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Message: <blockquote data-quote="7mmMag" data-source="post: 471792" data-attributes="member: 1188">This was hands-down the most unforgettable hunt of my life. The badlands are my absolute favorite place on earth, so sharing that raw, surreal adventure with my wife made it nothing short of magical.We pulled into our hunting spot at exactly 11 a.m. on Friday. We spent the first couple hours just getting the lay of the land. Then, out of nowhere, we spotted some bighorn sheep 350 yards off the road—total surprise and awesome to see. We watched them for about 20 minutes until they moved off and disappeared.[ATTACH=full]80378[/ATTACH][ATTACH=full]80379[/ATTACH][ATTACH=full]80380[/ATTACH]Now for the deer hunting. Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, we had opportunities at some solid bucks, but with my wife being brand-new to this, we couldn’t seal the deal.First one was a legit 160-class buck on a little knob right off the road. We bailed out and closed in fast—literally 20 seconds from a clear shot when he vanished. Whole thing was over in two minutes.Later that afternoon, we glassed another good buck and tried to loop around him. Turns out he had the same plan. He beat us to the punch, popped over the ridge first, and stared us down at 100 yards. She got the rifle up and ripped a shot—clean miss, but she was absolutely buzzing. First real hunting adrenaline rush, and she was hooked.Saturday morning, she had one more crack at a nice buck, but he slipped away before she could settle the crosshairs.Saturday afternoon, everything clicked.I was glassing one draw while she glassed another when she spotted her buck with three does. They were drifting south, and with a steady northwest wind in our faces, it was textbook. We dropped in to intercept.Creeping up the draw, the does crested first and pinned us—ten long seconds of eye contact before they bolted north. We sprinted to the rim, and there he stood, 150 yards across the next draw, staring after the does, totally oblivious to us.She flopped prone, bipods down, rifle steady. He was quartering away; I whispered, “Right behind the shoulder.” Boom. The smack echoed, and he hunched hard—solid hit. He bolted down the draw, but trees swallowed him before we could see where he went.I worked over to where he was standing and she stayed on the other side to guide me to where he was standing. I couldn't find a drop of blood anywhere. I crawled on hands and knees but couldn't find a drop, heart sinking. Then I trusted my gut, pushed through a thicket—and there he lay, stone dead, thirty yards from the shot.When I found him, I hollered up the draw, “We’ve got our work cut out for us!” She yelled back, “Why?” I grinned and said, “Because you just killed your first deer!” She went dead silent for a second… then lost it. She couldn’t believe it.Tagged, gutted, and racing daylight. The drag was brutal—all uphill—but worth every step. We hit the truck at full dark, loaded up, and rolled out on the 4.5-hour haul home, grinning the whole way.[ATTACH=full]80381[/ATTACH][ATTACH=full]80382[/ATTACH][ATTACH=full]80383[/ATTACH][ATTACH=full]80384[/ATTACH][ATTACH=full]80385[/ATTACH][ATTACH=full]80386[/ATTACH]I have to give a huge shoutout to [USER=1979]@luvcatchingbass[/USER] for the insight. He deserves a lot credit for this hunt so he was the first person I sent pictures to. People like him are what keep me coming back to this site. We really appreciate it!!</blockquote>

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