“The Ghost” 2024 Buck Extended Story

[TimberMuleys]

I know many have already seen this buck but I thought this story was worth sharing and that some may enjoy hearing it and learning from it as I know I would. So without further ado, here it is.

The mountain I shot my buck on had many “up and comer” bucks last year that I had left to grow because of the low pressure in this area. I was pretty excited about a particular buck I thought to be young and thought he could end up being a target buck this year. The tree my camera was on had also fell during the winter so this was the first camera I was going up to in 2024.

On May 18, I cut out the road to the trailhead and hiked a 7 mile loop and dropped off 50lbs of salt. I had brought up 90lbs the year prior but wanted to freshen up the salt in case I didn’t make it back for a couple years. There was a lot of sign there already and a few sets of tracks from what to thought to be a mature buck.

On May 20, I got my first pictures of him. I knew it was early, but he was quite a bit bigger than the other bucks I had on camera at this point. (Pics included below)




The next month or so I scouted out a bunch more new areas and tried to cover as much ground as possible. My buddies and I packed salt to 15 different cameras just looking for something special. I ended up finding some great bucks and thinking I would end up hunting them.

June came and went I had him come in 2x. My camera had gotten pushed to the side by a bear, so the pictures were of him going to and leaving the salt. I knew at this point he was going to have some kickers and I thought the kickers off his main could possibly be a double beam. However, due to his inconsistency and living in a tough area to hunt, I really didn’t think too much about making him my target buck yet.

July came and I didn’t get much time in the woods. Between school, work, and other family gatherings, my time was pretty limited. However, I did get a quick morning hike in to fix the camera the bear had swatted. And on July 27, it paid off big! He came in that evening and night off and on along with some does and other bucks. He was definitely running the show and didn’t allow the other deer to be at the salt while he was there. (Pictures included below)










After seeing what that buck had grown into, I decided he was my target buck. I couldn’t get over his unique rack and started trying to figure out how this buck was living. I was only getting him coming to the salt about once a month. I thought maybe he lived on a neighboring ridge and just meandered over every once of a while. So, I got some more cameras ready to go, and started hiking. I set up 50lbs of salt and cell cams on both of the neighboring ridges and set up 6 more cameras on the mountain I had him on. I wanted to figure out where his core area was, because I didn’t believe I was already in it.

I did see a few of the bucks from my camera in August while scouting and checking the cameras I had set, but I never saw him or had him on the other cameras. I got some advice over the phone from some guys and they encouraged me to focus on the ridge I knew he was on and find him there. So, after the next rain, I hiked up and covered a ton of ground. I found 3 moose paddles and the deadhead from a buck I had on cam. After finding the deadhead, I wondered if maybe my buck had been pushed out or killed as well.

As September came, I had a big decision to make. Hunt a few bucks in the 160”ish range that I knew pretty well, or hunt a 185-190” buck that I knew nothing about and didn’t know if he was alive. I decided to hunt the big buck and use that time to hunt and scout. I once again covered a bunch of ground and set up a few more cameras. I also checked the non cellular cameras again and found a few bucks had used the trails I put them on, but not him. After not finding him in early archery, I had to go back to school and hope to find him in Muzzleloader or Rifle. (I was lucky enough to get the multi-season tag this year). I did get him on the salt one time in September while I was at a wedding. The confirmation that he was still there and his dark horns motivated me to get back out there and hit it hard again.

I only got one free day in muzzleloader season to get up to where he was living. I still hunted much of the north and west side hoping maybe I could find him in the nasty areas where I hadn’t looked hard enough yet. I didn’t find him but did learn more about how the deer were using the north side and found much more bedding. I’ll include some pictures of a doe I got to 35yds on and let you guys spot her.






Now it was rifle season, my last chance to get him. I went up with my uncle on opening day to hunt him and check the non cellular cameras. He walked up the center of what we thought to be the main feeding area while I walked by the salt and just off the north side towards the feeding area. Late morning, he jumped a mature buck. But due to the visibility being so bad, never got to see just what it was. We ended up hunting our way back to each other and met up. I found a fresh rub line and bed cluster with a good size track near it. We sat down, ate some snacks and decided what to do next. Being on the cautious side, we packed yo camped and backed out. We moved over to a different area and hunted a few of our backup bucks. On the last Sunday of season my uncle and I spotted a couple bucks feeding along a well known ridge. I had school on the next day, but he went up and knocked down a great mature buck. I’ll include pictures below. This buck had a huge body and was 27” tip to tip on its ears!

I just so happened to have the last day of season off from school so I made the drive up and my buddy and I hunted my buck one last time. I decided to go still hunt the timber between my salt and the rub line I had found while my buddy made the hike I had on the previous time in. I was planning on hiking to the camera I had on the bed by the rub line and checking it. And then going along the ridge until I checked most of the cams. I told my buddy that the only thing I was shooting was a predator or that buck. Nothing else would do.

Once I got up to my salt, I walked the crown of the ridge for about 100 yds before I hit some thicker timber and couldn’t see much further than 15yds. I tried being as silent as I could but it’s difficult in the dry ground with all of the deadfall and sticks. The rub line was just in the other side of this thicket and I knew once I stepped out I would be able to see around 40yds. The end of the thicket had a group of 6-12’ trees that I think may have saved me. I got the near the edge of them where I could see into the little clearing and saw the body of a buck. I pulled my scope up and saw it was a mature grey body but couldn’t see from the neck up. I froze and analyzed the branches above his neck. I could see a tall G2 and G3 on his right side, but nothing more. I had stared at his antlers for much longer than I would like to admit on my phone dreaming to see them in person. And at this second, it paid off to know what buck was staring directly at me through the trees, just 32yds away. I immediately put my crosshairs on the high shoulder (any lower would’ve been shooting through brush) and jerked my trigger. The buck dropped and I scrambled to get another round in the chamber. My gun jammed but I quickly got another round ready to go as I cut distance between be and the buck. Once I got to 10 yards I could see he was still breathing and I didn’t want him to get away. In high school, I wounded a great whitetail that dropped when I shot him and got back up. Hit him right between the lungs and spine and never got back on him. So, after that experience I took no chances. I put one one more in his neck and he expired.






Countless hours and miles had finally paid off. I fell to my knees in disbelief and thanked God. I was shocked, one second, I was walking through a familiar spot I had been many times and just seconds later, I had killed my dream buck. It was almost surreal killing a deer that seemed to only exist on my phone. Waylon was only 400yds around the ridge when I called him and he ran over to me. As you would expect, we were completely jacked and having the time of our lives. After all the excitement settled down, I went and grabbed a camera that was only 50yds away and found a fresh rub from that morning. I thought it was pretty amazing that he had made another rub in the same spot he had over a month before.

After a few phone calls and a bunch of pictures, we caped and quartered the grey ghost and got him on our packs. I sent the teeth in to get aged and will update anyone if they would like. Buck rough scores right at 190”, had a 25” ear spread and 9” ears. (I like to keep references of that for field judging purposes). What would you guys guess to be the age? I’m curious because I have my ideas, but I’ve heard lots of differences of opinion so far and am curious how the general census compares to the actual lab age I will get back in February.




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[TimberMuleys]

I know many have already seen this buck but I thought this story was worth sharing and that some may enjoy hearing it and learning from it as I know I would. So without further ado, here it is.

The mountain I shot my buck on had many “up and comer” bucks last year that I had left to grow because of the low pressure in this area. I was pretty excited about a particular buck I thought to be young and thought he could end up being a target buck this year. The tree my camera was on had also fell during the winter so this was the first camera I was going up to in 2024.

On May 18, I cut out the road to the trailhead and hiked a 7 mile loop and dropped off 50lbs of salt. I had brought up 90lbs the year prior but wanted to freshen up the salt in case I didn’t make it back for a couple years. There was a lot of sign there already and a few sets of tracks from what to thought to be a mature buck.

On May 20, I got my first pictures of him. I knew it was early, but he was quite a bit bigger than the other bucks I had on camera at this point. (Pics included below)




The next month or so I scouted out a bunch more new areas and tried to cover as much ground as possible. My buddies and I packed salt to 15 different cameras just looking for something special. I ended up finding some great bucks and thinking I would end up hunting them.

June came and went I had him come in 2x. My camera had gotten pushed to the side by a bear, so the pictures were of him going to and leaving the salt. I knew at this point he was going to have some kickers and I thought the kickers off his main could possibly be a double beam. However, due to his inconsistency and living in a tough area to hunt, I really didn’t think too much about making him my target buck yet.

July came and I didn’t get much time in the woods. Between school, work, and other family gatherings, my time was pretty limited. However, I did get a quick morning hike in to fix the camera the bear had swatted. And on July 27, it paid off big! He came in that evening and night off and on along with some does and other bucks. He was definitely running the show and didn’t allow the other deer to be at the salt while he was there. (Pictures included below)










After seeing what that buck had grown into, I decided he was my target buck. I couldn’t get over his unique rack and started trying to figure out how this buck was living. I was only getting him coming to the salt about once a month. I thought maybe he lived on a neighboring ridge and just meandered over every once of a while. So, I got some more cameras ready to go, and started hiking. I set up 50lbs of salt and cell cams on both of the neighboring ridges and set up 6 more cameras on the mountain I had him on. I wanted to figure out where his core area was, because I didn’t believe I was already in it.

I did see a few of the bucks from my camera in August while scouting and checking the cameras I had set, but I never saw him or had him on the other cameras. I got some advice over the phone from some guys and they encouraged me to focus on the ridge I knew he was on and find him there. So, after the next rain, I hiked up and covered a ton of ground. I found 3 moose paddles and the deadhead from a buck I had on cam. After finding the deadhead, I wondered if maybe my buck had been pushed out or killed as well.

As September came, I had a big decision to make. Hunt a few bucks in the 160”ish range that I knew pretty well, or hunt a 185-190” buck that I knew nothing about and didn’t know if he was alive. I decided to hunt the big buck and use that time to hunt and scout. I once again covered a bunch of ground and set up a few more cameras. I also checked the non cellular cameras again and found a few bucks had used the trails I put them on, but not him. After not finding him in early archery, I had to go back to school and hope to find him in Muzzleloader or Rifle. (I was lucky enough to get the multi-season tag this year). I did get him on the salt one time in September while I was at a wedding. The confirmation that he was still there and his dark horns motivated me to get back out there and hit it hard again.

I only got one free day in muzzleloader season to get up to where he was living. I still hunted much of the north and west side hoping maybe I could find him in the nasty areas where I hadn’t looked hard enough yet. I didn’t find him but did learn more about how the deer were using the north side and found much more bedding. I’ll include some pictures of a doe I got to 35yds on and let you guys spot her.






Now it was rifle season, my last chance to get him. I went up with my uncle on opening day to hunt him and check the non cellular cameras. He walked up the center of what we thought to be the main feeding area while I walked by the salt and just off the north side towards the feeding area. Late morning, he jumped a mature buck. But due to the visibility being so bad, never got to see just what it was. We ended up hunting our way back to each other and met up. I found a fresh rub line and bed cluster with a good size track near it. We sat down, ate some snacks and decided what to do next. Being on the cautious side, we packed yo camped and backed out. We moved over to a different area and hunted a few of our backup bucks. On the last Sunday of season my uncle and I spotted a couple bucks feeding along a well known ridge. I had school on the next day, but he went up and knocked down a great mature buck. I’ll include pictures below. This buck had a huge body and was 27” tip to tip on its ears!

I just so happened to have the last day of season off from school so I made the drive up and my buddy and I hunted my buck one last time. I decided to go still hunt the timber between my salt and the rub line I had found while my buddy made the hike I had on the previous time in. I was planning on hiking to the camera I had on the bed by the rub line and checking it. And then going along the ridge until I checked most of the cams. I told my buddy that the only thing I was shooting was a predator or that buck. Nothing else would do.

Once I got up to my salt, I walked the crown of the ridge for about 100 yds before I hit some thicker timber and couldn’t see much further than 15yds. I tried being as silent as I could but it’s difficult in the dry ground with all of the deadfall and sticks. The rub line was just in the other side of this thicket and I knew once I stepped out I would be able to see around 40yds. The end of the thicket had a group of 6-12’ trees that I think may have saved me. I got the near the edge of them where I could see into the little clearing and saw the body of a buck. I pulled my scope up and saw it was a mature grey body but couldn’t see from the neck up. I froze and analyzed the branches above his neck. I could see a tall G2 and G3 on his right side, but nothing more. I had stared at his antlers for much longer than I would like to admit on my phone dreaming to see them in person. And at this second, it paid off to know what buck was staring directly at me through the trees, just 32yds away. I immediately put my crosshairs on the high shoulder (any lower would’ve been shooting through brush) and jerked my trigger. The buck dropped and I scrambled to get another round in the chamber. My gun jammed but I quickly got another round ready to go as I cut distance between be and the buck. Once I got to 10 yards I could see he was still breathing and I didn’t want him to get away. In high school, I wounded a great whitetail that dropped when I shot him and got back up. Hit him right between the lungs and spine and never got back on him. So, after that experience I took no chances. I put one one more in his neck and he expired.






Countless hours and miles had finally paid off. I fell to my knees in disbelief and thanked God. I was shocked, one second, I was walking through a familiar spot I had been many times and just seconds later, I had killed my dream buck. It was almost surreal killing a deer that seemed to only exist on my phone. Waylon was only 400yds around the ridge when I called him and he ran over to me. As you would expect, we were completely jacked and having the time of our lives. After all the excitement settled down, I went and grabbed a camera that was only 50yds away and found a fresh rub from that morning. I thought it was pretty amazing that he had made another rub in the same spot he had over a month before.

After a few phone calls and a bunch of pictures, we caped and quartered the grey ghost and got him on our packs. I sent the teeth in to get aged and will update anyone if they would like. Buck rough scores right at 190”, had a 25” ear spread and 9” ears. (I like to keep references of that for field judging purposes). What would you guys guess to be the age? I’m curious because I have my ideas, but I’ve heard lots of differences of opinion so far and am curious how the general census compares to the actual lab age I will get back in February.




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Forgot to add this, I’ve heard rumors that big bucks only rub on thicker trees and that only smaller bucks will rub on little trees like this. But my buck made this rub just minutes before I shot him.


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[Boss .300 winmag]

Awesome buck, and write up. Congratulations 👍

[teanawayslayer]

Thanks for sharing the story! Once again congrats on a stud buck!

[boneaddict]

Thanks for the story.   What a great buck.

[Ironhead]

Great buck, congratulations!

[String Bender]

Great story and awesome buck. Thanks for posting.

[Ghost Hunter]

Great buck and a worthy effort.

[Ridgerunner]

Amazing buck and definitely earned the hard way. 

[TommyH]

  Congratulations, that’s a beautiful buck! Well done.

[hunter399]

Congratulations, that’s a beautiful buck! Well done.

Congrats 👍
A buddy at my work showed us your harvest photo.
While it was still mule deer season,it inspired us to hunt hard.
We still failed .....lol 😂.

BOAL .....bro.
Buck of a lifetime.
For most of us. Again congrats just a true giant mountain mule deer.

[Gentrys]

Very Nice!  Congrats

[addicted1]

Thanks for sharing the story, always enjoying hearing them no matter the outcome. But, it is always great to see it all come together for something that special. Hopefully your grades didn’t suffer too much dreaming about him during class.

[Karl Blanchard]

Great write-up dude! Thank you for sharing.

[hunterednate]

Wow. Thanks for sharing this. Congrats on a fantastic buck!!

[elkrack]

Great hunt and write up! Freaking stud buck

[SuperDave]

Great buck and excellent story, nicely done!

[blackveltbowhunter]

Awesome buck and story! Nice job!

[chukarchaser]

Outstanding buck and thanks for sharing. 

[HUNTINCOUPLE]

Great efforts by alll! Funny how one gets em where you get em...... I would say prime age! Curious what the tooth says? 

[Pathfinder101]

Fantastic deer, and great write up. Thanks for coming on and sharing with us. I had heard about your buck, but it was great to hear the whole story and see your photos. 

[muleyslayer]

That’s what makes hunting great, after all the work you may be rewarded. Thanks for the detailed write up, and congratulations on a extremely rare otc Washington buck.

[pianoman9701]

My god, what a buck. Great write up. 

[high_hunter]

Great story about benefits of scouting and persistence!  Congratulations on that toad and overall experience.  My guess is 5-1/2 years so I'll be curious what the lab comes back with.   

[WildBear]

Such a cool buck!! Congrats on the hard work and payoff. Thanks for the story and all the pictures. Have an area I believe is holding bucks. Perhaps this tactic would work if I put in the work.

[pd]

That's a great story.

How does one even describe that rack?  Please share the scoring when you can.

[TimberMuleys]

That's a great story.

How does one even describe that rack?  Please share the scoring when you can.

The buck scored right at 190”.


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[JFowl36]

Great story and buck!

[JasonG]

Thank you for taking the time to write the story . Absolutely awesome buck !

[OutHouse]

Great deer and write up! This reminds me that I need to put in a lot more time etc. if I want to bag something like that. Barring luck, it doesn't come easy.

[PNWheckle]

Awesome hunt! How far from his summer range where you had trail cam photos was he compared to where you killed him?


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[Bushcraft]

Awesome.  I love seeing the hard work pay off in the end.

Any word on how old he was?

[TimberMuleys]

Awesome.  I love seeing the hard work pay off in the end.

Any word on how old he was?

Not quite. Should hear back in February.


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[finnman]

Really good story na congrats on that mountain buck!! He looks like perhaps 6.5 years old. Could be 5.5 or 4.5 but I am going to guess 6.5.

If you don’t mind me asking what salt/mineral brand are you using for your animal photo management? I am looking for a good one to use around my area.

[TimberMuleys]

I’ve tried tons of different ones. I use a lot of American stockman and have had good luck with that.


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[finnman]

Thank you! I hope you can repeat in 2025!

[hunter399]

I’ve tried tons of different ones. I use a lot of American stockman and have had good luck with that.


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Hay now, don't tell everything.....lol
Everybody already knows.

[TimberMuleys]

I’ve tried tons of different ones. I use a lot of American stockman and have had good luck with that.


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Hay now, don't tell everything.....lol
Everybody already knows.

Yep. Salt is salt. I used the water softener salt from Walmart when I first started.


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[hunter399]

I’ve tried tons of different ones. I use a lot of American stockman and have had good luck with that.


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Hay now, don't tell everything.....lol
Everybody already knows.

Yep. Salt is salt. I used the water softener salt from Walmart when I first started.


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Yup,done that before too....lol

[TimberMuleys]

For anyone curious, just got the lab age back from Matsons lab. This buck was aged at 4.5y ears old.


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[dvolmer]

Congrats on a great buck with great genetics!!!  Wall-hanger for sure!  Great story too!  Persistence pays off!!!

[muleyslayer]

For anyone curious, just got the lab age back from Matsons lab. This buck was aged at 4.5y ears old.


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Mature buck forsure but kinda young

[TimberMuleys]

Mature buck forsure but kinda young
[/quote]

Agreed. No regrets shooting him, but definitely would’ve loved to know what he could’ve been. Definitely keep an eye on his area to see if it produces another.


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[VickGar]

Great read man! Way to stick to it, clear example of why going the extra mile pays off.
 

[Karl Blanchard]

Deer aging continues to fascinate me.  The more we lab age teeth the more we realize how full of crap we all are at our guesses

[Mtnwalker]

Deer aging continues to fascinate me.  The more we lab age teeth the more we realize how full of crap we all are at our guesses

Yet many will tell you with absolute certainty

[Karl Blanchard]

Deer aging continues to fascinate me.  The more we lab age teeth the more we realize how full of crap we all are at our guesses

Yet many will tell you with absolute certainty

to be clear, not throwing shade at anyone.  I'm as guilty as anyone. Especially after this last round of teeth. You'd have to put a gun to my head to make me guess a deers age 

[huntnnw]

You can age a deer to 4.5 .. from that age forward it’s impossible to age a buck unless you have years of history with the buck

[Karl Blanchard]

You can age a deer to 4.5 .. from that age forward it’s impossible to age a buck unless you have years of history with the buck

agreed for the most part but theres always anomalies too.  Travis Hobbs 226" buck that was 3.5 comes to mind.  I've got a CO buck that went 183" that was only 3.5 as well. There's some freaks out there for sure