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!

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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!

Oregon Produces a 221 4/8 Monster

Jerry Harbottle sent me over these pictures and a quick story about his awesome 2010 Oregon buck. Congrats Jerry on a great couple of years. You are defiantly an Antler Junkie!

Steve

I have hunted Eastern Oregon for mule deer for the past two year with some really good friends of mine.  I was fortunate enough this year to harvest this buck on the second day of the hunt.  After a 20 minute stalk, we worked our way to within 300 yards of the buck.  We belly crawled the last 50 yards cresting the  knob and were 300 yards across a canyon from the buck.

I had the buck in my scope for what seemed to be 20 minutes, but was actually only 2 or 3.  The buck stood motionless facing our direction.  He knew something was not quite right.  Knowing that older bucks will often do the “turn and bound away” in one motion, we decided I better shoot now! At the shot, the buck collapsed in his tracks.

What a great couple of years I have had. This buck is the icing on the cake, a true buck of a lifetime!

I am very proud of this buck as it is truly the buck of a lifetime for me. I have shot a number of nice bucks over the years including 204 inch non-typical and 197 inch typical in Colorado with my muzzle-loader over the past two years.  For me, hunting with friends that are equally passionate about hunting is what it is all about.  The quest for truly trophy animals keeps us striving for new goals every year.  My Oregon buck unofficially green scores 221 4/8 inches gross and has 16 scorable points.

An Awesome buck with mass, trash, and a droptine to boot!

Hunting for Lefty!

Story by Jason Wright

I first located the buck that I nicknamed “Lefty” in mid August.  The name came from his incredible left side and his horribly split left ear.  Unfortunately I wasn’t the only person watching him that day.  Brian, (who I came to know during the course of the hunt) was also laying eyes on Lefty for the first time that day.  As I approached him he was bent over a spotting scope taking a closer look.    After a long chat, we exchanged phone numbers and promised that we’d contact each other if either one of us were lucky enough to take him.  I was able to keep tabs on Lefty for the next 4 weekends in the same location.  I admit that most of my obsession with checking on Lefty was to see if there were any other hunters watching as well.  I envisioned opening day being a mad house of hunters all pursuing the same buck.  To my surprise I never saw another person the entire season.

On the fourth weekend while scouting a different area I located a tall narrow 5 x 5 that I thought would go 195”.  He looked like a high 180’s four point with 7-8 inches in extras.  I figured he would be a great back-up buck and that no one would find him in the remote desert he called home.  Minutes later I stumbled upon a great 85 inch shed antler.  While searching for the match I realized this shed was Lefty’s left antler; further reinforcing the name. That evening I went back to check on Lefty.  He was up and feeding for the evening so I watched him until dark.  His newly polished white antlers seemed to glow in the dark, and I have to admit it was pretty cool watching him as I was holding one of his sheds.  Confident that he wasn’t going far I left to scout another area, not knowing today was the last day I would see him for awhile.

The next weekend started like every other; I got off work early Friday night with hopes of getting up on the mountain in time to see Lefty.   After glassing until dark with no sign of him I returned to the truck for the night.  I had resorted to sleeping in the cab of my Tacoma because it was easier to stay mobile, without setting up camp every weekend.  Saturday morning I was able to locate all the young bucks of the bachelor group with ease, but no sign of Lefty or the other mature buck in the group, a 30” wide 4 by 3.  I returned home disappointed but confident I would relocate Lefty before the opener.

Two weeks went by and still no sign of him.  I searched for the 195”  back-up buck as well with no luck.  My confidence was fading until the Sunday night before opening day I located the 30 inch 4 by 3.  He had moved 1.5 miles away, to a steeper more secluded location giving me hope that his buddy, Lefty, was nearby.  The hunt opened on a Thursday, so I decided take off the first part of the week to continue scouting and set up camp for the remainder of the hunt.  The winds were howling all week and I returned to camp one evening to find my tent lying in a pile on top of my ATV about 20 feet from its original location.  Despite being full of gear and completely staked down, the tent still took flight in the powerful winds.  That night I anchored the tent to my pickup, ATV, and every nearby rock and tried to get some sleep.  But after 8 hours of listening to the rain fly flapping in the wind dealing with the walls caving in my head, I gave up on the tent and decided to go back to the passenger seat of my pickup.

On Wednesday, a good friend Dan offered to come and help me glass and I jumped at the offer.  I met Dan and his buddy Tom in town and we drove out the area I’d been living in for the past week.  We split up and glassed separate areas that night with no luck. Dan and Tom weren’t so keen on sleeping in their truck so we drove into town to find a cheap motel, not knowing that we would find the cheapest, dirtiest motel in the state.  But it did meet the requirements, cheap, dry, warm, and no wind.

With no other bright ideas, my plan for opening day was to glass from a point where I had last seen the big 4 by 3 in hopes that Lefty would be close by.  We saw 10 young bucks that morning but nothing nice.  By the end of opening day, I was frustrated and wished I would have spent more time looking for my back-up buck.  Dan and Tom were equally frustrated and recommended that I try another area of the unit with more bucks and they drove back home that night.  Another good friend Ryan offered up the use of his camper for the night.  It was forecasted to get down to into the teens that night so I was happy to have a warm camper and the chance to clean-up.

Day 2 of the hunt, I decided that after 48 days of scouting for Lefty I owed it to myself to devote a few more days actually hunting the area.  My plan was to check an area about a mile from where I had last seen him.  On the hike in I spooked a young buck and decided to follow him into the drainage to see if he would kick up anything for me.  As I circled the ridge following his tracks, I caught a white muzzle out of the corner of my eye.  I knew it was a buck but I couldn’t tell what he was in the early morning shadows.  I quickly sat down and put the scope on him.  As soon as I saw the split left ear my heart started racing.  During those 26 days remember I thinking how relieving it would feel (after glassing the same bucks over and over) to finally put the scope on a buck and utter those words to myself “It’s him”.  Since I had almost convinced myself that Lefty had been poached, it was just cool to see him again.

Of course the buck had me pegged at just over 300 yards, and stupidly I was sitting on an open hillside with the rising sun about to expose me even more.  We sat there watching each other for the next half hour.  Finally he decided that everything was okay and bedded down for the morning.  He was bedded in bottom of a small drainage and all I had to do was get to the ridge above him undetected, and I should be within muzzleloader range.  I essentially “crab walked” across the hillside with my gun on my lap.  It took me 30 minutes to go 100 yards.  Finally I was out of Lefty’s sight and was able to stand up, stretch, and start closing in on him.

About 20 yards from topping the small ridge, I decide to take off my boots and backpack.  As I crawled over the ridge I caught a glimpse of his antlers and ranged him at 78 yards.  He was still bedded and looking straight away.  There was a small rock pile a couple steps further that looked like the best place to set up for a shot.  The rocky hillside made socks a requirement, and each step seemed to take minutes as I was doing my best not to kick loose any rocks.  When I finally reached the rock pile it became apparent that it did not offer the elevation needed for a clear shot at his vitals.  I thought about standing up and taking an offhand shot but opted to wait for a shot off my knee.  So I sat there with my rifle propped up on my knee just waiting for him to stand up so I could put him back down.  An hour went by and I was starting to worry about the wind shifting and ruining the whole stalk. A few minutes later he started to get restless and move his head around a little.  I was more than ready for the shot but when he stood up he took an immediate step forward blocking his vitals behind a sage brush.  He stretched for awhile then started to feed up the hill towards me; which due to the contour of the hill put him more out of view.  At this point I was standing on tip toes trying to keep an eye on where he was heading.  He started to rake some brush and I took the opportunity to move and get a better look.  I then realized he was feeding up the draw and more out of sight and I had no choice but to give chase.  Pretty soon I was 50 yards and I could see his horns moving through the sage brush.  I raised the gun for an offhand shot and waited for him to clear the sage brush.  But before he did, he realized something wasn’t right and started to bound across the other side of the small drainage.  I fell to my butt and started tracing him with the iron sights and a good rest off my knee.  I considered a bounding shot for about a millisecond but just then he started to slow to a trot.  I knew from ranging earlier that it would be just over 100 yards.  He stopped facing uphill almost straight away but slightly quartering, offering a shot through the top of the back and down through the heart and lungs.  I thought about it for about a second and squeezed the trigger. The smoke cleared pretty fast and I could see him struggling to climb up the hill.  He went about 20 yards before his legs gave out on him and he started tumbling down the hill.  I leaned back on the hillside behind me and closed my eyes for a second to let it all soak in.  This may sound weird but it was a little difficult to watch the last moments of the life of an animal that I respected so much and enjoyed watching all summer.  I had accomplished what I had set out to do and the feeling was a little overwhelming.   It was a mix of excitement, remorse, relief, adrenaline, and accomplishment that I can’t really describe but I’m sure many can relate to.

I walked back to gather my boots and backpack still trying to wrap my mind around what had just happened.  After pictures and taking care of the animal it was time to get to work; fortunately I was able to get my ATV close enough to load him whole (which never happens for me).  Since I was hunting by myself I could hardly wait to get back to my truck and make a few phone calls.  One of which was to good friends Ryan and Dallas who helped me take a few more field photos.  Followed by some calls to friends back home who had been calling for daily updates on the hunt; I wish they could have been there.  Thanks guys for the pictures and thanks to Dan and Tom for helping me glass.  I might not have found him without your help eliminating some spots to check.

After hours of watching him and studying video I was confident that I knew about what he would score.  I was figuring a 180 frame with 22” of extras, 9 by 7 about 30” wide kicker to kicker.   Thanks to that horribly conservative judgment, I was able to experience the rare but incredible “ground growage” phenomenon. He ended up being 33” wide and 25” tall with 10 points on his left and 8 on his right.  His typical frame officially grossed 191 2/8” and all those extras added up to 28 7/8” putting him at 220 1/8” gross non-typical and 216 4/8” net.

IDAHO HAS BANNER YEAR!

This could possibly be the best year of deer hunting in 20 years!

Please don’t steal these photos they are copyrighted material!

With all the texts and e-mails that I have received in the last 2 months it is looking like the best year in decades for trophy mule deer hunting in Idaho.  I have seen and heard of over 20 bucks that gross over 200 inches. I have personally seen 7 that came out of  units 44 and 45, two out of 43, one out of 46, and 5 out of the owyhees (Unit 40).  Not to mention the rumors of some monsters coming out of 39 again this year.  Two of them over 220 gross inches.  There are way to many 180 and 190 bucks to try and keep track of this year.  I will post pictures as I get permission. Some of the people are pimping their pictures and stories to magazines so some pics might take a while.

Personally, I harvested my best buck to date scoring 221 6/8 inches gross.  It has a 205 inch frame, with 21 inch G-2s.  I scouted for 20 days prior to season and harvested him on the fifth day of the season, which was actually the first day we hunted deer because of the unseasonable warm (down right hot,mid 90s) weather during the first three days of the hunt.

Bennett Alderman holds his Dads great 222 inch buck!  Thanks for your help Ben!

Another view of my great buck!  What an awesome day!

James sent us this photo of his 2010 Idaho buck.  He says it scores 202 gross and is a 9×7

Great picture James!  I love the Antler Junkie hat. Congrats on your dream buck!

John sent us this picture of his 2010 Idaho Buck!  It goes 191 gross typical.  He is sending us a story here in the next week with better pictures.

Great buck John.  I cant wait to read the story and see the field pics.

Big Buck hunter Luke Harris sent us this picture of his Idaho buck. Luke has worked his tail off and has taken some great bucks in the last couple years.

Cool buck with some great character!  Congrats on all your success.  It was a pleasure talking with you this year!

Dallas Smith gave us permission to run this photo of a buck he named 7 and 7.  Dallas has filmed this deer for the past four years.  Unfortunately, this buck digressed this year because of his old age.  Last year this buck was estimated to gross around the 210 inch mark.   This year he taped out to the 195 inch mark.  What a cool looking buck with great character and mass.  7 and 7 stretches the tape out to 34 inches wide. Congrats goes out to Dallas and Ryan  (Dallas’ big brother) on your many years of success.

The boys with their dads, Dallas and Ryan, and one impressive deer

Ryan Smith harvests another great buck!  200 inch mule deer are no stranger to the Smith family,  combining for over five in the last six years, these brothers put the smack down on big bucks.

Ryan smith and his latest 200 inch mule deer!  His second in the last four years.

Joebob  sent us this great pic of his buck that he shot in unit 39 on a general hunt.  Talk about winning the lottery. This awesome buck scores 214 gross and has an unbelievable heavy typical frame that goes 195.

Even on some of the general hunts in Idaho produced some great deer .  Nice work Joebob, You really showed up the rest of us, Congrats.

Micheal Borzick sent in this picture of his great Idaho buck.  Micheal writes

Steve,

I got one more Idaho Mule Deer for your banner year…232 4/8.

If you know and official measurer that could give me a green score I would be much obliged. The last picture is of the sheds and yes without a doubt those are his. Fair chase, Unit 40, 13×13, 7 inch bases, 21” inside spread, 31” outside, 11” and 5” droptines

Thanks,

Randy Scott sent in these picture of his boys and his grandson with their unit 40 bucks.  Randy Writes

Steve, here are the bucks my boys took this year just like the good old days. We had loads of fun, this is my grandson’s first buck it is going to be hard

to top this I am so proud.

Randy Scott

Mossback Smacks Another Monster

Dole Moss and crew harvest the 2010 governors tag in Utah. Doyle is know stranger when it comes to big deer and taking his clients to where they live.
Doyle and his crew had watched and filmed this deer for two months before the lucky hunter had a crack at him. This buck is one of a handful that make the Boone and Crockets club minimum for typical and non typical categories. What a monster! Congrats to everyone involved.

241 4/8 gross Utah monster 11 x8

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