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peckl1

Mule Deer Rut

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I've had the good fortune of being able to hunt for the past week and a half. Mostly watching the does herd up. I been sitting on a few different herds. They have had nothing bigger than a good size fork with them. Until today! I was sitting on a ridge with 22 does and fawns bedded down in the ravine below. They kept watching both up the ravine and down. I watched them for 2 hours. Then all of a sudden they jumped up and right in the middle of them was a BIG 5x5. He sniffed a few rear ends and did a few lip curls up in the air. Then the herd started moving up the opposite side of the ravine. When they got on top of the ridge I caught movement to the right of them. At first I thought lion, but it turned out to be 5 coyotes. They were moving slowly toward to the deer. Then, when they were within about 20 yards 6 of the biggest does charged the coyotes. The coyotes flushed like quail and ran back up the ridge.

The deer continued feeding on the top of the ridge. As they fed over the ridge and got out of sight, I started to try and get down wind and across the ravine and up behind them. I thought they had headed up the ridge. As I reached the top of the ridge I expected them to be above me and up wind. Well I was wrong, as they went over the ridge they turned and went down the ridge. As I got there, they were down wind. They busted out in all different directions. I could not find the buck. I spent some time trying to glass, but he was gone.

 

Back to the truck and took off to get to another herd I've been watching. I had to circle around on the road by the ridge I just came from. as I started down into a canyon There stood a lone deer. It turned out to be the same 5x5. He has small crab claw type front tines. He was coming into a cattle trough for a drink. I watched him move out and then up the ridge. I had no chance at geting close without spooking him completely out of the area.

 

Sorry for the quality of the picture but he was pretty far off.

post-88-1230509357_thumb.jpg

 

 

Lee

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Dang - I'd be watching him! Sounds like you have him patterned. Hope you get a chance to draw back on that bad boy.

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Wow! That ain't no coues but I would wack him in a heart beat. Thanks for sharing. Good luck on getting him and let us no how the hunt goes. He's nice! :)

 

TJ

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This is a side veiw of this buck. Gives you a better idea of the body size. A whole lot of meat there.

post-88-1230603152_thumb.jpg

Lee

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