A few people asked if I was going to do a write up on this buck, and I figured with the itch starting to get serious for some with application deadlines well upon us now was as good of a time as ever... If you subscribe to MuleyCrazy then you've already read it, so this is for those of you that may not be subscribers. I'll post it in small portions as it's fairly long and I don't want to bore you guys, pics to come later as well. Hope you enjoy it
It was October 26th, and I'd spent most of the day trying to find a buck or cow elk for my grandpa and uncle, but we hadn’t seen much of anything all day. So as the afternoon hours crept closer and my grandpa and uncle were ready to head home, I planned on heading to a nearby unit in an attempt to hopefully help a couple friends fill their controlled hunt tags. I had just about driven all the way there when something in my gut told me I needed to get back to my hunt. So just like that I notified my buddy that there was a change of plans and wished them good luck. Little did I know what a blessing that would be.
It was close to dark as I was nearing my “camp” spot. I started debating whether or not it would be worth unloading the 4wheeler and attempting to spot some deer for the morning’s hunt, I decided to give it a shot so I grabbed my gear and hit the trail. As I crept up the trail to the big bald knob, I killed the 4wheeler and just as my binos hit my eyes I spotted some deer. I saw what I thought looked like a huge buck pushing does in the dark draw below me. Excited, I quickly reached into my pack and got my tripod and spotter setup in an attempt to get a better look. As I got the scope focused, I could not believe what I was looking at, a true Idaho giant! It was so dark all I could make out was huge forks and good mass but that was enough for me to know I was likely looking at one of if not THE biggest typical buck I’d ever seen on the hoof! I scrambled to get my phoneskope setup and got some less than great footage of the buck. I sat there until well after glassing hours and then made the drive back to the truck still in disbelief. I knew sleep was going to be hard to come by that night (as though the backseat of my truck wasn’t already comfortable enough)! When I got back to my truck I began heating water for my mountain house dinner and called my wife to tell her about my good fortune. She wished me luck for the remainder of my hunt, I then inhaled dinner and laid down in the back of the truck in an attempt to get some rest.
It was October 26th, and I'd spent most of the day trying to find a buck or cow elk for my grandpa and uncle, but we hadn’t seen much of anything all day. So as the afternoon hours crept closer and my grandpa and uncle were ready to head home, I planned on heading to a nearby unit in an attempt to hopefully help a couple friends fill their controlled hunt tags. I had just about driven all the way there when something in my gut told me I needed to get back to my hunt. So just like that I notified my buddy that there was a change of plans and wished them good luck. Little did I know what a blessing that would be.
It was close to dark as I was nearing my “camp” spot. I started debating whether or not it would be worth unloading the 4wheeler and attempting to spot some deer for the morning’s hunt, I decided to give it a shot so I grabbed my gear and hit the trail. As I crept up the trail to the big bald knob, I killed the 4wheeler and just as my binos hit my eyes I spotted some deer. I saw what I thought looked like a huge buck pushing does in the dark draw below me. Excited, I quickly reached into my pack and got my tripod and spotter setup in an attempt to get a better look. As I got the scope focused, I could not believe what I was looking at, a true Idaho giant! It was so dark all I could make out was huge forks and good mass but that was enough for me to know I was likely looking at one of if not THE biggest typical buck I’d ever seen on the hoof! I scrambled to get my phoneskope setup and got some less than great footage of the buck. I sat there until well after glassing hours and then made the drive back to the truck still in disbelief. I knew sleep was going to be hard to come by that night (as though the backseat of my truck wasn’t already comfortable enough)! When I got back to my truck I began heating water for my mountain house dinner and called my wife to tell her about my good fortune. She wished me luck for the remainder of my hunt, I then inhaled dinner and laid down in the back of the truck in an attempt to get some rest.
Last edited: