Some more 2011 bucks

Since things are getting a little slow during the winter months. I thought I'd share some pictures and history of a few of the bucks we saw during 2011 general seasons and are looking forward to seeing in 2012. I'll post a new picture in this post each week with a little info. about the buck.


This buck we first saw in 2010 and named him "stupid" because of how he just stood there and looked at Tom after being missed with a muzzleloader at under 100 yards. He just walked off while Tom was trying to reload. Tom followed him into a nearby canyon but unknowningly stupid had met up with the big three point "Lucky", which my cousin John was just getting ready to make a play on. Long story short, the bucks got bumped out of the canyon and lived another day. Fast forward to 2011 and Tom and Corby found him on the archery hunt, Corby made a stalk within 15 yards but could not get a clear shot before the buck busted out of there. My cousins John and Andy was making a move on "stupid" during the muzzy hunt when another hunter shot nearby and spooked the buck. Then Corby had him at 160 yards the next night but didn't feel good about the shot. Tom and his son Ethan found stupid bedded but some other hunters moved right in and shot the buck out from under them on the rifle hunt.
This picture is of "stupid" on the archery hunt when Corby was making a stalk on it.
http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo189/ackc10_album/stupid.jpg" alt="" />
15,535
ridgetop
Any guesses on score?
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Tonoonyi
I would have to give him 167", Great buck. I would love to be putting the stalk on a buck like that with my bow.
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MuleyMadness
Nice thread Ridge, I'll say 160"
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one hunting fool
great buck I would guess 160 also.
Here is a buck I saw coming out of a field while working. He is 2- 3years old and has alot of potential.
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ridgetop
Here's buck #2 - We really never had a name for him. Maybe I'll call him (shorty) because of his short left main beam.
This first picture was during the archery hunt.
http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo189/ackc10_album/2011a.jpg" alt="" />

This picture was on the second day of the muzzy hunt. My friend Paul passed on him opening day. Then I spotted him bedded here in this picture over a mile away. My other friend Corby and Cousin John put a stalk on him and got within about 40 yards but the buck busted out of there before they could get a shot.
http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo189/ackc10_album/2011aa.jpg" alt="" />
Another 155-160" buck?
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MuleyMadness
Cool buck Ridge, not very many guys would pass that on opening day of Muzzle. Yea I think your score is pretty close.
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ridgetop
Brett, your right about passing bucks like these. It was not an easy desicion. We passed on some good bucks this year with hopes of seeing some better ones next. I hope we made the right choice. [-o<
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MuleyMadness
I hope you did also Ridge, that is a tough decision for sure. Passing on bucks like is becoming harder and harder IMO. Some years I might pass and others not. Heck this year if I would have had the chance at a buck like that, BANG no pass for me. :)

I couldn't find a big one, on Muzzle or Rifle. Had 2 close calls on 2 good bucks with the bow and couldn't seal the deal.
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ridgetop
I have to admit that being in my first year of DH really helped.
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ridgetop
I pulled this picture off of video my friend Tom took. We had seen this buck in 2010 as a heavy 23" wide 3x3 and this year he put out a 3" cheater off his G-2.
This buck disappeared after the archery hunt. I hope he just moved to a different canyon, I sure would like to see what he does this year.
http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo189/ackc10_album/2011c.jpg" alt="" />
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stillhunterman
Wish I was a young man again Ridge, would love to tromp around the hills with you carrying a camera! :thumb
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ridgetop
stillhunter, do you have a high quality camera? :-k I'll probably be checking out some other more forgiving on the body areas this summer, if your interested in getting out. These new areas we've been hunting are brutal on the body. One hill we have named "puke ridge" because it is so steep, that half of the guys that have climbed it, have puked. #-o I took my 14 year old daughter up there scouting last summer and she's in really good shape. Well, she could hardly walk the next day. I have two horses that I'm spending a $100 a month on and can't even take them up there. Sure we have found some nice bucks, even in a struggling unit but the sacrifice is a lot. No family outings and the horses stay home.

One thing I have learned in the last couple years, is that the bucks move around a lot from canyon to canyon and are very unpredictable.

I hope I'm not boring you guys with this post. I do have a few more good bucks to share.
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stillhunterman
Yeah, have a pretty good slr digital. Puke Ridge? Last time I attempted something like that was when I was in my 40's and it nearly killed me! lol I gotta give it to you for managing such rough country! :not-worthy

Yep, if the area's aren't too bad would love to go. Let's talk come spring time! And heck no, not bored in any way, shape or form with your pics, they are AWESOME!
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ridgetop
Here's another 3x4 my cousin had at about 60 yards on the rifle hunt but decided to hold off. With a little convincing from me of coarse. Tom took this picture too on the archery hunt. I think he could be a great buck next year. :-k
http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo189/ackc10_album/2011b.jpg" alt="" />
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a_bow_nut
I never get bored of threads about nice animals.
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MuleyMadness
I never get bored of threads about nice animals.
 +1 I really enjoy the threads like this. Thanks Ridge
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dahlmer
It's nice to have threads like this in the off season to keep us motivated for the upcoming year. Thanks for posting.
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NotEnufTags
Ridge,

You are an inspiration. I've enjoyed your threads. Your goat hunt was the epidomy of an OIL. You put the scouting time in and knew what animal to take. I'm impressed with the number of bucks your able to find. You definitely must be "sacrificing" because most areas lately have been pretty slim on buck sightings.
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ridgetop
This buck we called the "in-line buck.' I'm sure you can see why. This buck was a tough one to pass on this year. We all had a chance to take him or at least shoot at it but in the end, we could tell that it was a young buck and it has some real promise for this upcoming year. I just hope he makes it through the winter.

This was taken on the archery hunt
http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo189/ackc10_album/2011e.jpg" alt="" />

These shots were taken on the second day of the rifle hunt
http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo189/ackc10_album/2011eee.jpg" alt="" />
http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo189/ackc10_album/2011ee.jpg" alt="" />
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Default Avatar
This is a great thread. I don't know if I could have passed on that last one though. Keep them coming.
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derekp1999
Almost certain that I wouldn't have passed on that last one. Nice bucks Ridge... keep 'em coming.
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Shedfreak88
Lettin em go and grow good job ridgetop :thumb sweet post
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ridgetop
Ok, here's another buck that was filmed on the archery hunt. At first glance, I thought he was in the 28" wide range but after seeing these other pictures, I'm sure he's a solid 30"er. Another young deer with good potential. Here's a funny but sad story. I was scouting the night before the rifle opener. Right at dark, I saw a buck feeding that looked wide. He was feeding away but I could see tines from both sides of his hind quarters. I could tell he was wide but willow horned but had no idea how wide. I told my friend Tom that I found a good buck for his son in the morning but honestly I didn't get a good look at it. Because Tom and myself had plans on hunting different canyons the next day and the fact I didn't sound too excited about the buck, we didn't go looking for him the next day. On the second day, I was hunting an areas a few miles away, when my friend Paul sent me a text. Asking how wide a buck would be if it was 5" past it's ears. I said it would be probably 30"+ but I thought he was joking. He later told me he was glassing the canyon that I had seen the wide buck in, when a group of deer came running by at about 100 yards and the wide buck stopped and looked right at him. Unfortunatly, Pauls gun was leaning against a rock 20 feet away. ](*,) The buck was gone by time he got to his gun and we never did see the buck again.
Here's a few pictures of it with a cactus buck I got a picture of with my trail camera two days after these pictures were taken about a mile away.
http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo189/ackc10_album/2011f.jpg" alt="" />
http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo189/ackc10_album/2011ff.jpg" alt="" />
http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo189/ackc10_album/2011fff.jpg" alt="" />
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MuleyMadness
Hopefully wide boy makes it back, cool stories you have and the best part is public land and during hunts. :thumb
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ridgetop
Here's the trail cam picture again of the cactus buck.
http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo189/ackc10_album/Copyofcactusbuck.jpg" alt="" />
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ridgetop
Here's the buck I'm probably having the most regrets on passing. He was located in a very heavily hunted canyon and I thought there would be very little chance on getting on him without having other hunters making a move on him too or just blowing him out of the country. In hind sight, I wished I would have looked for him harder. I took these pictures in mid-July and he wasn't even through growing yet. What do you guys think he would have scored? Did I screw up by not chasing him harder?
Sorry the pictures are not better. I pulled them off video and they were taken over a mile away.
http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo189/ackc10_album/Picture007.jpg" alt="" />
http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo189/ackc10_album/Picture006.jpg" alt="" />
http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo189/ackc10_album/Picture005.jpg" alt="" />
http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo189/ackc10_album/Picture001.jpg" alt="" />
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MuleyMadness
Tough to say Ridge, I'll say around 170"

Guess I'm in your boat, if the odds were really low of seeing him...not sure I would have tried either. But he is big enough to chase IMO.

Nice buck. :thumb
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oakbrush
I did the same thing last year and left a nice buck in a heavily hunted area thinking the same thing. It worked out for me and I killed an even bigger buck in a different area. You just never really know.
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ridgetop
Here's the last buck I'll be posting. It has been fun sharing some of the bucks we saw last year. It will be hard to decide on which ones to go after, because most of them are spread out in many different canyons and I'm planning on scouting several other "new" areas this year. I don't know why I do that to myself. #-o I do know it's going to be a great year as long as I don't go and hurt myself in the mean time. :thumb
Here's a nice 5x4 that my friend Paul missed on the muzzy hunt. It could be a 170" class buck this year. I'm hoping to find him again.

The picture was taken right after paul shot and you can see the dust fly around it as he is taking off for cover.
http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo189/ackc10_album/Picture009-1.jpg" alt="" />
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MuleyMadness
Good way to end the thread Ridge with a bounding buck for hopefully next year. Thanks for the cool post.
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ridgetop
So out of these bucks I showed you. Which one do you like the best?
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a_bow_nut
I like the second buck that is on the first page myself.

Not that I would have passed on many of them.
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Default Avatar
Here is one I caught on my trail camera while scouting for the archery season in an x zone in California. I scouted him for about a solid month until a group of around 20 people decided to camp out about a half mile away from where I was tracking him 2 days before opening day. Needless to say, he bailed out of the area and was not found again.
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gizmo1
nice deer
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