Saskatchewan Muleys (pics)

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Swifthunter

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What a year! Three out of four of my hunting buddies got pulled for muley, myself included. The first one to tag out was Ken. He owns a taxidermy business locally, and can afford to spend a little more time in the field scouting. He put over 200 hrs into this beauty. I sold him my Hoyt Alpha-Tec and this was his first year hunting bow. Opening day of archery, two hours into evening hunt and this buck walks by just like he had for the last month, 15 yrds out. Netted 227 non-typical on a 202 typical frame.
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Next to tag out was myself. I didn't make it out until muzzle loader season started. I have a 175 class typical on my wall so I was looking for something with character. I found this guy two days before the season and hunted him for three days until I finally got in on him for a 70 yards shot. I didn't bother scoring him on account of his lack of frame, but his inside spread was 31 inches with 15 scorable point. Lots of junk, I couldn't be happier!
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Last but not least was Big Roy. This was his first time being drawn, and his first muzzle loader hunt. He did his homework on this one. Him and I patterned this buck for a week and a half before we finally bellied over a coulee top to find him. It was a coulee we'd seen him run into a few times but we had never disturbed it. kind of left it as his "safe place". Well we crept over the top only to see 6 other mature bucks bounce out the other side. Roy was about to shoot one of them that had stopped for a look back when I saw the big guy laying low in the bottom with all the girls. Roy made a beauty of a shot to topple this 5x7 that netted 211 and change non typical.

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What a year! There are really some world class animals around here, and it was one of those seasons where everything seemed to fall into place. I hope you all had awesome years also. Kevin.

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(Thank you Yellowhammer for fixing my picture issues)
 
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Those are some world class bucks and most people will only dream about getting one like these. Way to go guys!


Lucas
 
Antler envy is something I've dealt with all of my life and I'm suffering from a serious bout right now. Dang nice season!!
 
All three are fantastic bucks. WTG /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowingsmilie.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowingsmilie.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bowingsmilie.gif
 
WOW i think thats giving me wood.
THATS the racks i like, heck with those white tails and split tails. when a guy can get racks like that who could ask for anything more
 
Anybody else find Mule Deer easier to pattern and hunt than whitetails? In all honesty, if these were local whitetails of the same caliber (relative to the species) we would have been lucky to bag one of three maybe. These big dopes seem to be a little less wary, and a lot more curious. That and it seems like the Muleys tend to think they are a lot more invisible than they really are.
 
Swifthunter, you might be able to pattern them in Saskatchewan but Muleys are very hard to pattern in the high country of the Rockies. Those ole' timber bucks are a great challenge. A few will get eaten by a mountain lion or die from old age before a hunter ever gets them. Some of them live in places that would blow most hunters mind. Places that only sheep and mountain goats dwell.
 
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Swifthunter, you might be able to pattern them in Saskatchewan but Muleys are very hard to pattern in the high country of the Rockies. Those ole' timber bucks are a great challenge. A few will get eaten by a mountain lion or die from old age before a hunter ever gets them. Some of them live in places that would blow most hunters mind. Places that only sheep and mountain goats dwell.



I can imagine it would be next to impossible in that terrain. Do you hunt spot and stalk then? Locally a muley buck will have himself a half section or so, sometimes even less. There just isn't enough pressure on them to travel too far. I've set up on countless muleys at the exact same time of day in the exact same location, time and again. I've even spooked some pretty good, only to find them the next day in the same spot or very near. Funny situation comes to mind....
I'd been scouting a bachelor herd of three trophies. Any one of them would have been a no questions asked take the shot. This was early in bow season. I figured I had them patterned to a tee. They would hit the bottom of the same coulee every morning at sun up, and work there way up it into thicker cover for a bed.
Well myself and a buddy set up at the head of the coulee. There was a pile of rocks that offered great cover, and an adequate vantage point. My buddy made it to the rockpile a few minutes before me, and by the time I got there he had already watched them enter the coulee, and then dissapear around a bend in it. We figured on walking the top of the draw (the coulee was only 70-80 feet deep and maybe twice that across). We've had good look looking down into coulees and seeing headgear, then planning a stalk. Well we walked the entire ridge and didn't see anything. We figured what the heck and tossed the odd rock down as we walked back up.
By this time I figured they had made a discreet exit while they were out of sight, but my buddy was determined they were still holed up. He convinced me to walk the bottom of the coulee with him and see if we couldn't stir anything up. Well we got down the coulee past the decent cover and it was wide open to the bottom. We agreed they had snuck out earlier. We were now talking to each other and joking around full volume as we made our way back to the head of the draw. Well all of a sudden CRASH! SNAP!, one of the monster bucks comes flying out maybe 30 yards away and blazes up the other side out of sight.
We both just laughed at how the other guy got scared. We took a few more steps and CRASH! Another big Muley buck comes flying out from below us maybe 30 yards, again up the other side and gone! He hadn't crossed the top of the coulee when the third (and largest) buck came crashing out maybe twenty yards straight up the bank from me. Only thing is he didn't take the short way up the side he come flying straight down the path at me! I waved my bow and squeaked like a little school girl just as he clued in and did a crow foot maybe five yards in front of me. He just planted his front feet and bounced off to the side just before he run me over.
I swear I could have given his ear a twist, that how close he came! Well needless to say my buddy was too busy laughing to even think about a shot, or making a noise to slow him down. I did manage to go back and harvest the smaller of the three in rifle season. Sorry for the lengthy post. kevin.
 
Swifthunter, Great post! Don't be sorry I enjoyed every word and was laughing out loud as I read it. It has taken me close 15 years to figure out what you learned that day. In most areas for a ole' buck get get old, he has to learn to stay put and hide. The old ones will usually let you walk right passed them and they won't move until you get right upon them, kinda like old whitetails. Even in the desert, they will sometimes bed in the wide open without any cover, just a little rise he can lay behind. This fall I was watching a group of bucks feeding and my friend came over to where I was and the bucks saw him, they immediately bedded down and didn't take their eyes off of him for over a hour. We finally left, as we were hunting elk and they were still laying there watching our every move. Your story reminded me of one that happened to my brother. He once had a muley almost run him right over, they saw each other at the same second and this deer was only a yard or two from wiping him out, as it turned, it sprayed dirt and rock all over him.
 
i hunted hard for a big muley this year 18 days total.
never found anything over 150"
went to the black hills and shot a 135" white tail in 1 1/2 days could have shot one the same size on the first day too.
finding a real trophy is tougher for muleys than whitetails.
i consider a 135" white tail a comparable trophy to a 165" muley.
 
What WMU were you drawn for? I plan on applying this year for sure now and seeing your pics only makes the wait that much more agonizing, thanks for sharing pics and great story.
 
Damn nice Muleys!!! Thats my dream hunt right there. Theres nothing more I would like hanging on my wall then a huge 30" muley. Man I"m jealous. Very nice deer, and to get them with bow and muzzleloader is even better. WTG!
 
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