Pine Valley Early Rifle

Disclaimer- There are pictures of small bucks that were killed so if you don't agree with the age group of what was killed, don't read.
Edit- We camped about 6 miles south of the reservoir near Lost Peak.

My 76 year old Dad and I drew Pine Valley early rifle. The only expectations I had on this hunt was to make sure my Dad had a good time and didn't feel pushed physically or rushed to fill his tag if he didn't feel it. My goal was to enjoy my time with him and make it a good hunt.
We arrived a day and a half early to scout. First eve we saw about 15 does. The next morning we went to the same area and saw roughly 25 does and 1 spike still in velvet and another spike fork. The last eve to scout we came across 12 or 13 does and another spike fork.
Come opening morning we felt pretty good about the area we would be hunting. Lots of deer and it wasn't too difficult to get in there. We left the truck about an hour before light and got up to where we wanted to hunt at first light. We crested a little knoll and I spotted a deer go over the ridge about 150 yards in front of me. I looked to the left and there stood a deer about 200 yards away. I was able to see a fork on his right side and that was all my Dad needed to hear. He settled in and made a perfect shot on the buck. Down he went where he stood. His left side was broken off which we later realized may have been shot off by another hunter. The weird thing is that the break looked old (3 weeks or so?) and I think we were the first rifle hunt so either this deer was shot in the ear last year or someone was in there shooting just as this deer lost his velvet.
We boned out my Dads deer and all was good. I was stoked my Dad filled his tag and he was happy. The pack out was not difficult....I carried 75% of the meat out so he wouldn't struggle. The exercise I had put in the past 3 months really paid off. We took the boned out meat into St George to Final Cut Meats and Adam, the owner, was a great guy. He even brought the meat back to his home in Enterprise so we wouldn't have to go all the way back down to St George to pick it up. I'd use him again.
Day 2 was much busier with hunters in our area. It was pretty disappointing but expected. The deer numbers seemed to go down. We saw 2 bucks that morning but I was not able to get a good, safe shot on the biggest in the group. Looking back at it, I could've made the shot but it was not ideal. It is what it is. I wasn't upset about it. Day 3 came and we'd ralized that all the deer we were coming across was tight to cover...we basically were blowing the deer out. That 3rd morning we decided to go into an area we had not spent much time simply because it was too steep (we thought). We peaked over the ridge into the canyon and there were 3 does and 2 bucks heading into the thick cover. They hadn't seen us so I came up with a plan to side hill around to the next ridge where we'd be right on top of them. Sure enough, it worked out perfectly. They had started to come out the opposite side of the thick stuff and the smaller of the two was in plain sight where the larger buck was behind him so I decided not to be picky and take the smaller buck. I set up on my bipod and the first shot killed him. My Dad said the buck actually flipped backwards "like a gymnast". I didn't see the impact so I had no idea I had hit the deer. We walked down and recovered the deer at about 8:30 am. I was very happy that we were able to find a buck for me to put in the freezer. This was my only deer hunt so I needed the meat.
We boned this deer out and again, I carried the majority of the meat so my Dad could take it easy. This was a much harder pack out as we were about 250 yards down in the canyon. I was thankful that I had done so much leg exercise leading up to this hunt.
Going in to this hunt with no expectations on class of deer really made it more enjoyable. This was probably one of the best hunts that my Dad and I have had together in the last 15-20 years simply because nothing was forced, expected or pushed. We were both there just to enjoy being there. I wish I had 50 more hunts like this one with my Dad. It was perfect.

Great job smacking 2 and enjoying your hunt with your Pops.

GOOD GAWD Wisz!

I Told You I Had Things Covered Back in KALI!

I Also Told You To Trophy Hunt & There'd Be No Reason for You To Hurry Back to KALI!

Well!

I Can See You Didn't Listen to me!

Again!

Glad You Guys Had Fun!

And You Know I'm only RAZZIN Ya!

No need for your disclaimer with me. Glad you got out with your dad and enjoyed the hunt and didn‘t have the added self-imposed pressure of having to harvest bucks of a certain size in order to have a successful hunt. That pressure often takes the fun out of the hunt. Congrats and thanks for sharing your story and photos...

Horniac

Congrats on making some great memories with your dad! My 84 year old dad has a late cow elk hunt. Three of us drew the same tag. Three generations hunting together. Going to consecrate on dad cow first.

I'll have my Dad and my son, Canyon (19 Years old) with me on my late season Monroe elk hunt. I can't wait for that. I wish you luck, BJT

Congrats on a great memory with your pops Wiz!!!

That antler may have been shot off during the muzzleloader hunt which ended on the 1st. I had a muzzy tag there and it was hot. I was surprised how many bucks still had velvet or some velvet left on them.

Great hunt with your dad those times are the best. I still remember going with my dad years ago and truly miss those times.
Fun hunts don't always mean getting the biggest bucks no expectations and great results.
Enjoy your dad while you have him........Good job you guys

Awesome hunt. That is what it is all about. Good times, low pressure and success. Great memories there. Thanks for sharing.

Way to go Steve. I wouldn't mind one of those backstraps!

My daughter stuck to her guns, and didn't let Jonston go because his grades were slacking. pc

Glad you guys had a great time and filled your freezers. Something about going out of state and hunting a new area that adds just the right amount of adventure to our hobby or way of life. It looks like the weather was a little kinder to you than it was to us last year.

desperatehills said:

Glad you guys had a great time and filled your freezers. Something about going out of state and hunting a new area that adds just the right amount of adventure to our hobby or way of life. It looks like the weather was a little kinder to you than it was to us last year.

Click to expand...

The weather was a bit warm. The wind really didn't start until the 3rd day of the hunt which was nice. It got to about 75'ish mid day and was not cold at all at night. It would have been nice if it were a bit cooler but no complaints.
And...I have to add that the use of OnX maps made life so much easier. This was the first year using it and it is a no brainer for $20 a year.

Congratulations to you and your dad. Who cares about the size when you have memories that good with your farther.

Congrats Steve!!!!!!! Looks like you fellers had a fine trip. Everyday on a mountain with your dad is priceless. I’m super happy for ya amigo. Hope ya kill a great bull too!!!!

PS- the Santa Maria tri-tip is really dang good!!!!! We loved it and the beans. Thanks much!

Congrats buddy!!!

Congrats to you and your Dad!

I'm glad you 2 had a fun and safe hunt Steve


congrats


Robb

Nailed it! Congratulations!

Very cool. Can't ask for a better ending on your hunt with your Dad and filling the tags. Love the pictures too.

Congrats to you both Steve and good luck on your bull hunt.

Congratulations looks like an awesome time!

Great story congrats you guys! Thats making memories right there ...I'm going to be in Pine Valley in 2021 I hope. The boy and I have 6 points each for the late rifle season. My dad will be along as camp chef and spotter. 3 generations. Ive not hunted in Pine Valley but gonna try to get down there this summer to camp and learn the lay of the land. Would any of you folks be willing to share some hunting stories about Pine Valley with me and maybe I can help you with a hunt of your own?