Hunt Fit, for the extreme hunter.

Here is today’s train to hunt teaser video!  Please  join Train to Hunt to view this video in its entirety. Cost is 30.00 annually and is worth way more than that. These guys will put you through the paces. They will teach you everything from nutrition to proper movement of exercise.  Try their workouts “I Dare You”  If you need a gym to work out in check out Fit for Adventure in the next post.  Feel free to come and join us every morning and evening doing these awesome workouts.  You will need to join the gym (Fit for Adventure) 20.00 a month and Train to hunt at 30.00 annually.  Join us on our next work, feel free to call for times. 850-9906

 

Here is today’s teaser video. To view full video become a Subscriber at Traintohunt.com

WA-ID Scout Teaser from Train To Hunt on Vimeo.

 

subscribers of traintohunt.com may view the full video

Kuiu’s Grand Opening is a Success!

Kuiu, Ultralight Hunting has officially opened.   The world headquarters of Kuiu, located in Dixon California, held its grand opening celebration on Saturday, April, 18th.  On a sunny, down right warm day in Northern California, the stage was set for what was to be a highly anticipated day of music, food, beverages and oh yea, the debut of the worlds finest ultralight hunting gear.

Kuiu’s world headquarters located in Dixon California.

For the 300 plus people who made the trip to Dixon California, it was not disappointing at all.  Jason Hairston, owner of Kuiu, and his wonderful wife Kirstyn, hosted this gracious event at the world headquarters office. To help kick off  this event, some of the countries most successful hunting and guiding individuals showed up to lend their support.

Brendan Burns, Business development for Kuiu, talks moose hunting with a couple guest.

I personally made the trip from East Texas, 1,700 miles, and it was worth every bump and screaming kid on the plane ride there.  When I reached the party, I was greeted at the door with a gift bag from Kuiu, which included a hat with the signature Kuiu logo on the front.  Inside the building, Jason was making the rounds, shaking hands and introducing himself to everyone in attendance.  He made everyone feel welcome as they browsed through his cutting edge ultralight hunting gear.

Jason Hairston stands in front of some of their new product line talking shop with a guest.

For me, the trip was more to meet the people behind the scenes of this company and this was the perfect opportunity to do so.  An open house is less formal than a face to face meeting and you can really get to know the people running the company.  At first I kept my distance just to see how the owner and crew were reacting and treating their guests.

 

Some of the new hats and Tees that were debuted at the grand opening!  I had to get the wallet out more than once.

I will tell you  there was not a person who left that party who did not feel as if they new Jason on a personal level.  Like I said, he greeted every person that came through the door and he had lengthy conversations with most of them.  As for the rest of the guys working at Kuiu, I can’t say any less about them.  It was like one big family that loves what they are doing and how could you not!  They are selling the worlds best ultralight hunting gear to the hunters who want the best equipment on the market today.   These guys love their job and it shows in their dedication to their company and products.

Jason Hairston owner of Kuiu explains some of the features of the Icon 6000 to South Cox

Towards the end of the event Jason pulled me aside and asked if I would like to go to dinner and a drink with them.  He knew I was in town for the evening, as my plane wasn’t scheduled to fly out until the next morning.  Talk about getting to know the company and the people running it!  I was on the fast track to everything and everyone involved in Kuiu. It was great hanging out with these guys that evening, sharing hunting stories and getting to know one another made it a trip I’ll hang onto for years to come. When I left Dixon the next morning, I felt as if I had known these guys for years. The Kuiu guys are class acts, selling a superior products, to the hunter that knows what he or she needs to be successful in the field.

Some of the attendees enjoying the food and music outside of the office!

As for their cutting edge ultralight hunting products, THEY ROCK! They use the best materials on the planet!  With a lifetime warranty on all off their products, how can you go wrong?  Jason’s outdoor gear has fast become known as the leader in ultralight hunting clothing.  Kuiu is Jason’s next line in his ever growing reputation for high performance hunting clothing.  However, my interest was in their new ICON packs.  I’m a self proclaimed pack geek.  To me, this is the most important part of my hunting gear.  It holds everything I need for a day trek to the week long adventures.  If the pack won’t hold my daily gear (55lbs) comfortably, it will not be comfortable when I have my pack loaded down for a week long trip (80 plus lbs).  Prior to the introduction of these new packs from Kuiu, I was using the Mystery Ranch Crew Cab, which until now, I thought was the best pack made.

Nathan from California is seen here trying on the Icon 6000. Everyone who tried it on was shocked at its comfort.

The Mystery Ranch pack weighs 10 plus pounds before you add as much as a knife, you still have to watch a weight everything you put into it. Hunting and filming for over 150 days a year, I need to be fresh and not drained from packing an uncomfortable, heavy pack around.  Trust me when I say 50 to 55 pounds will start to wear on you in a hurry if it is not displaced well. Jason and his pack designer have thought of every aspect of adventure hunting when it comes to a hunting pack. His external framed pack is more comfortable than all internal framed packs on the market.  I know your asking yourself how is this true.  Trust me this still amazes me as I set here and write this.  It boils down to his external carbon frame, yes I said carbon frame. Strong, lightweight , yet with flexibility needed to make a heavy pack comfortable was their goal when they set out to make this pack. Carbon was the only material on earth that would fit this build.

Every time I turned around Jason had a new crowd around wanting to learn more about this amazing packs!

The ICON 6000 is now setting the standards for the future of packs.  At less than 5 pounds total, including the frame, pack makers are going to be scrambling to keep up with this technology that Kuiu has introduced into the market.   This pack is not just cutting five pounds off your back, it is amazingly comfortable!  Don’t ask me how, but the 35 pound pack I tried on Saturday, felt like an empty Mystery Ranch would feel on my back.  It was shocking to say the least.  It’s comfort seemed to be the common statement from those who tried it on.

This was the fourth time I caught Nathan wearing the Icon 6000.  He wouldn’t leave it alone and that’s a good thing!

It’s the first pack in production using this ultralight weight material.  Carbon is twice as strong as metal and half the weight of aluminum. This pack has too many cool features to write about in just one article.  I will be doing a full review of both the Icon 3000 and the Icon 6000 in the next two to three weeks.  I will also be adding some video of the grand opening and these awesome packs.  Watch as Jason takes you though some of the key features of these great new hunting packs.  Until then check out some of their awesome products at Kuiu.com

 

Steve

Baelin Borg finds massive set of sheds!

Well first, Id like to thank my dad, Best hunting partner, or none of this would have been possible. Ok so now the story.
Im an avid shed hunter and hunter and I love getting out  hiking and looking for sheds.  In over 3 weekends My dad and I have picked up about 60 antlers overall. I had just dropped my dad off at spot to walk.  I went back to camp to grab a quick bite and then headed out into some great looking wilderness.  I hiked up the bluff and on to a mesa, a couple hours into the hike i was feeling a little down not finding anything but old old old chalk antlers . As I hiked south I crested a little ridge and classed into the canyon and spotted one  nice antler.  As I started to head down to it, I saw 4 others real close so I walked up and got them all. To my surprise they were all white matching sets. I then  walked  back to the west to look into the top of this little canyon or basin.

Once there, I glassed up a huge antler, It looked like a monster , so I scrambled off my pearch and headed in that direction.   I figured id make a loop and glass for the other side.  It was open country so I got up high and glassed, 5 more antlers from that spot. Walking down a wash to  pick up a three pointer I glassed from up high, I stumbled accross the left side of the huge non-tipical that I had found 30 minutes earlier.  It was laying behind a bush and I couldn’t see it from my glassing spot. After letting out a hoop and a holler I decided i better head back to camp as night was fast approaching.

On the way down the hill my dad gave me a buzz on the radio and wanted to know where I was and what I had found. I told him I found 2 dinks and he replied “all I found was a boone and crocket set of forked horns haha!”  It was starting to rain so I rushed off the hill to get to the truck.  The truth is, I wanted to be setting in the truck with the large bucks sheds setting next to me when my dad jumped in.  Long story short my dad was so happy for me and wishes he could have been there to help out .

KUIU, now shipping!

KUIU is a company committed to developing the finest technical hunting gear on the planet. Founded by Jason Hairston,the former founder and CEO of Sitka, KUIU is a brand that refuses to compromise on quality or performance.  ”All of our products are designed to excel in the most challenging backcountry hunting conditions possible. That is our commitment and our guarantee,” according to Jason.

The open pattern of this camo really breaks up the silloute of the human body!  The pattern is not the only thing that makes this camo awesome, more important is the material they use.

Can you say Kyrgystan?  Yes, it has been tested there!

The innovative new hunting clothing line of Kuiu is now taking orders!  You must pre-register on their web-site to get in line to purchase this highly sought after line of high adventure clothing! Due to the high demand of this product, Jason Hairston of Kuiu says “the 2011 inventory of Kuiu will probably sell out before it even hits the public markets” He goes on to say ” I am totally shocked by the overwhelming response that this line of gear has generated in the last year”.  Kuiu Clothing is a high end adventure clothing line that will work from the highest peaks in Alaska to the Valley floors of the Tiburon Island of Mexico.  This can be seen on their web-site. You can check out this unbelievable line of gear at KUIU.com.  There are some great reads on their site taking you through the whole process that this new company has endured over the last year. Check it out! KUIU.com

My order has been placed and I will let you know my take on this highly sought after product. You can still register online at Kuiu.com and hopefully get a shopping date to pick yourself up some of this revolutionary new hunting apparel.

Here are some of their products that they will be offering online. Check out their site for more products! THIS IS NOT A PAID ADD! I just believe I should share these awesome products with you my faithful readers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 17.75 ounce Guide Jacket is made with a 274 g/m2 Toray Primeflex Softshell, a 100% polyester stretch woven face fabric, bonded to a high performance micro-fleece backer fabric. DWR treated at the yarn level with Toray’s patented & industry leading Kudos DWR, the guide jacket gives you an unmatched weather protection for a non-laminated softshell.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 18.75 ounce Attack pant is made with a 225 g/m2 Toray Primeflex Double Weave fabric. The Attack pant weighs 40% less than comparable pants using a same weight non-Toray fabric. Primeflex fabrics utilize a patented spiral yarn technology allowing the fabric to stretch and recover without elastic

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jason says “I created the KUIU model to develop and produce products like the patent pending Icon frame; the worlds first carbon fiber backpack frame.  At a mere 13oz the Icon frame is the foundation to supporting heavy loads while still remaining comfortable to hunt in all day.”

The final Prototypes of the packs are here.   As many of you may notice, the pack volumes have increased.  The 3000 weight increased with some design improvements through development and re-measuring. The new volume measurements are 2998 cubic inches & 6003 cubic inches. These packs are designed to cover a 1 to 6 day bivy hunts with the 3000 and 7 to 14 day sheep hunts in the 6000.

Anyone one can toot their own horn, however Jason has a proven track record with Sitka.  I’m guessing his new line will be even better than the old!  Thats going to be a tough feat, but I’m  sure Jason and crew are up to the task.  As soon as I get my goodies I will let you know what I think of this new line of high tech outdoor gear.  We will be trying out the Attack pant, the Guide jacket, the Zip T under shirt, and the 3000 icon pack with carbon frame.  I will keep you updated on everything from working with the company, the product, service, shipping, and most important to me, the comfort of their product!  Chat with you soon!

 

Best Regards

 

Steve

 

Oh Canada!

Dave Fuller’s Monster 251 inch B&C mule deer.Here’s his story…

Saturday morning- saw buck feeding out in field with 3 other bucks, watched him for over 1 hr in my spotting scope, got some pictures throughthe vortex, which are attached. I knew from the first second I saw him hewas a true giant but never had him pinned at what he actually scored! Iwatched him bed down, went in for the sneak through the standing flax, Gotwithin 43 yards but when he stood up he walked straight away and I had noshot with the bow.Saturday night, went back to the field just to make sure he was still around and he was right where I saw him last. Left him for the night.

Sunday morning- Went out with Mike Gebhard and he was in the same field and the night previous, waited over an hour for him to bed once he did, we tried the stalk again, well we did get in closer, got within 32 yards waited a bit and he stood up and did it to me again, walked straight away! NO SHOT!!! My heart sank for a second time in 2 days ! What an amazing buck to watch at 32 yards!

Monday morning – I had to be responsible for a couple days and go harvest so I did a drive through the area on the way to the farm and he was again in the same field! There was no wind so it wasn’t as hard leaving himt here to go harvest.

Tuesday – WINDY and I was harvesting!!!

Wednesday – planned on going to office in AM then harvesting in PM but I had to try and find him if I could, I was more then a little consumed by this buck! Well he was in the same field again, he was the most predictable buck I have ever seen, which I was good with. I again spent some quality time with my vortex spotting scope. This time I made sure I knew which way he bedded down so I would be broadside when he stood up. I left my truck at 8:15 and went for the stalk. Half way in the smaller buck with him stood up and ate for a bit so I layed down and let him bed up again. Well this time I got to 28.5 yards and he had no clue I was there, wind in my face,laying broadside to me, now just the patience game, he put me to the test, I was there for over 2.5 hrs kneeling in mud waiting for him to stand. The smaller buck got up again and milled around for probably 20 minutes then the moment of truth, he finally stood up! I was ready and drew and put an arrow in him !

He didn’t go 130 yards and 5 minutes later he was dead, I didn’t get backto the truck till 12:45 so safe to say I didn’t make it to the office or harvesting at all that day. He was one of those deer that actually grew as I walked up to him!

Western Hunting expo!

We just got back from the Western Hunting Expo in Salt Lake City.  We had a great time talking with everybody and meeting all our new acquaintances.  There are some big things that are going to come to light here in the near future!  Some new business ventures with some great companies. A couple new television shows are in the works with some of the West leading hunters, guides, outfitters, and personalities.  We look forward to sharing more information with you on these new ventures when the business plans and contracts are signed.

Here are a few of the pictures we took on our private tour of the venders before the show opened up on Sunday morning.  It was good to see and visit with some of sponsors and it was good to add a few more to the ever growing list.  Here is to a great year for all of us!

Steve

Robert Kays awesome Colorado Giant! Guided by Mossback and Lazy F Bar.  245 gross with a 34 inch spread makes this one of the most impressive buck I have ever seen!

Some of the Great display that Doyle Moss and the crew at Mossback put on!

Will Farrar’s great Montana Buck that was shot with the state wide tag!

More of the awesome display by the Mossback crew!

Some of he awesome mule deer taken by Mossback Outfitters and Guides service!

Hoyt, one of our long time supporters.  Get Hoyt, get Serious!

Kenetrek boots of Montana.  Another long time supporter of Mule Deer Country.  They are coming out with a new vamped up Safari Boot!

Rhino Safes!  You know it has been a great show when you have know more safes to sale at the show!  Way to guys, Keep up the great work.  Check out the Antler Junkie safe sold exclusively here on Mule Deer Country.

One of our newest sponsors, Wasatch Precision Arms. Owner, Wade Ovard is showcasing a few of their awesome guns!

Kings Camo, One of our longest and best supporters.  We couldn’t kill half the animals without their awesome camo!  Thanks Guys

Goal Zero, one of the new companies we are working with.  You got to check out this product! Goalzero.com

Another great company we are looking forward to working with!  Stealth cam,  The leader in trail camera technology!  They are going to have some great new cameras out this summer,  Keep your eyes and ears open for these new awesome products from Stealth cam. Thanks for all your help Billie.

What can I say,  One of the tops pack makers on the market?

A great buck in the Muley Crazy booth!

More great mulies from Muley Crazy.  You can never have to many monster deer heads in your booth!

The Largest buck off the Arizona Strip in 2010!

Archery Giant!

Don’t know much about this buck, except he is a giant and looks as if he was taken with archery equipment.  It even looks as if it took a few arrows!  The empty quiver gave that away!  The email said that the buck came from Colorado.  It’s definitely a great buck and congrats to the lucky hunter!

Another couple Idaho Giants!

Idaho Produces!

I don’t know much about this first deer!  The Hunter is supposed to be a gentleman named Bill Lowe and the deer was Harvest here in southern Idaho!  What a beast of a deer.  His deer is well over 300 lbs on the hoof.  Take a look at the size of the body on this deer.  This buck looks like he will tape in  t over 205 inches.  If anybody know any more info we would love to hear about it.  Thanks in advance.

This second buck was harvest by Oscar Williamson Jr.  in southern Idaho this year.  This buck grosses over 215 inches.  What a great buck!  I really love those light colored antlers.  You have to love a big old desert buck.  Congrats goes out to Oscar Jr, Oscar Sr, and Bryce DeForest for taking such an awesome trophy.  Sure would like a copy of the photo with all of you  that were involved.  A Special Congrats goes out to Oscar Jr.  on keeping his composure and anchoring down such a great deer.

Josh Gibbs, son of past Fish and Game commissioner and current representative of Idaho, Marcus Gibbs, harvested a toad buck this year in Idaho’s famed unit 45.  Josh was hunting with outfitter Dan Butler of Spring Cove Outfitters when he took this buck of a lifetime.  Talk about having luck on his side. Josh hunted hard for one day and was headed back to the ranch house when out of no where a monster 223 inch buck was standing on the side of the road.  Josh missed it with the first few shots, but was able to chase it over the hill where he put an end to his hunt.  How come I can’t get that lucky?  Congrat’s Josh on a great Idaho deer and short, but sweet hunt!

Catch Josh’s story in the up coming issue of muley Crazy magazine.  It will be great to see a couple different angles of this giant.  Here is another picture that I received last night.

What a dream buck!  He sure looks bigger than 223 to me!  Congrats again Josh!

Please Vote!

YES!  WE WON!!!!! THANKS FOR VOTING FOR CREEKSIDE PRODUCTIONS

KARMA Nominated for Video of the year

If you could please take the time to vote for our latest title Mule Deer Country “KARMA” in the Xbandits 1st annual BANDIT AWARDS. It would be greatly appreciated by everyone involved in the making of this great video if you would help us out by voting today at the link below. Time is running out, winners will be anouced at the Shot Show January 19th.

We are very please and Honored to be chosen as one of the finalist In the XBANDITS, 1st annual Bandit Awards.  It took a lot of hard work from the filming and editing this great video,  It couldn’t have been done without good people helping like Jeff from Kings Outdoor World that did the awesome cover, Joe Penington on camera, Tim Burnett in post production, my wonderful wife and many others.  Thanks to everyone involved and thanks to all that are taking the time to vote and visit our great web-site.

Please vote  HERE

It only takes a few seconds to vote for the video of the year!  It means a great deal more to us than just those few seconds you will spend helping us out!

Once again thank you for your support!  Feel free to pass this along to other people that can help us out with votes. Mass e-mails, and begging is not out of the question.  This award could really kick start our production company into the one that we have always dreamed of having.

Best Regards

Steve

Keeping Hope Alive

Joebob Lewis-Idaho-DIY-General hunt-Public land

A couple of friends of mine called me up one day in October of 2008. Dennis Owsley had taken a monster non-typical mule deer during the rifle hunt. His buck taped out at a gross score of 217 non-typical. What amazed me the most was the fact that he had taken this buck on public land, and in a general hunt unit. Most bucks of this stature come from Idaho’s premiere draw hunts. Still in disbelief, I had to take a look at his magnificent buck, so they were kind enough to bring it over.  I held the antlers in my hands, drooled a little, and thought to myself…why can’t I ever get a buck like that? I have been a resident of Idaho for about 13 years. It did not take me long to figure out which units were well known for producing 200 inch trophy bucks.  Year after year I have applied for the draw hunt of my dreams. I have been lucky enough to draw the tag once during the 13 year period.  The point I am trying to make is that it is very tough to draw those hunts.

I typically hunt deer during the archery seasons with hopes of increasing my chances of bagging a trophy animal. I usually dread hunting general rifle seasons due to the increased number of hunters, and the decrease in sightings of mature bucks.  Due to work and school, I did not get much hunting in last year. This year was different, thanks to Dennis’s buck. His luck inspired me to do a little more scouting in a unit that is a general rifle hunt for deer. I decided that I would hunt deer during the general rifle season. After about two weeks of hard hunting, I had found a nice 4×4 muley that I considered a shooter buck. Unfortunately, the buck was out of range, and I didn’t have enough daylight left to put a stalk on him. I simply watched him bed down in some timber high up on the ridgeline across from me. I came back in the next morning, and was not able to locate the buck again.

My time was up for that trip. I had to go back to living the dream of work and school. While I was in town, the weather that I had hoped for rolled into the hills. It snowed off and on for about 3 days straight. Anxiety was getting the best of me, and I was having a hard time focusing at work. The weekend finally rolled back around and I hit the road. Since the high country received so much snow, I decided to hunt a little lower in elevation. I knew that the deer would probably be on the move. I arrived at my camp spot just in time to get everything set up before dark. I went through my pack and restocked it with water, an MRE, and everything else that I needed for the next day’s hunt.

The morning of October 28 arrived. Alarm clock buzzing, I bounced up and ate a quick breakfast before hitting the trail. I had plans of hunting until dark. I hiked about 4 miles in the dark before deciding to take a break. I wanted to start my hunt just below the snow line. I found a nice tree to snuggle up against, and shut my eyes for a quick snooze, waiting for daylight. The wind was moderate, but very cold. The snow was frozen, which made it nearly impossible to put the sneak on anything. Once I could see where I was going, I found a nice place to set up my spotting scope and start glassing. Within half an hour, I spotted a nice 4×4. He was about 3 ridgelines over so it was difficult to determine his size, but with 4 days of the season left I decided he was big enough. I started the stalk. It took me about 2 hours to reach the spot where I had seen the buck feeding.  When I got there, all that I was able to find were a group of about 7 doe. They just happened to be right in line with where I needed to go so I had to reroute a little. During that time the wind had changed directions on me. My sweaty stench was blowing right towards the group of doe. As expected, they started filing out of the brush single file in the opposite direction.

My attention was still focused on where I had spotted the 4×4. I could care less about the doe moving on. I glanced back at the group one last time and noticed one deer that was considerably larger. I pulled up my binoculars and saw a nice heavy horned buck walk over the hill. I didn’t get to look him over long, but I could tell he was nice. I felt pretty ignorant for not paying more attention. I too was like a buck in heat, focused more on what I wanted rather than paying attention to my surroundings. I tried relocating them, but they dropped down the other side into heavy timber. I decided not to push them even further. The 4×4 was nowhere to be found, and I just missed out on an even bigger buck. It was time to take a break and re-group. I found a spot under a large pine where the ground was thawed and facing into the sun. It was the perfect spot to have lunch. I set the spotting scope back up and started eating my rations. I was happy to have my scope with me that day. Although it was a lot of extra weight, the scope was extremely useful in the area that I was hunting. There were a lot of wide open spaces. It saved me a lot of energy in the long run.  Deer were everywhere that morning. I was completely surrounded. I saw countless 2 points and 3 points. There was too much action going on that day to settle for anything less than a 4×4.

Disrupting my quiet little lunch, shots rang out through the canyon. Three shots were fired. That’s all that I needed to get my motivation back. I packed up and slowly started hiking deeper into the canyon. I passed on many 3 points and smaller 4 points throughout the day. At this point, I was well into the snow line. I started seeing larger bucks once I got deeper into the snow level. Around 3pm I spotted 3 bucks across the canyon from me.  There was a nice 4×4, 3×4, and 2×2 running with about 5 doe. The 4x was a decent buck that I was interested in shooting. I closed the distance quickly and quietly. The sun had softened up the snow enough to take some of the crunch out of it. I closed the distance as far as I could. It was wide open hill side beyond my final resting point, so I held up next to a burnt pine. The 4×4 and 4×3 were bedded down in a thick pocket of burnt timber.

The entire area at this point was an old burn area. The bucks were strategically positioned in a way that made it impossible to get any closer. One was facing east, the other facing west, both on lookout, and they were right in the middle of the hill surrounded by snow. I ranged them at 480 yards. The shot was much further than I prefer, but it was doable. I leaned my pack up against the tree and rest my rifle across the top. I still had about 3 hours of daylight, so the waiting game had begun. I started munching on a bag of Doritos while I watched the bucks.  An hour passed and both bucks finally stood up. Game on! I sat down in the wet snow and positioned myself for the shot. The larger buck started pushing the smaller one around in the trees. I was getting frustrated because they wouldn’t stand still and present me with a good shot.

Suddenly they both stopped in their tracks and focused their attention downhill. I lowered my rifle to see what they were looking at. About 60 yards below them, a deer stood up that dwarfed them both in body size. As I looked through the optics, I knew that this was an enormous buck. I didn’t have time to count up all the points. There was no need. He was twice as big as the 4x that I was trying to shoot, and that’s all I needed to know.

I brought up my cross-hairs, and readied myself to fire. I shot at this buck 3 times, and missed every single one. (Although I fired my rifle before season, it was not enough to prepare me for this buck. I’m not one of those lucky guys that gets to chase 200 inch bucks around every year, so when I am lucky enough to stumble across one, I tend to get a bad case of buck fever.) In a state of panic, I chambered one more shell. At that distance, the buck did not know where the shots were coming from. He trotted further out into the open and presented the perfect shot! My fourth shot made good contact. The buck buckled and took off. I knew that he was hit. I lost him in the timber and was worried that he had run over the top. I had a little over 2 hours of daylight left and wanted to take advantage of that, so I quickly worked my way to the deer’s last known location. I went down one mountain, and up the side of the other. When I reached the spot where I had last seen the buck, he was nowhere in sight. I did not bother looking for blood right away. I was more interested in finding him before he went over the top. I scanned the burnt timber, and slowly continued my way up.

The wind started drifting my way and a very distinct smell stopped me in my tracks! My heart was pounding as I slowly turned my head in the direction of the musty smell. There on the hillside laid a huge buck! This thing was way bigger than I expected. Usually it’s the other way around. His right antler was sticking up and I noticed the kicker right away. His left antler was buried in the snow. My heart almost dropped. My first thought was that I had shot off his antler. When I lifted his head, I was overwhelmed with excitement. I could not believe what was lying in front of me. It was one of those moments that seemed too good to be true. He had 5 antlers on one side, and 7 on the other with 5 inch brow tines.  He later taped out at a gross score of 213-3/4. He has 13 inches in extra points. His greatest width was 30 inches. It was the happiest moment of my hunting career! This was the buck of my dreams! I did it all on my own, on public grounds, during a general rifle hunt. This was the kind of buck you look for in those trophy draw hunts. The fact that this buck was taken in a general hunt and non-guided makes it that much more special to me.  There is hope out there!

I was by myself, so that made picture taking a little more challenging. I set my point-and-shoot camera on my tripod with a 10 second timer. Trying to get scramble through the snow and pose both myself and the deer in 10 seconds was pretty entertaining. After the photo shoot, I skinned out the giant and loaded the antlers onto my pack. I was all geared up for the long journey back to camp. I went to pick up my pack, and lost my footing in the snow. I fell onto one of the antlers and ripped my hand open. Stitches were needed, but luckily I had a first aid kit in my pack. That would just have to do for the night. I thought of the line from Jesse “The body” Ventura in the movie Predator…”I ain’t got time to bleed!” I guess the old buck got the last bite! When I got back to camp around 10pm, my hunting buddy Dan had arrived. He arrived a day earlier than expected. I was pretty exhausted from a hard day’s work, but he was all pumped up to hunt the next morning.

We went in bright and early on the morning of the 29^th. The weekend warriors were starting to arrive, so that put a little pressure on our hunt that morning. I took Dan to the spot where I had spotted the initial 4×4 the day before. We spotted him around 8:30am. Surprisingly, he was almost in the same location. Dan made a successful shot, and that wrapped up an awesome season! We de-boned both of our deer, and spent the rest of the day packing them out. Although your odds of bagging a 200 inch buck are higher in a well-controlled draw hunt, it is possible to find big bucks with an over-the-counter tag. Hopefully this story will inspire other hunters to work hard and keep hope alive! You don’t necessarily have to draw a tag in order to bag a big buck; it just takes a lot of hard work and twice as much luck!

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