SureShot's 2004 Utah Deer Hunt

SureShot

Very Active Member
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1,278
Well, it's been a busy year for me. I've been scouting, photographing, guiding or hunting deer, elk, moose, sheep, goats, pigs, and bobcats in nine western states and Mexico for 325 out of the last 349 days, but I'm having trouble falling to sleep tonight, so I decided to take a few minutes and share the story of my 2004 Utah deer hunt with all of you in MonsterMuley land.
 
My year got to off to a rough start when I found out I didn't draw any of the coveted limited entry permits I usually do for my favorite honeyholes in all of the premium units in Nevada, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico. I would tell you what the units are, but they're a secret and I don't want everybody to start putting in for them. However, I am thinking about starting up my own hunting application service, so if you send me $1,000, I'll start putting all of you in for those same areas next year.
 
Anyway, just when I thought my luck had run out in the draws, I found out USO had won their lawsuit with Arizona, and as a result, I drew an elk tag in one of the best units in that state. I hate George Taulman and considered not using my tag as a sign of my support for all of the residents of Arizona, but finally decided I owed it to my wife and children to not waste this once in a lifetime opportunity. After scouting hard for three days and talking to all of the locals about where the big boys were hanging out, I ran across two 400+ magnum bulls fighting each other on the opening morning of the hunt.
 
I ranged them at 23 yards, but didn't want to risk a misplaced shot at that range, so I slowly stalked to within 7 yards of them while they were oblivious to me because they were trying to kill each other and made a perfect 7 yard shot with my Mathews bow on the bigger of the two bulls. He was a beautiful 7x7 that scored 420 points and he only went 20 yards before he dropped to the ground. I waited two hours just to make sure he had time to expire before I started tracking him. I walked over to where he had been standing when I shot him and I found blood right away. I didn't have to follow the blood trail very long before I found him.
 
As I looked at him closer, I realized he had broken off his main beams on each side after the 7th point. If he hadn't broken off those points, I estimate he would have actually been a perfect 10x10 pushing the magical 500 point mark. Oh well, I'd just have to come back next year and see if I could find his daddy.
 
But, this story is not about my elk hunt; it's about my 2004 Utah deer hunt. I only tell you that story because it was an indication that my luck was about to change. Back in Utah, I'm in the Dedicated Hunter program. Since I didn't draw a limited entry tag and I'm opposed to hunting on private ground as a matter of principle (despite the fact that my uncle manages Deseret Land and Livestock and my wife is a Heaton from Alton and I have standing offers to hunt those places anytime I want), I knew I would have to work extra hard for my public land muley this year.
 
I hunted hard in the Southern unit for 15 days straight on the archery hunt and passed up a handful of 190-210 class bucks because I didn't want my hunt to end that early in the year. I did have one chance at a really nice buck on the archery hunt at 15 yards, but a slight breeze came up just as I drew my 85 pound PSE bow nocked with a 300 grain carbon arrow tipped with a razor sharp 125 grain thunderhead titanium broadhead. Although I routinely shoot a 4-inch group at 90 yards on the practice range where I spend 4 hours every day, I just knew it was the right thing to wait until everything was perfect so I waited at full draw for about 20 minutes, hoping the wind would die down, but it eventually shifted and he caught my scent and busted out of there.
 
The muzzleloader hunt in the Northeastern unit was fairly uneventful. I was only able to hunt for about a week because I was busy guiding six other hunters to trophy animals in various states and Mexico. And, when I was able to get out for myself, I was disappointed because there were 4-wheelers everywhere and it seemed like 96,998 other hunters had all decided to hunt in the same area as I wanted to. I ran into one guy in particular in a rusty old truck THAT WAS ALWAYS WONDERING WHY HE WAS THE ONLY bobcat WONDERING WHY HE WAS THE ONLY PERSON NOT SEEING TROPHY BUCKS.
 
So, now I was down to the rifle hunt. I decided to try out a new area in the Central unit I had found while I was scouting in my chute plane one evening. I knew the area had some great bucks in it and I was able to get close enough during that scouting trip to take a couple of dozen pictures that would make DeerKing jealous with my Panasonic FMZ-20 camera with 48x digital zoom.
 
I had everything planned out perfectly for my hunt. I would be carrying everything I needed in my Eberlestock 3200 cubic inch backpack as I hiked for three days to get back into the spot where I wanted to be at first light on the opening morning. But, alas, I failed to take into consideration the tricks Mother Nature can play on us and I watched sadly as my plans were blanketed beneath three feet of fresh snow the night before I was going to leave.
 
It looked like I would have to move to plan B, so I drove my truck to the same area the night before the season opened and hopped on my Honda Rancher 4-wheeler at dark-thirty in the morning and drove for another two hours, making sure I stayed on the paved road to avoid any high-country tuneups, so I could be at the trailhead at first light.
 
I hunted hard all morning, still-hunting as fast as I could so I could cover every inch of the 10-square mile honeyhole I had decided to hunt, but it was fruitless in the dry, crunchy conditions. So, I went back home to regroup and collect my thoughts. However, I just couldn't get that burning desire all of you trophy hunters will recognize out of my system, so I turned around and headed back out after lunch and made it up on top of the same ridge I had been hunting in the morning just as the sun started to drop in the Western sky and the deer started to come out and feed.
 
The does came out first, followed by several nice bucks. In the first 30 minutes I glassed a 7x8, 9x11, three 30"+ 4-points and a couple that were even bigger. I was starting to get discouraged, but decided to stay until it was completely dark because I knew that most of the really massive mossybacks only came out during that magical few minutes just after the sun disappears and before legal shooting hours end.
 
Knowing that it was useless to keep walking, I decided to stay put and spend some time behind the glass. I had just settled in when something said to me, "See that rock. That's not a rock!" I looked closer, and, sure enough, it wasn?t a rock. On the bare hillside across from me, was a single tree stump. As I sat there staring at the tree stump through my 24x binoculars, trying to figure out if it was beetles or a wildfire that had killed it, I noticed a slight movement out of the corner of my eye and I immediately shifted my spotting scope a little to the right where I focused on another tree. Only this tree looked different. Its branches didn't quite look right and it occasionally swayed in the wind despite the fact that no wind was blowing.
 
I stared at the tree until I almost had tears in my eyes and then I was able to slowly make out the form of a bedded buck below the branches and all of a sudden I realized that that tree wasn?t a tree after all. It was actually the third biggest buck I had ever seen and he was staring straight at me. I knew he was going to bolt at any minute, so I had to quickly field judge him. In a split second, I rough scored him at 358 and 3/8 points. Sure enough, I knew after the mandatory 60-day waiting period, he would beat the current world record Broder buck by over 3 points.
 
I quickly put down my bincoculars, I mean spotting scope, and picked up my .300 Winchester mag topped with a Leupold 3x9 scope and chambered a 180 grain bullet into the magazine. I couldn't find a benchrest nearby for a steady shot, so I improvised by wedging a perfect 4-point shed that would easily score over 120 points that I had picked up earlier in the day into the ground and used it as a shooting stick. I laid my Badlands 2400 cubic inch daypack in front of me for added cushion and found the buck in my scope.
 
But that slight movement had put the mighty buck on full alert and he jumped from his bed and started bounding down the hill. Even though he had only been bedded 80 yards away, I didn't want to risk a running shot and I thought he might make the classic mistake of stopping for one last look before he disappeared over the ridge for the last time, so I held off on the trigger and tracked him in my crosshairs as he bounded away. He covered the 400 yards to the top of the ridge in what seemed like a split second, but sure enough, he stopped on the crest of the ridge and turned back to see if I was still there, presenting me with a perfect broadside shot.
 
I ranged him at 493 yards with my Bushnell 800 Sport rangefinder. It was a long shot, and one I would never recommend to anybody else, but I had made this shot hundreds of times on the practice range, where I spend at least 4 hours practicing every day and I knew I could make it. Despite the blinding snow and poor visibility, I focused the crosshairs just behind his front shoulder precisely 2" above the heart, let out half a breath and slowly squeezed the trigger.
 
I watched the vapor trail of the bullet through my scope as it sped towards the buck and sent him to the happy wintering grounds in the sky. I clearly heard the thud of a solid hit as the bullet disappeared into the veteran of a dozen years hunting seasons? chest cavity and I knew the trophy was mine.
 
After waiting 45 minutes to make sure he had time to bleed out, I sprinted to the top of the hill as excited as a 14-year old that had just killed his first forked horn (Or is it fork horn? Or forky? Or fork-in-horn?). When I saw the buck, which had dropped in his tracks and died a quick, painless death, I was overcome with awe at his splendor and stopped to give thanks for the opportunity I had to be in these beautiful mountains chasing this amazing animal.
 
Before I field-dressed the monarch, I knew I had to show great respect to this incredible creature, so I hiked 7 miles back to the truck and retrieved 5 gallons of purified water, some anti-septic, cotton swabs, Q-Tips and a brush so I could clean him up and make sure he looked perfect for the photo session. When I got back to him, the sun was disappearing behind the mountains and the lighting wasn?t quite right, so I decided to wait until the morning to do him justice. I was afraid someone..or something?might find the magnum mulie during the night, so I decided to do a handstand over top of him all night long to protect him.
 
It was a fairly uneventful evening except the part where I heard branches breaking in the trees just down the hill from me and the hairs on the back of my necked stood up as I felt an eerie presence. It was as if some wild creature was piercing me with his gaze, so I got down from my handstand and picked up my .338 mag and went to investigate.
 
I heard whatever it was crashing through the forest as it ran away. I looked down and the light from my Mini-Mag flashlight revealed the unmistakable prints of Bigfoot in the soft soil. I decided not to investigate any further. You may find that hard to believe, but I don't care what anybody else says. I know what I saw out there that night and nothing will ever make me change my mind.
 
The next morning broke bright and clear as I was joined by two or three dozen close friends and family members who came to share in the success of my hunt and help me pack out every ounce of tender meat from my precious trophy. I carefully tucked his legs under his body and propped him up for a magazine-cover-quality picture. I took a couple of hundred photos of me and the buck with my Canon EOS10 digital camera.
 
Despite all of my careful attention to detail, a few hairs were still out of place and there were some flies buzzing around his eyes, and I don't want to offend anybody with bad pictures so I'm not going to post any pictures. You?ll just have to believe me that this really happened. My gorgeous blonde girlfriend actually took some really great pictures with her 35mm camera and then I took some pictures of her. I scanned them into the computer, but I don't have a USB cable, so I can't post those pictures either. But, if you email me, I'll send them to you.
 
P.S. Sorry I had to break this story up into so many pieces. I'm not really interested in how many replies this thread has or how many posts I have. It was just a little long and I didn't want to bore you with a single, long post.
 
LAST EDITED ON Dec-27-04 AT 00:30AM (MST)[p]sureshot,

Have you been drinking ??????? LMAO

JB
 
Sheese

Mike
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Possibly the funniest thing I have ever read!!!!!!!!!!

You should submit your marathon of a story to a fine publication such as Trail Of The Sportsman or possibly Hunting Illustrated. Although I am not sure Hunting Illustrated would print it as there was no mention of any run ins with "Fish Cops"
 
Did you take your orange off for the pics? I'm very worried you did not as you failed to mention it...

Well there is always next year I guess..

WB
 
scott

WHO MADE THE EGGNOG & HOW MUCH DID YOU DRINK???

I'VE TOLD YOU 1000 TIMES ABOUT THE NE REGION AND YOU JUST HAD TO SEE FOR YOURSELF,NOW DO YOU BELIEVE THE ONLY bobcat???

I TOLD YOU MY TRUCK WAS RUSTY,I TOLD YOU THERE WERE 96,998 OTHER HUNTERS IN THE AREA,YOU JUST HAD TO FIND OUT FOR YOURSELF DIDN'T YA???

AT LEAST YOU KNOW THE TUNE-UPS ARE REAL,I DIDN'T SEE YOU TEMPTING ANYBODY ON THAT ONE!!!

PLEASE SEND ME THE EXACT GPS COORDINATES & EXACT NAME OF THE HONEYHOLE!!!

I TOLD YOU 100 TIMES YOU'D HAVE TO BE SOUTH OF HERE TO TAKE A BUCK BIGGER THAN THE BRODER BUCK,NOW DO YOU BELIEVE ME???

CENTAL UTAH??? YOU MUST OF FOUND ONE OF B_F_E_'S HONEYHOLES???

BY THE WAY,I FOUND YOUR LICENSE PLATE WHERE YOU WERE TRYING TO GET INTO WHERE I WAS,YOU CAN LAUGH AT THE OLD RUSTY TRUCK IF YOU WANT,BUT I'VE STILL GOT MY LICENSE PLATE!!!

PLEASE SEND THE 'PERFECT PICTURES' ASAP!!!

THE ONLY bobcat WONDERING IF sureshot IS WORKING ON NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS OR JUST HAVING ANOTHER WETT DREAM???
 
OK. OK. Stop begging already. My Inbox is full and I've received about a million emails requesting the pics, so I'll post a few of them here after all.

This first one is a little dark, but I think you get the idea.

P1000824.jpg



This next one shows a little more detail.

0ea83f34.jpg



And, finally, just so you don't think I'm a liar, here's a pic of my girlfriend.

5260f797.jpg
 
great post. brings us all down to the real world where Cass and OO live......... Thanks, Allen Taylor......
 
Wicked awesome post!! I havent laughed that hard in a long while. I think you touched on each significant post from Monster Muleys in 2004.

TUFF
 
That is a classic. Great Pics and congrats on the buck or bull or blond or whatever. ;-)

Nemont
 
I didn't really mean to bump this thread to the top of the list hoping it would get another 10 responses or so. Honestly.

I just wanted to say thanks for the kind words. Glad you liked it.






Man, these sleepless nights are killing me!
 
Sure shot, Im wanting proof of this buck? The Big Foot thing made me loose my respect for such a guide like yourself. If I see photos, I will retract my comments.

Looking for pictures

MuleyMadman79
 
I sure did enjoy that! You are one clever man with too much time on his hands! Excellent recap of the goings on of the forum from the last several months.

Too Funny.

Chef
"I Love Animals...They're Delicious!"
 
ok SureShot's you got the MuleyMadman on this one. Best story I've read in a long time. Good for laughs! Passed it on to my friends.
 
SureShot,
I think I know why you're having so much trouble sleeping. You need to go back to the Doctor and have him make an adjustment to your Meds!:)

Steve
 
On funny post! Only thing its missing is the bong that should be in your field photo!
 
Sure Shot.. You mixing your medication again. Little red ones on Tues and the big blue ones on wedsnday. Not together!! Man too funny, good laugh.


Happy trails
Ridge Runner
"Now Pilgrim,you sure you can skin grizz"
 
Either your wanting a new record posting thread or trying to get your "total posts" up higher. Either way, funny stuff.

txhunter58

venor, ergo sum (I hunt, therefore I am)
 

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