Bowsite.com

It is the buck I was after, and I spent seven days hunting specifically for him before finally taking the buck of my lifetime! Many hunters and guides had known of him over the past four years, and he had become a bit of a legend as I understand, having been hunted hard on public ground by bowhunters, rifle hunters and even statewide Raffle and Commissioner Tag holders over the past few years. However, I don’t believe any hunter had ever actually seen him in person (only an occasional trail cam pic, often at night, and his sheds had occasionally been found).

The first person to find the buck, four years ago, was a guide named Tory Brock. Over the past few years he had guided several hunters and at least one auction hunter in hopes of taking the buck, but nobody had managed to even see him. Tory helped me scout for the buck (even though he had never actually seen him in person either). Together we made the decision that I would hunt for him exclusively and on my own for the first half of the season. Then if I couldn’t manage to take him hunting solo, Tory would hunt with me the last 10 days of the season. After telling me the buck’s history as he knew it over the past four years, and sharing some trail camera pics with me, I hunted hard for seven days before finally locating him and sending a perfect shot into his chest (yes with a Rage Hypodermic)! He didn’t go far, and when I walked up to him for the first time he looked SO MUCH BIGGER than I expected. Because his body is so unbelievably huge, his antlers don’t look nearly as big in photos as they do in person. It was the exact opposite of ground shrinkage, and I was thrilled beyond words and thankful when I walked up to him for the first time and saw how truly giant he was! The wealthy auction hunters and raffle hunters, that are permitted to hunt year-round and statewide in Arizona, normally kill these sized bucks before the regular hunting season opens each year. It was nice to see one slip by them and go to a bowhunter that just drew the tag for the regular 21-day season in the random drawing for a change. It took me 13 years to draw this tag, but hopefully I’ll get luckier and not have to wait that long to go again!!

Marvin

What a buck man.

Congrats

Good luck, Robb

How bout some more details on your hunt?

We need details on how you located him & how the hunt went down.

Congrats on fulfilling your mission to take that monster, truly amazing.

Best of Luck, Jeff

How far was your shot?

Which buck was it (nickname)?

A typical mule deer has only 5 typical points per side. All the other points and "inlines" are abnormal. I don't think the two photos are showing everything this buck has... helluva buck Marvin. Ed F

Many congrats! Sounds like a great story goes along with this amazing deer. I'm sure we will read about it in a magazine...

YZF, he is pretty symetrical, considering he's a non-typical. I especially like the "L" shaped point coming off the G-3 that's matched on both sides.

Roy, I'm not sure there was a standard name for him. Tory called him the Salt House Buck, A3 called him Jumper and I called him Ghost, or The Ghost Buck since no hunter had ever actually seen him in person before.

Good luck on all your future endeavors.

Congrats! Looks like you might be shipping another one to P&Y in short order......

Congrats on a fine trophy!

Well played Marvin.

Marvin, that is a spectacular mule deer!

Congratulations!

CONGRATULATIONS !

after years of large posse style hunters failed is a monumental achievement.

Congratulations sir!!!!!

I'm curious what the OP thinks his secret to success was versus the other hunters who were after this deer.

Matt

“StickFlicker 04-Sep-17“

Matt, to answer your question above. This buck lived in an area without a great number of deer. Most people that draw this unit hunt by either glassing or driving a lot of miles to find deer, then stalk them. This buck lived in a flat, fairly thick area with few roads and didn't lend itself to any of the more common hunting techniques. Those that specifically targeted him didn't have the patience to hunt him exclusively for enough hours/days to get lucky and find him. Lots of things could have gone wrong, so I certainly have to credit some luck as well that things just finally fell together.

To update the original thread, my buck officially scored 266 2/8 Gross / 259 4/8 Net in P&Y. Marvin

Thanks for your answer. Sounds like you were the only hunter willing to do what it took to kill this monarch. Strong work, my friend.

Matt

Congrats