A Hunter's First Deer

As much as I want it to be my turn to put my tag on an animal, I have been fortunate enough to have tagged along on a couple successful hunts this season. Recently a friend of mine came to me and asked me if I could help him go deer hunting and like most of us it takes a lot to get me to go deer hunting (insert sarcasm). So with that being said we sat down and I helped him pick out which tag he would have the best options of shooting a deer.

We headed out to an area that has big deer potential but also to scout the area for elk. He wanted to try and get an elk as well but that didn't open until the following weekend which unfortunately I was going to be out of town for. So we decided that we would head up in this area and scout for elk while we hunted for deer.

Mountain Trail

We did lots of walking but there was nothing better than being out in the woods walking through the beautiful fall weather. My buddy mentioned to me that he probably brought the bad luck because every time he has ever gone deer hunting, he has never seen a deer. This made it even more of a challenge for me to at least get him to see a deer. We pushed on and then not to long after we started hearing something running through the brush so we hustled to an opening and got our rifles ready....

Momma Moose and her Calf

We crossed paths with a cow moose and her calf. This was cool to watch her and her calf stare us down. As we were watching this my buddy said that this was the first time he has seen a moose "in the wild". Even though we live in town, we live close enough to the river that sometimes we get moose wandering through town. So he thought it was pretty cool to see these moose in their natural setting.

With all of our walking and luck in the higher mountain country, we decided to make our way closer to the river and hunt near there. This proved to be a better option. Within about 100 yards of getting into the brush we jumped a whitetail. I motioned to my friend and we slowly started making our way in the deer's direction. We ended up jumping the deer another time but we were pretty close to the river by now and knew it could go very far. We then came out right next to the river and I saw some track headed across the mud onto a finger of the river.

I told my buddy to set up where the tracks were and I was going to push that section and if the deer is there it will come right back across this spot. I knew this because where the deer crossed, it was just a little sliver of land surrounded by the river. I knew that if I walked down that sliver, the deer would circle around behind me and cross right back where it came.

It was pretty thick cover and I made my way down and as I got to the end of the little sliver of land I heard something get up and run behind me. I waited for it and sure enough I heard a shot ring out, then another, and then a third. I ran over to the edge and saw my friend jumping up and down and running across the mud. I made my way over there and he started hollering "I shot a deer! I shot a deer!" You couldn't wipe the grin of of his face.

Spencer's First Deer

The smile on his face says it all! Grinning from ear to ear he kept recounting the story and living in the moment.

I was excited to be able to have been there to help and be a part of this experience. I know that this will be one that I won't forget and I know that he won't either.

He Insisted to carry it out..