# General Deer Hunt Reports



## uthntr (Feb 19, 2008)

So how was everyone's first day. Where'd you hunt? What'd you see?

I was somewhere in the cache valley area all day. There were tons more hunters than usual in my area. Saw lots of doe's. And a dead buck someone was dragging. I saw a 6 point elk, oh and a coyote. Saw a spike 20 yards off the road in a posted field on the way home.


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## ramrod (Apr 15, 2008)

but the DWR keeps telling everyone what a great job their doing... at least you didn't have to fight with someone over who shoot a deer in are over crowded unit  s


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## ridgetop (Sep 13, 2007)

We got a very nice looking buck yesterday morning. I was able to find it on Friday and it had only moved about 200 yards overnight. We made a perfect stalk on it and my friend made a good shot to put it down. -8/- Congrats Corby on a sweet buck, I'm very happy for you. *()*


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## Bowdacious (Sep 16, 2007)

We need pics Ridge! PICS!


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## scott_rn (Sep 11, 2007)

I have an archery tag this year, but I took my two little brothers up Logan canyon (neither of which had killed a buck before). We split up and I went with the 17 year old and before the sun hit this guy he was dead. He was bedded down and my little brother shot 5 times before he got up, then he got up and started to bound away. Two more shots and the buck went down. 7 shots and only one hole in the deer at 100 yards (plus or minus) has got to fit the definition of buck fever, right? Right after we started dragging it two smaller bucks ran up to us and stopped broadside 30 yards away. I couldn't get my other brother on the radio so they will live to see another day.
[attachment=3:27vcqupk]opener1.JPG[/attachment:27vcqupk]
We found a pair of elk sheds, one moose and one deer. Only one of the elk sheds is in the picture because we found the other one on the way down.
[attachment=2:27vcqupk]opener2.JPG[/attachment:27vcqupk]
[attachment=1:27vcqupk]opener3.JPG[/attachment:27vcqupk]
Who says you need a truck to succed on the Utah general season rifle deer hunt? :lol: 
We had people laughing and taking pictures of us with cell phone cameras the whole way home.
[attachment=0:27vcqupk]opner4.JPG[/attachment:27vcqupk]


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## REPETER (Oct 3, 2007)

That's priceless Scott :lol: Nice sheds! Congrats to the nervous brother. :mrgreen:


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## bigbuck81 (Oct 10, 2007)

My Opener wasnt a whole lot different than years past. The only difference was I didnt see any bucks.We did see a bunch of flatheads though, almost every doe has a fawn with it in my area. This morning my Dad and I went out together and we found tons of does, a 2 point, and a spike. Nothing worth shooting at though. Im sure someone will smoke those two little bucks but I did my part in letting them grow! Im going to hunt an awesome piece of property with my wife on Friday! This weekend was more of a nature hike in the Uintahs. Good times with the Fam though! _O\


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## ridgetop (Sep 13, 2007)

UZ-A-BOW said:


> We need pics Ridge! PICS!


Here's a picture of the buck when we walked up to it. It had taken a fall down off some rocks/cliff.


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## travis madden (Sep 29, 2007)

Here is my buck shot Sunday morning


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## bigbuck81 (Oct 10, 2007)

Great Pics! Where are the stories to go along with them?


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## uthntr (Feb 19, 2008)

Those are 2 nice bucks! I hope I find something that big.


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## Huge29 (Sep 17, 2007)

Wow, very nice guys! Travis, you had better do a full mount, of course the problem would then be on the dang thing's neck more than his antlers; did he swallow a wooden fence post or something? He is a hog! Nice work guys and thanks for sharing!!


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## Bo0YaA (Sep 29, 2008)

Very nice bucks, what region were you hunting in Travis?


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## travis madden (Sep 29, 2007)

Central


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## RuttCrazed (Sep 7, 2007)

Any room for a Kansas whitetail? Took this one last Thursday.










Rut


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## Huge29 (Sep 17, 2007)

RuttCrazed said:


> Any room for a Kansas whitetail? Took this one last Thursday.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


No, no room for those, j/k nice one!


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## wyoming2utah (Sep 12, 2007)

What a lousy freakin' weekend...I didn't have a tag, but my wife did. But, because she coaches volleyball, I was stuck knowin' that we weren't out hunting and she was stuck at volleyball games. So, I sat around all day Saturday wishing I was in the hills...

...our hunt didn't begin until Sunday. We saw lots and lots and lots of skinheads...and no bucks. We will be back out tonight...


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## Al Hansen (Sep 7, 2007)

Congrats to all of you who have harvested. To the rest................ good luck for the rest of the hunt.


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## Crash (Mar 20, 2008)

I was up around Soapstone area. The eastern side. Saw tons of does. Took my little brother with me. He ahd never hunted before so he wanted to see what it was all about. Even though we didn't shoot anything, he is hooked. He wants to put in for everything. It was nice to not run into very many people. In fact there were only a handful people up there. On the elk hunt I saw tons of bucks, not this time for some reason. Guess it didn't help I was only up there for a day. Hope to get back up there on Friday.


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## Mountain Time (Sep 24, 2007)

ridgetop said:


> UZ-A-BOW said:
> 
> 
> > We need pics Ridge! PICS!
> ...


Ridgetop, I have to hand to you once again, I have never met anyone so good at finding big bucks. The fact that you passed up this buck to let corby or paul have a shot amazes me even more. Thanks for letting me tag along with you guys it was a great day to take an amazing buck.


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## ridgetop (Sep 13, 2007)

Mountain Time, you need to get out more! Just kidding. What amazed me was the fact that the buck was only 1/2 mile above the road and all the road hunters below us never stopped to take a look at that hill and then we were able to drive the atvs all the way back to the trucks with not one person seeing what we had just brought out of there. :shock: Thanks for the compliment.


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## utfireman (Sep 7, 2007)

Just don't over run the area. I went up there Saturday night and was shocked at the amount of people in the area. Last few years I have had that place to myself. Great area but the deer numbers are falling due to the cat's in that area. I am glad you had fun, and I will call you tonight.


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## ridgetop (Sep 13, 2007)

I don't think all the road hunters are going to over run the place. Please, do call. BTW, I intentionally stayed away from "your" area. Eventhough I found it myself. :shock:


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## utfireman (Sep 7, 2007)

I was joking around, it was amazing the pumkin patch that was out in force. They rode around all day around the hill looking for another buck. Congrats,


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## chuckler (Sep 30, 2007)

Travis, looks like quite a nice buck but what happened to the left half of its antlers?


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## Mtnmangrizzly (Oct 8, 2007)

Our hunt has sucked! We are huntin the central unit and went out sat and sun and saw a lousy 8 deer total for both days :roll: Opening morning we went up Provo canyon to the same spot we have been going to for the past few years and have always seen tons of deer and have had a successful hunt but this year they are no where to be found. Sunday we hit Diamond fork and saw 6 does up there... this is pathetic! All i want is a buck of any size for my boy and we cant seem to locate one this year. Sunday we hiked our butts off looking for deer and looked thru binoculars so much spotting my eyes hurt at the end of the day.This year has really been a drag, sure wish we could find anything with horns :| Hopefully we will have better luck next weekend


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## Treehugnhuntr (Sep 7, 2007)

So, it sounds like a lot of people had it rough (Whatever that means).

Anything to do with a big bright moon, 70 degree days and trees with full foliage?????


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## uthntr (Feb 19, 2008)

Treehugnhuntr said:


> So, it sounds like a lot of people had it rough (Whatever that means).
> 
> Anything to do with a big bright moon, 70 degree days and trees with full foliage?????


+1


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## Red-Grouse (Sep 22, 2007)

uthntr said:


> Treehugnhuntr said:
> 
> 
> > So, it sounds like a lot of people had it rough (Whatever that means).
> ...


NO nothing at all it is all the DWR's fault............ :roll: :roll: :roll:

You didn't hear these complaints a few years ago when it snowed and every body butchered a buck off the road........ :roll: :roll:


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## Treehugnhuntr (Sep 7, 2007)

I'm not sayin it is, but that _could_ be what I was hinting at. :mrgreen:


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## swbuckmaster (Sep 14, 2007)

After hearing how bad it is in Utah for mule deer my good friend Jerry Slaugh and I reluctantly set out on a few scouting trips to see if we could find a brown deer with horns his 14 year old daughter Kia could shoot. We new where we could find a good buck to hunt but we figured she might not like or enjoy the hike, especially if we didn't see any bucks. 
I haven't hunted the general rifle hunt since 1993. -()/- All I have herd lately is how bad it is. :evil: How bad the deer numbers are. :twisted: How crowded it is. :roll: Well I was pleasantly surprised on how bad it wasnt. -/O\- I believe it was actually worse in the mid 90's when I quit rifle hunting.

Well on our first scouting trip things looked bleak. We were actually beginning to see what every one is complaining about. :|

The second trip which also happened to be the night before the hunt happened to be our best day. -()/- We actually saw more bucks than does. *(u)* We saw five 4 points and at least 15 three and two points. -()/>- We couldn't believe we were seeing deer out in the open before opening day. -*|*-

We had to make a decision the decision was how are we going to get my 8 year old daughter Lindsay and his 9 year old son Brandon up this steep hill. We decided for the safety of the younger ones we would look for some where else to hunt. :? We headed to an area we wouldn't have to hike too far and wouldn't have to hunt too hard. We went to and are where we might be able to see a buck with at least 5 inch eye guards that might even split at the top. As we headed out in the dark








I kept on thinking "where are all the people." This area used to be so crowded when I use to hunt it back in the day. :|

Well after first light Lindsay and Brandon and I tried to make a deer drive. We attempted to drive a patch of quackies we figured a few deer might call home. Well the deer didn't cooperate. They just ran circles around me and the kids. We got pretty close to two bucks that morning maybe 50 yards but couldn't get them where Jerry's daughter was positioned. After a few failed attempts and about 3 to 4 miles of hiking we left for a road trip. This trip would take us several miles where we could get something to eat. After lunch we let the kid through rocks into the reservoir.

It was around 2 o'clock we decided to round up the kids and take a ½ mile hike to a hidden pond and see if maybe a few deer would come in. we arrived at the pond and there wasn't very much deer activity. In fact all I really saw was elk tracks. So we sat down and everyone had a nap. We don't know if any deer came in or not.

We packed up everyone and headed out for the road trip once more but not before we had a little fun on this funny shaped tree. You might not think it is funny but the kids all thought is was. :rotfl: 

















This time Jerry's daughter Kia was going to come face to face with one of those Utah bucks with 5 inch eye guards. -8/- The shot was going to be 100 yards. The deer didn't know what was up. Trying to get a kid to shoot or find a deer in the scope gives me more buck fever than anything I have ever done.

We she ended up missing this deer so we had to search for another one. Well a few miles down the road and at the last hint of light. You know the magic hour when the big bucks come out we located another buck. However this buck was twice as big as the first one. Kia never had a broad side shot so I elected to have her try and head shoot it. Bang!! -8/- The shot goes out and I watch the deer run off, again another miss.

Well come to find out the gun Kia had been shooting had been sighted in with reloaded bullets and when we ran out of bullets while sighting in we just used store bought bullets and we believe this might have lead to Kia missed opportunities. "Well check before we head out again."

Kia felt really bad because she missed but she said it was still fun and can't wait to get out again later this week.

In the end we ended up eating milkshakes and burgers at a restaurant in Heber. I can honestly say it was one of the funest hunts I have ever been on. I can't wait until my daughter can begin hunting and neither can she. -*|*- -*|*- -*|*-

Here is a picture of Jerry, Brandon, Kia, and Lindsay on opening morning before sunrise and our 3 or so mile hike. 








Lindsay and myself. Notice the long coat she is wearing dad forgot to pull her coat out of the truck before we left Jerrys house. So she ended up wearing mine all day.


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## NHS (Sep 7, 2007)

I just rolled into town from helping my brother-in-law bag his first ever mulie. I'll have to post a picture and tell the story tomorrow. It was a perfect hunting moment for us. One of those times when everything aligns perfectly.


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## Flyfishn247 (Oct 2, 2007)

Maybe the liberals are on to something, Global Warming is causing the pizz poor rifle hunt. Good thing I bow hunt. :lol:


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## Guns and Flies (Nov 7, 2007)

Went out with no luck. Hunted up by Causey and we didn't even hear a shot all opening morning! I am curious TREE, what does a full moon and 70 degree weather change? I am trying to learn more and more about deer hunting. We did see one doe and it took off like its tail was on fire, I've never seen a doe so skitish.


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## Bo0YaA (Sep 29, 2008)

Well Im not tree but i thought i would chime in. Full moon means they feed all night start beding earlier then normal. The 70 degree temps mean they are scattered all over and way high. When the weather kicks in they come off the tops and start to herd up a little preparing for the rut. They kinda use the weather as there clock/calendar the colder it gets the more they start thinking about the rut and come down from the peaks. The warmer it is the more they stay scattered and seperated. At least thats what Ive always been taught.


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## tater salad (Aug 19, 2008)

Mtnmangrizzly said:


> Our hunt has sucked! We are huntin the central unit and went out sat and sun and saw a lousy 8 deer total for both days :roll: Opening morning we went up Provo canyon to the same spot we have been going to for the past few years and have always seen tons of deer and have had a successful hunt but this year they are no where to be found. Sunday we hit Diamond fork and saw 6 does up there... this is pathetic! All i want is a buck of any size for my boy and we cant seem to locate one this year. Sunday we hiked our butts off looking for deer and looked thru binoculars so much spotting my eyes hurt at the end of the day.This year has really been a drag, sure wish we could find anything with horns :| Hopefully we will have better luck next weekend


I know a central spot that i haven't been out one year without seeing a buck if you are interested send me a pm and i will tell you where to look for a buck for your boy


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## Guns and Flies (Nov 7, 2007)

Bo0YaA said:


> Well Im not tree but i thought i would chime in. Full moon means they feed all night start beding earlier then normal. The 70 degree temps mean they are scattered all over and way high. When the weather kicks in they come off the tops and start to herd up a little preparing for the rut. They kinda use the weather as there clock/calendar the colder it gets the more they start thinking about the rut and come down from the peaks. The warmer it is the more they stay scattered and seperated. At least thats what Ive always been taught.


Well that explains some things. I was surprised because we usually see some deer, this explanation can help me stay optimistic  I guess the deer were either up higher than we were or they were already bedded when it got light. If there were more than just my dad and I then I guess it would have been advantageous to do some brushing. I was pretty disappointed not to see some deer. I really hope that the deer herd can increase and deer hunting can be great again someday. I don't know why the deer herd is down, but I just hope that it can increase soon. If not it seems that there will continue to be less and less interest and then PETA and their allies may overpower the few that are left


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## lyle43 (Oct 6, 2008)

It was a tough hunt for me and my boy,we saw no bucks and few doe! I wish I could have gotten him at least a shot for his first buck. I do have a question for you guys, I met a guy and he told me to take my son up the Alpine loop and he should easily get a shot off at a little bucky! Should I take his advice? I have never hunted up there and do you guys think its worth our time and money? Any advice or tips will be greatly appreciated!


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## HOGAN (Sep 8, 2007)

Lyle I would say your best chance at getting a deer is hunting the areas you know best. If that area does not produce take time and find/learn a new area (Alpine Loop) next summer/year. Just my .02


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## Nor-tah (Dec 16, 2007)

tater salad said:


> Mtnmangrizzly said:
> 
> 
> > Our hunt has sucked! We are huntin the central unit and went out sat and sun and saw a lousy 8 deer total for both days :roll: Opening morning we went up Provo canyon to the same spot we have been going to for the past few years and have always seen tons of deer and have had a successful hunt but this year they are no where to be found. Sunday we hit Diamond fork and saw 6 does up there... this is pathetic! All i want is a buck of any size for my boy and we cant seem to locate one this year. Sunday we hiked our butts off looking for deer and looked thru binoculars so much spotting my eyes hurt at the end of the day.This year has really been a drag, sure wish we could find anything with horns :| Hopefully we will have better luck next weekend
> ...


Good on ya Tater! I know one too but its a BRUTAL hike.


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## Treehugnhuntr (Sep 7, 2007)

Guns and Flies said:


> Bo0YaA said:
> 
> 
> > Well Im not tree but i thought i would chime in. Full moon means they feed all night start beding earlier then normal. The 70 degree temps mean they are scattered all over and way high. When the weather kicks in they come off the tops and start to herd up a little preparing for the rut. They kinda use the weather as there clock/calendar the colder it gets the more they start thinking about the rut and come down from the peaks. The warmer it is the more they stay scattered and seperated. At least thats what Ive always been taught.
> ...


Yes, the biggest thing I have seen that the moon and warm weather do to deer is early to bed late to rise.

I don't know that the elevation theory holds water, though it's definitely possible. I have seen most (Not all) of the mature bucks at lower elevations than years past.


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## lyle43 (Oct 6, 2008)

HOGAN said:


> Lyle I would say your best chance at getting a deer is hunting the areas you know best. If that area does not produce take time and find/learn a new area (Alpine Loop) next summer/year. Just my .02


I agree with you, I was thinking of trying to salvage something for him for the rest of the hunt. It was just a thought. Thanks for your.02


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## wasatchmtnbike (Oct 16, 2007)

Good on Ya, SWBuckMaster!

I enjoyed your story and good job with the pictures. That's definitely something your kids and the others will remember all their lives. You're building memories for them and that's what's important.

As for me, I hunted Northern, I was able to take my 3 kids along with me and my brother actually decided to go again this year after about a 20 year absence.  We went to the same place I hunted last year and still saw a lot of does and fawns but not as many as last year. We were way up in the Sawtooth Range in BoxElder county. I did see two very small spikes but didn't even think about putting my sights on them. We still had a great time and the weather was nice, (not for hunting, but good for the young ones that tagged along). I'm going to try again this weekend in a more serious hunting mode and see if I can produce anything. I may try the Uintahs or the North Slope area and see what I can find, but I've never really seen very many deer in the Uintahs and I don't know where the public land and private property begin and end. :? 

Good Luck to everyone else!


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## NHS (Sep 7, 2007)

My bro-in-law from Texas is out here going to school. He put in for Rifle SE last year but did not draw. He drew the tag this year and was very excited to go after his first mulie. Opening day we found ourselves in the old honey hole. It did not produce this year. I think the old honey hole is drying up. Saturday was a long exhausting day. Sunday was a go to church/family/recoup day. Monday morning I picked him up at his apartment in Provo at 5:15am. We were in our first set up for the day in plenty of time. Just does. We got back to the truck to go try a different area. More does. At this point, he is getting kind of discouraged. I have had him hiking all over creation and he had yet to see a buck. We decide to try one more place. Soon after we started on our sneak through the aspens, we jumped a group of deer. All appeared to be does and fawns. It was getting late in the day so we sat down for a minute to discuss our options. I told him that I thought we should back out of the quakie pocket we were in, and loop up and around and come into it from downwind on the other side. There was a lot of deer sign there, and the group of deer we busted did not go far. So we backtracked out of the area and made a wide loop. About 40 minutes later we were sneaking back up through the trees downwind from the deer. I spotted a doe bedded down facing into the wind away from our direction. We then went into super stealth mode. 3 steps then glass. 3 more steps then glass. I picked out 2 more bedded does. At this point we were about 70 yards from them. It was a mature quakie patch, so there were plenty of gaps in between the trees. We sat and watched this group of deer for what seemed like forever. I was beginning to think we were just stalking does. I took 3 more steps and glassed again. That is when I saw the buck. I could just make out half of his white face and part of his right antler. I whispered to Nate that there is a buck with the does. I couldn't begin to tell him where he was bedded down. It would have been too hard to describe. We moved about 10 yards laterally to see if a shooting lane would open up. I lost sight of him. Right about then a doe stood up and sensed something was wrong. The other deer began to stand up. I told Nate to get ready, he would only have a brief chance. The deer began to get nervous and move around, still trying to figure out what it was that was making them nervous. Just then the buck stepped into a gap in the trees, 60 yards away. I was going nuts telling Nate to shoot. I said, "There he is, shoot, shoot, TAKE HIM!" He touched off the old '06 and I watched the buck drop. I have never seen my bro-in-law so pumped. He was beside himself. He said that this was the most intense thing he has ever done. It was great that everything worked in our favor. It was fun to sneak up on this deer and put the hurt to him. Here is a pic.


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## HOGAN (Sep 8, 2007)

Wow nice story, good shootin, welcome to the addiction.


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## Ruger67 (Apr 22, 2008)

This is for all the guys with pics, great job on the kills and the stories, but one thing when taking a picture please put the tongues back in there mouths it makes the picture look bad. Wow I'm on one today....


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## Guns and Flies (Nov 7, 2007)

GREAT story thank you for sharing, and even better is the picture with it.


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## HJB (May 22, 2008)

Hunter to deer ratio in my area was 100/4 as usual. Funny that not one person shows thier face until the day of the deer opener. I had patterned 10 or so bucks in the area all year long and never saw one person, amazing how fast pumpkins can grow and ruin your land.


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## cootshooter2 (Sep 29, 2008)

NHS that is the best story on this whole page. You tricked the deer in thinking you were gone and beat them at their own game. That is what they do, run a little or circle around back to their spot after you have moved on out of the area. some of the big boys stay bedded down and hide as you pass and then they are safe as well. Nice of you to circle back on them and the reward is sweet!!!!!!! Nice buck!


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## NHS (Sep 7, 2007)

Ruger67 said:


> This is for all the guys with pics, great job on the kills and the stories, but one thing when taking a picture please put the tongues back in there mouths it makes the picture look bad. Wow I'm on one today....


Sorry to offend. Maybe this will make you feel better.


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## big_bucker (Jul 17, 2008)

ha ha nice cover up nhs


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## Al Hansen (Sep 7, 2007)

Pretty dang funny NHS. :lol:


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## uthntr (Feb 19, 2008)

-_O-


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## Red-Grouse (Sep 22, 2007)

:lol: :lol: :lol:


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## uthntr (Feb 19, 2008)

This morning I headed out to go hunt at about 9:30. Got parked at my spot at 10. Got my buck at 10:30. Got back home at 11:45. It was a good, quick hunt. It was a 16 inch 2X2. Appeared to be fed on the alphalfa fields down below, so it should make some good meat.


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## Huge29 (Sep 17, 2007)

NHS said:


> Ruger67 said:
> 
> 
> > This is for all the guys with pics, great job on the kills and the stories, but one thing when taking a picture please put the tongues back in there mouths it makes the picture look bad. Wow I'm on one today....
> ...


Oh awesome! Last time you started altering deer pictures it ended up being a very long and ridiculously uneducating experience; will it re-occur? That is awesome that you are so sensitive to a stranger's odd request! :wink:


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## Huntoholic (Sep 17, 2008)

Got back last night from the Southeast hunt (Sanpete).

Over all it was a grand hunt. For a 5 day hunt most people were gone by Sunday. We saw bucks every day. I took a 4x4 opening morning. While I was taking care of that one the boys went for a walk further down the mountain. When they got back their eyes were still popped out. Said they had seen a huge one. Needless to say we spent the rest of the hunt looking for the big one. Passing on smaller ones (Their choice). One of the boys took a 3x2 the last day. 

After all is said and done, the company was great. The weather could have been a little cooler and the moon some place else. I would not trade the last 5 days for a LE hunt. I have learned (some of us are slow) that I am to old to drag a deer out any more (4 1/2 hours to get the 4x4 out). I will be taking the advise of those on this forum (old traditions are hard to break) and get set up for the gutless method (thanks for trying to teach an old dog new tricks).

I am now looking forward to the muzzleloader elk.


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