Memorable Deer Hunt

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JimT
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Memorable Deer Hunt

Post by JimT »

Many years ago .. before we had kids ..
Miss Twyla and I had been hunting all morning. We had hiked down into the canyons before sunrise, looking for Mule Deer. We had covered 4 or 5 miles, much of it up and down and it was beginning to get warm. While we had not seen any deer there was plenty of sign so I figured it was just a matter of time.

The country was extremely rough. We were on the north-western edge of the Catalina Mountains outside of Tucson, AZ. The canyons were very steep, strewn with boulders and rocks from pea-sized to fist-sized. Walking through it all was not easy. In some of the canyon bottoms were little riparian areas where water was flowing up out of the canyon bottom. There was grass and vegetation and the game liked those areas. But getting from one are to the other was hard work.
We had been in one area and had seen nothing so I led the way out, going up and over the mountain and down into the canyon bottom on the other side. I was heading for a spot up and over the next mountain but the climb was steep. As I said, it was getting warm and as we climbed the ridge I could tell Twyla was having a hard time of it.

Reaching a spot where we could rest and glass the country around us we stopped for a breather. I looked at Twyla and her face was flushed and she was nearly hyper-ventilating she was breathing so hard. She sat next to me, catching her breath and I began looking over the country. Suddenly across the canyon I saw a deer walking down the slope of the hillside toward the water trickling in the canyon bottom.

The deer was far enough away that I could not make out with the unaided eye whether it was a buck or a doe. I was hunting with an open-sighted .45 Colt sixgun but Twyla had her Model 600 Remington in .243 that had a 4 power Weaver on it.

I grabbed her rifle and looked through the scope. As I watched I saw the sun glint off the antlers and just pushed the crosshairs past the nose of the walking deer and touched it off.

At the shot several things happened all at once. I lost the deer in the scope because of the recoil. At the same time Twyla said "Oh my God! You got him!" and then she went limp and fell off the rock unconscious! I had immediately jacked another shell into the chamber, not knowing exactly where I hit the buck.... hoping he would not get up.

While trying to watch through the scope for any movement I also attempted to see if my wife was OK! I was patting her with one hand, kind of shaking her gently and saying "Twyla! Twyla!" while at the same time not wanting to lose the deer if he happened to get up.

It was a perplexing time, trying to take care of my wife and watch for the deer all at once.

Eventually .. probably just a matter of a few seconds but it seemed like forever .. she came to and sat up. We figured that because of being out of breath that the excitement had caused her to pass out. Later we found she was hypoglycemic and her blood sugar tended to run low quickly. At the time we did not know it so I figured it was because of my shooting skill!

The shot was quite far. I had to have Twyla stand on the hillside and direct me to where the deer was. When I found him I discovered the shot had broken his neck. The 95 gr. Nosler Partition bullet had been aimed in front of his nose but by the time it got to him at 3100 fps he had moved a foot and a half.

We had a long ways to go so I cleaned him and made a pack out of him. I slit the front legs and tucked the back legs through the slits, folding him up so he fit on my back like a pack, his head under my right arm. I could not pick him up and had to have Twyla help me put him on. While hiking back to the road I fell down and was pinned by his weight. I would have really had to work to get free if she was not with me.

Eventually we got him out and he made great meat! His head hangs on the wall of my office, a reminder of a great hunt with my best friend, my wife.

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Old Savage
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Post by Old Savage »

Great story Jim, he looks like he might be a little annoyed with you.
In the High Desert of Southern Calif. ..."on the cutting edge of going back in time"...

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Hobie
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Post by Hobie »

:mrgreen: Great story.
Sincerely,

Hobie

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JerryB
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Post by JerryB »

Good story Jim,thanks.

Jerry
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AmBraCol
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Post by AmBraCol »

So that's the story behind the head. I've seen him there in your office, it's neat to know the story behind the mount.
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kimwcook
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Post by kimwcook »

And other people talk about a monkey on their back. What's that all about? Nice story. I bet you pack some candy bars now.
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Post by gamekeeper »

Great story. Great part of the world to hunt in.
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don Tomás
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Post by don Tomás »

Great campfire story... :D
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PPpastordon
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Post by PPpastordon »

Great story, Jim. Thanks for sharing with us.
PPpastordon
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JimT
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Post by JimT »

PPpastordon wrote:Great story, Jim. Thanks for sharing with us.
PPpastordon
Thank you Brother! Have you been receiving my emails?
PPpastordon
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Post by PPpastordon »

Jim;
I just sent you a long PM. Has what is probably a new e-mail address for you and tons of other stuff! I can still occasionally "break-in" to the old e-mail address, but only from another computer. I will be looking for those e-mails in the future, at the new e-mail address!
You and yours are, as always, in our prayers.
God Bless Brother,
PPpastordon
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Griff
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Post by Griff »

Great story JimT. Reading your story reminded me of memorable hunts I've had. Naver had the wife as a partner, tho! That would have been extra special. Thanks for sharing. Great looking buck.
Griff,
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Nath
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Post by Nath »

Thankyou for sharing Sir and greeting to your wife.
Is it possible to explain in detail how you carried the muly out for my curious mind :)
Psalm ch8.

Because I wish I could!
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JimT
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Post by JimT »

Nath wrote:Thankyou for sharing Sir and greeting to your wife.
Is it possible to explain in detail how you carried the muly out for my curious mind :)
On the foreleg a few inches above the hoof you make a lengthwise slit about 2" long, cutting through the skin on both sides of the leg. The slit should be between the tendon and the bone.

You do this to both legs, then push the rear feet through the slits. You can tie a small tie around them if they don't want to stay, but I have never had to.

The deer then looks about like you would if you laid on your side and held your left foot in your left hand and your right foot in your right hand.

You then get in the "middle" and put the deer on ... like a backpack. The head will be under your arm.

To hold it you have one arm around it's neck and the other around it's butt.

It is NOT a good idea to carry a deer like this in country where visibility is limited and where you have lots of hunters UNLESS YOU COVER THE DEER IN BLAZE ORANGE.
Nath
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Post by Nath »

Thanks JT, I,ll remember that :)
Psalm ch8.

Because I wish I could!
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