LAST EDITED ON Oct-27-08 AT 01:14AM (MST)[p]http://www.monstermuleys.info/dcforum/User_files/4905699c33a5250d.jpg
Well I finally did it!! I have been saying for a few years that it was going to be harder to get my wife to go hunting, than it would be to find her a big buck on a general public land hunt in Utah. (Some of the Utahn's on here will know the extreme nature of that statement) Anyways last Tuesday I was lucky enough to experience both.
About two years ago for my birthday I recieved a huge box from my wife. It was nicely wrapped but mysteriously light in weight. I opened the box to find a smaller box. I opened that box to find a smaller box and about ten boxes later I was holding a tiny box. I couldn't imagine what was inside. I opened it excitedly to find a peice of paper folded up into a small square. I unfolded the paper and started to read. It was one of the most heart felt presents I had ever recieved. In my hand was a certificate for Anne Marie Yates stating that she had finished her hunter safety class, which she had been privately attending without my knowledge. Talk about true love. Any one who knows me would agree that it was the best present I have ever recieved....
... Needless to say a few years later it was still just a hunter safety certificate. In January I decided to go ahead and put her in for in for the hunts this year. I put her in for a general Central rifle tag here in Utah because it was close to our home. When the draws came out she got the tag but told me several times that she did not want to use it. I didn't press the issue hoping to get some snow, because I know my wife can't resist a good snow mobile ride. Unfortunately all of the snow we got melted and I was left with out a plan and only a few days until the hunt.
Then it happened! My perfect opportunity. Just a few days before the opener she asked about getting lasik eye surgery. I already planned on getting it for her but being the coniving husband that I am I told her she could get it if she would go with me hunting for one day. Suprisingly she agreed...but ONLY for one day.
Well if we were going to do it we were going to do it right I told her. We took the kids to my parents house for a sleep over and we set the alarm for 4:00 a.m. It was now day 4 of the Utah rifle season and I figured the bucks had been given quite a scare so I wanted to get up high enough to get away from the pressure. I had chosen this day because of the cloudy weather that was in the forecast. I hoped this would cause the deer would stay out longer. I decided we would go to a spot that I had archery hunted a few years back. I had seen some good bucks in there and it was fairly close to our home. We left the house at 4:30 a.m. and parked the truck at around 5:00. We then unloaded a 4 wheeler and drove about 45 minutes up the mountain. At 5:45 we parked the wheeler and began to hike. It didn't get light that morning until about 7:15-7:20 so we had about an hour and half to climb the steep hill. My wife did great, never complaining a bit, and at first light we were high on the hill with the spotting scope set up. We quickly spotted a decent 3 point and a few does. They were quite a ways off and I wanted to check over the next ridge before making any moves, so we pressed on. About 20 minutes later we came to a small saddle in the hill and I knew we needed to hike up to it and check the other side. My wife agreed. When we got there we spotted a nice buck but he quickly hit the pines before she could shoot. The hill was very steep at this point and I asked my wife if she wanted to pursue the buck. She said she did. We followed his tracks in the snow only to find that he split off from his group and headed down into the deep timber. I suggested that we continue through the pines and check the next ridge and so we did. When we got out of the pines I looked up this very steep ridge to see about 25 deer straight above us. They were about 700 yards away and I could tell that there was one nice buck in the group. We began to climb and got in postition for a shot. The wind was blowing hard which made the stalk very easy for us. My wife set up and I coached her on breathing and shot placements. A few minutes and a few shots later the buck was rolling head over hills down the mountain. He hit a small ravine in the snow and started to slide and eventually came to a hault on a small bench on a very steep hill. I remember her saying "He's down, he's down". She couldn't help but smile. After 7 years and listening to hundreds of hours of my hunting stories, she finally had one of her own. The buck ended up being a beautiful 5 by 5 plus nice eyegaurds. I rough scored him at 172". "Not bad for a girl" I told her.
About 2 1/2 hours later I had the deer taken care of and I had boned out the meat. (During that time she had read a good portion of the book she insisted I carry in my pack) I then proceeded to load the meat into my pack. After filling up my pack I rolled the cape and began tying it to my pack. She said "We aren't going to get him mounted are we?" I said,"I thought you might want to." She assured me that she didn't want to mount it. I said ok but I took the cape just in case she changed her mind.
That night after recieving many calls and text messages from friends and family about her deer she came into my office and told me how excited all of her friends and sisters were that she ACTUALLY shot a deer. She said they all told her that she "had" to get it mounted. I smiled about that. I said you can put it right there in the corner. (knowing that the main wall in my office doesn't have a lot of available space.) She sighed and said "I think it would look better over there" pointing to a small space between one of my deer and my full body cougar mount. I quickly realized that as you enter our house my office has a window on it and it would not be visible from the entryway if it was in the corner, but it would be the first thing you would see if it was in between the deer and the cougar. I smiled to myself and thought..."mabey she's a hunter after all!"
I want to tell my wife how proud I am of her. She did so good. Many of you know how she lets me hunt in multiple states each year without a single complaint and it was nice for her to experience in a small way what the obsession is all about. It was a great experience for both of us and I can't wait to go again. I am just hoping next time she doesn't want a new car.
www.basinarcheryshop.com
Well I finally did it!! I have been saying for a few years that it was going to be harder to get my wife to go hunting, than it would be to find her a big buck on a general public land hunt in Utah. (Some of the Utahn's on here will know the extreme nature of that statement) Anyways last Tuesday I was lucky enough to experience both.
About two years ago for my birthday I recieved a huge box from my wife. It was nicely wrapped but mysteriously light in weight. I opened the box to find a smaller box. I opened that box to find a smaller box and about ten boxes later I was holding a tiny box. I couldn't imagine what was inside. I opened it excitedly to find a peice of paper folded up into a small square. I unfolded the paper and started to read. It was one of the most heart felt presents I had ever recieved. In my hand was a certificate for Anne Marie Yates stating that she had finished her hunter safety class, which she had been privately attending without my knowledge. Talk about true love. Any one who knows me would agree that it was the best present I have ever recieved....
... Needless to say a few years later it was still just a hunter safety certificate. In January I decided to go ahead and put her in for in for the hunts this year. I put her in for a general Central rifle tag here in Utah because it was close to our home. When the draws came out she got the tag but told me several times that she did not want to use it. I didn't press the issue hoping to get some snow, because I know my wife can't resist a good snow mobile ride. Unfortunately all of the snow we got melted and I was left with out a plan and only a few days until the hunt.
Then it happened! My perfect opportunity. Just a few days before the opener she asked about getting lasik eye surgery. I already planned on getting it for her but being the coniving husband that I am I told her she could get it if she would go with me hunting for one day. Suprisingly she agreed...but ONLY for one day.
Well if we were going to do it we were going to do it right I told her. We took the kids to my parents house for a sleep over and we set the alarm for 4:00 a.m. It was now day 4 of the Utah rifle season and I figured the bucks had been given quite a scare so I wanted to get up high enough to get away from the pressure. I had chosen this day because of the cloudy weather that was in the forecast. I hoped this would cause the deer would stay out longer. I decided we would go to a spot that I had archery hunted a few years back. I had seen some good bucks in there and it was fairly close to our home. We left the house at 4:30 a.m. and parked the truck at around 5:00. We then unloaded a 4 wheeler and drove about 45 minutes up the mountain. At 5:45 we parked the wheeler and began to hike. It didn't get light that morning until about 7:15-7:20 so we had about an hour and half to climb the steep hill. My wife did great, never complaining a bit, and at first light we were high on the hill with the spotting scope set up. We quickly spotted a decent 3 point and a few does. They were quite a ways off and I wanted to check over the next ridge before making any moves, so we pressed on. About 20 minutes later we came to a small saddle in the hill and I knew we needed to hike up to it and check the other side. My wife agreed. When we got there we spotted a nice buck but he quickly hit the pines before she could shoot. The hill was very steep at this point and I asked my wife if she wanted to pursue the buck. She said she did. We followed his tracks in the snow only to find that he split off from his group and headed down into the deep timber. I suggested that we continue through the pines and check the next ridge and so we did. When we got out of the pines I looked up this very steep ridge to see about 25 deer straight above us. They were about 700 yards away and I could tell that there was one nice buck in the group. We began to climb and got in postition for a shot. The wind was blowing hard which made the stalk very easy for us. My wife set up and I coached her on breathing and shot placements. A few minutes and a few shots later the buck was rolling head over hills down the mountain. He hit a small ravine in the snow and started to slide and eventually came to a hault on a small bench on a very steep hill. I remember her saying "He's down, he's down". She couldn't help but smile. After 7 years and listening to hundreds of hours of my hunting stories, she finally had one of her own. The buck ended up being a beautiful 5 by 5 plus nice eyegaurds. I rough scored him at 172". "Not bad for a girl" I told her.
About 2 1/2 hours later I had the deer taken care of and I had boned out the meat. (During that time she had read a good portion of the book she insisted I carry in my pack) I then proceeded to load the meat into my pack. After filling up my pack I rolled the cape and began tying it to my pack. She said "We aren't going to get him mounted are we?" I said,"I thought you might want to." She assured me that she didn't want to mount it. I said ok but I took the cape just in case she changed her mind.
That night after recieving many calls and text messages from friends and family about her deer she came into my office and told me how excited all of her friends and sisters were that she ACTUALLY shot a deer. She said they all told her that she "had" to get it mounted. I smiled about that. I said you can put it right there in the corner. (knowing that the main wall in my office doesn't have a lot of available space.) She sighed and said "I think it would look better over there" pointing to a small space between one of my deer and my full body cougar mount. I quickly realized that as you enter our house my office has a window on it and it would not be visible from the entryway if it was in the corner, but it would be the first thing you would see if it was in between the deer and the cougar. I smiled to myself and thought..."mabey she's a hunter after all!"
I want to tell my wife how proud I am of her. She did so good. Many of you know how she lets me hunt in multiple states each year without a single complaint and it was nice for her to experience in a small way what the obsession is all about. It was a great experience for both of us and I can't wait to go again. I am just hoping next time she doesn't want a new car.
www.basinarcheryshop.com
