Free: Contests & Raffles.
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Quote from: Timberstalker on October 21, 2018, 08:33:30 PMThis thread is still sticky’d.Somehow it got unstickied and I fixed it.I am trying to win Moderator of the Week.
The fence post assassin with a well earned Muley. 57 and still going strong. Think we almost died getting this one outSent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
I got my first deer yesterday morning, but no pics cause my phone died right when we walked up on it.I've been hunting the last 3 seasons with my dad, both of us totally new to any kind of big game hunting. My dad had some experience with doves and quails back in Texas, but that's it.So me, at 41, and my dad, at 69, have been trying to put it together on our own for a few years now. This year, I had done a lot of scouting, including trail cams for the first time, on some IEP land north of Spokane. Had a fairly active trail picked out, and a spot up the hill we could sit. We both had second deer tags, so we were tryin' to fill those in the early rifle season, and focus on the bucks in the late season.So yesterday, we get to the spot just about as shooting light starts. I'd been hoping for wind, but no luck there. With all my scouting, I figured deer would use the low road coming from the right (about 65 yds) or the high road coming left (about 150 yds). We sat for a little over an hour, and then, since I'm still recovering from a cold, I let out a huge cough and figured "sure that spooked everything for 300 yards". About 5 seconds later, two deer pop their heads up about 10 yards to our left and heading straight for us. We froze, and I can tell the closest one is a yearling fawn. The second one I can't see body, only head. They stare for probably half a minute before deciding not to come right towards us, and they trot down the hill. They disappear behind some trees, but are set to emerge right on the low road. They're both antlerless, and I figured the second one would be the mature mom doe. So I flick off my safety and get ready. First deer pops out from the trees, heads up the hill a few yards, and stops with its backside facing directly at me. No shot, but not the one I wanted anyway. The second walks out behind, slightly quartering away, and then stops. I pulled the trigger, and boom! It fell straight over.It was not the best shot. It did pass through the stomach before hitting vitals and exiting the other side. It was also not the mom doe, it was another yearling, a buck. We tagged it and went the short distance back to the truck to get Rinella's book for instructions on gutting, etc, then got to work.The skinning, gutting, and quartering was quite the learning process. Most of the internal cavity was coated in stomach contents, so some meat was not salvageable. But we did make it back with all 4 quarters in good shape. Not a lot of meat, but thankful for it at any rate.In the end, it was an important step in the learning process for me and my dad, and hopefully I can get my kids involved sooner, so they can grow up knowing what I've been having to learn much later in life.
Quote from: SpurInSpokane on October 23, 2018, 08:49:47 AMI got my first deer yesterday morning, but no pics cause my phone died right when we walked up on it.I've been hunting the last 3 seasons with my dad, both of us totally new to any kind of big game hunting. My dad had some experience with doves and quails back in Texas, but that's it.So me, at 41, and my dad, at 69, have been trying to put it together on our own for a few years now. This year, I had done a lot of scouting, including trail cams for the first time, on some IEP land north of Spokane. Had a fairly active trail picked out, and a spot up the hill we could sit. We both had second deer tags, so we were tryin' to fill those in the early rifle season, and focus on the bucks in the late season.So yesterday, we get to the spot just about as shooting light starts. I'd been hoping for wind, but no luck there. With all my scouting, I figured deer would use the low road coming from the right (about 65 yds) or the high road coming left (about 150 yds). We sat for a little over an hour, and then, since I'm still recovering from a cold, I let out a huge cough and figured "sure that spooked everything for 300 yards". About 5 seconds later, two deer pop their heads up about 10 yards to our left and heading straight for us. We froze, and I can tell the closest one is a yearling fawn. The second one I can't see body, only head. They stare for probably half a minute before deciding not to come right towards us, and they trot down the hill. They disappear behind some trees, but are set to emerge right on the low road. They're both antlerless, and I figured the second one would be the mature mom doe. So I flick off my safety and get ready. First deer pops out from the trees, heads up the hill a few yards, and stops with its backside facing directly at me. No shot, but not the one I wanted anyway. The second walks out behind, slightly quartering away, and then stops. I pulled the trigger, and boom! It fell straight over.It was not the best shot. It did pass through the stomach before hitting vitals and exiting the other side. It was also not the mom doe, it was another yearling, a buck. We tagged it and went the short distance back to the truck to get Rinella's book for instructions on gutting, etc, then got to work.The skinning, gutting, and quartering was quite the learning process. Most of the internal cavity was coated in stomach contents, so some meat was not salvageable. But we did make it back with all 4 quarters in good shape. Not a lot of meat, but thankful for it at any rate.In the end, it was an important step in the learning process for me and my dad, and hopefully I can get my kids involved sooner, so they can grow up knowing what I've been having to learn much later in life.Good for you two! I grew up wanting to hunt in a nonhunting family, took Hunter Safety at 19 and began the slow long journey toward becoming a competent hunter. Would love to hear more about you and your dad's journey in future posts.
