Time is up and I left him on the mountain.

Okie-hunter

Lil-Rokslider
Classified Approved
Joined
May 9, 2024
Messages
121
Well I just arrived home from my very first western hunt. A mule deer archery hunt in a place I hope to return to in the near future. I got my butt whooped. I mean i went 5 days without seeing a buck bigger than a forky… You start second guessing your decisions when you’ve been hitting it hard that long with little to show and no one to bounce ideas off of or get a second opinion from.
But on the 6th day things changed. I found a bachelor group of bucks with an absolute hammer in it (at least to me he was a hammer).
But there was a problem… he was bedding 200 yards from the border of my unit in what we will call a “safe zone”. I found him in his bed the first time I saw him, a 3-4 acre patch of large pines in the bottom of a small north facing basin. I was able to slip in and get some good pics of him but I needed him to come south up a drainage to get a shot and be legal. I sat 2 mornings and 2 evenings hoping he would come to bed or leave the bed and cross this imaginary line. The second day hunting him I caught him after a heavy thunderstorm dropping back in to his bed mid afternoon from a hillside to the north and was hopeful he might feed out in the evening to the south… No show. This morning I was hopeful maybe he’d drop off the mountain somewhere I could at least try a stalk on him on his way to bed. The same results.
Time was up. I packed up camp after the morning hunt, headed east and left him on the mountain.
He beat me. Really the whole mountain whooped me. But I think this specific deer sparked a new kind of love and respect in me for mule deer hunting. The scenery and the wildlife made the trip something I won’t soon forget.
I’m blessed to have these opportunities. I got to see a lot of cool things on the trip and look forward to my next hunt out west.
Hunting season is here. Hope y’all enjoy the pics & good luck to yall with seasons just kicking off and soon to come!
 

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FAAFO

WKR
Joined
May 24, 2024
Messages
442
Oh man thanks for sharing and while it sucks you didn’t get a buck I have no doubt next time will be a different result!
 
OP
O

Okie-hunter

Lil-Rokslider
Classified Approved
Joined
May 9, 2024
Messages
121
That's a slammer ram, wow
Look close and there’s 2 studs in that pic! First bighorns I’d ever seen. We can only hope one day they will be plentiful across all the Rockies!
 
Joined
Nov 7, 2012
Messages
8,051
Location
S. UTAH
Thats a great buck. Is his back fork on the right side of the pic broken? That sheep has an ear tag.
 
OP
O

Okie-hunter

Lil-Rokslider
Classified Approved
Joined
May 9, 2024
Messages
121
Thats a great buck. Is his back fork on the right side of the pic broken? That sheep has an ear tag.
It is! Still hanging on in the velvet. Thought that was pretty cool.
I believe he was the only ram with an ear tag out of 7. There’s no sheep hunts in this unit & Im sure the DNR keeps a close eye on these rams.
 

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Rotnguns

WKR
Joined
Apr 11, 2020
Messages
385
Location
Southwest Idaho
Well I just arrived home from my very first western hunt. A mule deer archery hunt in a place I hope to return to in the near future. I got my butt whooped. I mean i went 5 days without seeing a buck bigger than a forky… You start second guessing your decisions when you’ve been hitting it hard that long with little to show and no one to bounce ideas off of or get a second opinion from.
But on the 6th day things changed. I found a bachelor group of bucks with an absolute hammer in it (at least to me he was a hammer).
But there was a problem… he was bedding 200 yards from the border of my unit in what we will call a “safe zone”. I found him in his bed the first time I saw him, a 3-4 acre patch of large pines in the bottom of a small north facing basin. I was able to slip in and get some good pics of him but I needed him to come south up a drainage to get a shot and be legal. I sat 2 mornings and 2 evenings hoping he would come to bed or leave the bed and cross this imaginary line. The second day hunting him I caught him after a heavy thunderstorm dropping back in to his bed mid afternoon from a hillside to the north and was hopeful he might feed out in the evening to the south… No show. This morning I was hopeful maybe he’d drop off the mountain somewhere I could at least try a stalk on him on his way to bed. The same results.
Time was up. I packed up camp after the morning hunt, headed east and left him on the mountain.
He beat me. Really the whole mountain whooped me. But I think this specific deer sparked a new kind of love and respect in me for mule deer hunting. The scenery and the wildlife made the trip something I won’t soon forget.
I’m blessed to have these opportunities. I got to see a lot of cool things on the trip and look forward to my next hunt out west.
Hunting season is here. Hope y’all enjoy the pics & good luck to yall with seasons just kicking off and soon to come!
Thanks for sharing this story and those great pics! You had an awesome experience even though you didn't get a buck.
 

Chris B

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Dec 20, 2019
Messages
239
Man , what a trip , and yes that buck is a HAMMER ! Thanks for posting.
 
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