Southern Utah Success 08

I am an avid visitor of this site, and I finally decided to post something. I have been overseas on a military deployment for the past many months, and I was fortunate to come home for about 10 days of mid-tour leave. It was great to be home and see my wife and daughters. I also lucked out and timed it just right to be able to come home and spend time hunting with my Father and 3 brothers. It was the first time in several years that we have all been back together at the same time to go hunting. Due to military committments, I was hunting this year for the first time in a few years. Needless to say I was pumped. My plan was to hold out for a bigger buck, but it didn't work out that way. Opening morning found my wife and I watching a giant meadow that deer frequent on the way to their beds. As it got light we saw a lot of deer and several two and three point bucks. Two three points passed right in front of us at about 100 yards. I let them go hoping for something better and knowing that my hunt was just beginning. The two three points crossed the meadow and joined up with another herd of deer. As all the deer began moving up a hill to leave the area I saw a buck that I thought was part of the group that the the two 3-points had joined. In the low light and at just over three hundred yards (GPS told me) the buck's antlers were skylined as he moved up the hill. I made a quick judgment, and a few years of not hunting probably made me less patient than normal, and then I decided to shoot at him. As the deer each crossed through a small opening in some scrub oak I waited for the buck. When I saw him I held steady and led him just a little. He went right down and never moved. One long shot and my hunt was over. When I got up to the buck I realized it was one of the 3-points I had let pass right in front of me. I was pretty bummed that I mistook him for a larger buck, but excited to have shared a neat hunt with my wife. I think she was praying for my hunt to be over in the first few minutes so that I could spend more time with the family at home. Later on opening day, my dad, who hasn't even taken a shot for more than 10 years now, couldn't resist this time when a nice 4-point tried to run him over at handgun range. Leave it to dad, who just comes to be with his boys, to get the best buck of the group. On our 2nd day hunting after missing some long tough running shots at a very big buck, my younger brother made a good shot on a 4-point buck. I was excited to be with him and to witness his shot. My other brother, who does the dedicated hunter program, was holding out for a really nice buck. He didn't take a deer last year so he knew he could take a buck this year and the next. He held out and passed on several smaller bucks. On the final day of the hunt, with less than a half hour of light remaining, he filled his tag on a nice 3X4. His wife had threatened him not to return home without some meat this year so it worked out perfect. My youngest brother didn't have very much time to hunt, but he had a chance at a couple of really good bucks that were together one night after he got out of school. He wasn't able to connect on the long shots and came home disappointed but happy for the experience. The weather this year was too hot, but we saw a lot of deer and were able to harvest four of them. The deer were all taken in three different areas around St. George, UT. While trying to avoid the temporary cities of trailers and ATV's in the mountains this year we just happened to pick the right places each time we went out. Most importantly, our family was together for the experience. That's what really made it worth it. I just flew back overseas for the remaining months of my deployment. My friends here couldn't understand why I couldn't stop smiling when I got off the plane. Because most of them do not hunt (They are from Metropolitan areas of California and have never likely seen a deer in the wild) all I could do is tell them I had a great experience in the outdoors with my family, but that they really wouldn't understand. I enjoyed my time at home with the family, and despite our current separation I think I will still be smiling for weeks to come.