My First Buck!!! (Long Story, Pics)

[BuckHunter23]

Before I get to the story and the pictures, I have to give a huge thank you to my boys, Jake and Ben (jjdavis2222 and Alpine on here).  Without your help, this trip would not have been as exciting and I probably would have died on the mountain trying to get this guy out.  On with the story....

So, my good buddy Jake and I took off Thursday around 1:30 PM towards our destination.  We headed up to GMU 245, Chiwawa.  This was our second year hunting this area, so we wanted to make sure we got there a couple days early to setup and get camp all situated before the big opener on Saturday.  We arrived around 5:45 PM at the spot we hoped to get, at the top saddle, just below the area we wanted to hunt.  We were quite excited and got right to setting up camp.  This is where things took a bit of a turn for the worse.  After getting the frame for the wall tent setup, and the canvas pulled over, we started the button things up.  As we were doing so, a huge gust of wind came up over the saddle and picked the tent up off the ground, about pulled Jake up with it.  Thankfully, two guys had pulled up as we were doing this and ran over and helped us get the tent back on the ground.  THANK YOU to Richard and his son for saving our tent, and hunting trip!!!  Once we got it down we assessed the damage, 3 bent poles and a huge tear in the front    We did the best we could to straighten the poles and got the tent staked down, figuring we could adjust in the daylight the next morning.  By this time, Jake's brother Ben had arrived and helped get everything else situated.  We proceeded to drink the rest of the night away and worry about our issues on Friday.  Good times!!  On Friday, we re-assessed the damage and fixed things up a bit to ensure that it would not get in our way the rest of the trip.  Pretty much a lazy day and a bunch of wood to chop, but nothing too extreme.  We were all going stir-crazy waiting for the next morning.  Since we planned to head out early, we decided to hit the sack around 9ish and get some good rest for the day ahead.

Since we got the spot up high this year, we decided to get up a bit later than normal because we didn’t have a huge drive ahead of us.  We headed up to the trailhead and parked our trucks, only to find some guys camped out right there.  Only problem for them was, we were ready to go and they weren’t.  So, we headed off down the trail towards our respective spots.  Being that I’m not in as good a shape as those guys, my spot was a bit closer, but still a decent hike none the less.  I arrived at my spot at about 5:45 and had to sit for about an hour before it started to get light.  Freezing my a$$ off I got up around 8 and decided to put my jacket on.  As I was rustling around and making all kinds of noise, I looked to my left and saw a deer looking right at me from about 100 yards away.  I slowly sat back down and grabbed my binos on it.  It was a buck!!!  Unfortunately, he was just a small 2 point with no eyeguards, so no shooting this one.  I continued to watch him as he moved down the hill in front of me and he stopped behind a tree.  I could only see his back legs when all of a sudden he was nearly lying on the ground getting pushed backwards.  HOLY CRAP, another buck was down below and they began to spar.  Yet again, he was just another little 2x1.  Still exciting to see on opening morning and got the juices flowing for the rest of the hunt.  After all that, nothing else moved through for the rest of the day.  However, I still felt good about my spot and didn’t give up hope that more would pass through the area.  Hell, last year I saw two shooters from about 250 yards, but wasn’t confident in my shooting and let them go.  So, I knew they were out there.  We all met back at camp and regrouped for the night hunt.  Same results, nothing more walking through, and getting a bit discouraged.  However, it was just the first day and we had plenty of hunting ahead of us.  We packed it in around 10 PM and decided to try the same area again the following morning.

We got up around 6 AM, and knew we were behind the eight ball and had to get hustling.  We got to the trailhead around 6:15 and started our hike in.  Jake decided to stay closer this time and broke off to left on the ridge before the one I was heading to.  I made my way towards my spot but it was getting light too fast and I didn’t want to kick anything out before light.  I decided to stop and let things settle down for a bit before I made my way down.  I continuously glassed the area for movement, and each time made it a bit closer to my spot.  At about 50 yards away, I decided to make my final push and get settled for the rest of the morning.  With 15 yards to go, I stopped really quick to get a last drink of water and then take the final few steps before sitting down.  Well, I didn’t get that drink of water and I didn’t make it to my spot.  As I pulled the water up, I saw two white patches bouncing down below.  I dropped the water and threw up the binos.  I caught the lead deer first and saw a big 2 point spread on one side but couldn’t make out the other.  I quickly swung over on the other one, noticed right away that he was much bigger, and had more than the required 3 points.  I put a range on them and they were at about 80 yards and moving away from me.  With my backpack still on and sitting in a figure 4 position, I got the scope turned up and on the lead deer.  I still couldn’t make out his other side, so I moved down on the bigger buck.  He had slid behind a tree, and all I could see was his ass.  I positioned my crosshairs to the right of the tree and hoped he would walk out where I thought.  He did, but headed directly away from me.  Then, he quartered slightly to the right and BOOM!  7:10 AM and I had just taken my first shot in the field.  All I saw was muzzle flash and his ass go up in the air.  The other deer took off up the hill to my right but I couldn’t see where my deer had gone.  I quickly got Jake on the Rino, he told me to stay put, and he would head over my way.  We met up at about the same spot I first saw the deer and quickly found their tracks.  Not confident that I hit him, we kept following the tracks hoping to see some sign of blood.  Jake took a step over a downed tree and quickly shot back towards me with a huge holler and a high five.  My FIRST buck down!  He was laying exactly where I had shot him.  I couldn’t see him from where I was sitting after he went down because of all the downed trees.  It was a perfect, freehand shot from 179 yards, downhill.  I hit him just below the spine and took out his right lung.  Due to the bone impact, there was no exit wound. My heart was pumping a million miles an hour and the excitement was starting to set in.  Jake quickly made me understand that the work was just beginning and we had a long morning ahead of us.  By the time we had him gutted and quartered up, Ben had made his way down with a pack board and we were able to get him out in one trip.  Those two guys were amazing and made this trip and experience more than I could have ever imagined.   It will be a lifetime memory and a great story I can tell for years to come.

I was also excited because I was able to get my first buck in Washington.  We all were drawn for Montana combo tag and will be out in the Breaks in the next 3 weeks.  I didn’t want my first animal to come from out of state.  I can already bet this year will be one I will remember for the rest of my life.  Sorry for the long-winded story, hope you enjoyed.  Now for the pictures….

[BuckHunter23]

Can't get any other pics to load up...any help guys?

[Rgrady35]

Good job!

[Austrian Hunter]

Nice story and nice buck, congrats!!!! 

[jjdavis2222]

 Hell of a first deer and glad I was able to be there with you. Cant wait for our Montana trip! Agian contrats Mark!! 

Here are a few more pics from our trip.

Nice sunset before the opener.



A very happy hunter!



Now the work begins.




Finally back at the trailhead where some cold beverages were waiting!


And back at camp.

[C-Money]

Cool pics! Looks like a bunch of fun! Nice buck! Love the camp fire with your trophy near!

[BuckHunter23]

Thanks again Jake, and thanks for posting more pictures!!  Can't wait for Montana!

[markts]

Nice buck way to go

[jjdavis2222]

Anytime! I know there will be a time when you will be packing mine out! 

[Lightning_Rider]

Nice story and congrats on the awesome buck

[cheesehead4507]

hey #5 im so proud of you, oxox mama jan

[Fishhog]

BH ~ Was the guy Richard and his boy driving a white crewcab chevy? Kinda a tall skinny guy and his son wears glasses??

[gtrplr]

Very nice job and a hell of a buck! That is one fat deer!

[BuckHunter23]

BH ~ Was the guy Richard and his boy driving a white crewcab chevy? Kinda a tall skinny guy and his son wears glasses??

No, they were driving an old blue truck with a camper attached, pulling a trailer with motorcycles and a picnic table.  The son was grown as well.  Great guys though, saved my tent from flying down the hillside.

[Michelle_Nelson]

Great looking Buck!  Congrats!