# First archery kill



## Isuckathunting (Sep 15, 2019)

Thought I would share some success with anyone else still trying to get it done. I killed a doe on the extended unit this past weekend on what turned out to be the perfect situation for me this year. 
Luckily, I know some farmers with land in the extended units and they were happy to give me permission to hunt their ground. I drove in hopped out of the vehicle and sat for about 30 minutes. Three deer popped out and started feeding so I crept in, they spooked a bit, must have heard me or something, and went behind some bushes, I got in to about 25 yards away. I drew my bow and focused on a clearing and then the doe popped into view. It took two steps and stopped. I released, the shot was a little uphill and the deer was turning slightly away, arrow went in just a little high behind the front shoulder stuck a lung, but luckily with the uphill angle nicked the spinal cord below the neck and the deer dropped about 5 feet from where I shot. 
I'm super happy with the result I put in a lot of effort to practice shooting over the summer, hunted hard during the regular season and couldn't feet it done. It feels awesome to get my first archery kill in my first year hunting archery. I processed the animal and got about 55 pounds of boneless meat which is perfect for my wife and I to have a nice Sunday dinner every week till next year. 
Good luck to everyone else out there still hunting the extended!


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## Wire (Nov 2, 2017)

Congrats on your first kill with a bow. Always fun flinging arrows. Always nice when practice and patience are rewarded.


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## middlefork (Nov 2, 2008)

Nice job!


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## Jedidiah (Oct 10, 2014)

olibooger said:


> But in my mind it may as well be a farm animal.


Nope.


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## 3arabians (Dec 9, 2014)

olibooger said:


> I'll say this with a grain of salt added because I'm far from a sheepassassin or an expert even.
> 
> You'll continue to suck at hunting as your name suggests until you put in the effort for private land success hunt stories.
> 
> ...


Way to booger up someone's success thread. My great uncle had a farm on the extended area while we grew up as kids. The deer that frequent those areas are far from farm animals.

Congrats on your first archery kill isuckathunting!! Nothing sucks about what you accomplished.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Jedidiah (Oct 10, 2014)

Ok, I'll say that this is my point of view and I recognize that it isn't everybody's but I like it and I'm sticking with it. Two parts, my idea of what hunting is for me and the idea that people who are new to hunting have to start somewhere.

I like to try to hunt and fish as a conservationist at my core. So that means I'm trying to make decisions and habits based on what is arguably my interpretation of the current populations, patterns, trends, whatever. That probably means most deer I'll shoot are does that are likely to get hit by cars. I also like hunting waterfowl because the current populations support considerable hunting pressure and research suggests that if we don't keep waterfowl numbers down they could easily crash AND they could cause disease to spread to us. Overpopulated fish in lakes, grouse doing really well in an area, etc. Deer eating people's crops, in this example. I've been on a field with over four dozen mule deer just happily munching away at people's livelihood and I think they need to be managed. Someone's gotta do it, why not someone new at hunting?

The other thing is that everyone has to start somewhere. Some guys get on here acting like any adult who wasn't walked through several big game kills by their parents shouldn't ever get into hunting and that's just crazy. Let people get started and then tell them to hike up into an isolated quakie draw looking for a 300 pound atypical buck. It also rubs me wrong when guys post about their kid killing a little two point and saying they feel ashamed, I hope they don't let their kid know they feel that way, their kid should feel great. Tons of respect for the guys who kill amazing animals, I just don't think that's the only thing everyone should be doing from day one.

My own dad broke the law literally every single time we went hunting or fishing, that might be the reason I have what might be an overly strong morality attached to all of it.

Anyway, dude killed a deer with a bow his first season, that's pretty good.


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## Ray (May 10, 2018)

Congratulations good sir, that doe will feed you and your wife well.

As for the “still hunting the extended” bit, when I have an archery deer tag that roles over into the extended, I don’t even start hunting it until the 1st of Nov. it’s about to really start ramping up! Can’t wait to get out and watch some rut crazed bucks


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## APD (Nov 16, 2008)

olibooger said:


> Congrats on your harvest. But in my mind it may as well be a farm animal.


i took my first elk on a CWMU. It wasn't as hard as i've had to hunt on public land but i value that animal no less than any other i've taken. i don't recall any of them begging for the arrow or bullet.

irsah,

congrats on your first archery deer. keep figuring them out more and more, then you can pm a moderator and change your name.


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## Kwalk3 (Jun 21, 2012)

Congrats on your harvest! Sounds like you put in a lot of effort during the regular season and were fortunate to shoot one on private land. 

Don't let anyone diminish it. Your 1st archery deer will always be special.

Congrats again!


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## Jedidiah (Oct 10, 2014)

Olibooger I hope you don't feel like we're piling on, you have a reasonable opinion there especially with the idea of hunting intentionally fed and baited animals. Personally I'd love to see the ability for farmers to make a business of cultivating wild deer like that and letting people hunt them if people chose, like they say it ain't hurtin ya none and it makes em happy. Better having people shoot their meat than buying it in the store. My opinion aside though, I get the impression that the deer are incidental in this case, not encouraged or baited. OP, I think you should keep your name because it will be funny when you have a gallery of 50 animals in your profile.


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## RandomElk16 (Sep 17, 2013)

Congrats on your first harvest. Great job getting at full draw while they were behind the tree and being able to settle your pin!

That was a wild animal you harvested, they still have instincts. You did great - be proud!


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## gdog (Sep 13, 2007)

It's called jealousy. Guys try to make it sound like some kind of ethics issue, but in reality its jealousy that they don't have access to the private ground.

Isuckathunting...great job and congratulations on the deer!



olibooger said:


> I see my friends on their family alfalfa farms harvesting big bucks consistently and I think
> "_why won't they take me...waa...waa....waa_"


....fixed that for you.


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## Brookie (Oct 26, 2008)

I wouldn't call it jealousy. It's an opinion and he has that right. I don't think we should kill any Does after September 30th. We may be killing Does that live in the mtns where we want them to migrate too.


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## gdog (Sep 13, 2007)

Brookie said:


> I don't think we should kill any Does after September 30th. We may be killing Does that live in the mtns where we want them to migrate too.


You understand what the purpose of the extended hunt is right?


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## Brookie (Oct 26, 2008)

Yes


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## Brookie (Oct 26, 2008)

Has the purpose of the extended hunt worked?


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## TPrawitt91 (Sep 1, 2015)

Brookie said:


> Has the purpose of the extended hunt worked?


Yes


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## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

olibooger said:


> Congrats on your harvest. But in my mind it may as well be a farm animal.


Nope.



olibooger said:


> I probably should have kept my comments to myself.


Yep.

isuckathunting, you need to change your name. Well done on the hunt and the kill!


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## Jedidiah (Oct 10, 2014)

Nah, olibooger's got good character and he's a good guy, he's not jealous.

Any doe that lives around Utah Lake lives there year round until someone smashs into them on the freeway. Ditto with the ones in the WMA at the mouth of Provo Canyon and a lot of the ones that live in the mouths of the canyons in Salt Lake County. Us carbon-fiber cupids need to go out and shoot those girls straight through the heart.


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## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

I didn't say he was a bad guy. But his comment was stupid. Sorry, (not sorry) but it was. 

You don't come in and rain on a person's parade like that. Not sure he's earned the right to be judgmental about what other animals people are choosing to kill or not kill. Not sure any of us have that right, if we're being honest.


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## TPrawitt91 (Sep 1, 2015)

Vanilla said:


> I didn't say he was a bad guy. But his comment was stupid. Sorry, (not sorry) but it was.
> 
> You don't come in and rain on a person's parade like that. Not sure he's earned the right to be judgmental about what other animals people are choosing to kill or not kill. Not sure any of us have that right, if we're being honest.


PREACH!!

"We are all on the same team", as many who try to keep hunters on the same team would say.

Public, private, high fence, no fence, town buck, who really cares!?!

But if i'm being honest I am jealous too, I didn't even draw a deer tag this year!


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## Brookie (Oct 26, 2008)

The purpose of Utah's extended archery seasons are to apply hunting pressure to deer and elk adjacent to urban and agricultural areas while providing additional hunting opportunities for archers. Just so everyone knows for sure directly from the hunt tables. 

If this is the purpose we should be hunting these deer year round to apply the pressure.


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## gdog (Sep 13, 2007)

Brookie said:


> The purpose of Utah's extended archery seasons are to apply hunting pressure to deer and elk adjacent to urban and agricultural areas while providing additional hunting opportunities for archers. Just so everyone knows for sure directly from the hunt tables.
> 
> If this is the purpose we should be hunting these deer year round to apply the pressure.


This post is about Isuckathunting's successful hunt. I'm sure he appreciates your support!

Maybe start another thread on the merits of the extended hunts..... -O\\__-


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## Brookie (Oct 26, 2008)

Just responding to your post about private land thought it was ok. ISAH hasnt said anything


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## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

Congrats on the success, OP! I whacked a fawn with an antlerless tag on a hay field this year with a 7mm rem mag and I still felt some sense of accomplishment over it. Not gonna impress anybody over on Monster Muleys, but that's not why I hunt anyway. First animal with a bow is always a riot!


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## Isuckathunting (Sep 15, 2019)

Lots of interesting opinions here... There's all sorts of things I can say to justify my kill. However, that's not my intention and I don't think I have to do that. People are entitled to opinions.
My tag is punched and I'm excited for next year to maybe get a chance at some of the deer I couldn't close the deal on this year. Thanks to everyone for the congratulations. Good luck for those still getting after it.


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## CPAjeff (Dec 20, 2014)

Congrats on your first archery kill! I *LOVE* hunting private ground and try to do so on as many hunts as possible!!

Is it considered killing a farm animal by some? Sure. Do I care? Nope.


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## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

Isuckathunting said:


> Lots of interesting opinions here... There's all sorts of things I can say to justify my kill. However, that's not my intention and I don't think I have to do that.


Amen. You absolutely have no duty to justify anything here. You owe us nothing. I'm glad you shared your successful outing!


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## Kwalk3 (Jun 21, 2012)

I experienced my first private land hunt last week and shot a whitetail doe. Totally different than everything else I do as far as backcountry hunting for mule deer and elk.

It was awesome, and given the opportunity, I’d do it again in a heartbeat. My freezer has some awesome meat in it and I had a new experience. 

Congrats on getting it done and don’t let any of the naysayers make you feel any less proud of your deer and your experience.

Well done!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## RandomElk16 (Sep 17, 2013)

Kwalk3 said:


> I experienced my first private land hunt last week and shot a whitetail doe. Totally different than everything else I do as far as backcountry hunting for mule deer and elk.
> 
> It was awesome, and given the opportunity, I'd do it again in a heartbeat. My freezer has some awesome meat in it and I had a new experience.
> 
> ...


I want some whitetail meat! You ever need someone to go with ya I would do that for sure!


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