"First Deer"

Jabali

Active Member
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My sons first deer from 2007
WaylonDeer002-1.jpg
 
Great Battle-tested buck for a 1st, Congrats to your son!
Mntman

"Hunting is where you prove yourself"
 
Beats the tar out of my first deer that's for sure.

Keep the Sun at Your Back and the Wind in Your Face
 
Thanks everyone for the comments

We had been trying for 6 years to get this permit. The last time we had drawn a general deer permit,my son was 13 years old.

His first big game hunting experience was that year, when he was 13. He took his first elk that year (cow permit). Since then he has taken another elk, and archery javelina.

After the unsuccessful deer hunt that first year, I started putting him on my application. I always apply for the "premium" hunts north of the Grand Canyon. With close to 3000 applicants for 75 permits it is very difficult to get drawn , but well worth it.

The excitement began last August when we learned that we had been drawn for this hard to get permit. Because it is 6 hours one way to our hunting location, we were only able to scout one time. I wasn't to worried though because I have had this permit 3 other times in my life, and I was confident we could find a quality buck.

The day arrived for us to leave and my son-in-law who has never
hunted would accompany us for the first 3 days. A new experience
for him, he really enjoys the outdoors but his family did not hunt. I was really hoping we could connect while he was there but it was not to be.

As I predicted we saw deer each time we went out but nothing that we wanted to shoot. The third day in the afternoon, I set us up on a wash, the deer like to use them as travel corridors, and I knew they would be coming downhill in the afternoon. So I set my boys "upstream" from where I would be. I wanted him to have the first chance so I chose not to sit together. I figured if a really big deer came thru I wouldn't get excited and be tempted to shoot first. Sure enough we had been there a couple of hours and a shooter size buck comes easing down the wash, he was in front of does and only about 50 yards from my position. How had he slipped past those guys?

Well I had made a personal commitment not to shoot until my son had a chance. Even if it was a really good deer, and this one was. So I propped my rifle on the tree I was behind and slipped out the back door to try and sneak back where the boys were, and find out what happened. When i got to where they were at (100 yards or so) I could see the does about 125 yards across the wash. We watched and waited and he finally popped out, a nice 4X4. We watched for a while but there was never a good clear shot with all the does milling around.

We ended our day in that spot and started our walk back to where we had camped. On the way back my son-in-law remarked "watch I'll go home and you guys will get one". His comment proved to be prophetic. We invited him to stay another day, but his obligations at home were more important. So we said goodbye to him that night.

The next morning the alarm rang at what seemed a bit too early, and it was really cold in our tent, in the high teens. Like I always seem to do at least once when I'm gone for an extended hunt. I let my toasty sleeping overpower me. We layed in our bedrolls for at least an extra hour!! When I did struggle out I noticed a hint of light in the east and thought oh well we'll get
to the canyon we wanted to be in after it's light. We can just relax a little and enjoy our time in the outdoors.

The place we had chosen to camp only had one road in, and it only went past our camp for a couple of miles. I picked this spot to
cut down on the crowd and it seemed to have worked. The majority
of the hunters were either 10 miles east of us, or 25 miles SW
of us. We had only seen two road hunters so far and no other hunters on foot.

Our strategy was to walk up this road in the morning, there were several canyons coming off of it and we would walk up these canyons and find a vantage point up high where we could glass
from. It had worked pretty good to that point, we had seen deer every morning and evening this way. Just nothing worth shooting,
to this point we had passed on 12 different bucks. I'm not sure what my sons idea of a shooter was, but I had stressed several
times that we would see some good bucks. However I also told him that if he wanted to shoot no matter the size to go ahead.

We had only walked about 1/2 mile from our camp and I was kind of day dreaming when he swung his arm in front me and whispered "deer". He was slightly in front of me and from my perspective I could not see them. Then he said "buck" a few seconds elapsed
and this guy trots into view about 60 yards out. He knew instantly it was a shooter and brought his .308 Weatherby to his shoulder, but before he could shoot the deer trots into the junipers. I tell him to hustle forward about 50 yards (concerned that the deer is headed for the next county). When we reach the spot where the deer had been, we can see him about 70 yards out and he is nearly broadside. This time when he shoulders his rifle the buck looks back at us taking his attention off the does. Its on offhand 70 yard shot but he is steady and the 150 grain Barnes
Triple Shock anchors him.

What an awesome deer to start with. I think we may have another Monster Muley fanatic in our house.

I know it doesn't look like it but he tickles 27" wide on the tape so I just "round" up.
 
Thanks for sharing the pic and story. Congrats to the hunter on a nice buck!

JB
 
BOUT DAMN TIME YOU POSTED IT!!!

NICE JOB!!!



THIS IS MY NEW GUN,YOU MAY NOT LIKE IT,YOU'LL LIKE IT A HELL OF A LOT LESS WHEN IT HITS ITS DESTINATION!!!
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THE ONLY bobcat THAT KNOWS ALOT OF YOU HAVE HAD THIS IMAGE IN YOUR PEA BRAIN BUT DUE TO POOR SHOOTING TACTICS I'M STILL KICKIN!!!
 
LAST EDITED ON Aug-26-08 AT 10:33PM (MST)[p]Thats a good first buck congrats

THE LORD IS MY ROCK
COLORADO,USA
NRA LIFE MEMBER
HUNTING PASS IT ON
 
Jabali- you've got to be kidding, your teenage son is aiming offhand at this great buck, and he's not shaking like an aspen leaf in the 1st storm of autumn? Unbelievable, he's got a great future in this, it took me years to stop shaking at the moment of truth.

Congrats to your son!, I hope I can tell stories like this in a few years.

(don't tell him this, but I still start shaking now at 47 yrs old when I sight a big one and a tag is in my pocket)

Doug
 
Doug,
I still shake and the buck doesn't have to be that big.
He is very cool when the moment of truth arrives.
I was alot more amped up than he was. Don't get me wrong,he was very excited. Maybe he just contains it better than me.

Did I mention that I drew this same hunt again this year?
 

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