[SageValleyOutdoors]

I’ve had an incredibly busy summer, and was completely unable to do ANY preseason scouting... didn’t even make it out for a hunt until this past Friday/Saturday.
My youngest son (Matty)turned 12 this year, and although he got a nice bear this spring, couldn’t wait to try for an archery deer. We sat in our whitetail stand Friday night, but didn’t have any bucks come within his comfortable range.

Saturday we had planned to sit the same stand, but the wind was wrong, so we decided to scout out for elk and mule deer, and hopefully get a stalk opportunity. Our first area was fogged in pretty thick, so we decided to head down to one of our favourite ranches along the red deer river. Matty spotted the bachelor group first. They were mixed in with some does, heading off an alfalfa field up into the hills along the valley edge. Fortunately, as they slowly fed their way up the slopes, the does split off, and it was just the bucks heading up into a finger coulee with low brush. There were 4 bucks initially... our target buck, the biggest (obviously) a solid, symmetrical170-175” 4x4, and two little dinky bucks. We got lucky and watched them bed down from the truck, high on a bank, with a little brushy bench about 40 yards in front of them. I was confident that if there were no other hidden deer in between us, i could make it to that bench and get a shot! Matty decided to stay in the truck with the spotting scope and radio and talk me in, and NOT have to make the long climb up the valley.
Unfortunately, as always seems to happen in those hills, they were LOADED with other deer. Does and small bucks scattered around everywhere, and i didn’t make it within 300 yards of the target bucks before does busted out from below me, ran up the hill TOWARDS me, passed by me 40 yards away, and straight to the bucks. The whole group spooked up and over the horizon.
Thinking they were gone for the day, i started making my way back to the truck, but i was barely down to the base of the when Matty called on the radio to tell me the bucks were back and heading into the very next drainage upstream from me!
In order to get the wind back in my favour, i had to hike one finger coulee upstream before starting my stalk, during my walk, i came across the biggest bull snake i have ever seen, sunning itself on the hillside. Matty wanted me to grab it and bring it home to mess with the girls, but instead i left it and continued.
Anyway, I relocated the deer, by which time they had bedded in the shade, with a good wind. They were on the left side (from me, facing downhill towards the river) of a shallow drainage with waist high brush in the deepest part, but with a perfect heavily used cattle trail going right through the brush. I was able to silently crab-walk down this cattle trail, using the brush as visual cover. Along the way, i removed my boots to quiet my footsteps.
I closed the distance to the group of deer bedded on the hill. There were 4 bucks, and a doe with fawn had joined the group as well. The 175” buck was bedded broadside at 40 yards, with the two little bucks behind him, and the big buck fattest at 55 yards. All i could see was his head. So i sat and waited... 4.5 hours i waited on that hillside. ALL the other deer got up and moved around multiple times in those hours, and i was tempted over and over again to shoot the 175” buck, but self control prevailed.
Finally he stood up. Facing almost directly away from me, offering no shot. I readied my bow, thinking that since he was calm, he would soon start feeding towards the other deer, or at least moving enough to give me a shot. But no - he turned quickly and bedded right back down facing me. Again all i could see was his face and antlers. DAMN!
This time though, the wait was only about 10 minutes before he stood and turned broadside, looking down the slope towards the river. I quickly drew my bow, rose onto my knees to rise above the brush, settled the pin behind his shoulder and squeezed the release. The arrow hit him far back, he kicked and tore off down the slope and out of sight. I wanted to give him time, due to the poor shot, but wanted to relocate him as quickly as i could, so i gathered my gear, put my boots back on and climbed back to the top, and began walking/glassing along the valley rim to find him again. It didn’t take long. He was in the very next drainage over, and hurt badly. Wobbling on his feet, he tried keeping up with the other deer, but they outpaced him, and he gave up on running and bedded down. He had only gone about 100-150 yards. I got Matty on the radio and told him the deer was down - but not dead. I wanted to see if i could sneak up and get another arrow into him, but wanted to give him 20 minutes or so to weaken, to ensure he didn’t get up and take off. I watched the buck as Matty made the walk up from the truck, and as we approached the deer, we could see that he was dead. We took some pictures, and the landowner friend of mine was good enough to allow us to borrow his side by side. We were able to drive right to the buck and load him up!
Unfortunately, he tore some of the velvet off when he dropped, but it will still make for a beautiful mount. We green scored him today at 194-6/8 gross.