Hunting this unit 3 years ago we knew what to expect. A good snow would bring those big bucks down from the high country. Without a good snow we would see a lot of does but the good bucks would be hard to come by. This year I wanted to shoot a basket buck or better. In my eyes fork horns would not be an option.
I was constantly looking at the weather forecast weeks before my hunt. There were no storms that were going to hit my unit or around my unit. This meant that we were going to be hunting a resident deer herd. The resident herd will have a lot of does but not so many bucks. Not having any snow was going to play a factor on this hunt.
We have not been in the unit for a whole 3 years so we were going in blind. We have a little spot where the deer concentrate into when they have been pressured. Our friend, Joe, who teaches Hunter Ed. with us was going to accompany us on the hunt. We got there a half an hour before light and the bright moon made it a little easer to see. From the truck I spotted deer feeding in a sagebrush flat. One of which had a big body. It had to be a buck, but I could not tell. We watched them while a parade of elk hunters drove by us. It finally got light enough to see. Joe said that there was a good buck in the group.
We tried to get close enough but the buck freaked out and took off. He left all his does. We went after him but he did not cooperate with us. Joe split up from us as my dad and I followed the buck. We were soon distracted by Joe signaling that there was a big buck over where he was.
We quickly came over and Joe said that there was a big buck with a few forks and a lot of does moving up this canyon. We got to the mouth of the canyon and waited for the deer to appear. We saw the does right away but no buck. We waited and waited but still no buck in the group of does. We looked above the does and there he was. This buck was nice 160ish framed typical 5x5. He did not follow his does and went straight up the canyon. He went up and over before I could even get a shot off.
We got back to the truck and drove up the main road until we were even with the canyon he went into. We told Joe and my little bro to take the truck and pick my dad and I up where we first started that morning. My dad and I went for a walk to try and cut off this big muley. My dad knew right where he was. I was a little surprised how accurate my dad was on locating him. We walked the rim of this canyon when I heard something walking below. This is where I made a mistake. Instead of waiting for him to appear I went down into the canyon. He immediately busted out of there and never gave me a shot.
We started making our way back to the truck. We crossed canyon after canyon busting does and forks. We found a few nice sheds but no mature bucks. There was a lot of sign including some early rut activity. There were a few places where some bucks had made rubs and scrapes. The 2 bucks that we had seen were resident deer because they had light colored antlers due to all the juniper they were rubbing on.
We were a mile from the truck when we decided to walk the rim of this nice looking canyon. Before we started hunting that morning I kept saying that I wanted to hunt this canyon due to all the deer we saw last time we hunted this area. Immediately we spotted a few does and a spike. They caught us by surprise. We made our way to the truck while still walking along the canyon. I'm not sure what made me look over my back, but when I did, I spotted the silhouette of a bedded deer. I put my binos up and saw that it was a buck. It was a 5x5 bedded 194 yards across the canyon. I got down and told my dad who was 20 yard ahead of me to get down also. We walked right past him. I can't believe we did not see him. I'm sure he saw us but for some reason he did not budge. He was bedded with his rear to us. I did not want to shoot him there so we waited. We gave him about 20 minutes and decided to get him up from his bed, knowing that it might take a while for him to get up by himself.
We made deer grunts to see if he would get him up but he just looked at us. So we started to whistle at him. That did the trick. He got up and gave me a quartering shot. I squeezed off a shot and put him back down in his bed. One shot drop!
Early morning sunrise
shed we found
An example of the type of country that we chased that big buck into. Now I know why he got so big and why a big muley is my favorite animal to hunt. Nothing like them!
A few does we found while on pursuit of that big boy
Couple more sheds
Now this next shed I found is an example of the caliber of buck we were chasing. Not bad for a resident deer.
Okay now this next picture is one of my favorites of all time. This is a pic of my buck right before I shot him. During this pic we were waiting for him to get up so I could get a good shot. I love this pic!
My buck had a cool black mane on his back that I had never seen on a muley before
Me, Joe, and Saint
Me, My dad, Saint
The Crew
The pack out
? mile to the truck
ElkSniper
I was constantly looking at the weather forecast weeks before my hunt. There were no storms that were going to hit my unit or around my unit. This meant that we were going to be hunting a resident deer herd. The resident herd will have a lot of does but not so many bucks. Not having any snow was going to play a factor on this hunt.
We have not been in the unit for a whole 3 years so we were going in blind. We have a little spot where the deer concentrate into when they have been pressured. Our friend, Joe, who teaches Hunter Ed. with us was going to accompany us on the hunt. We got there a half an hour before light and the bright moon made it a little easer to see. From the truck I spotted deer feeding in a sagebrush flat. One of which had a big body. It had to be a buck, but I could not tell. We watched them while a parade of elk hunters drove by us. It finally got light enough to see. Joe said that there was a good buck in the group.
We tried to get close enough but the buck freaked out and took off. He left all his does. We went after him but he did not cooperate with us. Joe split up from us as my dad and I followed the buck. We were soon distracted by Joe signaling that there was a big buck over where he was.
We quickly came over and Joe said that there was a big buck with a few forks and a lot of does moving up this canyon. We got to the mouth of the canyon and waited for the deer to appear. We saw the does right away but no buck. We waited and waited but still no buck in the group of does. We looked above the does and there he was. This buck was nice 160ish framed typical 5x5. He did not follow his does and went straight up the canyon. He went up and over before I could even get a shot off.
We got back to the truck and drove up the main road until we were even with the canyon he went into. We told Joe and my little bro to take the truck and pick my dad and I up where we first started that morning. My dad and I went for a walk to try and cut off this big muley. My dad knew right where he was. I was a little surprised how accurate my dad was on locating him. We walked the rim of this canyon when I heard something walking below. This is where I made a mistake. Instead of waiting for him to appear I went down into the canyon. He immediately busted out of there and never gave me a shot.
We started making our way back to the truck. We crossed canyon after canyon busting does and forks. We found a few nice sheds but no mature bucks. There was a lot of sign including some early rut activity. There were a few places where some bucks had made rubs and scrapes. The 2 bucks that we had seen were resident deer because they had light colored antlers due to all the juniper they were rubbing on.
We were a mile from the truck when we decided to walk the rim of this nice looking canyon. Before we started hunting that morning I kept saying that I wanted to hunt this canyon due to all the deer we saw last time we hunted this area. Immediately we spotted a few does and a spike. They caught us by surprise. We made our way to the truck while still walking along the canyon. I'm not sure what made me look over my back, but when I did, I spotted the silhouette of a bedded deer. I put my binos up and saw that it was a buck. It was a 5x5 bedded 194 yards across the canyon. I got down and told my dad who was 20 yard ahead of me to get down also. We walked right past him. I can't believe we did not see him. I'm sure he saw us but for some reason he did not budge. He was bedded with his rear to us. I did not want to shoot him there so we waited. We gave him about 20 minutes and decided to get him up from his bed, knowing that it might take a while for him to get up by himself.
We made deer grunts to see if he would get him up but he just looked at us. So we started to whistle at him. That did the trick. He got up and gave me a quartering shot. I squeezed off a shot and put him back down in his bed. One shot drop!
Early morning sunrise
shed we found
An example of the type of country that we chased that big buck into. Now I know why he got so big and why a big muley is my favorite animal to hunt. Nothing like them!
A few does we found while on pursuit of that big boy
Couple more sheds
Now this next shed I found is an example of the caliber of buck we were chasing. Not bad for a resident deer.
Okay now this next picture is one of my favorites of all time. This is a pic of my buck right before I shot him. During this pic we were waiting for him to get up so I could get a good shot. I love this pic!
My buck had a cool black mane on his back that I had never seen on a muley before
Me, Joe, and Saint
Me, My dad, Saint
The Crew
The pack out
? mile to the truck
ElkSniper
