My Book Cliffs Muzz Hunt

woodruffhunter

Long Time Member
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Not sure how to really start this post, so I guess I will just say that this hunt was different than I ever expected. First off, I had never stepped onto the unit, and secondly, I had no idea what kind of area/terrain I would be hunting.

With 5 points going into the draw, I did not want to apply for a top end unit in Utah (too difficult of odds). Therefore, I decided I would "roll the dice" on one of the easier units to draw. Being as I had heard good things about the Book Cliffs, I decided to apply.

Not being in the "Max Point" pool, I was pleasantly surprised when I saw I was successful for this hunt. With a busy summer, and a lot going on, I was only able to make it twice down to the unit. Since I had heard that the deer migrated a lot, I figured I would be hunting a few days anyway, to even find where the deer were at.

We decided (myself and my dad) that we would take the entire hunt off. In order to do this, I had to work up until the day before the hunt. Bobcatbess would be joining us for a few days so we wer excited to get going, Tuesday after work. I got a call from Bessy late that evening, wondering where we were at- it was late. He probably was wondering what kind of hunters we were. We told him we were on our way. Finally, we rolled into camp at 2:00 AM. That is the last time I will do that!!!

Opening morning came early, and we were up early. Bessy was going to go to another area an glass, and we were going to hunt closer to camp. We drove to the end of a road, got out and started hiking. Not really expecting to see much, we immediatley started seeing deer. A few small bucks, does, and before we knew it, we were about an hour into our hunt.

We started walking through some thick oak brush and came to a small opening. We immediately jumped two bucks. I saw that the lead buck was really good; a perfect looking 4x4. I figured later that it was a solid 170+ buck that I would have been more than happy with. I pulled my gun up, but could not get a clear shot.

We headed back to camp to discuss the morning hunt and what to do in the evening. Bessy came in and said he had seen some smaller bucks and a 27ish" wide 3x3.

We left that evening and saw only small bucks (from what I can remember), and nothing that interested me. This was the case for the next few days. The weather was HOT! Although it was enjoyable to camp in, the deer were not moving much. We were seeing deer, but not all the 22" 4x4's I had heard about.

A few days after the opener, I sensed people were getting nervous. A lot of people were leaving and I believe a lot of them were settling for smaller bucks. We were hunting a different area(s) now with about the same results as before. As were driving back to camp (earlier than usual), a buck ran accross the road. I got out and went to look at it. It was a tall, narrow, dark horned 2x3. I was ready to shoot it. I liked the character. I think Bessy thought I was nuts, but I know he would never say anything. I am still shaking my head thinking about how close I was to shooting it. Fortunately it kept running, and we were done for another day.

As I had said earlier, we found some new areas. We were doing a lot of walking and glassing, hiking, and glassing more. Still, there was nothing really big we could find. I did pass a few nice 4 points that I was now starting to regret. Bobcatbess did spot a group of five bucks and I was just about to shoot the largest one, a decent 4 point. However, he didn't give me a good shot so once again, I came up empty.

We were now to Saturday evening of the hunt. I was starting to think that I just might be going home empty. As usual, we split up. Me and my dad went one way, bessy the other way. We came over a hill and I looked down into a canyon. I saw what looked like a good 3x4. I decided I would put a stalk on it and see if it was bigger than what I thought it was. My dad stayed back and kept an eye on the buck. As I would walk, I would occasionally look back to see if he would give me any signals to where the buck was moving. I looked back and he was waving his hands. He then started running up the trail towards me. Now he is 62, and I was impressed he could run that fast lol... He told me that two or three other bucks had joined the first and one of the new bucks was a giant.

This made me more determined. After descending down the hill through the thick oak brush, I realized I was making too much noise. I decided to do something that I have only did one or two other times while hunting, I took off my shoes and started walking down the hill. It was slow going and tough to keep quiet. I finally found a hidden trail, right down the top part of the ridge. The bucks were just on the other side, out of site. I was hoping the would be moving and hopefully, walk right into me. I stopped, and thought I heard something. The wind must of changes because one of the bucks jumped up 15 yards from me and blew out of the area. All I could see were the tips of its antlers. I could soon tell its friends joined him. Dejected, I headed back.

We hunted these bucks for the next evening and the following Monday. Bessy had to go back to work that Monday. I tried arguing with him, but that didn't work. I decided to shut up or else my Polaris might get a "Tune Up" lol...

Tuesday morning, we were back at the same canyon. There were no signs of the deer. We started our long hike back to the truck and I told my dad we should be really quiet since there were always a few deer around the bend. As we rounded the bend, there was a deer facing away from us with his head down. It was only 8-10 yards away and I have no idea why he didn't hear us. He raised his head and he was a average 3 point. It looked a lot bigger up close! I decided I was just going to end the hunt.
 
I'm long winded so I will finish...

I pulled the trigger and "click", nothing. I swapped primers. "click", nothing again. The buck took off and I could not believe what had happened. We worked over the gun and finally gave up. As we came up over another ridge, I immediately saw a buck. I told dad to get the gun working. We tried again, and everything seemed fine. I went in by myself and could not see anything. It was obvious the buck did not want to move. I sent my day in, he went below me and out came 4 bucks. Two looked really good! One was 30" wide and the other one was a tall 4x4. I could get a good read on the other two. Here they came, and stopped 75 yards away. I pulled up and rested the crosshairs on the 30" buck. Click, nothing, "Click", "Click gain and they were gone.

We headed back to camp and the mood WAS NOT good! I brought a back up gun and shot it with open sights. I shot to the right a little but I seemed to have it figured out. Dad finally realized the problem with the gun. The firing was not piercing the primer and when it was put back together, after cleaning, we must of got screwed up (to no fault of the gun). The guys camped next to us offered us extra powder and primers.

I shot a few times and the gun was shooting great; problem solved! I decided to stick with this gun.

That night, we hiked back in to the same area. We did not see anything- again. As we came to the same area that I had missed the 30" buck, there was a deer feeding. My dad had spotted it. I looked at it and could tell it was the big buck. We were losing daylight fast and only had about 15 minutes. We were just about to leave it for the morning. I then decided to put a stalk on it since it was feed away from us and didn't seem to nervous.

I started walking and soon came upon it. We ranged a tree; 50 yards. I could not believe it was that close. It was quartering away and I pulled up on it. It wasn't the so called "perfect shot opportunity", but I decided to take it. It was close and I liked my chances. I fired and it walked off. I said that I thought I had missed. We soon saw the three other bucks (that we saw earlier that morning), leaving the canyone. Still, the buck I shot at had not come out.

I started walking and was close to where I last saw the buck. The deer came out in front of me, running straight down hill. I decided since it might be hit, I better take a running shoot- BOOM, nothing. I slowly started moving down the hill. I then saw the buck standing at about 75-100 yards away, perfectly broadside. I rested the crosshairs on it and fored again. I looked through the smoke and could not see the buck.

I waited for my dad to catch up to me, and we moved to where we last saw the buck. I kept going down hill. About fifty yards away from where I shot, it was down. We both yelled in excitement, something I have never done while hunting. We were excited and relieved. I have never been as excited to take any animal. It was truly a memorable experience to take this deer. This buck exceeded what I had hoped for and I know I was LUCKY to get it. I measured it at 32". My taxidermist measured between 31-32". I guess I will just round up lol...
 
Congrats. Sounds like a heck of a deer for the book cliffs. Do you have any pics?
 
So far, so good... Great write up... Nice story... Lot of details...Hopefully is doesn't end in ....then I raised my camera to take a pic and "click", nothing happened!!!
 
LAST EDITED ON Oct-08-11 AT 11:28PM (MST)[p]A big THANKS to Justr, Timberhunter, Foreman and all the others who offered help! Also, I need to say thanks to Bessy for coming down to hunt with us for a few days. He knows that he is always welcome at our camp.
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Hope all of you have a great seaaon!
 
Cool buck! I saw one similar to that when I was scouting for my hunt a few years ago, but could never turn him up during season.
 
I'll also add, me and Bobcat have sparred back and forth over the years, but he sounds like a pretty decent guy in real life.
 
WOODRUFF..............COOL LOOKING BUCK, YOU DID WELL. GLAD TO SEE IT ALL WORKED OUT................YD. (I WILL BE THERE ON THE 20TH ...GOT ANY ADVICE ???)
 
That 2 pt side sure is weird, Good Buck and a good hunt.

"I have found if you go the extra mile it's Never crowded".
>[Font][Font color = "green"]Life member of
>the MM green signature club.[font/]
 
LAST EDITED ON Oct-09-11 AT 11:03AM (MST)[p]Gotta love the tards, I've shot four of the over them years! I would almost go for goofey than big inchs! congrats, I know what the books is like to hunt! It can be tough.
 
Yukon:

I'm sure no expert but if I was you, I would get there 1-2 days early. I would find a camping spot, and scout the area. From what I am told, the deer will be down low.

Since there are a lot of roads in the lower area, there will be a lot of people driving the roads. I would try to find where some good bucks are and be on them the opener.

Be Patient. There were so many people that left after a few days into the hunt. By Monday, that place was like a ghost town. I was very surprised.

Bring extra fuel. I had to make a trip into Vernal a few days into the hunt. I was warned to bring extra fuel and didnt. Also, bring an extra back up gun in case you have problems...

I would not pass up a nice 160" buck. There are a lot of small bucks, we saw 3-4 shooters during the hunt.

Huntfanatic:

Not sure what caused the "hook" on that antler. Not sure if it is genetic or not???

Its a great hunt and a really nice area. I'm told the quality is down a bit but there are still some nice bucks.
 
Yukon:

I sure hope you do well. Feel free to call me and I would happy to talk to you in more detail. Just let me know....
 
Great story. The joy's of doing it with a muzzleloader, nerve racking, rewarding and worth every minute of it. The best thing about mule deer is, "you never know that going to step out of the bush"!

Thank woody, go job, makes me want to see the Book Cliffs even more.

DC
 
That is one cool looking buck. I would shoot that anywhere in Utah except the Henry Mountains or Antelope Island. Congrats on a cool buck.
 
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I've seen this buck for 2 years. Last year he was about 27" wide but looked the same. These pics are from 7-23-2011.

Great Buck!
 
That pretty cool seeing the buck that was taken by Woody, in the clips.

"I have found if you go the extra mile it's Never crowded".
>[Font][Font color = "green"]Life member of
>the MM green signature club.[font/]
 
Lucky:

Wow, that is amazing that you have pic's of the buck. Please email me the pics/clips you have of the buck, if you wouldn't mind. Thanks for posting them!
 
Great buck!! Im going down next week for the rifle hunt, I can't wait it should be a blast. And seeing all these pics make it even better.
 
Looks as some bigger bucks are getting the smack down on the BC this year Great Buck!!! Whats it score?
 
>Looks as some bigger bucks are
>getting the smack down on
>the BC this year Great
>Buck!!! Whats it score?

Actually I have have no idea on a buck like this. I just took the outside measurement. I would be interest in hearing opinions on what they think it would score...
 
Nice Job woodruff.
Ya We had a little fun out there in the Book Cliffs.
I'm a little slow on a Reply here,as usual I've been on several different hunts with Friends & things are slowing down now.
We seen some Stupid stuff & even some Book Cliff BS going on while We were there but all in all not a bad hunt with good company,woodruff & his Dad are Good people.

After a few days we even tried Road Hunting one afternoon in woodruffs Big Ole 4 door Ford,but I knew We were gonna have to Hike back in a ways,I ain't never been one to get Lucky out the Truck window,I figured We'd get away from most Uh-Ethical Hunters & We did,but still had a few encounters with a couple of JOKESTERS:

To the Guy that came running up past us early one morning while we were Hiking In & glassing a 4 point Buck,I do believe you Lied to us,woodruff was extremely un-happy about this guy & so was I,Un-Ethical in every way & I don't care rather He works for the State of Utah or not!(Said He was Hunting,I'm calling BS!)

To the Guy on the Horse that rode up behind us,wished You'd of said you'd like to try a shot,woodruff decided to pass on the 4 point Buck,the Guy rode up on the hill creating a longer shot for himself,un-expectedly he touches off,I wasn't expecting the shot,Hell if He'd of just told us He wanted to try a shot We'd of let him get way closer than he was,that Buck is Safe.

The weather was a little too good,We were only seeing Deer move 10-15 minutes before dark & just a few minutes in to first light,I knew it would be tough for a better buck as warm as it was.

Getting back in away from the Wheelers & RoadHunters was well worth the Hikes we were doing,I made a couple of Stupid Hikes,specially the day I forgot to put my Danners on and got Lamed up with my Red-Wing work boots,I didn't forget to wear my Danners the next day:D

Don't know if Ms woodruff knows it or not?But woodruff is a good cook & was fattening me up with good meals & then always fixes a dessert too:D

Now all I gotta figure out is how the woodruff Family pulls Tags like they do?:D



Hot Dog,Hot Damn,I love this Ameri-can
 
ShowThem!

Its sounds like you have been doing a lot of hunting- or I should say helping!. I appreciate your help with the hunt and showing us the area. It was a great time!

Its amazing some of the hunters out there. I met some great people in the field. As to the "State" worker that ran past us, I have met fewer, bigger jerks, in my life. Oh well, the good out-weighed the bad.

You remember the elk hunt last year?? I have been helping a hunter on a late bull tag. He got in on the herd, above them. some guys with cow tags came below them and shot 13 times into the herd. I wasn't there, but got the story from the hunter.

I guess its what you deal with here! Thanks again...
 

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