Now, that's a mule deer!

October 29, 2004










Farewell to fall. We had a wonderful day. My brother had to return home to iron out some issues at work yesterday. We left the ranch night before last after harvesting my buck. He called last night ready to return to the race. He brought with him today his eight year old son Colton. It was a cold blizzard on the ranch with 29 degree F temps with a stiff westerly wind blowing about 30 mph on the ridge tops. I guessed the wind chill at near or below zero. The snow came and went so we could still see ok.

We arrived at our spot and glassed from the road for about twenty minutes. Nada! Now where? We poked up along a half frozen, muddy trail. We had pushed four bull elk off the road and they had dropped over into the canyon to our north. As we crept up the road and rounded a corner I saw a very large bodied buck with what appeared to be really pretty good headgear dive over the ridge about a half mile away. About this time one of the bull elk had made a big circle and was running up the far bowl towards the road! Talk about a nice guy. He kicked up every deer on the hillside, ten does and an ok four by four buck.

We jumped out of the truck to look over the edge, and wow, kind of like diving into ice water. It sucked the breath right out of us. We hit the ridge top and glassed the group of deer that the elk had pushed out. They wanted to go nowhere as the wind was howling over the backs of the hills. We cut down the ridge and hit the first buck�s tracks. We elected to swing wide and see if we could not see him back in the next canyon instead of getting right on his trail.

As we drifted up the crest of the hill I looked back into the canyon and saw a deer picking his way up through the quakies. I got my glasses on him and saw he was a good framed buck. I put the spotting scope on him and told my brother Taz that this was really a good management buck. He was a mature buck, guessing him over six years old, really good mass, bladed G2�s, a crown off his right G2, and really crabby left G4, 26 to 27 inches wide. He was a perfect management deer. Taz got a quick look at him and said let�s get on him. We were getting ready to dive off the ridge when a cloud blew over the area where the deer were. When the cloud was shredded by the wind a minute later, the deer were gone except for the 4 x 4 we had seen earlier.

He kept looking down hill indicating there were deer below him. I ranged the distance at 498 yards, a little far even on a good day. The wind was driving the snow into our faces and eyes like needles. It felt good to put the glasses to look as it kept the snow out of our corneas. After about five minutes a couple of does walked out of the big quakie patch. Soon afterward came our buck.

We made our move down the bare hillside to some brush. We sat down, I put the scope on the buck and confirmed it was him. I ranged him at 401 yards. By this time the does had busted down hill, but toward us on an angle. The buck had just seen us and did the big mule deer act like a statue routine. Gloves off, extra shells out, tip the handle of the tripod over for a rest, jam two shells in the chamber, dink around getting the jam cleaned up etc. You get the drift. Good thing we don�t hunt whitetail. We�d never have a chance!

So anyway, the buck accommodates Taz�s messing around. First shot hits perfect level of his chest, but two feet in front of him. The buck spins uphill and stops again. �Nice gentle squeeze, same level�. Fur flies off the shoulder, perfect shot. The buck ran down hill twenty yards, third shot in the neck, he then looped back up hill ten yards, then turned down, backed up and did the death circle backwards. I have seen this several times on double lung shots, they back up and almost run in a circle backwards. It seems they are trying to get their breath. He tipped over and didn�t wiggle.

Great buck. Six years old, everything else as advertised. Equipment used: Winchester model 70 out of the box 300 win mag, el cheapo Sightron scope 3 x 9 (can�t talk him into quality optics over his rifle), 150 grain trophy bonded bear claws with Federal Premium in the box ammo. MV 3200 fps. This outfit has taken a 330 bull at 350 yards, one shot; a 192 5 x 6 mule deer at 398 yards, one shot, and now this buck. Can�t argue with success.

Autopsy revealed double lung on the second shot taking out his pulmonary artery. Complete pass through on the bullet. Entered left shoulder, through the scapula, across the chest and out with two ribs on the right side.

This ends our big game season, and what a season it was. Good hunting. Hope to see you on the mountain next fall.

What an enjoyable read! Nice deer too, he's got nice mass.

Northern Utah.

Pepper, I have sent you a private message.

Chuck

Gives me something to shoot for when I hit Idaho next week. Very nice buck.

Jeff