I was successful in filling my first deer tag on the opening day of my season last Saturday. Definitely not the biggest buck out there, but a very fun experience.
I tried hunting a new area on opening morning and it turned out to be a bust. The only thing we saw moving through this area were coyotes, one of which my hunting buddy took out with a head shot at 120 yards! After refueling with some lunch, we decided to drive to an area that we know has some deer. I started hiking around 3pm and spent about an hour and a half moving up some steep areas on the mountain. Once I reached the peak, I slowly worked my way back down the mountain on a different route.
I came to this clearing with a lot of knee to waist high sage brush and saw the body of a deer above the brush-line. It was eating with its head down, so I couldn't tell if it was a buck or doe. I sat there for a couple minutes before the deer finally lifted its head and, Bingo! Its a buck! I decided to follow the "don't pass on the first day what you would take on the last day" rule. Now I've got one tag filled and will work to get a more mature buck with my second tag.
I tried hunting a new area on opening morning and it turned out to be a bust. The only thing we saw moving through this area were coyotes, one of which my hunting buddy took out with a head shot at 120 yards! After refueling with some lunch, we decided to drive to an area that we know has some deer. I started hiking around 3pm and spent about an hour and a half moving up some steep areas on the mountain. Once I reached the peak, I slowly worked my way back down the mountain on a different route.
I came to this clearing with a lot of knee to waist high sage brush and saw the body of a deer above the brush-line. It was eating with its head down, so I couldn't tell if it was a buck or doe. I sat there for a couple minutes before the deer finally lifted its head and, Bingo! Its a buck! I decided to follow the "don't pass on the first day what you would take on the last day" rule. Now I've got one tag filled and will work to get a more mature buck with my second tag.