Deer Hunt 2008
Deer hunt 2008 found us in our normal spot along the Snake River in Washington. We left earlier than usual
and arrived at the river well before midnight. At least this time there were still people awake at the camp
ground, when we launched the boat and headed down the river in the dark. Normally we pull in around 1am
and wake everybody as we launch. Not this year. I had good light from the nearly full moon as I ran up the
river to our camping spot. My son and Nick drove the truck over. There is no launch where we like to camp. I
have a spot where I pull the boat up in the weeds and such along the river. There used to be a beaver living
there and his channel to the main river is still navigable and gets the boat out of sight. We had a couple of
guys camping near us.
Early the next morning we gathered strength and hurried to get our clothes on before freezing to death. The
moon was below the horizon and the trip to our hunting spot would have to be done with the nav lights up and
down the river. It does make finding our exact spot in the dark hard and for a second year we climbed up a a
much harder cliff face instead of using the game trail. That trail; is sure easy to follow in the light but hard to
find in the dark. We keep talking about bringing a reflector of some kind so we can get on the trail easier but so
far it has been just talk.
So up the cliff face we went. One advantage of it still being dark is that you can not see how far you would fall
in the dark. Once up a ways things lever out to something close to 90 degrees. As often happens, since I am
slower than the two young mountain goats with me, rocks are dislodged and I have to wonder whether it will
be best to stand up straight so as not to get hit in the head or to duck down and let the rock whiz by above me.
We were a bit behind schedule and the light of the coming day was just making its presence known on the
eastern sky.
Its a great time of the day. With the nearly full
moon having just retreated beyond the horizon,
the deer I saw were just beginning to lay down.
They had been feeding most of the night.
That made for very little movement of the deer
during the day. I can normally look around with
the binoculars, and see many deer grazing along.
But not this day.
Around 8am, I glanced behind me and saw the rack of a nice deer coming towards me. I ducked down behind a
rock and got my rifle ready. As I slowly looked up again the deer had seen Nick and was looking at him. I
brought up the rifle, but just then the deer decided to go back the way it came. It went out of sight in just a step
or two. I quickly got Nicks attention and told him to turn around and look behind him. Up until this point has
not been know for being able to shoot quickly. Well he graduated this day and was able to get a shot off very
quickly as the deer was just going out of sight. I could hear the bullet hit home from where I was at and knew it
was a dead deer. It took about 15 minutes for Nick to find the deer. My son hiked up to him and it was then that
they realized it was a whitetail. First one we have taken in that area.
and arrived at the river well before midnight. At least this time there were still people awake at the camp
ground, when we launched the boat and headed down the river in the dark. Normally we pull in around 1am
and wake everybody as we launch. Not this year. I had good light from the nearly full moon as I ran up the
river to our camping spot. My son and Nick drove the truck over. There is no launch where we like to camp. I
have a spot where I pull the boat up in the weeds and such along the river. There used to be a beaver living
there and his channel to the main river is still navigable and gets the boat out of sight. We had a couple of
guys camping near us.
Early the next morning we gathered strength and hurried to get our clothes on before freezing to death. The
moon was below the horizon and the trip to our hunting spot would have to be done with the nav lights up and
down the river. It does make finding our exact spot in the dark hard and for a second year we climbed up a a
much harder cliff face instead of using the game trail. That trail; is sure easy to follow in the light but hard to
find in the dark. We keep talking about bringing a reflector of some kind so we can get on the trail easier but so
far it has been just talk.
So up the cliff face we went. One advantage of it still being dark is that you can not see how far you would fall
in the dark. Once up a ways things lever out to something close to 90 degrees. As often happens, since I am
slower than the two young mountain goats with me, rocks are dislodged and I have to wonder whether it will
be best to stand up straight so as not to get hit in the head or to duck down and let the rock whiz by above me.
We were a bit behind schedule and the light of the coming day was just making its presence known on the
eastern sky.
Its a great time of the day. With the nearly full
moon having just retreated beyond the horizon,
the deer I saw were just beginning to lay down.
They had been feeding most of the night.
That made for very little movement of the deer
during the day. I can normally look around with
the binoculars, and see many deer grazing along.
But not this day.
Around 8am, I glanced behind me and saw the rack of a nice deer coming towards me. I ducked down behind a
rock and got my rifle ready. As I slowly looked up again the deer had seen Nick and was looking at him. I
brought up the rifle, but just then the deer decided to go back the way it came. It went out of sight in just a step
or two. I quickly got Nicks attention and told him to turn around and look behind him. Up until this point has
not been know for being able to shoot quickly. Well he graduated this day and was able to get a shot off very
quickly as the deer was just going out of sight. I could hear the bullet hit home from where I was at and knew it
was a dead deer. It took about 15 minutes for Nick to find the deer. My son hiked up to him and it was then that
they realized it was a whitetail. First one we have taken in that area.
David and Nick gutting the
buck.
buck.
They had a little company
waiting for them to finished.
waiting for them to finished.
The buck has 9 total
points.
points.
Its a long drag off the cliffs, so we did not stick around long. Two bucks would really be work to get out of
there. Since this was Nicks first buck and since he was going to have it mounted, that was going to put extra
work on us to keep the deer in good shape for the taxidermists. We have a plastic slide that we put the deer
in, that helps with sliding the deer down. It also helps protect the hide around the cape. Still though we were
extra careful as we went down.
there. Since this was Nicks first buck and since he was going to have it mounted, that was going to put extra
work on us to keep the deer in good shape for the taxidermists. We have a plastic slide that we put the deer
in, that helps with sliding the deer down. It also helps protect the hide around the cape. Still though we were
extra careful as we went down.
In the video to the right, you will
see how steep the terrain is and
how we get the deer down off the
mountain. We use what is called
an "Elk slide." It makes the work
of getting a deer off this mountain
much easier. It does though, have
its drawbacks. Sometimes the
deer wants to go down faster than
you want it too!
see how steep the terrain is and
how we get the deer down off the
mountain. We use what is called
an "Elk slide." It makes the work
of getting a deer off this mountain
much easier. It does though, have
its drawbacks. Sometimes the
deer wants to go down faster than
you want it too!
With the deer back in camp and the cape removed from the
skull,
it was time to get back out there and look for a couple more
deer. My son and I had doe tags so this was going to be easier
that looking for just a buck! In the evening like this we normally
just go along the cliffs slowly glassing for deer. We spotted
what could have been a legal buck high up in the cliff face, but it
just would not give us a good look at its antlers. We also
spotted some does not too far from the buck but our doe tags
were only good on the other side of the river. It was getting
dark when I spotted a large group of deer heading down to
water. As we were getting into position up river from the deer,
we saw another group of does just ahead of us. We turned the
motor off, (all forward movement of the boat must be halted and
the motor must be off to shoot from the boat) as I placed a
backpack on the bow to prepare to take a shot. I waited till as
much movement of the boat had lessened and took my shot. I
missed and quickly followed that with another. That shot
connected and the doe went down. My son followed my shot
with a couple of his own and we were done hunting. Two nice
does on the ground and close to the boat. It was dark by the
time we got the deer into the boat. The moon was out and
lighted our way as we headed back to camp. We stayed the
night in camp and headed home the next morning. All three
deer were cut up and in the freezer by dark the next evening.
Thanks to David and Nick for helping an old guy like me to
another great year.
skull,
it was time to get back out there and look for a couple more
deer. My son and I had doe tags so this was going to be easier
that looking for just a buck! In the evening like this we normally
just go along the cliffs slowly glassing for deer. We spotted
what could have been a legal buck high up in the cliff face, but it
just would not give us a good look at its antlers. We also
spotted some does not too far from the buck but our doe tags
were only good on the other side of the river. It was getting
dark when I spotted a large group of deer heading down to
water. As we were getting into position up river from the deer,
we saw another group of does just ahead of us. We turned the
motor off, (all forward movement of the boat must be halted and
the motor must be off to shoot from the boat) as I placed a
backpack on the bow to prepare to take a shot. I waited till as
much movement of the boat had lessened and took my shot. I
missed and quickly followed that with another. That shot
connected and the doe went down. My son followed my shot
with a couple of his own and we were done hunting. Two nice
does on the ground and close to the boat. It was dark by the
time we got the deer into the boat. The moon was out and
lighted our way as we headed back to camp. We stayed the
night in camp and headed home the next morning. All three
deer were cut up and in the freezer by dark the next evening.
Thanks to David and Nick for helping an old guy like me to
another great year.
 | |  | |  | |  | |  |