Even though I have only lived in Utah for a few years, we’ve been hunting here for decades. In fact, my general love for the Southwest is what prompted my move back. Over the years, we’ve had a lot of fun and met some great people all across Utah. I’d like to thank fellow HF member Randon Parkinson for all his help, from picking the hunt to providing scouting details. He even met us opening weekend to show us around and look at a lot of velvet bucks.
We thought I had enough points to draw this hunt, but you never really know until the results are posted. This time, the math actually held true! The following weekend, my girlfriend and I drove over for some initial scouting. We absolutely loved the beautiful country, and of course, it was tons of fun looking at a lot of deer and elk. As it turned out, a lot of hunters were chasing bears with hounds during their spring season. We saw dozens of bucks, all with very small velvet antlers starting to pop.
About a month later, we made another scouting trip and giggled as we drove around glassing this spot and that. Virtually every vista, canyon, and sage flat held deer or elk, but usually both. The velvet starts had grown into almost enough shape to start getting a feel of the huge inventory of bucks we would need to sort through once the season opened. We were very excited about the opener in a few weeks. Based on the number of elk we saw, I decided to pick up an OTC archery tag just in case.
I had my annual salmon fishing trip to Oregon the Friday before the season opened, so after a whirlwind trip up there and back, we met Randon late Sunday afternoon at camp. Wynette and I had had a chance to do a quick drive and put a couple nice bucks to bed. We planned on being on them first thing in the a.m.
Monday morning broke clear and cool, despite the fires burning nearby and over in Colorado. We whispered while waiting for the sky to pinken enough to glass for the bucks from the previous evening. However, before we found the bucks, I saw several elk below and across the coulee from us. Within minutes, I was after them. The wind was completely opposite once I got down to their elevation, and things were pretty much puckered from there, despite my best efforts to work around it. The good news was that when I got back up to Randon and Wynette, they had eyes on the bucks and one was a no doubt shooter. We drove around to get on top of them and walked right on top of them, but they saw us just a few seconds before I had a chance to get it done.
The next couple days was the best archery deer hunt I’ve ever had. We were on bucks and/or elk during both the morning and evening sessions, with middays spent sleeping in the shade. I passed on dozens of smaller bucks, missed a couple shots at a real dandy, and had some exciting stalks where I just needed a couple more seconds.
Randon had to get back to work, so he left Tuesday afternoon, but by then, Wynette and I felt like we had a good handle on things. Wednesday morning, we were sitting on a huge vista waiting for the sun to peek up, and when it did, we were looking at deer scattered at every angle, including a bachelor group of five bucks. Two of them had our attention. The plan was for me to drop in on them and Wyn would watch through the scope. Then I would radio her when I was ready to be picked up on the other side of the canyon.
Once the sun was up, the bucks started to head to cover surprisingly fast. I played cat and mouse with them for a couple hours and was pretty close a couple times. I actually thought I had them in a place where I could hustle to get in front of them, but I was a few minutes late getting to the spot, and this time, they vanished. I radioed Wyn to drive around and pick me up.
Somehow, she got on the wrong side road. I figured she would realize it and come back to where I was sitting in the shade waiting. After what seemed way longer than it should have, a truck pulled up next to me with a couple other hunters. Then Wynette popped out of the back seat. As we walked down the track she’d driven on, she explained that the track had gotten technical and she’d rolled the ATV over on top of her. After that, she walked out to a road and was picked up by these two nice guys. Fortunately, she wasn’t hurt other than some minor road rash, and after turning the bike over, it started right up. We thanked the guys for their help and wished them good luck with their hunt.
That afternoon, we drove way west to a favorite spot and found a shady spot to wait for the sun to start dropping. As we sat there chatting, we heard something near us. One of the coolest things about hunting is all the other unexpected stuff that happens along the way. In this case, we had a family of grouse get up close and personal. They hung out with us until the witching hour, and then we loaded up to start cruising and glassing. Finally, I saw a nice buck standing in a sage flat in a spot I thought I could get to with a short stalk. As is usually the case, the rest was over too quickly, and as the buck ran off, I realized my hunt was over. I indicated to Wyn that I’d made a good hit and met her back at the bike to get our packs ready to retrieve our prize. I’d watched the buck run out of sight and wasn’t too worried about finding him until we got to the edge he went over. It went from flat, open sage to steep, thick stuff well over head high.
I immediately got that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. You all know what I’m talking about. I told Wyn we needed to split up and start walking a grid to find him, but I already knew this stuff was so thick that we’d literally have to step on him. The light was fading, and I was really starting to panic, but I kept after it. As I walked back to start a new grid, there he was in all his glory. I yelled to Wynette to come over, and we both just stood there with smiles and then hugs. Then we both had to put our hands on his sexy velvet antlers.
I’ve been hunting all my life, and this was my first velvet animal of any kind. After quick photos, we started working to take care of him. The thick cover and steep slope made caping and quartering much more work than normal, and it was pitch black by the time we were finished and had everything loaded onto the ATV for the ride back to camp. This was followed by more work caping the head and treating the velvet.
This hunt completed my Utah trifecta on limited-entry deer, elk, and antelope tags. Thanks again to Randon and the other HF members who provided excellent information about this hunt. Thanks to my taxidermist, Judson Tolman, for helping school me on how to properly care for the velvet to ensure an excellent mount.
Login