a huntin' story turned blog amidst the greatest muley hunt ever...

[ron w]

Unreal......must be nice to hunt where there is abundant game. Thanks for the tour......      

Good luck!

Bisch

[huntnmuleys]

this morning broke warm, calm, and beautiful.  well, beautiful minus about 2,855,430 cows all over creation.  dang things.  anyway, at first light I saw three deer in the distance go into a spur canyon.  one looked to be big.  setting in my little spot, I was starting to think nothing was around when I heard footsteps. three deer came in, but all does.  this was to be a trend this morning. a total of 7 deer came through the area but not a buck to be seen.  climbing higher, I watched 6 more does go right in amongst the cows and drink in from of my vacant blind. down the draw further, a so/so buck was running a couple does around.

 

but that was pretty much it.  and, with all of the cows around I figured it was just a matter of time before they got past my logs and destroyed my blind, so I pulled it.  the deer aren't rutting hard at all, so I might put it back up later (especially if the cows leave).  I pulled the camera too but was pleasantly surprised to see that last night a lot of the bucks ive been seeing came in.  at least theyre still around....

[snakebit40]

  Lovin this thread! Have you ever heard of the Heads Up Decoy? I've used the Mule Deer Doe the past couple years with great success. You can have somebody working tandem or you can mount them on your bow if your a solo hunter. Anyways, GOOD LUCK!!!

[KyStickbow]

Good luck...and great pics! The countryside is beautiful!!

[kennyb]

Great story Brad! Keep after the big guy and he will be yours! Good luck and I really enjoy you taking us along! Thanks.

Kenny    

[RIng]

Wow  Good luck to you .

May life's simplest things bring you the greatest pleasures !!!!

[huntnmuleys]

boy, today was not my day I guess.

covered some good country tonight and deer were up and moving. the problem was, they were all does. the extreme wind certainly wasn't helping matters any.

wish I had more to report tonight but honestly it was a slow evening.

[Wiley Coyote]

Good luck and keep us posted!  

[Hud]

I think a gusty strong wind might limit their senses of hearing and smell and get them to move to a protected area on the lee side of a ridge. Great pictures, thanks for taking us along.

[huntnmuleys]

talk about a beautiful morning in the fog...

 

but as pretty as it was, I got skunked. that's not a total surprise however, as setting up a blind in the dark does make a bit of noise. I even thought I heard a deer blow in the distance, but not certain.  either way, the blind that shouldn't have come out in the first place is back in, and I think I did enough that the cows wont mess with it.

 

I gotta tell ya, there is a big branch coming off that tree right behind the blind, and I smacked it good. just about rendered myself unconscious.  so, considering the blind is in, logs and barb wire around it, and I kept conscious through the whole ordeal Im calling the whole ordeal a win.

heres an interesting note I forgot the other day. check this out...

 

the area I hunt is REALLY not a salamander type of place. that morning was 21 degrees when I started hunting and 33 when I got back on the road. what was this little guy doing besides freezing??  he was moving.... kinda....

[Steve O]

This is a GREAT tale so far. It is almost like I am there...I had to rub my head from an old turkey hunting blind in the dark incident!    :D

[stykbow67]

Awesome hunt so far, thanks for sharing!!

Steve

[huntnmuleys]

hunted the blind my dad got his buck from tonight.  the other night when I was in there, right at dark I spooked something I never saw but was alone and sounded big.  took a chance on it.  knew before I got in there that it could pan out. there is a HUGE buck track going in.  so, in the blind for the night I went.  checked the trail cam, here he is. looks like a bruiser.


 

however, the night was slow.  in fact, it was pretty much dead. a few birds kept me company, including this robin who is probably NOT ready for what the weather is going to do tomorrow night..

 

tell you what, I think I might make a play tomorrow on this buck midday.  we have a big storm coming tomorrow night so he should be moving, and while I haven't been in there this year, there is a basin just "over the hill and around the corner" from here that is a muley hidel hole.  most years in there I find several fresh rubs, and lots of tracks in the snow when im not seeing the deer that made em. In the morning im gonna go set my blind in the rut zone, as those big guys are there and I know that's gonna hit soon (as in maybe right before a storm) then maybe midday try this.

a pretty evening for sure...

 

[huntnmuleys]

started the morning setting the rut zone blind. right at daybreak, 5 does came in.  no bucks followed. I waited around for an hour or so and the moo cows started their daily migration, so I went for a hike. saw a small buck and some does in the funnel I hunted the other day...

 

also, I spooked that heavy, freak buck from the trail cams earlier but no shot or pictures.  he was alone, which is interesting.  he hasn't been that way yet, either In trail cams or the couple times ive actually seen him.  seemed strange.

a little further down the rim the canyon forks. just across I saw a dandy forkhorn bothering a doe.  not a shooter but still neat to see.

 

but otherwise not much was moving.  I got up pretty high and glassed a bunch and just not finding what im looking for.  think ill give this spot a break for a bit and look around elsewhere, as they simply are not rutting yet at all.

what hunt could possibly be complete without a "selfie" (to use the parlance of our times)...

 

I did manage to find one heck of a unique shed.  check this baby out..

 

[huntnmuleys]

after all of this I drove to the spot I was talking about last night.  figured id hike that canyon, look for sign, and do come calling.  its a gorgeous spot, actually one of my favorites and there were fresh droppings all over but I didn't see any deer.

I did cut a big buck track though, so you can bet ill be back in there. love these red berries. make a nice photo...

 

[centaur]

Brad, keep on 'em. I'm thinking the whitetails might get a pass early tomorrow with the weather forecast, but when the snow stops (tomorrow afternoon?) things might get interesting.
That is a weird looking shed, by the way.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

Keep up the updates. Great thread so Far. Good luck, its only a matter of time.

[huntnmuleys]

glad you all are enjoying this as much as I am..

tonight was pretty cool.

actually, it was warm.  almost 60 degrees warm.  heck driving home I still had 55 degrees after dark.  tough to imagine that were gonna be sub zero in two days.....

but for now lets talk about today.

 

lots of deer moving around tonight. the problem was, the big guys weren't playing fair.  in fact, the only mature buck I was even close to was that giant 3 point that I have a pic of on here a while back, that I wish was a two.  was around him all night but so were a bunch of does and trying to get in range was fruitless.  lots of deer in the distance, in almost every direction however.  look at this guy!

 

as for where I was at, I just kept having smaller bucks running interference.
 

[huntnmuleys]

but I was slowly gaining on the big forkie thing until I found the "horn of doom"

 

yes, I realize that's an antler instead of a horn, but I think horn sounds more intimidating.  I have no idea why this is, but everytime I find a shed antler, my hunt is basically over.  something invariably goes wrong.  im 100% on this one, and if I were a more intelligent man, id just stop hunting and get out of the woods whenever I trip on a shed.
but then again, what fun would that be?

I played with these deer until I finally pushed em off for good, and started working my way out. saw a herd in the distance that had a decent buck running does.  actually I believe its the short tined, heavy 5 x 5 I saw the other day at daybreak.  and, I saw probably my favorite deer in this particular area right at dark.  its a typical spot for him, and I would have hunted it tonight but there were too many deer in the way.  if its not raining in the morning ill give him a go.  I wouldn't mind a little snow. rain is a no go. either way, I probably have one more day for the next week, as its going to be bitter, bitter cold here starting Tuesday and im a weenie.  MAYBE ill sneak in a quick hunt somewhere but that's not for certain.

 a gorgeous sunset said good bye to probably the last real warm weather we will have this year...