A Giant Falls

[Ourea]

I killed a very special MD buck a few years ago, a true giant. I wish to share the story.

Firstly, I am an elk hunter thru and thru and as a result I have walked on some pretty special bucks over the years while in elk country.


I have no interest in killing a decent MD for the sake of another bit of bone and I generally don’t need the meat as elk usually fills my freezer.
I am a guy that does not like to hunt blind. Through the use of numerous trail cams and endless scouting, as a result, I generally spend my seasons after a specific animal, a target.
We were onto a typical MD buck that was a heart stopper. One of his drops scored 93” with a beam length of an insane 30”. He was seen a couple times by us while out scouting. The deer, in velvet, looked like a cartoon character with his over developed headgear. Spent two years holding out for him. I had the safety off several occasions on some awfully nice deer but stayed true. I agree 100% with Dana’s philosophy on trophy MD……”if you want to kill a true giant you have to be willing to pass on big bucks and be prepared to eat your tag up until the light fades on the last day of the season”.
Most guys that are serious generally have a “hit list”, deer they have prescouted. We are no different. The big typical was definitely on the top of our list……however, that all changed when “HE”showed up one summer. By HE, I mean a buck that caused me to shake my head in disbelief. HBC member Elk-Aholic picked him up on one of his cams in the area we hunt. This buck was not picked up on any of my cams despite having 8 cams close by. The buck was well over 30”, had junk in spades and tremendous mass. In velvet he was one impressive looking buck, a true “Giant”.............

[Ourea]

To say we were looking forward to the up coming season, knowing there were to two world class bucks running around, was an understatement. Having the luxury of time, I was on the mountain 3 to 4 days a week with a camp on my back. After never seeing the big typical in 2 years during the season, I knew the amount of effort required to get a glimpse of either of these bucks would be significant. I don’t believe in luck.
The days and miles were long. Elk-Aholic was all in with his efforts as well. Daylight was finding him sitting high and handsome dissecting the high county with his spotter as only he can. He too was mobile with a camp on his back glassing the various canyons and hidden finger ridges. To this day I admire his dedication and drive once a special animal is found. He is relentless.

The weeks passed.

After 5 weeks of pounding this extensive area we had zero sightings of either buck. Granted, we saw some tremendous bucks in our quest but we both accepted the fact that neither of these giants would fall if we compromised with any other deer.

[longwalk]

Do continue please, this has all the hallmarks .....

[coach]

Oh my... This is gonna be good!

[spear]

Been waiting for a thread like this...

[Ourea]

Going to back it up a few years…..
Our group had killed a handful of solid bucks leading up to discovering the two giants. Here is an example of one of the earlier bucks. A very respectable Boone typical that carries his mass right to the end of his tines. He’s just a great representation of a mature mule deer. Like Dana said, you will need to learn to walk on bucks like this if you want a true giant.





This is another hell of a buck that was busted up a bit. Note the beam length.

[Stone Sheep Steve]

Take your time....... We're not going any where.

[Nimrod]

Guess that first case of Miller went down pretty fast after that buck got loaded up.
Love when they carry mass like that.
wondering if the buck we're waiting for is in the biggest buck tread.

[kennyj]

Saaweeeet!!!
kenny

[LeverActionJunkie]

Am I the only one who's refreshed this thread about a thousand times today?