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Our mule deer season is 9 days long, always the weekend before Thanksgiving through the weekend after. It was a week earlier this year than in the past two years. It's an area of low deer densities, in fact very low. Weather was unusually warm, and the deer movement wasn't much. I'd call it typical, real early and really late, and not much in between. By 8:30 or 9 am the deer were down or in heavy cover......  Me and my hunting partner Alan (known as Big Al), have had a very, very good streak of good fortune on this ranch since 2008. With the exception of last year's record drought (hunting was terrible), we'd managed to knock down 3 190 class bucks and 1 200" bruiser in the past four years between us. We bumped a good buck from his bed in some cover and saw a flash of him trotting over a small sandy hill, more of a bump actually the size of your garage. He must not have known exactly what spooked him since he wasn't haulin' azzz into the next county. Alan was able to run 30 yards to where we saw a glimpse of him going over the hill and next thing I know Alan shoots. I couldn't see squat from where I was 30 yards behind him. When I caught up to Big Al I see this....  ....a big, mature 30", 184 4/8 " dandy of a buck. Big Al's smiling comment to me when I walked up was " Well, my scope is dead on at 40....! " Even though big Al has two 200" bucks and one 190" buck on his wall, this was his first 30" muley. It weighed almost 275 lbs field dressed. While extremely large, not out of the ordinary of the big, mature sandhills desert bucks. Big Al is 6'5" and goes 260, for reference.  Big Al was toting his trusty Sako AV in 7mm STW, testing out some 140 gr Nosler Accubonds, traveling 3350 fps. It is topped with a new to him this year VX3 4.5-14x40 w/CDS as shots can be very long in some of the more open country on this ranch. Alan shot the buck dead at 40 yards from the top of the little hill. We found the entrance, perfectly placed behind the ribs as the buck quartered away. There was no exit but we found the bullet in the off shoulder...........  I was very surprised when we weighed the bullet at 91.1 grains. That's 65% retention from a bullet that went out the muzzle at 3350 fps and hit a 330 lb buck. I figured the bullet would be in shambles but I was way wrong. We were very, very impressed with this picture perfect bullet performance. Lucky me.........I now had the run of the place to myself, with Big Al helping me. I was in a very enviable position............ Okay, so we keep hunting and see some smaller bucks occasionally, and a few really nice 8 pts (no backs, like a big whitetail) but decided to remain patient. Hours of glassing from what high spots are available gets tiresome, but we keep on moving. We both feel like the odds get more in our favor if we cover lots of ground. We usually hunt all day, spending the middle part of the day working the country with our spotters. Sometimes we get lucky like this.....  This big buck had only 3" backs but was extremely massive as you can tell. Pic was taken through Big Al's Zeiss 85T FL at about 600 yards. We were actually standing in the back of my pickup trying to gain a little elevation. We left him laying there after about 15 minutes. Nothing interesting happened the next day and a half. This is not a very good picture, but we had been watching this grass flat every morning and evening because it's a transition area from fairly dense mesquite cover, to the grassy crp type flat, and also had some smaller sandhills nearby. Deer really like this type of place here. This is not a very good pic, but it's the best I could do......  Finally, late Tuesday evening, I spotted a couple of bucks on the edge of cover at dusk. I needed to get closer, lots closer because shooting light was fading fast. I got to within about 160 yards and got my sights set on a big typical. I could see a few other deer there too but this appeared to be the best one. Problem was when I sat on the ground with my bipod extended, I didn't have a clear shot, so I folded up the bipod, got next to the biggest mesquite I could find for a halfazzzed rest and fired as the buck started a slow trot, hard quartering away. It was dark-thirty, 5 deer ran off, all bucks, and I only saw 4 bucks to begin with. I was hunting alone that evening as Big Al was at his kids basketball game, and admittedly I was very confused as I saw a big typical run off with the other bucks. My first thought was that I made a complete miss, but the shot felt pretty good and I thought I heard a slight "thud". I walked around for a while looking to no avail. I got back up the next morning anxiously awaiting the sun to rise so I could verify that I missed and go hunt some more. Big Al was back, so we scoured the area for only 15 minutes and found my buck stone cold dead. The only thing we could figure is that there were more deer there than I saw, this buck dropped immediately, and the others ran off.  The buck is only 26" wide, but has double split eye guards and 40" of mass. He totals 194 3/8 and is absolutely gorgeous! The second highest scoring buck of my life.  I was "breaking in" my HCR 7mag, wearing a Leupold VX3 4.5-14 x50 LR w/cds (got a killer deal on it, my first 50mm scope ever) and I had no trouble at all seeing the duplex reticle at the last minutes of shooting light. I also was trying out the 150 Nosler BST @ 3170 fps. The bullet entered the right rear flank and quartered upward towards the off shoulder destroying the lungs. I didn't look very long for the bullet, but the lungs were destroyed, penetrating pr0bably 30 inches into the lungs. I'm real proud of this buck! | ||
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you need to fix your pic links Mike Legistine actu quod scripsi? Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue.  What I have learned on AR, since 2001: 1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken. 2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps. 3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges. 4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down. 5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine. 6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle. 7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions. 8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA. 9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not. 10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact. 11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores. 12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence. 13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances. | |||
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looks like you got it done Mike Legistine actu quod scripsi? Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue. What I have learned on AR, since 2001: 1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken. 2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps. 3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges. 4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down. 5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine. 6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle. 7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions. 8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA. 9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not. 10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact. 11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores. 12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence. 13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances. | |||
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JG, Those are fantastic deer! | |||
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Me...I always pass up 26" mulies. Unless they are at least 26 1/4 I wont shootem  Mike Legistine actu quod scripsi? Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue. What I have learned on AR, since 2001: 1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken. 2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps. 3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges. 4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down. 5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine. 6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle. 7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions. 8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA. 9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not. 10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact. 11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores. 12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence. 13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances. | |||
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Good is an understatement! Those are fantastic deer! That is a TOUGH hunt and you guys consistently kill great bucks | |||
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Very weel done!! Congrats to you both!!! Graybird "Make no mistake, it's not revenge he's after ... it's the reckoning." | |||
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Awesome deer guys - congratulations both! | |||
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Those are awesome Mule Deer bucks for anywhere....but ESPECIALLY for Texas. Beautiful deer!! Congratulations... _______________________________________________________ Hunt Report - South Africa 2022 Wade Abadie - Wild Shot Photography Website | Facebook | Instagram | |||
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Really great deer and story.  Congratulations and THANKS for sharing it with us.Even the rocks don't last forever. | |||
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Dang! Beautiful Deer. Well done. | |||
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Very nice... thanks for sharing. Dang good bucks! -------------------------------------------- National Rifle Association - Life Member National Wild Turkey Federation - Diamond Life Sponsor Pope & Young Club - Associate Member | |||
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You need to adopt me. . . . . Great mulies! | |||
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Beautiful bucks! Frank "I don't know what there is about buffalo that frightens me so.....He looks like he hates you personally. He looks like you owe him money." - Robert Ruark, Horn of the Hunter, 1953 NRA Life, SAF Life, CRPA Life, DRSS lite | |||
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Damn!!! | |||
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Both of those bucks are serious Texas mulies... well done! On the plains of hesitation lie the bleached bones of ten thousand, who on the dawn of victory lay down their weary heads resting, and there resting, died. If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch... Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it, And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son! - Rudyard Kipling Life grows grim without senseless indulgence. | |||
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JG: What a great hunt! Any chance your buck could have a little whitetail in him? They've been known to cross and his brow tines, especially being split, are unusually prominent for a mule deer. I think interbreeding between the species may be more prevalent than many people realize. | |||
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Thatt's a thought Stonecreek, but there's not a known whitetail within 90 miles of this place. I ask the Game Wardens every year if they see any around, and thankfully they all say "not yet". Longest eye guards I've seen on a buck I've killed anyway. Now that you mention it, check this out..........http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/7112641/I_d_heard_of_it_but_never_seen#Post7112641 | |||
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Damn fine bucks ________________________________________________ Maker of The Frankenstud Sling Keeper Proudly made in the USA Acepting all forms of payment | |||
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Those eye guards are unreal! | |||
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Ain't Texas great ?!! 4500 feet and glassing mule deer one day, two days later at sea level with an 8 pound trout crashing a top water bait. God Bless Texas. | |||
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Very nice deer. Congratulations | |||
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Very Nice! | |||
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I thought the same thing when I saw the pic, about having some hybrid in him. Looks very similar to other hybrid racks I've seen. 90 miles really isn't all that far for animals to travel in search of some female companionship lol. Amazing deer any way you dice it though. Just wow! If you think every possible niche has been filled already, thank a wildcatter! | |||
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Thanks for the compliments guys. Zero chance it's a hybrid though. Big Al's buck field dressed almost 275lbs,and mine was only about 25 lbs less than that. | |||
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Outstanding bucks, whatever their bloodline!! Congrats, Bob There is room for all of God's creatures....right next to the mashed potatoes. http://texaspredatorposse.ipbhost.com/   | |||
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Awesome deer year after year! | |||
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Nice bucks. AIU | |||
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Nice Bucks!! Are you guys hunting up in Panhandle?? I've hunted out in the Trans-Pecos area, but never saw anything better than 150 class. Go Duke!! | |||
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