My 2013 Muzzeloader buck

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Utahbowhunter
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My 2013 Muzzeloader buck

Post by Utahbowhunter » Thu Oct 03, 2013 9:49 am

Like I've done the past three years, I have drawn out for a general season Muzzleloader Deer tag. In 2011, I killed a 27 inch wide 3 point in the area I have hunted ever since I was 14. I've loved the muzzleloader hunt ever since I first started hunting it about 6 years ago. There are a few reasons why I love this hunt. The weather is much cooler than the Archery hunt, but you don't freeze like you do sometimes on the rifle hunt. The fall leaves are starting to come in and the elk are going nuts! All these things are what makes me love the muzzleloader hunt so much!

Well, I have hunted alone most of the time the last three years. This year I was alone all 10 days I was gone. I don't ever get the chance to scout the area I hunt but I know where the nice bucks hangout at. I left 2 days before the hunt so I could get there, get camp set up and go scout for deer in the evening. This year seems like a bad year for "bigger bucks". I didn't see as many as I usually do, but I did see enough to make me excited!

Opening morning was super windy, gusts of 56 mph. I hiked down the mountain and I sat in an area where the bucks usually get pushed to when hunted opening morning. No deer came through and all I had was 3 hunters walking towards me. I picked up my stuff and headed down a ridge in the opposite direction of the hunters to a spot where I have seen some bucks before. I sat down in the little saddle and glassed the ridge. As i put my binos down, i had a 2 point about 5 yards away from me walking up and over the saddle. I never heard him coming due to the strong winds. I sat there a minute and kept glassing the ridge. I decided to go back over to a different ridge because I could glass a lot more area. As I was on my way there I looked back to where I was sitting, and there were three bucks going right over the saddle where I just was! The first one was a nice 4 point. I ranged them at 125 yards and got set up to shoot. Of course, they turned and went up through the brush when I was ready to shoot.

The second day of the hunt still had strong winds, making it easy to hike through the trees without making much noise. I was hiking down a canyon in some Aspen trees and spotted 2 bucks bedded down. The one being a small 2 point and the other a 4 point. After killing that 27 inch wide three point in 2011, I wanted something that would be bigger than that buck i killed. This 4 point i spotted bedded down was kind of a cool deer. He had really big fronts and small backs. He was just a young buck though. I was able to sneak 20 yards away from the 2 bucks and watched them for an hour and a half. I decided to pass this buck and let him grow. He'll make a great deer in a couple years. Pic below is him.

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The next evening, I hiked up the ridge where I saw the 4 point opening morning. Last year i did the same hike and saw 2 nice four points, but didn't take either because I wanted something close to the size or bigger than the 2011 buck I killed there. I jumped that same four point I saw the day before at 20 yards away and he ran off and gave me a 70 yards shot. I didn't take it, again.

Over the next several days of hunting, I hadn't been seeing any good bucks. I've seen a few that a lot of people would love to shoot, but there just wasn't anything I would shoot. After the morning hunt of the 8th day, I decided to head to town and grab a bite to eat. After breakfast I decided to check out an area down in the desert where my brother jumped a big buck just two weeks before the muzzleoader hunt about 4 years ago. Two draws/canyons away from where he jumped this buck is a pond. Usually the pond is dried up, but this year with all the rain we have had, it was full. I got to the spot where the pond was and parked my truck off the dirt road. The pond is only about 400-500 yards off the road. I checked around the pond to see if there were any tracks. No tracks found. Only coyote tracks. I still was gonna walk over through the draws and see if i could see any tracks or see any deer. There were no tracks to be found anywhere. As i was getting to the draw where my brother jumped that buck a few years ago, I started to go a little quieter. As you work your way around into the draw, the hillside turns to rock. I was able to walk pretty quietly. As i was getting to the oak brush where my brother had jumped that buck, I watched to see if I could see anything bedded down. I can't remember if i was watching up in the draw further or watching my step, but i heard a crash, I looked up and saw a buck taking off 10 yards right below me, right in the exact spot my brother jumped the big buck a few years before. I hurried and pulled the hammer back on the muzzleloader and when the buck came out into the open 30 yards away, I quickly aimed and shot. I hit him! He dropped in his tracks! So many thoughts running through my head!! I was shocked that just happened!! Those thoughts of is this really happening? I honestly wasn't expecting anything to be there due to there being no tracks and me hunting there previous years and not seeing anything.

As I walked up to the buck... all I could see was MASS!! He might not be very wide or have deep forked point, but his mass makes up for all that and is really tall. He is a 3x4. I wish the pictures would show just how massive he is! I was a little disappointed that i hit him head but so happy I killed him! When he was running away, he was running almost straight away but a little quartering away. The bullet was perfect left and right, but I just shot high. At least I killed him and didn't miss or wound him. :)

I was really excited about killing this buck, but it does suck to not have anyone there to share my excitement with. Its hard getting pictures of me and my buck when its just me!! Good thing they make self timers!

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That rock slope just above the cedars and oak brush is where i was. He jumped up out of the oak brush and only made it that far. :)

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Here is the buck I killed in 2011 at 203 yards with a Muzzleoader.

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JDavid
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Re: My 2013 Muzzeloader buck

Post by JDavid » Thu Oct 03, 2013 11:32 am

Thanks for sharing. He is a neat buck.
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MuleyMadness
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Re: My 2013 Muzzeloader buck

Post by MuleyMadness » Thu Oct 03, 2013 12:56 pm

Cool story, I really enjoyed it. All the pics were great to, he is a character buck for sure. VERY cool. Thanks for sharing, you've done well for sure, keep it up.

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ABert
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Re: My 2013 Muzzeloader buck

Post by ABert » Thu Oct 03, 2013 7:50 pm

Love the mass and it does show up in the pics. Congrats on the hunt!
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Torch
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Re: My 2013 Muzzeloader buck

Post by Torch » Thu Oct 03, 2013 10:19 pm

Very cool! Did he have any teeth left? Looks like an old buck. :thumb

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Utahbowhunter
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Re: My 2013 Muzzeloader buck

Post by Utahbowhunter » Fri Oct 04, 2013 8:58 pm

Thanks guys! My taxidermist is sending his teeth in to see how old he is. He is guessing him to be 7-9 years old... but who knows?

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Re: My 2013 Muzzeloader buck

Post by JBird » Thu Oct 10, 2013 11:56 am

Sweet buck. He does look really old too. I've noticed that where I hunt too, if you find bucks in the low country early on they are usually older bucks, that gave up on migrating I guess. Nice work.

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TexasHunter83
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Re: My 2013 Muzzeloader buck

Post by TexasHunter83 » Sat Oct 12, 2013 12:25 pm

Unique! He does look really old as well. Congratulations!

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Re: My 2013 Muzzeloader buck

Post by a_bow_nut » Sun Oct 13, 2013 12:27 pm

Great looking buck. :thumb
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Re: My 2013 Muzzeloader buck

Post by Muley2NV » Mon Oct 14, 2013 10:57 pm

Very cool buck. Congrats! I love the the Muzzleloader hunt for the same reasons as you. Like you, I usually have to do it alone.
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