LAST EDITED ON Oct-30-14 AT 06:21PM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Oct-30-14 AT 06:14?PM (MST)
I was lucky enough to harvest this buck on the opening day of the muzzleloader season this fall on a general unit in southern Utah. I had my dad hunting with me from Michigan, and from the get go I told him he had first crack at any shooter bucks we saw. We glassed this guy up the night before the opener, and sure enough he was in the same area the next morning. He bedded up below us at about 250 yards with about 10 does and about 7 other bucks, and once the temperature warmed up, it seemed he was going to stay put for the day.
We headed back to camp just on the back side of the ridge and rested up for a couple hours. Every now and then I'd peek back over to see if the deer had re-positioned, and around noon, I spotted some deer directly below us moving around along the rock ledge we were perched on. As the sun moved throughout the morning, the deer must have moved up against the steep ridge for more permanent shade. My dad decided to pass on this guy in hopes of finding something bigger, but I had no such hesitation. 90 yards almost straight down, and he only went about 50 yards. It was a monumental effort to get him processed and hike him out, but well worth the effort. I actually killed this buck sitting on the exact same rock as last year. Must be my lucky spot!
I was lucky enough to harvest this buck on the opening day of the muzzleloader season this fall on a general unit in southern Utah. I had my dad hunting with me from Michigan, and from the get go I told him he had first crack at any shooter bucks we saw. We glassed this guy up the night before the opener, and sure enough he was in the same area the next morning. He bedded up below us at about 250 yards with about 10 does and about 7 other bucks, and once the temperature warmed up, it seemed he was going to stay put for the day.
We headed back to camp just on the back side of the ridge and rested up for a couple hours. Every now and then I'd peek back over to see if the deer had re-positioned, and around noon, I spotted some deer directly below us moving around along the rock ledge we were perched on. As the sun moved throughout the morning, the deer must have moved up against the steep ridge for more permanent shade. My dad decided to pass on this guy in hopes of finding something bigger, but I had no such hesitation. 90 yards almost straight down, and he only went about 50 yards. It was a monumental effort to get him processed and hike him out, but well worth the effort. I actually killed this buck sitting on the exact same rock as last year. Must be my lucky spot!