My son Zach Ulmer's first deer hunt

[Extreme Coues]

Finally I was ten years old. Which meant first getting my hunting license, next take hunter safety and last to apply for the big game draw. When I found out I was drawn for my very first rifle youth deer tag, I was so excited. My dad gave me his 243 rifle, the same one that my papa gave him when he drew his first tag. It was a very long 3 months to my hunt. Even though it took a lot to get ready for. There were many of trips to the gun range and many scouting trips to find and keep a watch on the big 2 point forked Mulley that I had seen with my dad on previous hunting trips. Finally the day had arrived; I had recruited lots of help. There were my dad, mom, Uncle Clint, Uncle Orville and two family friends, Casey and Wayne all going to go. But opening morning kind of changed because Uncle Orville or Wayne couldnt make it. But thats OK because it is 5:15 A.M. on October 9th and we are pulling out of the drive. We were headed to the spot where we had last seen the big 2 pt. As we were pulling into Circle K to get hot chocolate my dad was pulled over by a cop. The officer told my dad that the trailer lights were not working. My dad told him that we must have blown a fuse and that when we got home from hunting we would fix them. After giving us a warning he sent us on our way. We arrived and after loading all the gear and five people in the ranger we headed to our glassing spot. After about an hour and a half and not finding the buck we decided to move to a different spot. On the way I spotted a nice 3x3 buck running up the canyon in front of us, up and over he went. We went all the way to the top to look for him. He was right there but still on the move. We tried to get set up on him but he just keeps going. After going down the ridge and hiking and sneaking on him for about an hour we decided to head back to the ranger. On our way back to the ranger we snuck up on two whitetail does and they didnt even know we were there. Well now its lunch time and we went back to town. During lunch I decided that I wanted to go to one of my Uncle Clints spots and look for some whitetail bucks during the afternoon hunt. Casey went to go rope so now it just me, dad, mom and Uncle Clint. Not so crowded this time. After about a 30 minute ranger ride we arrived, gathered our stuff and started to hike in. It took forever to get there but we made it and started to glass. After about an hour of glassing and no bucks we decided to head out to the ranger. Arriving back to the ranger we decided to ride in a little further and work the country. On our way in one of the ranger shocks broke and we had to go pretty slow so we would bottom out the shock. We came to a good glassing area so we got all the stuff out and sat there for a while. One of dads and Uncle Clints friends (Ryan Waylen) came by and he visited and glassed with us for a little bit. His girlfriend had the hunt after mine. We decided on the way out to back track so we could try to find the bump stop that fell out of ranger. We made it back to our first stop and my dad got out looking for it. Uncle Clint still had his binos so he started glassing. And just has my dad says I found the piece. Uncle Clint goes I have a buck. At that point the adrenaline was on. After looking the buck over and ranging to see how far he was. My dad said he was too far and he wasnt going to let me shoot. But I started begging and told him I could do it. He again said NO. But I begged some more and kept telling him I can do this. He said OK, we can try. We set up my rifle and got ready. I thought to myself, now its game time, time to get serious. AIM, AIM, AIM, SQUEEZE, SQUEEZE, SQUEEZE, are the words out of my dads mouth. BANG goes the first shot, But I missed low. My dad told me to hold higher but stay calm. Here goes #2, BANG, I missed high. Aim a little bit lower, Dad said, but take your time. After making sure I was holding where I wanted to, I looked up and asked every one if they were ready. They looked at me and said um, YES. BANG WHOP, hes hit and hes hit good. After making sure he was down, we decided that we better get moving and get him out before dark. My mom and Uncle Clint stayed to tell us where to go. Off the hill we went, and thru the creek to the other side. When we got to him I was so excited. All I could say was oh man hes 105, hes 105. Dad said no hes in the mid 90s. But oh well he was mine. Dad put him over his shoulders and we headed back out. Ryan was on his way out when Uncle Clint waved him down and told him. Ryan decided to come help me and dad and boy was I glad because I had packed the rifle, the binos and radios for a long time and I was getting tired. Once we made it back it was dark and we still had to field dress him and take pictures. We put him in the ranger and headed to the truck. We were calling everyone on the way home and telling them the story. My papa and nanny met us at the house so they could see my trophy. Well that meant more pictures. Then it hit me it was opening day of my first deer hunt and I was already done. I want to thank everyone that help me get ready for this great hunt and everyone that went with me and helped me harvest my first great Coues deer.

 

Zach Ulmer's First Deer 96 6/8 B/C

[Santana Outdoors]

Congratulations on an awesome buck! Nice story thanks for sharing. Wow, my dad gave me a 243 when I was 10 (40 years ago) and I gave it to my son. keep it up.

[Coues Sniper]

What an awesome deer, congrats! I killed my first buck with a .243 also - back in 1985 . It had open sights even.

Congrats again on a sweet buck

[bonecollector]

Wow thats a heck of a firt buck on your first hunt congrats and keep up the good shooting.

[FlyingW]

Nice story and a great first buck !!! Congrats

[cowgirlincolorado]

Wow.. fantastic job!! What an outstanding buck! Keep up the great work!

[Oak]

Congratulations Zach!

[stanley]

Outstanding!!!!! VERY cool!!!! Congrats on a GREAT hunt, and thanks for posting a great story!!

 

S.

 

[tjhunt2]

Wow, congratulations Zach on your first coues buck. That is bigger than anything I've ever shot and I've shot my share. That is just awesome young man. I loved your story right from the beginning and I know how proud your Dad must be of your accomplishment. I have had the pleasure of meeting your Dad and also met your Uncle Clint this past year on my elk hunt. It's no wonder you have started out so well at such a young age. It's in your blood Zach. Good luck on your next draw and keep us updated on your progress. Thanks for sharing such a great story and pictures with us.

 

TJ

 

 

[pwrguy]

What a great buck, first or any other hunt.

[Extreme Coues]

zach has been buging his mom and I to log him on to the computer .

he has been reading all the comments and lovin every minute of it so a huge thanks to everyone

 

P.S. theirs nothing better than helping a kid to be succesful

[The Claw]

Congrats to Zach! Good job. He has grown up since I last saw him at the Ulmer broadhead tournament in Williams a few years ago. Keep it up buddy. I can't believe my oldest will be hunting this year too! Yea ha, it's good to be a dad!

[Coues 'n' Sheep]

Great story Zach! That is one Sexy Buck! I just don't know who is more Proud... you of your buck or your Dad of you! You did a Great job! You gotta get your Mom to up load the pics of you set up behind your Binos and Tri-pod.... I don't think there has ever been a harder glassing 10 year old than you, Buddy! Can't wait to see what tag(s) you get this year!! Good luck, Kiddo!

 

Also.... you forgot to tell us where Uncle Clint's spot was that you got your buck....

 

See you soon, Zach!

[Coues 'n' Sheep]

 

Zach now that you are a bonified coues killer, too.... you gotta become a member and share more of your other outdoor adventures with us!

[izquik72]

Great coues deer.

Great story.

Just an aesome success for you.

I hope you have many more success stories