250 yards. I told my buddy, who had tagged out on a cranker earlier in the season, but who's youngest was still after a deer. I then called the play and sent them down the lip of the coulee above where he was and sat tight with my wife should he reappear where i first spotted him. After a short 5 or 10 minute wait, he reappeared and made his way into us. Although i had to coach her for patience, waiting for him to clear his vitals and turn for us, with no obstructions, Mrs. Swifty made no mistake when he finally presented a shot at 40 yards. A 260 launched 120 gr ballistic tip was sent on its way and her first whitetail buck was in the bag. Funny how sometimes a day can just turn around.
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