My '08 Muzzle Loader Buck, 196 2/8" Gross

A few of you including KillerBee have requested that I start a thread about my 08 muzzle loader buck to hear the story so here goes.

I typically get small two or three point bucks. There have been several unfilled tag years when I hold out for one of the big ones that we see in the canyon we hunt. I get quite discouraged when my hunting partners keep getting good bucks or pass up bucks in the 19” to 23” range. I would love one of their passed upon bucks. I’m not sure how my future sights will be set after this years buck.

So opening day of the muzzle loader I start seeing lots of two points. I usually see and pass on a few decent bucks on opening day but this year I didn’t even see a decent buck on opening morning. In camp at lunch I heard about the several passed upon bucks from my brothers and friends. One brother had shot a good 3x2. I was ready for any of the “too small” bucks and hoped to encounter one on the after noon hunt. No such luck, but lots of two points. I was discouraged and didn’t know if I would even get up early for the second day. My friend Dan asked when I was planning to go out in the morning. I told him after I feel rested. He said come on it’s your birthday tomorrow lets get up before everyone and get you a birthday buck. I'm glad he talked me into it.

We got up early and headed out to the side of the canyon that has been productive in past years. It was dark. Dan was going to go low across the hill side I would be a few hundred yards above him. About the start of legal shooting light (still dim) I neared the top of the aspen covered hill. I noticed some movement and realized that a good buck had busted me. He was on a dead run leaving the aspens I was in, and heading to a grove of aspens across a grassy opening. I only had seconds before this buck would leave the valley. I turned on my red dot scope, threw the hammer back on my TC Omega, and found the buck in the scope. I fired. The smoke cleared from the shot and the buck had stopped. He was wavering and looking in my direction. I didn’t know what kind of hit I had put on him, so now it was time to reload. The buck fell to the ground. Buck fever set in and I was shaking badly. It seemed like it took forever to reload but it finally was accomplished and I approached my downed buck. As the antlers materialized above the grasses I realized that I had finally accomplished a goal of getting a mature buck.

My dad and brother came up from camp to help with field dressing and the haul back to camp. The more I looked at the buck the bigger he seemed. Usually mine seem smaller after I shoot them but not this time. Here's a pic back at camp.




I got the buck on my birthday. Happy birthday to me. Imagine my surprise when earlier this evening my taxidermist called and said hey your mount is ready. Sept 26th to Dec 7th is a great turnaround time don’t you think? Early Christmas present. Merry Christmas to me. I went with the newly popular wall pedestal mount. Left turn semi-sneak. I’m thrilled with the work. There is a little velvet left on the brow tines and the right ear is torn up a bit at the end. I imagine from rut fighting, who knows, but I wanted the ear left that way for character. The fur is very short as the winter coat wasn’t in yet. I like the sheen of the short hair. Here’s a pic.



While at the taxidermist I snapped this photo of my buck on the wall with a way cool mount in the foreground. It has two good Mexico bucks on a cactus driftwood floor pedestal. If I am ever lucky enough to get a second good one I think I’ll go with the same kind of mount. Here’s a pic.