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duckhunter175

WY Muley Hunt (long/pics)

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Made my second trip ever up to Wyoming (first was 2018) and this time I had a mule deer tag instead of a pronghorn tag in my pocket. Two buddies from high school and one from the Army made the trip as well, which is the same group as before. I hope that we continue to make it out every few years and that we can continue to have the same luck as these last two trips. Our first trip we all had antelope tags and went 4/4 to include two bucks that were over 75". Only one guy had a muley tag and never had a good opportunity but we didn't put forth the effort we should have.

 

Fast forward to 2020 and we've decided to go all in on deer tags. Two guys fly to Denver (they had also bought antelope tags) and I drove up from Texas on the maiden voyage of my new (to me) hunting rig. This hunt was the ultimate proof of concept for the vehicle which is a 2011 3/4 Yukon XL that has been leveled, trimmed and fresh Cooper STT Pro LT275/65r20s installed-- gas mileage hovered around 12mpg the whole trip. Also- a huge shout out to Pakmule- a Texas built aluminum cargo carrier that is AWESOME! Mine was mounted for nearly 4500 miles between CO and WY and performed phenomenally, probably one of the best hunting investments I've made in a long time.

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The two antelope hunters tagged out the day after we arrived, while myself and my other buddy went scouting. We hit a few separate areas and by our third or fourth stop my buddy glassed up a really nice set of bucks who were feeding up a drainage in a rocky flat that looked devoid of life (this is important later). Our final stop of the day we found a really nice buck in a bowl that was well away from where we had counted 35 RVs parked. The buck stayed put for the whole afternoon but eased out to the east at nightfall. He had very strong backs and was a Day 1 shooter candidate for sure... especially because the only muley I've harvested to this point was a fork horn from CO with my muzzleloader.

 

Opening morning found us glassing the bowl and the draws looking for that buck. He was nowhere to be found but we saw several does and good 4x4 skyline over the ridge toward us. The race was on because another group of hunters had driven up to the base of the hill (we had camped back about 3/4 mile). As I neared the edge of the draw about 350 yards from where the buck should be I loaded my rifle... and a shot rang out. The other hunter had also closed the distance and had scored. If you read my Coues deer story from AZ 2015 it was eerily similar to watching a guy kill a 95" Coues on opening morning before I could shake out the lead and make a move. Instead we opted to skirt the edges of the ridges as hunters up high were pushing deer down toward the flats. We had a RZR drive right through the middle of the hillside and heard a shot... only to see a big buck... the BOWL BUCK!! Running right toward us as fast as he could! My buddy made a great running shot at 75 yards, a single 270win (150gr Partition) through the shoulders and it was all over. That buck had 21" G2s, he was a heavy 4x4 with eyeguards and pushed the tape just over 160"... not bad for his first ever Muley!

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We hunted the rest of the day and 3 more days in a row without any shooter encounters. One fellow had to catch a flight back so then, our final morning, 5th day deer hunting we decided to go back and look for the flat bucks. It was a long shot and we had to be headed home by lunch but we made a plan and first light found us looking down over a flat with many draws and crevices where bucks could hide from the crowds. The wind was whipping into our faces, quartering but sometimes almost full value at 15-20mph. I covered the area quickly with my binos and saw no deer. Then almost like a group of ghosts, 3 mule deer bucks popped up from a crevice and fed onto the flat, nearly 425 yards away. I was laying on a downslope but managed to get into a prone position, using my bino case as a rear bag. When I got in my scope I nearly fainted... a fourth deer stepped out. Noticeably larger than the rest, with a big body and antlers that in a single glance I knew were larger than anything Id seen so far. I settled in, dialed my distance and held slightly into the wind. The buck was facing into the wind and my goal was to anchor him through the shoulders. I slipped my earplugs in and with a surprise the trigger broke and the 250gr Barnes LRX was on its way. I saw the buck collapse through the recoil but stayed on him. I found later the first shot had hit behind the shoulder, and passed through both lungs. I believe it was the sheer energy of that round which took him off his feet, but that was momentary because he looked around and staggered up to his feet, bleeding out his nose. An assurance round followed, through the shoulders as desired and he never took another step.  The other bucks were still milling around, I believe the wind and muzzle brake made it impossible to tell what happened and they went over, sniffed the big buck and went back to feeding. My buddy was able to hustle over and make our trip complete by doubling down and taking a great 4x4. We both firmly believe that these were the bucks we had seen on our scouting day!!  We haven't taped his buck or fully taped mine but mine was a 3x4 with small eyeguards and had 20" G2s and 26 3/4" wide. Needless to say he is at the taxidermist and we are all planning our return trip!

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What area of Wyoming were you in? We were hunting just north of Lusk an the eastern side of the state. Not as many deer this year. Very dry and the land where we hunt the rancher turned off 2 of his solar windmills. We went 1/5. Congrats on a few nice bucks!!

 

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Congrats to you guys. Sounds like a good time and glad you didn't call the hunt off early. There is not a better feeling than thinking you are going to go home with tag soup and then filling your tag in the last few hours. 

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Congrats

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Congratulations on a very fine buck and what looked like a good time in Wyoming.  The only thing missing is a big TRUMP sticker on the RTIC ice chest.

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On 10/22/2020 at 10:07 AM, wendt said:

What area of Wyoming were you in? We were hunting just north of Lusk an the eastern side of the state. Not as many deer this year. Very dry and the land where we hunt the rancher turned off 2 of his solar windmills. We went 1/5. Congrats on a few nice bucks!!

 

We were out near Rawlins-- drove past the Mullen Fire and had a few days where it blew toward us and you could smell the burnt up pines.

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