This is the next to the last day of the general, any weapon deer hunt in Utah for 2016…going out with FlashPan and Weasel to see if we can’t find a buck for FlashPan!  We are headed up over Monte to a secret spot on the other side.  Let’s hope we can fill his tag….let me tell you…this has been one Hunting Fall for this guy!  More to come later today!  Wish us luck!

October 29, 2016

Bears Butt

NEXT DAY:

We arrived at the mouth of the canyon we chose to hunt just after first light.  The sky was cloudy and there were low hanging clouds on top of the mountain.  The fog up there would make it difficult to see very far.  As we drove up into the canyon we spotted a sizable hurd of deer on a hill side….17 does and fawns!  That was a difficult thing to accept…not even a small buck in that group.  Our hopes were high as we continued up the road.  After all was said and done we had seen 25 deer but no bucks.  The deer were not that high on the mountain.  No tracks in the rain soaked mud.

We decided that even though it was noon we would go to another place that might hold a buck or two.  We stocked up on gas and goodies and headed for area number 2.

Arriving there we found a whole lot of other folks who were thinking just like us.  In fact I have never seen so many hunters in this area before.  We talked with a couple of guys we know and they said that their hunting party had taken a 4 point, 3 point and a couple of 2 points out of there and that there were a lot of deer, just not too many bucks.  That boosted our hopes and off we went.

It didn’t take long before we began spotting does and fawns and then all by itself against a lone cedar stood a small 2 point buck!  Over 400 yards away, but a pretty good chance we could close in on it for a 200 yard shot.  Conner was shooting Weasels 243 which is plenty of gun for a 200 yard shot on a smallish buck.  We closed in and my range finder ranged it at 208 yards.  Conner settled in on an open branch of a cedar and began his meticulous aiming.  Buck fever had him bad!  He took several short aiming episodes and each time he came off the aim with his breath panting.  His heart was racing badly.

The buck on the hill was doing its part by not moving and stood broadside for the longest time.  Nothing but space separated the buck from Conner!  Finally Conner had part of his wits about him and touched the trigger.  The bullet went wild and missed the buck.  He cranked in a second round and again used the cedar tree branch as a rest.  Weasel and I hadn’t noticed how Conner was using the cedar tree rest and when the gun belched out and the bullet missed the buck wide and left, it was all over for shooting at that buck.  Instead of resting the fore stock of rifle on the branch, he had used the barrel of the gun.  The buck was last seen going up and over the top of the nearest ridge…un touched.

It was an exciting thing for all of us and a buck that might make it to maturity…maybe….

We continued to explore around the mountain and relived many good memories, at least in my mind.  Every draw, every ridge, everywhere I could see images of past hunting scenes.  In my mind it was a perfect hunt.

Soon we decided it was time to head for home and off the mountain we came.  As we were about to depart from the area, we spotted a small group of deer high on an open hillside.  All does and fawns, but wait!  Over about 100 yards stood a lone animal…we glassed and glassed and finally the feeding deer raised its head and sure enough it sported a small 2 point frame!  The yardage was just under 350 yards and too far for Conner to comfortably shoot.  We made a plan to get closer and all the time Weasel and I kept encouraging Conner in the fine art of shooting.  Make sure you take the safety off when the buck is in range.  Get a good rest even if it means dropping down on one knee and using the other as your rest…the story goes on and on.  Conner is a great student and listens closely to every instruction.

Remember the turkey hunt where the gobbler was 5 yards away trying to go through a mesh fence?  His instruction was to shoot it in the head….

We closed in on this buck to within 200 yards and then the buck laid down!  WHAT?  There was just a small patch of brush on this whole hillside and the buck laid down!  We again instructed Conner that as we approached the buck would stand up and begin to move off.  He needed to make sure he had a good rest and take the shot even if it was running across the open hill.  We slowly moved closer to the bedded deer.  At about 50 yards, Weasel and I could not believe the buck had let us get that close and still not get up.

We forgot to change the instructions we had given Conner.  At closer than 50 yards, all he needs to do is put the scope cross hairs on the animal once it stands up, and pull the trigger.  At this point I began filming the action with my phone camera.  You decide if we messed Conner up:

Well, it was fun.  In the video, we said the buck looked like it was hit with Conners first bullet.  We followed the trail around the hill and saw the deer about 500 yards across the mountain and running up and over the top.  It was limping but not from a shot Conner had taken.  The deer was favoring its right front leg and it looked like it might have had a broken foot.  No blood could be seen.

Well, that ended Conners mule deer hunt for 2016!

Bears Butt