Oregon’s ‘Newest’ Record Columbia Blacktail

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oregon’s 19th Century Trophy Blacktail

 

Roseburg resident Dave Heffner has been trained and certified as an official scorer for both Boone and Crockett and Pope and Young.  Because of his passion for hunting, he volunteers to measure the hard earned trophies of Oregon hunters, by working at the yearly Sportsman’s shows in Eugene, Roseburg and Medford.  February 2009 found him in Eugene, meeting with the proud owners of big game trophies, covering the spectrum from forked horn deer, to trophy sized Rocky Mountain elk and bleached white bear and cougar skulls.

 

Busily working to finish scoring the antlers in his hands, Dave hardly noticed the approach of a man carrying a mounted deer head and horns.  Although he’d barely glanced at the man, something in the back of his mind gnawed on him to look up.  When he did, he could scarcely believe his eyes.  Standing before him was Bob Suttles, holding what might have been the largest blacktail buck Dave had ever seen.  For a brief second he thought, “I didn’t know they came that big.”

       

Mr. Suttles’ blacktail deer had eight points on the right side and twelve on the left.  After deductions the rack officially scored 195-6/8 inches, making it the second largest non-typical blacktail buck recorded in the Record Book for Oregon’s Big Game Animals.  The largest buck on record has a score of 208-1/8 inches and the antlers of the buck holding the #3 position measure 184-2/8.   These two bucks were respectively harvested in 1962 and 1953, a fact that brings us to the rest of the story. 

       

Bob Suttles is not the hunter who brought this deer from the woods of western Oregon.  Truth be told, Mr. Suttles was not yet born when this exceptional buck was ‘first’ taken to a taxidermist.  Grover Cleveland was President of the United States when a lucky Oregon hunter harvested this deer in the fall of 1895!  Upon learning this, Dave telephoned me and we made arrangements to meet with Mr. Suttles.

       

This awesome buck was given to Bob Suttles by a coworker in 1985.  The buck had been relegated to the friend’s garage and was destined for a Lane County landfill.  Bob took it home so it could be enjoyed by his sons, both of whom were active hunters.  Understandably the head-mount was in poor condition after ninety years.  So, much to the chagrin of his wife, Lori, the nearly one-hundred year old deer mount found a home above the fireplace in their home.  The boys thought it was “way cool”.

       

As the story goes, this buck was taken in the Alsea Unit about fourteen miles west of the community of Alpine, Oregon, about thirty minutes west of I-5.  The right antler still holds a steel cable, secured to it by a state employee one year before Henry Ford invented his first automobile (the Quadricycle) and thirteen years before he offered the first Model T for sale in 1908.  It is difficult to grasp, but the cable was fastened to this blacktail’s antler eight years before the Wright brothers’ historic flight at Kitty Hawk.

       

In 1995 Bob learned his coworkers were having a big buck contest.  Knowing what the result would be, he took his deer to work.  He told me everyone asked him what the buck’s antlers scored, but he had no idea.  In 1996 Bob took the buck to the Eugene Sportsman show and it was measured by J.D. Gore.  Bob said no one really made a fuss about the deer, so he took it home and returned the deer to its honored position in the living room.  It remained there until the year 2000, when he took it to Adams Taxidermy in Eugene.

        

The original mold for the head mount was made of wood, plaster and square nails.  Over time the hide and mold had deteriorated, leaving the buck looking less than majestic to say the least.  Bob’s family wanted to treat this great animal with the respect it deserved.  Placed onto a modern form and fitted with a new cape, the deer looks great.  You would never guess the deer was taken in the 19^th Century and remounted in the 21^st.  Mother Nature builds antlers to last.  Perhaps this buck will remain in the family and Bob’s great, great grandchild will proudly display it in their home in the next century.

       

When local advertising began for the 2009 Eugene Sportsman show, Bob’s son-in-law, Chris Travis, initiated a campaign to persuade Bob to enter his buck into the show’s head and horns competition.  Chris’ persistence paid off and on Sunday afternoon Bob found himself trekking across the parking lot of the expo center, packing the immensely awkward deer mount.  Unfortunately, Bob arrived past the closing time for the 2009 competition, but not too late for official measurer Dave Heffner to instantly recognize a world class set of antlers. 

       

After photographing the deer at Bob’s home, I sent pictures of the cable secured to the deer’s antler to Tod Lum, a biologist with Oregon’s Department of Fish and Wildlife, working in the Roseburg office.  Tod told me that ODF&W did check deer in the late 1800’s and said they often secured this type of cable to antlers.  Unfortunately, the tag on this deer did not have a number engraved in the steel, making it unidentifiable.

       

In addition to telling him the year this deer was taken, Bob’s friend had told him the buck was shot with a rifle, and said the hunter was a man named James Ball.  Tod Lum was unable to find the department’s paper files from so long ago.  Without the ability to check state records, I am unable to confirm the tale of this deer’s demise.  But likewise, I cannot disprove it.  The year of this buck’s death is not a critical component to securing a place in the records of big game animals.  The antlers of this incredible Oregon trophy speak for themselves.

       

I spent several hours with Bob Suttles.  For him, the most important thing is that the deer be treated with respect.  He told me his children had grown up with this deer in their home, and it has become an irreplaceable possession.  For generations to come, members of his family will hear the story of his saving this trophy from a less than honorable grave in a landfill.  I came away with one certainty; this deer will undoubtedly outlast us all.

 

Note:  I have heard of a new world record blacktail buck that may come forward this year.  This buck has an incredible score of 213-5/8 inches!  I have yet to see any official notice of this deer.

Oregon’s New #1 Archery Mule Deer in Velvet

 

 

 

 

A New Mule Deer Record for Oregon

Using what some folks refer to as a “stick and string”, Oregon hunter Chris Dunlap stalks bucks and bulls in the sometimes-unforgiving heat of August and September.  As with most hunters, for Chris, each season opens with unsullied enthusiasm and hopes that he may bag the trophy of a lifetime.  Who has not fantasized that one-day they may harvest an animal with a mammoth set of antlers.  It is the defining motivation for countless thousands of big game hunters.  Chris Dunlap no longer has to daydream, for his trophy mule deer hunt has been firmly committed to memory. 

Oregon’s 2007 archery season would mark Chris’ seventh year as a bow hunter.  He has taken several deer and worked hard to bag a bull.  He was determined to pull out all the stops and make this his best year to date.  Chris lost weight and began a stringent exercise routine, which included running five miles – five days a week.  Several years of hunting the same terrain inside Jefferson County served to make his numerous scouting trips time-well-spent.  This season held great expectations for he and his hunting partners, which included Oregon resident Nate Richardson and Dave Isenberger from the state of Georgia.

The first several days of the archery opener were a blur of high emotions and missed opportunities.  Chris and his friends worked hard in the steep, rough and dry terrain.  Although they saw numerous bucks, the difficulties associated with archery hunting stuck to them like the dust and chaff from native plants adhered to perspiration on their skin.  Chris told me that before he bought his first bow, a close friend had given him a poignant warning; “Bow hunting is an emotional roller coaster.”  Chris said he has found that nothing else in his experience can take you from low to high and back again, all in fifteen brief seconds.  His 2007 archery hunt got off to an agonizingly slow beginning.

The men saw more than a few good bucks.  They estimated some sported antlers that would have scored in the 140 to 160 inch range.  But, every stalk had ended in failure.  One evening Chris came upon a very nice deer.  He felt this typical 4×4 held 145-inch antlers above a large mature frame.  As the buck fed along peacefully, Chris began his stalk.  When he got close the buck alerted and sharply raised his head into the air.  The buck stood broadside and fixed his gaze in Chris’ direction.  Placing his 40-yard pin on the animals’ vitals he cautiously released the string.  The arrow disappeared into a manzanita bush and the buck bounded away unharmed.  Sickened, use of his range finder showed Chris the buck had been further from him than he had estimated.

With a good nights sleep, the hunters woke with renewed determination on Monday, August 27^th.  Beginning the day at a deep canyon he refers to as his “honey-hole”, Chris quickly spotted something that looked out of place.  Raising binoculars for a closer examination, Chris told me, “… All I could see was HORNS!”

Not bothering to count points, he immediately knocked an arrow and prepared to shoot.  His bad luck was cemented in place; as Chris raised his bow he accidentally touched his release.  He instantly felt the shock of the string blasting the arrow haphazardly into open air space.  The arrow landed twenty-yards in front of the monstrous mule deer.  Chris and his friends watched helplessly as the buck of their dreams exploded across the hillside, taking three additional deer with him.  As the big deer bounced out of sight, Chris’ binoculars served to add pain to the event, allowing him to view the incredible rack of antlers, with long kicker points protruding from the left and right sides.  As this was the last day of their first outing, a dejected Chris Dunlap broke camp and headed home.

Four days later Chris and friends were back on the mountain and resolute as ever to fill their tags.  But it was not to be.  The weekend came and went, with no deer being taken.  However, his personal run of bad luck was about to change in a very big way.

On Saturday, September 8^th, Chris and his friends were back in the woods.  Forsaking deer hunting for the moment, the group was concentrating their efforts on finding bull elk.  But, while telling Dave about the big one that got away, Chris decided to show him the area in which the buck had been feeding.  At this point the buck was nothing more than a good story.

On site, the men observed some does and decided to give the canyon a closer inspection.  In minutes Chris saw a deer that appeared to be twice the size of those standing near to it.  Looking through the slightly enhanced lens of his range finder he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.  He had stumbled onto the big buck, again!

Stopping as close to the buck as he dared, Chris raised his bow as the animal walked slowly ahead, quartering away from him.  Desperate to succeed, he repeated to himself, “Do not punch your trigger”.  He released the arrow and remembers that, “It just felt good”.  As the buck spun and began to run, Chris heard Dave yell, “Perfect Shot!”  The arrow was visibly protruding from the big bucks’ rib cage and his dash to escape was brief.  Traveling only thirty-yards, the buck was down.

Amazed by the site of this colossal deer, Chris couldn’t wait to have the rack scored.  Long time big game measurer Glen Abbot traveled to Chris’ home and pronounced the buck had a gross score of 230-1/8 inches, with an official Pope and Young Club net score of 225-3/8.  This buck handily became the new Oregon state non-typical in velvet record.  According to the North West Book for Oregon Big Game Animals, with a score of 221-2/8, the #2 archery mule deer buck in velvet was taken in 1960.

To top off his newfound achievement, Chris harvested an archery bull elk four days later on September 12^th.  Although it was a bit rough in the beginning, I feel confident believing Chris Dunlap’s 2007 archery season will be a tough act for him to follow in 2008.

Mid-West Whitetails, A Hunters Paradise

 

 

 The Land of Lincoln and Amazing Whitetails

Whitetail deer are the number-one big game animal in America, which probably makes it the most sought after big game animal on the planet.  In spite of incredibly intense hunting pressure, their populations increase each year.  Due to automobile accident expenses, multi-billion dollar insurance companies see them as their archenemy.  These corporations could out-spend most countries.  But, regardless of their best efforts, whitetails continue to multiply and thrive.

When I was a child growing up in the Prairie State, the state authorized deer-hunting season was in its infancy.  America’s new comers had been turning over black Illinois soil for around one-hundred-fifty years and by the early 20^th century deer were seldom, if ever, seen.  Once deer became a protected species the government set about undoing the damage wrought by uncontrolled slaughter and habitat destruction. 

Assisted by landowners, the Department of Natural Resources began transporting and planting deer throughout the state.  By the late 1950’s, very limited hunting seasons were established.  Farming practices began to evolve and crop production improved decade after decade.  With this incredible source of food, as good as provided any well-fed steer, their minions faired well.  In the 2006-2007 deer season, running from October 1^st into January, hunters took home 200,000 individual whitetail deer.  My how things have changed.

(http://www.dnr.state.il.us/pubaffairs/2007/January/deerharvest.html)

Beginning on the first day of October, Illinois archery whitetail season extends into the following year.  Deer tags are sold in a two-pack, with one “doe only” and one “either sex” tag in each package.  Western hunters can’t wrap their minds around this next tidbit of information, so I want them to read it -s l o w l y-.  There is no limit to the number of two-packs resident hunters can purchase…  Yes, resident archery hunters can buy all the deer tags they desire.  There is No Limit.

Not only that, but archers can also hunt during Illinois firearm seasons.  High-powered modern rifles (center fire) are not allowed, but separate seasons are available for shotguns, handguns and muzzleloaders.  Hunters can utilize the most modern equipment available for any firearm that is allowed.  The point is to reduce deer numbers.

My brother Mike and his hunting partners took thirty-three deer in the 2007-2008 seasons.  One of the above photographs show whitetails hanging in Mike’s shop.  Those deer were taken during the shotgun season.  That scene reminds me of old black and white photographs depicting market hunters or huge deer camps where families gathered to hunt each fall.  It is hard to believe that photo was taken within the last five months.

In the future I will write more about the unbelievable deer hunting in Illinois.  I mainly wanted to upload some photos and whet your whistle.

This Young Lady is a Successful Hunter and Author

My First Deer, written by McKenzie Badley-Mann

The morning of the hunt I woke up at 6:00 am.  It was mid-November in 2006 and I was going to try to shoot my first deer.  It was a typical fall morning in the Northwest, cloudy and cold.  Excited about the hunt, I quickly tumbled out of bed and put on my hunting clothes.  I wore long johns, camo pants and long-sleeved shirt, and wool socks.  I was not very hungry, but I ate a small breakfast anyway.  All I could think about was the big kill! On the way out the door I grabbed my Marlin 30-30 and my dad and I started out for a hike around our property and surrounding foothills.

After several hours of seeing nothing we headed back home for a bathroom break and to warm up.  It had been a long cold morning and I was worn out from walking the rough terrain.  Not only was I tired; I was disappointed we had not seen any sign of deer.  I was beginning to wonder if I would actually get the chance to shoot one. As the day passed by I was almost ready to give up when my dad suggested trying a new spot.  He was confident we would find a deer and asked if I wanted to go.  My first thought was to call it a day, but then I thought, “What if there was a deer?”  I was not ready to pass up the opportunity so we climbed in my dad’s pickup truck and headed toward a hunting spot 45 minutes away.

Shortly after arriving at the new area my dad spotted a young deer feeding deep in the woods. All of the sudden I saw him, a buck! I was so excited, and I could tell my dad was too. I quietly walked toward the deer to get a better view.  I lifted the barrel of my gun, put my eye to the scope and…nothing.  I was so anxious I could not find the deer!  I started to panic.  I was so frustrated, almost in tears. 

As I lowered my gun to try to find the deer again it was too late.  As I watched him walk away I was devastated.  I felt I had lost my only chance to kill my first deer.  But my luck changed again.  My dad was pointing into the trees where the deer had stopped.  I felt my heart start to pound and I knew I was not going to let him get away a second time.  Dad and I stalked the deer into the woods where I set up a shot at 30 yards.  I took a deep breath, lifted my gun, pulled the hammer back and found the deer in my scope.  I was set to take the shot.  I put my finger on the trigger, and without thinking, I shot it!   I looked up from my scope and the deer was still standing.  I looked at my dad and then back at that deer as it dropped to the ground right where it was standing. I yelled to my dad, “I got it!  I got it!  I shot my first deer!”

We waited a few minutes before approaching the deer. We wanted to make sure it was really dead.  After what seemed like an eternity we headed down the hill to examine the deer. As I got closer to it my heart raced. I couldn’t wait to see what I had shot. It was a spike.  Daddy pulled out his knife and gutted the deer while I assisted. We packed it out and headed home.

I got home and couldn’t wait to show everyone what I had accomplished! Now when we eat tacos I know that we are eating my deer that I provided for the family. The deer’s hide now lays in my family room and whenever I see it I think back to the day I shot my first deer.

Trail Cameras, The Modern Way To Scout

Trail Cams – See Who’s Coming to Dinner

 

You’ve been waiting and planning the better part of a year.  The boss approved your vacation request eight long months ago.  Your wife told you that if you don’t stop talking about it, you would be living in your tent until hunting season opens.  This year, with two full weekends and five-workdays you have a total of nine-days with no job related responsibilities.  But, with drive time and camp set-up, you will have only six days in the field.  There isn’t a moment to waste. 

Who wouldn’t want to know the size of an animal and when it actually utilizes a specific trail or feeding area?  How much money and effort would you expend for that information?  With the advent of digital photography, manufacturers are making the solution more affordable and reliable every year.  Trail cameras can save your vacation and your hunt.

These devices are called by a profusion of names, such as trail cameras, stealth cameras, scouting cameras, trail sentries and recon cameras.  You can still purchase trail cameras that use 35mm film.  But, manufacturers are focusing on digital cameras.  You don’t even need a computer with many of the latest models. 

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife uses trail cameras to help them determine the number of animals in a particular area, thereby aiding them in animal population estimates.  Dave Immell is a biologist assigned to ODF&W’s Roseburg office.  He showed me several photographs of bears taken in the Cascades, by means of trail cameras.  Their  cameras are placed along trails utilized by bears and other wildlife. 

Some newer trail cameras have a built in photograph-viewing screen, allowing you to see and delete photographs without removing the camera or digital memory card.  Most modern cameras are designed to allow the owner to view photographs on a television screen.  I especially like the idea of this feature.  I nearly always have a television in camp so my friends and I can view daily film footage, watch films from previous hunting trips, or be entertained by professionally made hunting tapes.  This trail camera feature would allow everyone to view hunt related photographs in camp.  And finally, some systems utilize a removable digital camera.  This means the camera can be placed inside the trail cam case, or used at home as a family camera. 

Trail cameras are not complicated.  They utilize a PIR sensor, a type of motion detector that uses invisible infrared light to detect movement.  If you’ve ever observed the cloudy white or gray plastic cover at the base of a motion detection light, that is the housing for the PIR sensor, which operates the motion sensitive outdoor light.  Be sure the trail camera you purchase uses a PIR sensor that requires both movement and body heat to activate.  Otherwise, every falling leaf or limb bobbing in the wind will activate the camera’s shutter. 

Josh Johnson, one of the owners of Spot-Hogg Archery equipment, lives north of Eugene.  He has been operating trail cameras for several years in western and eastern Oregon.  He and a friend built nearly thirty trail cam units at home.  Josh said they use about ten cameras at a time and each of them has hundreds or thousands of wildlife photographs.  They acquired many of their trail camera parts from Pix Controller (http://www.pixcontroller.com/). 

Josh was a wealth of information.  He told me he has owned several name brand trail cams and each of them have positive features and particular problems.  One of the biggest concerns is battery life and the battery system utilized by a manufacturer.  With some models the batteries will last only about one week, even if no photos are taken.  Some will only work at very close ranges, reaching the limit of their capabilities at around 20 to 25 yards. 

Also, you want the quickest camera shutter speed you can find.  If you are constantly getting flank shots or nothing but close-ups, that may be related to a slow shutter speed.  Buyers must ask questions and look for retailers who have answers to specific equipment questions.  Go online and read everything you can find.  Visit “Trail Cam Pros” on line (http://www.trailcampro.com/) to read reviews of most retail trail cameras .  Lets face it, trail cameras can be expensive, some cost more than $600.00.   Do your homework.

Be careful how you affix your camera to a tree.  In addition to being concerned about theft, you have to consider that a curious bear may try to rip it off the tree.  While cable locks such as used on bicycles, will work really well in the woods, one of the biggest problems are curious bears moving them around on the tree.  If that happens directly after you placed the camera, you could lose many days of valuable preseason scouting.  Josh suggests you place long wood screws above and below the cable on either side of the box.  This will prevent the camera from sliding from side to side or up and down.  Be sure to remove the screws from the tree when you relocate your camera. 

Do not place your camera at a 90-degree angle to a trail.  Once the animal activates your camera’s shutter, he could be out of the lens view if you place the camera in such a manner.  Place your camera looking down a trail at a slight angle – facing the direction from which you believe your game will come.  In that way, unless the animal is running, you will get a photograph of its approach.

Ensure your camera isn’t facing directly into the sun for part of the day.  Have you ever tried to take family photos with the sun in your face?  It doesn’t work.  Place the camera facing north or south, or under a canopy of heavy tree limbs or tall brush. 

It is imperative that objects are removed from your cameras shooting lane or line of sight.  Leaves or fern branches warmed in the sun and then moved about by wind will activate your PIR sensor.  Also, hanging brush or branches may partially hide the body of the animal walking toward your camera.  Take a pair of brush clippers or a machete with you when scouting the location for your camera.

You will reduce the problem of bringing attention to your camera if you buy one with an infrared flash, rather than a standard white light.  Josh said bears and elk are more likely to damage the camera if it has a standard flash.  A bright flash of light suddenly blinding them on the trail could be enough to prevent animals from using that trail for some time.  In my limited experience this has not been a problem, the bears, deer and turkeys I have photographed paid little attention to the flash.  But, animals survive by avoiding things that scare them or which they cannot understand.  Keep in mind that high quality color photographs are more difficult to capture with infrared. 

Consider placing the camera at or near a favorite source of food.  When spring bear hunting, consider placing your camera in areas with tall grasses and perhaps skunk cabbage.  In the fall, put the camera near berry patches or on trails leading to those delicacies.  Where I hunt, bears use creek beds as travel routes in the fall.  Blackberries often grow along creek beds and they can be busy animals highways when the berries are ripe.

Josh Johnson lives and hunts in Oregon.  He said he has photographs of coyotes, cougars, playing bear cubs, big bears, and great bucks and bulls, all because he uses his cameras several weeks or months per year.  He told me the quality of his photographs has dramatically improved with experience. 

My grandfather wouldn’t believe the hunting devices we take for granted in the 21^st Century.  I’m certain he would be astonished to learn that while we are sitting at home watching a ball game or sleeping soundly in our beds, miles away our digital trail camera is making a permanent record of bear, deer or elk going about their business at our favorite hunting locations.  I urge you to take advantage of every means possible.  Make the most of your vacation before it arrives.  Get a trail cam and see who’s coming to dinner.

No Trees Handy – Use A Hoist

http://www.slide.com/r/aqA86dE_4j97NDjBB7idAjAF1IgQ3br2

Truck Mounted Animal Hoist

You’ve pulled it off.  After months of running scenarios through your head and dreaming while awake and fast asleep, you have at last filled your big game tag.  The critter is on the ground, or maybe on your tailgate, and you begin searching for a suitable tree limb or leaning tree trunk from which to hang your gamble.  With billions of trees to choose from, you would think this undertaking should take but a few short seconds.  But nay, the right tree is harder to find than a flea at a gnat convention.  Worse yet, ever filled an antelope tag?  How many handy tree limbs were in the immediate vicinity? 

Hunters can alleviate this problem with a bit of time and not too many greenbacks.

My friend Trace Schreiner built a portable and easily store-able hoist, which slides into the hitch on the rear of his truck.  Check out the basic necessities below and look over the photos in the slide show.  The description below merely details what my friend Trace did to build his hoist.  Use your own plan and imagination.  This is not meant to be an instructional guide, but merely a way to inform you of what Trace built to make his hunting trips a bit easier.

The older you get, the more importance is given to “ease of operation”.

Parts List

Two inch and 2.5 inch square tube steel.  The 2″ slides inside the 2.5″ inch.  The bottom large horizontal tube (2.5″) is 24 inches long and the smaller inner (2″) tube protrudes 8″, and slides into the tow hitch of the pickup. 

Trace simply drilled holes into the large tube and used that hole as an access point to weld the inner tube inside the big tube.  Welding one short (small) tube inside one long (large) tube creates one section.  The sections are simply pieced together by sliding a large tube over the small tube protruding from a different section piece.  Drill a hole through both tubes in a section and run a bolt or pin through in order to secure your sections to one another.  In the photos on the slide show, you will not see the sections drilled and pinned together.

You can make the sections as long as you like, and create as many as you like.  Trace made three sections:  two 36″ and one 24″.  You might consider two pieces 36″ long and two pieces 24″ long.  That would be ten feet of 2.5 inch square tubing for uprights and another 4-feet for the bottom and top horizontal large tubes. 

Cut your small tubing into one foot lengths and dermine how many you need after you decide the number of sections you are going to make.  You also need a 900 pound boat wench, 30-feet of ¼” coated steel cable, two cable pulleys, three carabineers,  two cable fasteners (clamps) and a steel eye bolt.

Stan Jackson Received Two “Once-In-A-Lifetime” Bighorn Sheep Tags

The Second-Chance Ram

        Hunting for bighorn sheep was the last thing on Stan Jackson’s mind on May 22, 2004.  The Christmas gift of six big horn sheep raffle tickets was half-a-year behind him.  He had just crawled under the covers and was fading fast when the telephone rang.  The caller was Don Whitaker, an employee with Oregon’s Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODF&W).  It took some fast-talking to convince Stan this wasn’t a prank call arranged by his brother Mike, but eventually the truth of it sank in.  Despite incredible odds, one of his tickets had been drawn at Oregon’s annual raffle/auction dinner banquet! 

        This tag would allow Stan to hunt for his choice of Rocky Mountain or California Bighorn Sheep, throughout their range inside the State of Oregon.  The enhanced season for raffle winners would run from August 14 to November 9th, providing three months to locate and harvest a magnificent ram.

        In Oregon, the availability of sheep tags is low, but the number of applicants is very high. Thousands of hopeful hunters apply for approximately seventy-tags each year.  ODF&W’s hunting procedures state that persons can be awarded only one bighorn sheep tag in a lifetime.  However, persons acquiring a sheep hunt via the raffle or auction are exempt from this rule. 

        Stan Jackson truly had the luck of the angels working for him the night of the raffle, for he had been issued a “once in a lifetime bighorn sheep tag” in 1985.  He was only eighteen years old when drawn, and he knew he could never apply for an Oregon bighorn tag again.  This opportunity was made even sweeter by the fact that nineteen years earlier, Stan was not successful in his attempt to harvest a California Bighorn Sheep.  Now, at the age of thirty-seven, Stan Jackson had been provided a second-chance.

        Like many large game animals, bighorn sheep did not fare well when eastern pioneers settled in Oregon.  Due to land use changes, diseases transferred from domestic animals and over-hunting, bighorns were extirpated from Oregon by 1945.  But, thanks to hunters and organizations such as the Oregon Hunter Association, the Foundation for North American Wild Sheep and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, California Bighorn Sheep were transplanted to Oregon beginning in 1954.  By the year 1998 there were 31 herds with an estimated population of approximately 2,500 animals.  These sheep are primarily located in the high desert country of South-central and Southeastern Oregon.  A handful of California Bighorns have expanded their range from Southwestern Idaho into Oregon’s Malheur County.

        From 1971 through 1999, Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep were repatriated to Oregon’s rugged Northeastern Mountains.  In 1999, ODF&W estimated the population of ten sheep herds was about 700 animals. 

        Due to this continual increase in sheep numbers, the state is able to allow some hunting to aid in the management of herd size.  I am always amazed by the astonishing magnetism this big game animal has for hunters.  ODF&W sells raffle tickets for their yearly sheep tag drawing, and they auction a tag to the highest bidder.  In 2004 the auctioned tag sold for $87,000 and in 2005 the highest bidder paid $117,000! 

        When a much younger Stan Jackson sought a bighorn ram in 1985, Mother Nature seemed to block his success at every turn.  Hunting rocky bluffs more than 5,000 feet above sea level a raging wind pushed blowing snow for the first four days of season.  Freezing winds and accumulations of snow rapidly changed the bighorn’s feeding and sleeping habits.  He spent days attempting to re-locate wandering herds.  Only once did Stan locate a “shooter” ram.  It was bedded down, the wind was correct and he began his stalk.  But, the consistency of his poor luck stuck to him like glue.  Just as he reached a reasonable shooting distance, a roving coyote spooked the ram from his bed and it was gone in an instant.  Stan did not connect with a ram. 

        For his 2004 hunt, Stan chose to once again seek a California Bighorn ram.  He had hunted desert mule deer in an area east of Paisley and north of the Abert Rim, and knew it held good numbers of bighorns.  Stan would be seeking his ram in management unit #575A, the “South Central” hunting unit.  This isolated and seemingly infinite expanse of desert rests at approximately 4,500-feet above sea level.  Resident sheep reside on rugged mountain ridges and canyons, rising as much as 2,500-feet above the desert floor.  Consequently, each morning Stan would be forced to climb 1,500 to 2,500-feet in order to begin his hunt.

        Before traveling to the area on scouting trips, Stan telephoned ODF&W wildlife biologists, Mary Jo Hedrick and Craig “Foz” Foster.  He found them to be more than willing to aid him in his quest.  Stan told me they offered suggestions and patiently answered a multitude of questions. 

        Scouting in mid-July, he had little problem locating large numbers of sheep.  Aided by his brother Mike and their father Dave Jackson, the men covered an enormous area evaluating bighorn rams.  Probing thousands of square miles, they scoured the countryside within the Abert, Coleman and Fish Creek rims.  Eventually, Stan and Mike located a bachelor-group of eighteen rams in the South Central unit.  Amongst these individuals was what they believed to be a very large ram.  Upon spying this exceptional animal, Stan determined it would be the bighorn he would attempt to locate and harvest when the season opened on August 14th.

        In camp, the night of August 13th was a long one.  A severe thunderstorm with high winds drenched the area with heavy rains.  Hundreds of lighting bolts blazed across the black desert sky with a performance equal to the finest Fourth of July display.  Still misting rain, opening morning was cool, wet and muddy.  Stan, his brother Mike Jackson and their friend Dave Backen climbed to the rim top on the southeast end of their chosen area, carefully probing rocky bluffs and outcroppings for the big ram. 

        Stan, Mike and Dave located a group of fifteen rams early in their hunt.  Although they didn’t see the big ram he wanted, they decided to remain stationary in hopes that he may join the others.  This small cluster of sheep eventually surrounded the men, some coming within 60 yards of the hunters.  When the first day of the 2004 bighorn sheep season came to an end, they had seen numerous sheep, but the trophy ram was no where to be found.

        While making their way to the rim the following morning, Stan and his group observed a decent sized ram about one-half mile in the distance.  Walking north they saw several ewes, and came across some small rams.  Before stopping for lunch the group of hunters had seen dozens of sheep.

        After eating and napping in the warm sunshine the men resumed their trek.  They quickly spotted a group of six big rams about one mile ahead.  The sheep were slowly moving across the top of the rim, apparently heading for water or afternoon beds.  Although they couldn’t be certain, the men hoped “their ram” was in this band of sheep.  Making their way through a maze of boulders and rocky outcroppings atop the rim, they observed a cluster of about two-dozen rams three to four miles to the north.  Sheep seemed to be everywhere!

        Closing the distance as quickly as they dared, the men watched as the band of large rams stepped off the rim and into a shallow depression.  The animals had not detected their presence.  As he reached the last place he’d seen the rams, Stan stopped about 50 yards from the edge of the canyon.  The wind was in his face and his heart was racing.  He knew the sheep were close.

        Pausing to scour the landscape, Stan discovered a medium sized ram standing only 40 to 50 yards below him.  The sheep was frozen in place, with his gaze solidly locked on Stan.  Moving only his eyes, Stan observed four more bighorns, just twenty yards away.  Suddenly he saw the large ram.  Bedded approximately forty yards in front of and below him, the bighorn had no inkling of his presence.  Positioned completely in the open, Stan knew he dared not move a muscle for fear of spooking the ram whose eyes remained fixated on him.

        After what seemed an eternity, Stan slowly began raising his rifle to a shooting position.  When he fired, the ram was instantly on his feet and bolted toward the other sheep.  Stan charged another cartridge into the action and prepared to shoot again.  Standing a few yards behind his brother, Mike Jackson knew the shot had been perfectly placed and called out for Stan to wait.  Within seconds the beautiful California Bighorn Ram dropped to the ground.  With a green-score of 170-1/8″, the sheep would not qualify for Boone & Crockett’s book of records.  Nonetheless, it is the trophy of a lifetime for Stan.

        After posing for dozens of photographs the men dressed and caped the ram.  With the horns, head and cape affixed to his back, Stan stopped at the summit of the rim to soak up the scenery and fully absorb his once in a lifetime experience.  Perched at more than 6,500′ above sea level, he could easily see 60 to 80 miles across the vast expanse of desert.  Stan knew that by every available statistical measure, he should not have been here.  Nineteen years earlier he had drawn his “once in a lifetime bighorn sheep tag”, and yet, here he stood.  Feeling the weight of the sheep’s head and cape in his backpack, Stan Jackson couldn’t have been more grateful for the opportunity to take his “Second Chance Ram”.

Two Firearms Antelope Tags in Two Years, in Oregon!

Wagontire  Pronghorn  Double

The wind had been raging in anger throughout the long desert night.  Upon waking, Trace felt lucky to have all four tires of his camp trailer still resting upright on the ground.  In less than eight hours, the dusty topsoil of the Wagontire hunting unit had been transformed into a sloppy, putty-like, gooey mess.  Now, each step secured additional weight to the bottom and sides of his new boots.   

By all available odds, Trace Schreiner should not have been there traipsing through the sagebrush with an antelope tag.  He had drawn a coveted Wagontire pronghorn buck tag in 2003 and according to the keeper of Oregon’s tag statistics; he should expect to wait approximately one-bazillion years for his name to be drawn again.  But, with a smile from fate or lady-luck, he was legally hunting Antelope just twelve months later.   

Oregon’s Wagontire hunting unit is divided into North and South halves for the purpose of antelope hunting.  If you combine both units, there were sixty-seven tags available for 2003.  That year there were a total of 1,819 – “1^st Choice Applicants”, meaning one in twenty-seven hunters were selected or drawn and awarded a tag.   

When standing alone, the odds were far worse for persons attempting to hunt in the North Wagontire unit.  With fingers tightly crossed, 731 applicants vied for one of sixteen available tags.  This meant only one in forty-six hunters would be making plans for this August hunting excursion.  In the South Wagontire unit, 1,088 persons competed for fifty-one tags, leaving a likelihood of success at one person drawn for each twenty-one applicants. 

In Oregon, it can take decades to receive an Antelope buck tag.  Thankfully, a certain percentage of tags are removed from the preference point system.  These are simply pooled together into a “luck of the draw” lottery.  Which explains how Trace acquired tags in subsequent years. 

Oregon is not blessed with an overabundance of pronghorn antelope and up-to-date population numbers are as hard to come by as buck tags.  In 1999, Oregon’s department of fish and wildlife (www.dfw.state.or.us) reported there was a statewide total of 8,303 individual pronghorns.  Through good management and cooperative weather, these numbers have increased each year.   

In 2004, ODF&W made 1,736 tags available for center fire rifle hunting within thirty-seven management units.  An additional several hundred tags were provided for separate archery and muzzleloader seasons.  Just over 2,000 antelope tags were sold in 2004 and for those using modern rifles, hunter success rates approached 100%.  Mr. Schreiner added to that percentage by taking each of his bucks on opening morning. 

Returning to Trace’s 2004 hunt – walking, slipping and sliding along, he located a lone buck on a ridge nearly 1,000 yards ahead.  Reviewing the landscape, he knew he would have to cautiously weave his way through shallow canyons and gullies, attempting to shorten the distance.  With superb eye sight and the fastest feet in North America, if the antelope spied him, it wouldn’t stick around for the show.   

Several minutes later Trace slowly crested the top of a shallow swale.  A laser rangefinder read 558 yards between them, with a fairly strong left to right wind.  Trace had spent a great deal of time and a significant amount of dollars preparing for this type of shot.  He was carrying a Browning A-bolt .300 Win Mag rifle with a McMillan A-5 composite stock.  The 3-to-14-power Springfield scope was designed for long range shooting, as were the home loaded 180-grain Nosler ballistic tipped bullets.  Removing a plastic covered shooting data card from his shirt pocket, Trace knew this distance and wind-age adjustment information would be invaluable.   

He extended the bipod on the fore stock, made required elevation and wind allowance adjustments via oversized scope knobs and carefully centered the cross hairs on the buck’s shoulder.  Being mindful of his breathing and compression of the trigger, he was somewhat surprised when the cartridge fired.  Anxiously calming the rifle to gain a view through the scope, Trace saw the antelope lying motionless atop the ridge.  His 2004 Wagontire pronghorn tag had been filled.  After a few moments spent reliving and relishing the morning’s events, he retrieved his ATV and recovered the buck.  With an official measurement of 77-6/8”, he missed a qualifying Boone and Crockett score by only 2-¼ inches.   

The taking of Trace’s 2003 antelope is another example of his finely tuned shooting abilities and clearly demonstrates the results one can attain with serious shooting practice throughout the year. 

Opening morning found him trekking toward an area in which he had spotted a large herd of antelope the previous afternoon.  As luck would have it, he found the herd in nearly the same location as they had been only twelve to fourteen hours earlier.  Looking through his spotting scope he discovered there were two decent bucks amongst a group of approximately twenty-five does and youngsters.  He estimated they were 1,500 yards ahead of him, so the ‘sneak’ would be a long one.

As he closed the distance Trace steered his way through every piece of available cover.  This meant zigzagging between islands of taller sagebrush, ducking through shallow gullies and swales and sometimes literally crawling with his head held low.  About half way to the herd, he guardedly peered over the crest of a gully.  He detected a glimpse of movement to his right.  Less than two hundred yards away, a pronghorn buck was nervously watching his every move. 

When he began swinging his rifle toward the animal, the buck bolted and was instantly at full speed.  Trace instinctively shouldered his gun and acquired a sight picture through the scope.  With fractions of time in which to make a shot decision, he led the animal by several feet and pulled the trigger.  The buck’s legs crumpled beneath him.  Trace told me the event was kind of a vague – slow motion blur. 

There are two valuable lessons to be considered in this story.  Trace shoots his hunting rifles throughout the year.  He participates in long range shooting competitions, in which target distance varies from as close as 100 yards, to an incredible 800 yards.  For practical hunting experience, he will drive to canyons and select targets at a variety of ranges.  And, he purchases the absolute best equipment he can afford. 

The second lesson is one of persistence and optimism.  Although the chances of obtaining your ‘dream tag’ may be stacked against you, with dogged determination and a bit of luck, you just might be successful.  Mr. Schreiner continues to apply for an antelope tag every year.  He knows he will succeed in being drawn at some point in the future, but I seriously doubt he’ll acquire another Wagontire Pronghorn Double.

Elk Hunting is a Rite of Passage in Oregon

 

 Coast Elk, A Rite of Passage    

From Ashland to Portland, the vast majority of Oregon’s residents live along the Interstate-5 corridor.  With the Coast Range Mountains looming just to the west of their backyards, it stands to reason that most Oregon hunters have at one time purchased a tag and sought Roosevelt Elk in our State’s coastal mountains.  Tens of thousands of Oregonians have known the misery of constant rain and nearly vertical terrain associated with Oregon’s Coast Bull rifle season.  Hunting’s most seasoned veterans will readily tell you that seeking coastal elk in this perennial rain forest can be one of the most physically demanding hunts in North America.

Yearly harvest statistics gathered by Oregon’s Department of Fish and Wildlife show nearly 50,000 rifle elk tags are sold for the Coast and High Cascade hunting seasons.  Statistically, fewer than 6,000 cows and bulls will be killed, with an overall hunter success rate standing around 13%.  Shockingly, approximately 3,500 bulls will be harvested by well over ten times that many men and women who purchase bull elk tags, leaving the actual bull elk hunter success ratio at less than ten-percent.  So, using twenty consecutive years of hard to come by vacation time from the salt mine, solidly average hunters will take fewer than two bulls.  Terribly difficult terrain, sometimes an inch of rainfall per day and a 90% chance that you will not kill a bull elk, you’ve got to ask what gives?  Why would so many otherwise intelligent people submit themselves to this kind of yearly torture?  In addition to mere proximity, I believe the number one reason must be “family”. 

Evolving across three and four generations of Oregonians, hunting coast elk is a family tradition.  Who among us has not heard someone make a statement similar to, “My family has been using the same elk-camp for the past twenty or thirty years.”  One such family is the Parnell’s of southwest Oregon.  Their coast bull tradition spans nearly fifty years.

Brothers – Duane, Brian (deceased), Glenn and Robert Parnell grew up on a small ranch just outside of Sutherlin.  Their father, Chester Parnell, fell tress and built roads in coastal timber for over forty years.  Having relocated his family to Sutherlin in 1950, “Chet” readily took to hunting elk in this rugged country.  Referring to the 1940’s and 1950’s, I heard Chet say many times, “folks raised their families on elk and deer meat in those days”.  Always an avid hunter, he excelled at meeting coast bulls head-to-head, ignoring the rain and torturous terrain.  Chet shared his hunting prowess with friends and family, and passed his elk hunting skill to his sons and grandsons. 

Before his death Chet Parnell would personally tag over forty coast bulls, and aid those close to him in the taking of countless others.  But, knowing the environment so intimately, Chet closely guarded the whereabouts of his private “honey-holes”, sharing their locations only with his children and grandchildren.  I had the pleasure of sharing an elk camp or two with Chet and while he never ran short of elk stories, I never tired of hearing them.  I have hunted since I’ve been big enough to keep-up, and my hair is more gray than brown.  Chet Parnell was unquestionably the best animal tracker I’ve known, and probably the best hunter I ever met.  He was a master elk hunter.

The Parnell’s hunt within the Tioga Unit, which extends from the Umpqua River, south to Highway 42, and from just west of Sutherlin to the ocean.  They like hunting in the old growth forests east of Coos Bay.  Fearing for my personal well being, I will provide no further description of their favorite hunting grounds.  Like all of the coast range, it is steep unforgiving terrain.  While the old growth is more open than “reprod”, there are certain pluses and minuses for each type of forested hunting situation. 

For instance, old growth timber allows hunters the ability to see for long distances inside the trees.  But, when a fallen tree blocks your path, it is often too large to climb over, or even to see over for that matter.  When moving on nearly vertical slopes, walking or climbing two or three hundred feet in one direction, simply to get around a fallen tree, can add a lot of work and time to your hunt.  Experiencing this several times per day throughout the season, seriously adds to your workout.  Rhododendron patches the size of cornfields, rocks the size of houses and cliffs dropping off to nowhere, all add to the coast elk experience.

The Saddle Mountain Unit in northwest Oregon and the Tioga Unit in the southwest have each been established as trophy bull hunts by Oregon’s Department of Fish and Wildlife.  In order to comply with established hunting regulations, any bull taken in these areas must have a minimum of three points on at least one antler.  This “three point or better” rule applies to both rifle and archery hunters.  Archery hunters can still take a cow elk, but if they harvest a bull it must have three points on one antler.  About the fourth day of your hunt, you have climbed mountain after mountain, and it has rained every minute since you arrived, this restriction can be extremely frustrating.  You may have seen dozens of elk, but none with the required three points.  Let me tell you, a spike elk never looks so good as the third or fourth day of a Tioga elk hunt.

Even in his sixties Chet Parnell was in superb physical condition and could climb up and down unforgiving mountains for day after day.  Coming across a single elk track in the timber he would make a judgment call as to whether or not the animal was a lone bull.  So long as the ground was not frozen hard, if he decided to follow an elk track, chances were good that he would get a look at the bull.  If he lost his race with the sun, the next morning he would either guess where the bull was heading at sundown and make his way to a particular canyon or timber stand, or he would return to where he had stopped the day before and begin a new.  I loved listening to he and Duane’s stories about bulls Chet had taken on the second or third day of a hunt, having tracked the same bull for days on end.  Duane paid close attention to his father’s lessons on tracking.  We followed a bull for hours one day, climbing over ridge after ridge.  I was spellbound at Duane’s ability to detect the slightest irregularity or disturbance on the ground and rightly connect it with the bull we were following. 

The Parnell’s have a particular “honey-hole” on a nameless ridge, off a nameless road, somewhere in the Tioga Unit.  On that steep ridge there is a small flat resting squarely above a cliff, about 1,000 yards off the nearest road.  The circling trees are ancient and enormous, allowing little light to penetrate the earth on even the sunniest of days.  It seems likely that elk and deer have rested on this little flat for hundreds and hundreds of years.  An Indian or two may have walked in this flat in the past few thousand years, and I suppose it is possible that a timber cruiser has stopped and wiped the sweat from his brow during his long workday.  But, in decades of Tioga elk hunting, Chet and Duane Parnell never saw so much as a human footprint in this flat, their own private “honey-hole”.  Three generations of Parnell’s have sat in wait at this beautiful slice of the coast range.   While patiently waiting for a yellow bull to step into this special place, two Parnell fathers (Chet and Duane) have passed on coast elk knowledge to sons.      

I happen to know the precise locale of this small slice of heaven on earth.  In 2003 I had the privilege of helping young Brian Parnell bring his bull from the little flat, up and out to the roadway.  This was Brian’s first bull and because he had taken it in a secret place where both Duane and his father had harvested coastal elk, it is and shall always be a cornerstone day in Duane’s life. 

The Parnell’s may be typical of countless thousands of west-side Oregon families.  Young men and women learn to elk hunt in the forests of the Coast Range Mountains.  For these families, hunting coast elk is truly a rite of passage by which youngsters can gauge a never-ending journey into adulthood and fathers can mark the passage of time.

The Deer Story

 

This was written by someone who supposedly farms and writes magazine articles.  It has been circulating on the Internet without an author’s name.  It is very funny.

The Deer Story

     I had this idea that I was going to rope a deer, put it in a stall, feed it up on corn for a couple of weeks, then kill it and eat it.The first step in this adventure was getting a deer. I figured that, since they congregate at my cattle feeder and do not seem to have much fear of me when we are there (a bold one will sometimes come right up and sniff at the bags of feed while I am in the back of the truck not 4 feet away), it should not be difficult to rope one, get up to it and toss a bag over its head (to calm it down) then hog tie it and transport it home.I filled the cattle feeder then hid down at the end with my rope. The cattle, having seen the roping thing before, stayed well back. They were not having any of it.

     After about 20 minutes, my deer showed up — 3 of them. I picked out a likely looking one, stepped out from the end of the feeder, and threw my rope. The deer just stood there and stared at me.  I wrapped the rope around my waist and twisted the end so I would have a good hold. The deer still just stood and stared at me, but you could tell it was mildly concerned about the whole rope situation.  I took a step towards it…it took a step away. I put a little tension on the rope and then received an education.

     The first thing that I learned is that, while a deer may just stand there looking at you funny while you rope it, they are spurred to action when you start pulling on that rope.  That deer EXPLODED.

     The second thing I learned is that pound for pound, a deer is a LOT  stronger than a cow or a colt. A cow or a colt in that weight range I could fight down with a rope and with some dignity.  A deer – no chance.  That thing ran and bucked and twisted and pulled. There was no controlling it and certainly no getting close to it.

     As it jerked me off my feet and started dragging me across the ground, it ocurred to me that having a deer on a rope was not nearly as good an idea as I had originally imagined. The only upside is that they do not have as much stamina as many other animals.  A brief 10 minutes later, i t was tired and not nearly as quick to jerk me off my feet and drag me when I managed to get up. It took me a few minutes to realize this, since I was mostly blinded by the blood flowing out of the big gash in my head. At that point, I had lost my taste for corn-fed venison. I just wanted to get that devil creature off the end of that rope.

     I figured if I just let it go with the rope hanging around its neck, it would likely die slow and painfully somewhere. At the time, there was no love at all between me and that deer. At that moment, I hated the thing, and I would venture a guess that the feeling was mutual.

     Despite the gash in my head and the several large knots where I had cleverly arrested the deer’s momentum by bracing my head against various large rocks as it dragged me across the ground, I could still think clearly enough to recognize that there was a small chance that I shared some tiny amount of responsibility for the situation we were in, so I didn’t want the deer to have it suffer a slow death, so I managed to get it lined back up in between my truck and the feeder – a little trap I had set before hand…kind of like a squeeze chute. I got it to back in there and I started moving up so I could get my rope back.

     Did you know that deer bite? They do! I never in a million years would have thought that a deer would bite somebody, so I was very surprised when I reached up there to grab that rope and the deer grabbed hold of my wrist.  Now, when a deer bites you, it is not like being bit by a horse where they just bite you and then let go. A deer bites you and shakes its head –almost like a pit bull. They bite HARD and it hurts.

     The proper thing to do when a deer bites you is probably to freeze and draw back slowly. I tried screaming and shaking instead. My method was ineffective.  It seems like the deer was biting and shaking for several minutes, but it was likely only several seconds. I, being smarter than a deer (though you may be questioning that claim by now) tricked it. While I kept it busy tearing the bejesus out of my right arm, I reached up with my left hand and pulled that rope loose.  That was when I got my final lesson in deer behavior for the day.

     Deer will strike at you with their front feet. They rear right up on their back feet and strike right about head and shoulder level, and their hooves are surprisingly sharp.  I learned a long time ago that, when an animal — like a horse –strikes at you with their hooves and you can’t get away easily, the best thing to do is try to make a loud noise and make an aggressive move towards the animal. This will usually cause them to back down a bit so you can escape.  This was not a horse. This was a deer, so obviously, such trickery would not work. In the course of a millisecond, I devised a different strategy. I screamed like a woman and tried to turn and run.The reason I had always been told NOT to try to turn and run from a horse that paws at you is that there is a good chance that it will hit you in the back of the head.  Deer may not be so different from horses after all, besides being twice as strong and 3 times as evil, because the second I turned to run, it hit me right in the back of the head and knocked me down.

     Now, when a deer paws at you and knocks you down, it does not immediately leave. I suspect it does not recognize that the danger has passed. What they do instead is paw your back and jump up and down on you while you are laying there crying like a little girl and covering your head. I finally managed to crawl under the truck and the deer went away.

     So now I know why when people go deer hunting they bring a rifle with a scope so that they can be somewhat equal to the Prey.