Let me start by saying that I'm not asking for sympathy or reassurances, but maybe just want to vent and definitely let someone else learn from my frustrations.
I've been saying for a while that this was the last time. I kept hoping that they'd fix it, but apparently they don't plan to. Yuchi WMA is where I shot my first buck 19 years ago. I don't think that I've shot another buck there since, but I love the land and it holds great memories with friends and family over the years. I've killed a ton of does out there, but other hunters weren't doing that enough so they made it earn-a-buck to reduce the overpopulation and did not extend it by even a day. I have never liked that, and have had legal bucks walk by before I could kill my doe and not been able to kill a buck. It sounds like a war zone on the first day of the hunt, and people make questionable decisions to get their antlerless deer on the ground as quickly as possible. It's already 4 points on one side, so lots of rules for a short hunt that now takes 4 years between draws. I put in for one last time to hunt the ridges and hoped that I would not see other hunters back there, with plans to pivot to something else in the future…
Got setup over an hour before daybreak on the ridge top just between a main saddle and a secondary saddle. Deer immediately started blowing behind me, but they moved off. I heard more move through behind me, but they didn't blow. 5 minutes before daybreak I could hear the herd coming through the main saddle; or should I say "herds", as it was two groups of deer that I could see in the dark, but couldn't get a shot on yet. Lead doe from the second group got downwind of meat about 25yd and blew. Deer scattered, and one stood broadside at 15yd until 1 minute before legal light, then trotted off.
As it got light I could see headlamps coming in from my south and north a couple hundred yards away. Yes, headlamps on after legal shooting light. The deer stirred around in the bottom and on the adjacent ridge face, but I couldn't fully make them out and they moved off in time. No biggie, as I feel confident in my location on a major escape route. Maybe 30 minutes later I hear what sounded like deer coming across the ridge through the main saddle. I get my gun up at the ready, but not pointing at it the noise until I can verify what it is. The wind swirls some as I see a deer head pop up over the saddle (I have a good backing behind it due to the shape of the topography) and the deer has its ears up at the alert. From all that I can tell, this is an antlerless deer, but it's on the other side of a blow down and I wait until it comes into a good opening in the blowdown. As it steps into the opening in the blowdown it locks up and sticks its nose up testing the wind. I can clearly see that it has no antler on the side closest to me, and I'm not going to look a 20yd-chip-shot-gift-horse in the mouth, so I put my crosshairs on the point of the front shoulder (quartering to) and squeeze.
Not sure what happened, but at the shot the deer lunged and ran. Later I would find that my shot clipped the brisket and offside rear leg, guessing because the shot opening was not as clear as I had thought. The deer ran through the saddle, then turned and ran away from me, stopping at 75yd quartering away. I put the crosshairs on the opening that I had, squeezed, and it dropped. It kicked for about 20 seconds and stopped for good. I took a picture and let my family know that I had my "antlerless" deer down.
I sat there and watched all around for a buck, thinking if I would take another antlerless deer back there or not. I heard animals move through behind me, but never could see anything other than squirrels for the next hour or so. I heard several gunshots nearby and was starting to feel like I may want to get out of there sooner rather than later.
A short while later I hear deer running down the ridge behind me, making their way to the secondary saddle to my right. I heard a human "MEH!" trying to stop them, and I realized that at least one of those hunters was within about 175yd behind me. One of the bigger deer stopped in an opening to my right at 50yd, I squatted down, put it on its shoulder and it dropped out of site . I gave it just a few minutes and went to make sure that it was down, and it was: big doe that kicked down the ridge just a ways. I decided to go back and start with the first one.
I walked up to the first one that I shot and I could see that it was half-buried in the leaves. I saw that it had a nub and started to check it in, but came to the part where it asks about antlers above hairline, so I turned it over. And found this.
Great morning just turned bad. This deer isn't legal. I had no signal back there to call the GW, so instead of quartering it I gutted it to drag it out and carry it in to report myself. I have a bad back and don't like to drag deer far. Quartering them and carrying them through rough terrain is a little more work on the front end, but saves a lot of wear and tear on the back end. I didn't feel right doing that with this deer in case they wanted to get some more biological information or something. I unloaded my rifle magazine and told myself that I was done hunting.
I went to the other deer and started quartering it. Took several breaks to rest my back, and about 3/4 of the way through I hear a gunshot from the top of the ridge. Scared me pretty good, but I kept working. Then I heard deer running and the hunter yelling "MEH!" then "Hey! Hey! Hey!" from the other ridge about 150yd away. I figured that a buck was running somewhere that they were trying to stop, but not sure where.
Then I heard it… deer walking on the ridge towards me. I look up and a big 8pt buck is trailing a doe RIGHT TOWARDS ME! They stop 25yd away, not concerned about me at all. Then, BANG! I hear a shot and realize that the hunter is shooting at that buck! I'm kinda dumbfounded and duck behind a tree. The buck and doe come to within 15yd away and stare at me broadside. I couldn't in good conscience shoot at the deer. I was basically hiding behind a tree trying not to get shot. They eventually went over the ridge and o heard a bunch of more shots afterwards. No idea of either of them got shot or not.
I finished quartering the doe, put it in my pack, and the hunters came over "trailing" the buck and doe. They said that they couldn't see me, which I'll give them the benefit of the doubt on, but they had to know I was there. I let them know that they had missed. The deer were close enough for me to tell that the buck had lice or mange or some other skin condition, but no bullet hole.
I took the deer out and to the ranger station. I told the GW what was up. He agreed that the single antler grew back at an angle and would be hard to see with the deer's ears up. He said that he would not issue a citation since I was honest about it and "told on myself," but that I was done hunting for this time. I told him that was already my plan, and thank you for not righting a citation.
Who am I frustrated with you may ask? I don't know. I felt pressure to get an antlerless deer on the ground, and did it safely. I guess I could have checked for another antler better, but I was really confident that it was antlerless; obviously I was wrong. I had planned to go away from Yuchi differently from this, and definitely didn't want the fireworks all around me. If I would have been written a citation then I wouldn't have been mad at the GW, so I'm glad that he was understanding. But I came close to having the opportunity that I wanted from this hunt, but at the same time it was my worst hunt ever.
I can't even decide if I want to hunt anymore this season at all. I have one more statewide buck tag and two more doe tags in my unit. I may be able to hunt with family or friends and I won't turn down that opportunity. The past few seasons have definitely had more excited anticipation before season comes, and then don't get to hunt the amount or way that I want and have felt a little bit deflated. I've enjoyed my western hunts with limited success more than my sporadic opportunities to hunt locally, and I guess it was just because I could allow myself to get away. That has been more cathartic than any whitetail buck locally could bring me. For several reasons I don't think that I will be able to swing a western hunts next year, so this is doubly disappointing. Work is very busy, and letting my brain get away in the limited times that my body is in the woods is very difficult to do.
I've been saying for a while that this was the last time. I kept hoping that they'd fix it, but apparently they don't plan to. Yuchi WMA is where I shot my first buck 19 years ago. I don't think that I've shot another buck there since, but I love the land and it holds great memories with friends and family over the years. I've killed a ton of does out there, but other hunters weren't doing that enough so they made it earn-a-buck to reduce the overpopulation and did not extend it by even a day. I have never liked that, and have had legal bucks walk by before I could kill my doe and not been able to kill a buck. It sounds like a war zone on the first day of the hunt, and people make questionable decisions to get their antlerless deer on the ground as quickly as possible. It's already 4 points on one side, so lots of rules for a short hunt that now takes 4 years between draws. I put in for one last time to hunt the ridges and hoped that I would not see other hunters back there, with plans to pivot to something else in the future…
Got setup over an hour before daybreak on the ridge top just between a main saddle and a secondary saddle. Deer immediately started blowing behind me, but they moved off. I heard more move through behind me, but they didn't blow. 5 minutes before daybreak I could hear the herd coming through the main saddle; or should I say "herds", as it was two groups of deer that I could see in the dark, but couldn't get a shot on yet. Lead doe from the second group got downwind of meat about 25yd and blew. Deer scattered, and one stood broadside at 15yd until 1 minute before legal light, then trotted off.
As it got light I could see headlamps coming in from my south and north a couple hundred yards away. Yes, headlamps on after legal shooting light. The deer stirred around in the bottom and on the adjacent ridge face, but I couldn't fully make them out and they moved off in time. No biggie, as I feel confident in my location on a major escape route. Maybe 30 minutes later I hear what sounded like deer coming across the ridge through the main saddle. I get my gun up at the ready, but not pointing at it the noise until I can verify what it is. The wind swirls some as I see a deer head pop up over the saddle (I have a good backing behind it due to the shape of the topography) and the deer has its ears up at the alert. From all that I can tell, this is an antlerless deer, but it's on the other side of a blow down and I wait until it comes into a good opening in the blowdown. As it steps into the opening in the blowdown it locks up and sticks its nose up testing the wind. I can clearly see that it has no antler on the side closest to me, and I'm not going to look a 20yd-chip-shot-gift-horse in the mouth, so I put my crosshairs on the point of the front shoulder (quartering to) and squeeze.
Not sure what happened, but at the shot the deer lunged and ran. Later I would find that my shot clipped the brisket and offside rear leg, guessing because the shot opening was not as clear as I had thought. The deer ran through the saddle, then turned and ran away from me, stopping at 75yd quartering away. I put the crosshairs on the opening that I had, squeezed, and it dropped. It kicked for about 20 seconds and stopped for good. I took a picture and let my family know that I had my "antlerless" deer down.
I sat there and watched all around for a buck, thinking if I would take another antlerless deer back there or not. I heard animals move through behind me, but never could see anything other than squirrels for the next hour or so. I heard several gunshots nearby and was starting to feel like I may want to get out of there sooner rather than later.
A short while later I hear deer running down the ridge behind me, making their way to the secondary saddle to my right. I heard a human "MEH!" trying to stop them, and I realized that at least one of those hunters was within about 175yd behind me. One of the bigger deer stopped in an opening to my right at 50yd, I squatted down, put it on its shoulder and it dropped out of site . I gave it just a few minutes and went to make sure that it was down, and it was: big doe that kicked down the ridge just a ways. I decided to go back and start with the first one.
I walked up to the first one that I shot and I could see that it was half-buried in the leaves. I saw that it had a nub and started to check it in, but came to the part where it asks about antlers above hairline, so I turned it over. And found this.
Great morning just turned bad. This deer isn't legal. I had no signal back there to call the GW, so instead of quartering it I gutted it to drag it out and carry it in to report myself. I have a bad back and don't like to drag deer far. Quartering them and carrying them through rough terrain is a little more work on the front end, but saves a lot of wear and tear on the back end. I didn't feel right doing that with this deer in case they wanted to get some more biological information or something. I unloaded my rifle magazine and told myself that I was done hunting.
I went to the other deer and started quartering it. Took several breaks to rest my back, and about 3/4 of the way through I hear a gunshot from the top of the ridge. Scared me pretty good, but I kept working. Then I heard deer running and the hunter yelling "MEH!" then "Hey! Hey! Hey!" from the other ridge about 150yd away. I figured that a buck was running somewhere that they were trying to stop, but not sure where.
Then I heard it… deer walking on the ridge towards me. I look up and a big 8pt buck is trailing a doe RIGHT TOWARDS ME! They stop 25yd away, not concerned about me at all. Then, BANG! I hear a shot and realize that the hunter is shooting at that buck! I'm kinda dumbfounded and duck behind a tree. The buck and doe come to within 15yd away and stare at me broadside. I couldn't in good conscience shoot at the deer. I was basically hiding behind a tree trying not to get shot. They eventually went over the ridge and o heard a bunch of more shots afterwards. No idea of either of them got shot or not.
I finished quartering the doe, put it in my pack, and the hunters came over "trailing" the buck and doe. They said that they couldn't see me, which I'll give them the benefit of the doubt on, but they had to know I was there. I let them know that they had missed. The deer were close enough for me to tell that the buck had lice or mange or some other skin condition, but no bullet hole.
I took the deer out and to the ranger station. I told the GW what was up. He agreed that the single antler grew back at an angle and would be hard to see with the deer's ears up. He said that he would not issue a citation since I was honest about it and "told on myself," but that I was done hunting for this time. I told him that was already my plan, and thank you for not righting a citation.
Who am I frustrated with you may ask? I don't know. I felt pressure to get an antlerless deer on the ground, and did it safely. I guess I could have checked for another antler better, but I was really confident that it was antlerless; obviously I was wrong. I had planned to go away from Yuchi differently from this, and definitely didn't want the fireworks all around me. If I would have been written a citation then I wouldn't have been mad at the GW, so I'm glad that he was understanding. But I came close to having the opportunity that I wanted from this hunt, but at the same time it was my worst hunt ever.
I can't even decide if I want to hunt anymore this season at all. I have one more statewide buck tag and two more doe tags in my unit. I may be able to hunt with family or friends and I won't turn down that opportunity. The past few seasons have definitely had more excited anticipation before season comes, and then don't get to hunt the amount or way that I want and have felt a little bit deflated. I've enjoyed my western hunts with limited success more than my sporadic opportunities to hunt locally, and I guess it was just because I could allow myself to get away. That has been more cathartic than any whitetail buck locally could bring me. For several reasons I don't think that I will be able to swing a western hunts next year, so this is doubly disappointing. Work is very busy, and letting my brain get away in the limited times that my body is in the woods is very difficult to do.
Last edited:
