Rolled into town yesterday afternoon after packing up my desert country camp. My son Cash is 9 years old and out of the blue told me last week he’d like to go bowhunting with me. I made sure to find a day to take him on this hunt. By 5:00 PM, we had the truck loaded and were headed out. I’m also a part-time outfitter and operate primarily on leased private ground. The ranches I manage are better elk hunting than for mule deer, but because of conservative management, we usually have a few good bucks on the ranch each year.
As mentioned yesterday, I found one of the best 3-point main-frame bucks I’ve seen in about six years, just a few weeks ago. If you’ve read my new book, you’re familiar with the Brokenheart buck story. Well this buck is certainly in his bloodline and is just a tad smaller than the Brokenheart buck but certainly a shooter. Problem is the ranch is choked with aspen and serviceberry thickets so dense, it is hard to catch a buck out of the cover.
After a chicken dinner with cole slaw and macaroni salad at the ranch house, Cash and I glassed the last hour of the evening then were up by 5:40 this morning (felt like a vacation compared to the last four days.) We hiked from the main ranch house and were glassing before sunrise. While we saw moose, elk, and five average bucks, we never laid eyes on the big 3. We had a great time and did about a four mile hike which my little man handled just fine. I got to put another few hours on the Kaibabs– they seem to get better every time I use them.
He also got to fling a few arrows at some of the big bales the rancher hasn’t picked up yet. Made his first 40 yard shot!
So it’s time to shift gears. I’m headed back out to public land, this time to some big high-country via horseback. I have a few more “pockets” to check where I’ve seen good bucks in the past. The only problem is, with no reliable cell service. I won’t be able to update same day as I have the last five days. I’ll now shift to the format I’ve used the last few years on my late hunts where I film the hunt day-by-day then when I return home I will replay it as it happened. Not quite live, but the next best thing.
So I’ve loaded all the gear, prepped the horses, and am ready to go. I’ll be leaving Saturday morning after spending the day with my family tomorrow. I could be hunting through September 10th, so make sure you “Subscribe to blog, upper right under Fitness/Other” so you don’t miss my return post sometime after that. Thanks for following along so far.
If you really like hunting big mule deer, check out my new book by clicking on the cover sample below.
I’m dying here. I need updates! 🙂
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