I got back Sunday evening from nine days in the Badlands living out of a wall tent on a wonderful mule deer hunt. More than a few days had highs that were below zero, with the coldest evening being -18. Chilly, but worth every minute of it!
The first afternoon I set up the wall tent and made a quick drive on the only road in the area the last 10 minutes of light. A few does were out and about and the anticipation was unbearable. Rifle season had been open for a week and sunrise couldn’t arrive soon enough for me.
Before I get too far, I should mention that I have a weakness for shooting “nice” deer. I just can’t seem to let them walk. As a result, I have a bunch of nice mulies from over the years, but no real monsters. Upper Deck takes immense joy in continually reminding me of this fact! On this hunt, I decided I would pass on “nice” deer and wait for a monster until the last day. Upper Deck and Grizzly both rolled their eyes and smirked, but I was committed.
Over the next three days, I saw good numbers of deer and noticed the rut really starting to heat up. I also passed on not just some nice bucks, but a couple of downright bruisers. I had one 28” buck at 150 yards slowly trotting away. He had good backs, but I couldn’t see the fronts so I didn’t shoot. Grizzly saw him again in the same area two days later and said he was a definite shooter. Grizzly had been in Montana deer hunting and stopped on the way home to bowhunt for a couple of days. Good company and lots of laughs. I did notice he does tend to get a little ornery if I put too much wood in the stove though. Who knew it could get too hot in a wall tent?
I also passed an honest 29-30” buck with fair forks, but tons of mass. A brute for sure, but I was looking for the dream buck. In all, I passed on about 20 good bucks with my rifle tag over the nine days I hunted, including some much bigger than what I ended up shooting Sunday morning (the last day of the season). I was looking for something really special and don’t regret it one bit.
Bucks like this were common!
The fifth day of the hunt was a bust. The entire day was full-on raging blizzard. We got 7 inches of snow and the wind was howling. I sat in the tent, burned up a LOT of wood, and thought about how the cold temps and snow should really get the bucks wound up. I couldn’t wait until the next morning…… clear skies, sunshine, bitter cold, and no wind.
Post-blizzard
I had gained permission to access private land to get into a remote piece of public land where I had been seeing a pile of deer. I had permission to hunt the private as well, but really just wanted to use it to save a LOT of walking. As I was driving in just after sunrise, I looked up to see a lone buck walking right at my vehicle about 100 yards away. He looked up, saw me, and kept on coming! He was clearly rut crazed and looked good. I stopped my vehicle, got out, grabbed my bow, and put an arrow on as I scrambled to the back of the truck.
The bucked walked down into a creek bottom and stopped to look at me. I quickly ranged him and noticed he was headed toward the only opening I would have to shoot. I drew back and he began moving. As he hit the opening, I grunted, he stopped, and I shot. The arrow connected and he took off through the creek bottom. From the time I first saw him, to the time I shot was less than 10 seconds. It all happened very fast!
He went about 250 yards and bedded down. In short order, he started getting wobbly and rolled over a 20 foot washout into the creek bottom. I slowly made my way over, found him in a pile, and realized he was MUCH bigger than I had thought! I couldn’t flippin’ believe it. I am not going to lie; I was doing a serious Happy Dance on the side of the hill looking down on him!!
He is a dream buck! Tall, heavy, and wide! 27 inch outside spread, 25 inch main beams, good mass, and good forks. My biggest typical ever and a tough one to beat! It was 13 below zero when I shot him and I nearly froze my fingers off setting up the camera and tripod to take pictures, as I was by myself. This buck was nothing more than being in the right place at the right time. I have no problem taking an easy one then the opportunity presents. I don’t expect this to happen again anytime soon though!
After I came down from my high, I hunted hard the next two days in bitterly cold weather, saw more nice bucks, and let them walk. A fellow HuntTalker, Muledeerjunkie, was hunting another unit and stayed with me one evening as well. A nicer guy doesn’t exist and it was a treat sharing a meal and camp conversation with him.
The last morning of the season arrived and I was still holding on to my rifle tag! I couldn’t believe it. Neither could Upper Deck and Grizzly as they kept texting me something about this being a sign of the End Times. I decided to hunt behind camp. Within a half mile, I peeked over a butte and saw a good 4x4 below me. I decided the time had come to try to punch my tag. The buck must have sensed this as well or saw the crazy look in my eye. He decided to vacate the premises pronto!
He dashed behind the butte and I took off at a top speed (whatever that looks like for a 43 year old w/ sore feet) to cut him off. I gained elevation and he came through a saddle in the buttes. We saw each other at the same time and he hit high gear. One shot at about 100 yards on the run and my hunt came to a wonderful end. I couldn’t believe it, another great buck!
The craziest thing about the whole hunt was I only saw ONE other hunter in NINE days!!! When does that happen? This includes time in the field, driving from one spot to another, and hunting the vast majority of the time on public land.
I was reminded that great hunting buddies are priceless. Even when they were not in camp, Upper Deck, Grizzly, and Muledeerjunkie were calling or texting to keep me motivated and focused. In addition, I am continually amazed at how blessed I am and the opportunities afforded me. We serve an awesome God. Thanks for reading and have a great Thanksgiving.
The first afternoon I set up the wall tent and made a quick drive on the only road in the area the last 10 minutes of light. A few does were out and about and the anticipation was unbearable. Rifle season had been open for a week and sunrise couldn’t arrive soon enough for me.
Before I get too far, I should mention that I have a weakness for shooting “nice” deer. I just can’t seem to let them walk. As a result, I have a bunch of nice mulies from over the years, but no real monsters. Upper Deck takes immense joy in continually reminding me of this fact! On this hunt, I decided I would pass on “nice” deer and wait for a monster until the last day. Upper Deck and Grizzly both rolled their eyes and smirked, but I was committed.
Over the next three days, I saw good numbers of deer and noticed the rut really starting to heat up. I also passed on not just some nice bucks, but a couple of downright bruisers. I had one 28” buck at 150 yards slowly trotting away. He had good backs, but I couldn’t see the fronts so I didn’t shoot. Grizzly saw him again in the same area two days later and said he was a definite shooter. Grizzly had been in Montana deer hunting and stopped on the way home to bowhunt for a couple of days. Good company and lots of laughs. I did notice he does tend to get a little ornery if I put too much wood in the stove though. Who knew it could get too hot in a wall tent?
I also passed an honest 29-30” buck with fair forks, but tons of mass. A brute for sure, but I was looking for the dream buck. In all, I passed on about 20 good bucks with my rifle tag over the nine days I hunted, including some much bigger than what I ended up shooting Sunday morning (the last day of the season). I was looking for something really special and don’t regret it one bit.
Bucks like this were common!
The fifth day of the hunt was a bust. The entire day was full-on raging blizzard. We got 7 inches of snow and the wind was howling. I sat in the tent, burned up a LOT of wood, and thought about how the cold temps and snow should really get the bucks wound up. I couldn’t wait until the next morning…… clear skies, sunshine, bitter cold, and no wind.
Post-blizzard
I had gained permission to access private land to get into a remote piece of public land where I had been seeing a pile of deer. I had permission to hunt the private as well, but really just wanted to use it to save a LOT of walking. As I was driving in just after sunrise, I looked up to see a lone buck walking right at my vehicle about 100 yards away. He looked up, saw me, and kept on coming! He was clearly rut crazed and looked good. I stopped my vehicle, got out, grabbed my bow, and put an arrow on as I scrambled to the back of the truck.
The bucked walked down into a creek bottom and stopped to look at me. I quickly ranged him and noticed he was headed toward the only opening I would have to shoot. I drew back and he began moving. As he hit the opening, I grunted, he stopped, and I shot. The arrow connected and he took off through the creek bottom. From the time I first saw him, to the time I shot was less than 10 seconds. It all happened very fast!
He went about 250 yards and bedded down. In short order, he started getting wobbly and rolled over a 20 foot washout into the creek bottom. I slowly made my way over, found him in a pile, and realized he was MUCH bigger than I had thought! I couldn’t flippin’ believe it. I am not going to lie; I was doing a serious Happy Dance on the side of the hill looking down on him!!
He is a dream buck! Tall, heavy, and wide! 27 inch outside spread, 25 inch main beams, good mass, and good forks. My biggest typical ever and a tough one to beat! It was 13 below zero when I shot him and I nearly froze my fingers off setting up the camera and tripod to take pictures, as I was by myself. This buck was nothing more than being in the right place at the right time. I have no problem taking an easy one then the opportunity presents. I don’t expect this to happen again anytime soon though!
After I came down from my high, I hunted hard the next two days in bitterly cold weather, saw more nice bucks, and let them walk. A fellow HuntTalker, Muledeerjunkie, was hunting another unit and stayed with me one evening as well. A nicer guy doesn’t exist and it was a treat sharing a meal and camp conversation with him.
The last morning of the season arrived and I was still holding on to my rifle tag! I couldn’t believe it. Neither could Upper Deck and Grizzly as they kept texting me something about this being a sign of the End Times. I decided to hunt behind camp. Within a half mile, I peeked over a butte and saw a good 4x4 below me. I decided the time had come to try to punch my tag. The buck must have sensed this as well or saw the crazy look in my eye. He decided to vacate the premises pronto!
He dashed behind the butte and I took off at a top speed (whatever that looks like for a 43 year old w/ sore feet) to cut him off. I gained elevation and he came through a saddle in the buttes. We saw each other at the same time and he hit high gear. One shot at about 100 yards on the run and my hunt came to a wonderful end. I couldn’t believe it, another great buck!
The craziest thing about the whole hunt was I only saw ONE other hunter in NINE days!!! When does that happen? This includes time in the field, driving from one spot to another, and hunting the vast majority of the time on public land.
I was reminded that great hunting buddies are priceless. Even when they were not in camp, Upper Deck, Grizzly, and Muledeerjunkie were calling or texting to keep me motivated and focused. In addition, I am continually amazed at how blessed I am and the opportunities afforded me. We serve an awesome God. Thanks for reading and have a great Thanksgiving.
