I took my 14 year old little sister, Vanessa, out this morning to try and get her on her first deer. We went up to a spot that we have had some success in before. Its an area that is usually hit or miss but being so close to home and a relatively easy hike, it seemed like the perfect spot for a first-time hunter.
We got in to where I wanted to setup and glass for a while at about 15 minutes before shooting light. From where we were we had a good vantage point of the whole mountain side for about a half a mile. I was very optimistic this morning, but I also new that we had our work cut out for us in getting close enough to get a shot in this open country. Our maximum comfortable range would only be about 120 yards.
As we sat there in the chilly morning breeze, we heard the whizzing wings of a flock of chuckar as they passed by over head. Then, a few minutes later, I spotted a single, lone doe moving toward us about a quarter mile away. This was a good sign. The deer were starting to move.
After about an hour and starting to get a little cold, we decided to head on up the ridge. Not only would this give us more of a birds-eye-view but it was also warm us up a bit; plus, I wanted to peek down the backside of the ridge we were on to see if there was anything moving over on that side.
About 150 yards up the hill, we started to warm up pretty good. We decided to setup again and glass back down the ridge. After about 10 minutes of glassing, I spotted a buck raking his antlers on a sage bush about a quarter mile away. Just about 150 yards up the hill from where we had seen that doe about an hour before. I could see very easily that he was a buck but could not be 100% that he was a shooter. Then he suddenly he turned his head and we were impressed by what we saw. He was wide out to about the tips of his ears so we decided that he was likely a legal buck and we would try to keep tabs on him while we work our way up the ridge in hopes of cutting him off at the top.
By now it was about 8:30 A.M. We had a pretty good hike ahead of us and we knew we could not outwalk that buck so we decided we better take our head start and hope he took his sweet time in working his way to the top of the mountain. Continuing on and almost to the point to where we could look down the backside of the ridge, we suddenly heard a strange howl and whistling sound that seemed to just go on and on. My sister looks back at me with an expression that could only be: What in the heck is that?
My first thoughts was that we were hearing an extended ricochet of a bullet just having been fired off from down in the canyon we were about to peer into. We were anxious to get over there and have a look. That's when Vanessa, who was about 20 yards ahead of me suddenly stopped and signaled that she had spotted some deer. From her reaction I could tell that she was seeing a buck that I could not see from my position. She then held three of her fingers and I knew that she was asking me if he was legal.
That's when I saw them. It was not one but two legal bucks! They were trotting at a good pace right towards us. The wind is blowing right in our faces and they had no clue we were even there. I couldn't believe our luck! They looked as though they would cross the ridge we were on right in front of Vanessa at about 40 yards.
They disappeared out of sight as they got below us on the same ridge. Vanessa, being seated and very excited, tried standing up to get a better view of the bucks as they closed the distance on us. Well, this didn't go unnoticed by these bucks and they turned up the ridge dead away from us at a quickened pace. I knew at this point that we didn't have much time before they disappeared down the backside of this ridge.
As the bucks neared the top of the ridge at about 80 yards away and I hit the rabbit squealer that I had in my pocket while similtaneously whispering to Vanessa to, "Shoot the big one!" After a couple squalls on the rabbit distress the bucks paused to get a look at us. Vanessa, who threw down her shooting stix as there was no time to set them up, squeezed off an off-hand shot from the 'ol bolt action .243, BOOM! The bigger of the two bucks, who was in the front hunched up and I knew he was hit. The other buck just stood there. The bigger buck spun around and stood there, dazed, in the brush. "Hit him again if you have a clear shot," I said. BOOM! Saw nothing from the bigger buck; the smaller one took off down over the hill. At this reaction by the smaller buck, the bigger buck spun away from us and started making his way down the backside of the hill also. "Shoot him again!" I knew we had to get another good shot on him.
Seconds before the bigger buck disappeared from view, I saw. out of the corner of my eye, Vanessa chamber a third round. After about a 2 second pause, BOOM! The buck tumbles! He hit the dirt and I knew he was down for the count. We were both so excited. Vanessa had a nice shot of adrenaline pumping through her veins as she could hardly keep her legs from shaking. Her first deer; taken within the first 2 hours on opening day.
You just can't beat beginner's luck. Or maybe it was the goofy raccoon hat she chose to wear! Either way, it made for one heck of a deer hunt.
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