5x7 Morning Mulie

[Phil]

I went for a 4 day hunt this past weekend with my buddy Dave. I dropped this guy the morning of day one .


Going on a hunch, I still hunted in to a valley that looked promising. I crossed the valley bottom and began to climb up the other side pushing in to the wind. Tieing ribbon on the trail as I went, I stopped and looked to my left. I spotted a buck and doe trying to stay out of sight not more than sixty feet away. I knelt down to peer through the branches and count points.



After counting four points through obscured vision in the brush, my first reaction was let him walk. To be certain I brought the scope up to my eye, he turned and lifted his head giving me a clear view. There was more mass than I was expecting and knowing full well how difficult of a hunting year this has been for many hunters, including myself, I pulled the hammer back and squeezed the trigger in the hopes of filling my freezer. The shot went through the lungs and out the neck, dropping him where he stood. Once hitting the dirt he slid 30ft down hill, only to stop in a sapling when his antlers became entangled.



I radioed my hunting partner to share the news and cut my tags while waiting for him to arrive. We celebrated and took a few pictures. The rest is history.



http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/MVI_2199_1_.jpg

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/IMG_2212_1_.jpg (http://javascript<b></b>:;)

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/IMG_2214_1_.jpg (http://javascript<b></b>:;)

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/IMG_2222_1_.jpg (http://javascript<b></b>:;)

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/IMG_2206_1_.jpg (http://javascript<b></b>:;)

[jeff]

awsome buck ,congrats

[Taurusguy]

Wow .. nice rack! Nice job filling the freezer!

[325]

Very nice buck. Unique antlers

[coach]

Great looking buck, Phil! Really good pictures and story. Thanks for posting and congratulations.

[yzchamp]

Very nice! congrats

[Iron Sighted]

Good job! Nice rack on that buck.

[cainer]

Dig the abnormals...nice goin!

[shaydog65]

Beauty. Very cool rack

[Ourea]

... a quality character buck for sure. Good on ya Phil!!!

[wsm]

nice buck grats

[huntcoop]

Well done Phil, outstanding!

[Don_Abbate]

What a Pig of a muley he's got some wicked mass nice buck congrats

[~T-BONE~]

Tough to let that one walk! beauty character on that one for sure...

[Bigbuckadams]

Nice buck !!! Congrats !!!

[835]

Thats a tall boy!
Good show!

[silvertipp]

great dear ,there sure are some nice bucks falling lately

[d6dan]

Solid Mulie Phil!.. Congrats..

[behemoth]

Yeah too bad your freezer was empty so you had to shoot that meat buck out in the middle of nowhere

[4 point]

Great buck. Hard to pass on that for sure.

[fester]

wow good job!!

[greenhorn]

Nice deer! Nice tall rack on that one!!

[BigfishCanada]

Phil thats a great buck, id think of putting him on the wall myself. Love the character, what a feeling it must have been seeing that guy off the beaten path

[peashooter]

man that is a great buck. congrats

[Blainer]

Handsome Heavy Buck!
Good on ya!
no snow? what general area? actually looks quite dry.

[tomahawk]

Nice buck, good bone and lots a meat!!

[BIGHUNTERFISH]

Great buck Phil congrats.I hunted hard for the last 6 days and all I got was sore feet.Way to get her done.

[OutWest]

Now that's an old boy. Nice buck Phil!

[Brian011]

Sweet buck! What region did you get him at?

[Brambles]

Cool looking buck, high and tight with lots of mass, real cool.

[guest]

Hollllly Cranker !

You get some mighty fine bucks !

Congrats to you, great pic's !

CT

[MuleyMan95]

That is definitely a big one.

Great job!

[Benthos]

wow, what a cranker, nice buck

[Manglinmike]

very nice rack indeed! just love the mass.

[meathunter]

Very nice buck indeed, I hope I can get one of those of my upcoming trip!

[butthead]

now thats a brute

[scottwh]

Good character on that boy! Very nice buck. Congratulations :)

[kennyj]

Thats a friggen HOG. Nice heavy, dark rack. Glad you didn't let him go.
kenny

[180grainer]

That's a really nice deer. Way to go.

[spear]

Great character, looks pretty heavy too. Nice work, thanks for posting

[rocksteady]

Nice buck...Looks high and tight, but with some character points too...

Betcha he stunk to high heaven

[ianwuzhere]

woulda been a great buck in a few years ;)
was he all grey around the eyes etc,? kinda looks like an old guy..
Congrats on a heck of a deer!

[Riverratz]

Simply awesome. Well done, hope to see some pic's of him mounted in the future/

[The Dude]

Good story and a very cool rack! It has mass, character and color. I'm :mrgreen:

[cavebear]

wow thats a beautiful buck :)

[mark]

Finally, some nice muleys hitting the ground, this is motivating me to get out and fill my last tag! :)

[Phil]

Hey all, thanks so much for all of the comments.

On Friday the weather was unseasonably warm at +4. By Saturday the temp dropped to -3.5 and full on snow. It was still snowing on and off when we left on Monday and was -8 at night.

I would have to lie like hunter if I was to tell you where this buck was taken. In the same area I have seen taller and wider bucks but unfortunately smarter.
This is why I was willing to let his guy walk, (but only for a split second) in combination with this hunt being my last deer hunt of the season.

I was hoping hoping for something bigger but am coming to realize that every buck has a unique configuration, making them a trophy in their own right. He will end up on my wall for sure.

It takes me a while to process the events of the hunt and the magnitude of the final outcome.

I love a trophy as much as the next guy but keep feeding my family at the top of my priority list.

Thanks again everyone.

Phil

[Phil]

Nice buck...Looks high and tight, but with some character points too...

Betcha he stunk to high heaven


he brought tears to my eyes.........

[killer]

way to go phil congrats on taking a unique buck

[dana]

Great looking buck Phil! Congrats! I love the character. Tall, narrow and heavy!

[dave_83golf]

Tank! Nicely done

[Rattler]

Congrats on your buck. Unique antlers...

[cloverphil]

nice buck, phil congratulations

[Spy]

Thats a great buck! Well done!

[ravensfoot]

Top Shelf for sure, I certainly wouldn't second guess that. I want one too!!

[Young Gun]

very nice buck congratulations

[sniper ren]

Nice buck! I love the dark heavy rack!

[showtimebc]

great looking buck, lots of character on that guy! congrads!!!

[moose2]

Very nice looking buck congratulations on getting him.
Mike

[Bro 300]

That is a real nice looking buck. Nice dark antlers. Congrats.

[35 Whelen]

Great looking buck, congratulations. Love his mass and how tight his spread is...very cool. Well done

[Phil]

Thanks guys. It is great to hear how many people like the antler configuration.

[patdel]

Beauty Buck!!!!! Man I love the mass and height on that one. Great work finding that one

[Gateholio]

Bet you are glad you didn't pass him up! He is a great looking buck ! :)

[Caveman]

Great Buck Phil, Looks like he holds mass nicely.

[matt420]

great lookin buck! he got a nice unique set of antlers on his head

[kootenayelkslayer]

What an awesome buck, loads of character! Congrats to you.

[TESKELLY]

Sweet buck. I keep chuckling every time I hear of a hunter hesitating at shooting an animal. It must be that I'm new and haven't had an animal down yet but I would have crapped myself and shot it without question. I guess I am just to excited to get my first then I might stop and consider if it is good enough or not the next time :)

[BlacktailStalker]

Beauty buck

[Mr. Dean]

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/IMG_2206_1_.jpg (http://javascript<b></b>:;)


AZZWHOULE. :lol:

[Muleycatcher]

Love the look of the rack on this buck! Congrats

[hunter1947]

Thats one dandy mule deer you got there he looks like a timber buck ??? you don't get them much better in BC then this one ,congrats to you ,will look very impressive on your wall next year..

[Phil]

I guess I didn't know what I had when I dropped him. I do remember saying to myself that he got bigger when he hit the ground, not the other way around, which has happened to me.

The only reason I was going to let him go was because I have chased what I thought were better bucks in the area and because he had me fooled the way he hid his rack.

I was fairly deep in the timber H47, so I suppose that makes him a timber buck.

I sure hope he doesn't taste the way he smelled.

Thanks again guys.

[weatherby_man]

Awesome buck, nice job. Hes got a beauty rack on him.

[markt308]

Hey theres a nice one! congrats on a great hunt and nice animal

[Mr. Dean]

What the F.?????
You're telling me that you 'lucked' into him?


You're now a BIGGER AzzHoule.
When can I see it?

[Phil]

I have always considered luck to be a major part of hunting success. You can put yourself in the right place, wear the right deer perfume, put on your lucky hat and walk straight into the wind. In the end, the buck has a mind of his own and may or may not be where you expect to see him. We think we "know" but we don't.

I knew there were big bucks there, which is why I was there. That's as much control as feel I had. So....I guess I "lucked" in to him.

[Phil]

Dean, I was planning to drop by Ray's after work if he is available.

[bcbrez]

very nice lookin buck....congrats

[Mr. Dean]

Dean, I was planning to drop by Ray's after work if he is available.

Probably to late for the show but,,,, when you're there, take notice of my buddy's buck that's on his back wall - I like how it's done.
So much in fact, that mine is there for the upgrade. :wink:

[Phil]

will do.....Although, I won't be able to make it tonight as I am coaching a game tonight.

[300H&H]

Super mulie....congratulations.

[Mr. Dean]

will do.....Although, I won't be able to make it tonight as I am coaching a game tonight.

Do me a favour.
Give me a call when you know you're going; It would be nice to meet ya there and BS a bit.

I'll PM you my contact info.

[proguide66]

That buck musta looked wicked standing there when you first saw him , gnarly looking rack,cool!

[Phil]

It was cool but it all happened so fast. It would be great to have events like that on video so you could relive it.

[yugo111]

that thing is a pig nice buck

[LukaTisus]

Boy he's a nice tall, heavy boy. Congrats!

[Mr. Dean]

I met up w/ Phil over at Ray's shop and was privey in seeing this thing being scored.
Anyone wanna guess it's gross/net? :wink: :wink:

Again, Phil; Congrat's with this one.
I think the finished product will look super-uber-tuber saweeeeet!

[Phil]

Thank you Dean.

If I guess right do I get a prize.........

[Mr. Dean]

Thank you Dean.

If I guess right do I get a prize.........

Not fair.
You already know it's over 150.

[Canadian Hunter]

Heavy buck beautiful, good job!