dguthrie2121
Member
- Messages
- 62
So this might be a little long winded but I will try and keep it somewhat short. However I don't blame you if you just breeze through and look at the pictures as that is what I typically do. 2019 did not start out well, we had a tough time finding any solid deer. We kept grinding it out and we were able to find and take the bucks below. Idaho deer numbers are down significantly so I feel extremely blessed and a little lucky to take these animals. I was also fortunate enough to take an Idaho archery elk and a Wyoming antelope. Even though I have killed better deer this was my most successful year in the field.
10/10- Rifle opener, My brother and I left the truck 2 hours before daylight to get on a high point where we could glass a lot of different country. We spotted some small 4 points at daylight and one good 4 point but he was feeding into some dark timber a long ways out and we didn't have a play. I started glassing back the direction we had came and spotted a big 3 point across the canyon a little over a mile away. Upon looking at him closer I noticed that I had seen this buck in the same location the previous 2 years as well. He was a big old 3 point but I am sure this is all he would ever be as he hadn't changed much other that add some mass, in the 3 years I had seen him. I waved my brother over and he decided he wanted to try and take him. I stayed put to glass for him and let him know if the buck moved. As he closed the distance the buck knew something was up and stood and started to leave. My brother was able to make a great shot as the buck moved away at a little over 400 yards. I can't get the picture of him behind the buck to upload, but he was just a really heavy old 3 point.
I was super excited for him but honestly the best part of my day happened as I made my way over to help him get the deer cut up and ready to pack out. As I made my way through a small group of maples I stumbled onto a great deadhead that I had a ton of history with. I spent a ton of time chasing this buck in 2017 and I was lucky enough to stumble on his skull. What a great way to kick off the season!!
10-14- My 10 year old son had just finished with football his football season which meant that we were free to hunt the evenings together. That weekend we had hunted and I had told him to pass on some smaller deer as it was early in the season. He wasn't totally happy but agreed to try for a 4 point the opening week. We picked up my brother and headed to a small section of private ground that we had received permission to hunt. There aren't usually deer in there but we had spotted a few smaller bucks in archery so thought it was worth a try. We started glassing and immediately picked up a 4 point on the adjacent property that we did not have permission to hunt. We watched as the buck covered close to 1,000 yards and to our surprise jumped the fence onto the property we could hunt. I grabbed Nash and left my brother with my 7 year old and made a mad dash to get into range. We jumped the bucks and they ran out to 200 yards and stopped. Nash got a couple shots but didn't connect. We made our way over to where they were standing to check for blood and again to our surprise they ran out in front of us and stopped at 290 yards. This time his shot rang true and he was able to put his hands on his 1st buck. I was kind of in disbelief that it actually worked out but I was still super excited to be there and share the moment with him.
10-21/22- I had hiked into a spot a couple miles after work to see what I could find. As I got to my glassing spot I got a phone call from my Dad. He was hunting about 5 miles away and had spotted 3 good deer. He said they were a long ways out and he didn't know if he could close the distance before dark. I encouraged him to give it a try and keep me posted. He called me back and said that he had closed to 300 yards and one of the bucks had given him a shot. He didn't have a spotter and wasn't sure if or where he had hit the buck. He decided to not push it that night as it was pretty cold and that we would meet up in the morning to see what we could find. The next morning my dad, my brother, and I headed back in to see if we could turn him up. It didn't take long for my brother to walk right onto the deer, he hadn't went but 30 yards. The old man 12 ringed him. It was awesome to be there with him as this is his best deer to date.
10-23- I got out of work and grabbed my 12 year old son, we hurried to get into a position that we could see for a little evening hunt. It is about a 2 mile hike from the truck to get where I wanted to be but there are some spots to glass and draws to check on the way in. When we were about 1/2 mile from the spot I wanted to get for the night, I told Dax I was going to try and hurry and get there and that he should catch up to me. He agreed and I took off. As soon as I got to where I wanted to be I looked across the canyon and spotted a real solid 4 point feeding at a little over 400 yards. I got the phone on the spotter and looked back to try and get Dax attention as I hoped to get him to shoot. He had made it to some rocks up the hill from me but I could not get his attention. After about 10 minutes of watching, waiting and trying to get him to come down to me I decided that with light fading that one of us needed to shoot that deer. I made a good shot and watched him tumble in the scope. The shot got Dax's attention and he made his way down to me. We were both really excited but a little bummed that he didn't get to shoot it. Either way it was another great night on the hill with one of my boys and we got to share a really neat experience. What was really cool was my Dad, brother, and 10 year old son all came in to help pack out. We honestly could have probably got him ourselves but it was awesome to have them come up and share in the moment.
10-24- I was a little worn down as it was almost midnight when I got to bed from getting my deer out but Dax was determined to get out and find a deer. He is pretty selective (spoiled haha) and was dead set on a 4 point or nothing. I am proud of him for sticking to it even when he had the chance to shoot some descent 3 points. We worked into a spot again a couple miles from the trailhead. We spotted a heavy 3x4 with crab claws and moved in to make a play. It had 4 on one side so it made the cut. We popped out in range but Dax couldn't quite connect at 300 yards. That was our last opportunity and he ended up eating his tag.
In the end what started out as a really rough year turned out to be my family's best. We worked really hard and spent a ton of time in the field. There are a lot of seasons where there aren't any tags notched so it was great to have a year where it all came together. Its the tough ones that make these good ones so great. I once went 7 years without cutting a tag. Also not that it really matters but aside from my 10 year olds deer all of the deer we took came off pressured public ground. To me that makes it that much sweeter. I hope you all had a great year and I hope you all get to experience a season like this sometime.
10/10- Rifle opener, My brother and I left the truck 2 hours before daylight to get on a high point where we could glass a lot of different country. We spotted some small 4 points at daylight and one good 4 point but he was feeding into some dark timber a long ways out and we didn't have a play. I started glassing back the direction we had came and spotted a big 3 point across the canyon a little over a mile away. Upon looking at him closer I noticed that I had seen this buck in the same location the previous 2 years as well. He was a big old 3 point but I am sure this is all he would ever be as he hadn't changed much other that add some mass, in the 3 years I had seen him. I waved my brother over and he decided he wanted to try and take him. I stayed put to glass for him and let him know if the buck moved. As he closed the distance the buck knew something was up and stood and started to leave. My brother was able to make a great shot as the buck moved away at a little over 400 yards. I can't get the picture of him behind the buck to upload, but he was just a really heavy old 3 point.
I was super excited for him but honestly the best part of my day happened as I made my way over to help him get the deer cut up and ready to pack out. As I made my way through a small group of maples I stumbled onto a great deadhead that I had a ton of history with. I spent a ton of time chasing this buck in 2017 and I was lucky enough to stumble on his skull. What a great way to kick off the season!!
10-14- My 10 year old son had just finished with football his football season which meant that we were free to hunt the evenings together. That weekend we had hunted and I had told him to pass on some smaller deer as it was early in the season. He wasn't totally happy but agreed to try for a 4 point the opening week. We picked up my brother and headed to a small section of private ground that we had received permission to hunt. There aren't usually deer in there but we had spotted a few smaller bucks in archery so thought it was worth a try. We started glassing and immediately picked up a 4 point on the adjacent property that we did not have permission to hunt. We watched as the buck covered close to 1,000 yards and to our surprise jumped the fence onto the property we could hunt. I grabbed Nash and left my brother with my 7 year old and made a mad dash to get into range. We jumped the bucks and they ran out to 200 yards and stopped. Nash got a couple shots but didn't connect. We made our way over to where they were standing to check for blood and again to our surprise they ran out in front of us and stopped at 290 yards. This time his shot rang true and he was able to put his hands on his 1st buck. I was kind of in disbelief that it actually worked out but I was still super excited to be there and share the moment with him.
10-21/22- I had hiked into a spot a couple miles after work to see what I could find. As I got to my glassing spot I got a phone call from my Dad. He was hunting about 5 miles away and had spotted 3 good deer. He said they were a long ways out and he didn't know if he could close the distance before dark. I encouraged him to give it a try and keep me posted. He called me back and said that he had closed to 300 yards and one of the bucks had given him a shot. He didn't have a spotter and wasn't sure if or where he had hit the buck. He decided to not push it that night as it was pretty cold and that we would meet up in the morning to see what we could find. The next morning my dad, my brother, and I headed back in to see if we could turn him up. It didn't take long for my brother to walk right onto the deer, he hadn't went but 30 yards. The old man 12 ringed him. It was awesome to be there with him as this is his best deer to date.
10-23- I got out of work and grabbed my 12 year old son, we hurried to get into a position that we could see for a little evening hunt. It is about a 2 mile hike from the truck to get where I wanted to be but there are some spots to glass and draws to check on the way in. When we were about 1/2 mile from the spot I wanted to get for the night, I told Dax I was going to try and hurry and get there and that he should catch up to me. He agreed and I took off. As soon as I got to where I wanted to be I looked across the canyon and spotted a real solid 4 point feeding at a little over 400 yards. I got the phone on the spotter and looked back to try and get Dax attention as I hoped to get him to shoot. He had made it to some rocks up the hill from me but I could not get his attention. After about 10 minutes of watching, waiting and trying to get him to come down to me I decided that with light fading that one of us needed to shoot that deer. I made a good shot and watched him tumble in the scope. The shot got Dax's attention and he made his way down to me. We were both really excited but a little bummed that he didn't get to shoot it. Either way it was another great night on the hill with one of my boys and we got to share a really neat experience. What was really cool was my Dad, brother, and 10 year old son all came in to help pack out. We honestly could have probably got him ourselves but it was awesome to have them come up and share in the moment.
10-24- I was a little worn down as it was almost midnight when I got to bed from getting my deer out but Dax was determined to get out and find a deer. He is pretty selective (spoiled haha) and was dead set on a 4 point or nothing. I am proud of him for sticking to it even when he had the chance to shoot some descent 3 points. We worked into a spot again a couple miles from the trailhead. We spotted a heavy 3x4 with crab claws and moved in to make a play. It had 4 on one side so it made the cut. We popped out in range but Dax couldn't quite connect at 300 yards. That was our last opportunity and he ended up eating his tag.
In the end what started out as a really rough year turned out to be my family's best. We worked really hard and spent a ton of time in the field. There are a lot of seasons where there aren't any tags notched so it was great to have a year where it all came together. Its the tough ones that make these good ones so great. I once went 7 years without cutting a tag. Also not that it really matters but aside from my 10 year olds deer all of the deer we took came off pressured public ground. To me that makes it that much sweeter. I hope you all had a great year and I hope you all get to experience a season like this sometime.
