20" buck that Scores 185"

U

utahheadgear

Guest
.....Okay, so he's 21" wide, and he has 11 inches of extra points to help, but he is an honest 185" gross buck. I scored him once with velvet at 186 5/8" and once without (too damaged to save) at 184 5/8", so I'll call him an honest 185".

I managed to get the drop on this dude in Colorado over the weekend. I let the T/C Encore eat at 71 yards almost straight down off a little rock outcropping and that was all she wrote (after the velvet wrecking tumble down the 40 degree slope that is).

The photos don't really do him justice, unfortunately. Trying to hold the entire weight of a buck deer so that he doesn't tumble down the hill while taking photos in the dark doesn't always work out that well.

Anyway, thought you all may like to see him.

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He might be narrow but that's a good buck in anybody books.
I would put the hammer down on him in a second.
"I have found if you go the extra mile it's Never crowded".
 
Nice job bro...good times! Awesome buck! Next time maybe you'll just listen without so much debate when I tell you a buck is big enough to shoot!! ;-)
 
That's a freaking sweet Buck Dude! Congrats big time, I absolutely love narrow, tall Bucks, beats a wide flat one every time!!


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Great buck - I buy the score totally. Please do something about the velvet though (not my cup of tea).

UTROY
Proverbs 21:19 (why I hunt!)
 
Okay, for Roy I have added some photos "after velvet". I actually think you can see his character better w/o the velvet.

And for Kip, the story:

Spotted this buck a couple of drainages away in the morning, but also spotted some other bucks closer to us. We went on a ball-buster stalk after the closer ones and my brother ended up with a nice buck. After a brutal pack out we made it back to camp around 2 pm with my brother's buck. After some food and finishing the caping job it was 4 pm and I told Taylor that we needed to go take a look at this buck. I wasn't sure he was what I wanted, but I knew he was worth a look. Problem was that we were already warped from the first deer of the day and it was another brutal hike just to look at this buck that we may not even shoot. We went anyway. No pain, no gain! My thanks to Taylor for sticking with me.

At 6:00 pm we were at 12,500 feet looking down into the basin we had seen him in that morning and sure enough he was there, right below us. I moved down to 160 yards before running out of cover. I then setup and started looking at him and his buddy. I almost immediately decided he was too narrow, but when his buddy spotted me and they both stood up I couldn't resist the long tines and extras. I got ready to shoot but could not get a solid shooting position because of the steep hill. I don't care what anyones says, 160 yards is a long shot with a muzzle stuffer, and without a good rest an unexplained miss transpired.

Luckily the two bucks were not that spooked and they only moved a couple hundred yards around the basin before going back to feeding. They didn't really even look our way. As quick as that we backed out of the basin and moved around the back side of the ridge to get position above them again. This time I was able to get right above them on a little rock outcropping and acquire a perfect shooting position. This time from 71 yards with the deer completely unaware of my presence, there was little doubt. He was mine!

I was still unsure if I would be entirely pleased with him even after he was down, but when I walked up to him all doubt disappeared.

The pack out in total darkness up and out of the basin and back to the truck was brutal again, and we both weren't entirely sure we would make it without abandoning our packs and returning in the morning, but eventually we stumbled back to the truck beat down and completely exhausted from one of the best (and toughest) days I've ever had hunting. I can't wait to do it all over again next year! Thanks again to Taylor for hanging in there, and helping me out. It was a team effort for sure.

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Thats a fine animal. Definate shooter. Man I hope your wife doesnt see the pics of the bloody antlers on the carpet. Oh wait thats my wife. Nice job. Thanks for sharing. 1shot1kill.
 
Nice buck, congrates and thanks for posting.

OMB


There's room for all of God's creatures, right next to the mashed taters and gravy.
 
Great story Preston! Thanks for sharing! Again, what a sweet buck. I can't believe you were debating on passing a 185" buck!! He's awesome and will look great on your wall. Sounds like you definately earned him. I have had numerous hunts where I've wondered if I should even go after an animal and kill myself on a brutal hike. Then you get the animal down only to know that there's a long all-nighter pack-out ahead...and you start to wonder if it's all worth it!! After a couple days of letting the blisters and the wounds heal, it's always worth it!!!!!! Congrats buddy! I'm happy for you. Tell Taylor to post his buck up too. Stay in touch! Kip
 
Congrats on a GREAT buck!
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"Yeah, I'll shoot him"
 
Nice buck Preston!!! Long time no see. It appears things are going well in your neck of the woods :)

Cheers,
Pete
 
What an awesome trophy.......congratulations and thanks for sharing it here.

BOHNTR )))---------->
 
I have a buck that is almost identical to that one with shorter backs that scored about 165 ill believe 185 all day on that buck
 
Additional photos look great. Thank for taking the time to post them. Love the story. Isn't is amazing how the soreness and blisters don't seem to effect the Die hard addicts!

Just as your walking around camp or home with a limp... your already day dreaming of your next hunt.

Midnight
 

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