We left you after our last installment with rifles to sight in and gear to sort—all went well. (See our Travel Day report here.)
Sunrise yesterday found us overlooking a rugged, red-dirt draw that had tons of potential. With wind chill in the 20s and a brisk north wind, it looked tailor-made for deer movement. Alas, that wasn’t so in this particular spot.
As a reminder, we are hunting near Elk City with Rut & Strut Guide Service.
With sponsors Remington, Bushnell, Hunters Specialties, Vista Outdoors, Birchwood Casey and Ram Trucks, our five-day quest for trophy whitetail had only just begun.
And the morning had its ups and downs.
The downside: Deer movement was slow, with only two does wondering within sight. That’s not a banner morning anywhere.
The upside: There are a lot of other great things about deer hunting than just killing a deer.
Take the Bushnell Trophy Extreme binoculars we were fortunate enough to use on this hunt. Our 10x50 model gave an extremely clear picture, and the brightness was outstanding—a plus if sunrise finds you in a spot you have never been before with the need to see clearly immediately, even before the sun has risen fully.
And at a very modest price point, this high-quality binocular will fit into the budget of most hunters.
Another positive: We’re hunting with the Remington R-25 GII, which proved to be a fine shooter when sighting in at the range. We can’t wait to try it on a deer.
Day 1 morning score: Deer – 1; Mark – 0.
Of course, in deer hunting hope springs eternal. Join us again tomorrow when we’ll let you know how the evening of Day 1 and morning of Day 2 went—and whether we managed to put the smack down on the buck of our dreams.
