Our bow hunting experience this year was a success! It was Marcel's 3rd year bow hunting and he finally got a buck! He decided to name the buck "Strike" because "3 strikes you're out" and it's his 3rd year hunting...you get the picture. We were SOOO excited!Here's the story from Marcel's view:
"Well here is the story on my first buck and that with the bow. As most of you know, I had been chasing some really nice bucks and had been watching them all summer long. Well, to make a long story short, those bucks were scared out of the area by a new visitor....a bear.
So unable to locate my original bucks again I went on to plan B. Jen and I had been scouting an area close to where we live for quite a while and had managed to see a lot of smaller bucks and even put some stalks on them for my little brother who also has a bow tag. We were able to get within 40 yards of a nice 3 point for my little brother but buck fever got the better of him and so that deer got a free pass. Well in looking in the area we went to a spot where we had seen some nice bucks last year and we just happened to be in the right spot at the right time and were able to watch my buck go to his bed. So the stalk was on. First attempt......failure. He outsmarted us.
Second attempt.......failure. This time I had made a great stalk and had my brother pushed him right towards me and had Jen down low spotting it all out for us and keeping us updated on what the buck was doing. The buck came up the draw just as I had hoped. I had ranged a bunch of spots so I would have an idea of how far to shoot. The buck came up and I tried to get him to stop but he ended up stopping higher than I had ranged so I had to guess on a range since he was looking like he was going to bolt any second. Well I lined up what I thought was the right yardage and released but watched the arrow go right underneath his belly! He took off and stopped at about 50 yards before going over the ridge, but I didn't have time to get another shot. And with that, I was kicking myself and not believing I had screwed up. We tried to stay on him but lost him.
So third attempt......failure. Jen and I had spotted him in his regular spot and had finally figured out his schedule. Every third day in the middle of the day, he would be in his bed. So once again, I stalked to my spot above his bed in the wash and Jen did the push (carrying Toby the whole way) but somehow in the middle of the push he snuck away without any sign or sound. Jen was so bummed and thought it was all her fault for not seeing where he went. So I had to reassure her that it wasn't and that he was just a smart guy and that we would get another shot at him hopefully.
Which brings us to attempt number 4. I went up and saw him in his bed again. So I called my Jen and she got off of work and then made a phone call to my father-in-law and he made his way over to help us out. So now the stalk was on. Jen stayed low and put the spotting scope on him and kept an eye on him the whole time. I got into position on top of the hill just above the wash and this time I ranged every possible place around me. My father in law started the push and before I knew it I heard the crash of trees and brush below me and saw the antlers bobbing towards me. My heart started racing and I got ready for the shot. The buck cautiously made his way up the wash the same way he had the last time I had shot at him. Everything worked out perfect and I got him to stop at about 35 yards out. One deep breath and released. The beautiful sound of a sure shot filled my ears. He went up over the ridge out of sight but Jen watched him the whole time. She came over the walkie-talkies and said "he's down but rolling down the hill"! I thought to myself, 'please don't break'! So after going about 50 yards from where I shot him and a 100 yard roll down the hill, my buck was finally down! I was so excited! I had been working for this moment for 3 years and when I was able to hold that buck's antlers in my hands, it was such an awesome feeling. And the best part was that Jen and John were there to share the memory with me. Couldn't have done it without them!" 
From my view:
From my view:"Strike stayed bedded while Marcel hiked around into position. Once he was ready (we each had a walkie-talkie to communicate) my dad headed up to help spook Strike up to him. I kept my eye on Strike for a while and he didn't look like he was planning on going anywhere too soon so I looked away from the spotting scope to give my eye a break and to see where my dad was on the mountain. It only took a few seconds to find him so I looked back in the spotting scope once again only to see....nothing. Panic swept through my body as I looked from the spotting scope to the mountain, frantically looking for a running deer. I couldn't see anything so I looked into the spotting scope again just to make sure and sure enough...he was gone. I picked up the walkie-talkie and pushed the talk button, "*ksh* Nobody move. I lost him *ksh*".
My heart sank when I finally spotted him heading over into the next wash. "*ksh* He's headed over to the next wash *ksh*". I thought I had completely ruined everything.
This thought and more were running through my head when Marcel came over the walkie-talkie saying "*ksh* I hit him! I'm almost positive so watch him! *ksh*"
I was SOOO happy to hear that! I celebrated with wahoo's and such in the walkie-talkie (as did my dad)! As I watched Strike trot over to the next wash and head down slowly Marcel said "*ksh* Yep I definitely got him! There's blood and I can see the trail *ksh*!"
Next thing I knew Strike was rolling down the mountain.
ME: "*ksh* Ope he's rolling! You definitely got him! *ksh*"
DAD: "*ksh* Awesome! Nice shot! Way to go! *ksh*"
MARCEL: "*ksh* Don't break! Please don't break! *ksh*"
Once he finally stopped rolling we all sat tight giving him time to expire (expire is a weird way to say that but it is the most, uh.....polite!) while we all jabbered about our excitement and recapping the whole ordeal. Finally Marcel and my dad hiked around and met up at the spot where Strike was, with my guidance and Marcel following the blood trail.
Once they were there, I hiked down from my spot and over and up to where they were. Marcel met me with a huge boyish grin and took my hand leading me to Strike, who was even better up close! We were all very excited and it was awesome having my dad there with us!
After the gutting, caping and the yucky "boys job" stuff was done, we headed down the mountain, Marcel and my dad with the body and me with the head. Let me just tell you I had a heck of a time getting that dang thing down. The dirt and rocks were not very sturdy and I fell on my butt A LOT. It didn't help that it was so darn heavy either! 
Marcel and my dad were quite a ways ahead of me so every 5 minutes or so Marcel would call to me, "Hun, you okay?"."Yes", I replied every time but as time went on my frustration from falling so much grew and my replies became sharp and angry sounding. Towards the bottom Marcel asked me again, "Jen, are you okay?" and I came back with "NO I'm NOT okay". He quickly found me and helped me carry it the rest of the way to a clearing. I was pretty grouchy when he found me and I told him that I didn't want to carry the stupid head anymore and he looked at me lovingly and said "Thank you so much for carrying it for me hun. I'm sorry."
You can imagine how crappy I felt for being such a beast! I immediately fixed my mood and apologized for my attitude. I have such a great husband!
We stopped by a little creek and had a drink (which was delicious) and I let my shoes fill up with cold water as I stood in it! It felt wonderful! Then we carried everything the rest of the way to the truck and got it all loaded up. It was a really great day and we all had a great time despite my short temper!"
Here's a little graph to show how things played out.
*Disclaimer: Positions may not be exact but you get the idea!
The view from the cab of the truck on our way home! Very nice!
Skinning and freezing the meat. One of our neighbors (the Ostler's) have a huge walk-in freezer at their house (which happens to only be 2 houses away from us) where they allow hunters to hang their big game for just $5 a day. It's very convenient!
Marcel decided to mount this big boy since it is his first buck and he's a pretty good size to get with a bow so we took him over to Kelly's Taxidermy here in Nephi. We've seen some of his work and he does a great job so we're very excited to see the end result! While there, I spotted this crazy mount (right)! What's even crazier is it is totally real! Kelly said it was a huge pain to mount but I think it looks awesome! I had never seen anything like it until then so you can see why I was in such awe of its oddness!
Marcel's good buddy Darin Smith had set up his trail camera a few months prior to the hunt in the area that Strike hung around in and was able to capture a few photos of him! As you can see he grew quite a bit between the time this picture was taken and when we got him (about 3 months).
Here's Toby enjoying one of our many deer scouting adventures! (Also pictured is Marcel and Manuel!)
On one of our trips up the Loop I had Marcel stop so we could take a picture of this super cute calf! We have never seen one this color and I wanted to load him/her in the back of the truck and take him/her home with us!
After letting the meat freeze for 2-3 days, Marcel and I brought it back home to cut up(which let me just tell you was NOT a pleasant experience! I was almost crying because I was so grossed out helping him carry the body from the freezer to his truck! Sometimes I can be pretty girly and I definitely had my moment there)!
How romantic is this picture with the dead deer carcass hanging in the background?! Oh, I know!
Marcel did almost all of the cutting work. I mostly packaged, bagged and labeled the cut pieces and helped a bit with slicing some meat for jerky (I promise I wasn't JUST taking pictures!).
It was a great experience being there with Marcel when he got his first buck! We absolutely love hunting for many reasons but mostly because it gives us a chance to spend a lot of time together outdoors and gives us a chance to bond as a couple. We can't wait to do it all over again for my hunt in October!
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