Headed out for day two of our search for a deer for Hunter today, back to the same area, Vail tree farm, in an attempt to fill his "any deer" tag. No traffic today whatsoever, much like last night. I think the guy at the gate said he checked in 9 folks by the time we left, and we were the first to leave.

First some pics of our crew.

The deer were shaking in their beds with this cool cast of characters. One of our neighbor's boys joined us for the hunt.

Started out a little slow, as we didn't see a deer until about 8am, a fawn. Looked around for that big 3 point and we jumped him from the same exact spot for the second time in about 16 hours. I would have a plan if we got to go back another day, as he used the same exact escape route. I guess that is why he grew up to have 3 points.

Saw a spike, and a few other deer that escaped at warped speed or they were does with fawns, and then 10am came, so the "doe contingency" kicked in. I think by that time Hunter had to pass up shots at about 10 deer between the two days that he could have shot, all under 50 yards or so, standing broadside. Chip shots. He'd paid his dues.

We saw a doe in a clear-cut, and so the stalk was on. Hunter learned that even a doe has great skills, as she easily evaded him. Ryan actually yelled, "she's galloping away!"

We decided to hunt another portion of the same clearcut and while on one of the trails that traversed the cut, I looked up and there were two does about 70 yards away, straight uphill. Hunter kneeled, and using the shooting sticks made a good shot that took out the rear of both lungs and the liver. It was far enough back that I was worried about a gut shot, but that wasn't an issue. She headed uphill after the shot for about 10 yards, then came crashing downhill about 30. From there is was an easy downhill drag to the road, as steep as it was, and he tagged out for his second season in a row.

The game checker said that she was likely a 3+ year old deer due to her teeth and wear patterns, and she had no milk, which was good for Hunter's conscience.


Thanks again for the folks who guided us to places to go. Much appreciated. I am also very thankful for the WDFW and Weyerhauser for putting these youth only hunts together. What a great event to share with the boys.