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Wednesday, August 25, 2010

My First Kill with a Bow



The Bow Hunt seasoned opened on August 21, and of course I headed up into the Backcountry of the Unita National Forest. I hunt at around the 10000 + feet range (up close to the tree line). We started hiking at about 5am and our hike usually takes us about 2 hours (5 miles in). Half way up the trail we passed a group of bow hunters (where we hunt we have only seen one other bow hunter in 8 years), so we were a little disappointed. We decided to hike a little faster to get some distance between us and them (Ultimately, to make sure we had the first shot). It turns out the other group of bow hunters were not threat (we did not know this at the time), but they played a huge role in our success. Just before we reached our destination, we spotted a group of bucks about 11 bucks in total all ranging in size from really nice 4x4 to a spike. Seeing this group of bucks got us really excited, and the best part of it was they were in the exact spot we were hoping to see bucks in.



Typically, we would sit and watch the bucks and let them bed down and then try to get a shot. With the bow hunters behind us we decided to jump into action immediately and set up our ambush. Our ambush spot is about a mile away from where we first spotted the deer. It is a spot that funnels the deer to a 20 yard shot (exact same spot my buddy Mike shot his deer a few years earlier). Once I was setup my buddy Mark pushed the deer right to me, and my buddy Mike videoed the shot. Four of the bucks did exactly what we hoped they would do. I was able to shot the biggest buck of the four at 20 yards. My buck is a typical 3x3 18" wide 17" tall. I shot him around 8:30 in the morning. What a great hunt and this is my first buck with a bow. What a great first buck.



This years deer hunt was a blast and short lived. It was kind of weird putting away my hunting gear this early in the season. I am already looking forward to next year's deer hunt.





This buck was just sitting about 50 yards off the trail looking at all the hikers walk by. The best part about it was none of the hikers even knew he was there. He is a 4x4 and we ran into him on our way down the mountain.



Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Backcountry Scouting Trip

After my Bowhunting Procrastination post, I decided to get out an do some hiking. I went up into the Backcountry of Utah Uinta National Forest with a buddy of mine. We decided to go to my usual hunting spot to see if there is anything up there worth going after. In years past there was always some nice bucks (The spot is were my buddy Mike took his nice buck). We went up there last year and did not see the nice bucks we were use to seeing and felt it was a waste of time. We decided to head up before the bow hunt to determine if it was an area we would like to hunt. We ended up seeing a total of 9 bucks, and a couple of them were decent four points. I know where I am going for the opening of the bow hunt.