Hittrex (2026)

03/05/2021

TOM TOM TOM!

Turkeys have long been one of my nemesis species. I have yet to harvest a turkey. I often see them out of season, or find myself leading friends and family to them. This season is no different. However, my little brother Travis can take the glory for this year. Travis is the master turkey hunter from my family. He has spent countless hours searching for and tracking turkeys. This year we decided to try out a new area. He set up 2 cameras a month before the hunt. One of the camera's was set in a location just off a field. It was a perfect noon day spot. He had 4 big toms consistently hitting his cameras between 11:00 and 4:00 in the afternoon. Sadly, one of his cameras went missing. It is sad to see something like this happen. Unfortunately, I have had this happen to me as well. I hope that this theft was not from another hunter.

My friend Burkeley had drawn the early season limited entry turkey tag this year. With Travis doing all the leg work, we had high hopes that opening morning would be a success. My alarm rang out, and we quickly packed up. One hour later, we were parked and heading off into the hills. The light of the morning slightly illuminated our path. 10 minutes in, and we had already heard our first gobble. We made a quick game plan and decided to sit still for a minute. We were going to head to the far side of the field in hopes that as the turkeys woke up, they would start to work their way to the far east corner of the field. After a few minutes of waiting, we all agreed that we should hurry to the corner and get the decoy set up.

We were all set up, and Travis began to yelp. The toms were responding every time. A shot rang out and we assumed that there was a successful hunter on the other side of the field. I reminded myself that there are several more toms in the area. The morning was surprisingly cold. My hands and feet started to go stiff as I sat still and watched. A small breeze prevented me from getting warm. I couldn’t wait for the sun to peak over the mountain.

Travis's whisper broke the quiet. "There is a hen coming straight for us." He proceeded to chirp. No tom followed, and we let the hen wander off behind us. After a few hours of waiting, we decided to do a little scouting. We walked around the far side of the field and decided on a new location for the afternoon. As we walked the fence line, a turkey jumped into the air, and flew over onto private property. Another disappointment. We soon started our walk out and decided to try one more spot, before we headed back to the cabin for lunch.

My family has a lot of heritage around the rural town that we hunt. There is a fenced property that we have permission to hunt on. I decided that this would be a good secondary location. Travis felt differently. He decided to remind me how pointless it was to try this spot. I was determined to prove him wrong.

We hiked a loop around the area. The loop became more and more depressing as we found no feathers and not tracks. I had succumbed to the conclusion that we would not finds turkeys here. Then and that moment, I looked up and there was a tom standing on the lava rocks in front of me. "TOM TOM TOM" I yelled. Burkeley rushed to my side and took aim as the bird jumped down and buried its body behind some sage. The top 3" of neck and head were the only thing visible. His shot rang out into the hot dusty air. The bird ducked and jumped straight in the air. He crashed down 15 feet farther away from us, and began to run. We hustled over to his location. There were a few feathers, but no blood. After some time of looking, we all agreed that this turkey had lived by the hairs on his beak.

Back to the cabin we went. We grabbed some lunch, and headed back out around 4:00. I was feeling very confident as we circled the mornings field and set up directly where the birds would have to walk. This was the most logical route to the trees where Travis had set up his cameras. We set up a hen and a Jake decoy. The hope is that. A lonely tom would see the hen, and become jealous at the position of the Jake (immature male turkey).

An hour passed with Travis yelping and chirping every 15-20 minutes. I was behind Travis and Burkeley. Burk sat closest to the decoys. I was looking up the hill behind us when Travis again whispered. “There is a tom coming straight for us.” The tom came from the far side of the field. The field is 250 yards across. He came half way, gobbling in response to Travis call. He stopped for a few minutes in the shade of a tree. The tree was located 150 yards from us. I am confident that at this point he noticed our Jake. He started to working his way closer and closer to us. The fence-line sat 65 yards from us. He was legal to shoot as soon as he crossed the fence. It appeared that he was going to walk right up to our decoys. Once he came to the edge of the fence, he ducked under and quickly turned the opposite direction of the decoys. At this point he was 65 yards and moving away. there was little we could do. We watched as he moved through the sage to our west and disappeared into the trees. What a disappointment! So close, but not luck. An hour later, we had another tom come walking down the road on private property. He completely ignored the decoys and strutted deeper into private property. It was amazing to watch Travis call in these birds, but something alerted them to our presence. We did not harvest any bird this day, but we came close. The turkey’s liver another day.

Hunt kit
First lite Corrugate Guide pants.
Browning soft shell vest
Browning early season shirt
Kuiu bino harness
Vortex diamond back binoculars.
Zamberlan GTX guide boots

03/05/2021

Layout 2.0

Have you every ridden a bike while wearing waders? I do not think this is ever a good idea. For 2 miles, the waders restricted my legs as I peddled down the d**e. Birds were busting out of the small flow bordering the d**e. As soon as the beam from my headlight landed on them, they spooked. We stopped to try and recognize each species. Teal, Mallards, Gads, and Pins. Nothing too out of ordinary. We stashed our bikes in the weeds and veered off the d**e. We had packed 3 layout blinds, 18 floater decoys, and 2 dozen silhouette decoys. This morning was adding up to be a killer hunt. We walked off the d**e around ½ mile. The spot we had scouted earlier didn’t feel quite right. We heard ducks slapping the water up ahead of us. As we sloshed through the water and ice, we worked our way through the thick frag to a location where the water was open. These areas of ice will melt in places during the day, birds will land in these small areas, and their body heat will keep the area open through the night. The weather was not yet cold enough to freeze solid during the day.

We separated and wandered around for 20-30 minutes looking for the open spot. Finally, we found an area that looked like birds had roosted. There was a light flow, and an area to the east of it was frozen with the tops of weeds sticking through. 2 of my buddies started setting up the decoys and silhouettes. I worked on rolling out the layouts, and adding weeds for additional cover. The marsh started to grow light around us. The dark shapes of birds broke the calm blue of the sky. We had large groups of birds buzzing us by the time shooting light struck. Right off the bat, we had 2 pintails dropped out of there decoying flock. Birds were buzzing us so low that we could barely get on them fast enough. They flew all around us. The sight picture we had constantly, was the tail feathers of a duck on a dead sprint to the south. Teal in their erratic clouds bounced in and out of our shot like planes in a world war 2 documentary.

By the end of the first hour, the blue sky was still. Later in the season, many birds have migrated south. The birds that stick around, are very decoy shy. They move from feeding to roost areas. There is little deviation from day to day. We waited in our layout blinds as the morning wore on. By this point we had 2 pintails, one mallard hen, and one drake shoveler.
There were sporadic birds raising up out of the tall frag around us. None of them seemed interested in checking out our spread. We decided to get up and take a walk. The ice was thick enough that we could walk on it, but occasionally, we would break through. As we walked, we saw the in prints of duck feet, wings, and tails in the snow and ice. Birds will try to land on the ice, and slip and slide to a halt. The imprints can look like rough landings. Some resemble the tire marks you see on the freeway. Slamming the brakes on ice doesn’t end well even for the birds.

We walked about a mile with no success, and circle back to the layouts. We decided to give it one more hour. A little breeze was pressing in against my layout as we waited, talked, and randomly called. We were about to start cleaning up, when I noticed to birds in the distance. They were coming our way. As they approached our position, my friend calls out "Pintails." We had almost reached our limit of one bird per hunter. We could take one more for the day. These birds wanted into our little ice ridden pond. They came within range, and their wings rotated back into a glide position. I heard one of us say "wait", then we all went silent. My heart was pounding as the two bull pintails glided past us. I was hesitant to take a shot because I did not want to drop them both. Our lack of communication was heavy as no one moved. These two amazing birds hummed past us at 15 yds. The wind distorting around their feathers. No one called the shot. As the birds passed by, and angled towards another pond. We all sat up. Shocked that no one had called the shot. Each of us, understandably, felt some frustration. However, my frustration faded almost immediately as I thought of the quiet calm that settled as the birds came so close to losing their lives. The beauty of this moment was not shattered by a hunter’s trigger pull. I have thought of this moment many times since then. I still remember how amazing it was to see them come so close, and I admire every second of it.

We packed up soon after and walked back to the bikes. We started peddling and and suffered through the long ride back to the truck. Luckily, we were able to drop one more bird on our way out.

2 Drake Pintails, 2 Mallard hens, and one drake Shoveler.

Hunt Kit
Wi******er SX4 Hybrid 12 gauge

Cabelas Classic II Waders
Browning Wicked Wing Hoody
Browning Super Puffy Jacket
Browning Riser Glove
Browning Goose Glove
Browning Quick Cover
Cabelas Duffle

Cabelas Northern Flight layout blind
18 Floater decoys
24 silhouette decoys
Jet Sled

06/04/2021

Solo Susie

I grew up with limited opportunity or knowledge of duck hunting. I remember walking a ditch line and jumping ducks occasionally. I had never even heard of a layout blind. The more and more I get sucked into the waterfowl addiction, the more interested I have become at using a layout.

One afternoon, I took off early from work, and headed to the marsh jump shoot and scout new area. As a sloshed and squished through the marsh, I started to notice large groups of birds heading off in one direction. As I watched further, I could see huge clouds of birds rising and falling over a large area of skim water. I started to head that direction.

I dropped down to my knees near some low brush. I watched continuous flocks of birds landing, circling, and swarming around the area. Mallards, Pintails, Gadwall, Teal and Shovelers. Sitting still and silent, I heard the many different noises that each species makes. The wing flap of each kind seems to make their own unique noise. The sun was dipping low in the sky, and a pair of mallards challenged my firing distance. I fired and the Susie fell. The leading drake narrowly avoided my first and final shot. I walked out and made plans to return that weekend.

Saturday morning came early. I packed 23 decoys and my layout blind into the jet sled. I made easy work of the 1/2-mile hike out to the skim water. There was a small area of dryer mud. I set up my layout and filled the web loops with a small amount of surrounding brush. the decoys were arranged in 3 small groups. I decided on this position based on what I saw earlier in the week. That night, flocks of 5-10 birds were soaring in and landing together.

A slight glow of sunlight started to illuminate the air. I could see the dark silhouettes of fly over flocks. the mesh from my layout blind left me just enough room to manipulate my calls. Hunters from around the marsh announced shooting light. There decoy spreads considerably more successful than mine.

I watched flock after flock fly high overhead. All of them seemed to be flying to a specific place. They barely looked at my decoys. I did not expect this. only a few nights before, hundreds of birds were landing where I was set up. Later I would realize that ducks fly off there roost early in the morning to feeding areas. This area must not be a feeding area. This location was a roosting area. All the birds I bumped on my hike in, were now heading to their daytime habitat.

As the morning wore on, I started to notice some birds testing their luck as they flew lower and lower over my head. My eyes locked on a small group of big birds flying my way. I rose from my layout and shouldered my gun. I fired once at the lead bird. She locked her wings and turned upside down as she fell out of the air. Another Susie (Hen Mallard). This area wasn't a complete bust.

I started to warm up when the sun crested over the mountains. It took me a few minutes to pack everything back up, but I wasn't finished for the day. My thoughts took me to another pond. It would take me and hour to hike there. True to my expectation, I arrived and set up my decoys in two vertical lines extending 10-15 yards to the farthest decoy.

At this point, the sun was turning this cold weather hunt into a sweaty one. The bugs were constantly bouncing off the sides of my repellent soaked face. I watched as few birds specked the sky. My calls seemed to do less and less in eliciting a response. I started to focus on listening to the birds around me. Even though the birds were not flying, they kept up a steady stream of quacks, whistles and peeps.

I decided that maybe a feed call would work. I let out a short T, k, t, k, t, k. A few minutes later, I heard the low swishing sounds of cupping wings. 2 hen gadwalls took the bait. I took a patient bead and squeezed the trigger. The first hen fell. I let the other flair away and leave. If it had worked once, it would work again. I called off and on for the next 20 minutes. Again, I hear the swoosh flap of wings. I couldn't see her until she entered my peripheral vision. Within seconds, she was in the decoys. The hen shoveler instantly realized she had made a mistake. She threw herself off the water and into the air. My steel shot rippled through her body and she crumpled.

Another hour passed and I didn't have another opportunity. I thought a silent prayer “I am very grateful for the 3 birds that I had harvested so far.” I also asked for more opportunities to harvest a few more birds. Patiently, I waited as the time ticked by. I had almost decided that it was time to pack up and head home. I let out one more loud feed call. At that moment, I heard what sounded like a jet engine coming from right over my head. The grey body and blue beak of a wigeon was gliding over my decoys, It would soon be out of my spread. I took full advantage and harvested this final bird. Today was a completely unique bag. One Hen Shoveler, One hen wigeon, one hen gadwall, and one Susie mallard. I am very grateful for a successful day. It was not a full limit, but it was an educational hunt day, and the first time I had ever used a layout blind.

Hunt Kit
Wi******er SX4 Hybrid 12 Gauge

Cabelas Classic II waders
Browning Wicked Wing hoody
Browning Riser Glove
Browning quick cover
Cabelas Duffle

23 Floater Decoys
Jet sled
Northern flight Cabelas Layout Blind

04/04/2021

Echo,
Over 100 birds in her first year!

This is a Re-post from the Owner and Trainer, Randon Prochnow.

In September of 2019, I convinced Lauren it was time for a puppy! After all, I needed someone to pick up my ducks and anyone who has stomped through a muddy marsh knows it’s exhausting work. I had never trained a hunting dog before, I was nervous but confident. I bought a book by a popular trainer and got right to work. What a blast! I was loving teaching and growing with Echo. We’d hit roadblocks and then overcome them, our relationship grew and her skills improved.

By September of 2020, I thought she was finally ready for her first big hunt. Me and Russ jones made the trek to Wyoming for the opener with high hopes and big expectations. As we set our decoys in the morning and prepped our layout blinds, I was feeling anxious and excited to see Echo do her thing! About 10 mins into the hunt, we had a train wreck on our hands. Echo had brain dumped all of her training and we running around like a psychopath. She wouldn’t stay, wouldn’t retrieve ducks, wouldn’t do anything we had trained. I was so mad and she knew it. I yelled and screamed and quickly deteriorated our growing relationship. The whole drive home I was fuming and felt I had failed. I didn’t know what to do. Echo avoided me the next few days and wasn’t her happy self. I thought I broke her.

A local trainer told me, “If your dog isn’t doing what you want it to do, look at yourself before you get mad at the dog.” With my own tail between my legs, we started to train again. Our trust began to grow, she was excited to retrieve again and finally the day came for our next hunt. I trekked out to the marsh, really unsure on what to expect. The marsh was slow that day, only providing two opportunities for birds. Echo furiously charged to the first bird after it crashed into the water. She got right to it....sniffed it and came back. Disappointment enveloped me. I tried to keep the spirits high and praised her for rushing to the bird. Moments later a drake decoyed in, I smacked it and Echo lunged into the water. She swam hard and fast, picked up the bird, brought it right to my hand and then jumped back on her stand. Like she was a seasoned vet! I called it a day and headed for the truck.

A week later, we were on for our next hunt. I had the highest hopes for her and was certain this would be a good day. The marsh was bountiful that morning and we quickly shot our two man limit. Echo retrieved every duck with excitement and determination. It had finally clicked. The joy I felt was overwhelming. I had never experienced anything like it. Echo went on to have an excellent season. With over a hundred retrieves and breaking down tons of new barriers. What a thrill!

As I think about my experience, I can’t help but think about how our Heavenly Father thinks of us. The high expectations He has for us only to be continually let Him down. He has to work with us imperfect beings. He never turns away though, His “tail is never between His legs”. He is constant, unmoving, and always ready for us to make our next step. Oh the joy He must feel as we improve, break down barriers, and become who He envisions us to be.

Be patient with yourself and those around you! Everyone learns and progresses at a different pace. Be quick to offer a helping hand. And most importantly, love the Lord, your family, and your neighbor.

29/03/2021

Public shooting grounds (Part 2)

Every hunter goes out to cut their tag, fill their bag limit, or help someone do it. This day was no different. Three birds in the bag and we needed eleven more to fill our limit. Both of us agreed that we would have the best chance to fill our limit by going to the pond.

It was a warm day. The wind had died down drastically. We parked the truck around 2:30 PM. The hot weather made the hike much harder than usual. Neoprene waders and hot weather compound the possibility of becoming severely dehydrated. It was one of those days where we were chugging down water and sucking wind.

As we slowly worked our way into the pond, we watched clouds and clouds of hundreds of ducks lift off the marsh and glide across the area. This gave us both a huge expectation that tonight would be a hunt to remember. We arrived at the pond and threw our decoys out in two vertical lines. There are two narrow points on either edge of our usual spot. The slight wind was blowing from behind us. As we got all set up, the wind all but stopped. We had under two hours to get 11 birds to fly close enough to make an ethical shot.

Bird hunters have a responsibility to take ethical shots. This can be a sort of math equation. The size of shot I am shooting is important because it will give me an ethical shooting range. 2 ¾ inch shot means that a reasonable shot can be taken within 30 - 35 yards. 3 inch shells can increase that distance to 40-45 yards. 3 ½ inch gives you that additional 10 yards. The distance to the bird is the second decision you have to make. Is this bird within a killing or wounding range? You never want to take a shot if you are at risk of wounding the bird. When hunters grow impatient, they try to shoot at birds too far away. This is called sky busting and it is un-ethical. The last decision you make before you pull that trigger, is how far do you have to lead this bird? When a bird is decoying, they are slowing down, and their breast is on full display. This position often gives you the largest target and the most ethical shot. When a bird is flying close enough to shoot, their speed will come into play. I often place the bead of my gun one full barrel width in front of the bird. I have found that I harvest more birds when aiming like this.

Randon and I waited for a few minutes, our eyes searching the sky for birds moving to their roosting areas. Not but 10 minutes in, we had birds consistently flying within range. Bird after bird fell into the water. Echo dove into the water every time a bird broke the waters calm surface. We had one bird down every 10 minutes until the end of shooting light. We had filled our bag limit. Our conversation on the hike out was filled with firsts. We had harvested our first two-man Utah limit. I had successfully achieved my goal of a Pintail drake. Today was also a special day because we did not lose a single wounded bird. Anyone who hunts tall frag (Marsh plant) knows that there is a high likelihood that a falling bird may get lost in the tall reeds. If the bird had just enough life left in it to swim out of site, you may never find it. This is a regular occurrence for waterfowl hunters. However, not today. Today was one for the history books.

Bag Limit: 3 Norther Shoveler hens, 3 Norther Shoveler drakes, 1 Pintail drake, 2 Gadwall drakes, 3 Widgeon drakes, 1 Mallard drake, and 1 Banded Mallard hen

Hunt Kit
Wi******er SX4 Hybrid 12 Gauge

Cabelas Classic II waders
Browning Wicked Wing hoody
Browning Riser glove
Browning quick cover
Cabelas small duffle

24 Floater decoys
18 AvianX decoys
Jet sled
Tangle Free dog blind

29/03/2021

Public shooting grounds

My alarm rang out at 3:00. I rolled onto my side and pushed my feet out of bed. I was being picked up in 20 minutes. I packed up my decoys and range bag for a full day offensive into the marsh. I checked the weather the night before. It was looking like a clear day with 8-10 miles per hour winds. Up to this point, I had never shot a pintail drake. It was on the top of my hit list for the day. My buddy pulled up, and I jumped in the truck. Driving through the darkness, gives you a lot of time to prepare. How are you going to set the spread? How many decoys do you want to set out? Do you have enough shells, and did you bring the right kind? All things that are on my mind as we park and pull on our waders. It’s a little cold this morning, and the wind is already starting to pick up.

We met another friend there. I threw my decoys on my back and the rest were piled in the jet sled. We started heading off through the tall grass, and came up to a deep channel. One of us inched our way into the water. NOPE! The water level gets a little too high and we decide move back and around the channel.

After a short half mile walk, we arrive at our pre decided location. Earlier in the week, another friend had scratched a full limit of birds from this area. We set our gear on the side of a small hill and walked out into the skim water below us. The water stretched for 100 yards and stayed 2 inched deep for the majority of the flow. There was a small area on the opposite side of our hill. The water was flowing at a steady pace and filled a small channel about 10 inches deep. The shallowest side had a thin layer of ice accumulation; spreading steadily across the face of the water. We smashed, pushed, and distributed the ice into the strategic areas. Then our decoys pepper the flowing side of the pond. At this point, the sun light started illuminating the surrounding marsh. Ducks of all kinds were buzzing low over our heads. They were flying from north to south. Exactly the direction we expected. As we watch and called out the locations of curious groups, a pair of shoveler hens took a tight left turn at the far south side of our spread. They quickly dropped their feet as their speed launched them into the open pocket of our spread. I took a bead on the right-side bird, and Randon next to me took the left. They dropped out of the air at the same time as the efficiency of our shot provided an exciting start tour morning.

Echo erupted out of her blind as Randon yelled “Mark!” Both birds were quickly gathered and echo impatiently waited as more birds encircled the air around us. The morning slowed down considerably for the next two hours. We sat and waited, and waited, and waited. Birds were flying, but we could not gather enough interest in our spread. I had stamped down a deep hole in the flow area. We created extra motion with a feeding pulsator. This motion decoy looks like a tail up feeding mallard. Water is pumped through the base and forced through a straw facing the back side of the duck. It is a fantastic representation of a feeding duck kicking the water around it. Looking back on that day, it probably looked out of place in a shallow pond like that.
By 10 in the morning, we were standing up and walking around. I had expected a lot more than two birds. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very grateful for any opportunity to harvest a bird. It’s a blessing to hunt and to have public land to hunt on. I believe there is a common trait that all hunters suffer from. We become impatient and start to overthink or find problems in our current position. With waterfowl hunting, if there are birds flying, and they are not coming into you decoys, you need to change something. Most of the time, you need to add or remove motion. In our case, I think the birds were flying to deeper water for feeding. From my experience, Ducks will fly to feed water I the morning, and roost water at night. We all stood up and started to talk.

Gathered out on the edge of the water, we joked around and started to think we should pack it up for the morning. Just then Echo locked onto something in distance. Randon was the first to see her. He spun and called out “Ducks!” All 3 of us turned to see a large group of birds barreling towards us. Each of us bolted out of the water and into our blind positions on the hill. I pulled my gun to my side as the white underbellies of 10 or so pintails, flew side ways, and flaring just beyond the edge of the spread. We all pulled our guns up and started firing. I took 1 shot into the cloud, and swung to the front as I saw one with a darker neck. I fired and he fell. I had received a gift this morning. I had shot my first pintail drake. It had all happened so quickly. This drake was the last bird we shot in this area. We pulled out at noon, and went to get some food. 3 Hunters and 3 birds. Some might look at this hunt and see a failed hunt. Not me. A few birds, and a day outside can do more for the mind, body, and the soul; than any kind of therapy out here. I wouldn’t trade a day like this for anything.

Part 1: 2 Norther Shoveler hens, 1 Pintail drake
(check out part 2 to hear about the rest of this day.)

Hunt Kit

Wi******er SX4 Hybrid 12 Gauge

Cabelas Classic II waders
Browning super puffy jacket
Browning Wicked Wing Hoody
Browning Goose glove
Browning Riser glove
Browning quick cover
Cabelas Small Duffle

24 floater Decoys
18 AvianX Decoys
Jet Sled
Tangle Free dog blind

25/03/2021

Keelye's Buck

Keelye and I were married in November 2016. A month before our wedding, Keelye participated in our annual family tradition of the Utah general season deer hunt. That year, my mother had a tag. An hour into the opening morning Keelye witnessed my mother harvest a nice little buck. Ever since then, she has been educated through a hunter’s safety program. She received a blue card and has been applying for a deer tag ever since. Three preference points later, she was drawn for a general season deer tag. The Jones family has hunted in Unit 6 for generations. 2020 was Keelye's year.

The opening day of the hunt was October 19th. Earlier that summer Keelye had surprised me with the announcement of our first child. Keelye was 20 weeks pregnant when we arrived at the deer hunt opening morning.

Keelye had received 3 years of Jones hunting experience. We jumped out of the truck with our blaze orang and she immediately started looking for tracks. On one of our first hunts together, I showed her how to see the difference between a doe and a buck track. Now she is better at it than I am. She can always spot the dew claw markings, and the pointed shape.

On the opening morning, we started our hike down a sandy bowl and across some lava rock outcroppings. We often find deer hiding in small groups. They bed down under the lava rock outcroppings. As we traverse across some low rolling hills, we spot a small doe running down a wash into some ledges. Keelye and I decide to follow the doe. There is a possibility that she would run into a smaller group nearby. We spot her again as she trots to a stop in a small cluster of sage. I pull up my binoculars to check for anything near her. There is a round opening through the sage. I spot a thin tine rising from the sage. I whisper over to Keelye, "there's a buck". She pronounced, "No way." We watched as a small 3 point rose from his bedding area. I asked if she wanted to shoot it. She said yes! Just then, they bolt.

We follow the mating pair as they tear off down another wash. As we carefully walk over the rise to watch them, I see the orange of my dad and little brother. They have been watching the two deer as they run down the ledges. Keelye and I move to the ledges to see if they will spook anything bigger. We both settle into glass. The pair run down a rocky side hill, and into an open meadow. They meet up with a group of other deer.

My heart starts to pound in my chest as I see several huge bucks grazing the grass down in the bottom. Sadly, they are all now on private property. When this happens, you have a decision to make. Will you do something that you will regret, or should you move on in hopes that you will find more? For me and my family, we will do the right thing. We left this herd on private property, in hopes that they will work their way back onto public land another day.

We spent the next few hours hiking around the hills. We came up on the side of a steep ravine. I like to spend a lot of time glassing, but I have found that one of the best ways to get an animal to stand up is to throw a rock. Most of my experiences have taught me that the loud sound of rocks crashing will spook a deer into standing up and give you an opportunity to sight in and take a shot. This day was no different. As we sat on some large rocks, I helped Keelye get set up, and we threw a rock. Nothing happened. Soon after, I sent my brother down into the bottom to see if he could kick anything out. Sure enough, a good sized 2 point jumped up. Keelye had him ranged at 248 yards.

Her first shot hit high. Her second shot hit low. Her third shot hit a small area of meat in the upper arm. We could see a small amount of blood start to trickle down the leg. All the while, this deer thundered up the side of the ravine and out of site. A little disappointed, Keelye scrambled down the rocks to check for a blood trail. We tracked the buck for 2 miles, only finding a small amount of blood on the sides of sage brush as he passed. We had an internal decision to make. Do we continue to track, or do we let this one go? We all decided that the shot was not life threatening. This deer would live.

We hunted on. All the rest of the day, we could not find any deer. We followed tracks for miles and check common areas where we find deer. There were none to be found. We headed back to the cabin to rest and wait for the afternoon hunt.

There is a small field close to our cabin. We had heard from one of the neighbors that two good sized bucks came into the field around sunset every night. At night the deer will often travel down mountain sides to a planted field from a night full of grazing. Keelye and I got set up on one side of the field. As the sun grew lower in the sky, we sat and chatted to each other quietly. I was starting to think that we would not see a single thing. Then a silhouette started to materialize through the trees. A large deer body jumped across the barbed wire fence. I leaned over to Keelye, and whispered, "that is a buck." I could see a basket of horns, but the light was dimming fast. Keelye rested on a fence and took aim. Her shot flew high. She took aim a second time and again her shot flew high. Keelye broke down. She had hiked over 16 miles. She had taken several shots, and nothing had come together. I remember praying that we could have another opportunity.

My wife and I made a goal to keep our Sabbath day holy. We would not kill an animal on Sunday. We woke up early and headed out the door. My dad had a feeling that we should try a new area. This secret spot is a little-known area that he had never even taken me to. We got out of the truck and planned for a half day hunt. Keelye was only able to take one day off from work. We hiked for a few hundred yards and as soon as we crested the hill, we spotted deer. There were several small groups. While glassing, we spotted two small bucks, and one little spike.

We made a quick plan to head after the biggest one. They started to trot away as they spotted us. We saw several groups like this, but nothing was within range. The area was covered in rolling hills. The area was an old burn area, so most of the trees were white sun baked skeletons. The hills were covered in dry grass that rolled like waves as the light breeze blew.

We hiked for about a half mile and came to an area where two drainage washes converged. Keelye and I made out way to the middle of the washes. I assumed that there might be a deer hiding under the rocky ledges as the edge of the drainage. A coyote busted from his cover as I climbed up on the rocks. I have noticed that coyotes are a good sign for me. When I see a coyote, I often see deer. True to the trend, Keelye spots a small group of deer back behind us. I pull my binoculars to my eyes and see a small 2 point still holding on to his velvet. Keelye sets up for a shot. The deer walk in the trees, and we make a move to cut them off. At this point Keelye's confidence was very low. Luckily, our move had paid off, and the little buck stopped 200 yards from us. I told keelye to rest on the low branch in front of us. This way her shot would be steadier. She could not get comfortable. The deer seemingly waited for her to get set. I offered my pack as a better rest. She accepted. 60 seconds later, a shot rang out, and dirt erupted from behind the buck. He just stood there and waited. I told keelye to aim a little lower using the second mil dot in my scope. The buck dropped as she squeezed the trigger. I looked over to my wife and said, " you got him." She immediately started to cry and said, "Did I hurt him?" Hunting has always been an emotional sport for me. Your adrenaline pumps like nothing I have ever experienced. Watching an animal suffer can bring even the strongest men to tears. The joy that comes at the end of a well-earned hunt is one of the best most fulfilling experiences. This is why I continue to do it. Hunting is not about the horns, or the trophy. It is about the raw emotion, the memories, and the self-reliance. This buck has provided 15 meals for my wife and I. Luckily, my wife had made a swift kill, and our family has a freezer full of meat.

Hunt Kit

Browning x-bolt Hells Canyon Speed 30-06

Browning Hipster hoodie
5.11 Wyldcat pant
Danner W's High Ground boots
Browning Hat
Vortex Diamondback Binoculars

Hittrex

03/05/2021

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