I've been hunting since I was 15 years old. My father bought me my first rifle which was a Remington .270 with a Leupold 3X9 scope mounted to it. I live in Utah so the only deer we have here are mule deer. My first mule deer hunt was right after two very harsh winters and the winter kill was staggering. You were lucky then to even see a doe running around the mountains and even luckier if you saw a buck.

Opening morning was bitter cold and there was about a foot of snow on the ground. I was with my father and cousin. My cousin was shooting an old 30.30 with iron sights so I definitely had the advantage.

We arrived at our spot and started hiking around 5 a.m. My father had been hunting this same spot for 20 years so he knew exactly where to go. As we were approaching our spot it started to get light so we double timed it. And as we were about to our spot my father stops dead in his tracks and throws up his binos. He then looks at me straight in the eyes and says there's a buck about 100 yards in front of us. I can't tell how big he is but he's definitely a buck. Both my cousin and I immediately started firing off shots and we both quickly unloaded our rifles without hitting a thing. We both had a severe case of buck fever. Well the buck didn't stick around to say hello so he takes off down the hill on a dead run. I decided in that split second if I wanted another shot at him that I was going to have to run after him.

My father and cousin watched as I took off on a dead run through a foot of snow. I wasn't about to lose this buck. As I came to the same place where he had been I noticed some movement out of the corner of my right eye. I looked downhill and there he was, staring right at me. He knew he had made a mistake heading downhill so he decided he needed to get his hinder back up the hill. That's when I changed his mind and dropped him. It was so surreal that I don't even really remember firing my rifle at him but it hit him and he went sliding down the hill on his rump.

I hollered out and screamed to my father and cousin that I had downed him. As I made my way down the hill and got closer I could see that he was a nice 4-point buck (8-point in eastern terms). I couldn't have been more excited in my life. My cousin also ended up taking a decent 2-point buck a few hours later as we made our way back to the truck.

What a great day and what a great first hunt for a 15 year old boy. After that I was hooked for life and I owe it all to my father.

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Be safe and good hunting my friends.