Opening weekend of archery season, I glassed up this buck with another buck. They were in velvet hanging out on the bottom west side of the Big Shoe. They weren't alone either. They were being harassed by a pack of coyotes. It was awesome watching him lower his rack in defense to their close circles. He stood his ground and wasn't afraid of them. We watched them eventually head off into the deep timber below as the coyotes came more our way. We decided to move over into another canyon and went after another group of bucks. We never turned up this buck again during archery season.
Fast forward to muzzle loader season. Brody couldn't hunt because of golf. I had Bron with me. We tried on opening day to locate either of these two big mature bucks. Bron hadn't shot a mule deer yet, so BJ and I took the boys in after some smaller bucks in the same canyon and Bron got his first buck. We went the entire muzzle hunt not laying eyes on this buck of Brody's. Jared shot over the top of a big buck on the last day of the hunt but he wasn't sure if it was this guy or another buck.
It is now the evening before the rifle opener. We left camp and glassed the big shoe and Brody's buck and another decent buck was in a perfect spot for the morning. It was odd but a coyote was bedded right beside them and they didn't seem to care. Neither of these bucks looked wounded. Maybe they were just buddies. Ha, ha!
In the dark, Brody and I hiked to the bottom of the Big Shoe coming in off the west trail in case this buck was going to give Jared and BJ the slip from a top. Sure enough Jared spotted him at first light and he was on the move side-hilling below him. Jared got off a quick shot and missed him. He and a few smaller bucks worked themselves through the timber all the way over into the deep pine on the east side of the shoe.
Brody and I hiked over below the pines where we figured they held up in and we sat down to get a drink and eat a snack. I happened to raise my binoculars wishing I could spot him and low and behold I glassed him up! He was tucked in deep in a hollowed out dirt bed and he watched us walk in and sit down below him as he had his chin on the ground making himself small hiding from us. The only thing that broke his cover was I could see his entire left rack sticking out behind a small pine tree in front of him.
I told Brody to get on the sticks. I ranged him at 220 yards. I told Brody as son as this buck stands up let him have it and that is just what happened. Brody made a great shot! The buck lunged and toppled off into a steep ravine doing a complete summersault busting a couple inches off one of his tines before he came to rest.
Brody hadn't shot a big buck for awhile. He had missed two big bucks with his Bow on the Nipple and both he and I each had some muzzle loader equipment mishaps on different occasions that cost us two big bucks. It was pretty awesome to get a mature high country buck out of a canyon we have so much history hunting. Bucks like these are becoming few and far between.
