Got the Mule Deer Buck I was After!
Mule Deer
Contributors to this thread:
Marvin Zieser's 262 inch (gross) Non-Typical
Marvin Zieser's 262 inch (gross) Non-Typical
I can't describe how happy I am with the Muley buck I was able to take this past week in Arizona on public land. He is an 11 x 8 with a 220+ main frame, 37 inch spread, 30-inch main beams, and he grosses (green) about 262 P&Y!
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
Wow. That's all I got ! Hunt
Congratulations beautiful
My goodness Marvin!!!!!
What a buck man.
Congrats
Good luck, Robb
That's awesome. Well done. Memories to last a lifetime right there.
Congrats!!! He's a monster. God Bless
That buck is incredible!!! Congrats!!!
Yowza! Congratulations !!
Wow he's incredible nicely done!
Congrats!! Buck of a lifetime for sure.
Congrats!!!! What a cool buck and story to go with it.
Congrats. Good to see a guy arrow a buck like that without 20 hired hands sitting around it for the trophy pic.
Congrats Marvin! My buddy Dale had the same hunt. He told me that thing was an absolute monster! Made his 219 buck seem not so big.
Congratulations, that thing is a beast......wow!
Man o man the many years of waiting to draw that tag paid off. Congrats.
Absolutely incredible!!!! Congrats Marvin!
Incredible deer. Congrats...
Unbelievable buck Marvin! Congrats!
How bout some more details on your hunt?
Marvin you sure know how to capitalize on your opportunities. Congratulations buddy. Start building a crate for Omaha!!! Ed F
Outstanding!! Well done, congratulations!
Holy smokes! Wow. Congratulations.
Congratulations, again, Marvin! THAT is true buck of a lifetime.
Congratulations BIG TIME !!!!!!
We need details on how you located him & how the hunt went down.
Just Wow !
Congrats on fulfilling your mission to take that monster, truly amazing.
Best of Luck, Jeff
Wow. Any chance you will be able to get the sheds from the guys who found them?
Giant! 13 yrs paid off. Congrats!!
Incredible. I too would love a more detailed story. Congrats!
Really happy for you Marvin! Worth the wait to see these pics on Bowsite! If anyone "deserves" a buck like this it is definitely you buddy! Great Job!
What an animal! Are you going to pull a tooth and have him aged? Are you going to keep the rack in velvet, or have it removed for your mount?
Congrats on a great buck!
Wow !!! What a stud buck Marvin! Nicely done!
Thanks guys, I appreciate it. I'll try to write more and answer questions later. I'm still finishing cutting up the last of the meat, since the place that I would like to have taken it was closed for the three day weekend... Overland, Ryan Hatch that owns Muley Crazy Magazine bought the complete set of sheds from two years ago, and has them mounted in his office. So, I'd say it's unlikely I'm going to get those. I understand that only one side of last year's sheds were found. Taking a really huge mule deer was something that has been on my bucket list for a while, so I feel absolutely thrilled to have accomplished it! I have to tell you that I was actually much more excited when I walked up on this buck than I was for my once in a lifetime B&C Desert Sheep 8 months ago.
SWEET!! Congrats!!! Shawn
Congrats brotha! Way cool!
Congrats on an epic deer! I really like how he's a non-typical but from the front most points appear inline and the overall frame is a symmetrical box frame.
Great job Marvin. You da MAN !
Absolute giant! Congratulations, Marvin!
How far was your shot?
My God Marvin you sure do make it happen when you get the opportunity. A big congrats on taking such a TOAD! Is that a smile I see? Nicely done my friend.
Marvin:
Which buck was it (nickname)?
"Congrats on an epic deer! I really like how he's a non-typical but from the front most points appear inline and the overall frame is a symmetrical box frame."
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
Beautiful buck! Congratulations!
Like wearing 10 Super Bowl rings!!
Many congrats! Sounds like a great story goes along with this amazing deer. I'm sure we will read about it in a magazine...
Wow! Lifetime Buck there. Congrats
Congratulations Marvin! That is what it is all about
Creed, Dale is a class guy. I glassed for him for a while, the morning after I took my buck, but I needed to start the long drive home before mine spoiled. I was thrilled the next day when I heard he had taken such a fine buck!
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.
Whew that's a beauty! Congrats!
Stick, what a beautiful buck ! Congratulations on a job well done. Gonna be hard to top that one...........
Congrats, Marvin! Thanks for telling a bit of the story.
Fantastic! What a feeling that must be!
WOW! Congrats on an incredible muley!
Wow man, congrats on the trophy of many lifetimes!
Awesome buck! It's not by chance that Marvin tends to knock down the biggest animal in the area. Wow! Heck of a job closing the deal.
Great buck, Congratulations
Patience, desire and determination rewarded you. Congrats on a real trophy.
Wow! Just saw this; Congrats! I love hunting big mule deer. Quite an accomplishment, and what an amazing animal.
Wow! Beautiful buck! Good job.
Congratulations Marvin. Your persistence and mental dedication to do whatever it takes in order to be successful is very commendable. Great Looking deer and certainly a deer of a lifetime. Now it's time to get that elusive Tom turkey with a bow & arrow.
Good luck on all your future endeavors.
Stickflicker makes a habit out of taking whatever animal he is targeting at the time. Incredible.
Congrats! Looks like you might be shipping another one to P&Y in short order......
Heck of an accomplishment! Congratulations!
That thing is awesome! Congrats!
Yeesh, what a great buck. What did you take him with?
Congrats on a fine trophy!
Incredible specimen, glad you found the "ghost"!
I am speechless, what an absolute amazing animal! A Huge congrats.
OH MY.
Well played Marvin.
Wow what a beast! So cool for you to kill it! And for it to live and make it thru all the hunting for it! That is awesome!!!
Those strip bucks can be so hard to hunt. Congrats on persevering and getting it done!
What a toad! Congratulations Marvin! Well done.
That's really not bad at all. Quite nice, actually.
Congrats on a beauty and solo even better!
Beautiful Buck!! Absolute Monster for sure, CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!
Congrats and way to keep after it!
Outstanding hunt. Beautiful buck. Congrats!!! I too would enjoy more details when you get the chance.
My hat , and most of my hair, is off to you . Well done .
AMAZING Marvin!!! Congrats!!!
Holy crap!!! That's the buck that dreams are made of. Congrats and thanks for sharing with us.
Some dream, some get it done, way to go sir!
What an awesome animal! Congrats on your success.
Nicely done Marvin. Good to hear some of the story on this amazing animal!
Excellent buck! I just spent 11 days hunting down there solo. Great job.
Congrats. That buck is simply outstanding!
For those who don't know, Marvin also holds the top spot in the world for archery pronghorn (taken in AZ). Congrats, Marvin, on another amazing trophy. Well-deserved.
BowmanMD's Link
Here's a pic. Incredible achievements.
That is one huge deer. And awesome that you waited that long for him. Glad to see like you said that a regular guy like most of us took him. Congrats!
That is one huge deer. And awesome that you waited that long for him. Glad to see like you said that a regular guy like most of us took him. Congrats!
That is one huge deer. And awesome that you waited that long for him. Glad to see like you said that a regular guy like most of us took him. Congrats!
Congrats Marvin!!! Well Done!
AWESOME!!! Congrats on a buck of a lifetime!!!
If seeing bucks like that don't get a person fired up? It's time to quit! What an awesome buck!
Wow, congratulations. What a gorgeous specimen of a Mule Deer
Just had to jump in here. Lots of great compliments above!
Marvin, that is a spectacular mule deer!
Congratulations!
A year latter he will still be walking around with that smile and deservedly so. } >>>>———>
CONGRATULATIONS !
Whoa, holy whoa...Awesome Marvin!
Buck of a lifetime and then some.....CONGRATS!
Killing him, hunting Alone,
after years of large posse style hunters failed is a monumental achievement.
Beautiful buck...probably been on his wall for over a year now.
Just Incredible Marvin!!!!
Congratulations sir!!!!!
Awesome deer Quite the accomplishment Thanks for sharing
Even though two years ago, ie, 2017, still a great buck. Almost unbelievable, but then you are behind it. my best, Paul
Wow!! I've been blessed to kill more than my share of big muleys, but I've never chased one of that caliber. Simply awesome.
I'm curious what the OP thinks his secret to success was versus the other hunters who were after this deer.
Matt
I didn’t notice this occurred awhile ago.
“StickFlicker 04-Sep-17“
Move over Ulmer , and give Marvin a little room ! Wow !
One of the most impressive Mule deer I've ever seen in my life. The pics don't do it justice. Congratulations Marvin. Ed F
Oh my....congratulations!!
Thanks again, guys. If you keep bringing up this thread, there's going to be a lot of pressure on me to take another great buck when I draw a tag again in about 15 years...ha!
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
WOW! Congrats Marvin. What a buck!
Love to hear stories like this. Good common hunter outsmarts the deep pockets and outfitters.
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
Great hunt details and write up. Beautiful Animal!
Congrats