Vernon Success

huntFX4 · Oct 30, 2016

Finally got the job done last night just at sunset. The bucks have been in prerut activity all week there on the Vernon. I camped out there most of the week and wasn't seeing what I wanted. Killed my antlerless elk control permit right after sundown on opening morning after watching several bucks chasing does or squaring with each other. My friend 'ridgetops' offered to come out and help me out on my last day to hunt. I also brought my youngest son. We found plenty of bucks but the majority were 3 points. We had one big tall buck bedded in the sage up high but couldn't tell how good he was from the glassing point so my son and I snuck in closer and saw it was a big 3 point, really tall and heavy. So we let him go. My son wanted me to kill it because he had yet to go deer hunting with me. We talked about waiting for a bigger buck but as the day went by it seemed he would not get to see me kill one this year. He would get more and more worried each time I passed up a 3 point. Then we ran into a couple of guys who told us of a place they had seen a big 4x5 in the morning so we headed that way. We got there just before sunset to see this buck with some does. He was on the ground just a few minutes later. Sorry the pics aren't great. Got him out of the tall sage but didn't realize the small stuff was in his face as we needed to get pics before it was too dark. The pictures don't do it justice. I was very proud of my son keeping up with me up and down those mountains. He can't wait until next year when he can hunt deer too. This buck is 25" inside and heavy mass. Loved this hunt with friends and especially my son.

Soj51hopeful · Oct 30, 2016

Nice buck, good job holding out.

Snoopdogg · Oct 30, 2016

Great job showing the youngster how it's done. Congrats on your buck, you both look quite happy.

BIGJOHNT · Oct 30, 2016

Thats great your boy could be there. But its really about the hunt, not the kill. You used up about all of your time !

12point · Oct 30, 2016

Great deer, congrats.

johnhansens · Oct 31, 2016

I had the same issue. A billion 3 points. I ended up shooting this one on day 7.

huntFX4 · Oct 31, 2016

>Thats great your boy could be
>there. But its really about
>the hunt, not the kill.
>You used up about all
>of your time !

You're right. I let him know I was ok with no deer rather than killing a young deer. I'm glad he was able to see what can happen when you hold out. What's everyone think he will gross? Back forks aren't great but he has decent fronts and good mass

rmanwill · Oct 31, 2016

Congrats. Great buck. Thanks for sharing

Wiszard · Oct 31, 2016

Great job guys.....that is a cool area to hunt. I can't wait to get back there.

Cancer doesn't discriminate...don't take your good health for granted because it can be gone in a heartbeat. Please go back and read the last line. This time really understand what it says.

BrowningRage · Nov 1, 2016

Very well done..!! That's a dandy lookin buck for sure. Thanks for sharing with us, and thanks for passing it along to your son...

"Therefore, wo be unto him that is at ease in Zion!" 2 Ne. 28: 24

BuglesNGrunts · Nov 1, 2016

>>Thats great your boy could be
>>there. But its really about
>>the hunt, not the kill.
>>You used up about all
>>of your time !
>
>
>You're right. I let him know
>I was ok with no
>deer rather than killing a
>young deer. I'm glad he
>was able to see what
>can happen when you hold
>out. What's everyone think he
>will gross? Back forks aren't
>great but he has decent
>fronts and good mass

maybe 130"? mass really isn't all that heavy. He isn't rag horned, but he definitely doesn't look like a moose

ridgetops · Nov 1, 2016

I'm guessing mid 160s on score. Heck of a last minute buck. Congrats! Proud member of the Wolfpack!

huntFX4 · Nov 2, 2016

Guys the pictures taken in the field weren't very good and did no justice to this buck. When I see them, I think he looks smaller than he is. Here is a picture of the rack to give you a better idea of the size. H-1 measurements are 5" even on both sides and the greatest spread is 26 1/8". Left main beam is 22 4/8". Any ideas from anyone else on score? I'm not that great at field judging and didn't have time to field judge this one. We saw good width and mass right away and it was time to shoot.

Camper_A1 · Nov 2, 2016

Congrats on a great hunt with your son. Forget the score he's a trophy taken with your son by your side.

BuglesNGrunts · Nov 4, 2016

This picture shows the mass way better than the field pictures did, I need to rescind my original estimate. I just added up my estimates with your measurements from above and got 164 5/8"

Have you actually put a full tape to him? If so, what was your unofficial score?

huntFX4 · Nov 6, 2016

I did do a quick full tape, but it's only the second time I have ever measured a deer. I came up with a gross of 164 4/8". I'm going to have a friend with more experience measure it and see what he comes up with.