I was lucky enough to draw an Oregon premium deer tag in the Eagle Cap Wilderness of Eastern Oregon for a unit we have hunted elk in for 30 years. There is only one tag issued and it allows you to hunt from Aug. 1 to Nov. 30. I was super-excited about the opportunity to learn some new parts of this unit and to take advantage of the youth mentor program that allows kids to hunt with your tag.

After two months hiking my guts out in the high country, I couldn’t find a mature buck to hang my tag on. This experience gave me a greater appreciation for the locals that hunt here and are successful. They know the basin to go look in after their 12-mile hike versus me just trying to learn the unit and looking in every draw for 12 miles. They know where to spend their time, and this can’t be learned in a season.

I did get some reliable intel on a buck and decided it would be the perfect opportunity to do a 3-day high country backpack trip with our 12-year-old daughter, Gracie. We had an absolute blast playing games, telling stories, eating candy, and laughing the whole time.

She was nervous that she would mess something up or miss the buck, but I told her there is nothing she could do that would upset me or disappoint me on this trip. This trip is about quality time together and being in the mountains. Gracie was a trouper taking bee stings, frigid temperatures and fog all in stride. Although we didn’t find our target buck if the hunt was over after this trip, it would have been a success for me.

After the bucks got hard-horned, it got difficult to locate them. If I did find a buck it was jumping them while hunting or hiking, getting a fleeting glimpse as they bounded off. I was able to learn a lot of new country and places I wanted to check out once the rut kicked in. As the rut was approaching, we began to switch the focus to using my tag to get our son JJ his first buck.

We had gone out a couple times without seeing any bucks of size, but we were still getting him set up on little bucks and having fun counting coup on them. He said he wasn’t going to shoot unless it was a big one.

As elk season approached, I was excited to have some spotters with my dad, uncles and a couple friends camped out for the season. On the way to camp we got the news that my grandfather that had been battling cancer had moved on to a better place.

Honoring Grandpa Rich

I told JJ we were going to hunt and live to honor Grandpa Rich. I told him when he was tired, cold or frustrated, he needed to remember we are blessed to have this opportunity and to be out here in general, let alone hunting rutting bucks. Rich would have loved the fact we have this opportunity.

Although JJ is only 10, he kept up with me just fine as we averaged over 8-mile days. It was also a fun reminder that hunting is the opposite of what a 10-year-old boy really wants to do. As I am trying to be as quiet as possible walking, he was breaking ice out of mud puddles and trying to break anything he could find.

We did finally manage to locate a buck that got JJ excited. We spent close to an hour playing cat and mouse under 100 yards but couldn’t quite line up an ethical shot for JJ. I was super-disappointed we couldn’t get one for grandpa and I couldn’t get JJ on his first buck.

After bringing JJ home, I returned to elk camp and knew I had to get serious. After 5 months of being in this unit, I only had 5 days I could hunt and hadn’t found a buck to get excited about.

I decided to head to an area I e-scouted and a vantage point where several canyons came together. It was a 5-mile hike out in the dark, but as the sun dawned over the landscape, I began turning up bucks. I kept heading farther out, hoping to find that one special buck.

As the sun was setting, I started the long trek back to the truck. I was trying to make it to the bottom of a canyon by nightfall and spotted deer on the opposite face. I gave a quick glass with the binos and I could tell there was a buck over there that would need closer inspection.

After looking through the spotter, I was wishing JJ was with me so we could kill this buck. I was telling myself if he has extras, I might have to go into predator mode. He turned his head to reveal an inline and I pulled out the rangefinder, 412 yards, and I dialed my scope.

Wishing for JJ

I sat there for 10 minutes and finally decided to pass on the buck that night and see if I could get JJ back up to the mountains. It was a long hike out in the dark with limited cell service and I finally was able to get ahold of my wife. She said it wasn’t going to work out to get the kids there and I should just go after the buck.

I didn’t want my hunt to end, but I only passed on this buck because I wanted one of my kids to shoot it. The next day I repeated the process from the previous day with the landscape blanketed with fog. As the fog lifted, I was able to spot the buck about a mile from where I saw him the prior night.

I amazingly had cell service and called my wife again to see if we could somehow get our son to the mountains while I sat on the buck. She told me they thought I already punched my tag and JJ was excited for me.

After visiting with my wife, I went into predator mode and closed the distance in a hurry. There were also does and rival bucks moving all around me, making it difficult to get in close. As I neared, I was only moving when he would run off a small buck, but he kept snapping his head back in my direction.

I made it to a rock outcropping and ranged him at 187 yards. I set up for the shot and as I moved for my gun he turned, and we made eye contact. I instinctually froze, in a really awkward position, not daring to move. After a while the feeling began to leave my legs, my arms started to tingle, and I was praying for the rival buck to make another move on this old warrior’s doe.

Thankfully, before I lost all feeling this happened, and I slipped in behind my gun. Although I was close, my crosshairs were dancing across the buck like they just scored a touchdown. I started at his back and started squeezing as I moved down the crease in his shoulder, and when I felt the recoil from the 30 Nosler, I knew the hunt was over.

A sense of appreciation

I was instantly sad the hunt was over, and our kids couldn’t be with me to appreciate this moment. When you shoot an animal alone, I believe it gives you a greater sense of appreciation for the animal.

This old warrior buck managed to avoid bears while he was a fawn and moments before I shot was beating up bucks to keep his does. He had lived a life dodging cougars, eluding wolves, and hiding from hunters.

As hard as I hunted, I understand the only reason I was able to find him was because I was allowed to be out here when he was more concerned with expanding his bloodline than avoiding the countless predators. After looking for a mature buck for five months, I had a better understanding that if I want these opportunities to continue for others, and my kids, I need to do a better job of filling my predator tags.

I was able to accomplish all my goals I set out with on this hunt. I also furthered my appreciation for mule deer in our state and how hard it is for them with all the obstacles they face. I was also able to meet several great people or form better relationships with people I knew over the course of this hunt. The thing I will cherish the most is the fun times I had with my family and how lucky I truly am.