Lessons Learned - Not all of 'em I like! Kaibab Buck

[Mocha1545]

WOW, nice buck!

 

Thanks for the wonderful write up and pictures! We appreciate your honesty. I believe ALL of us have been caught up with numbers. It's amazing how sitting in the wild can give you the perspective you need. Also helps to have such great friends (and Roger, who is both husband and best friend) to support you. Great job on the buck and finding yourself again.

[5yearcoueshunter]

Congrats on awesome buck! I really enjoyed your story and how you pointed out the true reason why everyone should hunt, to have fun and enjoy yourself! I have been lucky to draw a few really good tags myself and I always put way to much pressure on myself to get that trophy animal. And then when things aren't going so good, I almost get this panicked feeling that I'm not going to get him. I also think I hunt worse on these tags because I overthink them and just don't let my hunting senses take over. When I look back, some of my most memorable hunts are the hunts when I wasn't expecting to get anything and do. I'm the most relaxed on those hunts and soak it all in.

 

Thanks again for sharing!

 

Travis

[CouesWhitetail]

That was a GREAT write-up Ilene!! Thanks for sharing all the emotional ups and downs of your hunt. That takes courage and I thoroughly enjoyed the story. Poor Roger!! I guess he was able to forgive you though

 

I completely agree with what Devin posted...and will quote him again:

 

"And really at the end of the day all that matters is that you are happy with what you have done and that RESPECT for the animals that we harvest never dwindles."

 

I consider myself a trophy hunter, but I killed the smallest deer of my life this year and was happy to do it because for each hunt I tend to set different goals. Most of the time I willing to go home empty handed for the chance to kill a big buck. But sometimes I am not and now I have meat in the freezer and am in fact enjoying leftover chicken fried backstrap as I type this!!! I hunt for the challenge, the beautiful experiences in the wild and for food.

 

Congratulations on a fine buck! I am sure you and Roger will enjoy many fine meals from him.

[SunDevil]

I remember and enjoy the hunts when I do not have a tag (helping friends out) as much as the ones when I do have a tag.

[Snapshot]

Alot of us have experienced what you did, so we certainly understand. High expectations can lead to stress and disappointment. I try and keep my sights high, and expectations low, and enjoy the hunt for what it it. Easier said than done, I know.

 

Glad you tagged a good buck and spent some quality time in great country.

[lucky2hunt]

AWESOME ILENE!!! Saw your pic on Jody's face book. What a B E A utiful DEER!!! Love it.

 

I am a big numbers guy myself. After reading your post I think that I will change how I describe my hunting style when people ask me. DOES score play a big role in what I like to shoot "YES". BUT that is not what the entire hunt is to me. I think that is what a lot of people don't understand about some of us trophy hunters. Just because you are after a trophy animal does not mean that the rest of the hunt is not there. I enjoy just seeing wildlife, the views, everything. Getting out in the hills glassing and just absorbing what you see. For me personally killing a deer is not what it is about. This might sound a bit boastful but its not meant that way, its just the way I feel "Killing a deer is easy, and I could kill one pretty much anytime I would like, given I had a tag." Obviously harvesting a deer is a blast. The HARVESTING is a HUGE part of the hunt. But the thrill for me is finding that upper age class animal. Outsmarting an old ancient wise monster buck. Its really difficult, and that is what makes ME to be a trophy hunter. When I actually accomplish that task, it is really rewarding for me. I believe you can be a "trophy" hunter and still enjoy the hunt the same as any other hunter out there. Its more the state of mind that you have while your in God's country.

 

That does not mean that I only like big high scoring animals. I do believe that every animal is a trophy. Look at the excitement in a young persons eyes when they harvest their first deer or elk and its a doe or cow!!! My brother in law shot a spike this year with his bow and you would have thought he had just shot the new world record. I had so much fun on that hunt with him, it will be a memory of mine for the rest of my life that I would not trade for anything. Thats what it is all about in the end. Its mostly a preference and really to each his/her own. I thoroughly enjoy seeing anybody's successful pictures, no matter the score. I get excited when people bring animals to my shop, their stories, their lessons learned, their experiences, its down right AWESOME!!! I might not shoot a deer in the next five years, or ten for that matter, but it does not mean that I will not enjoy the thrill of looking at them. My respect for these animals is something that I cannot explain. And really at the end of the day all that matters is that you are happy with what you have done and that RESPECT for the animals that we harvest never dwindles.

 

Just my 2 cents!!!

 

AGAIN congrats ILENE on your TROPHY. I am really glad you posted your story the way you did. It does bring the true meaning of why we do what we do to light!

Devin, that is why I have so much respect for guys/gals like yourself and Jody! Those that pursue trophy animals have patience, perseverance, and a skill set beyond anything I think I will ever achieve. To not waiver from your mind-set of the animal you wish to hunt and are willing to go home empty handed is a huge commitment that I admire so much. I just figured out that I'm not personally good with that kind of stuff. Like someone else said, I over-think things, I stress out, I don't sleep, basically I am a mess !

[lucky2hunt]

Poor Roger!! I guess he was able to forgive you though

He's used to my shenanigans!!! And he still loves me.... go figure

 

Thanks everyone for your comments!

[Coach]

Ilene, first and foremost, I want to congratulate you on an amazing hunt. But more than that, I want to thank you for taking the time to really describe your feelings on the hunt, your expectations, your frustrations.

 

We all dream about the day we'll finally get that coveted tag. When it finally happens, we are overcome with the combination of joy that we'll finally get to go on that kind of hunt, but it's tempered by the pressure that comes along with it.

 

"What if I draw this amazing tag and don't live up to the expecations that come with it?"

 

Believe me, I've been there, this year, in fact.

 

It sounds to me you started looking at this hunt as an opportunity to really expand as a hunter. Maybe prove something, maybe break through some barriers.

 

I, too was lucky enough to hunt North of the Canyon this year, 13B - a hunt I honestly never thought I would be lucky enough to be on. All my friends are die-hard hunters, and all wanted to have that tag.

 

I could describe what pressure I felt to make the very most of that hunt, but from your story, it's obvious that you've already been there.

 

It was a "numbers" game before I even got there. Not to mention, I could count on one hand (maybe one finger) the number of 170 class mule deer I had ever seen in the wild. That number would be ZERO on an actual mule deer hunt. Yet I had totally convinced myself I could go up there, pass up all the 170, 180 even 190 bucks until I found "the one"....

 

Well, it didn't work out that way at all.

 

3rd day of the hunt, I shot one of, if not the biggest mule deer bucks I'd ever seen. But what do I do? I start comparing him to pictures I'd seen online. I start wondering if I was "less mature" of a hunter to have taken the shot....

 

"If you hunt the strip you have to kill a 180 buck at least, but should hold out for the 200+ ones that are there..."

 

Those words echo in my mind...

 

The more I reflect on that hunt, and all the things that made it hard, the more I realize that measuring a hunt by inches of horn is probably the worst measure of a hunt. The real measure of a hunt, in my humble opinion, is the culmination of lessons learned about yourself and the people you surround yourself with.

 

 

Ilene, I commend you on an amazing buck, but I'm more impressed with your ability to express the true beauty of what hunting means. It's not about arbitrary points or measurement.

 

It's about how the experience of something as simple as going hunting creates the opportunity to really step outside yourself, take a look and decide what you like and don't like. From there it's all yours.

 

Thank you for this post.

[Coues Archer]

Awesome story! Congrats on a wonderful mule deer, thanks for sharing.

[Red Rabbit]

Ilene,

This is the best introspective story I have read in a long time. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Doug

[SunDevil]

"People are defined more by their struggles than their success." Bret Bielema

[sbhunter]

Congrats on the hunt / buck you will never forget!

[coueshunter]

ilene, i really enjoyed your story and can totally relate. great buck you shot and even greater level of understanding you learned. i know for me, it seems like unless i shoot some unquestionable 250" monster, many people respond to my deer pictures like i didnt measure up. it may just be me, but i would like more appreciation of the overall hunt by some people i talk to. many people do not even know how difficult it was to find big bucks this year on the kaibab let alone get a shot. my story this year would be as much about the search and long shot as it would be about the buck, but sadly many people dont know enough to ask about all the important things, only what the score is. like devin, i want big bucks, its a personal thing, but to make score the only measure of success diminishes the animals we all love. my biggest success this year was the excitement my son travis had enjoying the whole kaibab experience then shooting his trophy. that made the whole hunt for me. thanks for your great story...allen

[200"mulie]

great write up thanks for sharing .. and congrats !!

[sidwynder505]

Yup! i have to agree with everyone!! i've seen "the number's" make nice people people very ugly! an forget about why we hunt!!..love your story!! i can related!!...p.s i'd shoot a box of bullets at that buck all day!!! opening day!! congrats!! LOL!!! ....i aint kidding neather!