2004 ND Rifle Buck

[iminrut]

OK....guys, you'll have to forgive me, but I'm at work right now and I wanted to get the pic up as soon as I could.......and a shortened version of the story.......I'll go into more detail later on, with more pics to come also.......


Our rifle season closes this Sunday, and I was to start my first round of night shifts tonight.......with an unfilled tag, it left me with this afternoon and tomorrow morning as the only remaining opportunities to get out there and shift the luck in my favor.....

Well in the past two days, I've covered more miles on foot up and down draws than I can count......I'm guessing in the 15-20 mile range. My legs were so full of charley horses all night long, that i got little sleep........well my buddy stops over around dinner time today, to show me his monstrous 5x5 whitey.....kickers and stickers everywhere and tons of mass......it gave me the renewed energy to hit the thick stuff before I had to head to work....

I jumped this buck about 2 miles in....with one hurried shot as he hauled arse out of there, and he was down..............by the time I got pics done, field dressed him and spent the remaining hours manuevering my pickup through the trees and cutbanks for a reasonably close drag, it was time to head to work !!!! I'm still in my bloody clothes and boots Good thing my crew ain't squeemish....

19" inside spread.....4x4 to go on the wall........the wife says "....I don't even need to ask, we're getting it mounted, right ??!!....." Yep...sure...ya betcha... hump

 

[Highcountry]

Nice buck! It almost looks like a hybrid muley/whitetail, I could be wrong. None the less its a great buck!

-Hghcountry

 

[JoseCuervo]

Hunting is always better on the last day.....

Congrats.

 

[Delw]

Nice Buck


Delw

 

[iminrut]

Thanks for the comments guys.......I sure felt the pressure to keep up with my buddies for the year, LOL....nothing like hangin' on till the last minute. You know, I originally spotted this buck exactly a week ago, and I don't think I've ever hunted harder for any one buck, especially in such a short period of time....I'll never forget that first sight of him.......I had parked my pickup at the start of this huge draw........I was about 3/4 to a mile in, and decided to glass around.....there at the bottom of the draw not 50 feet from my pickup was this buck !!! He stood there for a few moments and then chased a doe down into the creek bottom......I saw him a couple more times in the past week, but nothing closer than 400 yards......until today

Nice buck! It almost looks like a hybrid muley/whitetail, I could be wrong. None the less its a great buck!

-Hghcountry

You know HC, that same thought had crossed my head.......I hadn't paid much attention to it at first, till i was getting him lined up for pics.......then that snub roman nose and the dark forehead patch threw my thoughts into quick denial, LOL.....and for a whitey, he's got the coarsest hair I've ever seen. This is strong Muley and Whitetail country, so it is a definite possibility..........that, and the fact that I shot a confirmed hybrid not a mile from this location 7 years ago.....

 

[mtmiller]

Nice buck iminrut. It looks like one I shot in SD last year. Your hard work paid off with a dandy buck.

 

[Nut]

Congrats Clay.

 

[iminrut]

I remember that buck too MT....they do look alot a like don't they.....

I got a chance to rough score him, he's going to go in between 135 to 140"....not an all out hoss, but I'm tickled with him........I actually think that his racks frame makes him more impressive than his score dictates.......it really set's up high and wide......22 and 23" main beams and just over 19" inside and nearly 30 inches of mass........

The only sad thing is that brings an end to my horn hunting for the year......but it was a pretty good one.....

 

[mtmiller]

I got a chance to rough score him, he's going to go in between 135 to 140"....

Nevermind about my deer looking like yours. Mine was only about 120". That is a heck of a buck you got there and a great overall year.

 

[iminrut]

MT...I've come to realize that scores are only numbers......it's their appearance that sets them apart as far as I'm concerned...... that buck of yours was a heck of a buck too, and was bigger in my eyes than his score reveals. That's why I can appreciate those buck contests out there that don't rely on scores, but are judged on peoples choice.......while I may not be a big supporter of buck contests, I can appreciate the showcasing of God's creations....heck, who can't LOL.....this place would sure be boring without pics, that's for sure........we'd have to rely solely on Moosie's wit for entertainment....

 

[1_pointer]

Congrats! After going to SD to bird hunt, deer hunting that open country looks like a BLAST!

 

[Buschy]

Clay,

Nice deer. What a year you have had. We got our mulies and I will post pics soon. Way to go.

 

[Bwana]

Another Hunttalk member having an awesome year and a ND boy too boot. Way to go rutman!

 

[smalls]

That's a beauty Clay! Have you seen pics of the buck that got hit by a pickup over by Killdeer? I have it in a .doc file but can't get them in a file that I can post.

 

[iminrut]

The Nodak'rs have had a great year ain't we.....

Smalls, I hadn't heard of it yet.....I'll be heading to Dickinson for Sideline's buck contest tomorrow night....maybe it will be there ?? And I'll try to hit Bismarck's Wednesday, but our home town Buck Contest is Wed. also.....

I also know of three different sets of locked bucks now....two of the pair were harvested by hunters, the other one had one dead buck and one near death so the local warden put him down....

Hey Moosie....the Cap showed up today....a little late, but I'll be sporting it for the pics at the buck contests, LOL.... Looks great...on me anyways

 

[Ithaca 37]

Congratulations!

 

[ND Muley Buster]

My horn hunting aint over yet. The bow muley still has to hit the ground here pretty soon. I wish we could just get some damn snow!!