That's the coolest thing about this tag, is getting to see huge bodied, mature bucks like this. I've seen more 300+ pound deer this fall then I've seen the rest of my hunting life combined. At this point I could care less what I kill, I'm just excited to get to look for bucks like this for another 2 months.
Odocoileus hemionus
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That's the coolest thing about this tag, is getting to see huge bodied, mature bucks like this. I've seen more 300+ pound deer this fall then I've seen the rest of my hunting life combined. At this point I could care less what I kill, I'm just excited to get to look for bucks like this for another 2 months.
D
Deleted member 20812
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Built like Brian Urlacher. Good grief.
Wow. This thread is my favorite one of the year. Those bucks are so big in the body; i cant wait to see what they look like in November...
The bucks body size obviously doesn't add anything toward a BC score, but it sure makes them reeeaaally impressive to look at, even more so when you walk up on it after you put one down. Good luck this fall Randy.
The bucks body size obviously doesn't add anything toward a BC score, but it sure makes them reeeaaally impressive to look at, even more so when you walk up on it after you put one down. Good luck this fall Randy.
These guys can keep notching their tags on little ones, I'll be the one laughing with the mountain to myself in the rut.
These guys can keep notching their tags on little ones, I'll be the one laughing with the mountain to myself in the rut.
Patience pays!
Really not a bad way to look at it. And you'll have a story behind the buck. mtmuleyThese guys can keep notching their tags on little ones, I'll be the one laughing with the mountain to myself in the rut.
State record is 187, this has got to be over that, no?
Lou said 198 1/8 green. Time will tell. Great buck
Damn, I was off. When I passed him on Thursday I had him at 194.
I bumped in to this lawn ornament on Saturday, the last day for me to bowhunt the unit-
Here's the same buck in early August-
I glassed a lot of high country that same day, and no bucks spotted. I think this weather and their thick coats has them pretty holed up for now and nocturnal. I was expecting this lull in buck spottings to hit a couple weeks earlier than it did, so no complaints from me.
I'll be out this weekend for the rifle opener, but not expecting too much with the lack of deer activity and invasion of pumpkins in the mountains.
Another two weeks and these deer should be puffed up like angus bulls and chasing doe butts back out in the open.
Here's the same buck in early August-
I glassed a lot of high country that same day, and no bucks spotted. I think this weather and their thick coats has them pretty holed up for now and nocturnal. I was expecting this lull in buck spottings to hit a couple weeks earlier than it did, so no complaints from me.
I'll be out this weekend for the rifle opener, but not expecting too much with the lack of deer activity and invasion of pumpkins in the mountains.
Another two weeks and these deer should be puffed up like angus bulls and chasing doe butts back out in the open.
mtlion
Active member
Don't shoot until you can see the hint of intimacy in their eyes!
JohnCushman
Well-known member
Damn, Randy...all this time in the woods and you might need A stitch if you get a scrape out there :hump:
mtlion
Active member
I carry a wound closure kit and even have a couple surgical staplers.
Works pretty good when your buddies are running their mouths
JohnCushman
Well-known member
I carry a wound closure kit and even have a couple surgical staplers.
Works pretty good when your buddies are running their mouths
Just don't take out the trash
Well, two weekends are in the bag.
Kaitie went out with me opening morning, and right off we starting spotting young bucks. To our surprise, about half the bucks we saw were pushing does hard, and the other half were sparring in the immediate vicinity of does.
We looked at a lot of bucks that morning, but nothing bigger than your basic young 4x4. That night we went down lower to sit on a canyon I thought held potential, but other than some whitetail does we pulled zeroes.
Sunday was spent on the opposite side of the unit. It was pretty warm and I wasn't able to turn up a whole lot in the spot I checked out in the morning. Mid-day I was cruising down the road through an old clearcut, when I looked over and had an awesome buck scraping a sapling 40-50 yards off the road. I slammed on the breaks, and the buck actually starting walking towards me. Unfortunately the young bull pine was so thick I never did get a good look at him, despite following him around and bumping him over and over again for an hour in the clearcut. I'm hopeful I'll see that buck again.
Sunday night was spent again in a new area I hadn't been. It turned up a solid 150-160 type buck that was chasing does hard, but again it was in a brush clearcut and I wasn't able to get a good look or take any pictures.
Kaitie went out with me opening morning, and right off we starting spotting young bucks. To our surprise, about half the bucks we saw were pushing does hard, and the other half were sparring in the immediate vicinity of does.
We looked at a lot of bucks that morning, but nothing bigger than your basic young 4x4. That night we went down lower to sit on a canyon I thought held potential, but other than some whitetail does we pulled zeroes.
Sunday was spent on the opposite side of the unit. It was pretty warm and I wasn't able to turn up a whole lot in the spot I checked out in the morning. Mid-day I was cruising down the road through an old clearcut, when I looked over and had an awesome buck scraping a sapling 40-50 yards off the road. I slammed on the breaks, and the buck actually starting walking towards me. Unfortunately the young bull pine was so thick I never did get a good look at him, despite following him around and bumping him over and over again for an hour in the clearcut. I'm hopeful I'll see that buck again.
Sunday night was spent again in a new area I hadn't been. It turned up a solid 150-160 type buck that was chasing does hard, but again it was in a brush clearcut and I wasn't able to get a good look or take any pictures.
This last weekend was forecasted to be a foggy, rainy mess, and it didn't disappoint. I've been fighting a bad respiratory infection and decided it'd be two days of glassing from the truck and short hikes when the clouds split.
After an annoying confrontation with some elk, I again started turning up deer in the high elevation burn. Thanks to a skiff of snow they were making themselves a lot more visible Again, lots of deer but nothing of any size. It was obvious that the rut had been turned up a notch, and every group of deer I could glass was accompanied by a buck of some sort.
I went and checked out some other spots mid day Saturday, but wanted to be back where I was in the morning for last light. I bumped in to this guy right off, and spent the rest of the night watching him. What a giant, old buck. He was rutting like a mad man, put on quite the show for me. At one point he stood next to a young 20" 4x4, and absolutely dwarfed that buck. I never even thought about shooting him that night, but now looking at the pictures and video, I'm starting to wonder if I don't have false illusions of what's in these mountains and might've passed an opportunity at a great buck. I also wonder if I'm not realizing how massive his rack is due to his ridiculous body size-
Here's a video of him doing his thing-
https://vimeo.com/144367804
After an annoying confrontation with some elk, I again started turning up deer in the high elevation burn. Thanks to a skiff of snow they were making themselves a lot more visible Again, lots of deer but nothing of any size. It was obvious that the rut had been turned up a notch, and every group of deer I could glass was accompanied by a buck of some sort.
I went and checked out some other spots mid day Saturday, but wanted to be back where I was in the morning for last light. I bumped in to this guy right off, and spent the rest of the night watching him. What a giant, old buck. He was rutting like a mad man, put on quite the show for me. At one point he stood next to a young 20" 4x4, and absolutely dwarfed that buck. I never even thought about shooting him that night, but now looking at the pictures and video, I'm starting to wonder if I don't have false illusions of what's in these mountains and might've passed an opportunity at a great buck. I also wonder if I'm not realizing how massive his rack is due to his ridiculous body size-
Here's a video of him doing his thing-
https://vimeo.com/144367804
Yesterday was by far the most productive day as far as finding bucks. The morning started off great, with a really awesome buck crossing in the headlights. I waited him out until shooting light, but he had slipped in to the timber by legal shooting light.
Lots of snow and rain again, but everywhere I looked I found bucks chasing does. Lots of great looking younger bucks, but nothing that stood out. I probably saw as many bucks yesterday as I did the first three days I hunted. Glassing all these bucks, and watching new deer show up everyday has been a blast.
Lots of snow and rain again, but everywhere I looked I found bucks chasing does. Lots of great looking younger bucks, but nothing that stood out. I probably saw as many bucks yesterday as I did the first three days I hunted. Glassing all these bucks, and watching new deer show up everyday has been a blast.
JEL
Well-known member
Holy smokes! What a old warrior and a cool video. I suppose he may not score all that well but impressive deer nonetheless.
