Bradyn Hirschi (9) The hardest part about hunting this deer was hitting him on the first shot because he was running at 300. The thing I like the most about the deer I shot is how big his antlers are.
Many kids love to share stories and pictures from their hunts almost as much as the hunts themselves, whether a little 2-point deer or a gigantic 315′ bull.
Brannen Fullmer (11) What seemed like the hardest thing for me personally on this hunt was staying locked in and focused when it came time to pull the trigger. I’ve put hundreds of rounds through my rifle last summer, and it seems so easy when shooting at rocks or paper. But when you have a 315′ bull walking away from you at 534 yards and minimal time to make the shot, it’s an enormous amount of stress and pressure placed on you. You just have to ignore the jackrabbits jumping around in your stomach and drop into your process. All the money you’ve spent and countless hours can all go to waste due to flinching, pulling your shot, or moving your hand/body. Gotta make it count! What I like most about this bull is how dark his antlers are, and how he doesn’t have any bad breaks on his tines or main beam. The tag I had was very hard to draw, simply because there’s a lot of bulls. And when there’s a lot of bulls in one area, they fight. I would say that 90% of the bulls I saw out in the desert were broken badly enough to affect their score. The only thing broken on mine are some chipped tines and an inch or two busted off his right G2. This hunt was located in the Red Desert where there isn’t much for the elk to rub their antlers on, so they are often a light brown to white color. Mine must have found something solid to rub his velvet off on and has fairly dark antlers.
Who doesn’t love a good 4-point buck! Any hunter has a first kill that they are really proud of, no matter how big or small. Hunting is a huge part of life in Star Valley and provides some of the greatest experiences young people can have.
