I've been a D14/A31 hunter exclusively as they are the closest to home. This year with 4 points I decided to use them on D17 (split between my 16 y/o old son and I) to get us a tag in a new area. It was a lot of fun exploring a new zone and we were fortunate enough to see deer on every trip. What a beautiful and vast zone! It seems that there can be deer almost anywhere in that desert from the high peaks down to the low rolling flat lands.
On the second to last weekend I had 3 days off work and decided to go for a 3 day trip. Unfortunately, due to school and SFJROTC obligations, my son was not able to come on this trip. I got a late start on Friday morning and after the 3.5 hour drive I arrived at my intended parking spot at first light. I decided to slowly make my way up the ridge glassing as I went up. I did see one doe on the way up, but nothing else. Because of the late start and the intentionally slow hike up the hill I finally got to my glassing spot around 7:30 in the morning. I glassed the hillsides and bowls further up into the mountains and the side draws surrounding me with no luck. Once the sun came up over the ridge to the east I decided to turn around and glass back down into the desert the direction I had come from. After a few minutes of glassing, I spot the silhouette of what was surely a buck, just under a mile away, back down in the same wash I was parked in.
As I sat there watching him to see if he would move to a new bed, a truck drove by on the dirt road only 100 yards from him. He simply turned his head to watch where the noise was coming from. Once the truck was out of earshot he went back to being unbothered. After about 15 minutes he got up and moved behind a bush where I could no longer see him, but I could see either side of the bush where he would come out. After not seeing him come out for 10+ minutes I decided that he must have re-bedded and now was my time to make a move.
I hiked one ridge over to ensure that when I got down closer to where the buck was I would be down wind. As I got to within 400yards of where I marked the buck on OnX I crested the ridge. I found the landmark that I had in my mind of where I last saw him and threw up the binos to take a look. Sure enough he was concealed behind the exact bush that I last saw him walk behind. I got set up to shoot and only had to wait maybe 15 minutes before he got up from that bed and fed out into the open (a narrow opening between two junipers). He was 330 yds and hard quartering towards me.
Everything felt great so I decided to take the shot. I could tell that I hit him, but it also was not an immediately lethal shot. As he was walking out of sight between me and another small ridge I tried to land another round, but missed. I had several feelings at this moment, but the biggest was fear that I lethally wounded this deer, but would not be able to find it. As I sat there to give him some time I prayed that God would be gracious enough to help me find this deer and not let it go to waste. After 15 minutes of waiting I slowly walked down towards the ridge where the buck disappeared. When I got to a spot I could see down in the area I glassed around, moved a couple steps, and glassed again. After I surveyed the area I thought he went with no luck, I decided to go to the spot of the shot and see if I could find blood. As soon as I got down into the wash and off the ridge I looked to my left and there he was, still alive and bedded about 30 yards to my left. I put the final shot in him and honestly just cried and thanked the lord for allowing me to recover this beautiful animal.
It has been 9 years since I last harvested a buck. It might be another 9 years before my next one. But I thank God for every opportunity that I get to be out in his great country doing what I love doing.
Matthew 21:22 "And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive."
On the second to last weekend I had 3 days off work and decided to go for a 3 day trip. Unfortunately, due to school and SFJROTC obligations, my son was not able to come on this trip. I got a late start on Friday morning and after the 3.5 hour drive I arrived at my intended parking spot at first light. I decided to slowly make my way up the ridge glassing as I went up. I did see one doe on the way up, but nothing else. Because of the late start and the intentionally slow hike up the hill I finally got to my glassing spot around 7:30 in the morning. I glassed the hillsides and bowls further up into the mountains and the side draws surrounding me with no luck. Once the sun came up over the ridge to the east I decided to turn around and glass back down into the desert the direction I had come from. After a few minutes of glassing, I spot the silhouette of what was surely a buck, just under a mile away, back down in the same wash I was parked in.
As I sat there watching him to see if he would move to a new bed, a truck drove by on the dirt road only 100 yards from him. He simply turned his head to watch where the noise was coming from. Once the truck was out of earshot he went back to being unbothered. After about 15 minutes he got up and moved behind a bush where I could no longer see him, but I could see either side of the bush where he would come out. After not seeing him come out for 10+ minutes I decided that he must have re-bedded and now was my time to make a move.
I hiked one ridge over to ensure that when I got down closer to where the buck was I would be down wind. As I got to within 400yards of where I marked the buck on OnX I crested the ridge. I found the landmark that I had in my mind of where I last saw him and threw up the binos to take a look. Sure enough he was concealed behind the exact bush that I last saw him walk behind. I got set up to shoot and only had to wait maybe 15 minutes before he got up from that bed and fed out into the open (a narrow opening between two junipers). He was 330 yds and hard quartering towards me.
Everything felt great so I decided to take the shot. I could tell that I hit him, but it also was not an immediately lethal shot. As he was walking out of sight between me and another small ridge I tried to land another round, but missed. I had several feelings at this moment, but the biggest was fear that I lethally wounded this deer, but would not be able to find it. As I sat there to give him some time I prayed that God would be gracious enough to help me find this deer and not let it go to waste. After 15 minutes of waiting I slowly walked down towards the ridge where the buck disappeared. When I got to a spot I could see down in the area I glassed around, moved a couple steps, and glassed again. After I surveyed the area I thought he went with no luck, I decided to go to the spot of the shot and see if I could find blood. As soon as I got down into the wash and off the ridge I looked to my left and there he was, still alive and bedded about 30 yards to my left. I put the final shot in him and honestly just cried and thanked the lord for allowing me to recover this beautiful animal.
It has been 9 years since I last harvested a buck. It might be another 9 years before my next one. But I thank God for every opportunity that I get to be out in his great country doing what I love doing.
Matthew 21:22 "And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive."
