Another opening weekend mountain muley

[Raven]

New hunter, new Hunting BC member, first mule deer - seems to be a common theme these on here these days, but it seems like most people on here like to see pictures...so here's a shot of my first mule deer taken on the opening day of rifle season. I took him on a solo backpack trip into some nice mountain terrain.

I didn't have high hopes because the clouds were low and it was wet and foggy most of the day and the only views were down into the headwaters of the valley below. I watched a couple of nice looking grizzlies grazing on berries way down below me in a slide path but couldn't do any spotting of the slope I wanted to hunt because of the fog. So I decided to creep slowly across the slope hoping I'd run into a buck in the mist. An hour later the clouds lifted a bit and shortly after I stumbled upon this guy at close range.

I managed to get most of him back to camp after a couple hours navigating by GPS in the dark across some pretty rough terrain. Next morning I got the rest of him to camp then made two trips carrying him and my camp a few kms back out to my dirt bike, and then did two trips on the bike to the truck. The velvet was so ready to be scraped it was actually already starting to split. I couldn't keep it on so I just peeled it off like a banana peel, which left me with a pretty strange looking whitish-pink rack. I'm not too concerned about it though, the memories will make up for that!

Sorry about the small image size, couldn't upload it any larger.

[BlacktailStalker]

What a beauty, welcome to the site.

[whitetail2009]

Very nice , Way to go :-D

[Raven]

Forgive me, but it's no Joke.

[calvin L]

Welcome to HBC and that is a great buck not of for a first mule deer but any mule deer . You could hunt a long time before getting a better one . Congrats

calvin L

[OutWest]

Beautiful buck. Welcome to the site!

[fuzzybiscuit]

What a hog! Congrats to you and welcome to the site.

[dana]

Congrats on a SWEET high country buck! And your first to boot. Way to Go! A lot of guys hunt their whole lives and never kill a buck that big. That is pretty darn cool to do it as your first during a solo backpack trip. Lots of memories for sure!
I don't know if you have plans to mount that buck but if you don't take it to the taxidermist, you can deal with the pink/white by brushing on a coat of peroxicide, letting it dry in the sun and repeating until the pink is gone. If you don't like a white rack, I can dig up a recipe for the natural brown look. It involves soil, coffee grounds and a few other natural ingredients I can't recall off the top of my head.

[patdel]

Great Buck! Wide and tall and looks like a great area there! Congrats to your first buck.

[chainsaw]

Thats a cranker good for you and welcome

[stwguy]

nice buck in velvet too? good job

[pupper]

jeez, huge buck man!

[fozzy]

That's a beauty buck, nice way to start your career! Well done.

[Jelvis]

Three and a half years old, nice buck, 159 or so .. good one .. 24 inch spread .. 178 pounds hog dressed
Jel .. Close (free-visual-rack-score-estimates.ca) Call .. Do you wanna Score? .. Super Visuals Semi-Pro ..

[porcupine]

Congratualtions. Tthat's a terrific buck whether it's your first or fifteth. Well done.

[Brew]

Good for you. Sounds like you worked hard for him. Well deserved and welcome to the sight

[Raven]

I guess I got lucky. Actually the only deer I saw that day.

I have no idea how to score a rack, and really don't care since at this point in my hunting career it's all about spending time in nice country and filling the freezer. I'm not in it for the trophy side of things, however, I have taken one measurement so far - 27" outside to outside at the widest part. I'm sure my motivation will evolve as time goes on, maybe then I'll look into what a score of 159 really means...

[coach]

Welcome to the site! Great job on a very nice first buck - and solo nonetheless. Very impressive.

[frenchbar]

Thats a beauty alpine buck you got raven! the kind of buck most of us muley hunters dream of before we head off to the alpine to hunt:-D

[Everett]

Taking a wild shot in the dark based on something a friend said to me yesterday any chance your pig was shot on a tributary valley of the saint marys.

[Jelvis]

Do I hear Lil Sands Creek?

[3kills]

Three and a half years old, nice buck, 159 or so .. good one .. 24 inch spread .. 178 pounds hog dressed
Jel .. Close (free-visual-rack-score-estimates.ca) Call .. Do you wanna Score? .. Super Visuals Semi-Pro ..

i bet that buck scores more then 159 my biggest went 162 and 7/8 and that there buck looks a lot bigger then the one sittin above my computer right now

[Jelvis]

Check the tine length on the front and the tine length on the back forks, note the difference?
... if the fronts were as long and even as the backs .. POW!
Jel .. length and width .. thickness and similar shape each side as the other ..

[thetackdriver]

Beautiful buck man. Great job and welcome to the site

[BCrams]

What a beauty! One of these years, I'll have to hit the alpine for a muley as a switch up from November bucks.

[Brambles]

nice buck, nothing to this mulie hunting this year by the looks of things, lots of good bucks hitting the dirt.. By the way...Looks bigger than 159

[Mik]

What a monster! and a first ta boot! Congrats.

[kennyj]

Wow!! Thats a beauty. Very symmetrical. Congrats on getting it done on your own. Great sense of accomplishment eh?
kenny

[Martin_Hunter]

Great buck.Right on.

[pg83]

Awesome mountain muley. Congrats to you, thank you for sharing with us. Look forward to more of your adventures in the future.

[Ride]

Beauty buck, beauty country, and first buck. Doesn't get much better than that. Congratulations.

[2x4x16]

That's a beauty - I think scores a lot more than 150 range. Thats a perfect 4 point wall hanger.

[trigger]

awesome buck. thanks for sharing and welcome to the site

[Brian011]

Beauty buck! I'm jealous, looks like great country, congrats on your first buck!

[fusion]

WOW, very nice & welcome to HBC. What a way to start.

[nano]

Good job,congrats!

[rifleman]

WOW what a first buck. congrats

[d6dan]

Nice EK mulie!, congrats to you and welcome to the forum..I'll tell you that buck will score alot more than 159. I'm looking at one right here that go's over 175" and yours is bigger.

[winbuckhunter]

sure seems to be a lot of hogs hittin the dirt.. congrats on the beautiful buck.. glad to see so many of us gettin it done early.

[4pointer91]

Tops off a good hike to get a great looking buck like that. Good hunting!

[Kody94]

Great buck! Congrats!

[skibum]

that is pretty cool... but really caught my attention was the night time hike out with fresh meat on your back after seeing the gizzes. Not saying I would not do it, but I would be on edge for sure

[ZENYO]

Congrats! That's a great buck!

[Bistchen]

Congrads, you're hard work resulted in harvesting that monster of a buck. Enjoy the meat, and the memories everytime you stare at that rack!

[mark]

Congrads man!!! Finding a huge alpine muley, putting him down, and packing him out, is not as easy as some might think!
You did very well, a little bit lucky too me thinks! :wink:

[Laurence_Erickson]

welcome to the site and that is a very nice buck congrats .I don't know about luck but definetly in the right spot at the right time .

[M.Dean]

Congrats on one fine looking Buck Raven, not that were turning this into a scoring contest, But that bucks going into the 180's for sure!!!

[Sooke Hunter]

i bet that buck scores more then 159 my biggest went 162 and 7/8 and that there buck looks a lot bigger then the one sittin above my computer right now

Ditto.....last season, in November, my buddy shot a 171.....thats alot bigger...buddies was a 4 point 24" wide with thick equal lengthed points!!!:-D

[dana]

We've already seen Jelvis knows absolutely nothing about scoring a muley, here he proves it once again. Jelvis, why don't you go back to you old ways and disappear for half a year. We really miss those days.

[Jelvis]

For someone who thinks a three point mule deer with an inch browtine is a legal four point I wouldn't believe too much lol All I know is it's bigger than the ones you posted so far .. .. Clearwater sucks lol .. A mule deer brow tine is not counted in BC for a four point count .. now you know

[3kills]

For someone who thinks a three point mule deer with an inch browtine is a legal four point I wouldn't believe too much lol All I know is it's bigger than the ones you posted so far .. .. Clearwater sucks lol .. A mule deer brow tine is not counted in BC for a four point count .. now you know

ur an idiot! dana has posted alot of big bucks on here. and of course they are all bigger then the ones u post! LOL i dont recall dana ever sayin that a three point with a brow is a legal four. go away ur posts are useless

[OutWest]

Nice EK mulie!, congrats to you and welcome to the forum..I'll tell you that buck will score alot more than 159. I'm looking at one right here that go's over 175" and yours is bigger.

Agree with you on that. I shot a 184 last year and his looks similar if not slightly larger.

[BimmerBob]

That is an awesome buck, what a fine trophy and on a solo hunt to boot! Well done, that picture is a keeper, we just need a bigger one! Congratulations.

[betteroffishing]

well done , and thanks for sharing the pics and storry. but it is customary for first time posters to share a joke, so let her rip. welcome to the site , mark and his merry band of moderaters do a great job of keeping all us a--holes in check.

[Raven]

Everett - you got it, it was up the 'Mary's.

skibum - I was thinking of the grizzlies but they were parked eating berries for hours about 2 km away and 2000' lower, upwind. I was pretty sure they weren't going anywhere.

betteroffishing - I'll think about it...

Unfortunately a dog came into my yard and pulled the antlers along with some 2x4s off a work table outside and with the lumber coming down on top of it the skull cap broke so now it's in two pieces. So we'll just have to keep guessing at the score!