Hunting Washington Forum
Big Game Hunting => Deer Hunting => Topic started by: ljsommer on November 15, 2019, 12:33:52 PM
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My earlier season hunting had been half-hearted, as I knew I wanted to hunt with my mom during late season rifle. I had a Weyco pass and had bought her one as well to accompany me, and as my interest in hunting has a lot to do with familial bonding and maintaining tradition, I really wanted to share that with her. The antlers hanging in my house are from my grandpa back in the 1960s and his legacy is one I am trying to honor (along with the hundred other reasons I hunt).
After a near-miss on a heavy bodied 3 point on Halloween, I knew where I wanted to be coming opening morning. We parked a ways off from the cut I wanted to hunt, and as the fog was blowing in I took out my phone to take a picture of my mom. This hunt was about time with my mom, not success on a deer.
As I photographed her glassing a ridge near the cut, she whispered "I think I see a deer!"
Now, my mom jokes like this all the time so I was 100% certain she was pulling my chain, and I said so. She responded "Honey, I think I see a deer and I think it has antlers".
Keep in mind this is about 2 minutes after getting to that cut. I pull out my binos and sure enough, a beautiful buck with a regal crown of antlers is standing on the opposite ridge staring at us fully alert. I immediately whispered to my mom "Don't move".
I slowly stowed my binos and went prone, only to realize that there was more of a hump in the hill than I expected and I couldn't see the deer through my scope when prone. I quietly removed my pack and propped the rifle on it - still no line of sight.
Sure that I'd blown it, I sat on my butt and propped the rifle on my knee to stabilize. Finally a shot window! Somehow the buck hadn't moved, and I settled my breathing and pulled the trigger. My scope didn't move much and I maintained focus but the deer had vanished. He'd vanished so quickly that I knew I had to have dropped him in his tracks. The shot was 176 yards with a .308.
My mom was panicking as she'd lost him in the binos and thought we'd wounded him. She wanted to track right through that cut and find out. Somehow, I was calm and composed and told her that we needed to stealthily loop around the road and come across to get a better approach angle on his position so that we can decide how to handle it.
We reached a hill that gave us a better vantage but neither of us could glass him up. I hiked through some brutal cut debris and eventually found him laying there, and my heart raced. I contained a loud yell of celebration but only barely. I hiked back up to my mom, told her the good news, and we went to get the truck.
My mom is fairly disabled so it took us a long time to get her down to where the deer was, but it was worth it. She got to share the entire experience start to finish with me and she couldn't be prouder. She said my grandpa would've had a big smile on his face. My mom fondly reminds me that my grandpa never said "I love you" to anyone until I was born, and then it unlocked something and he was able to express himself.
Last night we got home, stowed the meat safely and both slept like the dead. We get the rest of the weekend to hang out, talk, and celebrate.
I've been a whiny, petulant child about my frustrations with hunting. I learned a lot this season, and now I know: This is possible. I can do this. It won't be easy, but it *will* be rewarding.
Thanks for all the help. I've had a lot of support from these forums.
Special thanks: Rainier, 7mmFan, others I've chatted with
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More pictures
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Congrats! That's a nice buck!
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Fantastic! Great pictures, other than the ticks, you could have left those out. Just sayin.
Great job ljsommer. You asked lots of questions, got lots of mixed answers and advice, and were able to decipher it all, put the time and hard work in, and get the end result. A one shot kill on a beautiful buck in ground you knew and had seen animals in, all while with your mom, sharing and making memories and putting a bunch of healthy meat in your freezer.
It truly doesn't get much better than that.
PS: How did your wife feel about a deer head laying in the kitchen sink? Mine isn't real fond of that. :tup:
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Nice work! Glad to finally see you put it all together.
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:tup: Heck ya! Solid work! Nothing better than putting in the time and effort and being rewarded for it! Hopefully the first of many! Great buck.
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Well done - congratulations!
Thanks for the story & pics.
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Congrats, nice job!! :tup:
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My man👊 perseverance ALWAYS pays off! Did I or did I not tell you that archery sucks and focus on the gun :chuckle: :chuckle: :chuckle:
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Good job :tup:
Ticks :chuckle: i have seen grown men see those on an animal for the first time turn into little pansies
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Well done!! Extra points for getting your mom involved!!
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The ticks were a real surprise, I didn't know we had them over here. This fella was covered in them. Dozens. I found them fascinating, but between them and my sloppy knife-work I did not bring the cape home. Sad, because the fur on that animal was soft and beautiful. I couldn't be happier with how it all went down.
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Congratulations! Great hunt report and great experience that you involved your mom. Thanks for sharing those photos, maybe not the ticks - I hate ticks.
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Nice job man!
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The ticks were a real surprise, I didn't know we had them over here. This fella was covered in them. Dozens. I found them fascinating, but between them and my sloppy knife-work I did not bring the cape home. Sad, because the fur on that animal was soft and beautiful. I couldn't be happier with how it all went down.
Even a cut up hide could be used for something, next time :tup:
Oh and dont worry about the ticks on the hide (all deer have ticks on them) they will die or move on due to the host being dead..
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Congratulations! Nice deer. Cool pics and story!
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Great job! That is a fine deer. Nothing quite like hunting with family.
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So cool you got to experience that with your mom. Your post made my day. Congrats on a beautiful buck.
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Congrats on the buck! Thanks for sharing!
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Congrats that's awesome
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Great story and thanks for sharing. I don't think my mom would ever accompany me on a deer hunt! So cool! :tup:
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Nicely done :tup:
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Right on! :tup:
Congratulations!
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great job...perseverance pays off. In the words of one of my heroes Jim Valvano "don't give up...don't ever give up" if you need some help cutting it up give me a shout.
bryan
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Congrats man! Good to see it pan out for you after the trials and tribulations
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Legit. Congrats on your first buck! Trying to make that happen for myself as well. Awesome you were able to share that experience with family as well. That's whatnits all about.
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Man great story! Good family times. Hard to beat that. Thank you for sharing with us!
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Well done!
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Awesome job. Awesome buck :tup:
I don't know what 7mm's talking about, most wives love bucks in the kitchen sink :dunno:
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Excellent and so cool your shared the experience with your mom. You're a lucky duck.
Elksnout
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Great job! Your perseverance paid off! Awesome that you got to share it with your mom!
Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
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Awesome job. Awesome buck :tup:
I don't know what 7mm's talking about, most wives love bucks in the kitchen sink :dunno:
I know my wife loves venison in the sink.. Awesome buck! :IBCOOL:
I feel bad for guys that don't have wife's that appreciates venison in the sink.
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Great buck, congrats!!
I’ve never seen those green ticks before, interesting.
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Awesome story and buck, congrats!
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Dude!!!! You put in the time!! It happened!! I know how hard you worked for that !!! Awesome
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That's absolutely fantastic. Great job. That's a deer and memory you will never forget.
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Fantastic story and very well written. Thank you for posting.
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Congrats on a beautiful buck.
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Way to go man. Not sure how I missed this thread. I’ve been waiting for it since you told me about the success.
I’m so happy it finally came together and that your mom was there.
This should give you a ton of confidence.
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What a great story!
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Good job ! Great finish to a long overdue season! And don’t let Turner fool you he’s spoiled by the boss of the house
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Awesome buck and a great memory!! Congratulations
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That’s a nice buck! Great story as well thanks!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Nice job :tup:, thanks for sharing your story with us.
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Congrats on your buck, not sure I would put the head in the house with the ticks and dogs but great job
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Just saw this thread. Really happy for you! As a self-taught hunter who didn't kill a deer until my third year, I really related to all of your posts. Congrats to you and your mom.
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Congrats, great pictures and write up. Being able to share an experience like that just makes it twice as rewarding and fun.
I have never seen ticks that big, I would be checking and itching for days after seeing those.
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Congrats again on getting 'er done. That will give you the confidence in the future to make a plan and stick with it. Many times, hunting just comes down to staying out in the field until something you get a chance to see a buck up and moving and take appropriate action. :hunter:
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Awesome deer man. Glad you could make it happen. WA blacktails are still solidly eluding me.
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wow fantastic, those are some great memories made with your Mother.. Congradualtions man.. :tup: :tup:
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Great job and a nice buck.
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My earlier season hunting had been half-hearted, as I knew I wanted to hunt with my mom during late season rifle. I had a Weyco pass and had bought her one as well to accompany me, and as my interest in hunting has a lot to do with familial bonding and maintaining tradition, I really wanted to share that with her. The antlers hanging in my house are from my grandpa back in the 1960s and his legacy is one I am trying to honor (along with the hundred other reasons I hunt).
After a near-miss on a heavy bodied 3 point on Halloween, I knew where I wanted to be coming opening morning. We parked a ways off from the cut I wanted to hunt, and as the fog was blowing in I took out my phone to take a picture of my mom. This hunt was about time with my mom, not success on a deer.
As I photographed her glassing a ridge near the cut, she whispered "I think I see a deer!"
Now, my mom jokes like this all the time so I was 100% certain she was pulling my chain, and I said so. She responded "Honey, I think I see a deer and I think it has antlers".
Keep in mind this is about 2 minutes after getting to that cut. I pull out my binos and sure enough, a beautiful buck with a regal crown of antlers is standing on the opposite ridge staring at us fully alert. I immediately whispered to my mom "Don't move".
I slowly stowed my binos and went prone, only to realize that there was more of a hump in the hill than I expected and I couldn't see the deer through my scope when prone. I quietly removed my pack and propped the rifle on it - still no line of sight.
Sure that I'd blown it, I sat on my butt and propped the rifle on my knee to stabilize. Finally a shot window! Somehow the buck hadn't moved, and I settled my breathing and pulled the trigger. My scope didn't move much and I maintained focus but the deer had vanished. He'd vanished so quickly that I knew I had to have dropped him in his tracks. The shot was 176 yards with a .308.
My mom was panicking as she'd lost him in the binos and thought we'd wounded him. She wanted to track right through that cut and find out. Somehow, I was calm and composed and told her that we needed to stealthily loop around the road and come across to get a better approach angle on his position so that we can decide how to handle it.
We reached a hill that gave us a better vantage but neither of us could glass him up. I hiked through some brutal cut debris and eventually found him laying there, and my heart raced. I contained a loud yell of celebration but only barely. I hiked back up to my mom, told her the good news, and we went to get the truck.
My mom is fairly disabled so it took us a long time to get her down to where the deer was, but it was worth it. She got to share the entire experience start to finish with me and she couldn't be prouder. She said my grandpa would've had a big smile on his face. My mom fondly reminds me that my grandpa never said "I love you" to anyone until I was born, and then it unlocked something and he was able to express himself.
Last night we got home, stowed the meat safely and both slept like the dead. We get the rest of the weekend to hang out, talk, and celebrate.
I've been a whiny, petulant child about my frustrations with hunting. I learned a lot this season, and now I know: This is possible. I can do this. It won't be easy, but it *will* be rewarding.
Thanks for all the help. I've had a lot of support from these forums.
Special thanks: Rainier, 7mmFan, others I've chatted with
Right on thats a nice buck!
And bold move with the head on the counter my wife would kill me :chuckle:
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My mom passed away this morning at home. Last night I was holding her hand and talking to her until 1am and she was looking at the very pictures from this thread, framed on her wall.
I am sorry for replying to an old thread but I wanted you to know, because she was an amazing woman and the world is a little colder today.
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Sorry to hear that. We lost another hunter. God bless.
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Sorry for your loss! Prayers sent
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So glad you were able to share that experience with her and reminisce the good times. Sorry for your loss
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So sorry to hear! I remember this thread well, all the effort you put in and it finally came together. I remember thinking about how awesome it was for your mom to be there to share the experience with you.
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So sorry for your loss.
I'm glad you and she got that last hunt in.
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Lars I'm sorry to hear that. I'm glad you were able to be there with her in the end.
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Sorry for your loss sir. Prayers sent to you and your family as you go through these challenging times
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Congrats.
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Sorry for your loss....many condolences and prayers for you and your family.
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Good memories! I am so sorry about your Ma
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Sorry to hear about your loss, your mom sounds like a very special person.
I'm sure that you know how lucky you are to have had her as a friend as well as a parent.
Like my deceased dad is with me, your mom will always be with you on your hunting adventures.
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So cool that your mom hunted with you. Sorry for your loss.
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Sorry for your loss. Thank you for sharing the story of hunting with your mom and having success. May she rest in peace
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Heck ya ,congrats.
Also sorry.
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I hope you find some peace and comfort knowing that she was there with you an a tremendous hunt, that you two built wonderful memories together, and that her spirit gets to continue living through you.