What a great ending to a crazy ride and unbelievable story!
Before I start I need to give props and heartfelt thanks to the guys who helped me along the way. Without their time, insight and resources this would not have happened but more importantly I wouldn't have made the friends I did over the last four months.
Josh Fitzhugh (wastickslinger) - I was referred to Josh by Jerrod Gibbons because the first weekend I wanted to get into the Desert Unit and he was a local guy Jerrod thought could get me around. Although we didn't see a deer we probably talked on the phone 2-3 times a week from here on out. Josh was the reason I got this buck and I'll never be able to repay him for his time and effort. It's only fitting things started and ended with Josh.
Shad (antlerking) - He spotted the deer and told me a month ago "you will kill a deer on the weekend of Dec. 20th" if you can hold out. Hell ya!.....that's what I was waiting for.
Vince (509er) - you still grinning? I am.......
Derek Erdmann - Lifesaver
Michael Fox - Showed me a 30' and shared a ton of knowledge
Greenhaws (Joe, Brian and Martin)- Joe showed me a 180' buck in the Desert and Brian has been awesome even though he was on his hunt the entire time. Thanks guys!
Ron Cearley
Rufus Olson
These are all the guys I spent time in the field with and trully appreciate it. I could go on and on with the people I have spoken to on the phone and I thank you too!
Friday WaStickslinger, 509er and Antlerking headed over to Entiat. I couldn’t make it because of a company Holiday Party so they were sending me updates and I planned to head over Saturday morning. I left Issaquah at 4:30am after getting home from the party at 1:30am….not a great way to start an all day hunt! The Adrenaline was kicking in though because these guys had seen a boat load of deer and a nice 4x4 with a couple kickers on Friday that might be a “shooter.” I rolled into town on a thermos of coffee and we all jumped in and headed up the mountain on some sleds (four guys on three sleds).
We saw a nice 4x4 right off the bat but wanted to get to the top of the mountain before the snow arrived so we drove through a lot of deer. It’s amazing to me there are so many deer you literally have to ignore them to get where you want to go or half the day will be gone before you get there. We get up top about 10am or so and settle in to a spot and start to glass. Right away Antlerking spots a buck worth checking out. It was about a mile and a half away and we couldn’t put any points on it so we decided to pack up and begin to work that way. It took us about an hour or so to get around to a ridge we thought was facing the buck. It started snowing hard and we sat on this face looking for the buck but couldn’t spot him and argued about his location. There was a 5x5 (and about 20 other bucks) and we were pretty sure it wasn’t the same buck we saw from afar. Finally we pack up and decide to head a little farther…..
Within 5 minutes Antlerking kills the sled and jumps off and we know he has spotted the buck. All of us get off and he points to him about 200 yds away bedded down. All we can see is his head and antlers…..We all look at each other and say “shooter” immediately. I run over to a stump and get all set up but he disappears into a little draw but we know he is going to come up the other side right at 250yds. Right then six does come out of the draw with a 4x4 following them and I put my scope on it and say “is that him?” 509er yells, “no, he’s about to pop up and all I can see are horns!” Right then he comes up behind the 4x4 and makes him look like a little dink and I knew right then this is the buck I wanted…..
These guys kept asking me “do you like him? do you like him?” I think I responded “I’m shootin’ him!” 250 yds away, quartering away and I pull the trigger……..He squats and I ask “did I hit him?” Someone responds “maybe” and Antlerking says, “no, he’s taking a sh*t.” Now he’s about 300 yds away just walking behind these does and 4x4 and I fire again…..MISS. Fire again……MISS….. I look at these guys dumbfounded. I don’t even know WTF to say. I’m a speechless. Antlerking says let’s leave him alone and get out of here and go shoot that rifle.
We run the sleds back about a mile and get out a granola bar box and set it up 50 yds away (I have 9 shells left). I fire three inches to the right……fire again….to the right. We make the adjustment and stickslinger puts some duct tape on the box and says aim right for it. Shoot again and it knocks the tape off. (6 shells left). Then we take it back to a 100 yds and first shot is nine inches high….How? I hand the rifle to Antlerking and say shoot it….maybe I’ve still got the shakes from the night before or seeing that deer! He shoots it and its three inches low and to the left….four shells left and no freaking clue where the bullet is headed. I was at the range on Thursday (swear to God)….I even sent Stickslinger a picture text because I was the only guy there in a pair of slacks. It was dialed in. What happened?
We’re trying to figure out what to do…It’s about 1pm and we don’t have time to run out of here and get back. I called Derek and explained the situation. He says, “let me smooth it over with the wife and I’ll call you back.” For those that don’t know Derek, he just spent the last few months with Tony on the Governor’s Tag. So, he hasn’t been home too much and I’m sure the wife wasn’t thrilled he was proposing going out again. He calls me right back and says, I have a rifle and will be at the bottom of the hill in a half hour. We’re about a half hour deep on sleds so Antlerking heads down the mountain to pick him up while we build a fire and wait……You guys ever been punched in the gut and had the wind knocked out of you? That’s the way I’m feeling….I am so pissed off, queasy and disappointed all at the same time. I felt like I let these guys down and I just wasted my chance at my buck. It was the longest hour I have ever spent waiting in my life!
It’s about 2pm when these guys come rolling up on the sled and Derek hands me the rifle and says here you go. I shoot it once and we were good to go! We take off and all of sudden the fog rolls in and we can’t see 50 yds…..F*CK. Luckily it only lasts about 15 minutes or so and we can finally see. We head down into the canyon where we thought he was (Derek brought video so have it all on tape from here on out) and Antlerking spots him about 250 yds away. The snow is about knee deep and it’s crunchy so we sound like a herd of elephants trying to get in the right spot. We get all set up again and I’m breathing like a stuck pig! I finally get settled down and hit him but he some how makes it to the top of the ridge below and skylines us. I fire again and miss…..Over in the next draw he goes!
These guys are pretty excited and know he isn’t going far but I can’t even smile….I keep thinking what can go wrong now! We hike down to the next knob and 509er spots him about 90 yds away bedded down in front of a massive pile of limbs. He’s that close and I keep saying “are you sure that is him?” I couldn’t even tell that close because his horns blended right in with the background. We sat there for two minutes looking and getting all set up again….Last shot in the boilerplate and he lay right down.
I stood up and literally my legs were shaking so bad I couldn’t control them. No words can describe the range of emotion going through my body…..It was an amazing experience that will last a life time.
We didn’t get off the mountain and all loaded up until about 10:30pm that night. But, you should have seen the five of us, a deer and all of our gear on three sleds. It’s a story in itself.
Wrapping up, I just want all of you to know I got the exact buck I wanted. He is a stud and every time I look at him he has more and more character. I hope we can preserve his ears because I think a Cat got him. One ear is shredded, the other is torn and he has claw marks down his rib cage as well. Not to mention his broken nose and missing teeth. He is a warrior.
I don’t know what he scores and as I’ve told a few of you I could care less. 185’ or 190’ it really doesn’t matter to me. I was sent pictures of bucks that may have scored higher with a lot of trash but to me personally they paled in comparison to this buck. For curiosity sakes, three people have measured him and all were between 187-191. I’m also proud of the fact we did all of this on public land. We all worked our butts off and earned it.
But, I am one Lucky SOB……
