Share Your "Most Earned" Buck - WIN

[Founder]

LAST EDITED ON Oct-12-13 AT 03:29PM (MST)[p][font size=+1]WIN a $25.00 Gift Card, Thanks to Rack Logo![/font]

We have a NEW Sponsor here at MonsterMuleys.com, [font size=+1]Rack Logo[/font], who's giving away a couple $25.00 Santana Outdoors Gift Cards in a random drawing. To get into the drawing, post a picture of the buck you feel is your "most earned". Maybe you worked extra hard to get him, spent more time on the mountain, scouted more, etc.

Post a photo and a short blurb about why you feel it's your most earned trophy.

The sponsor of this contest, [font size=+1]Rack Logo[/font], is a company who specializes in custom logo design. I ask you all to take a look at Adam's Facebook Site and "LIKE" it. And if you, or anyone you know, is looking for a custom logo design, get in touch with Adam. He does great work. Below are some examples.

Please, let's see some of those "MOST EARNED" trophy bucks! Share those pics. It's fun to see the trophies!! I'll pick a couple winners in a few weeks.


[font size=+1]Rack Logo[/font]
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Brian Latturner
MonsterMuleys.com

 

[bullskin]

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Now THIS is a thread that interests me. Not because of the prizes (but thanks, Racks Logo) or because my efforts have been greater than others, but because (and there has been a lot of discussion on MM regarding this point) it is only the buck earned that matters. As far as I am concerned, the less effort required to take any animal, the less meaningful it becomes as a trophy, the true value of which lies in the memories elicited by the mount itself. I would not pass on a Booner buck that I could shoot from the trailhead, but he would be a curiosity rather than a trophy in my book.

As such, my greatest trophy is the blacktail/muley hybrid pictured that was killed in California, in an over-the-counter zone. I located him mid-summer and had him pretty well zeroed-in by the opener. He slipped by me that morning, and I had to leave the mountain in order to avoid being winded. When I returned later, he was bedded below me and alert to another hunter that had passed below him some time before. He remained locked down all afternoon. In the waning hours of daylight I grew concerned that he would scent me when he returned to the mountaintop that evening and disappear for good. He was 150 yards downhill, with absolutely no approach, and so I had an idiotic idea. Moving to cover his most likely escape route, I launched an arrow some forty yards past and below him. Now, it is my usual experience that a single, dry stem of grass dragged across the fabric of my pants runs a bedded buck clear out of the country. In this case, however, an arrow careening off a rock did nothing but put him on his feet. Despite the noise, his nose told him that there was no danger below and he bedded down within minutes. A second arrow placed within twenty yards launched him out of his hole, only to return, again, within minutes. This animal knew his safety zone. Finally, I put an arrow as close to him as I dared without risking a hit. At this point, he committed to departure along the expected escape route, and I was committed to my single remaining arrow. (I have since reconsidered the wisdom of allowing my quiver to dictate the extent of my arsenal.) As he passed within twenty yards, bounding up and over the brush and nearly to the crest of the hill, I picked a moment when his front feet were in contact with the ground, his motion temporarily reduced, and let that arrow fly. No reaction. I was stunned. He reached the top of the mountain and paused, offering a motionless, fifteen-yard broadside shot. I had no arrow. I watched, knowing, that despite my failure, this was the greatest moment I would ever experience in the woods. For several long moments he surveyed the slopes below for signs of danger. And then, completely unexpectedly, I noticed a dark spot behind his shoulder. Certain that I would be disappointed, I raised my binoculars to observe that this spot was not just dark, but red. Its funny how the mind works--I recall thinking, "What the hell is that?" And, as he began his descent it began to register that he was moving very slowly and, even more gradually, it finally registered in my mind that he was dead. He is not the largest deer I have killed, but he is my only mounted trophy. And I recall every moment of that afternoon as if it were yesterday.

Sorry about the puke-yellow photograph.

 

[madmax88]

Great Idea! I might be considered a trophy hunter, but I love this quote.

"The value of any trophy from the field depends not on its size but on the magnitude of the effort expended in its pursuit." ~ Aldo Leopold

Some of my favorite buck hunting memories are from tough hunts that resulted in smaller bucks.

 

[grizzly]

This buck was from a few years ago. It was the first deer I shot while my wife was with me. He was an old deer on his way down. We found him early in the season and waited patiently for the right opportunity.

We hunted him most of the season but he stayed in the scrubs until dark so we could never get a shot. We played it smart, never busted him out, and finally got the right wind and caught him leaving the brush to feed in a late October rain storm.

I didn't know how to skin or quarter a deer, so my wife and I dragged him 4 1/2 hours to where my in-laws could meet us with a wheeler.

We truly "hunted" this deer.

Grizzly

 

[hhunter23]

i found this buck last year on July 4, 2012. we videoed him and was fortunate enough to get trail camera pictures also. i had a rifle tag, so he had to last until after archery and muzzle loader seasons.i spent every weekend i could up there watching this stud and tried to figure out how to hunt him.
we went up the night before opener to set up camp and try and glass this buck up but he was a no show that night. we got up early and we found him right off, but i couldn't get a stalk done so i opted to wait him out. at 4:30 that afternoon he came feeding across the ridge at 980 yards. i had to climb 2000 vertical feet to get to 270 yards and made a nice clean shot. it took most of the next day to get the buck completely taken care of. after 2 trips 4 miles one way and lots of boot leather we were back to the truck.
this buck scored 201 1/2 and is 29" wide. me best buck to date.

"Shoot Straight"

 

[hindquarters]

LAST EDITED ON Oct-14-13 AT 04:34PM (MST)[p]201"? I'm sorry hhunter but I am not seeing how it's possible this deer scores 201or goes 29". Do you have other pictures showing side view or different angles?

 

[elkfanatic]

You should keep this open till January! I've been 6 hunts without a buck here. Been bow hunting for last 4 and those were the best hunts just some bad mistakes. I'm 18 and this year will hopefully be my year to get my first buck

 

[Muley_73]

Not my biggest buck but one of the funnest. Found this buck on Labor Day a few years ago. Watched him with my brothers until the muzzy hunt opened. Him and three other nice bucks stayed right in the same basin all month. Stalked in on him 3 times and backed out because the situation wasn't right. On the 4th morning I was finally able to close the deal at 110 yards with one brother right next to me and my other brother and dad watching through spotting scopes from down below. Don't know if I "earned" him. But it was pretty cool to walk up to him after spending many hours watching and patterning him.

Not the greatest pic but it will work.

 

[groundhog999]

Here is mine, not only is this my biggest but most memorable to date. This buck was taken on my last day of the hunt as I was actually on my way home in less than an hour when I spotted him. He was taken with archery gear and as stalked him for the last ? mile I was wearing 5 pairs of socks on my feet because the vegetation was so dry and crunchy, I ended up in side of 20 yard for the shot.

You can see my nice black socks in this picture I had 5 pairs on.

Don't die dreaming
DIE TRYING!

 

[Founder]

Anyone else want to be in the running for the gift card? I'll pick a winner tomorrow.

Brian Latturner
MonsterMuleys.com

 

[ridgetops]

Here's mine. I found this buck in mid-July this year. Thought he might go 170" but was hoping to find something better. After running into him on the 4th day of the muzzy hunt and seeing how heavy he was, he must have had really thin velvet because he didn't loose much mass at all. This buck has a lot of character and I made about a 2 hour stalk on him, in which I shot him at 50 yards.

 

[predator]

Here's mine. I had driven by a spot for years and thought to myself every time that it looked "deery", but never once step foot in it until one year I was again driving by, but this time thought "why not".

After hiking in several miles and waiting patiently until it was nearly too dark to shoot, this buck stood up 198 yards from me. I had a perfect dead rest and a great shooting muzzleloader, so I took the shot, and he was mine.

I got the final load back to my truck around midnight, but still was on cloud nine!

He's not my biggest, nor my best looking, but he was definitely well-earned with a little help from Lady Luck.

 

[BOHNTR]

Probably my "most earned" buck was this 203" non-typical buck I arrowed in Northern Arizona. I spent 17 days bowhunting this particular buck after seeing him earlier in the summer on a bonsai scouting trip. It finally came together after several close encounters.

BOHNTR )))---------->

 

[bonecollector777]

LAST EDITED ON Oct-31-13 AT 00:31AM (MST)[p]This buck wasn't my biggest but it was definitely the most earned by far. I took him in the Arizona general season in October of 2012. The unit I was hunting was where I grew up so I knew the country well and scouted hard. I knew there was a chance at a 170"+ buck if I scouted hard. We found out in June-July what we were drawn for and the rest of the summer was spent looking for good bucks throughout the unit. As August was approaching it was time for me to go back down the college in Tempe which is about a 2 1/2 hour drive for me from my hometown. Every weekend I made the trip back and forth for scouting trips. I made sure to schedule my classes so I would have at least some time to hunt when October arrived. In early September I started seeing some decent 150-160" bucks but not the monsters I was hoping for. About three weeks before the hunt I decided to check an area I hadn't looked at in a while. Low and behold my buck was standing 50 yards away on a hill just looking at me. The next 3 weeks were spent keeping track of the buck with cameras and more scouting trips. The night before the hunt he was spotted so we left him as he was. Opening morning we located the group of bucks he had been with the last 3 weeks and he was nowhere to be found. I walked along a ridge following the bucks hoping he would appear but it never happened. As I watched the other bucks go out of sight I kept hearing a grunting noise about 50 feet in front of me in a thicket. As I approached the thicket and was 10 yards from it he busted out of there and I knew it was him from his drop tine on the right side. He ran straight out to about 75 yards and then turned broadside on a full run and I shot him in the back and dropped him in full stride. Enjoy the pic!

[/URL]

 

[grizzly]

A bunch of great bucks. I love this thread. No BS, just deer that we are all proud of and enjoy sharing, whether they are our biggest or not.

This is what its all about.

Grizzly

 

[Cam@strawberry]

I killed this buck my third year of hunting when I was seventeen. He has quite a story to go with him and not much of it good. This is a public land utardia story for certain.

We were out one morning driving down the hwy when we saw this buck and several others on a sage flat, pulled over and I ran down to the fence so I was legal to shoot. My dad suggested that the distance was around 350 yards so I held a little over the bucks back and let fly. Nothing, two shots later still nothing. On my fourth shot I held lower on the deer and hit him.

About my second shot in, a car load of fellas with dark skin from south of the border pulled off the road bailed out and started banging away directly over the top of my head. I had bullets whizzing by about 36" above me. When I hit the deer, he went up over a rise and we had to run up the hill to chase him down. there were two options, the long route was to go out across the sage straight across where I had just shot, the short route was to hop in the truck and run down the road then up a 150 yard STEEP little hill. The Mexican crew had already took off across the sage after the deer that I had wounded. There was no question that it was me that wounded it. So I ran back up to the truck to my father who was in a state of angry that I had never known. We ran down the road and the only thing he could say was 'you beat them to that deer'.

I took off up the hill, and beat them up there only to find nothing. No deer, they were gone. there was a blood trail, but it petered out after 150 yards. We knew I had hit that deer center mass, so we started to grid search. Guess who joined us, the same crew who had shot off the road over my head at the deer I was already shooting at. they said if we find it its our deer. No joke there. After 3-4 hours of looking they gave up went down, and this is the best part, called the CO to report a poached deer. They told him that we had shot a deer off the road, and didn't bother looking for it! Our family is close with the CO so when they described the trucks he gave us a call and we explained what was going on.

Long story short, there was a ditch that ran through the center of the sage, after about 5 hours we finally located the deer he was gut shot and still alive laying in it, so after jumping him we finished him off and took it home.

I had been taught to do everything the 'right' way. While I didn't make a great shot, we stuck with it through the joke that this group of hunters was and made a very memorable hunt out of it!

I think this is sideways but I dunno how to fix it maybe roy or someone with that knowledge can aid!

https://www.facebook.com/strawberrybayoutfitters

 

[dogdoc]

Just got back yesterday from northern Nevada. This buck is my most earned buck for 3 reasons. First, I had to put a 2 hour stalk on him while he was bedded with 5 does and a 2 point, then wait another 20 minutes for him to get up and chase another large 4x4 away from his does and around the hill where I was able to get a shot and take him. Second, it is the first legitimate 4x4 I have taken in my 25 years of hunting. I have killed plenty of 3x4's, but this is the first 4x4. Third, My dad was there with me to see the whole thing. Nothing is better than the memories of hunting with my dad. It's tough to see them slow down as they get older, but he will always be my hero, and I wouldn't trade that for anything.

 

[dreaminbouthuntin]

>LAST EDITED ON Oct-14-13
>AT 04:34?PM (MST)
>
>201"? I'm sorry hhunter but I
>am not seeing how it's
>possible this deer scores 201or
>goes 29". Do you have
>other pictures showing side view
>or different angles?


That deer must have 30" ears because that spread is inside the ears of that buck.. LMBO!

No way it is 29" wide or 201" IMO Just saying.

 

[ElkSniper]

My most earned buck would had to have been last years CO Muley! This unit is a very easy draw but is a tough hunt. This buck early opening morning gave me the slip twice. Later that morning we chased him into a nasty canyon and never saw him. As we came out of that canyon we started walking back to the truck. On the way back I happened to glance to my right and he was bedded behind a tree. He tried to sneak away but did not get far. This buck was well beyond his years. Not my biggest but most earned for sure!

 

[30Hart]

This is a desert mule deer that was bedded out in the open. I had to go all the way around to get him, nice and slow crawling on my belly most of the way...a 4 hr stalk, but I got him!

 

[Founder]

Great stories and photos. Great stuff. I like it! I did a random selection and ridgetops and Muley_73 win the gift cards. Could you two send me over a PM with your email addresses? And your names and I'll get the gift card stuff to you.

Thanks everyone!

Brian Latturner
MonsterMuleys.com

 

[Muley_73]

Sweet! Thanks Brian!!

 

[muleywhisperer]

Great thread! Just logged on but I or we just earned the greatest muley ever! So I figured I would share any way. My 10 year old niece was hunting here in New Mexico on a small tract of land that was hammered on the first hunt. Because if parent teacher conferences and 2 days off of school my brother and I figured it was best to let her hunt the second hunt. We hunted very hard the first two days and only saw a couple of does. On Monday she said she was too tired and did not want to hunt. I called at 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday and asked do you want to try today she simply said "if you want to uncle". Her dad had to work so it was just her and I versus the great out doors. We hunted two different ridges and only found fresh doe tracks. We got back to the Jeep and I said "I'm starved and you? She said "very". I told her lets drive down a bit to see if there was any sign. We found the track of 3 bucks cruising together and took off tracking them. About an hour later we jumped them out of there bed. We took off up a real rocky nasty hill to try and cut them off. I look back and see her about 40 yards behind and unable to go any further. I said this is your chance lets get them! So I threw her over my left shoulder and carried her gun in my right hand. I carried her up about 200 yards and found one of the bucks standing on the bottom. After catching her breath she drilled the buck high behind the shoulder and dropped him in his tracks. I spent the next 2 1/2 hours dragging her buck 3/4 of a mile gutted but whole because she did not want me to quarter out her buck so her dad could see it. Right now I'm sitting here with muscle spasms on my lower back and a half chewed piece of jerky on my lap. Greatest and most earned buck ever. Life is great! I will try to post pics when I get them from her dads camera.

 

[m48goat]

LAST EDITED ON Nov-01-13 AT 10:08PM (MST)[p]I got this buck last day of my general season hunt this year. He's my first big buck. I Hunted hard the whole last week of the season hiking all over and glassing every inch I could. this was only 1 of 6 bucks I saw in 8 days which was very frustrating, but I did see dozens of does all over , just not many bucks at all. I stuck through it and filled my tag the last morning of the season. He came out at 350yds running through the quakies and it was all over when I got my sights on him. My best buck to date. 29 1/4" wide

 

[ridgetops]

Thanks Brian, PM sent.


There's always next year