Richelle's Late Mule Deer Hunt-Field Update #6

[CEI]

Been hunting for the past two days. We still haven't found what I would consider a big buck. We didn't see a deer on the 28th, which really stunk. Yesterday was a different story...We decided to hunt further east because of the time we have spent on the west side without seeing a shooter. A ton of country is unhuntable because of road closures and snow. With that said, we hunted the juniper and cinder country. Around noon I glassed up a 2 12 year old two point chasing a doe and then a deer in the middle of some elk. We went around the corner and we saw 7-8 does and fawns with a year and a half old buck rutting them around. At about 4 p.m. we glassed up a doe and a fawn with no buck. A few minutes later we glassed up 6 more does and fawns. Again, no buck! Terrible buck-to-Doe ratio! I have also probably seen 250-300 elk in the past two days. Almost every place I glass has an elk in it. I am beginning to hate them dang stupid things! Ok, so back to the end of our day. At about 4:45 p.m. I was wading through the elk with my 15's and spotted the first mature buck of the trip. He was only a 2x3, but he had the best mass thus far and was tall and about 24ish wide. After watching him trail up deer for 10 mins. I told Richelle she could shoot him, if she wanted. She said she was ready to kill him. I started taking ranges and found the buck to be well over 1,000 yards, so we waited. The buck eventually made his way to the top of the mountain, where he found two other bucks and a hot doe. There was a better buck! I quickly sized him up. He was a main frame 4x3 with a 3" kicker on his left side. I didn't think he was that good until he got next to the big 2x3. The 4x3 doesn't have a great scoring frame but he is about 26" wide. We watched the deer as it got dark. On the way back to the cabin we found out about a big buck that had been killed in that general area. After talking with a couple friends I am thinking of checking out one more spot before we go hunt the 4x3 with the kicker. I am not sure if it is the right move. Honestly, I think it is a selfish move because I know Richelle wants to be done. It was -11 with wind chill yesterday and with the whole family hunting together it's not going to be easy. FYI-Richelle has never killed a deer before so I have mixed emotions about pulling off of this buck.

 

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[CouesWhitetail]

Holy smokes, -11 and hunting with the whole family!! Wow, that's dedication. Let her shoot whatever she wants! Good luck out there!

[tjhunt2]

Been hunting for the past two days. We still haven't found what I would consider a big buck. We didn't see a deer on the 28th, which really stunk. Yesterday was a different story...We decided to hunt further east because of the time we have spent on the west side without seeing a shooter. A ton of country is unhuntable because of road closures and snow. With that said, we hunted the juniper and cinder country. Around noon I glassed up a 2 12 year old two point chasing a doe and then a deer in the middle of some elk. We went around the corner and we saw 7-8 does and fawns with a year and a half old buck rutting them around. At about 4 p.m. we glassed up a doe and a fawn with no buck. A few minutes later we glassed up 6 more does and fawns. Again, no buck! Terrible buck-to-Doe ratio! I have also probably seen 250-300 elk in the past two days. Almost every place I glass has an elk in it. I am beginning to hate them dang stupid things! Ok, so back to the end of our day. At about 4:45 p.m. I was wading through the elk with my 15's and spotted the first mature buck of the trip. He was only a 2x3, but he had the best mass thus far and was tall and about 24ish wide. After watching him trail up deer for 10 mins. I told Richelle she could shoot him, if she wanted. She said she was ready to kill him. I started taking ranges and found the buck to be well over 1,000 yards, so we waited. The buck eventually made his way to the top of the mountain, where he found two other bucks and a hot doe. There was a better buck! I quickly sized him up. He was a main frame 4x3 with a 3" kicker on his left side. I didn't think he was that good until he got next to the big 2x3. The 4x3 doesn't have a great scoring frame but he is about 26" wide. We watched the deer as it got dark. On the way back to the cabin we found out about a big buck that had been killed in that general area. After talking with a couple friends I am thinking of checking out one more spot before we go hunt the 4x3 with the kicker. I am not sure if it is the right move. Honestly, I think it is a selfish move because I know Richelle wants to be done. It was -11 with wind chill yesterday and with the whole family hunting together it's not going to be easy. FYI-Richelle has never killed a deer before so I have mixed emotions about pulling off of this buck.

 

 

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Holy Cow man, Let Richelle kill a buck and don't worry what others might think. Richelle must love you a whole bunch because it sounds as if she is trying to please you. Selfish on your part to say the least. I know a great magizine that will print your story no matter what size the buck is as long as it's a good hunting story.

 

TJ