Wifes first anything. Kaibab deer

[TEAM JESUS]

Written by my wife Stacey.

 

My husband decided to put me in for the 12A early rifle hunt this year. The thought was that if I was drawn and didn’t want to hunt, I could sign the tag over to our son. When we found that I was the only one drawn for this hunt, I offered the tag to my middle boy, Hunter. He of course just wanted to go on the hunt with me, wanted to be with me when I shot my first deer. At this point, I still wasn’t sure if I could actually pull the trigger. I started praying that God change the desire of my heart to go on this hunt.

 

I don’t have much experience with rifles, so my husband had some work to do to get me comfortable shooting our boy’s .270. By the time we were ready for the hunt, I was fairly confident (shooting paper that is). My husband, middle son, good friend and I took the scenic drive up to Kaibab the day before opening. We got up before light opening day and bundled up for a cold and rainy hunt. Drove the quads a mile or so from camp, saw lots of does, one buck and covered a lot of ground. Got up early again Saturday morning with the same cloud cover and 41 degree temps. Set out for another day of hiking and about 7:30 a.m., came across a couple deer on a trail feeding, with their butts to us. Because of the fog (see photo), we could see there were two, but couldn’t see any antlers. We began to sneak closer to get a better look. One of them picked up his head and we could see it was a buck. Still not sure of the size, we continued to sneak to within 60 yards as it was still difficult to see them due to the fog cover. Seeing that it was a small buck, my husband asked me “are you sure you want to shoot this one? I know I can find a bigger one”. With teeth chattering from the cold I said, “I just want to get it over with.” (What a patient man he is for letting that be my decision!) The buck stepped out and was quartering away to the left. Travis told me to aim for his right front leg and I took the shot. The deer bucked and took off towards the canyon. We waited a few minutes and began to look for blood, not finding a drop. The buck left marks where he bucked, but nothing else. We began to search towards the canyon, still no blood (of course I thought I missed him altogether). My husband was sure I hit him by the way he bucked. Five minutes later my husband found him, not 80 yards from where he was shot.

 

My boys have been praying for successful hunts for months and the prayer of righteous man does avail much! Although we surely could have come home with a bigger deer, I am thankful for success and great memories of the people that were with me for my first deer. As far as my concern over pulling the trigger…when I got up opening morning, my husband was already up reading the Good book. When I sat down, I flipped to Proverbs 31 and was taken to verse 15 “She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.” Works for me.

 

[KCA205]

What a great story. Thanks for sharing and congrats on your first hunt sucess.

[Nitemann]

Congrats on your first buck. Hopefully not your last. He's sure a lot bigger than my first.

 

Rick

[Chef]

Congrats Stacey!

Great job on setting up the pics too.

I know the work involved in that and you'll be really happy you took the time.

[coueshunter]

Great job and great memories made...............congratulations..............Allen.........

[NavajoHunter]

Nice write up. Congrats...

[slopoke36]

Great story, thank you for sharing.

[CouesWhitetail]

“She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.”

 

I love it!! Congratulations! It's a fine buck and I am sure you and your family will enjoy the meat and relive the memories when you eat it.

 

Thanks for sharing your hunt with us.

 

Amanda

 

[CRAZYBUCK]

great write up and congrats on your first buck

[Gr8 White Jr]

Really great story! Thats exactly what its all a bout right there. Congrats on your 1st deer and a successful hunt with your family!

 

-Tracy

[bowhunter4life]

Congrats on a wonderful family hunt! the buck was just a bonus!

[Santana Outdoors]

 

Congratulations Stacey . How awesome to be out there with your family.

 

 

[Coues 'n' Sheep]

 

 

The Bab is a great place for you to have your first hunting experience! Congrats to you and your family on the memories of a lifetime! I assure you our trip to the Kaibab is one of our favorite hunting memories of our married life as well! Congrats!!

[Coues Sniper]

Congratulations on a great first hunt! I enjoyed your story, and the scripture verse is perfect. Out of curiosity, did your "let's just get his over with" attitude towards hunting change at all after this experience? Thanks again for sharing your story.

[COOSEFAN]

Great job Stacey! I know Travis was excited to be hunting with you, I hope there will be plenty more successful hunts for you in the future! Congrats and thanks for sharing the great story and pics with us here! JIM>