From hunted to saved.

Nearing the end of deer hunting season the rivers and ponds in the high country of the Olympic mountains were beginning to freeze over for the remainder of winter. Determined to bag a 3-point deer was my focus throughout the year. Monthly visits to the rifle range throughout the year helped hone my long-range shooting skills. A weekly scheduled physical training program at the nearby fitness center conditioned my body for the long challenging task of tracking and if successful bringing my prized buck home. Months were spent memorizing the firearm-restricted areas on the terrain maps of the Olympic Mountains where we would be going hunting. Managed to get a good deal on a Polaris ATV a couple of years prior making hunting easier the past couple of years. Allowing for camp gear to be packed in with the ATV. Unfortunately, with no results on the hunting end.

It was mid-December, and any deer could be hunted. My plan was to bag a 3-point buck if possible. Took the Seattle to Bremerton ferry to cut our commute and a chance to enjoy the ferry ride across the Sound. Landing in Bremerton we headed north then west on the peninsula towards the Olympic Mountains. Getting to our planned location took about five hours of travel total. With just enough sun to set up camp for the night, start a fire for cooking and warmth for the night. Having made the mistake once of pitching a tent in a small gully and having rainfall almost flood us out. We set up our tent on a slight incline with the door below our feet. No more sudden flash floods in the middle of the night. All the travel and excitement of the day finally caught up with us and going to sleep early was not a problem. Planning four days of hunting, we relaxed that first night in the quiet of the mountains.

Refreshed and ready for the day we awoke at the break of dawn. Made coffee, breakfast, cleaned up, secured the food and gear from animals then set out to track our deer. Using terrain map and compass we familiarized ourselves with the area much akin to surveying a combat zone back in the days of the Marine Corps. We found deer dropping and noted them on the map for future reference. We found a small frozen pond close to being completely frozen about 2 clicks from our campsite. This was a good find because it was freshwater, which we could use to clean our deer and resupply our water if needed. There was a small clearing on one side of the pond. Finding deer tracks, we decided this would be a suitable place to set up and wait for any deer coming for water. Spending time looking for a good hiding place and a clear view of the pond took a few minutes of evaluation. Deciding on location we built our blind to hide behind while we waited. All the surveying out of the way and the blind built to our satisfaction we headed back to camp. Because of the advantage of the deer's need for water we had ample time to wait. We watched the pond’s water customers the next day to see if any would be a 3-point buck. We could take any deer by this time in the season. But I had plans for taking a 3-point buck down.

The next day we brought food and water for the day and set out just after dawn to our deer blind. Making ourselves comfortable we waited for our buck to show. The first to show about half an hour after we arrived were two does. They went to the broken ice section of the frozen pond to drink. We knew that we were in a good spot when the does drank and left without smelling our human scent. The parade of deer came throughout the day. Many were does but there was an occasional young buck. But not bearing the 3-point antlers and still needed to grow another year in some cases.

After a long day of waiting and patience, our 3-point buck candidate showed himself. He went to the same spot where all the others drank. Got my rifle ready to take a shot but unfortunately, our metal coffee thermos fell and hit a rock. This caused the buck to jump. But being startled he jumped in the wrong direction, and I got in position to shoot him. In his haste, he tried to cross the frozen pond and it cracked beneath his weight. He fell in and his antlers saved him from plunging below the surface as it caught the solid frozen edge of the pond. My friend said to take the shot. I told him if I did, the buck might disappear under the water going limp when it died. As it was, the buck was using its antlers to stay above the waterline. Quickly thinking I grabbed my utility rope from the backpack and managed to lasso one of the buck's antlers. My friend and I pulled that rope with all we had. Slowly pulling the buck out of the frozen pond. Finally getting the animal out of the water, I removed the rope from the buck while he laid there. We all laid there exhausted from the effort trying to catch our breath. The buck was the first to recover and made his way into a standing position. Of course, my rifle was back next to the backpack where I left it out of the way for safety. The buck had a small cut on its left shoulder where we pulled to get him out of the water. Took a long look at us and trotted away back into the woods.

The event of saving the buck took a lot out of us. Had we not trained during the spring and summer months, I don’t think we could have saved the buck as we did. We broke down our setup and went back to camp to refresh and relax for the rest of the day. That night we decided that we would take the first deer that showed the next day and head for home. It didn’t take long to for a deer to come along the next morning. We killed and dressed a doe and were on our way home by noon. Winter months were short days of sunlight and we arrived home in the dark. Put the essentials away, the rest of the gear could wait until morning.

In the spring, I came back to the campsite we made hunting and spent a day getting familiar with the area while it was warm and green. I ran across the same buck we saved. He had a scar on his left shoulder from the rescue. He saw me and did not run right away but stood and looked at me. Suddenly he bowed his head towards me and then took off into the woods. I decided to go hunting in the Cascade Mountains for the next few years. I did not have it in me to kill something I saved.