Hunting Big Mule Deer - a Rokslide.com original film

[Jordan Budd]

Thanks for entertaining me and the girls.

how big is the buck at 8:50?

160-165 is what was determined.

 

[Travis Bertrand]

160-165 is what was determined.

Is that the buck the other hunter killed?


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[Jordan Budd]

Is that the buck the other hunter killed?


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No. It was a different one. The buck the other guy killed was still in velvet.

 

[Ndbowhunter]

160-165 is what was determined.

thank you.

score means little in the scheme of it all, but it’s nice to keep up your mental frame of what is a 165 when you can’t see mule deer in the flesh for 8 months between seasons.


Robby, how do you keep the freezer full when ur willing to eat tag soup?

I’m adjusting back to hunting in the states where you get one chance at getting it right.

 

[idahohikker]

160-165 is what was determined.

What was the last buck shown when Robby was still hunted when he returned solo? Hard to tell from the video alone but the front view I was thinking 170”ish.

 

[Rich M]

Y'all are playing at a whole 'nother level. But as Robby said - If you shoot the little ones, you'll never get a big one.

Thanks for dragging us along.

 

[robby denning]

What was the last buck shown when Robby was still hunted when he returned solo? Hard to tell from the video alone but the front view I was thinking 170”ish.

Hey man,
There were actually two bucks there. The first was that real nice 170ish bedded buck. When I stepped out of some shadows and saw him, I just slowly sank to the ground to hide my form. I got ready to shoot in case it was Rockslide or another good buck, and to glass the shadows more carefully to see if there were other bucks bedded (it was about 5pm).

After determining it wasn’t any of that, I shot that quick close up. He was under 100 yards.

After a while, I crawled back a few feet into the shadows, stood up and circled downhill and downwind to get another angle into that opening (it was smaller than it appeared.).

After moving not more than 50 yards, I spotted that other smaller buck with his head down. I got ready to shoot, but he wasn’t a shooter either, so I shot that quick video. So it’s two different bucks.

Then I did move to a spot and could see back into that opening, but no other bucks spotted. Moved west slowly about 80 yards and came face-to-face with another 4pt, but I spooked him so no video. I sat on the ground and let everything settle down, then crept out of there.

I’ve found that if you’re in their bedroom, there can be bucks everywhere and they’re not always bedded together (all those bucks were within a 150 yard circle). I think it’s just as effective for them to be apart as if one get’s spooked, the other ones hear the commotion and go on high alert and/or sneak out, especially the old ones.

Sure enough, creeping through there the next morning, all the bucks were gone...



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[robby denning]

thank you.

score means little in the scheme of it all, but it’s nice to keep up your mental frame of what is a 165 when you can’t see mule deer in the flesh for 8 months between seasons.


Robby, how do you keep the freezer full when ur willing to eat tag soup?

I’m adjusting back to hunting in the states where you get one chance at getting it right.

Hi,
I just hunt a lot and eventually, I get one. I make sure I’m hunting from September to whenever the seasons run out. Some years all my own state of Idaho, some years I’m in two states (and even three, but I don’t like it when that happens.)

So far the only years I didn’t get a muley since 1999 was in 2006 (but I got two in 2005, so I was OK) and after the hard winter of 2011, but I did get a whitetail on the last day (tag was good for both) so still had the freezer full.

Oh, and I’m not above lowering my standards once I’m in the last few days of a hunt that is my last chance for the season.

This plan could backfire one day, but I’ve given a lot of buddies meat over the years, so I’m owed.



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[idahohikker]

Hey man,
There were actually two bucks there. The first was that real nice 170ish bedded buck. When I stepped out of some shadows and saw him, I just slowly sank to the ground to hide my form. I got ready to shoot in case it was Rockslide or another good buck, and to glass the shadows more carefully to see if there were other bucks bedded (it was about 5pm).

After determining it wasn’t any of that, I shot that quick close up. He was under 100 yards.

After a while, I crawled back a few feet into the shadows, stood up and circled downhill and downwind to get another angle into that opening (it was smaller than it appeared.).

After moving not more than 50 yards, I spotted that other smaller buck with his head down. I got ready to shoot, but he wasn’t a shooter either, so I shot that quick video. So it’s two different bucks.

Then I did move to a spot and could see back into that opening, but no other bucks spotted. Moved west slowly about 80 yards and came face-to-face with another 4pt, but I spooked him so no video. I sat on the ground and let everything settle down, then crept out of there.

I’ve found that if you’re in their bedroom, there can be bucks everywhere and they’re not always bedded together (all those bucks were within a 150 yard circle). I think it’s just as effective for them to be apart as if one get’s spooked, the other ones hear the commotion and go on high alert and/or sneak out, especially the old ones.

Sure enough, creeping through there the next morning, all the bucks were gone...



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I appreciate the explanation. When I watched the video I thought the 170 type back and the one shown immediately after were the same buck but the second was noticeably smaller so I was confused.

I was definitely rooting for you to take that 170ish buck. That 170 range is where deer start getting interesting for me these days. I wouldn’t have settled for less on that tag but he was a pretty deer, especially in the fourth quarter. Was it all Rokslide or nothing?

The explanation of your still hunting strategy is very logical and well explained. Awesome stuff.

 

[robby denning]

I appreciate the explanation. When I watched the video I thought the 170 type back and the one shown immediately after were the same buck but the second was noticeably smaller so I was confused.

I was definitely rooting for you to take that 170ish buck. That 170 range is where deer start getting interesting for me these days. I wouldn’t have settled for less on that tag but he was a pretty deer, especially in the fourth quarter. Was it all Rokslide or nothing?

The explanation of your still hunting strategy is very logical and well explained. Awesome stuff.

Oh ya, it was Rockslide or nothing for several reasons.

1) I know I screwed up the phoneskope footage and didn’t get to show him, but he was a REALLY GOOD BUCK (that’s why I spent 17 days out of 30 hunting him). Best I’ve seen in a few years, even better in a way than that 34-incher from 2018. Rockslide was very heavy, prolly mid 5s at the base but he carried mass almost to the tips, and he had deep forks and good fronts (which is hard to find) I don’t wanna throw out a score, but he was pushing the giant category to me.

2) That’s why I scout. It’s easy to pass the 170s when you know what is truly possible. And I still had one more day to hunt, so I didn’t wanna blast him not knowing what else was there. Sure enough, I found those other bucks within just minutes. Any one of those bucks could have been Rockslide.

3) Plus I knew I still had that muzzleloader hunt coming in November, so I figured I’d have a chance at a nice buck then.

In the end, you gotta be willing to get skunked or you’ll only ever shoot nice bucks. If that’s OK with you, that’s OK with me, but I want the best I can find.

 

[VANDAL]

Great video! Thanks for putting this together and sharing with us!


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[robby denning]

Great video! Thanks for putting this together and sharing with us!


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Thanks!


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[robby denning]

Last season I found a 185 typical in a general unit here in Utah. I planned on hunting to the bitter end for him but after the first 3 days I decided to go home for a night to sleep just to recharge for the last 6 days of the hunt. I looked on Monstermuleys an there is a picture of the buck I am after! I messaged the guy and sure enough he had killed it in one of the spots I had seen the buck in while scouting. Shot it at first light on opening morning! I saw the buck twice all summer and i opted to hunt the other spot because it was farther from the pack trail....... go figure! After that I knew the big buck was gone and he was the only one I had seen all summer so my standards dropped significantly haha.

Sorry man!!! I’ve lost bucks to other hunters, too.

But I noticed one thing reading your story, that the buck was still right there. You were halfway there, but that’s big buck hunting on public land for you.


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[PNWGATOR]

Always appreciate the content you share, thank you. Hope these films continue! Well done Jordan.

 

[Jim Carr]

Awesome video. Robby really liked how you explained what you were thinking along the way.

 

[VANDAL]

@robby denning - I watched the video again today...still just as good, challenging terrain to hunt deer in. I have a couple questions: 1) How far was your horse camp from the core hunting area? 2) Out of the 17 days, how many hrs and/or days were spent in the “red zone” (in tight, still hunting where you thought that buck was living). 3) I find it fascinating and hard to believe a buck can avoid being seen in that amount of time being pursued by great hunters. Were you seeing new bucks consistently throughout the hunt or were you often seeing same bucks each day?

@Jordan Budd
Excellent job on the video! I hope you release the uncut scenes and bloopers video in the next few weeks!



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[robby denning]

@robby denning - I watched the video again today...still just as good, challenging terrain to hunt deer in. I have a couple questions: 1) How far was your horse camp from the core hunting area? 2) Out of the 17 days, how many hrs and/or days were spent in the “red zone” (in tight, still hunting where you thought that buck was living). 3) I find it fascinating and hard to believe a buck can avoid being seen in that amount of time being pursued by great hunters. Were you seeing new bucks consistently throughout the hunt or were you often seeing same bucks each day?

@Jordan Budd
Excellent job on the video! I hope you release the uncut scenes and bloopers video in the next few weeks!



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Hey bro’

1) camp was about a mile and 800-1000’ below the deer country, with a big ridge between camp and the deer country.

2) I was there more than 17 days, as I didn’t count arrival days, so all 17 were hunting days. Hunted in the “red zone” (or glassing it from other ridges) all of those days from before first light to anywhere between 1PM and 4 PM. There were a few days I hunted the evenings, too.

3) on the buck staying hidden, go to 4 minutes and look at all that timber. And that was only about 1/2 of it. I filmed that set of tracks near the end of the video in that timber, and there’s another one (that was even bigger) on my IG uploaded 9/11 that I tracked on 9/7, also in broken timber. Both very big tracks indicative of bucks pushing 300lbs, but I never saw those bucks. All the bucks I saw were fairly sleek and not likely leaving tracks like that unless they were just genetic freaks, like the 5’9” guy with a size 12 boot. And yes, I did see new bucks show up on each of the three hunts that I hadn’t seen before (And I saw ones that I’d seen before on each hunt.) They were there the whole time, just enough cover in that area to make them hard to see. All the drainages around us seemed to have more hunting pressure than where I was at, (outfitters on both sides of us) so I believe there was no safer place for him to be than where we were. I could be wrong, but out of the two other 220+ bucks I’ve killed in the high country, I had 14 days in the first one and only saw him once 30 seconds before I killed him 800 yards from where I’d seen him in the previous two summers. The second one took 16 days, and I saw him two other times in those 16 days, and killed him also roughly 800 yards from where I’d first seen him. Both areas had similar amounts of cover. Just think how many times you went back and looked for your buck this year and he wasn’t there. Then bam, you killed him. Same story.

My friend who chased a legit 40” this year documented with trail cameras that deer ranged up to two miles but was seen multiple times in an area much smaller than that and was finally killed in that area by another hunter (that’s how we know he was 40”). The area was choked with timber and brush.

I just don’t believe these really big bucks roam that far, before the migration/rut. I could be wrong about some of them, but I can’t do much about the ones that do cause I don’t know where they go.


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[street]

Hey bro’

1) camp was about a mile and 800-1000’ below the deer country, with a big ridge between camp and the deer country.

2) I was there more than 17 days, as I didn’t count arrival days, so all 17 were hunting days. Hunted in the “red zone” (or glassing it from other ridges) all of those days from before first light to anywhere between 1PM and 4 PM. There were a few days I hunted the evenings, too.

3) on the buck staying hidden, go to 4 minutes and look at all that timber. And that was only about 1/2 of it. I filmed that set of tracks near the end of the video in that timber, and there’s another one (that was even bigger) on my IG uploaded 9/11 that I tracked on 9/7, also in broken timber. Both very big tracks indicative of bucks pushing 300lbs, but I never saw those bucks. All the bucks I saw were fairly sleek and not likely leaving tracks like that unless they were just genetic freaks, like the 5’9” guy with a size 12 boot. And yes, I did see new bucks show up on each of the three hunts that I hadn’t seen before (And I saw ones that I’d seen before on each hunt.) They were there the whole time, just enough cover in that area to make them hard to see. All the drainages around us seemed to have more hunting pressure than where I was at, (outfitters on both sides of us) so I believe there was no safer place for him to be than where we were. I could be wrong, but out of the two other 220+ bucks I’ve killed in the high country, I had 14 days in the first one and only saw him once 30 seconds before I killed him 800 yards from where I’d seen him in the previous two summers. The second one took 16 days, and I saw him two other times in those 16 days, and killed him also roughly 800 yards from where I’d first seen him. Both areas had similar amounts of cover. Just think how many times you went back and looked for your buck this year and he wasn’t there. Then bam, you killed him. Same story.

My friend who chased a legit 40” this year documented with trail cameras that deer ranged up to two miles but was seen multiple times in an area much smaller than that and was finally killed in that area by another hunter (that’s how we know he was 40”). The area was choked with timber and brush.

I just don’t believe these really big bucks roam that far, before the migration/rut. I could be wrong about some of them, but I can’t do much about the ones that do cause I don’t know where they go.


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Hi Robby, A few questions I was curious about. What were the conditions like when you still hunted up on that bedded buck? Were you side hilling? Was the wind in your favor? To his back? Seemed surprising that you almost snuck up behind him.

 

[robby denning]

Hi Robby, A few questions I was curious about. What were the conditions like when you still hunted up on that bedded buck? Were you side hilling? Was the wind in your favor? To his back? Seemed surprising that you almost snuck up behind him.

There were two bucks (see the post #69 in TT above for the explanation on why it looked like there was one)). The bigger one that was bedded was actually facing me, but I was in the shadows and moving slow with the wind moving from him to me. It was fairly flat as I was on a little bench. Conditions were quiet with light wind. It had snowed and rained the previous few days, and I’d wait until later afternoon so the ground would soften up.


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[VANDAL]

Hey bro’

1) camp was about a mile and 800-1000’ below the deer country, with a big ridge between camp and the deer country.

2) I was there more than 17 days, as I didn’t count arrival days, so all 17 were hunting days. Hunted in the “red zone” (or glassing it from other ridges) all of those days from before first light to anywhere between 1PM and 4 PM. There were a few days I hunted the evenings, too.

3) on the buck staying hidden, go to 4 minutes and look at all that timber. And that was only about 1/2 of it. I filmed that set of tracks near the end of the video in that timber, and there’s another one (that was even bigger) on my IG uploaded 9/11 that I tracked on 9/7, also in broken timber. Both very big tracks indicative of bucks pushing 300lbs, but I never saw those bucks. All the bucks I saw were fairly sleek and not likely leaving tracks like that unless they were just genetic freaks, like the 5’9” guy with a size 12 boot. And yes, I did see new bucks show up on each of the three hunts that I hadn’t seen before (And I saw ones that I’d seen before on each hunt.) They were there the whole time, just enough cover in that area to make them hard to see. All the drainages around us seemed to have more hunting pressure than where I was at, (outfitters on both sides of us) so I believe there was no safer place for him to be than where we were. I could be wrong, but out of the two other 220+ bucks I’ve killed in the high country, I had 14 days in the first one and only saw him once 30 seconds before I killed him 800 yards from where I’d seen him in the previous two summers. The second one took 16 days, and I saw him two other times in those 16 days, and killed him also roughly 800 yards from where I’d first seen him. Both areas had similar amounts of cover. Just think how many times you went back and looked for your buck this year and he wasn’t there. Then bam, you killed him. Same story.

My friend who chased a legit 40” this year documented with trail cameras that deer ranged up to two miles but was seen multiple times in an area much smaller than that and was finally killed in that area by another hunter (that’s how we know he was 40”). The area was choked with timber and brush.

I just don’t believe these really big bucks roam that far, before the migration/rut. I could be wrong about some of them, but I can’t do much about the ones that do cause I don’t know where they go.


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Thanks for the feedback, I appreciate it!

Big bucks are smart. But big bucks that manage to survive in high pressured area’s are a different breed.




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