2015 official mule deer meat pole

[4ester]

My deer from this year. Mid 170's 30+ inches wide.

 

[Clarktar]

My deer from this year. Mid 170's 30+ inches wide.

Damn!! What state?

 

[Retterath]

Buddy and i went out today and were after a deer we saw at the end of last year and it was a great hunt. Im on the left and my buddy that shot it is behind the antlers.

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[thejones]

A lot of great deer on the meat pole this year, congrats to all.
here is my colorado third season buck, shot him yesterday morning (10/31). I only had the morning to hunt, and told the wife I would shot the first buck I saw, and here he is.

 

[83mulligan]

Thank you Rokslide and Robby D!

Hey everyone,

Just want to drop a note of thanks to the Rokslide Forum and Robby Denning. I was invited on a mule deer/antelope hunt in Wyoming this year. It's a trip I had went on a couple years ago, but the hunting was cut short by a huge blizzard and although I did tag out, it was all a rush to fill tags before the weather hit and the mule deer I took was spotted by someone else.

This time I was bound and determined to learn as much as I could and really hunt hard for a nice mule deer. In the weeks and months leading up to the hunt I spent a lot of time on this forum reading posts and watching blog videos. Robby even took time out of his schedule to answer a couple of p.m.'s that I sent him regarding how to hunt a particular part of the property I was on. When the time finally came to go I was about as prepared as a guy from Michigan that had little western hunting experience could be. I felt confident in my game plan to get to certain spots and use my glass to find a good buck. This year the weather again played a factor in what we could access by vehicle, but we had a full five day hunt and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I was able to spot many more deer than I had on my previous abbreviated trip and much of that has to do with what I learned here.

My goal for the trip was to take a solid 4 x 4 or better. I spent a lot of hours behind my binos and spotting scope and saw a lot of deer. I passed a few smaller bucks early in the hunt. On the fourth day of the hunt we spotted a nice 4 x 4 crossing a sage flat and slipping into a steep series of draws that had many jagged fingers near the top and then gradually funneled down to another sage flat about 4 miles east of where it began. We hunted around the top of the draw to start, peering over the edge of each of the dozens of fingers at the top looking for him bedded. He was with a few does and one smaller buck and we couldn't locate them near the top so we hunted the draw down to the east. It wasn't a classic spot and stalk because we just didn't know how far down the draw he had traveled to bed and it was fairly deep at the top. Maybe 30 or so feet to the bottom with steep walls and lots of nooks and crannies. We hunted slow and methodically and about a mile and a half into it we saw him stand up. I was able to get the crosshairs on him and dropped him at about 150 yards. He is by no means a giant like a lot of the others that are regularly posted on here, but I am very pleased with him and how the hunt went. Here is a picture:



On the last day of the hunt I shifted my focus to the vast sagebrush flats and was able to take a pretty nice Antelope. I was hunting with another member of our group and we spotted him about a half mile away. We found a draw on the map that looked like it would bring us pretty close. The draw was deep enough to conceal us and we hiked to a point where we thought we could come up and be in range. The antelope had moved away from us a bit, but the range finder showed him at 260 yards. I got on my sticks and made the shot.



I had a great time and can't wait to get back out west again!

 

[Mtnboy]

Idaho, OTC

He came out the 4 miles in one trip in the Stone Glacier no problem. Bone-in quarters.

 

[IrishnId]

My daughters second buck! She's a great shot and a very patient hunter. Hunting with my kids is the best!

 

[slvrslngr]

My daughters second buck! She's a great shot and a very patient hunter. Hunting with my kids is the best!

Congrats to your daughter, that's an awesome buck!

 

[Longhorn92]

My first western animal

Wow, great pics and congrats to everybody.

Here's my very first mule deer. He's not big but it was a tough hunt and I'm happy.

Now I can go find my wall hanger.

Ruby Mountains last month, btw.

 

[worx53]

Colorado, September

 

[Josh Wright]

My wife got her first muley this year on the next to last day.

 

[Josh Wright]

I followed up during 3rd season with a 165 inch 3x3 taken at 530 yards.

 

[jaxdialation]

Nice deer everyone!

Here's my northern CO buck
My 300WM. Hit him like a freight train.

 

[themulieslayer]

View attachment 30577

Idaho early Nov.

 

[vcb]

View attachment 30582

We saw this buck with a doe in heat and another smaller buck at first light on Saturday morning in a corn circle. My buddy and I headed up to a high point and patiently waited for the three-some to head back to their bedding area. My 80mm Swarovski spotter made short work of finding their preferred spot to spend the day from our vantage point ½ a mile away.

We both had archery mule deer tags but my buddy being the unselfish guy he is said, “well they are in a bad spot and you don’t have much cover or wind but if you want to try it go ahead and call me later.”

So it began my solo stalk on fantastic mule deer a half mile in the distance. I had several things working against me; 13” tall sage cover, not a lot of wind and the deer were below me so they had clear view of the hill I had to go down. However, It was 8am and as long as the deer stayed in the same general area I had all day to make it happen.

The first 300yds was pretty easy…I was able to stay on my hands and knees and begin to make my way down to the deer. Every half hour “Mr. Big” would stand up and go smell the doe’s rear end to see if she was putting out the right estrus scent. This would bump the doe out of her bed every time. The smaller buck would do the same and this would make Mr. Big get up and personally show him his large 6x6 rack which would then make the smaller buck temporarily change his mind. This routine would go on all day but lucky for me they always settled back down and never moved very far.

I had roughly 600 yards to cover but the terrain was getting very thin. So much so that I could no longer crawl on my hands and knees because my back would be too high and I thought the deer would pick off my movement. So my army crawl began. This was a slow process to say the least: place my bow ahead of me 2 feet, then dig in my elbows and slide my body up. Once I was within 200 yds. I dropped my pack and also my bow cover. Now I had something helping me…WIND. The wind had come up to a steady 10-12 mph and was coming out of the south west….perfect for my route.

At 100yds I decided to drop my beloved swaro 10-42 binos. I normally wouldn’t do this but the deer where In plain sight and I carried then in a chest bino harness that would catch on the grass as I slid. I had one arrow in my quiver that was tipped with a field point for practice. I slowly pressed the arrow tip into the ground to mark the location of my bino’s.

At this point I started to get worried that it was getting late in the day and I was not going to make it to my preferred shooting range in time. However, I told myself that after spending 7 hrs. dragging myself 900 yds. I wasn’t going to blow it the last 80yds.

The deer were bedded on the side of a small bench and I was below them in a dip in the land. The dip was great because for a half hour it put the deer’s eyes out of sight but at the same time I didn’t know if they had got up or moved off. Once I found my landmark of the ridge line I slowly raised up and started to scan from right to left searching for any ear, rack or body I could find. Then 45yds away Mr. Bigs rack came abruptly into view and I slowly lowered my head back down. He had not caught my movement. I decided not to go any further and let this scenario play out. I was in the game, in shooting range and now I just needed some things to go my way.

The smaller buck was the first to get up and start to feed off. He luckily feed off to my hard left and passed upwind of me at 25yds. I made like a sage bush and he passed by not knowing what lay in the grass. My mind said please let the doe follow the buck….please let the doe follow the buck and magically the doe’s head appeared at 35 yards and feed past me.

It was game on now…I know what was coming. Mr. big had been checking on “his girl” every half hour and I knew who was next to show. His long main frame rack was the first glimpse I had of him as he slowly moved along to the hard left. He was further out and when he put his head down I ranged him at 49yds.

I have had a lot of bow hunting experiences. Each experience teaches you a lesson. Whether you are successful or not each time you can take away positive things that will make you a better bow hunter…. A more lethal bow hunter. My experiences have taught me to always play the wind first and foremost, let your glass do the walking, always take your time in the stalk, always laser range an animal if its further then 30yds, always center your peep, always pick the right pin and always wait for your pin to settle. I have had missed opportunities in the past because I rushed the shot or didn’t know the exact yardage. I always thought well I don’t have time to do that the animal is going to bust. I have learned to let the animal bust or go. These rules have increased my success in bow hunting big game.

Mr. big was at 49 yds. directly upwind of me and when he put his head down to graze it was go time. I lifted my Bowtech insanity and half way thru the draw his head swung up and stared in my direction. I ignored him. Disciplined on following my routine and letting the dancing pin slow to a steady hold. I touched my release and in a split second I had 28” of Easton axis on its way. I heard my Exodus broad head make the distinct sound of impact and he spun to his right and ran directly away from me with my arrow still in his side.

I felt good about the shot. I could remember exactly where the pin was when the release fired but since he was running directly south I could not see the point of impact. I also wondered why my arrow didn’t have a pass thru. I have shot two bulls in the last three years and the arrow has always been a pass thru…. The doe and smaller buck bounced away not knowing why Mr. Big had left in such a hurry. I was able to see my deer about 200 yds. away going around the corner of the corn circle. Confident in my shot and last place I saw him I walked back on my stalk route to pick up my bino’s and pack.

I called my buddy and had he meet me. I explained I just arrowed the buck and he was on the run. We picked up his blood trail out of the corn and into the next cut wheat field. Glassing out into the field we spotted him walking alone on the far side. Thru the bino’s we could see he was having a hard time staying up and soon stepped into the CRP grass and bedded. With light fading fast we only gave him about 20 minutes before stepping into the grass after him. A short walk following a crimson red blood trail led us to the still deer laying before us. He was majestic. Big, muscular and thick.

I walked up to him put my hand on his back and silently thanked him for his life. I thanked him for the food he is going to provide for me and my family.

We took some pictures in the dark and then put him in the truck bed to get him back to my buddy’s place so we could begin to break him down into quarters for the game bags.

This morning all the meat went to the processor and head/rack/ cape went to the taxidermist. I can’t wait to get him back so I can look at him on the wall and remember my long stalk and his majestic presence when he first stepped out to follow his girl.

 

[belly-deep]

I followed up during 3rd season with a 165 inch 3x3 taken at 530 yards.

Great buck! I LOVE big 3 points!!!

 

[Gumbo]

Here is my Montana float trip muley. Had to make a pretty quick decision to shoot or not, clearly I went for it. Gross scores about 165 as a 6x6.

 

[Carlin59]

Gumbo, I like your PBR "nav lights" on your boat!

 

[Mtslackcountry]

View attachment 30582

We saw this buck with a doe in heat and another smaller buck at first light on Saturday morning in a corn circle. My buddy and I headed up to a high point and patiently waited for the three-some to head back to their bedding area. My 80mm Swarovski spotter made short work of finding their preferred spot to spend the day from our vantage point ½ a mile away.

We both had archery mule deer tags but my buddy being the unselfish guy he is said, “well they are in a bad spot and you don’t have much cover or wind but if you want to try it go ahead and call me later.”

So it began my solo stalk on fantastic mule deer a half mile in the distance. I had several things working against me; 13” tall sage cover, not a lot of wind and the deer were below me so they had clear view of the hill I had to go down. However, It was 8am and as long as the deer stayed in the same general area I had all day to make it happen.

The first 300yds was pretty easy…I was able to stay on my hands and knees and begin to make my way down to the deer. Every half hour “Mr. Big” would stand up and go smell the doe’s rear end to see if she was putting out the right estrus scent. This would bump the doe out of her bed every time. The smaller buck would do the same and this would make Mr. Big get up and personally show him his large 6x6 rack which would then make the smaller buck temporarily change his mind. This routine would go on all day but lucky for me they always settled back down and never moved very far.

I had roughly 600 yards to cover but the terrain was getting very thin. So much so that I could no longer crawl on my hands and knees because my back would be too high and I thought the deer would pick off my movement. So my army crawl began. This was a slow process to say the least: place my bow ahead of me 2 feet, then dig in my elbows and slide my body up. Once I was within 200 yds. I dropped my pack and also my bow cover. Now I had something helping me…WIND. The wind had come up to a steady 10-12 mph and was coming out of the south west….perfect for my route.

At 100yds I decided to drop my beloved swaro 10-42 binos. I normally wouldn’t do this but the deer where In plain sight and I carried then in a chest bino harness that would catch on the grass as I slid. I had one arrow in my quiver that was tipped with a field point for practice. I slowly pressed the arrow tip into the ground to mark the location of my bino’s.

At this point I started to get worried that it was getting late in the day and I was not going to make it to my preferred shooting range in time. However, I told myself that after spending 7 hrs. dragging myself 900 yds. I wasn’t going to blow it the last 80yds.

The deer were bedded on the side of a small bench and I was below them in a dip in the land. The dip was great because for a half hour it put the deer’s eyes out of sight but at the same time I didn’t know if they had got up or moved off. Once I found my landmark of the ridge line I slowly raised up and started to scan from right to left searching for any ear, rack or body I could find. Then 45yds away Mr. Bigs rack came abruptly into view and I slowly lowered my head back down. He had not caught my movement. I decided not to go any further and let this scenario play out. I was in the game, in shooting range and now I just needed some things to go my way.

The smaller buck was the first to get up and start to feed off. He luckily feed off to my hard left and passed upwind of me at 25yds. I made like a sage bush and he passed by not knowing what lay in the grass. My mind said please let the doe follow the buck….please let the doe follow the buck and magically the doe’s head appeared at 35 yards and feed past me.

It was game on now…I know what was coming. Mr. big had been checking on “his girl” every half hour and I knew who was next to show. His long main frame rack was the first glimpse I had of him as he slowly moved along to the hard left. He was further out and when he put his head down I ranged him at 49yds.

I have had a lot of bow hunting experiences. Each experience teaches you a lesson. Whether you are successful or not each time you can take away positive things that will make you a better bow hunter…. A more lethal bow hunter. My experiences have taught me to always play the wind first and foremost, let your glass do the walking, always take your time in the stalk, always laser range an animal if its further then 30yds, always center your peep, always pick the right pin and always wait for your pin to settle. I have had missed opportunities in the past because I rushed the shot or didn’t know the exact yardage. I always thought well I don’t have time to do that the animal is going to bust. I have learned to let the animal bust or go. These rules have increased my success in bow hunting big game.

Mr. big was at 49 yds. directly upwind of me and when he put his head down to graze it was go time. I lifted my Bowtech insanity and half way thru the draw his head swung up and stared in my direction. I ignored him. Disciplined on following my routine and letting the dancing pin slow to a steady hold. I touched my release and in a split second I had 28” of Easton axis on its way. I heard my Exodus broad head make the distinct sound of impact and he spun to his right and ran directly away from me with my arrow still in his side.

I felt good about the shot. I could remember exactly where the pin was when the release fired but since he was running directly south I could not see the point of impact. I also wondered why my arrow didn’t have a pass thru. I have shot two bulls in the last three years and the arrow has always been a pass thru…. The doe and smaller buck bounced away not knowing why Mr. Big had left in such a hurry. I was able to see my deer about 200 yds. away going around the corner of the corn circle. Confident in my shot and last place I saw him I walked back on my stalk route to pick up my bino’s and pack.

I called my buddy and had he meet me. I explained I just arrowed the buck and he was on the run. We picked up his blood trail out of the corn and into the next cut wheat field. Glassing out into the field we spotted him walking alone on the far side. Thru the bino’s we could see he was having a hard time staying up and soon stepped into the CRP grass and bedded. With light fading fast we only gave him about 20 minutes before stepping into the grass after him. A short walk following a crimson red blood trail led us to the still deer laying before us. He was majestic. Big, muscular and thick.

I walked up to him put my hand on his back and silently thanked him for his life. I thanked him for the food he is going to provide for me and my family.

We took some pictures in the dark and then put him in the truck bed to get him back to my buddy’s place so we could begin to break him down into quarters for the game bags.

This morning all the meat went to the processor and head/rack/ cape went to the taxidermist. I can’t wait to get him back so I can look at him on the wall and remember my long stalk and his majestic presence when he first stepped out to follow his girl.

Great story bud! I cant view the attachment for some reason but sounds like a great deer and story.

 

[Gumbo]

Gumbo, I like your PBR "nav lights" on your boat!

They are a critical component of most any float trip. Just to be clear we were pushing out the rest of the float and had a couple beverages since we were done hunting.