The third University of Idaho Farmhouse fraternity brother of mine to have success in the field this Fall, is Nathan Fullner.   As a partner in the family contracting business in Western Washington, he makes the annual hunting trip in Washington a family affair as well.  While Washington is not known as a Mule Deer Mecca, it is apparent that the Fullner clan has it dialed when it comes to filling deer tags.  There were three generations represented including his son Scout.

Nathan writes:

 I picked up Scout from the Homecoming dance at 11:30. It was worth waiting as he ended winning Homecoming for the Sophomore Class. Leigh and I were very proud. Proceeded to drive all night and arrived at the hunting grounds at 6:00, just in time get changed and ready to start hunting. We were very fortunate and were all tagged out by 11:00 . Great times spent with my Dad, Uncle, Brother, Nephew, Son and Jimbo, who wasn’t hunting. Awesome hunt and great memories. God is Good…

Dad, Me, Austin, Scout, Uncle Mel and Mark

Nathan and Son Scout

Nathans smoker buck

Young Meg Groverman connected on this mature Blacktail buck on the final evening of the 2011 California A zone season.  Her father was proud of her marksmanship as he puts it, she “Made a nice shot in the noggin.“

The other night in an undisclosed location, my three daughters and I happened across a bit of deer behavior that has always fascinated me. Two bucks sparring.

Now this was not the knock down-drag out brawl that goes on during the rut. These two forked horn bucks are probably 2 years old an they are just warming up with some light shoving matches. However , it is still fascinating to watch.
Also entertaining is the commentary provided by my two daughters ages 5 and 11 in the background. The video is nearly seven and a half minutes. Hope you enjoy it.

Stan Moody  is a “neighbor kid” who I have watched grow up hunting deer in the local area and I’ve enjoyed seeing him take on the challenge of archery. I was elated to hear he had killed his first archery buck this season.

I was hunting down my favorite old logging road on our ranch in Sonoma County. I love hunting through the trees in the late afternoon. About an hour into the hunt, I came around a bend and saw a nice buck standing down off the road to my left; he didn’t see or hear me. I had missed a buck in this same spot last year at about 40 yards. This buck was a little farther away so I drew back my bow and used the 50 yard pin. I was borrowing my brother’s brand new Diamond Outlaw Bow with Grim Reaper tips. I released and hit the buck in the front shoulder. He ran just a little ways down the hill and dropped. I was pretty excited. This was my first kill with a bow. The buck is only a 2 x 2 but beautiful horns in full velvet.

DENVER — The Colorado Division of Wildlife is partnering with the Mule Deer Foundation to bring new hunters this one-day introduction to deer hunting in Colorado. This program is designed for participants of all ages interested in learning more about hunting Mule Deer. Youth and women hunters encouraged to attend.

Seminars and stations include:

-Ladies on the hunt
-High Country Mule Deer Tactics
-Pathway to Mule Deer Hunting (for youth hunters)
-3-D Archery Target Shooting (Instruction and Techniques)
-Rifle Target Shooting (Instructions and Gun Safety)
-Wildlife Photography

WHAT: Mule Deer 101 with DOW and the Mule Deer Foundation

WHO: Anyone interested in learning the fundamentals of deer hunting

WHEN: Saturday, July 9th, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

WHERE: Colorado Division of Wildlife, Hunter Education Building, 6060 Broadway, Denver

HOW: To register for this FREE seminar, please e-mail tony.dymek@state.co.us or call 303-291-7804 and leave a message with your name, CID number, address, and phone number. Spaces are limited to 60 people so register early.

DIRECTIONS: From I-25, take the 58th Avenue exit and go west. Turn right at the first light onto Broadway. Follow Broadway over the railroad tracks and turn right into the second entrance to the DOW campus. Follow the signs to the Hunter Education Building, located in the northeast corner of the campus.

For more information on planning a hunt in Colorado, go to:

http://wildlife.state.co.us/Hunting/PlanYourHunt/

For more information about Division of Wildlife go to: http://wildlife.state.co.us.

Adrienne and her husband Hans have just opened an archery shop in Petaluma called Avid Bowhunter.   For the fiorst time in a few years we now have an archery shop that is owned by avid hunters and Archers. 

Check out their Facebook Page.  Tell ‘em the Western Wanderer sent you!

Adrienne tells the story of her 2010 California  Blacktail.

As the B Zone archery deer season was approaching, my husband and I did our annual organization of our hunting gear. We were getting ready to leave for the weekend when I pulled my tags out. I was PLEASANTLY surprised to find that what I thought was a regular B Zone tag was actually a late-season blacktail archery tag (since I am the reporter of tag results in our hunting group, I’m not really sure how that happened). Anyway, after I did a little dance and my husband called all of his friends, I started to prepare. Conveniently, I won a new Mathews Passion from a TV show on The Outdoor Channel a few weeks later and I knew that this was going to be a lucky season.

Two months later, we ended up at a ranch where we had done a few weeks of scouting. On opening morning, I found myself side-hilling for several hours (Western hunters know ALL about that) through the steep, oak-studded hills. We were seeing several does and a handful of bucks but it didn’t seem like they were in full rut yet. Later in the day, we came close to a buck with pretty big forks, but were given away by the does as usual.

Sunday morning, my husband and I disagreed for about 20 minutes about which side of the hill we should hunt first. As it turned out, I was right! It was just shooting time on a foggy morning when we came around the corner in our Yamaha Rhino to see a doe standing on the road. We stopped the bike and watched her for a minute. That’s when we saw something move behind the bushes and we both knew what it was. I grabbed my bow and we both knew the plan. My husband keeps driving so the buck watches him and I jump out. Just then, the buck ran onto the road, saw us, and headed down the steep, grassy hill. I ran up to the edge of the road, saw him broadside at about 20 yards, and took my shot. I heard my 1.5” Rage broadhead deploy and my husband said, “You got him!” We went down the hill looking for blood or an arrow and found NOTHING, which was quite discouraging. My husband motioned to me to stop and we heard some branches cracking. He motioned to me that the buck was going down, which was quite amusing in itself!

After waiting an hour or so (which felt like 5 hours), I stayed up on the point, overlooking the draw while my husband went around to look for him. I watched patiently for a buck to come staggering out of the trees but saw nothing. About 20 minutes later, my husband yelled, “big buck down!” and I literally jumped up and down with excitement. I ran down the hill with my Badlands pack, knives, and water, ready to get him out of the canyon (it’s funny how difficult that steep hill was to maneuver on before I shot my buck). As the fog went out again, I saw the silhouette of my trusty guide and hunting partner dragging my buck out of the treeline. We dragged him up the hill to the road and celebrated. Just for a moment, I saw a look in my husband’s eye that told me that this buck MAY be the bigger blacktail to soon be on our wall.

As all hunters know (particularly Western hunters), it is a moment that we are so thankful for when the stars align, the opportunity presents itself, and all of your hard work and dedication pay off. I now have a 4X4 blacktail buck at the taxidermist and an experience that cannot be replicated. My husband and I have spent many days in the field together, but this was a memory that neither one of us will soon forget.

Over the years I have had many successsful hunts with my buddy Cal. Together we have accounted for a number of dead turkeys in Sonoma and Marin County with our bows, but Cal can get it done with a rifle or shotgun as well.

After getting some handloaded ammunition and installing a new trigger, he connected on this nice Montana Whitetail.

My uncle tried to get this guy a couple days before without any success. He had been very leery and elusive in the daylight hours. So I actually got up very early one morning and put on some chest waders and sneaked down a creek in the dark to where I thought he might be feeding.
He was just leaving the field when it was shooting time. I could barely see his horns about 100 yards away. After I shot he fell straight down in his tracks. It was still kind of dark and I couldn’t tell if I got him for sure. Well as you can tell I was very happy when I walked up and found him laying there.

I also had a doe tag and went back out and shot one with my bow.

Cindy and Rich both drew muzzleloader tags for a mule deer hunt in California.  They hunted hard and on day five Cindy killed  this 27 inch wide 4×4 buck.  That is a buck that would make any hunter proud. 

Cindy writes about her buck:

We spotted my buck about 9:00 in the morning, feeding about 3/4 of
a mile away. We figured out my stalking route, and I spent about two and a half hours getting into position. After getting close to the buck (and I’m
talking bow range), I sat and waited about an hour for him to stand up.
When he finally did, he stood and looked straight at me. I panicked,
and MISSED the shot. I was devastated.

But luckily, Rich had watched where the buck ran off to, so after getting myself together, I made another stalk to the buck’s new hiding spot. This time the buck wasn’t going to stand up though. By 5:30 that evening, I knew he was going to wait until dark to come out from his hiding place. So, at that point, I decided to sneak and peak and try to get him up. But he wasn’t exactly where we had seen him bed down earlier.

He must have moved when we weren’t watching. So for about 20 minutes, I still hunted through that sage, but that wily old buck was holding like a pheasant. Finally, Ihad to admit defeat. He must have moved out of that draw and we didn’tsee him. Before heading back to the truck though, I decided to really rattle that buck if he was still around, so I let out a few loud yells.
A doe and fawn jumped up, but no buck. So, I started heading back to
pick up my pack and boots (I had shed both earlier for a quieter
stalk). Suddenly, I saw that sneaky old buck back-dooring me down the
canyon. I knew he was going to go low and cross the draw and then head
up the other side. I ran as fast as I could (in my socks) to intercept
him. I knew my only hope was that I could catch him crossing the bottom
of the draw; after that he’d be too far.

The small ridge I was on came
to a drop off, and that’s where I found a clear piece of dirt to plunk
myself down on and get my rifle up on my knees. The buck was already
crossing the draw at a trot. I didn’t range him, but I knew it would be
a relatively long shot for a muzzle loader (and for me!). And, the buck
was moving. This was throwing out a prayer, for sure! I didn’t have
time to think about it much, or get any kind of buck fever, thank
goodness. I just aimed the gun at the trotting buck, and knew I had to
time it right. I followed the buck with the gun; bounce, bounce,
bounce, BOOM! And then I heard the tell-tale thump! I had hit him.

He
ran up the other side of the draw about 40 yards and stopped. Then his
front legs wobbled and down he went! It was probably one of the most
amazing shots of my life. The bullet had entered right behind the last
rib and exited through the opposing shoulder. Needless to say, we are
still on Cloud Nine!

We spotted Rich’s buck about 12:00 noon, bedded in a bowl up on a
mountain in some sage brush. Unfortunately, the buck was bedded in such
a way that it was hard to approach him without being busted. However,
Rich got in as close as he could, on hands and knees. He got to within
176 yards, but couldn’t get any farther. Rich waited in that spot for
about an hour, and then the buck got up to feed. Rich felt that he
could make the shot with his muzzle loader, so when the buck turned
broadside, Rich leveled his open sights on the buck and squeezed off the
trigger. After the smoke cleared, Rich watched the buck run up the hill
about 30 yards and just stand there. Moments later, the buck collapsed
and rolled down the hillside. Rich had made a perfect double-lung
shot. We were both ecstatic to have one of our tags filled.

Young Meg Groverman was excited about her first deer tag.  From the get -go she was determined to get a deer, and she told her father she would be the one doing the field dressing chores.  You have to respect that from a seventh grader. 

On the second to last weekend of the California A-zone Season, Meg and her father Bill had been hunting hard all season.  Meg had the chance to get a shot , and hit her buck.  After a follow up shot the buck was down.  As they were on their way back to the truck, another buck showed himself, and Bill got him!

If there is anything more special than a daughters first buck, it could be a dad and daughter double.

A few more bucks stood still around Sonoma County, as the rut winds down..

I maintain that the Fall California blacktail is the most attractive deer in North America.