My 07 British Columbia Monster [Archive]

dana

11-25-2007, 10:44 AM

After having the time of my life hunting every weekend for 2 months straight with my 11 year old son, it was my turn to hunt for myself. Conditions were brutal. No snow, crunchy timber, and most rutting action was nocturnal. Deer sightings were really low, with some days of zero deer. I pounded back the miles on the ol' Sheep Hunters and really felt like I was beating my head against a brick wall. On day 7, I had wet conditions to soften up the noise. I was still-hunting my way up a nice ridge when I encountered my buck. He was 40 yards from me and had no idea I was there. When I saw him, I instantly recognized him as a buck I've watched and filmed for 2 out of the last 3 winters. I knew he was a great character buck and having the personal history with him, I slipped the saftey off and dropped him. I am stoked to have been able to kill 2 bucks back to back that I have had a lot of personal history with.
I first saw this buck in the winter of 04/05. I had nicknamed him Deep Forks that winter. He was really narrow, but the forks were really nice.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v145/BCBOY/DeepForkEyeguardBuck1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v145/BCBOY/IMG_1531.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v145/BCBOY/IMG_1541.jpg

dana

11-25-2007, 10:46 AM

The winter of 05/06 he came in a little different. He had a big inline on his one side which was just his G3 coming off the main instead of the G2. He had dropped his G4 and he grew a huge G1. He was still really narrow but I wasn't sure he was the same buck. That year I nicknamed him Eyeguard Buck.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v145/BCBOY/Mar24007.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v145/BCBOY/Mar24008.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v145/BCBOY/Mar24010.jpg

dana

11-25-2007, 10:47 AM

My buddy, Matt, was the one to put 2 and 2 together and figured the buck was one and the same. I never saw hide nor hair of the buck the winter of 06/07. I assumed he was catscat. But when I saw him last Friday, I instantly knew Matt was right, Deep Forks and the Eyeguard buck were the same deer.
He has some awesome character. He is 24 inches tall with a 18 1/2 inch outside spread. I didn't even think about score when I shot him. I just knew he was the buck I wanted because of my personal history with him. Looking at him on the ground, I was thinking he'd gross in the mid 180's as a 7x7. I think the narrow spread had me underestimating him big time. I was shocked when I finally put the tape on him. He grosses 199 6/8. His stong side has a 91 inch frame. Those G3's are flippin amazing. The big eyeguard is pretty cool as well.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v145/BCBOY/NOV17031a.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v145/BCBOY/NOV17032a.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v145/BCBOY/NOV17033a.jpg

Jetboater

11-25-2007, 10:52 AM

great looking buck... glad to see another deer with some history....love the brow tines is the one side broken a little?wicked G3

bsa30-06

11-25-2007, 10:54 AM

congrats on another awesome buck.

badbrass

11-25-2007, 10:54 AM

Holy crap!:eek: Nice deer, congrats! Gotta be happy with that one!

Caveman

11-25-2007, 10:59 AM

Great Looking Buck Steve. The narrowness is really deceiving when scoring. Very cool how tall he is, Congrats.

Gateholio

11-25-2007, 10:59 AM

Really nice, well done!!

cbearw

11-25-2007, 10:59 AM

Wow! What a beauty! :eek:Well done and much congratulations. You certainly seem to do consistantly well at hunting those big muley bucks. Great read and awesome pics. Thanks for posting.

Kitimat Killer

11-25-2007, 11:00 AM

nice buck dana way to go thats an awesome buck

Thunderstix

11-25-2007, 11:04 AM

Wow! What a great history. 5 years back I did not the craziness over der hunting have sure changed my mind.

BIGHUNTERFISH

11-25-2007, 11:16 AM

Nice buck Dana,you are taking alot of moves out of Ryan Hatches playbook ,he would be very proud of you.congrats. :-D

Gamebuster

11-25-2007, 11:18 AM

Helluva deer.....out of curiosity why do you think they rutted nocturnally?

lapadat

11-25-2007, 11:22 AM

Dana,

Another sweet buck. Good work. I love the hoodie.

lap

Dirty

11-25-2007, 11:23 AM

Fantastic Buck! The conditions were crappy this year that is for sure.

Will

11-25-2007, 11:25 AM

Wowsers.........yet another Great Buck !

CONGRATS ! 8)

dana

11-25-2007, 11:29 AM

Gamebuster,
In years where it's warm and there isn't much for snow, I've encountered the same poor ruttin action. It is my gut feeling that these bucks have summered really well due to a lot of great feed during this incredibly wet year. With great fat stores, they will overheat really fast if they are chasin, fightin and breedin during the warm conditions. So they hit the thick crap and sleep up during the day and then rut hard all night long when it is cooler. Of course the odd doe will come in strong during the day and you can still encounter daylight ruttin action, but I feel the majority of it has been taking place at night.

frenchbar

11-25-2007, 11:38 AM

Awesome buck Steve!!. know what ya mean about the ground conditions,lack of some snow in this neck of the woods,has made for some tougher hunting conditions.be nice to get a dump of some fresh snow.

David Heitsman

11-25-2007, 11:58 AM

Excellent deer! I think it's great that you have some live pics of him as well. I've tried to snap pics of my animals prior to their demise but usually my hands are shaking and they (the pics) don't turn out very well.

Once again great deer!

Elkhound

11-25-2007, 12:09 PM

another great buck...congrats Dana.

hunter1947

11-25-2007, 12:10 PM

Very nice buck Dana ,he looks like a bush buck ,his antlers go up hi. If he had been a lot wider you would be in the 200+ area ,but still you don't get them much better hear in BC then that one ,congrats on a fine deer.http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/images/icons/icon14.gif.

JDR

11-25-2007, 01:09 PM

Wow, truly amazing buck Steve! Awesome tine length and main beams :shock:. Love the pics and the story. Congratulations.

TIKKA TIGER

11-25-2007, 01:27 PM

Hey Dana... Very nice buck and congrats on harvesting such a magnificent animal. Love the story too... Good job!
Cheers...

Freshtracks

11-25-2007, 01:59 PM

Congrats Dana ... another great looking buck. So is this the TOAD! from the Poncho thread.:lol:

Looking at pics where you state this is 'Deep Fork' and/or 'Eye Guard' :confused:

Resemblance to 'Eye Guard'? ... another than his impressive R. G-1 and what could be debated as the R. G-2 and/or false R. G-2... find it odd that 'Eye Guard' wouldn't carry the R. G-4 of your 2007 buck and I must say 'Eye Guard isn't quote ... "really narrow". Your 2007 buck is ... a very classic example of a narrow 'bush buck' ... gives awesome character. Them true G-2's look to be pushing 16"'s.:eek:

Going back to the pic of 'Deep Fork' ... very debateable these are the same buck. Unless he's carrying some kinda definitive marking. He's a good typical 4x4 ... possible all 3 have the same genes from the same pops.

Again great buck ... but really I had visions of Dana posting nothing smaller than a cross between Bob's buck and this one.:tongue:

dana

11-25-2007, 02:18 PM

Fresh Tracks,
This isn't the big one from the Poncho thread.

The pics of the live buck from both winters are just clips off the video. They don't show the short G2 he carried every year on the driver's side. This year he's quite shorter on that G2 but every year it was way shorter than his strong side. The G3's have always been huge. You just don't see G3's like that very often. Heck the passenger side G3 is over 17 inches long. You can't tell from the clips but he was narrow all 3 years. The inline coming off the long inline (G3 off the main) in the 05/06 year is the inline coming off the G3 this year and appears on the same side. The long eyeguard and the short eyeguard are again on the same side. His eyeguard is just under 5 inches this year. I would say in 05/06 it would have been 6. One can try to argue that there is 3 deer all with the same characteristics, but I can't see it. 3 narrow bucks with super long G3's, short G2 on the same side, long eyeguard/shorter eyeguard between 2 years, inline coming off the same side at the same place, ect... equals one and the same. I killed him pretty close to where I filmed him. He was also bached up with MassNTrash both winters. MnT was pretty selective on his friends. :wink:

Mr. Dean

11-25-2007, 02:27 PM

I was wonder'n how you were doin.... Now I know.

Great Deer Dana.

Tikka7mm

11-25-2007, 02:34 PM

Hoooly.....s**t!! Well done.

BlacktailStalker

11-25-2007, 02:34 PM

Once again you didn't disappoint.
Nice buck, congrats.

Freshtracks

11-25-2007, 02:38 PM

MnT was pretty selective on his friends. :wink:

Or realtives? ;) All good theory ... but debateable.

Where's the clips of this TOAD! Or is that being saved for 2008?:tongue:

Mind you BCBucks and company are probably looking for him as I type.

Tikka7mm

11-25-2007, 02:40 PM

Orangethunder

11-25-2007, 02:45 PM

Nice pics man, congrats.

Freshtracks

11-25-2007, 02:45 PM

BCrams

11-25-2007, 02:47 PM

Or realtives? ;) All good theory ... but debateable.

Where's the clips of this TOAD! Or is that being saved for 2008?:tongue:

Mind you BCBucks and company are probably looking for him as I type.

Sigh ..... I'm tagged out too. :lol: Not a monster, but a decent buck. An old bugger with teeth almost down to nothing and regressed antlers.

I believe I was on the monsters tail a couple times but couldn't catch up to him. I was hunting the area all week where Dana shot the buck and monster was seen. On that fateful day 7, I chose to go hunting somewhere else and Dana went where I had been hunting -- I took a nice buck that morning, and so did Dana (and a great one!!)

boonerbuck

11-25-2007, 02:49 PM

GoatGuy

11-25-2007, 03:07 PM

I thought you were gonna wait until after the season. :eek:

Would held keep the doldrums to a lull until the new year.

Oh well!!!

Congrats on a heck of a good buck, again!

Hank Hunter

11-25-2007, 03:19 PM

Congrats Dana on the great buck and on the awesome work you done with your kid

srupp

11-25-2007, 03:25 PM

CONGRADULATIONS !!!
wonderful buck! and great read....WELL DONE!!!

Steven

dana

11-25-2007, 03:43 PM

Just a question Dana and don't take this the wrong way. That's some pretty funky camo you got on there? Were you road hunting or set up in a sheltered blind of some kind. Again, don't take it the wrong way...that's bigger than any deer I've ever seen...just curious as to white kind of gear you usually hunt in. Congratulations on a real beauty.

Tikka,
Them were my hunting clothes. I don't buy into the whole camo gimmic. I just see that as a well thought out marketing tactic to convince hunters they can not kill big bucks unless they have the latest and greatest camo pattern. I was wearing a pair of wool pants that I got for a couple of bucks from the Thrift store, and that Hoodie is just dang comfortable and it is RED (hard to get shot at when you have a guy like Poncho in the area. :shock::-P.)Yea, cotton aint the best in wet conditons, but it wasn't that wet out. It was actually too warm to wear the wool pants, but my strategy was the warm pants would force me to walk slower so not to get over heated. Seems to work for me. Them are just my regular clothes that I wear to work most days too. Don't let the marketing guys convince you otherwise, you don't need the latest and greatest gimics to kill big bucks.

kennyj

11-25-2007, 03:48 PM

Awesome Buck,Excellent Photos.

dana

11-25-2007, 03:51 PM

I think he's photo op'ing for MM attire.:oops:

I'm not one of those guys that carries a product in my pack just to put it on for the photo op. MC sends me hats all the time because I actually wear them out. Just look at the hat I was wearing for MnT last year. Beat up and ripped to shreds. The MC hoodie is getting the same way. It is just dang comfortable. I'm a big hoodie fan as I hate the bugs flying in my ears during the summer field season. In the winter, I wear the hoodie to keep my ears warm too.

Steeleco

11-25-2007, 03:55 PM

You can make a grown man cry, :cry::cry:
Great story, better buck!! Congrats

dana

11-25-2007, 04:00 PM

Here's an As He Lay pic of BCrams buck taken the same day as mine. Not to shabby eh?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v145/BCBOY/greg07.jpg

Macgregor

11-25-2007, 04:09 PM

Congratulations Dana. That's a beautiful buck. Really good pictures also.

Freshtracks

11-25-2007, 04:12 PM

Ouch:eek: another sweet buck ... is that the area trait (gene) dropper I see also? Hmm ... notice the passenger G-1 one looks familar too. Congrats to BCrams.

Dana nothing like hitting the field in what's comfy ... and old hats are hard to throw away. ;)

BlacktailStalker

11-25-2007, 04:12 PM

That last one got headlocked, you can see where his rack rubbed while trying to get up before dying(looks like it anyways). Pretty cool and a great buck too.
You guys have some nice country up there with even nicer bucks to hunt.

rifleman

11-25-2007, 04:37 PM

wow . now thats a buck with alota bone. i wouldn't hesitate shootin him I came across his path. nice one

Sikanni Stalker

11-25-2007, 04:37 PM

that's cool, great story too! I have been watching a particular whitey for two years now too and can't seem to get all the stars aligned when I am hunting though. It will come maybe next year, but it is almost better than the hunt watching them for so long....

john-brennan

11-25-2007, 04:53 PM

Awsome buck, that proves width does not add alot of scoring points compared to deep forks. Well done.

.308win

11-25-2007, 04:58 PM

Hey Dana sweet buck! And back to back video bucks to boot!!! Stiil say there's something about this one I favour!....Say how about a side by each photo of MnTand D/F, Make a cool showing of how two different racks can score pretty much the same!....Agian big congrats!!

P.S:Whos on video for next year!..LOL!

Perry

rocksteady

11-25-2007, 04:59 PM

Great buck, very pretty..

Brambles

11-25-2007, 05:13 PM

So was this Muley Camp 2007?

I'm guessing if BCrams and MattB were there then it was!

Dana

Nice buck, freakishly tall and narrow, although I figured with so much season left that you wouldn't pull the trigger on a buck you figured went 180's. Obviously a plesent surprise when you found out you misjudged him. Good goin 8-)

BCrams

How bout some different pictures of that buck, love the droptine, funny how a change of location is all it takes to find your buck, its happened to me before too, way to go.

I'm finding myself already looking forward to next seasons muley hunting, I wasn't ready to quit hunting them but a Nov 10 season doesn't leave me much chance, might try and squeeze a quick 2 day hunt up north again but I'm not sure if I can swing it.

Congrats again guys on having a productive year with less than spectacular hunting conditions.

dana

11-25-2007, 05:50 PM

Brambles,
Without having MnT to consume my mind all season, I really didn't know what kind of buck I'd pull the trigger on this year. I made up my mind that it would have to be a great character buck or a huge typical or Nontypical or else I'd eat tagsoup. I did pass on a great typical a couple days prior. I didn't get a long look at the frame, but it had amazing mass and deep back forks. I jumped him up in a cedar swamp and he stopped with the majority of his rack behind some brush. I hesitated pulling the trigger cause I really wanted to see more of his rack. I tried grunting and raking to get him to show me more but he slowly turned and went deeper into the thick crap. Was the kind of buck that most would have dropped in a heartbeat, but for me, it just left me longing to see more. It could have easily have been bigger than the buck I killed but then again, it could have had short fronts too.
When I encountered my buck, score didn't even come to my mind. I didn't care, as I recognized him immmediately. I knew he was the character buck that I was willing to pull the trigger on. No doubt the score was a sweet surprise. Who'd of thunk that I could kill back to back bucks that I've watched and filmed for mulitiple years? Both pretty much in the 200 inch class. And yup, being only 2/8s from 200, I think I'll call him 200. ;)

~T-BONE~

11-25-2007, 06:17 PM

Definately a great buck there! Congrats on back to back 200inchers....Did you plan on mounting any of these last 2 bucks?

Sitkaspruce

11-25-2007, 06:32 PM

*sigh* Steve, Nice buck....again *sigh*:wink:

Congrats on the buck, saw pictures of BC Buck's last week and was wondering if and when the pictures of yours would show up. Good job and I really do like the hunting attire you have on.

Now go find one for next year...:tongue:

dana

11-25-2007, 06:40 PM

T-Bone,
Just finished up the Euro on him. I did a Euro on MnT as well. I love the skull look. I've been doing Euros on all my bucks the last few years. With my small house, I just don't have the wall space to get a lot of animals mounted. As a matter of fact, it seems I don't have a lot of room for all my euros either. Some of them might be destined for the shed pile. :)

Sitka,
With a couple weeks still left in the season, I probably should get off my ass and find a whitey. But....I don't really have much of a drive to kill a dinky dog rat deer. Maybe if the rats here grew as big as they do in the Peace, but having a freezer overflowing with meat this year, I can't see myself pulling the trigger on a little rat.

Brambles

11-25-2007, 06:59 PM

With a couple weeks still left in the season, I probably should get off my ass and find a whitey. But....I don't really have much of a drive to kill a dinky dog rat deer. Maybe if the rats here grew as big as they do in the Peace, but having a freezer overflowing with meat this year, I can't see myself pulling the trigger on a little rat.

Are you the type that can sit in one spot for hours and hours?

~T-BONE~

11-25-2007, 07:01 PM

Steve,

Do you do your Euros sawed off down through the atlas bone out the snout or do you just remove the bottom jaw? What do you bleach the skull with Peroxide ? What strength? Regardless I would like to see your finished product! I can only imagine how wicked the must look...

Brambles

11-25-2007, 07:06 PM

I don't do the euro mount much, because I don't like all the nazel bones.

But when I boil my skulls lately I have been adding electosol dishwasher detergent in the water, smells much much nicer and the bone comes out pretty darn white, just an FYI.

dana

11-25-2007, 07:10 PM

T-Bone,
I've got some pics of MnT on my harddrive that I'll have to post up for ya. I boil the skull with laundary soap and clean off all meat and pick out the brains with a clothes hanger. Once I've got it clean, I paint on peroxide with a small paint brush till it is wet, then I dry it on the heat register. I then paint again and dry. I repeat until the desired white is achieved. I don't keep the bottom jaw with deer as it seems to look a little funny. I do keep it though with many of my other critters like bears and lions.

Brambles,
I'm one to clean out all the nasal stuff. I don't see the value to keeping it as no one looks up the nose. I don't like the fact if you keep it, there is a good posibility of having a bug investation due to left over meat and such.

As for the whitetail question, no I don't have any patience to sit. 20 mins max. Maybe that is why I haven't killed a big whitey.

bc-shedder

11-25-2007, 07:24 PM

hey steve thats an awesome buck what does it net score at?

~T-BONE~

11-25-2007, 07:28 PM

T-Bone,
I've got some pics of MnT on my harddrive that I'll have to post up for ya. I boil the skull with laundary soap and clean off all meat and pick out the brains with a clothes hanger. Once I've got it clean, I paint on peroxide with a small paint brush till it is wet, then I dry it on the heat register. I then paint again and dry. I repeat until the desired white is achieved. I don't keep the bottom jaw with deer as it seems to look a little funny. I do keep it though with many of my other critters like bears and lions.

Cool thats what I've done in the past as well. But used to wrap shit paper around the skull and cover with a plastic bag then soak with 35% peroxide. Close the bag and submerge in water to keep the peroxide close! (Unlike the magnesium / peroxide method). I tell ya though I really miss the dermetice beetles!

Grandbois

11-25-2007, 08:41 PM

huge buck, way to go

ursus

11-25-2007, 08:46 PM

You are one great muley hunter Steve, good job!

dana

11-25-2007, 09:17 PM

BCshedder,
There is no substitute for gross inches. Nets are for fish. :) No point netting this buck out, way too many deductions to make BC Book.

T-bone,
Here is a pic of the Euro and plaque mount of MnT. My dad built me the plaque mount out of a chunk of cedar. I'll get him to build me a plaque mount for my latest buck as well.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v145/BCBOY/April7026a.jpg

~T-BONE~

11-25-2007, 09:40 PM

Hey now that was a great Idea there with that type of plaque I've always contimplated making two piece one. I'm guessin you definately would have to hang that off the wall as the antlers would be too heavy to stand up alone no? Or is it that well balanced? Tht really looks wicked! Thanks for posting..:smile:

dana

11-25-2007, 09:45 PM

I've actually got it sitting on top of a mantle. One screw is all that holds it to the base. Screw just fits at the back of the skull and keeps it tight. I orginally was just going to sit the skull on the mantle and lean it against the wall, but the one sweeping back point made it really lopesided. The stand works great at keeping it away from the wall and I have it turned to show the mass well.

Brambles

11-25-2007, 09:56 PM

Dana

That euro looks SWEET, love the cedar base, great idea. Still trying to figure how I'm going to display mine for now, not that its a monster or anything but he's the biggest I've gotten so its special to me.

Nice

Tikka7mm

11-25-2007, 09:58 PM

Tikka,
Them were my hunting clothes. I don't buy into the whole camo gimmic. I just see that as a well thought out marketing tactic to convince hunters they can not kill big bucks unless they have the latest and greatest camo pattern. I was wearing a pair of wool pants that I got for a couple of bucks from the Thrift store, and that Hoodie is just dang comfortable and it is RED (hard to get shot at when you have a guy like Poncho in the area. :shock::-P.)Yea, cotton aint the best in wet conditons, but it wasn't that wet out. It was actually too warm to wear the wool pants, but my strategy was the warm pants would force me to walk slower so not to get over heated. Seems to work for me. Them are just my regular clothes that I wear to work most days too. Don't let the marketing guys convince you otherwise, you don't need the latest and greatest gimics to kill big bucks.

I guess camo doesn't make the hunter. What ever you're doing it obviously seems to be working. Again, not being critiical...actually just fishing for a few pointers without being to direct. I like your strategy about dressing warmer to walk slower...makes sense. I look forward to the day I've got a monster like that in my crosshairs.....one day I hope. Geez those deer on the mainland get big. Congrats again on your second consecutive 200 class buck. I'm sure there are more than a few guys who will be waiting to see if you can keep the 200 class streak going into next season.

Way to knock em down.

Brambles

11-25-2007, 10:02 PM

Congrats again on your second consecutive 200 class buck. I'm sure there are more than a few guys who will be waiting to see if you can keep the 200 class streak going into next season.

OHHH don't pump him up too much, his head might swell up and he'll start falling over when he walks:-D

dana

11-25-2007, 10:12 PM

Tikka,
I really didn't think I'd actually drop another 200 inch buck this year. With the success my son had this year, I concluded I already had the best season of my life. I was fully prepared to eat my tag come Dec 10th. I guess I ended up stealing that Horseshoe from Horshur and got lucky. Really when it comes down to it, finding a buck of this caliber and one that you've actually watched in years past, is like finding a needle in a haystack. Luck played a huge role, especially given the conditions I was hunting in. I might have to give the Horseshoe back so Horshur can get a monster before the season is up, so I doubt it'll be 3 years in a row for me.

LeverActionJunkie

11-25-2007, 10:47 PM

Awesome buck Dana I gotta give you a pat on the back as I have also been having a hell of a time stillhunting the last few weeks, crunchy, crackly lack of snow, etc. You can Chalk me up in the Non-Camo camp, well I got a ball cap, my only must have clothing, is good boots, and wool pants and shirt. Congrats on a Great season.

dana

11-25-2007, 11:19 PM

Rams,
Buddy, you better damn well sit in that treestand next year. 3 years in a row that you brought it, yet you haven't used it once.

BCrams

11-25-2007, 11:20 PM

Rams,
Buddy, you better damn well sit in that treestand next year. 3 years in a row that you brought it, yet you haven't used it once.

I'm bringing it....and I am bringing the 2nd one for you! I promise you I will devote 1 full day to sitting next year.

By the way - I basically might as well have been in a stand when I waited and waited and finally raked that buck this year :mrgreen:

Mulie_Hunter

11-26-2007, 07:35 AM

Hell of a Buck Dana, Thats a crazy tall rack. Grats

Wildman

11-26-2007, 09:06 AM

Once again, you impress! Thanks for the pictures, awesome buck!

Fisher-Dude

11-26-2007, 12:22 PM

You keep setting the bar higher and higher for yourself my friend. Great buck, congrats!

bruin

11-26-2007, 07:22 PM

Great buck Dana, congrats.

MB_Boy

11-26-2007, 07:33 PM

I'm bringing it....and I am bringing the 2nd one for you! I promise you I will devote 1 full day to sitting next year.

By the way - I basically might as well have been in a stand when I waited and waited and finally raked that buck this year :mrgreen:

Rams....you spent all this money on treestands for you and Steve and didn't buy a camera?!?! Or maybe I missed the pics of your buck......or I am reading incorrectly. :razz:

BTW.....Nice lookin' buck Steve. The wool pants are still all I use for the cooler days.