Fun year for the family

shedhead

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So it started out in may when we got a surprise hit on the credit card. My wife and dad drew a limited entry archery tag here in our home state of utah. This unit is not a trophy unit but a unit full of deer and a place that i will never forget. When we found out about the tags we were very nervous, for my wife had just had surgery and was not able to lift anything until June. After we got the word from her doctor it was on, trying to get her muscles built back to where she could draw her bow. I felt like it was not going to happen but she said she would not turn her tag in and she would get it. Well long story short she worked her ass off and got it done. We could only get her really dialed in to about 20 yards so the deer would have to be close. Well the hunt was here and we were seeing tons of bucks, I'll bet 50 plus a day, and we put stalks on some pretty good bucks, but this is archery hunting, and stalks are tough. During this time she stalked a big 3x4, and it seems like this buck was playing games with us, he would blow out then stop multiple times. Then we decided to set up ahead of him, and we waited until the small 2 point that was with him came out. This was it we waited for ever, we decided that she would wait and i would go around and push. Well the second i walked away the buck peeked out. Long story short, he won the game, we made the first mistake.
 
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The third day of the hunt we went out to our usual spot and saw a really good for point. Tried a stalk and got busted again. Then we went to where we thought he would cross and waited. He came out at 30 yards, she took a shot and missed high. We were getting frustrated cause things just were not working out. So we headed back to camp and decided to sit on a water hole for the evening hunt, where we had seen a nice 4 point that morning. So we headed out around 5 and it started to rain. So we turned back to camp to wait it out for a few. It stopped about a half hour later so we headed back to the water. On our way we saw a beautiful rainbow and she said it would bring her luck, well she was right. We sat on the water for about 5 minutes and a doe and fawn came in. They were a little nervous so i was worried. Then about 15 minutes later candise said "buck". She was in a state down for about 30 minutes before he decided to feed in. It worked like clock work, he went right to the spot we set up for him to come in. He stopped abs as he put his head down she drew, and he spun and bolted, but stopped just 5 yards further. She settled her pin and released. The shot hit its mark, he only went 15 yards. Congrats babe on a successful hunt. Now onto dad's story!
 
So we shot my wife's buck Monday night. We were expecting a pretty good storm Tuesday. So i told dad we needed to get up as soon as it was light to get the most out of the morning we could, before it stormed. So we headed our four a ride cause dad's not to picky, he was going to pretty much shoot anything that was at least a 3 point. We heard up the canyon and it started raining again so we turned and headed back to camp worried that the day may be shot. Sat around at camp talking for a while and the rain started to lighten up a bit so we got ready again and headed out. Dad already missed a pretty big 3x3 on Sunday night, and as we were driving down the road a small 3x3 is right next to the road. Dad say he would shoot it knowing we had to leave soon to get my wife's buck down cause we were out of ice. So he pulled up and misses left at 30 yards and the buck takes off. We get back in the ranger and head down and see a few more bucks but could not get a shot of before they bolted. Then as we pulled through a stand of trees right on my side there was 3 for points standing there. So i drove past and turned around and told dad to get ready. As we pulled up to them they stood still, and dad put his 20 yard on on the closest one which just so happened to be the biggest, and let her rip. The buck bolted through some trees and across the road. As he ran in front of us i knew he was dead. Boiler station was impacted, and he was pumping blood out his side. We headed back to camp to let him explore and get my wife and Joe so we could all find it together. We followed the blood trail for a bit and the he was laying just 70 yards from the road. If anybody out there wonders what the book cliffs are like, it is an amazing place, one which i will never forget. If your looking for a place that your family can get drawn out on and that you will see a ton of deer, this is it! I wouldn't consider this a true trophy SCORING unit, but if your trophy is experience and great time with family and friends, i would put this as one of the top in the state.
 
After the wife and dad killed work took over, we are in turnaround mode working 7 days a week. So October was a complete bust for me until the 28th i found out i was going to have Saturday and Sunday off. So i made plans to head up on the mountain for a day. During preseason scouting i had a rough time laying any good bucks, lots of smaller 3s and 4s on my cameras. I got frustrated and pulled my cameras for the year thinking i wouldn't be able to get out again. So i ran up on the mountain for an afternoon hunt with my brother in law. This is what i ended up with.
 
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