# What was your most fulfilling harvest?



## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

With the majority of the 2016 big game hunts in the books, and the end of the year being only a month away, let's all take a minute to reflect back on the most satisfying and rewarding animal that we have had the pleasure of taking.

For me it would be the general season archery elk I took this year: http://utahwildlife.net/forum/13-archery/157114-opening-day-success.html

The size of this bull won't cause a lot of envy among the trophy hunter crowd, and I have put some muleys on the wall that relative to the species are much larger than this bull, but the whole process of bagging this guy felt as legit as it comes. I'm sure you all understand how the more you put into something the sweeter the reward is when it comes. This was my first elk with a bow as well, so this hunt had a level of intensity and intimacy that the other 3 bulls I killed with a rifle couldn't touch.

From the pre-season tripping and falling all over deadfall from hell, to finding the absolutely perfect dream of a honey hole, to having a hell of a time finding said honey hole as well as my trail camera next time I went in, to finally harvesting this bull, every detail of this hunt has been etched into my memory with a laser. I think about this hunt every day. I reminisce on my brother and I making our maiden voyage into tree stand hunting and using our climbing gear (we are apprentice linemen) to hang our stands. I remember putting a stalk on a great buck with my wife opening morning and running smack into a herd of elk with the big 6 on our way. I remember being into elk pretty much all throughout the day even though the moon was fuller than a tick on the opener.

Most vividly of all I remember sitting in my stand for the first time on the evening of the opener. Within minutes of planting myself in my stand I remember hearing footsteps of animals approaching my stand. Three different bucks came in within that first hour. I had a deer tag in my pocket, but these bucks weren't quite what I was looking for, so I just enjoyed watching them. I had never been this close to animals before that had no idea I was there! It was so enjoyable just watching them so up close and personal, listening to the sucking sounds one of the bucks was making as he drank water and watching the water dribble down his chin when he lifted his head up and looked around. Then there was the shock of looking over and just seeing a huge, blocky tan spot materializing through the quakey leaves that I never heard come in. There was the complete and utter nervousness I felt when she walked right under my stand and looked directly at me as I did my best impression of one of those British guards and watched her through my peripheral vision without making direct eye contact. What relief I felt when she finally decided I was just an odd, fat looking tree branch and went about her business without blowing my cover.

Minutes later this high headed b***h and some other elk started having a hell of a conversation just down the hill from me. Footsteps coming towards me from behind and to the right of me. I slowly pivoted on my stand to see what was coming in and to be positioned for a shot if it was a decent bull. Seeing the eye guards and antler bases of a branch-antlered bull appear before me almost sent me over the edge. I had read countless hunting stories where hunters talk about their hearts pounding out of their chest, but this was the first time I could remember something quite like that! I couldn't believe how hard my heart was pounding as I drew my bow back as the bull passed behind some cover blocking his view of any of my movement he might catch and knowing that it was all about to come together and I was going to get an incredible shot opportunity!

With my top pin settled in I let a 425 grain elk dart fly! The bull immediately did a ten yard sprint and looked around with a WTF?! look on his face. I was a little worried when I noticed a blood spot that was quite a bit further back and higher than I wanted. How did I muff such an easy shot so bad? I guess shooting from a seated position out of an elevated tree stand is a whole different kettle of fish. When he turned to walk away I noticed an exit wound that was tight behind the shoulder and about midway down the body that made me feel a lot better. The doomed bull slowly walked in a straight line away from me with his head down for about 15 or so yards, tipped over, and made some wet sounding coughs for about 30 seconds. It's all over! As I lowered my bow down the tree stand to go claim my prize, a heavy-antlered spike that I didn't even realize was there exploded and got the hell away from this tree dwelling mystery creature. What kind of insanity was this?

Okay, I think I have prattled on enough about my awesome hunting experience. Who else has an ultimate hunting experience and harvest they would like to share?


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## derekp1999 (Nov 17, 2011)

Cow elk with my son last December: http://utahwildlife.net/forum/12-big-game/142209-cow-elk-success.html

Followed closely by the Wyoming Doe/Fawn Pronghorn earlier this year with my kids: http://utahwildlife.net/forum/41-hunting-outside-utah/164666-wyoming-doe-fawn.html

As chaotic as my little kids can be they've sure made a couple hunts in the last two years very memorable.


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## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

derekp1999 said:


> Cow elk with my son last December: http://utahwildlife.net/forum/12-big-game/142209-cow-elk-success.html
> 
> Followed closely by the Wyoming Doe/Fawn Pronghorn earlier this year with my kids: http://utahwildlife.net/forum/41-hunting-outside-utah/164666-wyoming-doe-fawn.html
> 
> As chaotic as my little kids can be they've sure made a couple hunts in the last two years very memorable.


Nice! I'm sure sharing the excitement of the hunt with your younguns brings an element of awesomeness all its own.


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## derekp1999 (Nov 17, 2011)

colorcountrygunner said:


> Nice! I'm sure sharing the excitement of the hunt with your younguns brings an element of awesomeness all its own.


It has for sure, and I've enjoyed taking them as they've gotten older and shown interest in it.

My most fulfilling harvest of a buck/bull was my first bull elk. It was the 2013 general any bull elk and nobody in my family had ever shot a bull near the family cabin in the 35 years that we've had the property. I ended up shooting a spike on the second evening which was a circus in an of itself. Then it was also the first time that I has shot something far enough away from the road to warrant packing it out. That was an experience! Lots of firsts on that trip!

http://utahwildlife.net/forum/12-big-game/59081-2013-any-bull-elk.html


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## PBH (Nov 7, 2007)

My hunts were very fulfilling in 2016

I think my most fulfilling harvest was by far the General Season (rifle) Deer Hunt. We caught a lot of fish and hit some awesome boils!!




























--\\O
>>O>>O>>O


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## Shortbus (Jun 29, 2016)

Mine would have to be my 2011 limited entry archery elk. I drew the oquirrh stansbury unit. I scouted a ton and put my full effort into this hunt. I was able to locate a water hole that the elk were using, but not every day. There were a couple of bulls using the water that I would be happy to kill. I sat on water all day long for 10 days. I had elk on the water about half of the days. I passed 3 different bulls. On day 10 this bull came in. I decided he was the one. At 30 yards I made a great shot and the bull only made it 50 yards. This hunt was 95% solo including my scouting. This was one of the most difficult and rewarding hunts I have ever done!


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## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

He did differentiate by saying your most fulfilling harvest. Those stripers look tasty! I'm sure they were filling, and fulfilling all at the same time. 

I did not harvest a deer this year, but was able to kill a cow elk last month. A little different than I was expecting, but was still a lot of fun. Maybe I'll do a write-up on it later.


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## bowgy (Oct 10, 2007)

I really would be hard pressed to say what is my most fulfilling since I have so many to pick from.

But I will tell about one that was quite fulfilling in different ways.

There was a group of us hunting deer, included in the group were friends and family. In the morning of the first day we hadn't seen much so we went back to camp for lunch and to regroup and plan the next move.

I told them we needed to do a drive through a thick aspen stand and that we would go just as soon as we were done eating lunch, well during lunch a BYU football game started and when we were ready to leave camp one of the guys said he wanted to stay and listen to the game and he didn't think we would see anything in the middle of the day anyway, I told him that there were always deer in these aspen and that he would have a good chance but he opted to stay and listen to the game, the stand was less than a mile from camp so we just hiked over there, we passed a camp that a couple of older gentlemen were sitting at a table playing cards, the edge of the aspens was only about 200 yards past the guys at their camp. We waved to them and kept going. I told everyone to keep a close eye out for deer when we entered the stand and that we would spread out to do a drive after a few yards into the stand of aspens.

Just as we entered the aspens my friend said "Stop", there's a nice 4 point up ahead, I looked the direction he was looking and saw the deer, I brought up the bino's and said no it's just a 3 point, about 75 yards into the thick aspens, he said not it's a 4 point and I'm going to shoot it, so I brought my rifle up in case he missed. BOOM, the deer just stood there, I said "you missed", he said no I didn't it dropped, and started forward, I said stop it's still standing there, he said, "no, it dropped", I said, "Wait, it's still there and I shot it and dropped it. We walked over to the deer and sure enough laying side by side almost touching was the 4 point that he shot and the 3 point that I shot. Neither one of us saw the others deer.

I told him to start dressing them and I would go back and get the 4 wheeler, I waved to the 2 guys sitting at the table as I walked by and the guy at camp listening to the BYU game wouldn't believe me that we shot two deer less than 30 minutes after leaving camp until we brought them back to camp. The guys at the other camp couldn't believe that we shot those two deer less than 300 yards from them as they played cards.

That was kind of a fun and fulfilling hunt.


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## longbow (Mar 31, 2009)

My most fulfilling wasn't one I pulled the trigger one. It was guiding this young lady to a trophy of a lifetime. She had a great attitude, hunted hard in nasty weather, wouldn't shoot when I told her to because she wasn't comfortable with the shot, was super happy with her bear and acted SO appreciative of my efforts. She even helped me skin her bear (just her and me). She's the kind of people I like coming up to hunt.


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## dkhntrdstn (Sep 7, 2007)

me watching my Nephew get another buck under his belt and then him getting another swan as well. making memory's with him is what it all about to me and thinking back of my father wishing he was there in person with us.


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## 3arabians (Dec 9, 2014)

This year the stars aligned for me and I still have a cow tag to go. This year has undoubtedly been the most fulfilling for me. I had my 10 year old daughter with me when I got a buck on the last day of the hunt. The buck dropped and I told her to hang out at the wheeler while I went to recover it. I didn't want her to come with just in case he was still squirming around and I didn't want to risk exposing her to a kudigra. When I got to the buck and confirmed he was dead I told her we got him and she could come check it out she yelled with excitement as said "I'M CALLING MOM RIGHT NOW!!" when mom picked up she says "DADDY GOT ONE...TELL EVERYONE!!!"  so cool seeing her excitement and sharing smiles with her for the rest of the day.

That and I bagged my first branched antler bull elk during the general season rifle hunt and he is a stud.

Oh and my twin brother got his biggest buck ever. Yes, 2016 has been very fulfilling. The most full filling ever.


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## goofy elk (Dec 16, 2007)

This one for me.


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## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

This is a pretty tough one. I'm tempted to say my bull from this year, but then several others come to mind. 
Like my first muzzy spike elk at 22, solo in the canyon my family has hunted for 5 generations. Despite the fact that I had hunted it many times with tags in my pocket for deer and elk, I never managed to be the one to pull the trigger on a big game animal there before that elk. Dad, Grandpa, uncles, cousins, siblings, etc they'd all killed deer and elk but it would never work out for me before that spike. Since then, every year I've hunted it, I've either filled my tag, had gun malfunctions, or chosen not to pull the trigger due to the location of the animal. He died in a horrific spot that I have since several times said "nah, I already have enough meat" and I don't know that I've ever been more beaten by a pack out than that one. That elk was pretty much my jinx and once he died that whole area just worked for me finally. It is weird, I haven't ever really scouted it but since that one spike it seems like I can find elk and bucks there any time of year, any time of day, every time. I just somehow "know" where they are going to be. Love that place and who knows when I'll hunt it next?

Then I remember my wife's 2013 LE rifle elk tag on the La Sal's with our 4month old daughter and my dad. The highs and lows of that hunt were pretty intense, with a great finish of a perfect shot on a nice bull at 30 feet after a slow walk in the afternoon rain. 

Or I remember my first ever big game animal. It was a couple months before my 13th birthday and opening morning I made a perfect 450 yard shot on that pronghorn doe. Still have the tanned leather from her. 

Or my first turkey 3 years ago, bumbling around clueless on my own 9 days in a row trying to get this particular tom I had found the first morning. Getting a lot of help from copple2 here on the forum one morning in the middle of it, but still getting outsmarted. Finally my dad joined me (equally clueless) to see why I was so excited about a freaking bird. And it only took the first predawn gobble at 100 yards from the roost to watch his eyes go wide and "get" it. Even better was how after the tom hung up at 90 yards and headed on his way not coming into my set up, how we tried something else leaving our packs with our decoys only to have an actual hen come and stand on my pack calling the tom back in. Setting up right in between the hen and where the tom last was seen, and poof! 20 yard shot and I had my first tom 18lbs 8" beard just shy of 1" spurs. 

But then again, this spring shooting a very nice tom with a friend I just introduced to hunting, was topped off with helping my dad shoot his first turkey just a few days before I moved to Alaska. An old, scrawny bird hardly tipped 15lbs but had a 9.5" beard and one spur that was 1.5" and the other busted clean off. 

Or maybe the 16 days at age 17 my dad and I spent huddled in a tent on the tundra in 80mph wind and constant rain? We didn't even see a bull caribou or a black bear, but on the only clear day we somehow managed to get a wolf. 

Not to mention my 27 hr bison/cougar whammy on the Henry's with my brother in 2012?

But the biggest contender, stupid as it might seem, just might be the 3" bluegill my then 2 year old daughter caught all by herself through the ice last February at Highland Glen pond behind Lone Peak. Or the 19" cutty she reeled up at the 'Berry the next week. Needless to say, I'm gonna lose it hard when she shoots her first "mother freakin' " big game animal (I keep joking with her mom that it is going to be a brown bear).

Man! This is a fun thread!


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## 3arabians (Dec 9, 2014)

This is a fun thread Johnny!! You got me thinking and I want to share a another one. 

1992 at 16 my brother pushed out a dandy 3x3 with brow tines. He shot a couple times grazing him in the ass and sending him at lightening speed up the ridge towards me. After dreaming about this opportunity for the better part of 10 years- I cool, calm, and collectively shouldered my old 308 savage 99 with one of those old school bowl type rear sights and promptly put one right behind the his ear on the run. You should have seen that buck eat the dirt after that shot. The luckiest shot ever but a dream come true for my very young self. That one started it all for me and brother. He got a little forky on a solo mission on the last day. ( I know illegal at 16, shame on him, and ditching school no less.  )


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## Clarq (Jul 21, 2011)

It's hard to choose just one, but the first that came to mind was my first cow elk at age 13 (I probably weighed 120 pounds at the time). A few of our helpers bailed on us, so it was just Dad and I when we found a herd about 2 miles away from the car and up a steep, nasty mountain. The packout was brutal at the time (although I'm sure I would handle it fine now that I'm older), and I really felt like we earned it. I have never been so tired as I was by the time we packed the last of it out.


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## TPrawitt91 (Sep 1, 2015)

I will admit I fish more than I hunt. I have been hunting more the last couple years, but still I have only had one deer tag in my life (over ten years ago when I was 14). I have hunted elk the last couple years and plan on increasing the tags I apply for and the hunting that I do. When I was younger I shot a lot of doves and ducks, but still have no big game kills, not for a lack of trying last and this year. That being said I killed a turkey this spring on my first ever turkey hunt. I love hunting turkeys. That was an absolute blast. So that's my first kill in a while and my favorite yet.


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## AF CYN (Mar 19, 2009)

My two most memorable hunts for myself were my archery bear last year and archery book cliffs deer this year. I worked very hard on both, which made them very rewarding. 

The most memorable hunt I helped on was NHS's Henry Mountains deer. Lots of big deer, lots of ups and downs before success.


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## Gledeasy (Mar 23, 2014)

I would have to say the most rewarding harvests weren't even my own. Nor were they even the biggest. 

My wife didn't grow up a hunter. She still wouldn't classify herself as one, but she's been a good sport about it and deep down she really enjoys it. 

In 2013, during the rifle general deer hunt at 21 weeks pregnant she harvested her first animal. We were short on time and with her being pregnant it limited us in what we could do. 

We were glassing across a baron canyon that I had already looked over a couple times. Like magic this buck appeared in my bino's simultaneously as she was expressing her deep desire to get a buck. 

I told her to grab the gun and she thought I was just teasing her. After one shot at 360 yards the deer was dead in it's bed. 

The other happened this year during the general rifle deer season. My dad is 71 years old and was diagnosed with Parkinson's about 5 years ago after falling off a roof and breaking his back about 10 years ago. He still gets around pretty well but having known him before his troubles I've witnessed a steep decline. 

I took my two boys (ages 5 and 4) for the first time during an actual hunt. My dad chased a buck up the mountain and finally was able to harvest him. My boys were super excited to catch up to grandpa and see the deer. 

On the way home I asked my boys what their favorite part about hunting was. I got the response from my five year old, "the deer's stomach, it was green like a tomato." Ha ha. And for thanksgiving my four year old said he was thankful for hunting!


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## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

I originally read this as this year only. Man, I've had some amazing experiences the last few years. I used to do a better job keeping a blog, mostly for my own purposes, basically as a journal. This makes me think I need to get back to it. It's great to go back and re-live these moments.

My 2012 Paunsagaunt tag: (some discrepancies in the story of drawing it I posted yesterday...what can I say? I'm getting old) 
http://lockemandrockem.blogspot.com/2012_10_01_archive.html?m=0

The first big game hunt I took any of my kids along, a cow hunt in 2013:
http://lockemandrockem.blogspot.com/2013_12_01_archive.html?m=0

The first big bull hunt I was a part of, my brother's 2013 Wasatch muzzy hunt. 
http://lockemandrockem.blogspot.com/2013/09/wasatch-bull.html?m=0

Maybe more to come...


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## kbeiler17 (Sep 12, 2016)

Great thread! I can't decide between my dad's first elk, or what I thought would be his last elk. I grew up in Pennsylvania, and hunting was always about providing meat for the family. If antlers were attached to the trophy, that was a bonus, but the freezer full of meat was always what mattered. 
My dad hunted cow elk with me for 3 years before he finally knocked one down. He was 69 at the time, and it took all he had to get into position for the shot. I'm sure I was more excited than he was when his 300 yard shot went through both lungs. 
The next year, he showed up in much better shape. He caught that elk fever, and spent all year pushing himself to be in better condition so he could chase elk in the mountains. He harvested another elk after just a couple days of hunting. 
I was sure last year would be his last. At 72 years old, I worried about taking him on the hikes we need to take-tracking elk through deep snow-up and down canyons. We hunted as many days as I could afford to be away from work and my family. After two especially heartbreaking days filled with near misses, dad decided to go back to Pennsylvania. We had seen good sized herds on both days. The temperature never got above 12 degrees on either day. I frostbit my toes because we weren't moving fast enough and my boots weren't insulated enough. If I was holding the gun, I would have had easy shots several times, but dad couldn't get a shot from where he was. 
I was pretty depressed when dad went back east. I know I can't make the shot for him, but I felt like it was my responsibility to get him an elk, and I had failed him in his last hunt with me. I had gotten my elk on the first day of the season, but one elk is not enough to feed my whole family. 
I had several friends who still had the same tag, and I used my spotting scope to try to keep an eye on the elk over the next few weeks. Every time I spotted them, I would call my dad and tell him where they were. He was adamant that he was done. Those last two days were pretty hard on him, and he knows his limits. But gradually, I could sense him caving in. After about a month, he decided to come back to try again. 
We had one month left in the season, but I could only take him out on saturdays. Three weeks in a row, we had hunts ruined by other hunters. So frustrating! 
In the last week of the season, I took off work on Wednesday so we could try to avoid the other hunters. We snowshoed about a quarter mile from the road before we spotted the elk. 180 yards away, and staring back at us. Dad took a rest on a fence and took a shot. She was standing broadside, and she didn't even flinch. I couldn't believe it. Such an easy shot, and he missed. I urgently told him to shoot again, and he looked at me and said that she went down. I was really confused because she was still standing there looking at us. Then I stepped just a little to the left, and I could see the elk he shot. I don't think I have ever been so relieved/excited/proud/etc. What a way to end our hunting days together! 3 days shy of his 73rd birthday, dad had gotten his 3rd elk in a row. 
But of course, my dad doesn't want to stop hunting just because he is another year older. Just two days ago, he shot another one. This hunt involved climbing 1300 vertical feet in deep snow-probably the most strenuous hunt he has ever had. I don't know if he will try again next year, but I will cherish every time I get to go out with him.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

kbeiler17 said:


> Great thread! I can't decide between my dad's first elk, or what I thought would be his last elk. I grew up in Pennsylvania, and hunting was always about providing meat for the family. If antlers were attached to the trophy, that was a bonus, but the freezer full of meat was always what mattered.
> My dad hunted cow elk with me for 3 years before he finally knocked one down. He was 69 at the time, and it took all he had to get into position for the shot. I'm sure I was more excited than he was when his 300 yard shot went through both lungs.
> The next year, he showed up in much better shape. He caught that elk fever, and spent all year pushing himself to be in better condition so he could chase elk in the mountains. He harvested another elk after just a couple days of hunting.
> I was sure last year would be his last. At 72 years old, I worried about taking him on the hikes we need to take-tracking elk through deep snow-up and down canyons. We hunted as many days as I could afford to be away from work and my family. After two especially heartbreaking days filled with near misses, dad decided to go back to Pennsylvania. We had seen good sized herds on both days. The temperature never got above 12 degrees on either day. I frostbit my toes because we weren't moving fast enough and my boots weren't insulated enough. If I was holding the gun, I would have had easy shots several times, but dad couldn't get a shot from where he was.
> ...


What a great story. Thanks for sharing and welcome to the Forum.

.


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## CPAjeff (Dec 20, 2014)

I had two experiences this year that I will remember forever. The first was a mountain goat hunt I was invited to go on and the second was a buck that I shot.

The father-in-law of a friend of mine drew a mountain goat tag and I was invited to go along on the hunt. When I arrived at the trailhead, I met the tag holder's son - who is probably in his early 20's and has spina bifida - over the course of the day, I was able to watch this guy ride a horse 8 miles to the top of the mountain, get on and off numerous times to glass the goats, and then tell his Dad to go and make the final stock without him, because he didn't want to slow everyone down. After the goat was down and packed back to the horses, there was pure joy in his voice when he told his Dad congrats. Just the other day I found out that riding a horse for that long, with his condition, had actually rubbed him raw and cause him to bleed enough that it was visible on his pants and stained the saddle. Never once did he complain - I got a lot more out of that hunt than just watching a great billy being harvested.

http://utahwildlife.net/forum/12-big-game/159194-willard-peak-mountain-goat.html

The second experience was with my son this fall hunting deer. Now, I will be the first to admit that mule deer hunting is not something I think about and dream about. Since I have been old enough to hunt, starting 14 years ago, I have only had four deer tags. This year was different, as I had some private land to hunt and I wanted to take my son along. I first saw the buck that I ended up killing a day before I went out to hunt for him. After receiving a call from one of the workers on the ranch, stating that he had seen a good buck, I slipped out of the office to go see him in person. It didn't take long to find him, and he looked great to me. The plan was to go into work a little later the following day and try to get him first thing in the morning. Being that my wife and kids like to sleep in a little - I told my wife that I would go out and find the buck, text her when I found him - giving her time to get the kids up and ready, and then we would all go out and shoot him. Everything went according to plan and my hunting buddy was so excited when we shot the buck. After walking up on it, taking pictures, and beginning to take care of it, he was full of excitement and told everyone for the next week, the story over and over again!


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## MuscleWhitefish (Jan 13, 2015)

Still the all time favorite. New Year's eve of 2011. 

On Salt Creek laying on the ice with sheets by myself. 

Watching the Mallards start sky high and circle and circle and circle and circle in. Trying not to move or show my face and lightly blowing on the call. Ended up one shy of the limit. 

With 30 minutes left of shooting time, hearing the faint honks of a flock of geese. 4 geese came in to the decoys all of which did a 180 on their way to coming in. I fire 3 shots and drop three geese. All alive and in different directions. 

It was probably the most special day I had, ever, in hunting.

Edit: One of the geese was banded in Brigham City. First and only band as of yet.


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## BPturkeys (Sep 13, 2007)

A wiley old bird that had survived the crowds and pressure of Ephraim canyon for three years. There was little about people this guy didn't know. He toyed with me, gobbled at me, ignored me, teased me for 4 days. He finally made a mistake. He was by far my most memorable hunt. 
Big game?... my first elk, a nice 4 point just off the Skyline drive can still be replayed in my mind. Back in '68, most any bull was a good bull, but this guy was my trophy. Deer...a mammoth bodied buck taken off what is now Jeremy Ranch in East canyon. I've killed many big bucks, but this buck was in a class by himself. Actually only a three point, but what he lacked in hornage, he more than made up for in body size. He was like the Shack O'neal of deer. Our group had taken several nice big deer that year but this guy dwarfed them all. His body was at least six inches longer, his chest was much bigger and deeper, he has just a freak of a deer. He was old and battered. The pads on his feet had worn through. Now I hear tales on here of mighty big deers, but most estimates are never backed with actual fact. Back in the day, a sporting good store in Ogden, I think the name was Kaminer Sporting Goods, had a big deer contest based on the weight of the deer, not the antler size. This deer was entered in this contest and was officially weighed about five days after it was shot. As was normal procedure, he was field dressed and the legs had been removed at the knees to make him easier to drag off the mountain. His official weight was 255+lbs. He only took 2nd place, loosing by a mere 8 lbs, I always figured I had left the grand prize...a brand new .240 Weatherby Mag rifle laying up on that hill.


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## Old Fudd (Nov 24, 2007)

My Wife Of 52 Years And without her my 39 years of sober. Well lets just say I would be up in Pioneer park hunting.. My best Harvest other than that 5x7 non typical Book Cliff Buck Shot at 41 yards. No release No sites.. Double Lung. Recovery less than 70 yards.


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## sawsman (Sep 13, 2007)

This year.. spending time with my dad and brother out on the Bookcliffs. Dad finally drew a LE rifle tag after 11 years of applying. Great camp, good time together laughing, telling stories and good chow. That's what it's all about.

Tag was filled. Bonus.


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## 3arabians (Dec 9, 2014)

That's a good one sawsman. Reminds me that I can't believe I didn't mention my dad's first elk this year in my earlier post that was achieved with help from a forum member.

What a great time my brother and I had with the old man. It was just the 3 of us like when we were kids. 

The old man had his hip replacement surgery today and everything went great and he should be getting around much better next hunting season. Hopefully to get elk number 2.


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## longbow (Mar 31, 2009)

The hunts my son has been with me are always the best. We've been on some pretty epic adventures together. I love that guy.

This hunt.....

























Or this hunt.....


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## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

MuscleWhitefish said:


> Still the all time favorite. New Year's eve of 2011.
> 
> On Salt Creek laying on the ice with sheets by myself.
> 
> ...


You must be a great wing shot like my buddy. We were out dove hunting on my family's farm one day and a trio flew up in front of him while he was gabbing on the cell phone with his wife. He held his phone between his ear and shoulder and proceeded to pick off the doves one by one. It was a Remington 870 pump, too, not a semiauto. On that same hunt he had his shotgun leaned up against my hood and was watering my front, passenger truck tire when a single came in. He reached for his shotgun, letting the stream flow where it may, and picked that one off. He is something else with a shotgun! He can outshoot me 5 doves to 1. Unfortunately, his wing shooting prowess doesn't translate into his big game shooting abilities.


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## MuscleWhitefish (Jan 13, 2015)

colorcountrygunner said:


> You must be a great wing shot like my buddy. We were out dove hunting on my family's farm one day and a trio flew up in front of him while he was gabbing on the cell phone with his wife. He held his phone between his ear and shoulder and proceeded to pick off the doves one by one. It was a Remington 870 pump, too, not a semiauto. On that same hunt he had his shotgun leaned up against my hood and was watering my front, passenger truck tire when a single came in. He reached for his shotgun, letting the stream flow where it may, and picked that one off. He is something else with a shotgun! He can outshoot me 5 doves to 1. Unfortunately, his wing shooting prowess doesn't translate into his big game shooting abilities.


It was just a good day shooting, if this year has proven anything it is I need to practice with a shotgun

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## 35whelen (Jul 3, 2012)

my first muzzleloader whitetail hunt. sat twenty minutes before a doe fed up behind me at 20 yds. shot, gutted and dragged it to the house. went back and sat 20 minutes when another fed up behind at about 20yds. my only deer double and they were good eating and less than 1/4 mile drag through the snow to the house. 
there were a few morning hunts that ended within 10 mins of leaving the house on snowy mornings when I jumped a doe on the way to the stand. I miss that old farm house. saw a lot of big bucks during squirrel hunts but never could pass up a doe during the deer hunt. 
my first muzzleloader mule deer was a satisfying one too. spotted him over a mile away and a long slow uphill stalk through scrub oaks to make a 10 yd shot. first real successful stalk and my biggest buck.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

I'd have to say my 1991 Wyoming moose hunt was the most fulfilling.

I hunted 11 days with a bow and 4 days with a rifle. Shot a decent bull moose with my rifle and ended up stabbing myself in the groin with a knife while gutting it. Luckily I missed the femoral artery by "that" much. 54 miles from the hospital, I come close to bleeding out. After they stitched me up and put some more blood in me my hunting partner and I went back up and packed the moose out. The way things played out there were few pictures.

Still in my hospital pants:


Got the moose home and went back to work. It was deer season so I hunted after work for awhile. I got a decent 4x4 and then spent a good deal of time after work cutting and wrapping the moose and the buck.

Then there was 2 days with horses and back packs setting up an elk spike camp for 8 people.

Then rifle elk. We packed in on foot, leaving the horses at the road. 8 guys killed 6 elk. It was hot and we only had 2 horses so I carried a lot of elk quarters on my back off of the mountain.

My leg was a mess. We had used a tourniquet on the stab wound and there were big splotches of blood clotting all the way from my crotch to below my knee. A month after stabbing myself I ended up with a blood clot in my ankle and nearly died from that.

Not a high scoring moose but really wide:


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## clean pass through (Nov 26, 2007)

Hands down the best hunt I have been a part of was this years deer hunt with my 12 year old son. We hunted hard after school each day for his one and only real chance on the last Saturday of the hunt. He made a great shot and held it together, until after the shot. More fulfilling than any deer I have ever shot!


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## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

35whelen said:


> my first muzzleloader whitetail hunt. sat twenty minutes before a doe fed up behind me at 20 yds. shot, gutted and dragged it to the house. went back and sat 20 minutes when another fed up behind at about 20yds. my only deer double and they were good eating and less than 1/4 mile drag through the snow to the house.
> there were a few morning hunts that ended within 10 mins of leaving the house on snowy mornings when I jumped a doe on the way to the stand. I miss that old farm house. saw a lot of big bucks during squirrel hunts but never could pass up a doe during the deer hunt.
> my first muzzleloader mule deer was a satisfying one too. spotted him over a mile away and a long slow uphill stalk through scrub oaks to make a 10 yd shot. first real successful stalk and my biggest buck.


Sounds like you had a hell of a childhood! This post really resonates with me for some reason. What state are you from, Whelen?


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## ridgetop (Sep 13, 2007)

My Bighorn sheep hunt sure was epic.
Also, the second buck I killed when I was 18. I was going to BYU at the time and went out for a morning hunt by myself.
I ended up getting a 2 point, gutted it(first time to do it alone) and drug it to my car, threw it in the trunk and headed back to the dorms to show my roommates. They weren't as impressed as I thought they would be.-O,-
But my 2015 buck was as fulfilling as they come.
After being intimidated by a couple other hunters to stop hunting the buck and area in 2013. Then going back to the same canyon mid season two years later and finding the very same buck that a dozen other guys had been hunting, was pretty awesome.


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## PBH (Nov 7, 2007)

I have to add -- since we just finished a hunt over the weekend.

My 12 year old daughter had a Panguitch cow tag. Over the course of the hunt, we hit about every possible area that mountain that was accessible. I think weather, and the late snow, played a pretty significant part in making this hunt tough. We passed on a early opportunity at a group of cows near Caddy Creek -- we could see 2 other hunters already working their way towards these cows, so I told my daughter that we would find a different group to go after. I didn't want to mess things up for the other hunters, and had full confidence that we'd find other cows. We never did.

Yesterday (Sunday) we went into a spot that I knew we could find an elk. It was cold at first light (1 degree). My daughter wasn't too sure that she wanted to go for a hike, but I convinced her it would warm up as we walked. It wasn't the walking that warmed her up -- it was the adrenaline! Not long after leaving the truck I spotted a group of elk feeding along a tree line. We worked our way around a hill-top, hoping for a nice spot for a shot. The vantage point was perfect. The elk were well within range. They had not yet detected us. Unfortunately, the elk was a bachelor group of bulls! I then spotted 3 more about 800 yards away out in the open clearing -- and again, they were bulls. I was pretty disappointed. But my daughter was pretty excited! This was the best view of bull elk she'd ever had. She wasn't cold any more. I have to say that even without filling her tag, I think she'll remember those bulls!


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

3 years ago my boy had turned 12 and had a ML tag. We hunted opening day, had a few chances but buck fever kept spoiling things (hard to get the cap on when you are shaking lol). That afternoon a huge storm blew in, we were up in it (I love hunting in a blizzard!) and found entire groups of bucks coming off the mountain headed for lower elevation. He couldn't quite put it together to get a shot off... as it started to get towards late evening we headed down. He started putting stuff away but I told him until we are at the truck, there's always a chance to see a deer.

Less than a 1/2 a mile further down the road, with 15 minutes of shooting light left... I spotted a buck in the trees. I helped him get his gun capped and I even helped him steady the gun a bit. He pulled the trigger and hit it good. At the shot a 2nd unseen buck jumped from near it, ran 10 yards from behind one tree to another. I told him, you got yours, this ones mine! and grabbed my gun out of the case and capped it. I moved up to the pine tree when the buck came busting out, it was hauling ass for sure, made a huge leap over a fallen tree just as I shot and it landed in a heap. It was a freaking awesome 50 yard shot if I do say so myself. Both deer were dead less than 60 yards apart. We drug them both over for pictures.

My boy was beaming he got his buck (small 4x3) and I got a year older, weird big corkscrew antlered 1x2. Super cool evening hunting with my boy. One proud dad for sure.










-DallanC


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## longbow (Mar 31, 2009)

Good work Dallan!! Way to parent right.


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## ISHY (Dec 4, 2015)

I would have to say this year. My reasons are very different than most on here. I lost my only son five years ago to SUDEP (Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy). Being in the woods became a sanctuary for me more than I can explain and more than before. A couple years after Conner passed I started running just to be able to find time alone and to find that solace that woods provided at a much more frequent interval than hunting could provide due to family, budget and work restraints. It kind of exploded and within a year and a half I did my first marathon. In 2015 I was chosen by a local triathlon club as a sponsored athlete. My wife said I had to pick one hunting or triathlons. The triathlon offer was truly once in a lifetime opportunity and worth several thousands of dollars in training and coaching...so I took a deep breath and chose a entirely new journey in my life. A friend had sent a Team Hoyt video to us while Conner was still alive that showed an older father that takes his adult son on entire Ironman. _



_
I've never seen anything more inspiring. My wife simply said, "I could see you doing that with Conner". That was really the only seed that started all of this, but I knew that was what I needed to do at this point in my life. I felt like I owed it to Conner. During the coming months I also joined the Danny Did Foundation that provides families battling Epilepsy with monitors to help prevent deaths from SUDEP. Sadly we discovered one such monitor just weeks after Conner passed. It may not have saved him, but we feel it would have given us a chance instead of finding him the next morning well passed the few minutes caretakers have to intervene.
This August just one and half years after beginning this crazy world of triathlons (whose participants are every bit as dedicated to their sport as the craziest of hunters) I finished my first Ironman. It was an amazing week, Ironman featured my story along with several local TV and newspapers articles. It gave tons of exposure to the seizure monitors that give a little security in the hellish world of Epilepsy that afflicts 1 in 26 of us.
My wife attempted a couple times to curtail my hunting this fall (in her defense I trained a lot), but was swiftly reminded my agreement was only for 1 year. I was going no matter what. I ended up hunting alone and just knew this was going to be a great year. Before signing up for Ironman I had thoughts of cashing in 15 points after taking the year off, but Ironman CDA was August 21st and not a good date to pull off an archery hunt too. So I was off OTC and solo. First morning out I was in elk at first light. Just two hours in I had a five point at 30 yards broadside. I couldn't help but think that someone else had a hand in the hunt and Ironman. As I stood over my bull I fell apart. It was surreal to have two of the best and most challenging days of my life fall just 17 days apart. I felt completely humbled...it didn't feel like I was the one that pulled either off.
I'm not sure the reasoning, but I didn't do many of the grief steps like you should if you loose a child. Through the complete expense of every ounce of sweat grit and blood I gave to Ironman training and the race, it allowed me to reach a place emotionally and spiritually that is difficult to explain. I can't say I'm healed, but I have come a long, long way this year.
Thank you for reading, and if any of you know of anyone struggling with Epilepsy, please have them visit Dannydid.org or contact me. These monitors that are available are life saving. Especially for little ones that aren't controlled with meds. For some unknown reason the medical community have been slow to promote them. The Monday following Ironman the New York times had an article on why Dr.s aren't telling Epilepsy patients about SUDEP. There is a real need to get the word out.


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## 35whelen (Jul 3, 2012)

Color country gunner, it was in southern Iowa. I grew up in the Midwest. Bounced between Iowa, Illinois and Missouri before coming out west.


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## hossblur (Jun 15, 2011)

Good to see all the stories with kids with you, IMO thats the only way it should be.

This year, my 11 year old has trailed me since he was 4, and my 5 year old, on his first muzzy hunt with me. They were both right on me, 75yrd through the trees 3 shooter bucks, one high 20's, the others both 4x4. Dropped down on knees, counted their order and when they came out, dumped one, hitting it high and breaking its back. Of course they switched order coming through and the bigger one came out second. Ended up with a 21" 4x4, nothing special, watched the bigger one go up the hill after. The beauty was, when the calls came in on the walkie talkies from our friends as to who shot and what got killed, my 11 yr old(hes been around the guys way to long), answers back, "it was my dad, it was the smallest buck, he hit it in the butt". First deer they have both been with me when I killed it, and other than the public flogging at the hands of an 11yr old, it was a real special day, dad got to be the hero for a while.


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## bullsnot (Aug 10, 2010)

wyogoob said:


> I'd have to say my 1991 Wyoming moose hunt was the most fulfilling.


Quite a story. If I had known all that I would've wrote you in for president. I almost did anyway.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

bullsnot said:


> Quite a story. If I had known all that I would've wrote you in for president. I almost did anyway.


thanks

I came in 6th

I knew when I lost Connecticut it was over.

.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

wyogoob said:


> thanks
> 
> I came in 6th
> 
> ...


7th, I came in 7th.

It's called "Fake News" sorry.

.


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