13a Archery Strip tag DIY with my family (2013)

[aguas]

I was lucky enough to draw an archery strip 13a tag this year. When I was trying to figure out if I should get a guide or do it myself I logged on here and read some great stories of some stud hunters that were strip DIY. Right then I knew I wanted to get-r-done myself and not hire a guide (the fact that I couldnt afford a guide helped my decision Anyway, after reading their stories I enjoyed doing that so much, I figured I would put a small story together with a few pictures in case someone else might enjoy reading my story.

 

I went up to 13a with my wife and our little girl Kailee. I actually ended up killing on my little girls 14 month birthday. I am still somewhat young but I have an old school mentality where I want my family to be with me as much as possible to make memories and stories.

 

I went to the strip with one goal in mind. To have fun and kill at least a 4 point. I have never killed a 4 point before and that was my goal. I wanted him to be over 150 inches. I had passed up on a wide 3x4 earlier that day just cuz he wasnt a 4 point.

 

 

 

 

I had my wife and Kailee drop me off and for some reason I decided to deck out in all my camp and even pulled on a hat mask, and gloves. I had discussed with my wife after looking at a map to have her drop me off and drive a few miles down the road and I would just hike to her making a large half circle. It was around 1700 so I knew deer would be out feeding at that time during the evening.

 

After about ¼ a mile walking in I noticed the lack of feed, so I walked away from all the rocks. I came to a small open area with a lot of push down trees and I knew if there were deer in here they would be in something like this. I nocked an arrow and slowly made my way into the meadow once I was ½ way through I knew there weren’t any deer and put my arrow back into my quiver and headed back into the thick trees. After another 1/4 mile I came to another open area and this time out of sheer laziness I didn’t nock an arrow, because when you are labeled the “unluckiest hunter” opportunities don’t present themselves unless I am unprepared. After walking 10 yards into the meadow I decided I might as well nock an arrow. There was a small mound 20 yards away and that would give me a view of the whole meadow. When I got to the top of it I looked to my left and there was a doe looking at me. I watched her for 5 second and I saw a set of antlers moving as it was feeding behind a tree close to the doe. The buck picked up its head to get some grass and I finally saw how big he was. He was tall with deep forks in the back. I knew he was the buck I wanted. To his right there were 3 or 4 other smaller bucks and all were still feeding so I knew the doe was the only one who knew I was there. I grabbed my range finder with the doe still watching me and I was shaking so bad I couldn’t get an accurate reading on her or the buck. My range finder read 28, 238, 100, 15, 73. So I took a small deep breath and I ranged a big tree off to her left and it read 102 yards. For about ½ a second I considered launching a hail mary to try to hit the buck, but I knew with him so close to the doe and a few dead cedar trees trees in the meadow, it would be a very unethical shot. Seems how I was in full camouflage with the wind in my face I knew by how the doe was acting she didn’t know what I was and wasn’t too spooked so I froze and held still for about 10 minutes. When she turned her head to the right I slowly ducked down so a big fallen tree hid me from her line of sight. I crawled to my left about 5 feet so a large thick pinion tree was between her and I. I could still see the bucks feeding and facing away from me. I slowly crawled straight to the doe keeping the tree between us. After slowly crawling for 10 min I made it to the tree and after taking one step past the tree a small buck looked at me. I knew I couldn’t go any further. So I grabbed my range finder and ranged the buck and it was 65 yards from me. The bigger buck stepped broadside still feeding so I pulled back and put my 70 yard pin just below the base of his belly. Thanks to a previous unsuccessful archery shot at a Bull Elk I knew to check the flight path for branches in the way. As I did that I realized I had a 6 inch gap between 2 small pinion trees just 45 yards away. I knew if I could get the arrow between that then The flight path would be clear. I was 100% confident with my 60 and 70 yard pins, I didnt even think twice about not shooting.

 

With my bow still at full draw I focused back on the buck and a smaller buck stepped out in front of him. I decided to wait to see if he would move out of the way. After about 30 second he moved out of the way and the bigger buck was now facing away from me presenting a Texas heart shot as my only option. Before I could even consider pulling the trigger he took one small step to his left giving me a steep quariting away shot. I moved my pins from his butt to about ¾ the way back on his body aiming at his guts. I was calm and I knew that if I hit him where I was aiming I would hit nothing but guts and then the arrow would have a boneless path to his vitals.

 

Once I set up for 65 yards, calm as can be, I didn’t think about it. I pulled the trigger on my release and held my finish and watched the red nockturnal fly through the 6 inch window. I then saw the shaft of the arrow burry itself inside the deer’s guts showing only 8 inches of a 29 inch arrow sticking out of the buck. He then took off as fast as he could to the left down the hill taking the two other bucks and doe with him, of which he was still the biggest. I was so glad I had used a nockturnal since the red light was visual proof that I had made the perfect shot as he ran off with it inside him. I began to tremble and shake as the adrenalin and pressure released.

 

I set down my bow and mask and gloves and placed them right where I was standing and marked it on the GPS. I then began to memorize where I was, where I shot through and where the buck had been standing. After about 2 minutes I walked directly to where the buck was when I shot and began looking for blood. After a few min of finding no blood or tracks I looked back at the tree I was standing by when I had shot and used my range finder to see the distance, it read 52 yards. I backed p 13 yards and immediately saw where the ground was scuffed where the deer had ran . I still couldn’t find blood so I began making small circles where the deer ran off. I found on a rock, a splotch of blood along with a quarter sized piece of intestine. Knowing I had a blood trail to follow, my excitement and adrenaline shot through the roof and I marked the spot on my GPS. I ran back to my bow, gloves, and face mask and ran out to meet my wife.

 

According to my GPS the roads was .39 of a mile away, but the spot my wife planned to meet me was a couple miles past that. After several unsuccessful attempts of trying ot reach her on the radio I b-lined it to the road and hid my bow and gear under a fallen pine tree and ran down the road calling on the radio. After ¾ a mile we made contact on a high point. She picked me up and after grabbing my bow and gear, I made a phone call to a great hunter explaining my shot and placement and angle of the arrow to know if I should track him tonight or wait until morning. He told me with a shot like that it was a guaranteed kill, but give him 1 ½ hours just to be sure.

 

By the time we got back down to the road where we would begin our hike I figured it would take 30 minutes and that would be perfect timing. With our 14 month old baby on my wife’s back, knives on my belt and a flash light in my hand (by now it was close to 2030) we started the hike to where I made the shot. (Since it had rained nearly every day and a high percentage of rain for the following day we wanted to find it before the rain would wash the blood away. Anyone who has tracked blood in the dark with only a flash light knows how hard it is to follow it. After 100 yards of tracking I could see the red luminock light up 50 yards away. The rage broad head and 10 inches up the shaft was covered in blood. The remaining shaft was covered in intestine blood. We continued following the blood trail and it seemed to be less and less and then just drops here and there. I had shot countless animals with my bow and only have retrieved 2. That sick feeling stirred in my stomach and doubt began to sink in. I replayed the shot in my head and my mind began to play tricks on me leaving me with the visual image that my arrow had only penetrated 2 or 3 inches in regardless of the physical proof I held in my hand, the arrow covered in blood.

 

After another 100 yards of minimal blood trail we came to what made my hear leap, at my feet were 2/3 of his guts and intestines. I knew he was dead for sure. After that we followed a steady blood trail for 100 more yards and then I shined my flash light ahead and saw him laying not even 10 yards away from us. Feeling more excitement then I have ever felt before in my life, we ran to him. For the first time in my 9 year drought I placed my hands on deer antlers again!

 

Im not sure what he scored, but a few of my buddies think he scored 155 to 165. I took him straight to a taxidermist. He is the biggest buck I have ever killed. I know he isnt really "strip" material, but in all honesty, having my family up that and doing it on our own, makes me have no regrets whatsoever. It was a blast and a lot of memories were made.

 

A few people have made fun of me for killing "bambi" at the strip, but I have been told, that because of all the rain, this was one of the toughest years up there. But still even if I was the only one who didnt kill a 200 class buck, I still had the time of my life and I wouldnt trade this buck for anything

[ready2hunt]

Great write up. That is such a neat experience that you go to share with your wife and baby. Its the memories that make a trophy buck in my opinion...not inches. Thanks for sharing, Congrats

[trphyhntr]

nice buck dude

[hunt crazy in ca]

Awesome bud! Great story! Some people masure a good hunt on the size of horns...outhers measure it on comradery of family and freinds....me personally you killed the biggest buck on the strip bud! Good for you...livin right sir!

[izquik72]

Way to go.

Great story, congrats on your success and hardwork.

Nothing wrong with that buck at all. Sounds like he is just what you were looking for.

[capoeirajosh]

That is a fantastic buck in my book! Congrats!

[lucky2hunt]

I think it's a great buck! Congratulations on a successful hunt!!!

[awatson]

Great story and a great deer! I love it when they field dress themselves!

[Will K]

That's cool. Congrat's.

[yumabowhunter]

Atta boy!

[atforest]

Very cool aguas, and congrats on a nice deer. Thanks for telling your story. I just got real excited for my 13a strip hunt in just over a month.

[Kaffer62]

Chris!! Awesome buck and doing it all together as a family is just icing on the cake!! I wouldn't have passed on that buck!

 

-Frank

[motoxno53]

SWEET... Great writeup and nice buck man...Congrats

[goinhuntn]

Great story awesome to spend it with your family!! If that buck made you happy, which it sounds like it did than it is a trophy by all means. IMO trophies are measured by the experience you had, and it sounds like you had a great time congrats on a fine buck!!!

[runningbird]

great buck and great story! Nothing like doing it yourself. Don't forget to post a picture for us when you get your trophy back.