Written by: Josh Dustin
The seed was planted as I watched Curt and Jace shoot their bows that summer in preparation for the 2014 archery hunt. I knew that this was something I wanted to do. After obtaining permission from the wife, I bought an awesome Hoyt Charger bow and began shooting. Jeff Callor (father-in-law), his son Jace, and Curt Larsen (brother-in-law) demonstrated their devotion to the hunt by heading into the Nevada Mountains early in the spring of 2015 to find the deer herd. They glassed the hills and found multiple respectable bucks. There were two that really caught their attention. The larger of the two was an awesome 5 x 4 with tall eye guards and nice, deep forks. The second buck was smaller but still very respectable. It was a 4 x 4, 25’ wide with nice deep forks. It also had a fourth point that was beginning to separate into a fifth. Both of the deer were majestic and fun to watch among those steep hills. The boys came home and showed me the pictures and videos they had taken with their PhoneSkope. “Excited” doesn’t express how stoked we were to get back up there for the hunt! They did the work, we drew our tags, we knew what deer were there, and now it was time to execute.
This would be my first archery hunt. I grew up hunting with my dad, Rockie, and my brothers, Deven and Trevor. We were rifle hunters and had multiple successful hunts in Utah and Colorado. I love hunting with family. It has always created lasting memories that unite us all in a very unique way. Now, I was about to be introduced to a whole new world of hunting. I knew that I would have to get closer to these amazing animals than I had ever come before. I would have to be quieter than I had ever been, and more strategic in my stocking efforts. That’s just the “nature of the beast.” It was new and exhilarating. I was ready.
We rounded up our gear and were about to head out. Curt had already been in place for a couple days at our spot in Nevada. Unfortunately, Jace caught an unexpected illness that kept him from being able to come. Jace can spot a buck from a mile away with his naked eye, (maybe not, but he’s pretty good). Consequentially, we wished he had been with us to help spot the deer each morning.
Jeff and I made it to the trailhead and began the hike. It was hot and dry. Such is the climate of Nevada. After a few hours and several bottles of water, we arrived at a small mountain lake beneath the peak where Curt was located. We rested and summited the peak on Sunday evening. We were happy to see Curt because there were several storms in the days prior to our arrival. The weather can turn in an instant up on those peaks at 11,000 feet.
We set up our bivy tents, ate some great “Mountain House” dinners, and glassed the large expansive canyon before the sun set. Seeing a few nice bucks but we were unable to locate the two larger deer we had spotted previously. We put away the binoculars and scopes and zipped up the bivies. I didn’t sleep much that first night because I couldn’t wait to wake up and see what bucks would be waiting for us in the morning. I couldn’t help but keep my bivy unzipped. The night sky was so clear. I gazed at the stars while laying in my sleeping bag. At 11,000 feet, the scenery is simply breathtaking.
I woke up to the sound of Curt getting ready. There was little light outside and it was time to get up and start glassing. As it steadily grew lighter, we spotted a few bucks. Jeff spotted them with his binoculars and then told Curt and I to check them out in the spotting scopes. It was quiet when I heard Curt whisper, “I got him. The 5 x 4 is down below the cliff by himself.” I looked and saw the biggest deer I had ever seen in my binoculars.
We watched him feed for a while after which he finally laid down. Curt spotted a couple other 4-points but I couldn’t find them before they moved into a group of small trees. We made a plan. I would go after the 5 x 4 because I knew where he was, and Curt would stalk the other group. All of the deer were fairly close together in the same wide canyon, so we decided to approach them from different angles. Curt told me,
“look over and wait for us to signal to you that the buck is still there in the same place, but if you can’t see us, just keep going.”
We walked around the peak and Curt started hiking down the steep gully at the top. I went around one more peak and found my line. Quietly walking down the basin toward the cliff where I hoped the buck would still be. I slipped a few times amidst the slippery and steep slope and reached the point where Curt told me to take off my boots for a quiet approach. It had been at least an hour since I had last seen the buck. I looked across the canyon with the hope of finding Curt or Jeff to receive the signal, but I couldn’t spot them so I continued forward.
I heard a rustle in the bushes next to me. Some does stood up and ran up the basin behind me. Then I reached the cliff and peaked over. There he was, right where we had left him! My heart started pounding. I ranged him at 45 yards and watched him move his big, wide rack back and forth. He was huge! I waited for 30 minutes. He stood up when he saw Curt’s bucks run out of the canyon. I had scared them out as I came down. He stood there, broadside at 45 yards. I stood up on the edge of the cliff, drew the bow, positioned the pin and released. I can still see my arrow in slow motion as it flew right in front of the deer’s chest and hit a bush. Ugh, miss. The deer didn’t know what happened but he took off at a slow trot. He was too far for a second shot and up and over the ridge he went. My heart sunk.
Curt hiked over and brought my boots to me. He was very understanding as I broken-heartedly explained how I had missed. He said, “that was one of the most epic stalks I’ve ever seen!” It was epic and I’ll never forget it. I had never hunted a deer at that range before. I was in shock! The adrenaline faded away and the heartache got worse. I was depressed by late afternoon. Crying like a little baby, I thought the hunt was over! However, Curt and Jeff reassured me that we would have another opportunity the next day.
We woke up Tuesday morning to another beautiful sunrise. We glassed the hills and Jeff told me to check out a nice buck that he could see. I spotted it and told him it was “just a little four-point.” Still upset about the previous day’s miss, I didn’t see this buck for what he was. I soon found out just how awesome he was and realized he was that same four-point with the beginning fifth point we had spotted in the spring. He was lying down in a high basin with a small spike by his side.
Curt made a plan. He would come up the basin from below in order to not be seen and I would position myself on the saddle above the deer. We hoped that if the deer saw Curt and got up they would come right to me. That’s exactly what happened. Curt made an awesome stock. Lying down on the saddle above I saw Curt and the deer. He got within 50 yards when a doe saw him and stood up. We had seen the doe earlier but didn’t know where she had gone. The bucks stood up and quickly started moving down the hill instead. Curt had to act fast. With no time to range, he shot at 65 yards and the arrow flew just under the deer.
The deer were running down the hill away from me. I slowly got up and felt like I should pick up my bow. I figured they might run up towards me, so I knocked an arrow and drew my bow. Instead of looking to my right (where I had ranged and expected them to come), I felt inspired to look to my left. Just as I did I saw the big deer come sprinting over the saddle towards the group of trees in the bowl below. I made a grunt but he wasn’t stopping so I ran over to the edge of a small cliff and pointed downhill towards the deer that was running away from me. I aimed ahead of him between two trees. This would be my only chance. I waited for the deer to run between the trees, quickly positioned my pin for 60 yards and released. I saw it fly and heard a loud, deep grunt. Something had happened but I honestly didn’t know if I had hit him.
I watched the trees as I heard him crashing through them towards to open grove near the bottom. I picked up my binoculars, watched and saw him running out of the treesand I could tell he was limping and bleeding out fast. He went over a small hill and lay down in a green patch of grass. He was down. Immediately, I felt a rush of joy and couldn’t believe I got him.
I wanted to find Curt. I walked over the saddle and saw him running up the basin towards me. He stopped and said, “Did you get him?” I smiled and yelled, “I got him!” I saw him smile. We waited and watched to give the deer time. We followed the heavy blood trail and when we came over the hill I saw the biggest deer I had ever hunted. He was amazing and beautiful to behold. We walked back to camp where Jeff was waiting for us. He saw the head and antlers on my pack and raised his arms! He was so excited to see us hugging and congratulating us. It was a moment I’ll never forget. I couldn’t believe we had done it. After my first archery hunt I couldn’t be more proud of who I was with and the success we had.
