Hunting Deer, Elk and Antelope in the Western States

By Col. John H. Roush Jr.

In his book “Hunting Deer, Elk, and Antelope in the Western States” author John Roush draws from a long lifetime of experiences to capture with lively reading the essence of good stalking. The 37 chapters in 237 pages give insightful writing that is fully readable, enabling the sportsman to visualize the excitement of the hunt. This is his fourth book on hunting and his eleventh non-fiction volume published. A master measurer for the record books for 28 years he has seen many of the finest trophies and talked with the skilled hunters responsible. You can profit from the readings.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Feb 26, 2009
• ISBN: 9781669801917

Col. John H. Roush Jr.

• This volume presents a dramatic collection of significant combat experiences of 79 men in WWII, as told from one combat veteran to another. In the 86 chapters are stories involving all the various branches of combat service and all of the various theaters of war. Within reminiscences, veterans of dangerous encounters are much more apt to open up with details in discussions with men who have also experienced combat. Many find it emotionally distressing to talk of the war with the general public or to recall the horrors of warfare. • This is not a history book nor any attempt to tell the big picture of grand campaigns. Instead it is a collection of personal involvements in one-at-a-time incidents of conflict. Many ask what was it like in WWII, for our conflicts in recent years have been vastly different. • Colonel Roush is particularly qualified to edit the accounts, for he himself was in combat in WWII and served in various branches of the Army. he also held assignments with close contact with the other branches of the Armed Services. He is a professional writer, author of a dozen volumes and many magazine articles. • Col. Roush is a graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and the Army War College, the Industrial College of the Armed Forces and the Foreign Service institute of the U. S. Department of State.

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Copyright © 2009 by Col. John H. Roush, Jr.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This copyright does not preclude persons named in this volume to have published elsewhere their adventures recounted in this volume, as may be written by them. This copyright as to text applies only as to what has been written by John Roush. Copyright on photos, sketches, reproductions, which are included herewith with the permission of the person creating them, remains with the artist/photographer who created that work.

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Rev. date: 11/26/2021

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Contents

Deer, Elk, and Antelope Pages

Dedication

Introduction

Part One Blacktail Deer

1.     One Can Profit with Blacktail Deer

2.     Excitement Arose Dramatically

3.     Bucks Are Dangerous

4.     Hollow Hunt

5.     Not as Easy As You Think

6.     Profile of an Outstanding Hunter

Part Two Mule Deer

7.     Opening Day Washout

8.     Light a Torch for a Buck

9.     Oregon Rimrock Bucks

10.   Kaibab by the Sea

11.   Where the Deer and Antelope Play

12.   Sonora Mule Deer with Dan Caughey

13.   Rosa Blanca Ranch, Sonora Desert

Part Three Whitetail Deer

14.   Hunting the Sand Hills, Nebraska

15.   Rattling the Sand Hills, Nebraska

16.   Kansas Whitetail

17.   North Dakota Deer

18.   Texas White-tailed Bucks

19.   Major and the Colonel

Part Four Pronghorn Antelope

20.   My First Pronghorn

21.   Wyoming Antelope Hunt with Peter Dube

22.   Rawlins Mixed Bag

23.   Nevada Antelope

24.   Pronghorns in the Wind

25.   TO Ranch Antelope Hunt

26.   Forty Years to Draw an Antelope Tag!

27.   Prairie Antelope, Vaughn, New Mexico

28.   Eighteenth Antelope, Colfax County, New Mexico

29.   Big Piney

30.   Twentieth Pronghorn Antelope

Part Five Elk

31.   Elk in the Afternoon

32.   Elk Hunt

33.   Rocky Mountain Elk Hunting

34.   Island Challenge—Roosevelt Elk

35.   Oosik Talisman

36.   Absaroka Mountains Blizzards

37.   Great Buglers of California

38.   Other Hunting books by Col. John H. Roush

Dedication

This book is dedicated to those fine men and women with whom these experiences have been shared. Included are fellow hunters and good sportsmen, guides, outfitters and those who did not carry a rifle, whose help and encouragement have been of inestimable value. Not all of my many companions on various hunts are mentioned by name, however, they are equally esteemed! Many of my best friends, companions of numerous hunts, which included ventures far into the wilderness, have gone to the happy hunting grounds. May they rest in peace. They are missed a great deal, and I value highly the memories of adventures with them.

Introduction

Theodore Roosevelt said, All hunters should be nature lovers, and I believe nearly all of you are. You will certainly note from reading these chapters that I qualify. Hunting is certainly not all about taking animals. Like most sportsmen, my friends and I have looked at many more animals than those which became objects of our shooting.

Learning of nature and enjoying its varied beauty is a great part of hunting. In the school of observation, there is never a graduation day. We continue to learn even as we experience new challenges.

Writing these stories gave me a great deal of enjoyment in recalling memorable experiences. My life has been enriched by hunting adventures in all the Western states. These chapters tell of many successful hunts, while there were more that were not productive yet memorable. I have relived many of these adventures several times in the writing, expansion, and editing. Many of these chapters are expansions of previously published magazine articles that were much briefer, in less detail, and without the quality of the story herein related.

The author admits to some storytelling liberties in some of the chapters; some of them are amalgams of experiences from multiple trips, some of them allegorical. I have endeavored to develop the conflict of personalities in various forms of the sporting endeavors. Some of that drama involved certainly adds interest.

There is a need in a memorable story for a certain amount of detail so that the reader can visualize the scene, a need for a more graphic and vivid description of the chase than is seen in most of the perfunctory articles in the periodicals that simply tell of shooting this or that animal. You cannot write adequately of the excitement of the hunt unless you have lived it and give adequate words to the narrative.

It has been pleasant to think back of those happy days spent in sporting adventures within the wilds of Western states. I have a great admiration for most of the men mentioned in this volume for their fidelity, pluck, and good companionship since I have traveled with those kindred spirits thousands of miles and discussed with them our hunting experiences for many enjoyable hours. Their encouragement and help have been greatly appreciated.

Roosevelt also wrote, The qualities that make a good soldier are, in large part, the qualities that make a good hunter. Having spent much of my life in both endeavors, I believe also, as Roosevelt states, that it is manly and rewarding to have been a good citizen-soldier interested in the outdoors.

Archibald Rutledge, an esteemed Southern gentleman, wrote wonderful stories of deer hunting. He said, With my deer hunting, it is a kind of religion, and I have worshipped at that shrine for the length of time it took an acorn to become a huge oak. That may represent more than seventy years, and I too qualify for inclusion in that group. I remember an old man of seventy-five who said that he was too old to hunt. Well, I am a decade older than that and still enjoy hunting. I thoroughly enjoy writing about the sport during the closed seasons. Optimism and enthusiasm for new experiences fuel my planning and anticipation for the next trip afield.

Although I have spent far more time hunting the animals discussed in these chapters within the Western states, I have bagged far more record-book trophies abroad than in our own county. To bag a record-book specimen of North American game seems more difficult; I have only twenty-nine of seventy-one entries taken in North America.

Various writers have expressed similar themes that the chase of an animal has within it several elements:

1. The recognition that man in his fundamental nature is a predator

2. That one values the opportunity to be in the wilderness to hear and see the magnificence of wild nature

3. That one accepts the challenges and demands made upon the hunter, something of our fundamental nature, that are basic to the qualities of manliness and hardihood

Teddy Roosevelt is often quoted as saying, Walk softly and carry a big stick. In my walks, I carry a treasured stick. It was made from a manzanita branch by my late friend Leo Grover, with whom I shared outdoor adventures for over sixty years. He put a gold cap on it, working in his dental lab. To me, it is priceless. I have walked hundreds of miles with it, and it has saved me from imminent falls.

I hope that you enjoy these stories and perhaps profit from some of the experiences that you find some favorable qualities of narration in these tales and avoid some of the pitfalls that are recounted. May you enjoy happy hunting in good sportsmanship and excellent companionship throughout your life.

*     *     *

My best blacktail buck

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Part One

Blacktail Deer

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A typical coastal blacktail buck in Central California.

1

One Can Profit with Blacktail Deer

One can profit from the experiences of seventy-two years of hunting blacktail deer, even more from interviews of many men who have consistently filled their tags. Those fortunate enough to have taken trophy bucks entered in the record books all have helpful comments. My first four-pointer blacktail buck was shot in the 1930s in an area now occupied by a subdivision of homes. A lot has happened in California since then; and certainly, the bucks have gotten smarter, more proficient in evasive tactics, and thus more difficult to bag.

While hunting blacktail deer, those excursions have given me more days afield spent in their pursuit than the hunting of all other species of big game. So that sport has a special prominence in my memories and in my calendar of outdoor sports. While the quarry does not normally have as great a size of other deer species, blacktail bucks create more than enough challenge to test one’s skills. Numerous, yet elusive, the Columbia blacktail deer of California and the environment in which they live offer difficult situations to test the resourcefulness of the outdoorsman. The intelligence of the beast and its ability to use the terrain and its habitat to outwit the hunter are unsurpassed.

The widespread deer habitat on the Pacific Coast that includes so much public land allows the pursuit of blacktail bucks to be available to every hunter regardless of financial ability. With the escalating costs of licenses, tags, travel, guide, and trophy fees for most big-game species, it is encouraging to note that you can hunt blacktail deer without incurring much expense. The sport can be as economical as the nominal costs of hunting rabbits.

There are exceptional areas offering better odds, of course; thus, it does pay to learn of those localities if one is interested only in trophy bucks. Inland portions of the counties of the northwestern portion of the state, well away from roads, offer the best opportunities, particularly on private land.

Elsewhere, opportunities exist where you have the option of spending substantial fees for the privilege of hunting on private lands with skilled guides. There you will have a much better chance of taking a fine buck.

While the success rate of deer hunters seeking blacktail bucks in California is much lower than that of deer hunting in other Western states, some hunters become sufficiently skilled to take two bucks per year. Only 1 percent of those buying California deer tags are that proficient.

Blacktail bucks large enough for the record books comprise only an extremely small percentage of the animal harvest. The great majority of deer taken are only a year and a half old. Forked-horns comprise the greater number of the commonly seen bucks, and 76 percent of bucks taken in most areas. Older and wiser bucks carrying better antlers are far more cautious thus are rarely seen.

In the United States, perhaps only a dozen out of every hundred thousand bucks taken may have antlers substantial enough to score within the Boone and Crockett (B&C) record-book minimum criteria. Yet in the pursuit of blacktail, the chances are greater to qualify than when seeking whitetail or mule deer. There are enough blacktail bucks in some areas that carry antlers heavy enough to score fairly high to make the quest interesting.

In my discussions of hunting conducted with highly experienced sportsmen, men who have taken record-book blacktail bucks, all told me that they had seen at least several more of high quality that were not taken. Each man was highly complementary in speaking of how some bucks had cleverly eluded hunters on many occasions.

Upon reaching trophy size, the blacktail buck normally has lived four and a half to seven and a half years. During that time, it usually has experienced many encounters with man. Most bucks are taken before they reach two and a half years of age. Those that survive several seasons have learned evasive techniques. They polish their skills in avoiding exposure during each confrontation with humans or mountain lions. Each succeeding year, they become smarter and more masterful in avoiding detection. The deer have little difficulty in becoming aware of an intruder. One can understand that and hold the game from a quick departure by using a deer call. They sometimes will wait a bit to see if a fawn in distress is seeking to join their party or merely out of curiosity. I have often been able to get close enough for a shot through the use of the deer call by moving very slowly through quite thick cover.

Where hunted heavily, bucks become secretive, and older ones tend to become nocturnal. Many hunters tell of particular stags that have become so clever that no one ever gets a shot at them; they die of old age. Typically, we have found their skulls in creek beds the following spring.

Heavy brush and dense cover prevail in most of the blacktail ranges of California, which makes the hunting extremely difficult. Thick stands of poison oak and prevalent hot weather during the six weeks season of August and September are further deterrents. Frustrated hunters complain that it is impossible to stalk the deer quietly in hills that are carpeted with dry leaves that crinkle and crunch with every step. Most hunters prefer to hunt the Sierra Madre Mountains for California mule deer, where the visibility is somewhat better; thus, animals can be sighted at longer ranges.

Trying to jump deer in most of the coastal mountains of California becomes a frustrating game. When you are hunting blacktail bucks, you are dealing with a crafty, cagey, and cautious combination of talents. Their proficiency in woodsmanship is unexcelled, compounded by superior senses of sight, smell, and alertness. They are animals that can vanish with the blink of an eye, masters of the use of camouflage and ease of disappearance.

What counties of California offer the best opportunity of bagging a trophy blacktail? That species is found within forty counties of the state, primarily in the northwest but extending down the coastal range to Central California, overlapping to some extent with the ranges of several races of mule deer. Mendocino, Trinity, and Siskiyou counties are generally considered to have blacktail deer that are larger on average; yet impressive specimens are taken regularly from Tehama, Del Norte, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and San Benito counties.

More important than selecting a county is the choice of a particular specific area to hunt in which large blacktail bucks have been taken in the past. The mineral content of the soil in some local areas seems to have an effect toward producing heavy-antlered bucks as does the prevailing genes of the local herd. Expertise of the hunter and lower hunting pressure are important factors bearing upon the probabilities of bagging a fine buck. Without the opportunity to reach an older age, a buck will not carry the best antlers. In some areas, the mountain lion and coyote predation severely restricts the populations of deer, and lions prefer to stalk bucks rather than does that live within larger groups.

To have a better chance in seeking a splendid trophy, one should endeavor to get into an area that has not been hunted hard. Two possibilities come to mind: private property where little access has been allowed or terrain far back from roads. Few hunters will go through the effort to hike back more than a half mile from vehicle access. Successful trophy hunters invariably report having seen many more fine-antlered bucks within remote areas. The universal belief of experienced hunters is that trophy bucks seek out remote places. The most successful trophy hunters go to a greater effort than average nimrods. Scouting areas for big bucks in the off-season gives those men a better idea of where to utilize their energy. The hunter’s familiarity with terrain also contributes to success.

Not many hunting guides are available for hunting blacktail deer in California. However, a list can be obtained from the Department of Fish and Game. Most of the distinguished hunters listed in the record books as having bagged an outstanding blacktail deer have hunted on their own without a guide. Those are people who have invested much time and effort to become skilled in woodsmanship, aware of deer habits, and familiar with the habitat.

While those men report that the most productive period has been during the morning hours, it is of interest to note that many of the best blacktail bucks have been shot in midmorning. Usually the best bucks are the last out of the brush in late evenings; however, some can be located fairly well into the morning.

Trying to get close enough to jump deer in most of the coastal mountains of California is a frustrating enterprise. With the extensive litter of crumbly leaves underfoot, it is almost impossible for a man to proceed quietly. With their huge ears swiveling like radar screens, the deer efficiently use their far-superior sense of hearing. Bucks have little difficulty in becoming aware of an intruder. When you are hunting blacktail deer bucks, you are dealing with a crafty, cagey, cautious creature. The animal has a combination of talents that would be expected in a skilled woodsman, magnified by superior senses of smell, sight, and alertness. He is an animal that can vanish with the blink of an eye, a master of the use of camouflage and disappearance. Remember that when the buck’s keen sense of smell indicates your presence, that buck will rapidly leave. All writers counsel that wind direction is of utmost importance in planning your stalk.

The last week of the season often affords the best opportunity to locate a buck because it is near the period of the rut. Preoccupation with the opposite sex can make a buck temporarily abandon some of its normal high caution.

Hunters who have had broad experience hunting throughout the world will tell you that blacktail deer offer as great a challenge and are as difficult to bag as just about any species of big game. After having hunted blacktail for most of my life as well as seventy other species of big game, I will venture a similar opinion. We wish you good luck in your search!

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My best trophy blacktail deer.

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This is a magnificent blacktail buck with massive antlers.

2

Excitement Arose Dramatically

Where are all the deer? I’ve seen lots of bucks in the velvet last month, Hayden exclaimed.

Yeah, we have also, but now it is different. They seem mighty scarce, Dan replied.

Excitement arose dramatically during the midday when three men looked several hundred yards uphill to suddenly see three bucks magically appear from unexpected hiding places. The typical warm August day was within the first week of the California blacktail deer season. Emerging from a brush patch bathed in sunlight, the deer walked across a stage-lit opening to a shady area of taller cover. The bucks were are conspicuous as a miniskirt crossing a ballcourt in play. Rounded clumps of scarlet red poison oak gave them new shelter. The appearance of those bucks was an unexpected pleasure, for those hunters had not seen any antlers during the several days they had hunted. While two of the deer were merely forked-horn bucks, the third carried taller and wider antlers, a three-by-three, plus short eye guards. In the West, we would call it a three-point while easterners would call it an eight-pointer.

The three men were seated under some shade and had taken their pause for refreshments after a frustrating morning in San Mateo County, immediately south of San Francisco. Much hiking across the steep hillsides had been involved earlier during which no opportunities for shooting had been presented.

Hey, let’s work out a plan on those, Dan had exclaimed, getting the attention of the other two men.

A huddle followed. Hunters whispered tactics even though the bucks were bedded far away. An agreement was quickly reached that a tactical envelopment would be the next order of business. Dan Caughey, an accomplished deerstalker thoroughly familiar with the area, was exuberant. He visualized moving around the flank of the sunburnt Mindego Mountain, climbing to a sufficient height, and then turning and coming down toward the bucks’ resting place.

All three of us will get a buck! Dan felt certain, for the hunters would have the advantage. He continued, The bucks will not get our scent since the air currents are upward with the warming day.

The three friends were well separated, yet within sight of each other, as a line of skirmishers, working down the steep hillside lightly covered with clumps of brush. As they approached the scarlet bushes, two blacktail bucks suddenly burst out of cover. They were promptly downed by Dan and Hayden Coggins, a nearby ranch owner and longtime deer hunter, while Dan’s father waited for the largest to emerge. However, the wide three-point didn’t appear.

Where did the big one go? Dan’s father asked after waiting fifteen minutes.

Dan replied, He must have sneaked out, but I can’t figure out how he could have gotten by us.

A discussion followed; standing in the hot sun, all three men looked about quizzically. None of them had any idea of where the best buck had gone. Yet the three hunters were content with what they had.

Hey, we’ve got to get these two into the shade and dressed out.

While they were occupied with the essentials, the men were busily engaged in conversation. Where did the big one go? was asked again. Rifles were leaning against trees.

Suddenly with a clatter, to their great surprise, the greater buck exploded out of a small patch of poison oak. He made his rapid exit uphill over the crest without any of the men quick enough to fire an effective shot. By the time they got their rifles to their shoulders, the buck was nearly over the ridge. Several rounds were fired, but all were misses.

When a big buck, such as that one, suddenly bursts out of cover, the unexpected experience can be unnerving to the hunter. Recall that big blacktail bucks will often play it cool and choose their exit in what you would think would be a least likely move. Accordingly, many of us Western hunters consider them to be more challenging than their larger cousins, the mule deer of the interior mountains. The mulies are usually found in more open terrain and thus are more easily located.

*     *     *

On another day, Al Elia, a skilled outdoorsman, walked up to the head of the basin above our camp in Napa County, swung to his left and worked slowly back along the abrupt ridge, heading into the prevailing wind. The breeze was strong from the west and most refreshing in the warm afternoon. The cool wind from the sea evaporated perspiration and cooled one’s face, a welcome zephyr.

Al had found a major game trail, well traveled and less carpeted with dry oak leaves, making it much easier to walk quietly. His pace was slow, which enabled him to creep up fairly close to a fine buck bedded up ahead a hundred yards under a tree above the path. When the buck rose up, my friend gave it a well-placed shot. The deer seemed to hop off out of sight downhill. Running over, Al found himself sliding downward largely uncontrolled. He came to a bouncing halt hundreds of feet lower, not far from the carcass of the deer. Both were only a few yards from a lower dirt ranch road, making the loading of the buck into the pickup quite easy.

Contrary to the ease in which those several bucks were taken, most blacktail deer hunters have learned how crafty bucks become in response to gun pressure and how difficult it is to obtain an opportunity for a shot. Older bucks become highly skilled in avoiding being seen when the sounds of gunfire echo through the hills in autumn. Most of them alter their habits and become largely nocturnal. With the prevalent thick brush throughout California, it is extremely difficult to approach deer without creating giveaway noise. Walking on the dry leaves that prevail throughout the area alerts the game. The deer put cover between themselves upon the first indication of any interloper approaching.

One often sees more game when waiting patiently from a good stand. Statistically, one sees more from a well-placed stand. Most people simply cannot sit on a stand for very long. Still-hunting (walking slowly) is the preferred method of most deer hunters. However, my notes disclose that in an equivalent period of hours, three times as many deer are seen from a good stand as compared to walking slowly. The problem is how to determine where an effective stand might be placed. Some deep and logical part of us knows that as in the past, a buck will come out, and we have to remain patient and alert. The opportunity will open quickly and shut even faster. The following instance is a good example. Only a few minutes in my blind, I looked up after rummaging through my pack. A statuesque doe was alertly studying my setup with great concentration from over a hundred yards away on the other side of the steep canyon. Abrupt trails dropped down from her position toward the dry tributary below. Her ears were working like radar while the deer made no noise or other movement.

Slowly raising the field glasses, I could see that the animal was obviously puzzled. Her partner was nonchalant, continuing to feed undisturbed. But finally, after five minutes of cast-in-stone study, she stamped her foot and trotted off, stepping highly in slow motion to minimize creating noise. The other deer was a fully grown fawn. It had lingered, enjoying the acorns until Mom snorted repeatedly. Then it slowly joined the doe in a downhill trot, disappearing from sight. My stand was more tenable once having had callers.

You have a much better chance of seeing a buck on a trail if you have already seen some deer traversing it earlier in the day. So my increased attention resulted in the discovery of what appeared to be a bit of antler in the brush in the background. More study confirmed movement. With further observation, a flicker of sun glistening off a polished antler confirmed a sighting. The excitement of the hunt mounted as did my scrutiny of the scene.

Yet it took five minutes before the buck emerged out from under the dappled shade of a withered buckeye tree to afford a shot. My rifle was eased up into a steady rest against a prearranged limb while my excitement was restrained, not allowing any buck fever to interpose. The hit was obviously mortal even though the buck did not drop immediately. It took off with great vigor. Following up, one could see that it had slid down into the shaded canyon below its position where I had shot at it. The retrieve took hours and much perspiration to complete.

Memories play such a great part in holding one in commitment to a particular stand. A man can sit longer at a given point of observation with those reminiscences of previous entries on stage of handsome bucks. You can recall what happened in the past, a wishful thinking that enables the hunter to sit patiently.

From that same blind, opportunities have arisen in various succeeding years to shoot six or seven bucks. One locates such a good spot only by spending considerable time in the woods while being alert to signs and actual observations. You learn of the patterns of deer movements through many casual encounters. It is a wise investment of time to discern where it is that you are more likely to see a buck.

Illustrative of another prime stand, there is a favorite spot of mine for evening hunts under a weathered, atrophied live oak on the nose of a ridge. From there, one looks steeply downhill across dried golden grass into a great canyon split by a little stream far below. The county road follows the brook’s twisting path, overhung by oak trees. Above the little stream and adjacent road are abrupt cliffs initially and then steeply brushed hills.

On the far left slope of the tributary stream, across the canyon from my lookout, there is much more cover yet with occasional openings. Within the depths of the side canyon, it is cool, and there is a slight flow of water even in the parched landscape of mid-August. By that time, it has not rained for four months while the summer heat has reached daily into the nineties or higher. It is logical to assume deer would then be