RocketRob16
FNG
- Joined
- Mar 9, 2023
- Messages
- 85
Since I’m not going to be out west chasing big game this year and I have a bunch of time to kill today, I figured I would share the story of my first mule deer hunt last year.
I was encouraged by my cousin to put in for a 3rd rifle mule deer hunt at the beginning of 2022. He hyped up the hunt and had a good knowledge of the unit so I decided to put in for it. Draw results are posted and the entire group drew the tag. Deer camp here we come. I borrowed a 300 WM from a buddy for the hunt as I didn’t have a rifle I felt was suited well for the task. We took it out to the range and started practicing. Fast forward to the hunt and we arrive the day before season opens to do some scouting. We found does and small bucks everywhere but no good bucks seemed to be around. Day 1 of the hunt and my cousin and I team up and take off up a ridge system for the day. We saw a couple of small bulls and lots of mule deer does but once again, no decent bucks. Day 2 of the hunt and I spend the day in the lower country solo. I saw a handful of does but no real rut activity to speak of. Day 3 comes and I decide to hunt the same area we were in on day 1 again but solo this time. I hike in on a trail glassing the south facing slopes above me. Eventually I get to a nice large drainage on a south facing slope and take some time to pick it apart. It’s not long before I start finding does and small bucks. I set up a spotting scope for a better look and wallah there’s a nice buck pushing around a group of 9 does. I decide that he’s big enough to stalk and starting circling around the drainage. It is mid morning at this point and when I get to the same elevation they were at I pop over the rise to check. I see 4 of the does bedded in the open but no sign of the buck or the other does. I continue to gain elevation until I’m directly downwind and uphill of the deer. At that point, I decide to stalk almost straight at them out of sight. Eventually I make it to a rock outcropping and slip up to it without being detected. I get the rifle setup and range the 4 does I can see. 150 yards. Fast forward a couple of hours to about 1 o’clock. I begin to make out the sound of shifting rock. Surely, it’s the rest of the group and I begin to look closely to try and catch their movement. About 5 minutes after this, the group pops out at 100 yards to my right at my same elevation. It’s 5 does and the buck. Slowly, I move the rifle over and get readjusted in their direction. I get the buck centered in the scope and get ready. He just needs to take a step or two forward and I’ll have an open shot. Then all hell breaks loose… the does had circled around on top of me and got my wind while I was too preoccupied watching the buck. They’re blowing like crazy. The buck watches them for several seconds and then takes off after them up the hill. I swing around and get the buck back in the scope. He’s popping in and out of the brush and he finally stops for a second to look back. I’m ready for him when he does. BOOM! The buck takes off to the left, I get another clear shot. BOOM! He takes off again but then puts on the brakes to check around him. BOOM! This time he heads up the ridge and stops right at the crest and looks back one last time. BOOM! He disappears over the top.
I head over to the top of the ridge where he crossed and there’s not a drop of blood anywhere. I look back at the rock outcropping where I was sitting and range it. 250 yards. Holy cow. I come to the realization that I just shot over his back 4 times. I was estimating double the distance he was actually at and compensating for it. Everything looks so different out here than what I’m used to it and I totally misjudged the distance. Feeling defeated, I hike back out to the trail. At dark, my cousin calls me for help. He killed a nice 5x5 buck. We get his buck taken care of and back to camp. We all recount how our hunts went. My cousin and I decide that the next morning, we’re going to return to the same drainage in hopes of seeing that buck again. I have my doubts that he’s still hanging around after being shot at 4 times but there’s lots of deer in the area and the rut is getting started, might as well hunt it. The next morning we wake up early and hike in on the trail to the bottom of the drainage. We glass up into it and immediately see deer. More deer than the day before. And what looks like a good buck. We immediately close the distance quickly. Taking almost a direct path we book it up the ridge staying in what cover we can find. We stop and range the buck at 425 yards. Looks like the same buck to me. He’s across the drainage at a slightly higher elevation than us. We calculate everything and determine the drop. The buck is standing in the open with the sun hitting him. He’s perfectly still. I take my time and get steady using the bipod and my pack in tandem. My cousin has his spotting scope up to watch the shot. I hold 2 inches above his back and squeeze off the shot. BOOM! THWACK! I get back on the buck just as the round hits him. He stumbles downhill about 10 yards and stops but is unsteady on his feet. I tell my cousin I’m on him and ask if I need to hit him again. He says nothing for a split second. Just enough time for the buck to lurch forward and tip over. We hug and high five and then grab our gear and start towards him. Once we get there we take a couple pictures and get to work. I am very confident that this is the same buck as the one I missed the day before. When we’re gutting the deer, my cousin starts to pull the heart out and says “We’re not eating this one cuz!” and shows it to me. Bullet hole went right through the middle of the heart. We find the bullet just under the hide past the offside shoulder. We finish getting him quartered and strapped to our packs. We take a lunch break and then start down the ridge. That was my first real pack out and it was a wake up call. We managed to get the buck out and back to the truck in the mid afternoon hours. Took some vitamin I and scouted around the rest of the day. We ended up punching 3 of our 4 tags on that hunt and had one heck of a time. I think I like mule deer hunting better than elk now. We scored him at 143” gross back at camp. For my first mulie I couldn’t be happier.
I was encouraged by my cousin to put in for a 3rd rifle mule deer hunt at the beginning of 2022. He hyped up the hunt and had a good knowledge of the unit so I decided to put in for it. Draw results are posted and the entire group drew the tag. Deer camp here we come. I borrowed a 300 WM from a buddy for the hunt as I didn’t have a rifle I felt was suited well for the task. We took it out to the range and started practicing. Fast forward to the hunt and we arrive the day before season opens to do some scouting. We found does and small bucks everywhere but no good bucks seemed to be around. Day 1 of the hunt and my cousin and I team up and take off up a ridge system for the day. We saw a couple of small bulls and lots of mule deer does but once again, no decent bucks. Day 2 of the hunt and I spend the day in the lower country solo. I saw a handful of does but no real rut activity to speak of. Day 3 comes and I decide to hunt the same area we were in on day 1 again but solo this time. I hike in on a trail glassing the south facing slopes above me. Eventually I get to a nice large drainage on a south facing slope and take some time to pick it apart. It’s not long before I start finding does and small bucks. I set up a spotting scope for a better look and wallah there’s a nice buck pushing around a group of 9 does. I decide that he’s big enough to stalk and starting circling around the drainage. It is mid morning at this point and when I get to the same elevation they were at I pop over the rise to check. I see 4 of the does bedded in the open but no sign of the buck or the other does. I continue to gain elevation until I’m directly downwind and uphill of the deer. At that point, I decide to stalk almost straight at them out of sight. Eventually I make it to a rock outcropping and slip up to it without being detected. I get the rifle setup and range the 4 does I can see. 150 yards. Fast forward a couple of hours to about 1 o’clock. I begin to make out the sound of shifting rock. Surely, it’s the rest of the group and I begin to look closely to try and catch their movement. About 5 minutes after this, the group pops out at 100 yards to my right at my same elevation. It’s 5 does and the buck. Slowly, I move the rifle over and get readjusted in their direction. I get the buck centered in the scope and get ready. He just needs to take a step or two forward and I’ll have an open shot. Then all hell breaks loose… the does had circled around on top of me and got my wind while I was too preoccupied watching the buck. They’re blowing like crazy. The buck watches them for several seconds and then takes off after them up the hill. I swing around and get the buck back in the scope. He’s popping in and out of the brush and he finally stops for a second to look back. I’m ready for him when he does. BOOM! The buck takes off to the left, I get another clear shot. BOOM! He takes off again but then puts on the brakes to check around him. BOOM! This time he heads up the ridge and stops right at the crest and looks back one last time. BOOM! He disappears over the top.
I head over to the top of the ridge where he crossed and there’s not a drop of blood anywhere. I look back at the rock outcropping where I was sitting and range it. 250 yards. Holy cow. I come to the realization that I just shot over his back 4 times. I was estimating double the distance he was actually at and compensating for it. Everything looks so different out here than what I’m used to it and I totally misjudged the distance. Feeling defeated, I hike back out to the trail. At dark, my cousin calls me for help. He killed a nice 5x5 buck. We get his buck taken care of and back to camp. We all recount how our hunts went. My cousin and I decide that the next morning, we’re going to return to the same drainage in hopes of seeing that buck again. I have my doubts that he’s still hanging around after being shot at 4 times but there’s lots of deer in the area and the rut is getting started, might as well hunt it. The next morning we wake up early and hike in on the trail to the bottom of the drainage. We glass up into it and immediately see deer. More deer than the day before. And what looks like a good buck. We immediately close the distance quickly. Taking almost a direct path we book it up the ridge staying in what cover we can find. We stop and range the buck at 425 yards. Looks like the same buck to me. He’s across the drainage at a slightly higher elevation than us. We calculate everything and determine the drop. The buck is standing in the open with the sun hitting him. He’s perfectly still. I take my time and get steady using the bipod and my pack in tandem. My cousin has his spotting scope up to watch the shot. I hold 2 inches above his back and squeeze off the shot. BOOM! THWACK! I get back on the buck just as the round hits him. He stumbles downhill about 10 yards and stops but is unsteady on his feet. I tell my cousin I’m on him and ask if I need to hit him again. He says nothing for a split second. Just enough time for the buck to lurch forward and tip over. We hug and high five and then grab our gear and start towards him. Once we get there we take a couple pictures and get to work. I am very confident that this is the same buck as the one I missed the day before. When we’re gutting the deer, my cousin starts to pull the heart out and says “We’re not eating this one cuz!” and shows it to me. Bullet hole went right through the middle of the heart. We find the bullet just under the hide past the offside shoulder. We finish getting him quartered and strapped to our packs. We take a lunch break and then start down the ridge. That was my first real pack out and it was a wake up call. We managed to get the buck out and back to the truck in the mid afternoon hours. Took some vitamin I and scouted around the rest of the day. We ended up punching 3 of our 4 tags on that hunt and had one heck of a time. I think I like mule deer hunting better than elk now. We scored him at 143” gross back at camp. For my first mulie I couldn’t be happier.
