kphunter Report post Posted November 12, 2007 Well, here's another example of persistence and hard work paying off. My wife and I went back to 34B for one last attempt at a mule deer. Saturday morning - new moon, cloud cover and cooler temperatures made for ideal conditions for the hunt. We climbed the peak and almost immediately I glassed a lone deer that looked like a doe on a hillside. Hoping he/she wasn't alone, we decided to hike down and get a closer look. We made it down to the flats and started glassing the opposing hillside. I spotted three more mule deer coming down a hill. It appeared the group had been spooked by road hunters coming down the gasline road a 1/4 mile away. I followed them as they walked behind a hill an out of sight. We continued walking the flats and we busted the lone "doe". We followed "her" until she disappeard in the thick brush. It appeared to us the deer were starting to bedding down, so the plan was for my wife to walk the thick brush in the flats and try to kick up a deer. For this hunt, we decided I would get first crack at it so I would perch up on a hillside and wait for a buck to pop out. Well, I should have known when my wife goes wandering out on her own, good things seem to happen (see last year's story on our elk hunt). I lost sight of her as she vanished in the thick mesquite forest. Suddenly, four deer pop up on a hillside 400 yards from where I'm sitting. I put my optics on the deer, strain my eyes trying to detect antlers but I'm unable to decipher whether any of the deer are bucks. I watch as the deer in the rear stops for a moment, looks back and bammmm!!!! Deer's down!! Next thing I hear is, "Kenny I got one, wooo hooo!" By then, the other deer are in the next county. She had walked to within 70 yards of the deer and froze. She looked through her (my) 8x42 Alpens and spotted the antlers. One shot through the neck, blasted the heart and exited out the ribs on the other side. The deer went right down where he was hit. Let me tell you, none of the bucks we spotted on this trip had a full head of antlers. G&F was correct in saying the unit has many 2-3 year old bucks, at least in the area we were hunting. We had multiple opportunities at deer we just couldn't tell were bucks or does (even with 12x50 binoculars), so we were forced to close the gap to verify the existence of antlers. Many of those stalks ended up in busting the deer, except for one. Her deer is a 3x2, very small rack for a mule deer but hey, we're not complaining! Since this was her first buck, we decided to have a head/shoulder mount done. It will be ready in 6-9 months. Have pics to share, I'll post them when I can. KP Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bchoitz Report post Posted November 13, 2007 Congratulations of a successful hunt! Woohoo! Good Job! It's not the size of the antlers that ultimately matter, but the size of the memories and the effort required to get them. Bret C. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kphunter Report post Posted November 13, 2007 Ok, here are the pics: Yes, we were in Mearns country: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v288/kpangler/IMG_0887.jpg?t=1194926847 Proud wife with her first buck: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v288/kpangler/IMG_0903.jpg?t=1194926883 The guide had to get a pic too! http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v288/kpangler/IMG_0901.jpg?t=1194926914 One more view from the side: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v288/kpangler/IMG_0896.jpg?t=1194926968 My first impression when I looked at this buck was that it might be a hybrid. If not, then it's a very "couey" looking mule deer. KP Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
