Hi all...new to site. I've said my meet and greet on another thread, so I'll just post a pic, and go from there.
Thanks...since you asked. Day one of Alberta’s archery season, ended after two stalks. First stalk failed at 60 yards, and second stalk ended with my nephew taking a 55 yard shot, and watching it sail over the back of the monster buck he named Tank. Day two, started with us watching 4 bucks with 2 does make their way along the bottom of a coulee. We were hoping they would bed down there, but they ended up crossing into a canola feed, that had lots of dried crop, and bedded down there. With virtually no wind we knew we did not have a shot at these deer, but we knew the area they were hanging out in, so we could come back later in the day. We hopped in my truck and started driving down the range road, stopping to glass the fields and coulees. We spotted a nice buck, and tried to stalk him but got busted when the little bit of wind shifted. Off we go again, and we spot 2 nice bucks standing in coulee. The biggest one my nephew had dubbed Buster. Only problem was, we didn’t have permission to hunt there. So we continued driving along, as my nephew made a few phone calls from his cell phone. Fifteen minutes later we had permission to that area. You have to love small communities. So we head back to the coulee, but we can’t see the bucks. My nephew grabs his spotting scope, and after about 10 minutes he sees the tips of a large rack , among some very thick brush on the side hill about 400 yards away. Eight yards to his left and at the bottom of the coulee we can make out the tips of the antlers of the second deer. The lower antlers were moving about a bit, and we could see at times, that this was not Buster, but the 4 x4 buck he was with. I drove up the range road past the coulee and out of sight of the deer and pulled off the road. We grabbed our gear, checked the wind, and discussed our game plan. Knowing where we had to get to, off we walked into the standing wheat field. We moved slowly and when we got about 100 yards from where we had to be we stopped and took off our boots, and pulled on our extra pairs of wool socks. This is really works. We picked that up from Cody Robbins. We carried on, and the last 50 yards we moved super slow….stopping quite often and checking what little breeze there was. Did I mention the mosquitoes were terrible! We needed the wind to pick up, to get rid of the mozzies, and hide any sounds we might make. The wind rustling the brush would help. I bet we were 30 minutes making the last 50 yards. When we got to where we wanted to be, we slowly looked over the edge of the field down into the coulee. We could see the tips of the 4x4’s antlers below us, but realized Buster was still off to our left…but to move over to get on top of him, our scent would carry to the 4x4. I told my nephew that I didn’t need a monster buck and the 4x4 was a trophy in my book. So we stayed where we were, and played the waiting game. It wasn’t too long, about 20 minutes, when the buck stood up. I could see both ears and all of his antlers, but nothing else. From time to time his head would move and it was obvious he was grooming himself. A few minutes later he stopped grooming, and took a step forward. I could now see his head, so I got lower, so I could still the antlers, but he couldn’t see me. I saw the antlers move forward again, and took another peak. I had a shot…..I drew my bow back while crouching and stood up, but he had turned his head and was licking his body. Standing about full draw for only a few seconds, the buck turned his head and I had a clear shot. I released the arrow and saw it speed 25 yards right where I was aiming. There was a “thwack” and the buck took off around the corner and out of sight. My nephew was excited and yelled that I had smoked him. I was very confident it was a perfect shot, but I hoped he wouldn’t travel far in the tall grass off the coulee. My nephew yells, that he heard the deer collapse, and I looked at him, like he was nuts. There ended up being 4 deer below us, including a spiker 10 yards below us. Seems like we were pretty stealthy. We made our way down to the bottom of the coulee and looked for the arrow, but after 10 minutes we gave up. High grass, and mud made it very unlikely that we’d ever find it. My nephew wanted to go look for the deer, and I told him I wanted to see if there was a blood trail and follow it. Right away I found good blood, and started following it. You did not need good tracking skills to follow the blood. We found the buck right around the corner, where he had disappeared. He ran 12 yards before he fell. He had collapsed on his side so that the exit hole was exposed. What a mess! The Ramcat devastation was impressive!
I thought I should share these pics. My brother, got his first archery animal 3 days after I did. I watched it happen from 200 yards away. Very cool. My brother and his son got to 30 yards from 2 mule deer bedded in the wheat field. Here's their view from 30 yards. and when they stood..he took the one on the right.
Congrats on the mulie! My parents live in Calgary so I come in on the Hunter-Host program every three years. We enjoyed a great mule deer hunt in 2012. Looking forward getting back up there to chase elk in 2015.
I'll be the first to admit...I don't know ANTHING about mulies; whether that is a big, average or small deer, but I would have shot it that thing's awesome. Congrats man and welcome to the site. Furthermore, I also "shoot" Ramcats. I say it like that because I have had them for roughly a year but have yet to shoot a deer with one. Not because I haven't had the chance, but the opportunities given have been on the wrong one. Everything I see, hear and read; they're the real deal. Goodluck in the future
Thanks! To put things in perspective.....minimum requirement for a P&Y Typical Whitetail is 125. Minimum requirement for typical mule deer is 145. My deer measured 172 gross green, and 166 net green. So not a monster like some of the mule deer out there, but definitely a shooter. :D
