2008 high hunt buck

[bucklucky]

Love the Mass!

[crabcreekhunter]

Hey I remember meeting your brother and you a few years ago up on the high hunt, glad to see you post that thing on here, I love the mass on that guy!  I know you and your brother hike your butts off and glad it payed off for ya... congrats!

[bow4elk]

Nicely done!  I'd rather be lucky than good and gladly take the "gimme" critters that come along once in a blue moon.

[zackmioli]

what an awesome buck!

[highhunter]

Thanks guys, I really appreciate the comments. I didn't know my buck was already on here or I wouldn't have posted it. Anybody know who posted it?  (maybe I did and don't remember???). I'm really forgetful and might have posted it myself. I'm not getting him mounted because my wife says that I'm only allowed 1 head mount of each (sub)species in the house and I really do plan on shooting a bigger one soon, which I would love to have mounted. It is already on the wall in the house though. Plus I can't afford the $1K to get it mounted. The worst thing is that I might miss this years high hunt in WA. My bro and I have max WY deer and antelope preference points (we have never hunted out of state), some colorodo points, and believe it or not, I might be doing an exploratory hunting expedition for big/small game and fishing for in Bolivia, tropical whitetail in Ecuador, and then ducks/brocket deer in Argentina (golden dorado, wolfish pirahaha, peacock bass, giant catfish, etc)as well.  I'm just a college student and don't ask me how it happened but looks like I will be gone Aug.-late sept. hunting and fishing south America. There will be another high hunt next year but I don't think I'll get to hunt the jungles of Bolivia with local campensinos again anytime soon[. And yes i know about the red stag hunting there, it's just that non-native big game animals don't do it for me (wud luv 2 hunt stag in E. Euro. some day). It's funny you know, I love to hunt pheasants, quail, chukar, partridge, etc. and the fact  that they are introduced doesn't detract from them for me at all. I hunt Rocky Mnt. elk in E. WA (reintroduced from Jellystone) and that doesn't detract from them at all. But for some reason, Orynx in New Mex. or Stag in New Zea. wouldn't feel like that big of an accomplishment, even though both Argentina and New Zealand are more beautiful and "wild" than the few places where you would have to hunt private estates in Europe (I'll make an exception for Pierre David's deer if I ever get opportunity, and their history is the only reason why). I wouldn't feel "right" about a high-fence hunt for whitetails in TX either. It's just the way I feel and I'm not quite sure why (when I lived in South Africa I only wanted to take animals that were native to the local, whether reintroduced or not was irrelevant. Interesting stuff though for "food for thought"

[PacificNWhunter]

Thanks guys, I really appreciate the comments. I didn't know my buck was already on here or I wouldn't have posted it. Anybody know who posted it?  (maybe I did and don't remember???). I'm really forgetful and might have posted it myself. I'm not getting him mounted because my wife says that I'm only allowed 1 head mount of each (sub)species in the house and I really do plan on shooting a bigger one soon, which I would love to have mounted. It is already on the wall in the house though. Plus I can't afford the $1K to get it mounted. The worst thing is that I might miss this years high hunt in WA. My bro and I have max WY deer and antelope preference points (we have never hunted out of state), some colorodo points, and believe it or not, I might be doing an exploratory hunting expedition for big/small game and fishing for in Bolivia, tropical whitetail in Ecuador, and then ducks/brocket deer in Argentina (golden dorado, wolfish pirahaha, peacock bass, giant catfish, etc)as well.  I'm just a college student and don't ask me how it happened but looks like I will be gone Aug.-late sept. hunting and fishing south America. There will be another high hunt next year but I don't think I'll get to hunt the jungles of Bolivia with local campensinos[.

Must be tough

Good luck on whatever you end up doing!

[GrainfedMuley]

  I know a taxidermist in Enumclaw that will mount it for under $600.00............... 

[highhunter]

And oh ya, for all the blaze orange Nazi's out there: I took it off for the pic and then promptly put it back on.

[fc2038]

that is one nice buck. i love how he carries his mass all the way to his tips

[highhunter]

The coolest thing about this buck is that I took a fellow hunter to the same spot last year (he was sworn to lifetime secrecy) and he shot a decent four point within ten feet of where I took this guy. After the shot this deer got out of his bed and using the available cover, walked out through slide alders. I could tell he was a good buck and sure enough, he was right back in the same spot this season. Quite a few other hunters pound this area but I wait for them to go home after the first week of the season and then find bucks bedded under the same trees year after year. General or early season I have never not seen a legal buck under these trees (and up to 13 in one bachelor group). The other hunters glass from the edge of the ridge when trophies are eating within a 100 yards under their feet! in cliffs that would give a mountain goat vertigo. I wish I had a better picture but my batteries ran out on my camera (arghhh!). Here are a couple scenery pix from areas that I hunted b4 I found this guy. Good luck to all still in the woods (got a limit of greenheads last night in 20 minutes).

[Red Dawg]

what a great buck. You will have a heck of a time getting one much bigger than that. I hope you do. Like daid what a great buck. well done.

[GrainfedMuley]

  Good for you...you didn't ruin the picture with a bunch of bright orange to take our eye off of that huge rack!

[TeacherMan]

you would have been a fool not to shoot.

[JACKALL]

 congrats, that is a great buck. I like the story, those solo wilderness hunts are tough! GOOD JOB

[skybusterbo]

Great story,awesome buck!!!! Thanks for sharing.