When our youngest son, Matt, turned 12, it was December, the hunting season for that year was over in Oregon. The following year, we did not draw deer tags, however, in Oregon they have a program for young hunters, called the first time hunter program. This allows kids from 12 to 17, the opportunity to hunt if they have not previously drawn a tag for a species. When we didn't draw tags in the regular draw, we applied for the first time hunter tag in the unit that we normally apply for, eastern Oregon mule deer tag and away we went hunting. Actually it wasn't very far, the tag was for the unit that we lived in at the time.
We had friends that drew tags for the unit that season, so we weren't hunting alone. With school and other obligations, we weren't able to get out every day, but we did get several days. I say we alot, because, with this program, the young hunter has to have an adult close by. We hunted with our friends when we could, they harvested several bucks as the season progressed. Matt had a couple of opportunities, though not the best chances for an inexperienced hunter. He got a couple shots at a big 4X4 several days into the season, and was starting to get discouraged when he didn't connect.
As the season went on, our friends had all tagged their deer, and the focus for all of them, turned to finding that buck for Matt. On the last weekend of the season, which in eastern Oregon is also the second weekend, we all decided to go hunt an area that we had never hunted. The area is really close to where we normally hunt, we had just never hunted right on that particular ridge. On the way out to where we would hunt, we saw a pickup parked next to the road that we recognized as another hunter that also hunted the area often. As we got a little closer, we could see him about 200 yards from his pickup, and it looked like he was dragging a deer. We could see that he was alone, except for his son, who was about 4 at the time. We did what we do, we went to help. When we got to the hunter, we realized that this was the big 4X4 that Matt had shot at earlier in the season. We helped get the deer to his pickup and loaded, then we continued to where we would hunt.
It was hot and dry, with steep short ridges, small rimrocks, and short little rough canyons, most of it covered with tall sagebrush. My great friend Dave, and his wife, Darcy, were with us. Darcy had dropped us off, and would drive to where we were going to be picked up. Dave walked below Matt on the hillsides, and I walked above him, hoping to get one of the old desert mulies to come up out of their bed. We glassed as we went along, and constantly looked for sign, which we saw very little of.
We neared the pickup, and after a small discussion, decided to hunt a little farther along a ridge before we would give up. Dave and I were starting to think that possibly there was a reason that we had not hunted right here before.
As I came around a sharp turn in the ridge, I saw that Matt and Dave had got a quite a ways out in front of me. They were just walking past the mouth of a little canyon. I briefly considered just walking to catch up, then thought better of it, I started glassing up to the head of the canyon, and right there, eating on some buckbrush, was a deer with it's white butt, pointing directly at me! It seemed like hours, probably only a few seconds, before the deer lifted it's head out of the bush to let me see if it was a buck. It finally lifted it's head and there was that great set of horns that we had been looking for!
I radioed Dave and Matt to tell them what I had found. Dave sent Matt up to me, and he stayed where he was to watch the action from there. When Matt got to where I was, I had moved a little bit, to where there was a little rimrock to get a solid rest on. In the meantime the big buck had kept eating in the same bush, but had worked around, so he was broadside to us. Matt took his time, got a good rest for his .270, and squeezed the trigger. The big buck jerked his head up, looked around, and just stood there. Matt had shot over him. A second shot splattered right between his horns into a rimrock, another miss. This caused the buck to jump about 10 feet down the hill, then he stopped again, not knowing what was happening. At this time Matt, normally a kid of few words, turned to look at me and say, " I got him dialed in now, Dad." His 3rd shot dropped the big buck in his tracks. At this point we heard a scream from down the hill from Dave, indicating that he had had a front row seat and watched the whole thing go down.
When we got to the buck, we realized what Matt had harvested, a 3X3, with bases of the horns, that I can't reach around. The horns are 23" wide at the widest place. And when we turned the old boy over, we got another surprise, he was a stag. I don't know if he was castrated by a buckaroo when he was young, or what happened, but there was nothing there. he has a small amount of velvet on his horns, but it is mostly rubbed off.
After hunting my whole life, and getting the opportunity to harvest several good bucks, and a few elk, along with antelope, and now a Bighorn sheep, I have to say that being with my kids when they get their animals, has been the highlight of my hunting career.
Please check back to read about more hunting adventures, including the next two mule deer bucks, with Matt.
We had friends that drew tags for the unit that season, so we weren't hunting alone. With school and other obligations, we weren't able to get out every day, but we did get several days. I say we alot, because, with this program, the young hunter has to have an adult close by. We hunted with our friends when we could, they harvested several bucks as the season progressed. Matt had a couple of opportunities, though not the best chances for an inexperienced hunter. He got a couple shots at a big 4X4 several days into the season, and was starting to get discouraged when he didn't connect.
As the season went on, our friends had all tagged their deer, and the focus for all of them, turned to finding that buck for Matt. On the last weekend of the season, which in eastern Oregon is also the second weekend, we all decided to go hunt an area that we had never hunted. The area is really close to where we normally hunt, we had just never hunted right on that particular ridge. On the way out to where we would hunt, we saw a pickup parked next to the road that we recognized as another hunter that also hunted the area often. As we got a little closer, we could see him about 200 yards from his pickup, and it looked like he was dragging a deer. We could see that he was alone, except for his son, who was about 4 at the time. We did what we do, we went to help. When we got to the hunter, we realized that this was the big 4X4 that Matt had shot at earlier in the season. We helped get the deer to his pickup and loaded, then we continued to where we would hunt.
It was hot and dry, with steep short ridges, small rimrocks, and short little rough canyons, most of it covered with tall sagebrush. My great friend Dave, and his wife, Darcy, were with us. Darcy had dropped us off, and would drive to where we were going to be picked up. Dave walked below Matt on the hillsides, and I walked above him, hoping to get one of the old desert mulies to come up out of their bed. We glassed as we went along, and constantly looked for sign, which we saw very little of.
We neared the pickup, and after a small discussion, decided to hunt a little farther along a ridge before we would give up. Dave and I were starting to think that possibly there was a reason that we had not hunted right here before.
As I came around a sharp turn in the ridge, I saw that Matt and Dave had got a quite a ways out in front of me. They were just walking past the mouth of a little canyon. I briefly considered just walking to catch up, then thought better of it, I started glassing up to the head of the canyon, and right there, eating on some buckbrush, was a deer with it's white butt, pointing directly at me! It seemed like hours, probably only a few seconds, before the deer lifted it's head out of the bush to let me see if it was a buck. It finally lifted it's head and there was that great set of horns that we had been looking for!
I radioed Dave and Matt to tell them what I had found. Dave sent Matt up to me, and he stayed where he was to watch the action from there. When Matt got to where I was, I had moved a little bit, to where there was a little rimrock to get a solid rest on. In the meantime the big buck had kept eating in the same bush, but had worked around, so he was broadside to us. Matt took his time, got a good rest for his .270, and squeezed the trigger. The big buck jerked his head up, looked around, and just stood there. Matt had shot over him. A second shot splattered right between his horns into a rimrock, another miss. This caused the buck to jump about 10 feet down the hill, then he stopped again, not knowing what was happening. At this time Matt, normally a kid of few words, turned to look at me and say, " I got him dialed in now, Dad." His 3rd shot dropped the big buck in his tracks. At this point we heard a scream from down the hill from Dave, indicating that he had had a front row seat and watched the whole thing go down.
When we got to the buck, we realized what Matt had harvested, a 3X3, with bases of the horns, that I can't reach around. The horns are 23" wide at the widest place. And when we turned the old boy over, we got another surprise, he was a stag. I don't know if he was castrated by a buckaroo when he was young, or what happened, but there was nothing there. he has a small amount of velvet on his horns, but it is mostly rubbed off.
After hunting my whole life, and getting the opportunity to harvest several good bucks, and a few elk, along with antelope, and now a Bighorn sheep, I have to say that being with my kids when they get their animals, has been the highlight of my hunting career.
Please check back to read about more hunting adventures, including the next two mule deer bucks, with Matt.
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