Since opening day...

I have shot two deer.
Let's start at the beginning though.
Opening day:
Went out in the woods at 4:30 am with Tyler, Gary(ty's dad) and Ginnie (ty's step mom). We hiked for a long time to get to the place where Tyler had seen the monsterous Mule Deer* last year. As we hiked I remembered everything I loved about hunting yet quickly watched it go out the door with every hill we climbed. And when I say climed I mean straight up these beautiful mountains I call home. It had snowed the 3 days prior to opening Sunday so it was wet as well. I am not complaining just setting the scene for you. As we are hiking, we are looking. I forgot that deer change colors when seasons change, so it was funny to me when I couldn't see what Ty was trying to tell me was a doe's butt. WHERE? WHERE? Where? I kept whispering. Oh, that thing.
Ah...yes, it was dark brown and greyish like the trees, not light brown and tanish like I had seen all summer and early fall.
So, we saw the butt of a doe and kept walking. As we neared the peak, it started getting very foggy. Gary all of a sudden got super excited and Ty and I ran up to where he was. When I say run, I mean creep as silently as possible through the snow up hill towards Gary as fast as we could. Out of breath and trying not to cough I bring my gun to my shoulder. There it is. A monster. And there it goes. Gary starts moving towards the right and heads uphill.
"Kristen, follow my dad and stay on him." Ty screams quietly.
Gary and I are try to get around the other side of where we saw the monster and Gary sees them again. Yes, I said them. There are now 3 monsters. I am keeping up as best I can. Let's try to get up to that next tree stump so you can get a better balance. And there we went. I am on my knees, Gun at shoulder, staring down the scope when all of a sudden I see it. The monsters butt in my scope. It felt like forever as I am waiting for him to turn so that I can get a shot. ***************See....the HUGE disclaimer here is that Ty and I had gone over every shot in the book, except the butt shot.************
So, Gary says, take the shot.
I'm all....I can't.
He thought that meant that I couldn't see it, but I was waiting for the shot. And then they smelled us, saw us or something because off they went and down my heart sank.
25" spread...huge Mule Deer.
All I could think of was Tyler saying Do not shoot the hind quarters. So I didn't. But what I didn't know was that you shoot wherever you can on a monster of that size to drop him because monsters of that size don't come around all that often and it's a trophey kill not a meat kill. So, I guess although that deer will haunt my dreams, lesson learned.

Day two(following Wednesday): nothing seen nothing killed

Day three(second Saturday): a couple of white butts

Day four(second Wednesday): Gary and I go up to my dad's cabin and hunt around there. It's early so we wait for the sun to come up further. Gary spots a large bull elk, but due to the crunchy ground and no thaw, we made too much noise to come up on this giant. Gary's excited though because after hunting every day since opening day, he's finally seen an elk.
We hunt for two more hours and on our return home, we scare another elk. We try to track him for a little while but we are unable to find his tracks after a little while. Gary all of a sudden ducks down and says there's a doe, you want her? I'm all she's pretty small. Gary laughs, "she's not that small." All I could see from the sunlight reflecting was a small head. So, I say, yeah, I guess so. And stand up to take my shot. I have her head in my scope and BOOM. I shoot.
And I TOTALLY miss. Small target Gary says. I look at him and say should I shoot again. Learning how to do things in hunting, the ins and outs and norms is a fun game for me. Gary's all, hell yeah, she didn't even move. So, I pull my rifle up again, and there is the perfect shot...I aim right under the shoulder at the heart and BOOM. Kill shot. She moves about 10 yards and falls. Gary and I start shouting. My first kill.
I suddenly start to tear up. WOAH. I say a prayer of deep thanks to God for the life I have taken and the blessing it is to hunt and be a part of the creation circle. Then I go over to watch Gary get to work. I hit her in the lungs and did a little damage to her shoulder but no guts or anything else major.
We gut take a bunch of pictures, gut her out and start down the mountain to the truck. Gary was wonderful and wouldn't let me help. Partly because I was so excited to gut her, that I my finger open with my brand new knife.

Pictures of her to follow...Gary hasn't developed them yet. but here's on from when we got her home.

Day five: (Third Saturday)
We, ty and I, return to the scene of the MONSTERS. Right as we edge the first turn, Ty says it wouldn't surprise me to see one right around this corner. And...guess what? There around the first corner are three does. Now, in Montana you can't shoot Mule does and I had already filled my B tag so does aren't my desired kill now. Bull Elk/Mule or Whitetail bucks are what I am pursuing. So Ty says, keep watching those doe because it's rutting season and a Buck can't be far away. So, as I am watching ty's right. There in front of me at about 150 yards is a 2x3 Muley Buck. So, I bring my gun to my shoulder and try desperately to find my buck in my scope, but he's a movin'. So, Ty says shoot only when you are ready. And so I do. But, LESSON 2 learned...you have to range uphill differently than if you are downhill or straight on. Yardage comes into play and things can get complicated. So, story be told...I miss. Right over his front shoulder. But, just like my doe he doesn't really move much. He starts walking about 10 yards and I get another shot. Ty says get closer and prop up against something so you can be more comfortable. I start climbing a very steep hill towards my buck, and I cannot get ther fast enough or get comfortable. Ty runs up there with me and says shoot it, so I take a shot and Blam, miss...my buck starts running. Ty doesn't want to let this one get away so he takes the shot and misses. But his next shot takes him down running. Up the hill Ty goes after him. And about 15 mintues and 45 grouse possibilities later he finds him dead. The nice part about getting your deer on a slope is that gravity works with you!!! We drag Ty's buck down the hill and gut it out. It's been gut shot and part of the hind quarter is ruined but, it's a nice 2x2 Mule Buck. Sure will be tasty Ty smiles. We take some pictures and start dragging it towards our decent point.
Ty thinks it would be great for us to both get a buck today so we decide to continue hunting. At this point I am super dissappointed because I know I am a better shot then what is happening. Tyler reminds me that he missed too and that I should give myself a break. It's your first year Kristen. I didn't get a deer until I was 17 and I started when I was 9. I feel better kiss him and head down the road, lighter.
Again Tyler says, "Baby, last time I came around this corner there were two deer just standing in the middle of the road eating," as we round the corner and Ka Blam...there they are. Two deer standing in the middle of the road grazing on grass. Ty's all get on your knee and shoot that buck. I'm all Ty it's a doe as I have the only deer I can see in my sights and there are obviously NO horns on this deer.
NO, he looks at my barrell and says, move over two more feet to your left. I quietly and quickly move two feet to my left and see the buck he's talking about. It's a little forker but I am so excited I take the shot. BAM...a hit. My buck starts to move and Ty and I start running towards it. On the left is a huge ravine, our decent towards the truck but vastly covered. We do not want my buck to get down there otherwise we are searching for a long time. As we get closer I see it standing with it's shoulders hunched up in a cat like position 20 yards from the edge. Ty says shoot it in the head...take it out. I say, can't you just go over there and slit it's throat? No he says and explains to me why. LESSON 3 learned: Do not approach a wounded deer unless you know it's super close to death. You can get hurt by an animal very badly and they are super aggressive, which is understandable.
I take another shot and miss it's brain by an inch. Which by the way blows up the entire side of it's face as the bullet exits. Pictures to follow. That shot should have dropped this deer, but it's determination is extreme! Tyler takes out his gun and misses. I am so glad now that he and I both miss. Then he pulls out his 22 pistol and shoots my buck 3 times at very close range in the head. The last one pops into the brain and BAM...he's down. We gut him, take pictures and starts dragging him towards Ty's buck.
WHAT A SUCCESSFUL DAY! I will tell you LESSON 4 learned.
When trying to drag a deer downhill, two things to know;
one: stay out of the way if he gets going faster than you
two: kellyhumps* need momentum to get over when you are dragging a 150 lb. animal behind you.
Ty made a strap for me and I placed it aroudn my waist and there I went downhill towards our truck with my buck in tow, smile as large as can be on my face!!!



Hopefully an elk story will follow this one. Sorry for those of you who actually read this entire story. I know that it may seem so exciting to me, but may be entireally boring to you!

DEFINITIONS FOR THOSE THAT NEED IT
Mule deer: a deer, Odocoileus hemionus, of western North America, having large ears like a mule and a gray coat.

Kellyhump: earth boundaries, sometimes man made to stop off road vehicles from crossing into private land, certain areas or roads.