Camping trip with a bonus deer
This past weekend, my wife and I decided to capitalize on the good weather with a grouse hunting/camping trip. I had promised my wife a camping trip in June, a promise broken when I harvested a bear on our way to our camping spot. Unfortunately, we’ve not camped as much as we’d have liked this summer, so I figured I could take some time in the early season to camp and casually pursue grouse. I brought a rifle with us, but only to confirm it was still zeroed - I took a spill down a mountain during a hunt earlier this month and, thankfully, came out unscathed, but my rifle and scope took a beating.
We loaded the truck and set out on Saturday morning, stopping for breakfast along the way, and finally made it to our intended grouse hunting area late in the morning. Our dog, Pip, was happy for the chance to stretch her legs and sniff about for grouse. There was abundant elk sign, which was great to see, but our efforts turned up no birds, so we stopped for lunch and confirmed that my rifle was still shooting straight (a big relief, knowing my tumble hadn’t destroyed my scope). I put the rifle back in the truck, locked away in a hard case, and buried underneath camping gear in the rear footwell - anything but accessible - and we continued on, driving overgrown roads hoping to find a bird basking in the sun. Again, no birds turned up, so we decided to make camp at a nice spot on a lakeshore. We planned to wake up early and hunt grouse on our way out the next morning.
Thanks to a constant wind from the lake, very little sleep was had. We broke camp later than intended the next morning, feeling tired and looking forward to home. My desire to walk side roads, after our lack of success and sleep the day prior, was low. I resolved to check out a few roads that were drivable and traditionally have held birds; but they were an hours’ drive away, so we settled in for the trip ahead. Along the way, we passed a pair of Jeeps that were exiting a spur, they turned onto the mainline behind us and began to follow - no big deal, usually… However, today it would be!
After several minutes of driving, with the Jeeps still behind us, we rounded a corner to find a 3-point black-tailed buck standing broadside at the road edge, some 100m ahead. Not wanting to waste a good opportunity, I pulled to the side of the road and flagged the jeeps to a stop. Simultaneously, I was digging through my truck to retrieve my rifle case, still locked and buried from the day prior. The driver of the front Jeep indicated that he’d wait, so I set out after the deer, which had trotted down the road, but was still within view. The deer turned broadside, and I had a clear shot, with a small, barren hill as backdrop, and I shot it. The deer dropped in its tracks, but the shot had gone high, taking out its spine. I walked closer, steadied myself and dispatched it with a shot to the head, and dragged the deer off the road, some 200m from my truck and the two jeeps. I flagged the jeeps forward while walking back to my truck, the first driver proclaimed, “wow, I hadn’t even seen the deer when you flagged us down” and continued on seemingly unfazed. The second driver approached, and I got an ear-full - “how dare you! I hope you didn’t just do that for fun!” To which I replied that I hadn’t and of course was intending to eat the deer. They drove off, clearly enraged at my having just killed a deer in their vicinity. Five other vehicles passed by while I was gutting the deer, four seemingly didn’t notice the gory scene, but the fifth slowed down and gave a thumbs up as they drove past!
Don’t get me wrong, I can understand that witnessing a deer dying, even from 200m away, would be jarring, but I don’t think any backcountry user has the right to demand a hunter pass up an opportunity to hunt an animal, safely, and legally. Especially considering some guys go entire seasons without seeing a legal deer, let alone have a shot opportunity. I reflected on the interaction while gutting the deer, and concluded that while they had no right to expect me to not shoot the deer, I could have let them pass, accepting that the deer may have been spooked off the road and into the Christmas trees, requiring me to hunt after it - live and learn, I suppose.
Anyone else had a similar situation of needing to ask vehicles behind you to stop so you could shoot an animal?
The freshly harvested deer put a damper on any grouse hunting plans, so we made for pavement as fast as we could. Not wanting to stay awake all night butchering a deer, we stopped when we found cell signal and began searching for a butcher - five phone calls later, it appeared that none were open. I sent a message to one of my hunting buddies, who suggested that I call a butcher that I hadn’t heard of before - Opening Day Game Cutting. He also offered up his freezer in case I could reach a butcher - good friends like that are hard to find in the city!
Thankfully, Josh at Opening Day answered the phone and was happy to take my deer on. I’ll post back with how it all turns out, but based on him actually being open on a Sunday (which, oddly turns out to be rare among game processors in the area), things are looking good.
Last edited by Livewire322; 09-20-2022 at 07:58 AM.
If it cant be done with one shot, it shouldn't be done.
"grab large claw hammer - put against butt cheek , pry head out of ass with claws...then go back to school..."
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Originally Posted by MichelD
