I just got in and must say that this last week was one of the greatest experiences of my life. My deer is not the biggest in the world but for my first mule deer I could not be happier. He did end up being the biggest deer I saw the whole trip, even as I continued to hunt for javelina for 2 days after the buck. I didn't get the though. My friend saw 3 or 4 really great bucks but never got a shot.
Counting eyeguards, he is a 6X3. He has a really cool palmated fork with a kicker on one side. He is 28" wide and has great mass, as big around as my wrist. He is not the big typical rack you dream of but he has one of the most unique racks I have ever seen and is currently awaiting the taxidermist. He was a very old deer, estimated about 8 years old, and had hardly any teeth left. He was about 200 lbs on the hoof. Packing this deer out whole (lodgepoled over a 30 lb palo verde log), a kilometer and a half to the closest road, over rocky hills, through washes and thorned bushes was the single most physically demanding thing I have ever done. It took us 4 hours. We could not quarter the deer because the outfitter gave us specific instructions to bring the deer back whole for pictures. He wanted the pictures because the ranch was newly aquired and the outfitter had not yet begun to run hunts on it. He wanted proof of the ranch's potential. Because of this situation, and because my friend is part owner of the ranch and a close personal friend of the outfitter, we got to hunt for a very reduced rate.
Now I'm sure that some naysayers out there will think why would you go all the way to Sonora to take a buck like that? Well let me say this: I didn't have to pay nearly as much as a normal Sonora mule deer hunt (and far less than any U.S. private land mule deer hunt for that matter) and I had never taken a mule deer before (I'm embarassed to say that), so I only wanted a nice mature buck. I am happy as could be and that is all that matters to me. I couldn't care less about the score. True, you could go to Eastern Colorado or several other places and shoot bigger deer but you would not get the whole experience of hunting in a foreign country. I can only say it was a humbling experience that will make me a beter person having seen the way these very good people live.
Yes my deer alergy came back to haunt me again. I gotta get some rubber gloves.
The shot was 152 yards and I had to take it off hand as I only had a split second to shoot before he made it back into the brush. The guides take their clients' deer very seriously down there. It is a source of pride. They would rather come back to camp empty handed that have you shoot a dink buck. They like to show the buck off too, so if they say "choot" you better choot right now and not think about it. So that is what I did. I got a bit of luck and put a good shot into the shoulder. He went about 40 yards and piled up mid stride. The lungs were just soup.
My guide Jose was most unbelievable hunter I have ever met. He was also a hell of a nice guy. He tracked this buck and came up with a plan to fool him that only a man with 30 years experience hunting these deer could have come up with. We tracked him, sight unseen, several hundred yards and bumped him twice in the thick brush. The buck then dropped down into a canyon and tried to circle back on us. The guide picked up on this and we turned around and backtracked 300 yards running. It worked perfectly and the buck came out into a small clearing cross canyon. That is where he met his maker.
It was simply awesome living in a rustic rancho 40 miles from a paved road, eating real hand made tortillas and refried beans, and hardly speaking any English at all. I loved every minute and can't wait to go back.
Here are a few pics.
http://community.webshots.com/album/109520497OwjhuS
Counting eyeguards, he is a 6X3. He has a really cool palmated fork with a kicker on one side. He is 28" wide and has great mass, as big around as my wrist. He is not the big typical rack you dream of but he has one of the most unique racks I have ever seen and is currently awaiting the taxidermist. He was a very old deer, estimated about 8 years old, and had hardly any teeth left. He was about 200 lbs on the hoof. Packing this deer out whole (lodgepoled over a 30 lb palo verde log), a kilometer and a half to the closest road, over rocky hills, through washes and thorned bushes was the single most physically demanding thing I have ever done. It took us 4 hours. We could not quarter the deer because the outfitter gave us specific instructions to bring the deer back whole for pictures. He wanted the pictures because the ranch was newly aquired and the outfitter had not yet begun to run hunts on it. He wanted proof of the ranch's potential. Because of this situation, and because my friend is part owner of the ranch and a close personal friend of the outfitter, we got to hunt for a very reduced rate.
Now I'm sure that some naysayers out there will think why would you go all the way to Sonora to take a buck like that? Well let me say this: I didn't have to pay nearly as much as a normal Sonora mule deer hunt (and far less than any U.S. private land mule deer hunt for that matter) and I had never taken a mule deer before (I'm embarassed to say that), so I only wanted a nice mature buck. I am happy as could be and that is all that matters to me. I couldn't care less about the score. True, you could go to Eastern Colorado or several other places and shoot bigger deer but you would not get the whole experience of hunting in a foreign country. I can only say it was a humbling experience that will make me a beter person having seen the way these very good people live.
Yes my deer alergy came back to haunt me again. I gotta get some rubber gloves.
The shot was 152 yards and I had to take it off hand as I only had a split second to shoot before he made it back into the brush. The guides take their clients' deer very seriously down there. It is a source of pride. They would rather come back to camp empty handed that have you shoot a dink buck. They like to show the buck off too, so if they say "choot" you better choot right now and not think about it. So that is what I did. I got a bit of luck and put a good shot into the shoulder. He went about 40 yards and piled up mid stride. The lungs were just soup.
My guide Jose was most unbelievable hunter I have ever met. He was also a hell of a nice guy. He tracked this buck and came up with a plan to fool him that only a man with 30 years experience hunting these deer could have come up with. We tracked him, sight unseen, several hundred yards and bumped him twice in the thick brush. The buck then dropped down into a canyon and tried to circle back on us. The guide picked up on this and we turned around and backtracked 300 yards running. It worked perfectly and the buck came out into a small clearing cross canyon. That is where he met his maker.
It was simply awesome living in a rustic rancho 40 miles from a paved road, eating real hand made tortillas and refried beans, and hardly speaking any English at all. I loved every minute and can't wait to go back.
Here are a few pics.
http://community.webshots.com/album/109520497OwjhuS
![IMG_20161123_155032041_HDR[1].jpg](/xf/data/xfmg/thumbnail/31/31959-28b49492193dcdcdcc7501f046a6306d.jpg?1673638202)
