Spot and Stalk Washington Mulie

[idahohuntr]

Nice job!

 

[TheTone]

Darn good buck for that part of the world. Seems most I see are ones that die the second they grow the semblance of a third point

 

[ashersdad]

That's just damn cool! Nicely done!

 

[Werty]

That is awesome

 

[Dan O]

Nice buck!! Where did you get the after market barrel? The patched round ball got it done.

 

[lonedave]

Nice buck!! Where did you get the after market barrel? The patched round ball got it done.

I bought one of the Green Mountain drop-ins quite a few years ago along with a lot of other members at the time. The .62's were smoothbore, but several of us sent them to Ed Rayl who rifled them 1:72. Probably the only drawback to this particular barrel is that Green Mountain had an issue with a batch of barrels and they "fixed" them with Helicoil inserts in the nipple threads. Thankfully, I've never had a problem with it.

 

[Blacktail Addiction]

Congrats on a stud, and super cool story!

 

[fishing4sanity]

Well done, congratulations!

 

[Pahoundsman]

Way to get it done with your smokepole,very nice buck congratulations

 

[Crivdogg]

Hunting Sunday in the Snake River breaks I spotted this buck as he bedded from almost a mile away. Even closing the distance to about 600 yards I still couldn't tell if he was a legal 3 point. The sun glare through my spotting scope was just too much. I finally managed to sneak up to the top of the rimrock just behind him, probably 25 yards away. He was with a doe and fawn so I couldn't ease out far enough for a shot. I had a hard time fighting the urge to toss a rock below him to try to make him stand, but I held off and figured patience was best. The wind was blowing uphill pretty strong, so I just had to wait. Finally after about 2 1/2 hours the doe and fawn stood up and started to feed. At one point the doe beamed in on me and I figured the jig was up, but after staring me down for the better part of 10 minutes, she settled down to her feeding and then bedded again. Meanwhile the buck just stayed put. Finally after another 45 minutes or so, the sun hit the buck and he decided to get up. Luckily I had managed to stay awake and aware. One shot through the upper shoulder and he fell off the edge of his bed and lay about 30 feet below. This is a pretty fair buck for this area of public land, 4x4 plus small eyeguards. The second picture shows the buck as he lay, his bed near the dark shadow to the right center, and where I sat just left of the 2 bushes on the rimrock above. I thought it was kind of neat to get a picture that showed the shot location, the bed, and the deer all in one frame. I could have taken a similar picture years ago in the same area with a different buck, but didn't think about it at the time. I was carrying my .62 T/C Hawken and used a patched round ball in front of 90gr of Goex 2f. Just another fun solo hunt, but time is taking it's toll on this 63 year old and I can start to see a time in the near future that I'll need to find a new (easier) area to hunt!
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that is an amazing WA buck! we dont get many like that here in WA! congrats man!

 

[Doublegunner]

Very nice

 

[EKYHunter]

Outstanding!!!!!! Congrats to you sir. That’s a beautiful Mule Deer and I love that muzzleloader.

 

[marshman]

Great hunt, and nice muley!

 

[shines@times]

Just another fun solo hunt, but time is taking it's toll on this 63 year old and I can start to see a time in the near future that I'll need to find a new (easier) area to hunt!

Boy! Do I hear that. If I'm still around, let me know how it looks for you eight years from now.

Great job on a fine WA buck Dave. I admire your patience and appreciate the situational photo.