Outdoor Life writer hunting debacle

[LittleLebowski]

And here’s the other hunter’s side: https://www.facebook.com/10000450259...tNtP8WpUywjZl/

Deer Hunt 2023

I’ve debated posting this post because I don’t like contention and I don’t like putting others down in anyway. I feel I am a peacemaker, and I always try to see the good in others, and forgive quickly. But I feel I need to share my story so others can hopefully learn from this as well.

So Easton and I, went hunting this year, I finally drew a general Utah deer tag. I was so excited. I love hunting, but with three little girls at home, I haven’t been able to go as much in the last few years. So to be able to go, and have this opportunity with Easton, was pretty meaningful to me.

We hiked in with backpacks the night before opening day, about 20 minutes after light on opening morning, we spotted some bucks across from us. Easton helped me get set up and told me to shoot the buck with the collar. I took a shot at the buck in this photo. I missed my first shot. He hurried and got my gun on him again. Helping me, and watching as I took another shot. This time you could hear the difference, it was a solid hit. He didn’t move very far, and Easton helped me get ready to shoot again. I shot, and that shot was a definite hit as well. I knew it, and Easton also confirmed sitting next to me watching through his spotter. Easton said that we had just nailed him a second time. We watched where the deer headed and we were pumped!

We headed over to go check where we shot the deer. A few other hunters ran up to us. He said he shot at a deer, and that his dope was off and he knew he didn’t make a great shot. Easton said, “My wife shot a buck with a collar, did the buck you shoot at have a collar?” The man said, he did not shoot at a buck with a collar. His boy then confirmed saying he had watched the buck through a spotting scope and no collar. The man then confirmed that they knew that I had hit the buck, and that he shot after me. We told them exactly what happened for us. That I missed once, and hit the collared buck 2 times. Easton then asked the man where he was shooting from. The man confirmed from on top of those rocks in the distance. Easton ranged the location it was ≈1000 yards.
He told us to be quite because the deer he shot at, went up above from where we were standing and not below where the buck I had just shot went. We walked around for a min, and I soon confirm with Easton right where I shot the buck, there was blood and some hair. Slightly annoyed by the other hunters Easton and I started down the blood trail. After that, this guy gets super intense and says… wait! Slow down. He then pushed to the front of the blood trail. We were doing our best to be kind considering the situation. We all followed the blood trail for a minute. The man was trying to push past me and had his gun ready to shoot. He kept going faster and getting more aggressive. He turns to Easton and says “don’t worry, I’m not going to steal your wife’s deer” but continued forward. I said so let’s make this clear, the buck you shot at, was not collared correct? And he confirmed. I said “ok, so if this buck has a collar it is the buck I shot”. Easton, knowing we are getting closer, tells him we need to give the deer a minute, and not chase this buck. He tells the man again, my wife hit him twice, let’s just give him a minute. Of course this guy just runs ahead of us. As we run behind trying to keep up the man shoots off two shots. The man was standing over the dead deer.

His story changed immediately in so many ways… he all of a sudden “did” shoot this collared buck. He tells me I only maybe hit him one time. The deer had 4 shots in him. 2 were mine and the last 2 shots this man. But he changes his story that now one of those other shots were also his. He also tells Easton right in front of me, “Your wife doesn’t deserve a deer this big”. Who is this man to tell me what I deserve or what I don’t? So we debated a bit, and really tried to be kind and respectful in the process. I believe we were. He wanted to be in all of the pictures but Easton told him we were going to take pictures with my buck.

The man was basically claiming the deer from the moment he ran ahead of me and shot him. But of course he kept changing his story and in my opinion, manipulated the situation to his favor completely. I felt disrespected. He knew I was trying to avoid any fights or arguing, so we stayed calm, and he took advantage of that. He pushed past me to race down to the buck I had rightfully shot twice, and I know that deer would have expired. This was an experience of a lifetime, and he took that from me. He robbed me of my experience, and completely left me feeling down even to the point I was fighting hard to hold back tears.

My thoughts are, any decent sportsman, would have allowed us our space after we told him we had shot a buck 2 times and we were giving him a minute and going to look. He, his boy, and his friend, should have asked if we needed help, and if declined given us our space. I would never act the way that this man did. Easton and I would have found that deer, and had a completely different amazing experience. That I DID deserve… If the deer hoped up, I could have finished him off and that man could have given me that opportunity and been a good guy, instead of pushing past me and racing a girl half his size, down to my deer. He totally took advantage of the situation. As soon as he got to the deer he wouldn’t let go. He moved the animal, took pictures, and even said a prayer confirming his buck. We tried to stay as nice as possible but his lies continued. His story changed multiple times. He wasn’t willing to talk about it and said we would autopsy the deer to see what happened. Sure enough, the deer had 4 shots. My 2 shots with a 6.5 PRC and 2 were his where he had shot him from close range. We still tried to reason with him, and stand up for ourselves in the situation. He wasn’t budging at all.

We stayed at the buck for a few hours but there was no reasoning with the man, he was taking my deer. I looked at him and said. “We know we hit this deer twice”, and he basically called me a liar. But that was the truth and we had told him this from the first moment we saw him. He was not wearing orange on his head the entire time we saw the man. He moved and cut up the entire deer without tagging the animal. We were sick of arguing and decided to leave. I asked him if he had a tag and he claimed he did but never tagged the animal in front of us. We had been with them for hours.

We learned that we need to video future hunts to protect ourselves. We walked away and let him claim the deer. He wasn’t letting it go any other way. What had been the most amazing experience of my life, had quickly turned into one of the most devastating and heartbreaking experiences. He took advantage of our kindness, and he took advantage of a girl. He told me I wasn’t deserving. I would never even shoot at a buck another is shooting at, and I absolutely wouldn’t race someone down to a buck they rightfully shot, to try and make the last cowardly shot so I could claim the deer. I feel this man acted selfishly and was a poor example to his son in the process. I hope when he looks at that buck, he pictures my face and he remembers the lies he told and I hope he’s super proud of shooting my buck that obviously could not get away.

What did I learn? I learned I will stand up for myself more. I will not let a grown man manipulate the situation again. Easton tired his best to stand up to him, but I can tell you that his selfish motive was not going to budge. He did offer to get us a set of replicas made but it seemed as if this was an admittance of guilt. We walked away knowing the truth. And I will forever remember how we were honest, respectful, and kind. Let’s all teach ethics to our kids, and treat all with respect on the mountain.

And if he ever reads this post, I just want to say directly to him... You had an opportunity to let me finish what I rightfully started. You didn’t hit that buck until you ran up on it with 2 preexisting hits. You could have been a good example. Instead your selfish desire got in the way. I hope you know that this experience really hurt me. We were honest. And had the roles been reversed, we would have congratulated you and celebrated with you. I hope you can hunt with better ethics moving forward.

Thanks for taking the time to read this. I know it was long. I’m sure his side of the story will paint a different picture. But Easton and I are honest people, and at the end of the day, we will always know the truth and that’s all that matters to us.

-Rachelle

** Also, Thanks East for being the best husband, I loved this time with you and I will remember it forever! The good and the bad, but mostly the good Sitting under the stars that morning, I said a prayer in my heart, and thanked heavenly father for the life we have. I was overwhelmed with gratitude for you, and in that moment just felt so blessed to be your wife. Love you! <3

*** Also thanks to my father and mother in law for helping with the kids so we could hunt both weekends. We appreciate you both so much. Russel Cox , big thanks for helping us try and get another opportunity at a buck this past weekend, and for all the laughs! I enjoyed the time spent with you! And for someone who just had a broken foot, you can hike! You and Julie are the best!

*** i would like to add ... I believe everyone should be accountable for their actions in this situation which is why I've shared this story. I don't think hate in any form is right. I'm not trying to ruin anyone's life. I just wanted to share so others could learn from this example of bad ethics. I hope this man learns from this and moves forward In a positive direction*** thanks for all the support and kind words everyone ! I know many people can relate to this story and that is one cool thing about community. I think it's important to be honest and kind, even in standing up for the truth and what's right. -Thanks !

[Borderland]

Ah, the 1000 yd shot. Everybody loses.

[DMF13]

I would like to hear the other guy's story.

[DDTSGM]

Here's the buck - tracking collar visible:

[DDTSGM]

From FB here is what he posted

HERE ARE THE FACTS (Deer Hunt 2023)

Friday (day before the deer opener) my son and my hunting buddy and I backpacked into a desert area to hunt mule deer. Both my buddy and I had dedicated hunter permits. We set up camp and then went scouting. We planned to hunt a canyon face in the morning (opening day).

As we hiked back toward camp we ran into Easton and Rachelle. We were all friendly, visited briefly, and we informed them that we planned to hunt the canyon face in the morning. We parted.

At dawn we spotted three bucks, but they moved behind a screen of trees and I wasn’t able to shoot. I was prone and ready, just needed them to step clear for a shot. Then Rachelle began shooting. The deer we were watching didn’t move, so we thought they were shooting a different buck. Her first two shots sounded like misses (which they later corroborated). Her third shot sounded like a hit. She shot once more for a total of four shots. There was no sound of a hit from the last shot. She was shooting roughly 630 yards.

The three bucks we were watching came running out from behind the trees and none of them showed signs of injury. I said to my son “she must have killed a different deer”. The biggest buck was trotting sideways to me, then he stopped, quartered away, and I shot. I should have taken the time to range him, but I didn’t. My shot went low due to the additional distance and struck him in the right front leg. The impact was obvious and as he ran now his leg was not working. I was frustrated by making a bad hit. The range was 730 yards. I hadn’t realized he was moving away as well as sideways, and failed to dial for the additional range.

We encountered the other couple casting around in the oaks. They were talking loudly and Easton told me he’d lost sight of their buck at the fourth shot, and never could find him again. They figured he was dead right in that area. I told him I’d also shot a buck, but that he had made off, and showed them exactly where he had traveled. They asked if the buck was wearing a collar and my son and I both answered that we had not seen a collar, but didn’t know. We NEVER said he didn’t have a collar. Just that we hadn’t seen one.

Rachelle found blood and it followed the exact route I had pointed out my buck had traveled. I figured it was the buck I shot, they figured it was the buck she shot. We took up the trail, and they hurried to get ahead of us. I trotted to catch up with them and asked them to work together. I told Easton I was not going to steal his wife’s deer – that when we recovered it we would look at the facts and determine who the buck belonged to. I was hoping their buck was still lying dead back in the oak brush like they’d originally thought.

I do feel badly that Rachelle felt like I was pushy. I do get intense when I’m trying to recover a wounded animal, and in this case I knew that we needed to push the buck to keep it bleeding. If the buck was allowed to bed up and his wound coagulated he would be nearly impossible to track down and recover. I did suggest to Rachelle that she carry her rifle ready for action in case the buck got up in front of us and she had a chance to finish it.

We finally jumped the buck and got him running again, and bleeding. The trail was easy from there on, and shortly we caught up with the buck in the bottom of a small canyon. I shot him, he took off down the wash, and I ran and shot him again. Easton and my son were with me.

We then took time to try to enjoy the harvest, and take photos. It was not like she portrayed – we all took photos, and I was happy for them to take photos. In fact I took a number of photos of them myself. Just goes to show you how a person can skew information.

When I first saw the buck in the canyon bottom I saw the collar and realized for sure that we’d been shooting at the same buck. Now, had I known before I shot the first time that she had hit it, I never would have shot at it. But the buck showed no sign of injury when it was trotting prior to my shot, and I believed Rachelle must have shot a different buck.

Now we had a problem. Contrary to the atmosphere she portrayed in her post, the scene was very cordial. There were no raised voices, no profanity, no meanness. I suggested we perform an autopsy to determine exactly how many shots had hit the buck. We found four:
1) Her shot, which had entered the skin just above the bottom line and just behind the belly button, then entered the abdominal cavity, then passed underneath the guts (it’s the first abdominal hit I’ve ever seen that I don’t believe would have been lethal), then exited the abdominal lining and the skin, leaving about a 3/4 inch hole, which was plugged tight with caul fat (the webbed-looking fat that surrounds the stomach). But for a small spot of wet hair around the entrance there was no blood or fluid draining from either entrance or exit hole.
2) My first shot was in the right front leg, which almost completely severed the knee. I’m not proud of that shot, but it’s what provided a blood trail and enabled us to trail the buck. We know with certainty that I made this wound because we watched it happen.
3) A close-range pass-through shot low through the chest, likely through heart.
4) A second close-range pass-through shot, center chest, likely through lungs and top of heart.

That was all folks. There were no more holes in the deer. Easton insisted that they’d hit the buck twice, but there were no more holes, and he hadn’t actually seen the second impact. I expressed my opinion – and yes, I used that word – that they were mistaken and had not connected other than the one shot that clipped the buck’s belly. I NEVER called either of them a liar, as she said in her post.

So there you have it.

I can’t describe how sad I feel as I write this. I had hoped that we could be friends, or at least remain honest and forthright. But it seems bitterness has corrupted that possibility.

In the end, Rachelle first and then Easton agreed to let me have the deer, and I assured them I would get a reproduction made for them at my cost. Everyone’s hearts were heavy. It was a really unfortunate ordeal for everyone.

And yes, I tagged the deer once it was decided who would take it home, before leaving the site. I have photos to prove it.

In her post Rachelle misrepresented what happened in so many ways. I never did change my story. I wish I had recorded the entire episode so you all could listen to exactly what happened.

Memories have a way of becoming twisted when bitterness reigns.

I NEVER told her that she didn’t deserve a deer that big! What I did say was that I felt like peoples first deer shouldn’t be monsters. I do believe that. But the conversation had been about a buck Easton lost to another hunter on a different occasion.

I feel like she really threw me under the bus with her statement about my wanting to be in all the pictures. That was low. I remember all parties being quite cordial and friendly, and I sure as heck didn’t try to resist them getting photos with the buck. In fact, I was happy to take some of them. Why didn’t she mention that in her post? And the way that she threw dirt on my desire to give thanks for the harvest is sad too – they supported the idea and thanked me afterward. Seems pretty low down to use a person’s faith against them.

I do feel truly bad that Rachelle felt disrespected. I never, never intended to make her feel that way. She didn’t appear to feel that way at the time. I tried hard to use logic and a scientific approach to determine who had killed the deer. Once we established that we each hit the deer, and then I finished it off, it is my honest opinion that I killed the deer., and that my expertise was the reason we were able to recover the deer.

It is my opinion that they would not have recovered the buck. Her wound was not quickly lethal, if ever, and was leaving zero blood to trail. Without my hit leaving a blood trail we (they) never would have found that buck. (Unless they had access to the tracking data from the bucks collar. Did they? Is that how they knew where to hunt?)

In her post Rachelle called me out for not wearing orange on my head – and she was right. I wear a hat, and I’ve lost my orange band that I usually wear on it. I need to rectify that.
I will mention that there was a seriously illegal act performed during the follow up (not by my group), but I prefer to not make a statement that might get anyone in trouble.

Fact is, folks, I thought that we worked through the entire unpleasant episode in well-mannered fashion. I had hoped to remain friends with them. And I’m very disappointed that they decided to distort the truth and throw me under the proverbial bus. I hope that someday you guys will come to believe that I honestly did my best to determine what was right, that day in the canyon.

Those are the facts folks. And I have witnesses.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbth...ics/18897390/1

[DMF13]

I'm guessing the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

[Shawn Dodson]

IMO, shooting at deer at those distances isn't hunting.

[SecondsCount]

Well, if they canned him over this incident, my guess is that he has a reputation.

That was a pretty rookie move not to know the distance of the animal. Odd that the deer was exactly 100 yards off from where he thought it was...

[MickAK]

IMO, shooting at deer at those distances isn't hunting.

Shooting deer at those distances very much is hunting and people do it successfully all the time.

But I'd say shooting deer at those distances without noticing a collar isn't very good hunting, and her account rings a lot truer than his. People miss long range hunting in the West, but if you couldn't tell the animal was collared you didn't try very hard not to.

[Borderland]

Shooting deer at those distances very much is hunting and people do it successfully all the time.

But I'd say shooting deer at those distances without noticing a collar isn't very good hunting, and her account rings a lot truer than his. People miss long range hunting in the West, but if you couldn't tell the animal was collared you didn't try very hard not to.

Bullet drop for 6.5 manbun at 1000 yds is around 23'. Even more for some popular older cartridges.

That's some damn fine shooting there. Must have been trained as a sniper by the military.