Hey fellas, finally got some time to post my buck. He made triple digits but not by much; but it was the hunt that I was after. I had three goals for this trip. First and foremost, I wanted to spend time with my son, just the two of us. Second, I wanted to spot and stalk mule deer and a distant third was to kill a deer. As you know he sent me some pics of dandy bucks and he had one picked out he really wanted me to kill. It is a deer that will score between 180 and 190 inches. We would be hunting him on his terms which called for a sit in a blind for the first evening and the following day. During that time I watched a 140 in buck walk 16 yards from my stand and a 150 in buck in velvet walk by the next morning. Later that morning the big boy walked by the blind with three other bucks at about 125 yards and bedded in a draw 200 yards from me. I got him on video and sat in the blind until about 4 pm watching him when Dustin came and got me to try to stalk the deer. He had been watching from 3/4 of a mile away the entire time. He felt the buck would get up and leave his bed the opposite direction from the blind for some reason so we attempted a stalk. That proved to be too difficult for me and I was unable to get a shot off. We got to 50 yards in a cross wind and I was in a weird position to draw my bow. When I raised up and got it drawn, the buck raised his head (a magnificent sight I might add) and that's all I could see. It wouldn't have mattered as he and the other 6 bucks bolted instantly. Dustin was a bit frustrated because he really wanted me to kill that buck. I was stunned that he got me that close and impressed by the size of the deer. The next morning we were up early and hunting in some very steep sagebrush and cedar draws. Glassing for mule deer has always been a passion of mine but I have never been that good at sneaking into bow range. I honestly think I lack the patience. Dustin was able to work me into 45 yards of a bedded buck that was close to 150 inches. He had me pinned and we had a stare down for about a minute. When he stood up, he was quartering to me slightly but had sagebrush blocking most of his body. He quickly bolted up the ravine and Dustin stopped him and ranged him at 54 yards. I set the gap between my 50 and 60 pins and released the arrow only to watch it fall 2-3 inches under his arm pit! Man that was exciting. The deer and his smaller buddy wasted no time getting out of that draw and over the top of the hill. Dustin's skill as a hunting guide was starting to show in various ways. His ability to mark deer and keep their location as we moved up and down ravines, canyons, gullies and such was impressive. The next morning found us out in the same area glassing sagebrush draws and grassy flats. It wasn't until about 11:00 that we spotted a shooter buck in a position we could sneak on. This was about a 120 inch buck and he walked into a rocky draw with thick brush. We didn't see him bed so we were not sure where in the draw he was exactly. Dustin put us literally on top of that deer and before we got a look at him he busted out of the draw with a smaller deer, never presenting a shot. Once again I thought this was an awesome experience and again Dustin was frustrated. He takes his guiding seriously and wants a shot at every deer we stalk. He eventually learned that old Pops is not as quick and nimble as he use to be so this team was at a clear disadvantage. In this scenario we never had a chance. Thirty minutes later Dustin spotted a 170 inch deer bedded unter a cedar in a steep draw 700 yards away. We discussed the best approach and given his position, the wind direction and numerous cedars I thought we would have little chance to get into bow range of this deer. We drove around behind the deer and started our descent into a draw next to the big deer. We slipped up the side of a very soft, rockless hill and Dustin eased up over the edge and ranged the deer at 36 yards. From a kneeling position I drew my bow and started to raise up over the hill's edge and the buck bolted before I could get anywhere near putting a pin on him. Once again, an incredible stalk and experience I'll never forget. We returned to our vantage point on the other side of the canyon and Dustin spotted yet another buck in a draw two gullies over from where we just encountered the big buck. We knew the deer was much smaller and Dustin thought we should stalk it for the practice. We drove back around the rim to get into position to drop into a very steep ravine that would take us to the buck. As we drove along, I'm sure Dustin was thinking about the "practice" stalk we were about to make, while I was thinking of other things. It was now about 1:00 pm and this would likely be our last day to hunt. The weather was going to change that night and this area would not be accessible for a couple of days. The steep terrain was challenging for me at times and I knew that muddy stalking would make it extremely difficult. I was thinking that if we could get into bow range and a shot presented itself, I was going to take this deer. We headed down the steep hillside and Dustin spotted the deer's left antler sticking out from the hill where he was bedded, and pointed it out. I looked at him and told him I would shoot that deer. A little surprised, Dustin said, "Really?" I said "Yes". We moved into position and I ranged the cliff just beyond him and a hump in front of him that put him about 30 yds between the two. I drew my bow and Dustin got him up. The buck looked around and was facing me straight on. We had a stare down for about 30 seconds when the deer started walking right at us as if to have a closer look. I continued to hold my draw and he continued to stare at us. I eventually had to let my draw down and the deer turned to his left to walk down into the ravine. I quickly drew again, settled the 20 yard pin and let it go. It looked like a great shot and the deer bailed off the hill into the deep ravine below where he piled up 125 yards away. The shot exited back a bit but the entry hole was perfect. Dustin got it all on his cell phone video and said I held the draw for two and a half minutes. I was pumped! I had spent three days hunting with my son, stalking mule deer and finally closed the deal. It made no difference to me what the deer scored. We had a rewarding hunt and an incredible time. The deer scored 103 7/8. This morning I shot under a nice antelope at 52 yards. I missed him by two inches and not sure why. Back at it tomorrow and then after the does.
Sounds like a truly amazing time! Congratulations! Nothing beats those kinds of experiences and encounters, and to be there with your son who is your guide(together as a team) makes it even that much better! I can only wish my father hunted and I got to spend time with him like that! Truly awesome, congrats again and good luck with a Goat and a Doe!!!
Great Buck JDG Size should mean nothing anyway's, time with Dustin had to make the hunt,looks like hilly terrain and dusty, the good thing is more points for our team! Rocky
Well - just found out that the refi on my house requires me to finish the deck renovation I've been working on since May. To put it into perspective, my deck is 2 floors and a total of 2600 sq ft. You read that right. I've been redoing the top because the cedar decking rotted. And then I run into a lot of other problems....so why not just renovate the whole thing. I had to jack up one side of the deck and straighten it out, put blocking in to stabilize joists (about 270 14 1/2" 2x6s - no ****) and then build new railings. I have about 1/3 of it done and I gotta get the rest done before our rate lock expires. So...October will be a slow hunting month for me as I have a lot of regular work going on right now. Hopefully I can get some friends over and get this thing movin! Time for a beer....
Well that's it for my first NJ hunt. Bringing home 4 doe for the freezer in 6 days of hunting. Passed on several more. A great place to hunt. Waiting on Oct 1 for the VT opener!!!!
Right on bro, congrats! Way to fill the freezer! I've always wanted to try my hand out in NJ, being that I'm from NY.
West Central but there is very good hunting all along I78, west of Sommerville. Just need to find a place. WMA's that are small and near residential areas are best. There are also county parks, town parks and miscelaneous State land that is open to hunting, some you need extra permits and some you don't. A lot of it you can figure out on line, but then you need to get your boots on the ground.
Nice, I have some family that moved out to Old Bridge, NJ a couple years ago. That's when I started to become interested with the possibility of hunting there.
Congrats on the deer! You guys are getting some awesome hunts in already. I can't wait for the opener oct 1st!
Well, I got an antelope on my last day of the hunt. Will post a picture later. I shot low on a doe whitetail tonight. Will try again in the morning. Anyone else getting any hunting in right now?
That's awesome, Congrats!!! Def started your season right, that's for sure! Sitting here waiting on Oct. 1st.
JGD Congrats on your Antelope, to bad about your whitetail doe. Better then injuring it ! Going to sight in my crossbow today and hopefully going to sit my 1st hunt this weekend. Good luck to those hunting! Moose should be rutting pretty soon. That usually fills my freezer for me and my kids freezer too. It's as good as Antelope. Rocky
