My youngest daughter(15) and I got out for opening day of youth season here in BC, Canada. We headed north up Kootenay Lake to the area I shot my mule deer last year. We left the truck at 6:30am heading NNE up the mountain across a logging block on an old skid trail, the wind was perfect downhill and slightly to the south. We spent an hour hiking and glassing across the block before a flock of turkeys fired up ahead of us focusing our attention to the north. I was looking for the turkeys when I spotted a mule deer doe in the long dry grass off to the side of the skid trail, no two does and a fawn. Then antlers seemed to grow out the back of the biggest doe, the buck was directly behind her feeding in a draw. We watched them for maybe 10min before they all just meandered off uphill to the NE. No shot.
We moved the 100m or so up to where they had crossed our path and spent a few minutes trying to find them on the open mountainside above us when my girl found them on a steep forested ridge slightly to the NE of us but 300m away. Once again they moved off uphill with no chance at a shot. We decided to head up the ridge slightly to the north of where we had last seen them following a steep ravine to our north hoping they did not not head into that canyon. For almost an hour we slowly made our way up the ridge glassing the whole way when I spotted a doe 50m or so ahead of us. We watched her for 5min before she moved off uphill, again. We headed off once again uphill hoping they didn't head into the ravine. Another 30min or so and I spot a doe this time really close 30m or less, my daughter finally spots antlers behind a fallen tree at 80m. We tried to get her set up where we were, her sort of kneeling/standing with my shooting stick and me behind her trying to stop her from sliding down the mountainside. It was not going to work so we quietly moved over to a big fir and got her set up just as the buck cleared the downed tree and stopped broadside at 80-85m. My daughter checked if she was good to shoot and at the shot the deer ran 30m towards the ravine. I thought we were in for a world of work when he stopped, staggered back 10m, dropped and rolled down the mountain at least half the distance.
My daughter was very emotional at this point, she loves hunting but finds killing very difficult. It shouldn't be easy to take a life. The buck was a younger 3x3 in velvet. We got him off the mountain and into a cooler in fairly short order, the deer only tried to kill me once on the way down. Today was spent butchering, we put 60lbs of clean boned out meat into the freezer plus a decent bag of trimming for sausage. My daughter was using her Savage 7mm-08 shooting Hornady American Whitetail 139gr interlocks.
We moved the 100m or so up to where they had crossed our path and spent a few minutes trying to find them on the open mountainside above us when my girl found them on a steep forested ridge slightly to the NE of us but 300m away. Once again they moved off uphill with no chance at a shot. We decided to head up the ridge slightly to the north of where we had last seen them following a steep ravine to our north hoping they did not not head into that canyon. For almost an hour we slowly made our way up the ridge glassing the whole way when I spotted a doe 50m or so ahead of us. We watched her for 5min before she moved off uphill, again. We headed off once again uphill hoping they didn't head into the ravine. Another 30min or so and I spot a doe this time really close 30m or less, my daughter finally spots antlers behind a fallen tree at 80m. We tried to get her set up where we were, her sort of kneeling/standing with my shooting stick and me behind her trying to stop her from sliding down the mountainside. It was not going to work so we quietly moved over to a big fir and got her set up just as the buck cleared the downed tree and stopped broadside at 80-85m. My daughter checked if she was good to shoot and at the shot the deer ran 30m towards the ravine. I thought we were in for a world of work when he stopped, staggered back 10m, dropped and rolled down the mountain at least half the distance.
My daughter was very emotional at this point, she loves hunting but finds killing very difficult. It shouldn't be easy to take a life. The buck was a younger 3x3 in velvet. We got him off the mountain and into a cooler in fairly short order, the deer only tried to kill me once on the way down. Today was spent butchering, we put 60lbs of clean boned out meat into the freezer plus a decent bag of trimming for sausage. My daughter was using her Savage 7mm-08 shooting Hornady American Whitetail 139gr interlocks.
