Hunting Washington Forum
Big Game Hunting => Out Of State Hunting => Topic started by: go4steelhd on November 08, 2021, 02:53:20 AM
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Well as a few of you knew already I hit a hunt expo tag this year in Utah. I drew a buck tag with a muzzle loader for what is a general season unit with a rifle, but they have a rut hunt with a muzzle loader that is limited entry. This tag is the same as what you could get through the draw and there would be 20-30 other hunters with it. I really knew nothing about the unit when I payed $5 to put in for the tag. I picked this unit because it produced a big buck a few years ago. I started some online research and checked out areas on google earth. I was not going to be able to scout until immediately before the hunt for two reasons. 1 it’s a 12 hour drive from my house, and 2 the deer would not be in the areas they rut during the summer. I bought a muzzle loader and put in some practice before season came. I felt good shooting to about 400 yards. Utah let’s you use a scope rifle primers and almost any type of projectile you want, which substantially increases accuracy.
I was elk hunting in Montana before this hunt which turned out successfully, but I was up until 11pm cutting up my bull before I took off. I loaded my gear the next morning in sort of a rush, so I could get 1 1/2 days scouting in before the hunt started. I set out on Halloween to drive down to the unit. Upon my arrival I found that I had loaded a wall tent but not my tent poles. Well this sucked!!!! Oh well, I took a cargo trailer for my side by side, which now became my tent for the next week.
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I started scouting and found this little buck and lots of doe’s running around. This is a true dessert hunt, and finding deer was easy in the few places they lived, but you could drive for hours in the rest of the unit and never see one. I also found a 165 buck the night before the season, but he was a little camera shy so I was unable to get a photo of him. I also found a herd of desert sheep. Which was really cool, I’m not sure that I have seen one before, other than in TV or in photo’s. By the time the season opened, I had not found anything promising.
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On the opener I set out to look at some new country and try to find an offensively big buck :chuckle:
I hunted all around and seen very few deer and even fewer bucks. The bucks I seen were two points and spikes. The weather was hot and dry, and mid day temperatures were in the mid 70’s and general rifle ending 2 days before my season opened. A week and a half before the hunt they had snow. This was shaping up to be a tough hunt.
The next day I head out again to a new area seeing only two yearling bucks and about 75-100 doe’s. I had about an hour in the morning and 30 minutes at night before the deer were bedding.
Now I have burnt two days of the hunt, and time scouting and still had not seen anything that I was looking for.
I felt it was time to change my tactics a little bit
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I decided to give up on the hope/thought of big bucks parading around everywhere in easy to find spots. I had learned the lay of the land by now, and I figured I would try hunting in areas that may give a buck better cover or terrain that would allow them to live to an older age during the general seasons. So I started concentrating on some rough terrain that had heavy cover or heavy cover near by.
I went out and seen 4 or 5 bucks the next day, but they were all 2 year olds. So I went on google earth and onx and looked for more areas like that. That night I found myself looking at a 3 year old buck who was tailing a doe. Finally a mature buck with a doe, maybe the rut would be coming soon…
The next morning I found myself in a burn that was on the edge of some remote canyons. I found a 4 decent four point bedded in the open right at daylight, I actually had to wait for better light to see what he was. While glassing him I seen a big bodied deer feeding up a draw about 800 yards away. But when I spun the spotting scope to it I only caught the back half of the deer before it disappeared. I had to move two draws closer to get a better look, when I got there I seen 10 doe’s and a 4x3 buck. But I knew none of these were the dark colored big bodies deer I seen go into this draw. About that time I caught movement 150 yards below me, it was a nice buck. I put the muzzy on him, I figured I could judge him in the scope at that range, then be ready to shoot if he was the one. It turns out he was a low 170’s type buck that was about 26 inches wide. He was a nice buck, but I had told myself I was only shooting a buck that I would shoulder mount or I would eat the tag. So I let him walk. I ended up seeing 6 that morning. That night was a bust, I only spotted a few doe’s.
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Saturday morning I woke up before my alarm went off to hearing truck after truck and countless side by sides coming by camp. I figured it was the weekend and many tag holder probably had a lot of friends coming up to help look around for a good buck. I headed out to a spot that I had seen about 50-75 doe’s in a few square miles earlier in the week. It was on the edge of some really nasty remote county and I felt it would be the first place a big buck would show up when the rut hit. I get set up on a knob not far from the road before daylight. I always start glassing the second you can see, I learned from hunting in the beezly area in Washington that many of the nice bucks would be bedded with in 10 minutes of shooting hours once they felt hunting pressure. I start trying to glass a clearing when I hear a side by side coming, it turns out that they drive right through where I was wanting to glass at daylight. Oh well, at least I learned where another trail was :chuckle: :chuckle:
This made me move down to where I could see into the next canyon. When I got there it was about 5 minutes after shooting hours and I could see 4 doe’s. I glassed around to see if they had a buck with them seeing none I pulled my Bono’s down. In that process I caught movement in a distant saddle. Bingo I seen a huge framed buck feeding. I set up my spotting scope and I only had a few seconds to see what he was before he went over the hill into the next canyon. I could tell he was a shooter instantly. But he was quite a ways off, and I could see hunters or at least guys glassing on what seemed like every knob around me. In fact I counted 8 guys with in a mile of me. I started to hurry over to where I last seen the buck, when I bumped some doe’s that ran up and stood on the saddle that he went through. They stood there for what seemed like 20 minutes, mean while all I could think is I know this buck came through where three of these hunters could see him if they were watching that direction. I was starting to hope I did not hear a gun shot on the other side of these doe’s. But I knew if I bumped them again they would run him out also so I kept waiting. They stared at me endlessly. Finally they walked quickly or trotted over the hill. I quickly got to the top if the saddle and when I peaked over I could see about 20 deer feeding at about 100 yards. I had my shooting sticks already set for a quick standing shot. I put my muzzy on them and looked over all the deer. He was not there. Darn it, it had been more than 40 minutes since I last seen him. The deer now noticed I was there as I begin to frantically glass all the close surrounding areas. They filed over the ridge one by one, he was not with them. I figured I would need to hunt around real slow counting on he was still there. I started by checking the direction I last seen him walking, I picked up three more deer in the other side of the draw at 200 yards but it was not him. I eased to were i could see in the bottom of the draw, and he was not there either. So I decided to go peak into the big canyon the opposite direction of where he was heading when I last seen him. I walked up quietly to the edge of a rock ledge, and when I peaked over I jumped a small 4 point at 10 yards. He ran out of there full speed, I quickly took another step or two. The next deer I seen was the type of buck I have been looking to harvest for the last 30 years. He was feeding but snapped his head up to see what all the commotion was about. He was 40-45 yards broadside. I had my shooting sticks in my left hand extended out for a standing shot, but I felt he would be gone before I could set them in front if me and put the muzzy on them. I decided to just drop them and take a quick snap shot off hand. Well before the shooting sticks hit the the ground I placed the crosshairs on this bucks shoulder and squeezed the trigger. When the smoke cleared, I had a buck of a life time laying there kicking.
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Jackalope
Can we get Kaboom!
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…..
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I finally harvested what I consider a huge buck
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Huge is right. Wow. Nice work.
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Have you put a tape on him yet?
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I hate posting a score because of the guys saying I don’t see that, do you have a score sheet, which is a nice way of calling bs.
So I will post what I scored it at, but I will not debate anyone on it.
He went 195 6/8!!!!
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Absolute stud buck !! Congrats man . If that’s not a wall hanger don’t know what is
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Congrats what an absolute stud!
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I was down there roughly the same time frame. With limited tags I figured I’d be able to get some action. First thing I learned is one tag equals about 12 hunters on average I think. The second was as you noted rifle just ended. The deer were spooky. Lots of little bucks, no middle range ones and the monsters are there but very sneaky in tough country. Congrats on your buck.
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I don’t think you’ll have too many posters second guessing that score! Great buck, congratulations.
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Incredible buck sir! Thats doing a tag justice right there! Congratulations :IBCOOL:
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Wow :tup:
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Good gravy that is an awesome buck. Congrats and thanks for sharing.
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Great buck!! Way to keep at it
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I don’t think you’ll have too many posters second guessing that score! Great buck, congratulations.
:yeah: he's a toad!
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I know a lot of people that would have smoked one of those young bucks and claimed the conditions were too bad. Way to keep at it, way to pass what you know you wouldn't be happy with and keep grinding. Killer buck man.
Clint
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Great story and awesome buck!
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Nice job !
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Fantastic buck, thanks for sharing the story. :tup:
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Smoker buck! Congrats!
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Amazing buck congrats!
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Phenomenal buck!
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Stud buck .. oil buck for sure... Congrats...
But Im calling bs on the score.....
He's definitely not 195...
He's over 200.... :chuckle:
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Big toad for sure. Congrats
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I was down there roughly the same time frame. With limited tags I figured I’d be able to get some action. First thing I learned is one tag equals about 12 hunters on average I think. The second was as you noted rifle just ended. The deer were spooky. Lots of little bucks, no middle range ones and the monsters are there but very sneaky in tough country. Congrats on your buck.
Did you find any good ones, and I’m assuming you stopped by the island on the way down?
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Island was a bust, too early I guess. It sounds like a good one popped up today. That and the rain.(no need to come for water)I decided to do a “hunt” at the Henry’s and check out the Cliffs. It was whirlwind. I sure enjoyed the country.
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I don’t think you’ll have too many posters second guessing that score! Great buck, congratulations.
Hahaha,
I suppose not.
And thank you!
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"First thing I learned is one tag equals about 12 hunters on average I think."
This has soured my respect for many "hunters" who harvest big critters.
I admire a guy like go4.
The wolf pack guys working for some fat slob.............................Not so much.
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"First thing I learned is one tag equals about 12 hunters on average I think."
This has soured my respect for many "hunters" who harvest big critters.
I admire a guy like go4.
The wolf pack guys working for some fat slob.............................Not so much.
Thanks for the clarification. I was wondering what he meant by this. Now I get it.
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Good grief that is a true whopper!! Congrats on grinding it out and getting what you wanted. Doesn’t always happen like that, glad to see it did for you!
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Great buck! Congratulations!!
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Great deer!!! Congratulations and good story too!!!
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Incredible buck sir! Thats doing a tag justice right there! Congratulations :IBCOOL:
Thanks!! All I had heard was bad reports from this year, very few deer, all little bucks, etc… I just had to keep hunting and hope for a little luck or the rut to hit, I got both :IBCOOL:
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Been more into elk most my life, but that deer turns the flame up a bit for a good mule deer! Congrats on a buck of a lifetime!
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Great buck steel! He definitely dwarfs the bull elk!
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Good gravy that is an awesome buck. Congrats and thanks for sharing.
Thanks!!!
Like many of us I have been wanting to tag one like that for a long time. It felt good to go into an area I have not hunted, and to find an upper end buck
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I know a lot of people that would have smoked one of those young bucks and claimed the conditions were too bad. Way to keep at it, way to pass what you know you wouldn't be happy with and keep grinding. Killer buck man.
Clint
Thanks,
I have been lucky enough to harvest a few good deer, but I truly wanted to find something special. And I felt more than likely this will be my best opportunity to obtain that. I’m really glad it it worked out how it did
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OK, steelhd enters the Hunter Pantheon. Cheese Whiz, Mr. Hunting a new-to-you area, and this happens. What a fantastic result. Sincere congratulations!
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My favorite bucks are the ones with really tall antlers, whether its mule deer or whitetail. I have NEVER seen one that tall. The picture next to the elk--I about spit out my orange juice. Superb buck and thanks for sharing!
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Stud buck .. oil buck for sure... Congrats...
But Im calling bs on the score.....
He's definitely not 195...
He's over 200.... :chuckle:
:chuckle: :IBCOOL: :chuckle: :IBCOOL:
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Been more into elk most my life, but that deer turns the flame up a bit for a good mule deer! Congrats on a buck of a lifetime!
That's for sure, fanned the flames for me a bit also.
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Jackalope
Can we get Kaboom!
Denied 🙅♂️ :chuckle:
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Awesome buck, congrats!
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My favorite bucks are the ones with really tall antlers, whether its mule deer or whitetail. I have NEVER seen one that tall. The picture next to the elk--I about spit out my orange juice. Superb buck and thanks for sharing!
:chuckle: :chuckle:
It’s a very good comparison to see how big the frame really is.
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I hate posting a score because of the guys saying I don’t see that, do you have a score sheet, which is a nice way of calling bs.
So I will post what I scored it at, but I will not debate anyone on it.
He went 195 6/8!!!!
Here is a picture of him next to a 5 point bull for comparison. This truly shows his size.
Amazing buck and congratulations
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I hate posting a score because of the guys saying I don’t see that, do you have a score sheet, which is a nice way of calling bs.
So I will post what I scored it at, but I will not debate anyone on it.
He went 195 6/8!!!!
Here is a picture of him next to a 5 point bull for comparison. This truly shows his size.
Amazing buck and congratulations
:IBCOOL: Thank you
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Congrats! What an impressive critter!
We saw a true 30" masher in mid-Nov 2020 in Utah on our way to NM (nothing near the height though). He was with a few does, not far off the hiway. It was the first deer I saw in Utah, and the boy and I really enjoyed watching him for awhile.
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Can't believe I missed this thread until now. Fantastic buck! :tup:
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Can't believe I missed this thread until now. Fantastic buck! :tup:
:yeah: me too! Amazing buck and inspiring story, thanks for sharing!
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:yike: What a great buck! :tup:
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Congrats! What an impressive critter!
We saw a true 30" masher in mid-Nov 2020 in Utah on our way to NM (nothing near the height though). He was with a few does, not far off the hiway. It was the first deer I saw in Utah, and the boy and I really enjoyed watching him for awhile.
Thank you!
There are a few good deer left in that state. Like you said, I enjoy watching them. It’s getting to be a rare sight anymore