How I filled my big game tag without firing a shot.

My hunting buddy and I decided we would hunt in Utah as some friends showed us on the map a real good Mule Deer area that they had been going to for some years.

Two days till season opener and we are on our way to Antimony,Utah.This is a 12 hour drive and we are pulling a 14 foot camp trailer.I drove the full distance without stopping except to fill up with fuel.We bought our Game tags over the counter back in the 1980s.The hunting license,Deer tag,and fishing license cost $100 back then in Utah for out of state hunters.

Well we arrived in Antimony and drove up this gravel road for about 4 miles,to where we found a camp spot in some Cedar trees,backed in and unhooked the trailer and leveled it out.Tomorrow would be opening day so we got out the rifles and packs and set them up so when we got up in the dark of morning we could take off without any hassle.I am interested in trying out my new rifle I purchased from auction arms.

It's 5 o'clock and time to get going as we would be walking to our destinations.I slipped on my long johns,Pants,wool shirt,heavy socks,and Nike boots,as there was ice inside the camper this morning. I would go up a mountain side one way and my buddy would hunt the other side.I was a good mile up the mountain when it broke daylight enough for me to see without a flash light.

I walked another 1/4 mile through the Cedar trees,when I observed where something had been dragged.This drag trail started from underneath a Cedar tree.I didn't hear any shots from this area and got suspicious,so I followed the drag trail for a couple hundred yards.The trail came to an end under a Cedar tree,which had a bunch of limbs and leaves piled up like a beaver dam.Upon closer examination I seen a Deer horn sticking out of the pile.I walked up and uncovered the Deer which was buried under the brush.I then felt the animals throat,which was still wet and discovered the animal to be limp and warm.I pulled the Deer out of the brush pile and decided I would dress him out.After dressing the Deer out and tagging it I proceeded to drag him to camp.

Remember the Bear story I wrote?Well my sixth sense kicked in here too.The hair on the back of my neck stood up with those spooky tingles you get when your afraid.I didn't stop looking behind me all the way to camp as I consider myself lucky not to have been attacked by that Mountain Lion who killed the Buck that morning.

When my buddy got into camp and seen my forked horn buck,he was happy for me,but when I told him to see if he could find a bullet hole he couldn't of course and then I told him the story.

Would I do this again?The answer is NO.

I deprived another animal from maybe feeding it's cubs and also this is a very dangerous ordeal to under take..