Desert Cactus Buck and one from Idaho too

[DeerThug]

Finally getting to getting this on here.

After many years of just building points I finally drew the Desert quality buck tag.  I was not that familiar with the area so started my research right away.  I started scouting in earnest the first of September covering as much ground in as many different spots as I could as with the heat and smoke there was no use going out.  I came to the realization that this was not going to be easy.  And I really was not seeing many good bucks.

Finally season came.  The first day was heavy rain and visibility was poor.  I hunted all day just hoping to bump into something.  Did see a decent buck but no shooters.  Day two and three I hunted from sun up to down.  Glassing and spotting scope almost continuously.  Saw a few deer each day but no shooter bucks. 
Day four I found a huge bitterbrush flat.  I was on a rise with good visibility.  I decided to just sit and glass. There were a lot of deer but not a horn to be seen.  I kept telling myself there HAD to be a buck here.  About an hour later I looked to my left and saw horns above a big bitterbrush.  I knew instantly it was a buck I should take.  I laid down and got it in my scope.  All I could see was from the white patch on his neck up.  I said out loud – center punch him.  I am guessing it was maybe 70 yards or so.  I settled the cross hairs right in the center of the white patch and pulled the trigger.   Deer were running everywhere getting out of dodge.  I sat up and glassed all I could see as they ran. I could not see horns.  Did I get him?  Could not see it.  I gathered up all my stuff and headed to where I thought he should be.  Nothing.  Took a couple of more steps and saw horns.  There it was. 

This was by far the biggest bodied deer I have ever dealt with.  I literally could not move it.  I was 11 and it took me to about 1 to get it all worked up and in the shade.  It was 3 by the time I got back with the game cart.  A huge load.  GPS said I was 2.86 miles from the truck.  I got about 1/3 of the way out and had to lighten the load.  At the half way mark I knew I was not going to make it.  I put the rest of the meat in a Russian olive tree as high as I could get it.  Kept going with just the head.  Just before I got to the truck head lamp went out.  It was 7 pm when I got in the truck.  I was done totally exhausted.  Out of food, water and most worrisome beer. 

Came back the next morning and figured the coyotes would have got the meat.  But it was all untouched.  I used the packboard instead of the game cart this time.  Was 2 in the afternoon when I got back with the last load.
It was a tough hunt.  One that I earned.  According to phone I walked 98.5 miles from scouting, the hunt and the packout.

I had a good season.  Not an elk to be found but did get an Idaho whitetail and a late season 2nd doe.  Only regret was the crappy picks of this buck.  He is bigger than the pictures make it look.  27 inches wide, with a kicker point.  Bases are literally the size of a grapefruit and he carries the mass up to the forks.  And the bumps are pretty amazing.  There are bigger desert monsters, but this is a once in a lifetime buck.  Im happy with it.

[Ironhead]

Very cool buck!

[Dan-o]

He is gnarly!

CRAZY bases. 

Way to go.

[bearpaw]

Congrats! I'm wondering if your cactus buck had testicles? Usually if they don't rub it's because they have no testes.

[Alchase]

That is cool!
Looks like a rustafari buck, LOL.

Can you mount it when the rack is still covered like that, that would be awesome!

[bowhunterforever]

Wow cool looking buck Congrats  Are you mounting it?

[Ridgerunner]

That's a crazy looking cactus buck.  Way to get it done.  I assume that was on the October hunt?

[DeerThug]

Yes - no testicles
Yes october hunt
Yes - you can mount them but have to get to taxidermy quickly because the horns are full of blood and they can spoil.  If i had it right it had to be sent off to be freeze dried and preserved as not every taxi has the set up to do it.

Cant wait to get the tooth results back - think it is really old.

[borntoslay]

Nice deer thug. Great buck and keep this thread pisted on the age. Interesting stuff!

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[borntoslay]

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[JWEBB]

Nice! I would love to have one like that on the wall very unique. Good looking whitetail too

[cem3434]

Congrats, that is a cool deer.

[Britt-dog]

Great buck. congratulations.

Just to clarify. Were you able to get it mounted? your post was unclear. would be a shame not to have a mount done.

[Calvin Rayborn]

Nice one! 

[Skyvalhunter]

Pretty good for an 11 yr old

[Salmonstalker]

That is a very cool deer! I killed one in Montana a few years ago, on Thanks giving. He was a beautiful 4-pt, 24 wide and equally tall- in velvet as well. BY FAR the biggest bodied deer I've taken, and his coat was a little off colored- kind of a pale tan color. He did have a nut sack but his testies were very small, probably comparable to a kidney bean. Blue Tongue had wiped out the whitetails the spring before and though it doesn't kill Mule Deer, (allegedly) it affects them in this way from time to time....?  That's what a local news paper claimed when they ran an article on the topic. A local butcher typically sees 1/2 dozen or so per year. That particular year, they had seen somewhere around 40.... Maybe some of you guys might know more? On the same topic, I had the opportunity to hunt Kodiak with my dad and brother in 2014 where we saw several cactus bucks in only three days of hunting, the guy we went with ended up killing one- I've heard they're pretty common there. What's the science on that one?

[DeerThug]

  it is at the taxidermy and all is well but dont have it back   Just about out of wall space - guess i need to start missing a little more.

And i did read that blue tongue in mulies does not necessarily kill them like whitetails but it does/can render the bucks sterile where they do not produce testosterone and can become a cactus buck mid life and they don't recover.  this one was total bare.

I did shoot a whitetail a couple of years ago that was - i think a blue tongue survivor.  His rack was normal size up about half way then shrank to like pencils to the points.   Like he was healthy most of the way through summer then got sick.  Was skinny and no fat at all.  Otherwise in ok shape but his tongue did have blisters still on it.

 I was in on packing another one out a few years ago a wide main frame 3 point and he was castrated from an injury of some sort  all healed up but nothing working.   It was just outside of othello east of the coug barn on the last day of the season.

[DeerThug]

I finally got the tooth age results back on this buck from last year.  They say he was 8 years old, so a good old buck to have taken....

[teanawayslayer]

I finally got the tooth age results back on this buck from last year.  They say he was 8 years old, so a good old buck to have taken....

are those horns with Ric? Thought I saw them in his shop.

[DeerThug]

Yes that is where they are at.....

[borntoslay]

Right on, good luck this year!

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