Camper_A1
Very Active Member
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This is my wife?s deer from the Bookcliffs. Because of work we didn't arrive until Saturday afternoon to get camp setup and hunt. We had decided to hunt low on the Greenriver side. After checking on a few waterholes we went looking for deer. This is the first deer we spotted. After sneaking into 200 yards she decided to pass not wanting to end her hunt so soon. We saw this deer, a few smaller bucks and does that night. The next morning we went high and hunted on Tom Patterson and McCook ridges again small bucks and does. Sunday night we saw 3 different bucks that were killed all about 23, 24? four points. This made us re-think passing up the buck the night before. Monday morning we spotted it feeding up a ridge and got in front of it. We finally spotted it at 60 yards in the cedars but it spotted us and disappeared. I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and hurried and got her setup on the shooting sticks. As it and another buck ran straight away through a flat I kept telling her to wait, finally they slowed to a walk and the buck turned quartering away at a slow walk. As I watched thru the binoculars I kept waiting for the shot and waiting, and waiting and waiting. The deer finally walked around a hill and was gone. The look on my face prompted her to tell me she was waiting for it to stop and turn broadside and that I had never said shoot. This caused me to realize that with all the shooting practice and talking about shot placement this was still her first hunt. I explained to her about a quartering away shot. I could tell she was disappointed and was a little down. That night we checked another spot and saw 6 bucks with the biggest about a 23? four point that she turned down. There was still enough daylight so we hurried back to the draw we were in that morning and there not 100 yards from where it disappeared that morning was the buck standing broadside. I hurried and got the sticks setup and she got ready for the shot, bang, both my brother-in-law and I yelled high!!! She quickly reloaded and shot, high again!! The buck had enough and took off finally stopping at about 200 yards out quartering away. She finally readjusted the shooting sticks that in my hurry I had her in a half crouch, half kneeling position. Now in a good kneeling position she made a perfect shot and the deer dropped. The minute it dropped she was overcome with emotion. I wasn?t sure if she was sad, glad, relived or what. She said it was some of all of them. This was a great hunt and I'm so proud of her. She got to experience some of the highs and low?s and high?s again of hunting. She said that if she would have shot her deer the first night she wouldn't have appreciated it as much. The buck is 27 ? ?wide. She also informed me that there is room in the upstairs living room for her mount while mine resides in the basement, go figure.
