I figured I'd start a thread to share my experience and some pictures so far this year in D14. I have been hunting D14 for over 10 years and have not had much success. I've harvested one buck. I usually see a handful of doe a year and most of those are seen while hiking and I bump them. This year is different!
My oldest son turned 12 last year so this is his first year being able to hunt big game. I put him in for one of the prized youth hunts with his second choice being D14. I put myself in for one of the more sought after hunts as well with D14 as my second choice. Neither of us hit on the 1st choice, I didn't get D14 on my second choice, but my son did get D14 as his second choice! With this being his first year getting into big game I am determined that he will have better success than I have had since I want to keep him coming back for more. I found a new area that looked promising during scouting and it has not disappointed so far.
We went to sight in Caleb's Savage Axis .243 at Lytle Creek firing range. While we were there Caleb was drooling over the guy next to us who has some old military rifle that Caleb loved. I still can't tell you what gun it is, but Caleb could tell you all about it. The guy saw Caleb eying his rifle and offered for him to shoot it. Caleb was so excited, so much so I think he already considers the season a success with this one experience. Shoutout to the guy who recognized a 12 y/o's interest and offered for him to shoot the gun...It was the guys first time to the range with that gun to boot!
For opening weekend Myself, Caleb and Brayden (my 11 y/o) headed up to the new spot on Friday night with the plan to sleep in the truck and get an early start in the morning. That evening a few cars passed by the road where we were parked and in the morning darkness as we packed up to head out another 3 vehicles passed us. We knew we were in for a crowded opening day. Early morning we didn't see any deer so around 11AM we moved around to the other side of the ridge where we had been trying to avoid the direction of all the other hunters. We sat for a while and counted how many hunters we could see...I think there were 5 total that we saw (I'm sure many more we didn't see). Then about 300 yards away we spot a deer. It turns out to be a buck, unnoticed by the other hunters and unbothered (or unaware) by the other hunters presence. The buck appeared to bed down, but we could no longer see where it was and it possibly went down the backside of the ridge it was near. I told Caleb to get closer and while Brayden and I stayed behind to keep an eye out for the buck standing back up. Caleb made his way down to a rock, sat there and glassed, but neither of us could pick up the buck again after 40 minutes of looking.
Caleb is standing by the large white rock at about 0730 clock position. Last location of the buck was on the ridge at center frame.
After Caleb could not locate the deer Brayden and I headed down to join Caleb at the rock to look from there. Soon after I arrived a large gust of wind came up from the left and the deer hopped up out of its bed and ran along the ridge then dropped down into the draw nearer to us. The gust must have brought in an unwelcome scent from the hunter to our left. We were unable to relocate the buck and the remainder of opening day we did not see any deer. Note that we spend 4 hours of midday driving around in the truck staying cool, instead of out glassing for deer.
We had to head back home for a few days of other responsibilities, but we all looked forward to coming back for 2 days later that week with less pressure.
Wednesday morning we headed back up to the spot with a couple meals to hold us over for 2 days and a lot of hope to see some more deer. This trip was much different as we only saw a single other hunter the entire time and he was only there for a couple hours one afternoon. Again, early morning of day 1 did not yield much as we only spotted a lone doe who was swiftly on the move and out of sight. Caleb and Brayden behind the binos:
We relocated up to a knob where I marked on the map looked like a good glassing spot. After about an hour I picked up on a doe feeding on the bush. I quickly spotted another, then another. We were so stoked to see deer that were relaxing, eating, bedding that we could sit and watch. The boys really enjoyed watching the deer and seeing them unpressured.
We continued watching but didn't spot a buck. After about an hour of watching 6+ doe lounge in the same area they finally got up and started moving, but slowly. This is when I spotted a buck and even through my 10x42 binos at 600 yds could tell it was a buck.
We made our move to get closer to the buck. As we got close we peered over the ridge and spotted the buck walking right below us and headed toward us. Caleb tried to get the crosshairs on him but he disappeared below us before Caleb could make the shot. (I later told Caleb I was proud that he didn't take the shot if he wasn't 100% confident. He said that he was 100% confident but was afraid to miss. A good learning opportunity and I told him again that we have done all the right preparation that we can and that a miss is OK.) We tried sneaking around and below where we thought the buck went, but we got busted by a doe and the buck, along with about 8 doe, headed up and over the ridge out of sight.
We figured we scared those deer out of the state, so we decided to complete a loop back around toward the truck, checking on an area that we spotted a different buck on private land earlier, to see if it moved off private land. During the walk we bumped a large spike buck (12"+ tall) who just stopped and stared at us for about 30 seconds from 30 yds away, teasing us that we couldn't shoot it. It started sprinkling and looked like darker clouds were making their way in (we also had thunder all around) so we were going to head back to the truck.
Just as we were about to head back to the truck we re-spotted the group of doe and buck that we bumped earlier. As we struggled to get closer the rain started a downpour. We tried to take cover and also keep an eye on the deer, but after 30 mins and by binos being rendered completely useless, we decided to head back to the truck and wait out the remainder of the storm.
Back at the truck for some dinner:
We only spotted one deer in the evening and it was not a buck. We slept in the truck and were very hopeful to find another buck the next day. The next day we only ended up seeing a lot of doe and a couple spikes, but it was still a great day.
Brayden needed a nap:
Day 2 Spike buck:
At the end of day 2 we left with about 30 minutes of shooting time left because we wanted to get back home early (we had a Knott's trip planned the next morning). On the way out I spotted a deer so Caleb and I hopped out of the truck and left it running. We watched as 7-8 deer appeared about 75 yards from and we hoped one would be a buck. They seemed pretty much unbothered by the truck and I'm not sure they could see us in the low light. One of them was another small spike buck, but no shooters appeared.
We learned a lot and we had a lot of fun. I've never had as much fun on a hunting trip and I cannot wait to help my boy connect on his first mule deer. I learned that it is critical to stay out all day since the most opportunities and sightings that we had were between 1000-1500 (usually I'd be back at the truck or taking a nap during this time, like we did opening day). We have 3 more trips planned so hoping the activity increased as the weather cools down. The moon phase will be complete opposite of last time we were out (full vs. new) so I'm interested to see how that might affect when we see deer. All I know is that we will be out there all day whenever we can!
Thanks for letting me share and document our experience here.
My oldest son turned 12 last year so this is his first year being able to hunt big game. I put him in for one of the prized youth hunts with his second choice being D14. I put myself in for one of the more sought after hunts as well with D14 as my second choice. Neither of us hit on the 1st choice, I didn't get D14 on my second choice, but my son did get D14 as his second choice! With this being his first year getting into big game I am determined that he will have better success than I have had since I want to keep him coming back for more. I found a new area that looked promising during scouting and it has not disappointed so far.
We went to sight in Caleb's Savage Axis .243 at Lytle Creek firing range. While we were there Caleb was drooling over the guy next to us who has some old military rifle that Caleb loved. I still can't tell you what gun it is, but Caleb could tell you all about it. The guy saw Caleb eying his rifle and offered for him to shoot it. Caleb was so excited, so much so I think he already considers the season a success with this one experience. Shoutout to the guy who recognized a 12 y/o's interest and offered for him to shoot the gun...It was the guys first time to the range with that gun to boot!
For opening weekend Myself, Caleb and Brayden (my 11 y/o) headed up to the new spot on Friday night with the plan to sleep in the truck and get an early start in the morning. That evening a few cars passed by the road where we were parked and in the morning darkness as we packed up to head out another 3 vehicles passed us. We knew we were in for a crowded opening day. Early morning we didn't see any deer so around 11AM we moved around to the other side of the ridge where we had been trying to avoid the direction of all the other hunters. We sat for a while and counted how many hunters we could see...I think there were 5 total that we saw (I'm sure many more we didn't see). Then about 300 yards away we spot a deer. It turns out to be a buck, unnoticed by the other hunters and unbothered (or unaware) by the other hunters presence. The buck appeared to bed down, but we could no longer see where it was and it possibly went down the backside of the ridge it was near. I told Caleb to get closer and while Brayden and I stayed behind to keep an eye out for the buck standing back up. Caleb made his way down to a rock, sat there and glassed, but neither of us could pick up the buck again after 40 minutes of looking.
Caleb is standing by the large white rock at about 0730 clock position. Last location of the buck was on the ridge at center frame.
After Caleb could not locate the deer Brayden and I headed down to join Caleb at the rock to look from there. Soon after I arrived a large gust of wind came up from the left and the deer hopped up out of its bed and ran along the ridge then dropped down into the draw nearer to us. The gust must have brought in an unwelcome scent from the hunter to our left. We were unable to relocate the buck and the remainder of opening day we did not see any deer. Note that we spend 4 hours of midday driving around in the truck staying cool, instead of out glassing for deer.
We had to head back home for a few days of other responsibilities, but we all looked forward to coming back for 2 days later that week with less pressure.
Wednesday morning we headed back up to the spot with a couple meals to hold us over for 2 days and a lot of hope to see some more deer. This trip was much different as we only saw a single other hunter the entire time and he was only there for a couple hours one afternoon. Again, early morning of day 1 did not yield much as we only spotted a lone doe who was swiftly on the move and out of sight. Caleb and Brayden behind the binos:
We relocated up to a knob where I marked on the map looked like a good glassing spot. After about an hour I picked up on a doe feeding on the bush. I quickly spotted another, then another. We were so stoked to see deer that were relaxing, eating, bedding that we could sit and watch. The boys really enjoyed watching the deer and seeing them unpressured.
We continued watching but didn't spot a buck. After about an hour of watching 6+ doe lounge in the same area they finally got up and started moving, but slowly. This is when I spotted a buck and even through my 10x42 binos at 600 yds could tell it was a buck.
We made our move to get closer to the buck. As we got close we peered over the ridge and spotted the buck walking right below us and headed toward us. Caleb tried to get the crosshairs on him but he disappeared below us before Caleb could make the shot. (I later told Caleb I was proud that he didn't take the shot if he wasn't 100% confident. He said that he was 100% confident but was afraid to miss. A good learning opportunity and I told him again that we have done all the right preparation that we can and that a miss is OK.) We tried sneaking around and below where we thought the buck went, but we got busted by a doe and the buck, along with about 8 doe, headed up and over the ridge out of sight.
We figured we scared those deer out of the state, so we decided to complete a loop back around toward the truck, checking on an area that we spotted a different buck on private land earlier, to see if it moved off private land. During the walk we bumped a large spike buck (12"+ tall) who just stopped and stared at us for about 30 seconds from 30 yds away, teasing us that we couldn't shoot it. It started sprinkling and looked like darker clouds were making their way in (we also had thunder all around) so we were going to head back to the truck.
Just as we were about to head back to the truck we re-spotted the group of doe and buck that we bumped earlier. As we struggled to get closer the rain started a downpour. We tried to take cover and also keep an eye on the deer, but after 30 mins and by binos being rendered completely useless, we decided to head back to the truck and wait out the remainder of the storm.
Back at the truck for some dinner:
We only spotted one deer in the evening and it was not a buck. We slept in the truck and were very hopeful to find another buck the next day. The next day we only ended up seeing a lot of doe and a couple spikes, but it was still a great day.
Brayden needed a nap:
Day 2 Spike buck:
At the end of day 2 we left with about 30 minutes of shooting time left because we wanted to get back home early (we had a Knott's trip planned the next morning). On the way out I spotted a deer so Caleb and I hopped out of the truck and left it running. We watched as 7-8 deer appeared about 75 yards from and we hoped one would be a buck. They seemed pretty much unbothered by the truck and I'm not sure they could see us in the low light. One of them was another small spike buck, but no shooters appeared.
We learned a lot and we had a lot of fun. I've never had as much fun on a hunting trip and I cannot wait to help my boy connect on his first mule deer. I learned that it is critical to stay out all day since the most opportunities and sightings that we had were between 1000-1500 (usually I'd be back at the truck or taking a nap during this time, like we did opening day). We have 3 more trips planned so hoping the activity increased as the weather cools down. The moon phase will be complete opposite of last time we were out (full vs. new) so I'm interested to see how that might affect when we see deer. All I know is that we will be out there all day whenever we can!
Thanks for letting me share and document our experience here.
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