Last minute Southern Utah Buck - 27.5 Inches (PICS)

Let me start off by addressing what many people are talking about. The rifle deer hunt this year was strange, and I don't believe it is because deer numbers are down. While out during the archery and muzzle loader seasons deer numbers seemed very comparable to other years. I believe there was a major delay in deer migration this year because of record heat and the fact that heavy rain plagued much of the muzzle loader hunt in the south. Due to the heat and less pressure than normal, the deer simply didn't migrate as they have in recent years. The winter grounds in Southwest Utah rarely suffer from any kind of winter kill, and this past winter was not harsh down here. Most of the deer were still in the northern areas and middle grounds when the rifle hunt began this year. In areas where I saw very few animals the week before the hunt, we were seeing tons of deer by the end of the rifle hunt. The pressure finally got them moving to where we usually find them. That's my opinion, but I believe if people go out and count the deer a few weeks from now they will find the numbers to be normal.

I didn't have a rifle tag this year but my father and two of my brothers did. After spending time hunting out west and seeing very few deer opening morning (there are a lot of deer out there now) we decided to try different areas with similar results. Finally, out west of Central we started getting into a bunch of deer including bucks. Deer were there but the thick cover and rough terrain made it tough, and we weren't able to connect on anything.

On Tuesday night we headed out above Diamond/Dammeron Valley in an area that has produced bucks for us several years in a row now. The day before the hunt I had hiked the entire area and saw only three does. As soon as we made the hike to our area, we got heavy into the deer. The pressure had moved them down like I stated earlier. My brother (the other guy in our party without a tag)quickly spotted a large bedded buck that we estimated to be 26-29 inches wide. It was bedded in some shade at 150 yards and those with the rifles in hands couldn't pick him out. He finally jumped and ran up the hill which provided my brother Kurtis with two quick shots through the trees. Both were misses. Later, on our way back I was accompanying my younger brother Keric, and we jumped the buck again. Keric had two good shots at the buck running full throttle but was unable to connect. At the same time my dad passed on a smaller three or four point buck. (He doesn't like the work after the kill in his old age)We made it back to the truck frustrated, but grateful we finally had gotten into the deer.

On Wednesday afternoon, Kurtis got off of work and I took him up to the area we hunted the previous evening. Once again, we instantly started seeing does. This time we ended up hiking about a half mile to the north of where we had seen the big buck the night before. Kurtis was hoping to put some meat in the freezer for his young family and was ready to shoot any buck that gave him the opportunity. We were hunting a thick burn area draw that ran from north to South without seeing anything. To our northwest was a draw full of cedars that connected into our draw on the northern end.

I told Kurtis I would swing way out to the west and push up the cedar covered draw back towards him to see if I could drive anything his way. As I hiked down and started heading east up the draw I began hearing an animal up ahead of me. At the top of the draw a deer busted out of the trees at about twenty yards, and I saw antler through the thick branches. He started heading south east towards the draw where Kurtis was waiting. I quickly radioed that a buck was heading his direction, but I wasn't sure how big it was. I waited for what seemed like forever, but was probably about 1 minute. At last, I heard the crack of Kurtis's rifle, and a quick shout on the radio of "I got him, I got him."

While heading that direction, I asked Kurtis how big he was and if it happened to be the big buck from the day before. He stated that it was a solid four point, and that he wasn't sure if it was the buck from the previous day. When I made it to where he was I instantly knew it was the big buck we had seen, or it was his twin brother. I don't think Kurtis realized initially how good of a buck he was. The deer had jumped from in front of me and had taken a line about 200 yards straight over the hill to Kurtis. An easy shot at at trotting buck from 40 yards put him down. The buck didn't ever see Kurtis. Every once in a while a plan actually works! We were blessed to find the buck two days in a row.

We gutted the deer, which was one of the fattest bucks I have ever seen, and we started dragging him in the waning light towards the truck. We dragged him up and down several hills in the dark, and we were getting exhausted. Luckily, I have Verizon and had a good signal out in the hills. I called our brother Justin in Enterprise and asked him to bring his deer cart to help us. Justin came right away with some neighbors, and saved us at least two more hours of dragging. After getting the deer down about 6:30 and a grueling drag through rough terrain, we finally made it back to the truck around 10 pm. It was a good team effort. It was a blast spending time with family doing something we enjoy.

It is Kurtis's biggest buck to date, and he will have plenty of meat in his freezer as he was hoping. It couldn't have happened to a better guy. I was even paid an Alberto's quesadilla for my guide fees! Congrats to my little brother on a fun hunt, and a great buck. He is 27 and 1/2 inches wide and a stud of a general season buck. I welcome any thoughts on where he might score as I am no expert on scoring.