Well this hunt started I guess the first time I seen this buck, and I guessed him in the 160" range only thinking he was about 23" wide. Like a whole lot of other deer I had seen on scouting trips, he just wasnt my buck I thought, looking back now, it makes me sick to my stomach thinking that. I watched this deer from time to time usually from 1500 yds plus when I passed through the area he was living in not thinking much.
The opener started with me trying to help a buddy get a 170" buck down near where I grew up, and after a missed shot by my buddy opening morning and seeing the 28" buck bound away we spent the next day chasing this buck with no more luck, we decided to give him a break and go elsewhere.
Sunday night me and a buddy decided to go up and see if any other bucks had joined with that tall, narrow buck. Sunday night he only ended up being about 600 yds from the truck, which blew me away, becuase I had not seen him from that close and that is when I realized how big he was. The mass, main beam, will just say I was a little excited, and mad at the same time. Sunday night he was in a spot that made a stock impossible, Monday morning, same story. But Monday night he was in a spot next to a creek that was about 3-4 feet deep, feeding in the open. (This is where things get interesting )After running through all the options, I knew I had to get in the creek float down some-what on my back and get close to that buck. After closing the distance to 27 yds, the buck fed behind a tree, offering no shot, I couldnt take the chance of wounding or scaring off this buck. I watched for ten more minutes, laying in that water to have the buck feed straight away from me feeding out to 100 yds in a wide open clearing. Upset, soaking wet, and disapointed I headed back to the truck.
I did not get much sleep monday night, after being that close, I got a first hand and up close experience to how big he was, I was wound up to say the least. Tuesday morning I headed out again early to find the buck, first light revealed the buck 40 yds from where he was the night before, feeding. Wow, if this wasnt dejavou I dont know what was. After thinking about all the options, the wind swirling, I decided the only way to get this buck, was back in the creek. Keep in mind its now about 6:45 am 40 degrees and water thats about 40 degrees, to say the least it was a cold 300 yard float to the buck. As I came through a large clearing I got a glimpse of the buck with three fawns and a doe feeding, "Great, I thought there was no way this was going to work", as I floated down this creek the all just kind of looked at me from time to time, like I was the ugliest beaver they had ever seen, not really nervous at all as they kept feeding.
I got lucky in many ways, but this was probably what got me the buck- I noticed a larger than normal cut in the bank, big enough for me to get somewhat out of the water and prepared for a shot, as I did, and stood up the buck was feeding at 40 yds. Just then a fawn at five yards busted me, (I said three earlier, but I only seen two till this point) this fawn took off and headed right for the trees, that buck, instead of running the other way, almost seemed upset at that fawn, and briskly walked right for it and me. He stopped at thirty yards, stomped his foot and went right back to feeding as if nothing happened. PERFECT I slowly stood up the rest of the way, had him at 27 yds quartering away, I pulled back and released the arrow to watch it hit a little further back then what I would have liked, but I thought a good shot. He took off, busting through brush and I went over to find half the arrow, little blood but no green. I had seen this before, and all that was going through my mind was gut shot, I felt gut shot, and queitly headed back to the truck to give the buck some serious time. That was the longest four hours of my life.
Four hours later, I went back, as I followed the blood trail it got big in some spots and then dried up and then to no more blood at all two hours of searching on my hands and knees I finally found a few more drops of blood and was back on a slight trail. Then I found a bed with a good pile of blood, clots and other junk. I was glad I did not give up becuase twenty yards further in the nastiest, thickest brush I have ever seen there was a hoof, my buck was down. The shot ended up hitting guts, along with just about every other organ in his chest cavity, as the broad head half of the arrow rattled around in there making a hell of a mess. He went three-four hundred yrds, making a complete 180 degree turn through some of thickest brush and trees you can imagine. I was one happy guy.
If there is one thing I learned from this, never under estimate a narrow buck like I did, one inside measurement means nothing in the scheme of things, 30" would have made him 202" Gross and sure some more width would be great, but his mass and tine length more than make up for it. I should have thought about it a little more than throwing a narrow buck out, just for a few inches of width.
Thanks guys, it just goes to show ya, it can still happen, even in Northern UT!!
I'll try to get some front pics up tonight.
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