Washington Muley

wamuledeer · Oct 29, 2004

Here is the muley I was able to get over in the Twisp / Winthrop area on Wednesday. I hunted hard for 5 days from dawn until dusk and was getting a little discouraged. I was away from the roads and the people 1-3 miles everyday but was only seeing does and small bucks. I was leaving from my morning hunt to try out a new area when I saw a forest service road I have never been up before. I only drove up about two miles when I looked over in the timber and saw this buck feeding with some does. I pulled over, got out of my truck, got my rifle and stepped off the dirt road and he stood there the whole time. The only shot I had was through a small hole in the trees where I could see where his front shoulder met his neck. It was only a 40 yard shot so I took it. He just flopped right over on his side. Needless to say, this was the easiest buck I have ever gotten and by far the easiest pack. I was able to back my truck right up the bank and drag him in.
He is a 20" wide x 20" tall 4x4 plus eyeguards. He also has one extra point coming off of one of the bases, see picture. He has pretty decent mass, the bases are about 5".

hunterofelk · Oct 29, 2004

Sounds like you earned your buck. Good for you! If you look back over your entire hunting life, you'll remember the hunts and tags unfilled and all the work put in. This buck is the prize for all that.
I'm having no success in pulling up the pictures. Maybe later.

CountingCoo · Oct 29, 2004

That is a great looking buck. Funny how things happen. It seems to me that sometimes you just have to pay enough dues before some luck comes your way.

Don

Hornseeker · Oct 29, 2004

Good Job, Nice Buck.

IN 2000 I hunted 16 days for elk, many days 5+ miles from my truck or roads. One Monday I took my 17 month old daughter and my dogs up the hill for a little drive and I shot a 5 point bull 80 yards uphill from my truck, he slid to within 10 yards of the truck after the shot!

Takem as they come!

FALCON · Oct 29, 2004

Hey, Thats a great story where persistance pays off big time. Everyone deserves an easy one at least once. How were the crowds over there, and was your buck showing signs of rutting?
Nice job!

Muleyslyr · Oct 29, 2004

That's a great buck....I agree with that one post, take em' as they come!

Good Job!

ridgerunner · Oct 29, 2004

My buck was a similar story this year, one those things that always happens to someone else, put in enough time in the woods and good things will happen I guess. Congrats on a fine buck, you may not have hunted that hard the day you got em, but you earned him.

hornaddiction · Oct 29, 2004

Congrats to you!

Horn
www.trophiesonthewall.com

wamuledeer · Oct 29, 2004

LAST EDITED ON Oct-29-04 AT 03:21PM (MST)[p]Falcon,
The crowds on the opener were horrible, more people than I have ever seen. I was over there for only the opening weekend and left on that Sunday. I went back over Saturday for the last week of the season. About 3/4 of the camps were gone and not nearly as many people during the week.
The buck did have a pretty big neck but not quite full rut. This was a migratory buck down lower near the Twisp River so they are definitely on the move. The bigger migratory bucks have been moving for a few days now and a few nice ones were taken. The weather was cold and clear but they were still moving down.
I will pretty much only hunt the last week of the season from now on. It is great the last two years how they have extended the season by 5 days. I got my bucks the last two years in those extended days.

Thanks for the comments guys. I wasn't planning on road hunting but sometimes luck just falls your way.

boneaddict · Oct 30, 2004

Nice looking Buck. The opener did stink this year. I packed a camp back several miles, only to have nine guys in orange surrounding me at opening light. A guy last year shot a fourpoint that I passed on. He dragged it out instead of packing it out. I figured he would never be back. Well, he wasn't but every guy I talked to knew him. He went back and told every person he knew "right where to go". I was pissed! I ended up with a great hunt, but will post it later as soon as I get my photos rounded up. Nice buck!