Sorry for the super late post but its been busy and I finally had time to write up a quick story for my little brothers mule deer hunt.
Opening morning started off by being restricted to the cover of the truck for the first hour of the hunt because of the crazy weather. We parked on a point where we could glass the valleys and hopefully turn up some deer. Although all the cloud cover made it really dark to see, we still turned up a few deer. The rain wasn?t bothering them whatsoever. I put the spotting scope on them to see if there were any good buck worth getting a closer look at. There was only a fork horn and a spike buck with all the does we spotted. We figured that since the rain wasn?t affecting the deer activity that we would just throw on the rain gear and tough it out for the morning hunt.
We decided to park the truck on the top of the highest ridge and work our way down and hunt the rolling hills/canyons. It was going to be a pretty good hike and would most likely last all day. As soon as we started our hike, it didn't take long to turn up deer. Every little draw we looked into had a few does in it. Where were all the bucks? We knew that we hadn't had a substantial snow fall but it was pretty close to the rut and these bucks should be with the does. A little more into the hike, I glassed up a nice deer shed across the canyon. I separated from My dad and little brother to go get it and when I was walking up the hill back to them I saw some deer across the valley. As soon as I put my binos on them I could see that there was a good buck. I didn't get a good look at the buck because I was rushing back to tell them but I distinctly saw a wide frame on the buck about 26-28 inches wide. A definite shooter! The deer were already onto us and I could see my dad and little brother already on the stalk. By the time I caught up to them the deer had already went up and over the hill. It turns out that there was another buck in the group that I didn't see. A shooter 3x3 with good top forks.
We decided to continue on our hike and stick to the original game plan and save that big framed buck for the evening hunt. I felt confident that we would find more deer the deeper we went into our hike. Later that morning we were walking along this fence line when I glanced to my left and saw deer scattered in the edge of a meadow. After further examining the group I could see a buck in the back. I got a little excited and made the buck sound a little bit bigger than what he actually was. It was a big fork and beautiful buck but now what we were looking for on the first day of the hunt.
After my brother passed up that buck we decided to start hunting our way back to the truck. There was this one small canyon that had a bunch of aspen in the bottom and for some reason we were drawn there. Just as we were about to go into the canyon my dad froze in his tracks. I glanced to the left and saw what made him froze. It was a buck! It had to be with that body size! I could see a good rack and without hesitation I told my brother to shoot that buck! My brother didn't get a good look at the buck and didn't know how big he was so it took him a little longer than usual to set up. He finally saw that this buck was a shooter 4x4 with eyeguards but it was too late. Just as he was about mid-squeeze on the trigger he saw the buck bound off (like all spooked muleys do). As I saw the buck bounce off through my binos I saw him join up with another similar sized body deer but could not see the head. It was definitely another buck but couldn't tell how big he was.
The pursuit was on! We followed the bucks through the timber until we stumbled upon a camp. We figured that the bucks also saw the camp and changed their direction into a deep canyon. We were right! Not long after entering the canyon we caught a glimpse of the deer running away. It was the same two bucks but again it was a really quick sighting with no shot opportunities. We followed them as they continued up the canyon. We double-timed our pace because these bucks had a good jump on us and we knew that they would follow this canyon up. We kept on and on until exhaustion got the best of us. We were sucking air pretty good when I spotted deer running through the pines a little further down the same canyon. This time there were more than just two. We figured that two bucks must have joined up with the previous group with the big fork.
We kept on going chasing the deer until the canyon finally ended into a ridge. We got on top of the ridge hoping the deer would be just on the other side. Sure enough there they were! They all spooked and all of the deer took off running through the pines. There were a lot of deer and it became chaotic. My little brother kneeled down and rested the rife on his knee hoping that one of the shooter bucks would stop in an opening for a shot. No Luck. As all the deer were running through the tall pines all we could see were small spikes, forks, and does. No sign of the 4x4 until my dad said ?There he is! The 4x4! ? The buck never stopped and never gave a clear shot. We figured that if we stayed on top of the ridge the buck might offer a clear shot. The buck didn't follow the rest of the group. We were just about to call it quits and head back to the truck when all of a sudden the buck appears on the opposite ridge. My little brother sets up on the sticks and takes his shot. The buck drops in his tracks! He made a great 277 yard shot across the canyon and the buck we've been after all day is finally down!
This hunt was a pretty awesome experience for us. Getting away from all the roads and the crowds really paid off. Not only did we not run into any other hunters but the quality and quantity of the deer got way better. We had a blast chasing the muleys of the back country.
Opening morning started off by being restricted to the cover of the truck for the first hour of the hunt because of the crazy weather. We parked on a point where we could glass the valleys and hopefully turn up some deer. Although all the cloud cover made it really dark to see, we still turned up a few deer. The rain wasn?t bothering them whatsoever. I put the spotting scope on them to see if there were any good buck worth getting a closer look at. There was only a fork horn and a spike buck with all the does we spotted. We figured that since the rain wasn?t affecting the deer activity that we would just throw on the rain gear and tough it out for the morning hunt.
We decided to park the truck on the top of the highest ridge and work our way down and hunt the rolling hills/canyons. It was going to be a pretty good hike and would most likely last all day. As soon as we started our hike, it didn't take long to turn up deer. Every little draw we looked into had a few does in it. Where were all the bucks? We knew that we hadn't had a substantial snow fall but it was pretty close to the rut and these bucks should be with the does. A little more into the hike, I glassed up a nice deer shed across the canyon. I separated from My dad and little brother to go get it and when I was walking up the hill back to them I saw some deer across the valley. As soon as I put my binos on them I could see that there was a good buck. I didn't get a good look at the buck because I was rushing back to tell them but I distinctly saw a wide frame on the buck about 26-28 inches wide. A definite shooter! The deer were already onto us and I could see my dad and little brother already on the stalk. By the time I caught up to them the deer had already went up and over the hill. It turns out that there was another buck in the group that I didn't see. A shooter 3x3 with good top forks.
We decided to continue on our hike and stick to the original game plan and save that big framed buck for the evening hunt. I felt confident that we would find more deer the deeper we went into our hike. Later that morning we were walking along this fence line when I glanced to my left and saw deer scattered in the edge of a meadow. After further examining the group I could see a buck in the back. I got a little excited and made the buck sound a little bit bigger than what he actually was. It was a big fork and beautiful buck but now what we were looking for on the first day of the hunt.
After my brother passed up that buck we decided to start hunting our way back to the truck. There was this one small canyon that had a bunch of aspen in the bottom and for some reason we were drawn there. Just as we were about to go into the canyon my dad froze in his tracks. I glanced to the left and saw what made him froze. It was a buck! It had to be with that body size! I could see a good rack and without hesitation I told my brother to shoot that buck! My brother didn't get a good look at the buck and didn't know how big he was so it took him a little longer than usual to set up. He finally saw that this buck was a shooter 4x4 with eyeguards but it was too late. Just as he was about mid-squeeze on the trigger he saw the buck bound off (like all spooked muleys do). As I saw the buck bounce off through my binos I saw him join up with another similar sized body deer but could not see the head. It was definitely another buck but couldn't tell how big he was.
The pursuit was on! We followed the bucks through the timber until we stumbled upon a camp. We figured that the bucks also saw the camp and changed their direction into a deep canyon. We were right! Not long after entering the canyon we caught a glimpse of the deer running away. It was the same two bucks but again it was a really quick sighting with no shot opportunities. We followed them as they continued up the canyon. We double-timed our pace because these bucks had a good jump on us and we knew that they would follow this canyon up. We kept on and on until exhaustion got the best of us. We were sucking air pretty good when I spotted deer running through the pines a little further down the same canyon. This time there were more than just two. We figured that two bucks must have joined up with the previous group with the big fork.
We kept on going chasing the deer until the canyon finally ended into a ridge. We got on top of the ridge hoping the deer would be just on the other side. Sure enough there they were! They all spooked and all of the deer took off running through the pines. There were a lot of deer and it became chaotic. My little brother kneeled down and rested the rife on his knee hoping that one of the shooter bucks would stop in an opening for a shot. No Luck. As all the deer were running through the tall pines all we could see were small spikes, forks, and does. No sign of the 4x4 until my dad said ?There he is! The 4x4! ? The buck never stopped and never gave a clear shot. We figured that if we stayed on top of the ridge the buck might offer a clear shot. The buck didn't follow the rest of the group. We were just about to call it quits and head back to the truck when all of a sudden the buck appears on the opposite ridge. My little brother sets up on the sticks and takes his shot. The buck drops in his tracks! He made a great 277 yard shot across the canyon and the buck we've been after all day is finally down!
This hunt was a pretty awesome experience for us. Getting away from all the roads and the crowds really paid off. Not only did we not run into any other hunters but the quality and quantity of the deer got way better. We had a blast chasing the muleys of the back country.
