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Jesse's Hunting > Hunting Articles > Hunting Articles Archives > Chasing Utah Mulies - A Man, A Doe, and a Compound Bow
Chasing Utah Mulies - A Man, A Doe, and a Compound Bow
David Blake - JHO ProStaff
- L.A., CA
January 14, 2005
The author and his hard-earned doe
It took two trips, but the author put meat in the freezer, and had an experience to remember for a very long time. |
When I heard this statement float out of a conversation it definitely caught my interest. The subject came up while a group of us were sitting around at Chopper's place on a California hog hunt. My friend Kirk used to live in Salt Lake City and was speaking of an area not far from his old home.
This hunting area is somewhat of a secret even among the locals, so I won't divulge specific directions. I will say that it isn't hard to find if you know where to look.
My friend Mike was among the hunters at Chopper's that weekend. We had been on out of state hunts together before and decided to give Utah a try. After getting more info from Kirk we decided on a date to meet in Utah.
I arrived at the campground with my tent trailer a day earlier than Mike, so I took the opportunity to scout our hunting area for potential spots. One would think that it would take a while to find fresh sign in a new area, but I was immediately into sign the moment I left the main trail.
On the way back to my truck I met Matt and Randy, two local brothers who were scouting the same area I was. They were really helpful with local knowledge and insight that would later prove very useful.
Later that night I picked Mike up at the airport and told him about the scouting trip and the info I had obtained. We decided on a spot based on the tip from Matt and Randy and then turned in to bed. The next morning was coming fast.
Over the next four days we saw several deer including one nice buck. Mike was able to get a shot off at a doe, but missed over her shoulder. We hunted several different areas including some above 9,000 feet and found fresh sign everywhere. We really couldn't pick a bad place.
I had one last chance on my final morning. A doe came up behind me on the same trail I had just walked and saw me before I saw her. Even though I stood completely still, she got nervous and bounded into the thick brush.
Like most things, this hunt had to come to an end. I went back to camp to start packing up and figure out how to get my wife to let me come back the next month. The drive from Salt Lake to Los Angeles is a long one, but it seemed shorter this time.
The Scenery
With surroundings like this, it's easy to see why the author returned to the area and plans to return again. Beautiful country, good people, and plenty of game... could you ask for more? |
On the 13-hour drive from Salt Lake City to my house in Los Angeles, I contemplated how to approach my wife about flying back up to Utah sometime the next month. My new friend Matt had already offered to put me up at his brother, Steve's house, so all I would need to pay for would be the plane ticket and rental car.
I broached the subject with all of the tenderness I could muster and my goddess of a wife said “Ok.”
All she wanted to know was when. I have to say I am blessed to have a wife who for the most part, lets me hunt and fish when I want to most of the time.
Two days later I had my plane tickets booked and plans to stay at Steve's house. Steve is an avid hunter as well and was planning to join Matt and me on our hunt. All I could think about on the flight to Salt Lake was deer. I had come very close on my last trip and was anxious to get back in the woods after them again.
I called Matt’s cell phone to tell him I was on the ground. When he answered he said, “I'm stoked, I just saw 15 deer within shooting distance.”
It sounded like we were in for a great hunt.
I arrived at Steve's house, unpacked my gear and sat down to an awesome steak dinner. As we sat around and talked about hunting, I was thinking that I had found some people I would enjoy hunting with for a long time. There are not many people out there any more who would open their house to a complete stranger.
The three of us got up early the next morning and headed for the same area I had been in before. The deer were there and started moving just before sunset. I had picked a spot off of a clearing where I thought they might pass through on their way to feed.
Later in the morning, both Matt and Steve had opportunities at close quarters that they were unable to connect on. Steve had a doe about 8 feet away from him. It 's hard to get any closer than that. She busted him when he drew back.
I was on my own the next morning, since Matt and Steve had other plans they couldn't get out of. I got all of my gear, jumped into the rental Jeep and headed up the mountain again.
As I approached the parking area I realized that I had forgotten my warm coat. Knowing it was supposed to be a little colder this morning, I almost turned around to go back and get it. Instead, I decided to gut it out. I had an extra vest with me that would do in a pinch.
I waited until just before first light to skirt around the edge of the meadow on a well-used game trail. As I approached the thick brush on the other side I heard a very loud and deep snort along with the cracking of dry branches. If this was a deer, it was a very big deer and it was close.
I stood really still for a while and heard the snort again. This time it was deeper into the thick brush, so I decided it was OK to move a little. When I turned around to look into the meadow, I saw a huge brown shape on the other side. It was a cow moose and she was looking right at me.
Once again I stood still and watched. She continued feeding and didn't seem alarmed at my presence. As it turned out, there were 4 or 5 moose moving around the brush in the meadow. I found a spot out of sight and watched them for about 30 minutes or so.
When it seemed that they were moving my way I decided to slip out the way I had come in. That is when I saw three doe in the meadow where the moose had been. They hadn't seen me so I crouched down and watched. The next half hour was a real comedy of errors.
The deer moved across the meadow and directly up the trail I was crouched on. As they moved closer I prepared for a shot. They reached a point on the trail within range and I let an arrow fly. I must have used the wrong pin or something because the arrow landed quite short of the target. The deer took off the way they had come and disappeared into the woods.
At this point I figured the hunt was over. After all of that noise what creatures would possibly still be around? After trudging around quite conspicuously in search of my arrow, and answering nature's call at the base of a tree, I decided to head back to the truck.
I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the same three deer coming back out of the woods across the meadow directly toward me. I crouched down and waited to see where they would go.
Halfway across the meadow they disappeared behind some tall brush. At this point I took a sip of water that went down the wrong way and sent me into a loud coughing fit. I was quite dejected thinking that I had spooked them yet again, when I saw the lead doe exit the brush on the same trail they had been on.
This time I waited until they were well within range. As the lead doe stepped onto the trail, I let the arrow fly and watched as it entered behind her shoulder. She spun around and ran off in the opposite direction.
I took some time to search for my arrow, which I didn't find, and then I went searching for a blood trail. It was easy to spot. The arrow had passed through the liver and one lung, so there were large spots of blood to follow.
An interesting side note is that a week later Matt was hunting the same area and found my arrow right in the middle of the trail. I guess in my frenzied state I had looked right at it and not recognized it.
The doe was still alive when I found her next to a stream. I should have waited longer to find her, but she had already gone about 120 yards and I didn't want to give her any more distance. Although she was well on her way to dying, I finished her off with two more arrows and began the long process of dressing and dragging.
The ironic thing about this hunt was that I had enjoyed the process with my friends, but in the end it was just the deer and me. It would have been nice to have help dragging her out of the woods, however it seemed more respectful for it to end up being just me, a doe and a compound bow.
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