We just got back from another Idaho trip and this year proved to be an extremely difficult hunt for us. Prior to the hunt quite a bit of Idaho was on fire and our area served as the border to one of the bigger blazes.This seemed to push a lot of hunters into our area and created a motorcycle regatta of sorts as we entered the backcountry. Last year we would typically see a couple of other guys on bikes and this year we counted 15-18 other bikes heading into the same area as us on any given day. This was definitely frustrating as the pressure seemed to move the deer either out of their normal spots or pushed them out of the area completely. In our hunts in this area prior we were seeing an average of 60-80 deer a day with 6-8 decent bucks. This year we were averaging 15 deer per day with 1 small buck. Not what we had hoped for to say the least.........
As the days clicked by we were suddenly down to day 6, our final day of hunting and the last day of the season. We had viewed a total of 7 small bucks up until the last day and although they would have tasted good, they would all be spared. After a long final morning hike into what we thought would be a "remote" location, we were greeted by 3 other hunters heading up into the area we were going towards. Dejected and pissed I sat down and called over our radios that we had company. My dad crackled back over the channel that he had a good buck spotted and he was bedded down across the canyon. Kenny and I started our trek back up the slope to where my Dad was.
After taking a quick look through the spotting scope at the bedded buck, I quietly reminded my dad what "across the canyon" meant. This deer was 2 miles away! Regardless, we came up with a plan to get Kenny in position to shoot this deer and we started off towards him. My dad was going to stay on the spotting scope and watch him for us while we made the stalk to make sure he didn't leave the area. (We could not have sealed the deal without him doing this as the buck changed bedding positions and we had to make some adjustments to the plan as we went). 2 hours later we were sitting across a small drainage from the bedded buck at 315 yards............
Brief side track to the story; Our original game plan was to get Kenny on a decent buck. This being his first muley hunt and having only harvested one other deer in his life, we figured if we led him to a small 3 point he would be happy..........fast forward now to sitting 315 yards away from a nice 4x4.
I told Kenny before we crested the final hill that once we were exposed to him the "stuff" may hit the fan. Be ready.... We finally break over the top and this buck is staring straight at us without a care in the world. We both sat down and settled in for the shot. As soon as I got settled in I knew immediately that this was a bigger deer than I originally guessed, and had underestimated him from the spotting scope some 2 miles away. This was not a small 3 point. I did not want to add to Kenny's already heightened breathing pattern so I kept that info to myself. He readied himself on the shooting sticks and made the shot......... Deer is up now still looking at us? Kenny quickly fires again and I see the deer jump and bound a few yards away with an obvious hard hit.
If you know how deer hunting goes the next 10 seconds were a bit of a blur. Needless to say I was not waiting around anymore for this deer to hit the dirt. There were multiple shooters on the grassy knoll now. I was able to crank off a "few" shots of my own in rapid succession you may say.
My final shot hitting him squarely behind the shoulder as he was attempting to jump over a dead fallen tree. Straight down he went and you can see from the pictures his final resting place was a bit uncomfortable. I turned to Kenny and said "Nice second deer A**H***". I may have also congratulated him at this point, not exactly sure. Like I said before when people start shooting next to me, my memory gets a little blurry.
As we walked up to him Kenny and I were not disappointed at all.
Last day, last afternoon and a big buck laying down in front of us. He ended up being a 23" wide x 19" tall 4x4 and I am guessing he weighed between 185-200 lbs. There is no better feeling than seeing a buddy connect on a great deer and being truly excited about it. My dad made his way down to us and told us he had watched it all unfold through the spotting scope from up on the hill. What a great memory for us all.
We boned out the meat and caped him for the taxidermist as the rain began to fall. We then made up our packs with all the goodies and started our 1000'+ accent up the canyons towards our awaiting 350cc horses. Although my dad and I went home empty handed, the difficult climb out of the steep canyon with Kenny's buck brought a perfect end to a difficult but rewarding Idaho hunt.
PS: Due to work scheduling issues, Kenny may not be invited back next year.................
As the days clicked by we were suddenly down to day 6, our final day of hunting and the last day of the season. We had viewed a total of 7 small bucks up until the last day and although they would have tasted good, they would all be spared. After a long final morning hike into what we thought would be a "remote" location, we were greeted by 3 other hunters heading up into the area we were going towards. Dejected and pissed I sat down and called over our radios that we had company. My dad crackled back over the channel that he had a good buck spotted and he was bedded down across the canyon. Kenny and I started our trek back up the slope to where my Dad was.
After taking a quick look through the spotting scope at the bedded buck, I quietly reminded my dad what "across the canyon" meant. This deer was 2 miles away! Regardless, we came up with a plan to get Kenny in position to shoot this deer and we started off towards him. My dad was going to stay on the spotting scope and watch him for us while we made the stalk to make sure he didn't leave the area. (We could not have sealed the deal without him doing this as the buck changed bedding positions and we had to make some adjustments to the plan as we went). 2 hours later we were sitting across a small drainage from the bedded buck at 315 yards............
Brief side track to the story; Our original game plan was to get Kenny on a decent buck. This being his first muley hunt and having only harvested one other deer in his life, we figured if we led him to a small 3 point he would be happy..........fast forward now to sitting 315 yards away from a nice 4x4.
I told Kenny before we crested the final hill that once we were exposed to him the "stuff" may hit the fan. Be ready.... We finally break over the top and this buck is staring straight at us without a care in the world. We both sat down and settled in for the shot. As soon as I got settled in I knew immediately that this was a bigger deer than I originally guessed, and had underestimated him from the spotting scope some 2 miles away. This was not a small 3 point. I did not want to add to Kenny's already heightened breathing pattern so I kept that info to myself. He readied himself on the shooting sticks and made the shot......... Deer is up now still looking at us? Kenny quickly fires again and I see the deer jump and bound a few yards away with an obvious hard hit.
If you know how deer hunting goes the next 10 seconds were a bit of a blur. Needless to say I was not waiting around anymore for this deer to hit the dirt. There were multiple shooters on the grassy knoll now. I was able to crank off a "few" shots of my own in rapid succession you may say.
My final shot hitting him squarely behind the shoulder as he was attempting to jump over a dead fallen tree. Straight down he went and you can see from the pictures his final resting place was a bit uncomfortable. I turned to Kenny and said "Nice second deer A**H***". I may have also congratulated him at this point, not exactly sure. Like I said before when people start shooting next to me, my memory gets a little blurry.
As we walked up to him Kenny and I were not disappointed at all.
Last day, last afternoon and a big buck laying down in front of us. He ended up being a 23" wide x 19" tall 4x4 and I am guessing he weighed between 185-200 lbs. There is no better feeling than seeing a buddy connect on a great deer and being truly excited about it. My dad made his way down to us and told us he had watched it all unfold through the spotting scope from up on the hill. What a great memory for us all.
We boned out the meat and caped him for the taxidermist as the rain began to fall. We then made up our packs with all the goodies and started our 1000'+ accent up the canyons towards our awaiting 350cc horses. Although my dad and I went home empty handed, the difficult climb out of the steep canyon with Kenny's buck brought a perfect end to a difficult but rewarding Idaho hunt.
PS: Due to work scheduling issues, Kenny may not be invited back next year.................
Thanks for sharing and.... NICE BUCK!!! 
