Big Game Online Premier Issue!

4444444444444444444 A Story in Photos 6

by: Rick Weste

Going Guided 10

by: Chris Maxwell

No Excuses 16

by: Nick Krill

Win a free trail camera! pg. 54

Twelve Year Wait 22

by: Bev Emigh All Good Things Come in Fours

written by: Stu Christensen

28 Win an incredible prize pack from Vortex Optics!

pg. 58

as told by: Mathew Beitz

Ibex Hunting in Spain 34

by: Angelo Baio Red Willow Buck 42

by: Aaron Gould On Optics, Clarity and Understanding

by: Kevin Wilson

48

Hunting with the Right Attitude: Positive Thinking in the Field

by: Dustin Vaughn Warnke

62

The Moment of Truth: What to do When the Shooter Arrives by: Dustin Lee

66

The James Jordan Buck

by: Nola Leibrecht

76

Massive shed brag board! pg.74

Beyond the Shot 78

by: Hunter Frankfurt Teachable Moments in Youth Hunting

by: Joe Saltalamalchia

84

Up in the Danger Zone: High Country Hunting

by: Sean Morgan

90

The Jordan Buck.

100 years later. pg 76

WELCOME TO

BIG GAME ONLINE! W

hat a whirlwind the first 24 months has been for Big Game Illustrated Magazine. What started out as a small idea to share some hunting stories on the pages of a top quality magazine has blown up into a widespread publication that enjoys distribution in 50 states, all of Canada, and sits on thousands of newsstands across North America, sharing shelf space with many of the most successful and long lived hunting magazines in history. Coming into it, we were very confident that is would be a success for one simple reason. Namely, there are countless incredible hunting stories, pictures, and adventures that simply need to be shared. It is the readers and contributors to the magazine who truly make it what it is and we owe our success to you. We have strived to keep it real and have as many real and relatable stories in the printed magazine as possible, sharing all the good things about hunting and inspiring others to get out there and participate in the activity we all love.

As the first issue of Big Game Online debuts, we are looking to branch out, and bring more of the same great content, while also providing a place for a wider variety of hunting adventures. Although the core of what we do will always be North American Big Game, we will run some stories on international hunting from time to time. We recognize that there are many different kinds of hunter in the world, but the one thing we all share is a love for the outdoors, the adventures, the camaraderie and the quarry we pursue. Our goal is for Big Game Online to be a place where all of these different types of hunters can meet and find something that appeals directly to them, while also being exposed to other type of hunting which may peak their interests and broaden their horizons. Growing up on the prairies, sheep hunting was the furthest thing from my mind, but after reading countless sheep hunting stories, seeing the spectacular pictures, videos, and landscape of the animals and their habitat, and talking with many hard-core sheep hunters, sheep hunting is now high on my bucket list. This is the kind

of effect we hope to share with Big Game Online.

Certainly, not everyone is going to like every kind of hunting, and that is perfectly fine. However, it is important that we as hunters realize we are all on the same team, and deep down we all love hunting for many of the same reasons and that is what we have in common. Whether you are a hard-core deer addict, spending every waking moment following, chasing, thinking about, and planning for your next deer hunt, a business or family person who only has time for a few weekend hunts a year, or one or two quick outfitted hunts a year, it is the escape, the connection, and the special feelings we all have when we are hunting that binds us together. Big Game Online is an attempt to bring all of this together. Within the pages of the online magazine, you will notice that there are also videos integrated into the pages. This is something unique and spectacular; we will now have the ability to present the written story, photographs and then supplement it with videos of the hunt or animals. This is truly a unique experience that will capture the essence of hunting in a way that has not been done.

We have also been very lucky to have had many incredible sporting goods companies jump on board and want to be a part of what we are doing at BGI. When we told them about BGI Online, they wanted in and we wanted to take the opportunity to pass along this support to our readers and supporters. As a result, we are also going to have many contests, giveaways and prizes for our readers. This is our way of saying thank you once again, so make sure you track down the contests throughout the magazine and enter to win! We are always looking for stories, pictures, and other content, and try our best to compensate contributors directly through gear, prizes, and even cold hard cash. Good luck hunting, take good pictures, and give us a call so we can have the honor of sharing your story in order to make a small contribution towards ensuring the future of hunting continues, while inspiring others to get out there and participate in the activity we all love so dearly.

Happy Hunting,

Chad Wilkinson - Editor

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Adventure

A Series of Guided Hunts and What to Expect

BY: CHRIS MAXWELL In The Beginning Growing up in small town Saskatchewan, guided hunting was considered to be for “rich Americans”. It was inconceivable to pay good money to go hunting with an outfitter, after all, I could hunt everything I wanted right here at home… right? Besides only people that didn’t know how to hunt used a guide, I could get my own animal!

Years past and I found myself living in a big city in another province. It wasn’t until then did I ever consider the possibility of hunting with an outfitter. All the years of living in a small farming community I had taken for granted land owner permission, my spare time to scout and a low population density among other things. Today I find myself faced with long drives, difficulty finding places to hunt that aren’t crowded and competition in the field I had never imagined.

As responsibilities at work increased, along with family commitments, my time to properly scout and hunt was also under pressure. The reality was if I was going to have a chance

at being successful I would need to go with friends that knew the lay of the land or go guided. Trips with friends proved enjoyable as well as successful, but were often unreliable. It wasn’t uncommon to have someone cancel at the last minute.

I can’t blame them, things come up and hobbies take a back seat to life’s priorities.

One day I finally decided I needed more certainty around my hunting schedule, I picked up the phone and made a call that has changed the way I have hunted ever since. I have now gone on several guided hunts and the following series is about what I have learned. The dos and don’ts, what will cost you money and what will save you money, what to expect and some best practices to keep in mind. By no means is this an exhaustive and definitive list of everything you need to know about going guided, but it should give you a good starting point if you are looking at booking a hunt.

Benefits of Guided The full benefits of a guided hunt may not be apparent unless you have lived it. With the time constraints most of us have, the largest benefit I have found has been the pre-scouting and knowledge of the hunting area that comes with a guided hunt. To properly scout an area and have a working knowledge of where the honey holes are, you either have to spend a lot of time yourself in the area or rely on someone who has localized knowledge. Any good outfitter will know their territory like the back of their hand which will ultimately increase your odds of success.

Another benefit to going guided is the ability to access remote or difficult to reach areas. Most DIY hunters are limited to going only as far as they can walk. A fortunate few might have their own horses, but for the most part the average Joe will be driving to a location and walking from there. Depending on the type of hunt an outfitter will supply the horses, bush plane ride or other means of transportation to get to the hunting area. This can be a huge advantage as it means you don’t need to figure the logistics out for yourself. If you are successful on a hunt for an animal like a moose or elk you

now have a legitimate way of getting the animal out of the bush.

The third key benefit is the opportunity to hunt a new species and having the appropriate equipment to do it. I cut my teeth hunting deer and plains game. I was well prepared for prairie hunting, but by no means was I equipped for a mountain hunt, or even a moose hunt. Different hunts require different gear, different techniques and a different skill set.

Going guided you are essentially buying the missing pieces to the puzzle that will ultimately increase your odds of success.

Don’t get me wrong I loved hunting all of the animals Saskatchewan had to offer but you can’t hunt a bighorn sheep, or a mountain goat there! Any hunter wanting to harvest a species not found in their home province or state, will ultimately have to go guided. Some are content to stay close to home, but I have always found myself searching for my next adventure and guided hunts are one way to make that happen.

This isn’t an exhaustive list of benefits of a guided hunt, but they are a few of the key benefits to every hunter that decides to go on one.

Starting Out The first hunt I ever booked, I bit off more than I could chew. It was a trip to Alaska, what an adventure this would be!

Then the reality set in. There were so many details to consider it was overwhelming for a first time adventure hunter.

Although you can read many books, talk to all kinds of people and visit trade shows, nothing will fully prepare you for your first guided hunt. I would recommend to anyone who has not gone on one of these trips to make their first trip a small one.

Maybe the hunt you really want is a two week adventure in the Yukon. That’s great and you should do it, but first consider doing a smaller guided trip like a black bear or antelope hunt. These hunts are relatively inexpensive in comparison and you will learn a lot about what you are really looking for in a guided hunting experience. It will also be good practice for learning the right questions to ask before booking. And

let’s face it if things go sideways you won’t be out the hefty price tag that the bigger trips command.

Before I went on my first outfitted hunt I thought that I wanted a backpacking, extreme mountain hunt. Living in a tent, glassing for rams on the Alaska Range and living in survival mode for the sake of the hunt sounded good to me.

Watching hunting videos at home romanticized what the experience would be and I was not prepared for the hardships of the hunt.

The reality was freezing at night, eating freeze dry food for every meal and being eaten alive by insects. In the end I did get my ram but my eyes had been opened. WIDE Opened!

On your first trip you will soon discover what you thought you wanted may or may not be what you are actually looking for.

Next time booking the trip...

Photo by Lindsay Wilkinson

NO EXCUSES! BY: NICK KRILL

T

he 2013 year was off to a bad start. I hunted hard through the bear and mule deer season, but I was not able to hang a tag on any of the animals that I was after. The whitetail season of 2013 was approaching and the few good whitetails we had on trail cams in 2012 just seemed to have vanished. I'm sure the long winter and abundant predators took their toll on the deer herds. Despite the slow preseason, I was still going to work as hard as possible at finding a big whitetail. Sure enough, in early August I was out on an evening drive and caught a glimpse of a big whitetail, but with only a few seconds before he went in the bush I could just make out a big frame. What really caught my eye was that I was pretty sure that I spotted what looked to be double drop tines hanging from the massive frame! I left the area with a smile, since I now had a deer to go after with archery soon approaching. Archery season came and went and I began to wonder what I had actually observed that August day. I spent as much time as possible enjoying the hunting season. I had a close call with a good mule deer but got winded just shy of shooting range. I also put in some time searching for a good bull moose, and had some close calls with them, but couldn't close the deal. I also made many trips through the area where the big whitetail was, but never saw him.

November 1st arrived and with it the start of rifle season in some of the northern zones near my hunting area.

The problem was that I was stuck on night shift working 5:30pm to 5:30 am and would be for the rest of rifle season! The only good aspect of this shift was that I could take back roads to work and spot on the way there and then could go out calling and rattling during the first couple hours of legal light before going to bed. In those first two weeks, while hunting with my cousin Aaron Ray, we spotted a few nice deer in that 140-170� range. Aaron had an opportunity at the 170� class buck but, as bucks of that caliber so often do, he escaped unharmed. I was in no hurry to fill my tag, and thought every day about the big droptine buck.

Finally, November 15th arrived and rifle season opened across Saskatchewan. My good friend and hunting partner Adam Marsh was at my house early and off we went, rattling at numerous spots around the area where I had the encounter with the droptine deer. We spent the entire day hunting hard and did not see a single animal! I was exhausted, but had to head off to work for the night. After working all night, I headed home and got maybe 2 hours sleep before waking up and off I went again!

Again, we did some rattling around the same area. We had absolutely no luck so we headed to a few other areas. Finally, later on in the afternoon we spotted a couple 130-140� bucks. Just as we were starting to see some movement, it was time for me to head to work once again. I decided to loop thru the area where I had seen the droptine deer. And just as I was cresting a hill I spotted some deer out in the field.

They were 400-500 yards away and were heading for a massive block of bush. I quickly got my binoculars up, and was excited to see that there was three different bucks all chasing an obviously hot doe! Then I saw it, the one deer instantly grabbed my attention. I knew I was looking at something special as I noticed a huge drop tine running down by his face, even at 500 yards it was an amazing sight! I strained to see details, but he was running straight away from me so I couldn’t see exactly what he was. Then just before the bush, he stopped and turned. What I saw then was jaw-dropping. I could see at least four long tines plus a decent drop matched on the other side by five or six long tines, plus a huge drop tine! Before I could even look at my gun he was in the bush and long gone.

After concluding there was no way I was going to get him that evening, I went back to the truck. I now had to be at work in an hour and was still an hour and a half away. I left the area and headed to work. I called my dad and told him all about the deer I saw. We made a plan and I managed to get off work a bit early. Finally, I headed home to try and catch up a bit on my sleep. I tried to sleep, but just ended up pacing around the house until legal light. Finally, legal light was

approaching so I headed back out to the area I spotted the big deer. I made a big loop all around the big block of bush, and managed to spot one nice buck, but it was not him, and at this point I was not going to shoot anything else. So I decided to walk in the north end and do some rattling. After an hour or so I decided to go around to the south side of the bush to try again. I had rattled in one small buck which gave me hope that rattling may still be effective. Just as I was getting to the south end, I looked up and could make out the outline of a deer in the bush on the edge of a little clearing. I thought it was around 350 yards away. I grabbed my binoculars and could instantly make out a mess and mass of horn.

I looked harder, and sure enough I could make out the tines on one side, including a droptine, and what just looked like a mess of horn on the other.

He was looking straight at me, standing broadside.

It all happened in a second but that first glance was all I needed to know this was my deer. I loaded my rifle and crouched up against the fence line. After loading the gun, I slowly got up to put my gun on the fence post. I scanned the bush line and could not see the deer! Panic set in for a moment, but I took a couple steps back and found his outline once again. Finally, I managed to find him in the scope, weaving a little to find an opening that I was sure would present a clear shot. A soon as I had a clear lane to the sweet spot behind his front shoulder, I squeezed. He instantly bolted towards the clearing, but not hearing the thump from a good hit, I instantly turned and ran back to grab another shell. I had only grabbed one from the box! I turned back to look at the buck, and he was now in the middle of the clearing. He was slowing down, and then he made a half circle and collapsed! I got the binoculars on him and could see the one horn sticking out of the snow. I could see he was a heavy 5 with a nice drop tine. My phone was now dead from the cold so I headed back to the truck and put it on the charger. After a long 20 minute wait, I couldn't take it anymore I had to go see this deer!

I grabbed my gun and started the walk over to him, enjoying every step in anticipation of what awaited me. As I got to the edge of the clearing the horn that was sticking up was

looking a lot bigger now! My pace quickened and in a half sprint I made it up to the deer. When I lifted his head out of the snow to reveal his other horn I could not do anything besides raise my hands up and say thank you! I having had the good fortune to shoot some nice typical deer but have never had a chance at anything non-typical. This deer was really a dream come true!

After field dressing and cutting out my tags I headed back to the truck. I warmed up, and finally my phone was back on so I could make some calls to share my great news. I called my dad, Robert Krill, and my step dad Allan Ray and told them the good news! Allan, who lives the closest, said he would come up right away to help load it. So I walked back down to get a few pictures before my phone died again and then start the long drag back towards the truck.

Just as I got him across the clearing, a local hunter, Brian Sankey , stopped and came down and gave me a hand. After we got him loaded, my step dad pulled up and we admired the deer and chatted for a bit.

Then I headed to my dads where we got as many pictures as we could in the frigid temperature. I skinned him out and then had a much needed snooze on the couch in the skinning shack while my dad caped him out. I would like to say thank you to Brian Sankey for helping me load the deer, and to my dad who caped and cut up the deer while I finally caught up on some much needed rest.

“When I lifted his head out of the snow to reveal his other horn I could not do anything besides raise my hands up and say thank you!”

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Bev Emigh poses with the early season Alberta giant she took in that province. The huge buck has 10 scoreable points on each side which add up to a gross score of 201 4/8� and, even after some deductions, still made the record books with a net non-typical score of 191 1/8�.

TWELVE YEAR WAIT BY: BEV EMIGH

E

very hunting season starts with that great feeling of anticipation, looking forward to upcoming events. I love that feeling.

The Spring Season And I love spring bear hunting, which has started the hunting season each year for my husband, Harrison and I, for more than 12 years. Just as soon as we smell spring in the air, and that snow starts melting away, our plans are underway for bear hunting. We are both bowhunters, so we continue practicing at various shoots through the winter season, but now we turn up the heat with fine tuning our bows.

My dream was to shoot a blonde color phase black bear, and with the use of trail cameras our stands, my dream came true in the spring of 2012. A blonde phase bear was showing up on camera at two different stands about a mile apart.

However, it soon was evident that she was a game player, and it was going to take some hard work to get this bear.

We usually do not worry a lot about wind direction or scent control when hunting bear and have had success every year. Blondie was different. She would show up around the perimeter of the bait, sometimes showing herself out of range in the bush, or huffing behind us as if to let us know she was very aware we were in the tree stand, never coming into the shooting lane while we were there. Finally I went to town, on the search for a scent control spray.

After learning her pattern on the trail cam pics, we took the quads out to within 300 yards of the tree stand. We anticipated Blondie would hit that evening, sprayed ourselves, clothing, backpacks, equipment including our rubber boots, and walked to the tree stand.

It wasn’t long and I heard some rustling, running steps

coming on the trail we walked in on. I whispered to Harrison that the sound I heard was her circling behind us in the bush.

She was hidden from view, likely testing the wind. Finally she showed herself to our left, on the edge of a cutline. She casually made her way into my shooting lane, not looking our way at all. She was focused on the bait we had worked hard to establish. I drew back my new Hoyt Carbon Element bow, took careful aim and released the arrow. I knew instantly the

placement looked good as the fletch disappeared through the body. She instantly gathered herself, running left to right in front of us, disappearing into the forest. After checking the video Harrison was recording, we agreed it was a fatal shot.

No death moan was heard, but we found her about 70 yards from the bait. Her coat of beautiful color, long blonde hair over her back with brown face, legs and paws. She scored 16 2/16”, not record book but certainly a trophy to me!

Bev also fulfilled her dream of shooting a color phase black bear in 2012.

The Fall Season Thinking back on the past few seasons, I jokingly told some friends I was only packing luck in my suitcase this year. Each year I have had opportunities at elk without success. I just felt that luck was the missing factor, but I had high hopes that this was the year things would turn around. It worked. The first morning out, Harrison and I went for a walk at first light on a lease that was easy on my worn out knee. Sporting my new knee brace, I felt pretty good.

We walked the cutline with a quad trail for ¾ of a mile, seeing a few elk tracks as we went. We came to a crest in a hill which overlooked a large area the rancher had cleared bush, leaving it in several rows running north and south to our east approach. We had stopped to call and glass. As I pulled off my backpack, Harrison said, “Don’t move, there is a cow (elk) watching us.” I looked up to see a cow elk about 200 yards away between a couple of rows of the pushed bush. Both of us thought we were busted as she turned and started walking away. We grabbed our gear to move carefully out of sight.

Harrison glassed back to where she was. He whispered, “Hey, I think she is coming.” In the couple of minutes it took me to get the arrow on and get ready, I could start to hear the cracking deadfall as a large animal made its way through the aspens. As she came closer, I drew and followed the sounds until she came into view. I could see her head and shoulders

above the 3 foot grass as she stood broadside at the edge of the bush, 25 yards away. I focused on the kill area, releasing the arrow.

It hit her so hard, she smashed into a 5 inch live aspen, breaking it off cleanly. We listened intently as she crashed through the bush, stopped, then crashed for a few more seconds then THUD, the sound of a large body hitting the ground. The celebration began. This cow was very special as it was the last species I needed for my master bowhunter buckle for our local archery club (Southern Alberta Bowhunters), an achievement I have been working on for over 10 years.

This time it was the first morning, first hour out there. I am not sure who was more jacked, me or my husband, Harrison, who had put in many hours of calling and decoying to provide me with an opportunity at an elk. Starting to track her was easy as she was losing blood fast. Then the trail stopped or so we thought. We heard her fall so we knew she was dead but could not see her. We gridded up to 80 yards ahead of the last blood pool we found, not even a drop of blood to be found. Finally, in a spot we had not anticipated, we found her.

She had made a made a sharp 90 degree turn, went another 20 yds and dropped. Another celebration began!

My second big game animal with my new bow!

I looked forward all year to staying at camp in the wall tent, reading and relaxing in my camp cot.

However, after a couple of days of checking the trail camera photos and seeing a couple of nice 4x4 whitetail bucks coming to a dugout, I had an itchy trigger finger. Even though the bucks were on camera before noon each time, I decided I would try an evening sit at the dugout. Harrison decided to head back to the cut block where I shot the cow to see what else was hanging around. Since the rancher ran his quad frequently to check on his cattle, we decided to take one quad for both of us with the gear needed for me to sit in the bush beside the dugout. We have used a ground blind in the past sitting there, but decided I would just use a chair brushed in, to give some cover, which we had both done last year and had 3 mule deer does walk by at 8 yards without a concern. We unloaded my gear,

Harrison cleared three shooting lanes for me (although I said one was only half a lane), left me with the 30-30 Winchester because there was also a black bear on the camera, and left with the quad. He would be about half a mile away.

Once I settled in, I truly enjoyed the scenery. It was a beautiful late summer evening, barely a breeze. I checked the direction with my wind checker, ranged my shooting lanes, and settled in, watching a couple of resident ducks in the dugout.

I decided to use the same arrow I used on Blondie which was still in perfect condition. At about 6:45, some movement caught my eye to my right. A whitetail doe and fawn were feeding on the trail. After about ten minutes they disappeared into the woods without coming for a drink.

There was no more action until about 8:45 when I looked up to my left and saw one of the 4x4 whitetail bucks from the trail cam pics silently moving in to take a drink about 25 yards from me. As I was considering the best shot option, I noticed another buck about 50 yards from me, on the other side of the 4x4, walking over the bank of the dugout to drink. I could see two tall tines on his right side as he stood with an aspen backdrop making it hard to make out anything else on his rack. I have never been a rack hunter, usually unable to estimate the size of a rack after an encounter, but I decided I would let this play out, hoping if the smaller buck walked by me this one would follow. The 4x4 finished drinking and indeed walked right by me, stopping at the 8 yard window, head behind a tree, perfectly broadside and tempting me with an easy shot.

“Was it a sign I should take this deer?” I thought. At the same time I was aware the bigger buck was coming closer along the edge of the dugout but I didn’t take my eyes off the 4x4 until I was sure the risk of getting busted had passed. I was committed now to the larger one as the smaller 4x4 moved out of range. Going back to my usual method of ignoring the rack, I was amazingly calm and focused, watching the buck walk to the shooting lane on my left, stopping to eat some dandelions. I had ranged that gentle slope earlier, knowing he was about 25 yds. As I drew he lifted his head but quickly relaxed not even turning to look in my direction. He was quartering away, and I aimed for the far shoulder and released the arrow. His head lowered and he was grabbing grass hard, I was certain he was a dead deer. The arrow was buried to the fletch in his chest. I watched him run until he disappeared into the bush, letting the adrenalin rush wash me over. I texted Harrison with shaking hands to say “Just shot a buck”. He replied saying “Can’t come right now, I have three bull elk close. Ok to wait for a bit?”

I started to track to where I last saw him.

Even though I knew the arrow was buried deep in his chest, I still looked for a broken piece. There wasn’t much blood, but I did

find some with the bubbles we all like to see. Losing light fast, and not wanting to walk over any drops of blood and feeling edgy because there had been a bear on camera and wolves were also in the area, I stopped tracking and decided to wait for Harrison. I was very determined to take the buck back to camp that night. The year before I had to leave the whitetail I shot until morning, only to find the coyotes had eaten everything but the head and hide.

Within ten minutes, I could hear the quad coming. After Harrison arrived and told me about his close elk encounter, darkness had set in. With hat lights and flashlights, drop by drop, after another half hour of searching, we found him, just off the cutline he took out on. Harrison was in front of me. He spotted the deer’s white belly, but somehow I leapt in front of him, saying “Wait till you see how tall he is!” When I picked up his head, I was astounded at what I saw. The buck had more tines than I had ever seen on a deer before. I looked at Harrison who had a look on his face that I have never seen in the 39 years we have been married. I think it was shock.

I started giggling, hugging Harrison, and relishing the moment. It was a feeling I cannot explain and I was so happy I could share that moment with Harrison.

This buck has 10 scoreable points on each side, and 25 1/8” of abnormal points resulting in gross score of 201 4/8”,with a loss of 10 3/8” side to side, he still had a net score of 191 1/8” non typical in Pope and Young scoring.

This was the third big game animal I took with this new bow in 2012. One thing I know for sure is that I can’t forget to pack some luck in my suitcase again every year. ***This article first appeared in Big Game Illustrated printed magazine in the summer of 2014. Don’t miss timely articles on many of North America’s top animals every year, subscribe at www.biggameillustrated.com.

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WRITTEN BY: STU CHRISTENSEN AS TOLD BY: MATHEW BEITZ

ALL GOOD THINGS COME IN FOURS

A

s a seasoned veteran in the whitetail woods, roaming Pennsylvania with stick and string in hand, Mathew Beitz has been able to scout, track down, and put an arrow through a trophy whitetail buck every year since 2010. He puts in the time, does the research, studies the effects of what he’s done in the past, and tries to improve on things if he sees an area in need. In essence, he’s one passionate whitetail hunter.

Mathew has been focused on a few areas he hunts, with two main areas in his home state. One is a family property and one is a lease he has with a couple of buddies. The two areas total about 205 acres of land, with 90 acres being hardwoods and the other 115 acres covered in pine/evergreen. Some of the property has been under some type of deer management by him as far back as 16 years ago. This shows his true dedication he has to the long lasting devotion to deer management and the growth of mature bucks in the areas he hunts.

Shooting four Pope & Young deer in four consecutive years in Pennsylvania is no easy task, but this is just what Beitz has done. It started in 2010, with a 139” 9pt deer that surprised him in the area he had seen four other target deer in and had been following. The original deer had all been scouted for weeks and patterned prior to having this new deer surprise him on stand on the afternoon of Oct.16th. The week before, he had hung an additional camera in the area off a logging road that acted as a transition area between the bedding woods and a feeding area on the other side of the road.

He had entered the tree stand early that morning, and had noticed shortly after getting set up that the wind had changed and swung 180 degrees, and with that, he immediately climbed down and exited the area. He knew that even being busted once with the wrong wind in mid-October may hurt his chances at a trophy deer in this location for the rest of the season.

With the wind again changing in the early afternoon, he made the trek out again to get set up in his treestand.

Matt has never been a huge proponent of rattling, but instead uses different grunts and the odd snort to entice the ever wary whitetail bucks into his shooting lanes. The second round of soft grunts landed a snort wheeze reply and the snapping of twigs as a buck came into his area.

Little did he know,

it would be a buck that he would only get a single photo of on his trail cameras in the area…which happened to be at 60 yards from his stand as it came in to the grunts at that very moment! Never before had he laid eyes on, or even had pictures of the deer. What an entrance the buck made though as he trounced in like on a string. After seeing the

deer close the distance, Matt had drawn his bow and laid the path of the arrow right behind the shoulder of the nine point buck. The area was somewhat open at ground level and within 30 yards he was able to see the deer go down and expire. Hunting an area with four shooter bucks was a no brainer, but who knew there would be a fifth buck waiting in the shadows!

In 2011, he had been able to pattern a Pope & Young whitetail he had nicknamed Wideload down to a three acre food plot he had created on the property. The deer had been seen in the area and Beitz knew that is was only a matter of time. He had done extensive work in previous years creating shielded bedding areas nearby, as well as hinge cut trees on the property for additional feed for the deer.

It was a simple setup because of all of the leg work done previously, and at 4pm on Oct.11th, as he sat in the treestand texting on his cell phone, three does entered the field. They moved slowly across the food plot, and not long after, following the girls, came a boy…a big boy! A 135” whitetail that was on a mission. The deer barely wavered as he made his way across the field and with a soft grunt; Mathew stopped him and let his arrow fly. Good height placement, but a touch further back that he had hoped, Matt was elated as well as apprehensive. He knew the shot should be lethal, but wanted to ensure he wouldn’t bump the buck in case it was wounded. So he left the deer overnight, and went back 24 hours later. At that time he found some sign but after a few hours the search hadn’t turned up the deer. He ran out of light that day and came back the

second day determined to find the wide beamed deer he had patterned so well.

Persistence paid off and the deer was found only 150 yards from the initial shot location, but 180 degrees from where he had been searching.

As the deer headed off into the trees, it had taken a sharp turn and was found tucked away in a covered area hard to see if you weren’t right up close to it. Beitz hung his tag on the deer and was proud of his determination and passion to find the deer he had committed to hunting that year.

The next year came and for 45 days he had been able to pattern a 130” trophy whitetail consistently in his hunting area with his trail cameras. The deer was a 4.5 year old nicknamed Scarface and Matt had been following him for three years. The deer this year became almost religious with his patterns and like clockwork would show up in the daylight at an area Matt knew he could get into to hunt.

On the first day of archery season that he was able to hunt, Beitz made his way silently into the area and climbed the tree he was confident he could shoot this buck from.

Confidence comes with knowledge, passion, and the removal of doubt. With 45 days of consistent pictures, there was little doubt in the situation Matt had put himself in.

And on Oct.2nd 2012, he slowly made his way into the stand at 3:30 and with an hour had dozens of deer in the area. Not long after, from 100, to 75, to 50, to 35 yards, the deer slowly made his way right passed the treestand and without needing to slow him down or stop him, Matt put an arrow through the deer from his steady bow. Steady enough to place a shot perfect into the deer and have it run less than 30 yards before it went down.

Waiting until sunset to climb down from the tree, Beitz knew he had made the perfect shot, and as if to reward him for the hard work that season, he found the deer easily, next to a large tree with its head propped up as if for Matt to find him more easily. A great 130” deer was harvested that day, and the shot from the previous year, as well as his confidence, was redeemed.

2013 turned out to the biggest year yet for Beitz. Biggest as far as the buck harvested but also in the fulfilling and rewarding feeling of a hunt gone right. Early in the

scouting season Matt had picked up photos of this new target buck and for two weeks he was fairly consistent in his movements. Then, as those big bucks so frustratingly do, he vanished.

Mathew hung more cameras in the area and evaluated the lay of the land trying to sort out where the largest deer he would eventually harvest to date could have gone. And on Oct.14th, he discovered pictures of the deer in the area but he had shown up on several cameras. The problem was, there was no distinguishable patter to the movements of this buck.

Painstakingly, for days Matt waited anxiously to check cameras and as he did, on Oct.25th, the deer he’d named Jawbreaker showed himself. He had random pictures of the buck until then, but this was different. On that day, the deer had showed up in front of this camera, five times, all at fringe times of dawn and dusk or overnight. He would check cameras two days later, and the visits were consistently several minutes inside legal hunting times. And again, two days after that, the deer had come in even earlier. On the 5th day, October 30th, he knew this was his chance, and he got into the stand he had set up, undetected, in the middle of the afternoon.

As he usually did, he made a soft grunt sequence and waited an hour. Then another soft grunt sequence. He again waited an hour, patiently eyeing the woods around him for movement to catch the buck coming in before the buck could wind him or see him in the tree, but nothing.

On the 3rd sequence, he made a few soft grunts as if to present the location of another buck in the area and the deer came in to see who this foe was. This was the mistake Beitz needed, and he slipped a razor sharp broadhead into the deer behind the shoulder at close range. Just 45 yards from shot, down a small ravine cut bank, laid the superb deer. So superb, the deer measured out just shy of 150” with a final measurement of 149-2/8”. This deer was a jaw-dropper, and Beitz had arrowed his 4th Pope & Young deer in four years. This being the largest and most rewarding hunt to date as he was able to track down the deer after losing sign of him mid-season, and make a plan that worked out perfectly. The reward, his biggest whitetail at nearly 150”.

Four in a row, what’s next?

BIG GAME STATS Pennsylvania had license sales averaging around 1 million every year for the last decade!

I

WILD FOREVER ALLIANCE:

A NEW TAKE ON BIG GAME HUNTING & CONSERVATION TRADITIONS

n late 2013, lifelong hunter-conservationists Shane Mahoney and Greg Williams created Wild Forever Alliance (WFA) to protect, promote, and provide access to North America’s big game hunting tradition. Now, WFA is growing; the Alliance will soon begin funding wildlife conservation projects; and, it is making dream hunts a reality for people of all walks of life.

Wild Forever Alliance started, say the co-founders, with a shared vision of providing opportunity for all hunters.

“Hunting is becoming a rich man’s sport,” says Greg Williams, 40-year veteran guide and owner of Golden Bear Outfitting, “and there are less and less opportunities for the average person. We wanted to create opportunities for people to experience things they wouldn’t otherwise have a chance to experience.”

Williams and Shane Mahoney, renowned international conservationist and CEO at Conservation Visions, joined forces

and Wild Forever Alliance was born. Hunters from the U.S. and Canada lined up to join. And, in WFA’s first year, some two-dozen members won guided big game hunts to British Columbia, the American West, and other of North America’s wildest areas. Hunters and anglers are the most dedicated and influential group for wildlife conservation, says Mahoney.

Meanwhile, hunters face the challenges of the increasing cost of hunting and a diminishing access to land. WFA, he continues, forms an alliance of hunters from all walks of life to both provide extraordinary experiences in pristine landscapes and to ensure the conservation of the large wild creatures upon which our big game hunting tradition depends.

“We want to see this as part of the conservation effort that launched 100 years ago.

We want to provide people the opportunity to maintain this very old hunting tradition,” says Mahoney, “At the same time we hope Alliance members will embrace the ideals of conservation.”

The member-based organization works like this: • • • •

Members join Wild Forever Alliance for $365 per year + a one-time $99 registration fee.

Each month members have 1 in 100 chance to win a fully guided, fair chase, big game hunt that is valued at $20,000 dollars or more. (The odds of winning are 1 in 100 each month. As the membership grows, so grows the number of hunts in the drawing.)

Winning hunters travel to wild areas in Canada or the United States to hunt antelope, mountain goats, mountain caribou, black bear, grizzly bear, Alaskan moose, Canadian moose, whitetail deer, mule deer, bison, Rocky Mountain elk, stone sheep, rocky sheep, dall sheep, desert sheep, mountain lion, and other big game animals.

A portion of the proceeds funds education & outreach, habitat protection, and other wildlife conservation projects selected by Conservation Visions.

This bull was extremely aggitated and in the middle of the rut, protecting his harem. His facial expression definitely sends a strong signal! - Lindsay Wilkinson Photo

IN

SPAIN BY : ANGELO BAIO

B

ack in my youth the mountain hunting bug bit me after reading countless magazine articles with intriguing tales of high country adventure. Soon after reading Jack O’Connor’s tales and his legendary work sheep and sheep hunting, I knew that one day I would also fill the pages of my own journal with similar stories. Although the fire was lit, I lived on Long Island, New York and in a town that had an elevation no higher than the length of a good pick up truck. I also hadn’t entered the workforce yet so I had to wait out my turn and let the allure of high country adventure simmer in the background for years.

Since that time I experienced my fair share of mountain hunts, but that thirst is never quenched. I continue to research new adventure while my wish list continues to grow. One day while shooting the breeze with my good friend Mike Faulkner the subject of Ibex hunting came up. With a new avenue to explore and the advent of readily available information on the Internet, I instantly became enamored with the idea of chasing high country Ibex.

Ibex is actually the common name for various species of mountain goats. There is still some discussion and disagreements about the relationships of the species, but for my purpose I was simply looking for a reasonably priced hunt in a new land that brought with it adventure, challenge and the excitement of the hunt for a grand species.

There are many sub species of Ibex scattered throughout the world. Upon first glance we found Ibex have quite an interesting set of horn configurations. They also inhabit mountain terrain. That said, we still had to keep our sights on a safe, yet adventure-laden hunt. Looking at the Ibex distribution maps we noticed that they inhabit far away lands that require extreme travel to countries that bring with them challenges to your personal safety due to political unrest. As a result, I chose the Beceite Ibex, an indigenous species of the southeastern portions of Spain.

As he had done many times before, my buddy Mike would come along for this trip. In spite of our combined years of experience in the field we still required an outfitter to navigate through this hunt. After considerable research, I chose to hunt with Pedro Alarcon of La Pedriza Caza y Gestion outfitters.

Pedro and I spoke often during the planning process and he appeared to be patient with the many questions I had while maintaining a soft-spoken demeanor. Pedro and I agreed that Mike and I would hunt for two Ibex in the 4-7 year old class in order to aid game managers in their herd management practices.

After we landed in Madrid, we were met by Pedro and quickly departed the airport. We traveled about three hours east to the mountain village of Castellote which will act as our base for operation in the heart of Ibex country. We accessed the village on a narrow highway that passed through a tunnel dug into the side of the mountain. As we passed through the tunnel it was as if we were transported back in time with the surroundings reviving the spirit of its medieval past and its known associations to the Knights of Templar. The nar-

row streets and antique buildings appeared to be right out of a novel. Castellote is renowned for preserving its traditional Spanish architecture of balcony-terraced homes such as the Mediterranean Gothic styled church of San Miguel and the historical remains of the Templar castle.

This fortress type village has no more than 800 people.

Outside its mountain walls is surrounded by virtually uninhabited farmlands. What farms that are still active are dotted with beautiful olive tree groves terraced into the mountainside while herds of sheep roam the hills. We also found that no matter how small a village may be, it was dominated by the church building, acting as the prominent physical symbol of how deeply rooted religion is in these communities. Back at our hotel and across the narrow street was an obscure path between buildings that lead to another cultural icon of Spain, the local bull-fighting ring.

Pedro made arrangements for us to stay at the Castellote Hotel, which has been in restoration since the 1980’s and the owners have done a wonderful job at maintaining its historic charm. After settling into our rooms and a quick meal we set off to scout the hills for Ibex.

In the foothills of Castellote lies a vast mountainous area around the small village of Seno. Seno has no more than 50 inhabitants and is not more than one hundred miles as the crow flies from Beceite, Spain where the origins of this goat species are traced. The village sits in a depression not 2,500 in elevation while Ibex roam the mountains surrounding the town that extend to heights of at least 5,000 feet.

The Beceite Ibex is of considerable value to the community as a free-range game species and is managed by the area game master. The game master issues all Ibex tags in support of its plan to maintain herd viability. In fact, Pedro tells us that tag proceeds are in some cases a significant portion of a local village budget and therefore by proxy the Ibex belong to the people.

We were hunting in February, which according to Pedro was at the end of his hunting season. We found the weather was quite reasonable with midday temperatures around the high 40’s. Mornings were cool with an occasional snow flurry but in my opinion this is mild for a base camp mountain hunt to say the least.

In a typical day we would scout our way through the mountains glassing regularly for Ibex.

The gear necessary is that

similar to a day hike for elk. A good pair of binoculars, a sturdy pair of hiking boots, a hiking staff, water bladder, a day pack and appropriate layered clothes. I used a Blaser R8 Bolt Action rifle in 270 Winchester topped with Leupold glass. I’m partial to the 270 simply because it was Jack O’Connor’s favorite caliber so I was quite familiar with the ballistics and just plain happy to use a fine rifle of this type.

Our travels took us from one mountain range after another.

We saw literally hundreds of Ibex and some fairly nice mature males but not exactly what we were looking for in this management hunt. Each place we stopped Mike and I switched off the rifle for the video camera. On our first hike up a fairly steep mountain and where we got our first taste at Ibex hunting, we spotted a small group of Ibex lying on a sparsely brushed hillside at the top of the mountain and directly across from our position. Having come up from the backside of the hill the Ibex had no idea we were there making it perfect for a short stalk to get closer and a better look.

With only our heads peering from behind some low brush, Pedro glassed the animals to find they were mostly young males being less than four years old and a female or two partially hidden from view. However, there was one male that appeared to be more than ten years facing away from us that immediately caught our attention. Upon closer inspection we found he was quite old having thick sweptback horns and nice coat. It was beautiful to see but this Ibex was outside the limits of our tag allotment. Pedro turned to us with excitement in his voice and explains that he had not taken a goat for himself in over ten years. He seemed quite excited to see a male this old and you could sense the hunter in him was coming out. We all didn’t want to see the opportunity pass us by, so we stepped aside and changed roles as Pedro opted to take the Ibex on his own personal tag! He made the shot, straight across from one hillside to the other and no more than 150 meters. The Blaser and the 270 cartridge performed wonderfully taking the animal down in a single well placed shot. The Ibex dropped quickly and in plain sight. With a good set of landmarks we set off on a circuitous route to get to the downed animal. The hike wasn’t terribly bad and in 20-30 minutes we were able to reach his prize.

Once there Mike and I finally got our chance to set our eyes on our first Ibex up close and beautiful wasn’t the correct word to describe him. Pedro aged him at thirteen years old and claimed it was rare for an Ibex to live this long. He had massive, dark sweptback horns weathered with age and what appeared to be healthy body size. Beceite Ibex in general ar-

en’t large bodied animals but from the looks of it this one was well fed and most likely the dominate male in this area. Although Pedro hunted this mountain many times before this is the first time he came across this brute.

We broke out one of the LEGACY stone trail markers I carry on every hunt and donated one to Pedro to be left at the kill site in respect for the hunt and this grand animal. After a healthy hike back to the truck we then went back to traveling the dirt roads and glassing the countryside for game. This was a textbook hunt that frankly, went flawlessly and a great ending to our first Ibex hunt experience.

I have to say, the population of Ibex in this area is quite healthy. We had seen hundreds of animals and on almost every mountaintop. However the way in which we hunted we were having trouble finding game within the age class of our tags. The constant moving from one area to another left a lot of stones unturned and drainages unsearched. We all knew there had to be some brutes out there but with time limitations and management tags in our pockets we knew this was going to be a little more difficult than originally thought.

We did get a glimpse now and then of some really big males silhouetted against the sky every now and then but again, they were out of our age class and the males fitting the middle age class seemed to hiding out. Pedro was starting to wonder if the animals we were after were running with the older class males and tucked away in the most inaccessible wooded areas.

If that were the case then we’d have to do more scouting down in some very rugged, hidden away landscapes. Well that’s all Mike and I had to hear and of course no matter how old you might be, or how physically challenged you are from age and donuts, everyone wants a glimpse at the prized game and a chance to fill a tag. Despite our best efforts, another day had come and gone without site of a shooter nor a tag filled.

With the start of a new day and almost at the end of our trip, once again we were seeing countless herds of underage animals. Towards midday, Pedro stopped at the trailhead of a far steeper mountain than what we had climbed all week and with his hands on his head and looking straight up the trail he said in broken english, “I think he is up there.” Not quite a full sentence I admit but we all knew exactly what he meant and predicted what lies ahead.

As we started up the mountain, the grade immediately increased and became much steeper than we anticipated. After a fairly long walk we still hadn’t seen any Ibex and it was

obvious Pedro was feeling the pressure.

We were about to top a rise and Pedro stopped to glass before going over.

He whipped his head around and remarked that he sees three Ibex on the next hillside to our right, two that he knew were huge and one he just could make out that looked like it may be our shooter.

Quickly we snapped into action, side hilling to our left and out of sight of the Ibex into a better position for a look. Pedro, now on his stomach peered over the rise with his binoculars and confirmed one of the three is as shooter and motions to Mike to move up for a shot.

Mike belly crawled up to take a prone shooting position while Pedro was glued to the binoculars and getting a range. Mike readied us for the shot and Pedro whispered the range at 250 meters. When the gun roared the goat collapsed as if hit by lightening and dropped into a bush that kept him from tumbling end over end down the hill.

We all jumped up and after the handshakes and reveling in our luck, the weather quickly reminded us we had to move on to the recovery. The shot itself was no more than 250 meters but as soon as we started our ascent in the direction of the shot we ran into three draws that we never noticed from our shooting position. As we walked up to survey the situation we come to a stop before going over the first draw. I’m sure the look on our faces must have been comical as we looked downward and there seemed to be no end. Each drainage looked deeper than the next with sidewalls of at least 60 degrees or better. There were eighty degree sheer rock walls on either side boxing us into one path, straight up. Pedro hadn’t been on this side of the mountain before so he wasn’t sure what lay ahead but it sure it didn’t look good.

As soon as we hit the first draw and came up the other side you could see it was taking a toll on Mike and he was unable to go any further. It literally became a “four-point hold” climb and he just wasn’t prepared to do it. In fact, Pedro claimed that he had heard of a local killing a goat in this general area once

before who needed a helicopter to get it out. This didn’t make anyone feel any better. After hearing that I’m sure my face turned pale but there was one thing that had to happen, and that was to make every attempt to recover this animal. Mike turned back to the truck and Pedro and I continued on.

It took Pedro and me over an hour to make the next two draws. Twice we looked at each other, waiting for the other to call it off because it seemed like it was getting worse by the minute. Frequently we said that if it gets steeper we would turn back, but we didn’t. I’m not sure why we kept going, but we did until we both stopped at a plateau where we thought the animal would be. The search for the animal began and we were almost ready to give up when I realized I had the video camera strapped to my back. In the confusion and rigors of climbing I forgot I had it on me. I called Pedro over and although he wasn’t convinced the video camera with a 3-inch viewing screen was going to be any help, we had no other choice other than to give up. I wasn’t ready to go back and tell my buddy his game was lost so I committed to staying up there watching the shot sequence over and over again until I could find it. As we both crammed our heads together to look at the tiny video screen while playing the footage in slow motion over and over again looking for any clue to the Ibex’s location, we were able to locate some brush and the rock backdrop that looked familiar.

It turns out that we were actually close and walked past the spot

almost ready to give up when I realized I had the video camera strapped to my back. In the confusion and rigors of climbing I forgot I had it on me. I called Pedro over and although he wasn’t convinced the video camera with a 3-inch viewing screen was going to be any help, we had no other choice other than to give up. I wasn’t ready to go back and tell my buddy his game was lost so I committed to staying up there watching the shot sequence over and over again until I could find it. As we both crammed our heads together to look at the tiny video screen while playing the footage in slow motion over and over again looking for any clue to the Ibex’s location, we were able to locate some brush and the rock backdrop that looked familiar. It turned out that we were actually close and walked past the spot at least a couple of times apiece. As if a light bulb went off, we both ran over to a deep depression some thirty yards off to our left and there, lying upside down is Mike’s Ibex buried at the base of the brush.

Although elated, clouds starting moving in and it was getting cold and damp. We rushed the photographs and video and placed a LEGACY stone on behalf of Mike and in trib-

ute of the kill and quickly packed up for the return hike. It took more than an hour for our descent back to the truck and probably a little quicker when you are in a controlled fall riding on your heels and backside on the shale. The temperature was dropping quickly and we knew Mike was lightly dressed and probably getting cold so we rushed to get back. Once we reached the truck Mike was anxiously awaiting for our return and put up a great sigh of relief to see his trophy and us. A few hearty handshakes and a back slap or two and we were on the road again to scout for another Ibex before light faded.

On this final and third go round I had great luck and in a third of the time. With the tremendous numbers of Ibex roaming these hills we quickly found a four-year-old Ibex that was well within my tag restriction. My shot was fairly close, and the 270 cartridge performed perfectly on a nicely placed shoulder shot dropping the animal in its tracks. We celebrated for the third time with the placement of a LEGACY stone in tribute to the animal and wrapped up at great hunt for Ibex in Spain!

BIG GAME STATS The Beceite ibex is a species that is indigenous to southern spain.

e

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BY: AARON GOULD

Aaron Gould and his friend Josiah Hetland pose with one of the most impressive bucks in the history of whitetails. The buck is truly one of the greatest wild whitetails taken anywhere in the world. The numbers on Aaron’s buck are nothing short of spectacular. The typical frame of the deer nets 200 1/8” after only 3 4/8” of deductions. Adding 40” of abnormal points, the final net non-typical score on Aaron’s buck is an incredible 240 1/8”. Despite a relatively narrow spread of 16 3/8’, both antlers have net typical scores of well over 90”, which is very rare in itself. The buck is truly a world class animal no matter how you look at it.

D

uring the summer of 2011 rumors floated on the breeze near one of the properties I have the privilege to hunt. The rumors were of a giant whitetail buck whose shed antlers were apparently found just across the river from where I deer hunt with my family. Stories of big deer always get hunters dreaming of wall mounts and the glory of shooting “da turdy pointer”. For me, this was especially true because in the year 2000, I decided to only hunt for deer in a specific category. Specifically, I set my sights on deer above the 135” Pope and Young score card. In the previous 11 years I had only taken one buck on my quest for trophy whitetails. I must admit that I was primarily self-taught in this process and the learning curve can be quite unforgiving. During these “buck-less” years I filled numerous doe tags for the freezer, but I wanted to give the bucks on the properties I hunted the chance to grow to maturity.

During that time frame I had several close encounters with deer in the 140”180” class range but could never seal the deal. Usually these encounters were with my compound bow and the deer were out of range, or I did not have a clear shot. I only take shots that I have a high degree of confidence in. I believe the animal deserves this respect.

Opening weekend of the 2011 firearm deer season I was not able to hunt due to the fact that I was in South Carolina performing an exhibition shooting show with my brother Steve (Gould Brothers Exhibition Shooting). This was the first firearm deer opener I had missed in 18 years! Being on the road meant I had no chance to hunt this magnificent deer in 2011. The 2011/2012 Minnesota winter was extremely mild which allowed for nice opportunities to get out in the woods to look for shed antlers without the usual deep and heavy snow. That is exactly what my 11 year old brother-in-law Brandon was doing during the early part of 2012. When I heard from my family that Brandon found a “very nice” shed my interest was instantly focused on seeing this shed. My first inclination was that it probably would be a deer in the 150 to 160 class range, which would have been

a great find, but my thoughts changed as soon as I laid my eyes on the shed! I stood in disbelief when I first saw the giant shed. I was looking at half of a buck that would push the 200” mark and he had left his shed on a property that I firearm hunt on! Putting a tape to the shed I came up with a score of somewhere in the high 190’s. I really didn’t care what the score was. I knew this was a deer worth pursuing.

For a couple days it was hard to even sleep, as dreams of get-

ting a chance at this deer, some eight months into the future, danced in my mind.

I do not own the majority of the land that I hunt and I have very little control on the hunting practices that take place on these properties. Anytime I can, I try to nudge the others that hunt these lands to follow the QDMA principle of at least selective harvest of bucks. With that in mind, my 14 year old brother-in-law Josh had shown an interest in these principals, so I decided to do a little project with him. I approached him and asked if he would like to start a mineral site not far from his stand and put a trail camera out to see what kind of bucks were in the area. No trail cameras had ever been on this property so I was extremely excited to see what we would find. I knew there would be at least one nice buck, but I had no idea what we were about to find!

A couple weeks later we checked the trail camera and the deer were nailing the salt and mineral site. Over 4000 pictures in just a couple weeks were captured on the Bushnell Trophy Cam. As we scrolled down the pictures we saw age groups from 1 1/2 year old to possibly 3 1/2 year old. It wasn’t until we reached the date of 7/29 that a monster buck appeared. The picture I saw literally brought tears to my eyes.

I had never seen a buck so impressive in all my life! Over the next several weeks we captured him three additional times on camera, the last of which he was just coming out of velvet. I knew his home range was near where we were getting pictures of him, since we were smack dab in between where his sheds had been found the previous two years. One was found about a half mile north and the other a half mile south of our location. At first I wanted to keep the photos between Josh and I. I knew the pictures would cause hysteria and was worried that the photos

would start leaking out around the countryside, but ultimately I knew that wouldn’t be the right thing to do. That evening I showed the family members who coordinate the deer hunt on this property.

Over the remaining summer and fall I spent many nights looking at aerial photos of the property and the surrounding properties. Trying to figure out as much as possible about how this buck might move between the properties I knew him to be using. I knew he was calling a part of this property his home, but since he only visited the mineral site once every two or three weeks it was evident he was traveling to neighboring properties as well, and perhaps even living there.

That fall was extremely busy traveling to perform exhibition shooting shows and this unfortunately left almost no time for hunting. As the Minnesota firearm deer season approached I knew I had to do something to increase our odds of seeing this deer. I had nicknamed him the “Red Willow Buck” because his antlers looked like a red willow and he resided in a river bottom full of red willow swamps. No hunting was taking place for this buck until firearm season, so I took Josh out to his stand about 10 days before season opened and we made a few mock scrapes and hung some drip bags above them. We did this at both his stand and mine, which was about 300 yards away. My hope was that this would help keep him nearby and also increase our chances of seeing him during daylight hours.

As opening day approached my anticipation was growing. I secretly hoped Josh would get a chance at the buck since I had worked with him on this special project. Although, I must

admit I too was hoping to get a chance at him. Opening day I sat in stand all day and saw does, fawns and one 125” 8 pointer that came within 10 yards. The following morning I saw several does, one of which was being trailed by a 1 1/2 year old buck, but still no sign of Red Willow. Our entire hunting party left our stands at 10 a.m. to do a few deer drives which is customary for our group. No one had been seeing much for deer up to that point. My hunch was that peak breeding was going on and that’s why we were not seeing the adult does or bucks.

The first drive produced nothing, not even a single deer, which was very odd for the property. Next came lunch and planning for the early afternoon drive. The second drive of the afternoon was to be through the swamp my deer stand overlooked. As usual, I was a walker and two people were assigned to the middle of the swamp, which was primarily onion grass on top of floating bog and a few patches of cattails.

I had recommended we put someone here to watch for deer in the swamp move though this area. It provided excellent shooting opportunities once deer were on their feet.

As we approached to within about 150 yards of the standers, I could hear deer moving through the brush in front of the walkers who were in the red willow edge of the swamp to my right. The deer were nervous and could smell the standers upwind and were trying to find their way out when they decided to take a high speed break for it out in front of me.

First one buck, then a second, a very nice eight pointer, then a third. The third buck to appear was wearing a huge set of antlers and I instantly knew it was the buck from the trail

camera photos. It seemed unbelievable that it was actually happening, I was so close to this monster buck! At first there was no clear shot. The deer was between me and a poster on the drive. A few short bounds later Red Willow presented a clear and safe shot. I only had about 30 feet to aim and fire before he went behind a pocket of cattails, likely never to be seen again. I squeezed the trigger and knew the Winchester Dual Bond slug had found its mark as Red Willow hunched just after I pulled the trigger.

He disappeared behind the cattails and as I ran up to look around the cattails I heard shots fired from several other members of the party to my left. By the time I could see around the cattails I saw the hunt for Red Willow was over!

My brother-in-law Josiah had left no need for tracking by adding a second vital hit, taking the deer down about 50 yards after I had shot him.

Over the next hour the hunting party celebrated with taking pictures, high fives and many hugs. Although I prefer to stand hunt for deer in the thick cover of Minnesota,

a well-executed and safe drive can sometimes pay big dividends. Hats off to the entire hunting party for making this deer drive a great success! Without each person in the drive playing their role I would not be telling this story of a oncein-a-lifetime deer. Although I cannot take sole credit for this deer, who better to share this experience with than close family? We will indeed retell the story and relive the memories for years to come!

Red Willow was officially scored for Boone &Â Crockett at 240 1/8", which at the time of scoring was 9th largest all time in the state of Minnesota. Every season I look forward to once again enjoy the smell of autumn and chasing whitetails. I may never see another buck the size of Red Willow again in the wild, but I will always enjoy the time spent afield with friends, family, and in the great outdoors. God has truly blessed me with all three.

Aaron’s story was featured in Big Game Illustrated print magazine in 2013. If you want to read these stories first, visit www.biggameillustrated.com to subscribe!

www.saskbowhunters.ca

On Optics, Clarity, and Understanding BY: KEVIN WILSON

Glass ranks high on every hunter’s gear list, but when it comes to buying your next binocular, spotter, rifle scope, or rangefinder, remember there is much disparity.

R

elatively few of us understand, or even care about, the technical aspects of how optics work and why. Mostly we just want to know if it will serve our purpose. In turn, when we shop for optics, we evaluate the tangibles. The most discerning among us consider image clarity, brightness, eye relief, magnification, weight, ergonomics, waterproof characteristics, and of course cost.

My own journey into the wonderful world of glass has been long and varied. For me it started at the age of 14, as I cut my teeth spotting waterfowl shoots. A little more than three decades ago I quickly gained an appreciation for good binoculars. I learned that properly pinpointing waterfowl shoots simply wasn’t possible without the ability A good quality spotting scope is a key piece of equipment when to bring distant birds up close and personal. Good hunting open country, and when hunting a specific quality of optics made locating and dissecting each feeding field and water scenario manageable. animal such as a mature buck.

Over the past three decades I’ve tried a boat load of different optics, studied the disparities, and come in the vehicle, again size and durability may not be a prito several of my own conclusions about what works and ority. Conversely, if they are frequently in and out of your why. While my views and circumstances have evolved over backpack, or tossed about in your truck, then durability time, as a professional big game and waterfowl outfitter/ may be a priority (i.e., a waterproof/shock proof rubberguide, outdoor writer, and hunting show host I’ve develized or polyurethane finish). oped an undeniable bias toward using glass that best suits Aside from size, durability, and cost, several technical my needs. aspects should be evaluated. Magnification is the most To be blunt, they’re not all created equal. Some simply common, e.g., 8x25, 10x42, 12x50 and so on. A select few provide a better, clearer image, than others. Where the binoculars are even made with variable magnification. The glass is made, the type of glass used, how it is finished, higher the first number, the greater the magnifying capathe components, reticles, if they’re waterproof/fog proof/ bility, i.e., 10x is more powerful than 8x. Higher magnificashockproof, price points, warranties, not to mention the tions can be tricky to hold steady so a tripod, monopod, or feel and function of each is uniquely different and highly window mount becomes a necessity. The latter number revariable. It’s up to you, the consumer to sort out which one fers to size of the objective lens (the larger lens at the front) makes the most sense for you. measured in millimeters. The bigger the objective lens, the Choosing suitable optics can be a confusing venture. brighter the image will appear. This is an important conWith so many options available today, sideration for hunters who use their I am frequently asked which brand I optics under low light conditions in use and the rationale behind my choicthe early morning and late evening. es. As we consider the options, we recAs you look through the lens of ognize that each brand and model falls the binocular, it is important to unsomewhere in the spectrum from high derstand field of view. This is the disto lower end. In most cases the price tance in width that can be seen, i.e., tag is commensurate with quality, but the number of feet per 1000 yards (or not always. number of metres/1000 metres). As Virtually every hunter owns or uses with cameras, some binoculars are binoculars. Application is one of the considered wide angle and, as such, most important considerations as we have a greater than average field of research the one that will best suit our view. needs. For example, as a mountain Some entry level binoculars are hunter, I am constantly searching for said to be focus-free. This means the ideal mix of lightweight, high qualthey are theoretically always in foity, high-powered, and durable optics. cus. Most however have a centre-foIn contrast, waterfowl hunters using cus-wheel which allows the user to their binoculars to scout fields and dial the lens into the desired position waterways may be less concerned with to bring the subject into crisp focus. weight and size. If your binocular stays

Many binoculars have an additional fine-tuning focus dial option that allows the user to individually focus the right eye and then bring the left into focus with the primary focus wheel.

Magnification, objective size, main tube diameter, reticle, and focus are the primary considerations when choosing and using rifle scopes. Sales statistics suggest that the majority of North American hunters favour the more affordable mid-range variable riflescopes; the most popular being the 3-9x40mm. Quality, weatherproof considerations, and price point aside, magnification and field of view are the two fundamentals a hunter should consider when choos-

ing a rifle scope. Again, give serious thought to application.

For example, shooting a rimfire rifle at close ranges out to 50 yards requires little more than a fixed 4x 32mm scope, but if you really want to trick out your plinking rifle, something like the Red Hot 17 made by Scorpion Optics is ideal.

With variable magnification from 4x-12x, and a 40 mm objective diameter, etched reticle, and adjustable brass turret, it is designed specifically for use on a .17 HMR. If you spend most of your time muzzleloader hunting where shots are rarely greater than 100 yards, then a lower-magnification scope may fit the bill nicely, e.g., a smaller

variable scope like a 2-7x33mm. On the other hand, if you are hunting with a centerfire rifle in open areas where you anticipate shots out to 200 yards and more, then something like a 3-9x40 mm, a 2.5-10x42 mm, 4-12x50 mm, or even larger might be more in order. For long range shooters (out past 300 yards), greater magnification can be of value.

Varmint hunters, for instance are big on greater magnification rifle scopes, (e.g., a 5-25x52mm or a 6-24x 50 mm).

The objective diameter of the lens; be it 32 mm, 40 mm, 44 mm, 50 mm, 52 mm, or 56 mm will dictate the light gathering ability of the scope. Generally speaking the higher the objective diameter number, the brighter the image.

With many long-range scopes, manufacturers have integrated adjustments to compensate for ballistic drop.

Swarovski for example, has their ballistic turret (BT) on several Z5 and Z6 riflescopes and Vortex has their brand new L-Tec trademark locking turret on the high end Razor HD Gen II riflescope. These adjustable turrets allow the shooter to customize to specific loads, thereby eliminating the need for holdover at longer ranges.

The biggest challenge with higher magnifications is parallax, a condition that commonly occurs when the downrange target image is not focused precisely on the reticle plane. In my experience this is more of an issue when shooting longer distances at higher magnifications. To solve this, the parallax turret on the side of the tube allows the shooter to fine-tune focus. Most scopes are set to be parallax-free at 100 yards. For distances less than, or greater than this, the parallax dial is used to manually bring the downrange target into crisp focus. For instance, my Swarovski Z5 has a lateral parallax turret. Initial focus is achieved by using the dioptric correction ring on the eyepiece but at longer distances, parallax is an issue. By comparison, Scorpion’s Red Hot Varminter also comes with a side parallax adjustment.

Vortex, along with most other manufacturers, also provides a parallax adjustment on several of their models as well.

With spotting scopes, we generally have a specific application in mind. Shape and size is a consideration along with weight. If you hunt sheep for instance, you know the value of a quality lightweight spotter. Mountain hunting or even open prairie hunting involves scanning significant distances, often several miles away.

In turn, we need as much magnification as is manageable, but that comes with both a practical and a monetary cost.

With today’s spotting scopes, the greater the magnification, the bigger the overall size of the scope. Consider Swarovski’s 20-60x65mm ATM model for example. It weighs 1020 grams (36 oz.). The bigger 80 mm model, with a larger objective lens, is heavier at 1280 grams (45.2 oz.). True enough, you’ll get the finest in image quality and European craftsmanship, but if you’re trying to shave every gram/oz. and spend less money, you will usually sacrifice some mag-

nification to meet your need. By comparison, Vortex for instance, has several spotting scopes that are af fordable and considered to be higher quality. Their Razor HD 1648x65 mm is a bit heavier at 48.4 oz. but is also approximately half the price of its top-of-the-line competitors. In the end, Vortex optics are, by description, more affordable and a common choice of serious hunters on a budget. At the consumer level, Scorpion makes a functional and considerably less expensive 12-36x50 mm spotting scope with ED glass.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention today’s standard monocular rangefinders. For practical purposes, quality is relative. When laser rangefinders first came out, the choices were limited, but today they are available in a variety of magnifications from 4x all the way up to 9x configurations with new options coming out all the time. The biggest difference between rangefinders is the ranging capability,

angle compensation features, and overall durability. Those with angle compensation settings can be set to account for uphill, downhill, or tree stand hunting situations.

Rangefinding binoculars are the latest and greatest creation to hit the optics scene. Swarovski has set the standard with their popular EL Range. Combining incredible image clarity with extreme accuracy and user functionality, the EL Range is a difficult one to beat, but it also comes with a hefty price tag.

So much more can be said about optics. Technological advancements in reticle configurations, waterproofing, fog proofing, and scratch resistant coatings, ergonomic designs, shock-proof finishes, eye-relief improvements and much more have created endless options for the hunting consumer. In the end, it’s about being able to see, or not being able to see. For most of us it’s about choosing and using optics that offer a clear image at a suitable magnification.

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BY: DUSTIN VAUGHN WARNCKE

I

n my years guiding hunts for friends and family and working extensively in the hunting industry and in sales and marketing for a hunting ranch, I have experienced, more than a few times, how much of an impact a positive or negative attitude or thought process can make or break a hunt. Most would not argue with the point that much of what we do in the field is a mental game. On many occasions, I have worked with hunters who did not possess a positive attitude, and usually the outcomes of the hunts were predictably poor, with negative experiences, missed shots and missed opportunities.

Many of us have missed shots and even not recovered animals in the past. It is part of hunting sometimes, although not a graceful or glorious part we like to talk about often. The point of this is to not let negative emotions get the best of you.

A good attitude and positive thinking is a choice. The point of hunting efficiently and effectively is to practice often and hunt with the best equipment to put all of the odds in your favor of successful harvest, no matter what the pursuit. The rest, indeed, is a mental game of keeping the negative thoughts out of your head and staying positive about where you are and where you are going in your future endeavors.

Negative thinking, or as author and motivational speaker Zig Zigler calls it, “Stinkin’ Thinking”, works in a snowball effect. I have seen it happen over and over on many hunts I have guided. You forget to load you gun after you get settled in your blind, the deer of your dreams comes walking out, you get nervous and frazzled. Nothing seems to be going right. It doesn’t seem like your lucky day. You end up pulling the shot, missing the deer completely. The longer I live, the more I have become aware that my response to a given situation could greatly influence the outcome. This is the case with all of us.

Recent to writing this article, I filmed a short tech tip segment in my blind one evening while I was bow hunting. Not 30 minutes after filming this segment, here comes a nice 8-point and a shot I have made dozens of times in practice and on previous hunts. The arrow hit the deer lower than expected,

in the low shoulder. No pass-through shot. The arrow stuck in him and eventually pulled out. It wasn’t a fatal hit but certainly made my heart sink as I have lost very few deer bowhunting over the years. I spotted the deer shortly after this hunt and he made an almost full recovery from this shot, mainly just a slight limp. How ironic, I thought. I just filmed a segment about positive thinking in the face of unexpected challenges in the field and this happens! It was a great chance for me to dust myself off and get back at it. Two weeks later, same blind, same set-up, and l nailed a management spike buck in the morning.

Perfect shot placement and he piled up in less than 45 yards and about 10 seconds after the shot! I hunted that same stand in the evening and shot a nice trophy class 8-point which ran 30 yards, stood there for a second, and fell over. Two deer down in one day, same stand…Awesome! Moral of the story?

Dust yourself off and try again, cowboy!

I have seen many hunters virtually flop on the floor and foam at the mouth in the face of adversity or unexpected circumstances while on a hunt and their outcome usually is never as good as hunters who stay calm, cool, and collective. The rule I generally use is to expect the unexpected but always have a positive outlook and hope for the best. You never know what is around the next corner. Staying positive and having a bright outlook is vitality important as we, the experienced hunter, are examples to non-hunters, impressionable young hunters, and even fellow adults just starting out hunting on their own. We sometimes never realize the full impact of how we respond to situation and how it might affect the way people around us view hunters, including the non-hunting community. Remember, every experience in the field, no matter how it goes, is a learning experience. There is no such thing as wasting time when you are learning from your successes and mistakes in the process.

The psychology of attitude is pretty simple to understand.

Reactive actions are ones people take in recoil to a situation.

“Flipping out” if you miss a shot, complaining or playing the

“blame game”, or other negative reactions are normal for some people but never HAVE to be a response to a situation. On the other hand, responsive actions are positive approaches to a given situation instead of doing what “comes natural” to some of us. This is very hard sometimes but re-grouping and re-approaching a situation after something unexpected or challenging comes up can be the difference in success or failure in our outdoor adventures.

Here are some points to consider:

BE HUMBLE. It is certainly alright to be proud of a trophy

animal or near impossible shot or other past accomplishments and trophies. I tell stories of my hunts and constantly have my phone out showing pictures or videos when the topic of hunting or fishing comes up in general conversation but that is because I love to share my passion with those around me. I am not trying to prove myself to anyone. In other words, let your accomplishments speak for themselves. We all know a few hunters that are guilty of “Big Hat and No Cattle” mentality. More than a few times I get stories about how accurate a hunter is in a local or national tournament circuit but they almost always jinx themselves in some way when they talk about how wonderful a shot they are before coming on a hunt with us. Many times these same folks end up making a poor shot or missing a seemingly easy shot completely. No one likes a bragger after all and hunters with huge egos usually get on everyone’s nerves after a while. Don’t be THAT guy…

PRACTICE POSITIVE SELF-TALK AND DAILY AFFIRMATIONS.

Norman Vincent Peale’s best selling and timeless book, The Power of Positive Thinking, is among one of the classic “mustread” books out there for anyone wanting to have a better outlook on life in general. Even though the book was written several decades ago, the message still pertains to our lives today. A small synopsis of this philosophy is that what you think

about is what you will become most of the time. We all have a “self-dialog” where we talk ourselves through different situations mentally. When you think to yourself, what does it sound like? Is it positive or negative? Is it victorious or defeated? A daily affirmation I learned from the above book that I say every morning is “I am thankful and grateful for all that I have had, for all that I have, and for all that I shall have.” Regardless of your spiritual or religious beliefs, this is a simple but effective affirmation that you can say out loud or to yourself every day.

It is easy to remember and will do wonders for your outlook on life.

CELEBRATE YOUR PAST ACCOMPLISHMENTS.

As I am writing this article, I look up at various shoulder, European, and horn mounts of Whitetail Deer, two Silver Medal Rams, a Red Stag, a Catalina Billy Goat, and more. Many hunters I meet are never happy with what they have accomplished or satisfied with what they already have hanging on the wall or in their photo book. It’s always about the next big buck, exotic trophy animal, predator, or something else. I try to live content with all that I have. I am so blessed to have been able the harvest the amount of animals I have in the past and realize that I

have more to celebrate than many hunters might ever have, especially in previous generations. Be thankful and grateful for the opportunity and freedoms we have to be able to harvest our own food from nature or cull out invasive species as a recreation and sport. You can’t do what we have the freedoms to do in the outdoors in many countries around the world.

ELIMINATE THE NEGATIVE. You can find negativi-

ty just about anywhere you look in our society. The local and national news broadcast on television and newspaper are certainly laden with this and the reasoning is because people will watch it. “If it Bleeds It Leads” is a popular saying for the news, in any format, and it’s true. So, one thing I invite you to do in your general life is to eliminate the garbage. I often advocate not listening to the evening news as 99% or more of the time you have no control of what happens in the world anyway.

I am not saying that you should not be aware of the people, places, and situations involved in stories that make the news but the issue is that we naturally internalize these issues and it does have an overall effect on how we view the world. With the innovations of our time, you can get all the news you need on the internet or even most cell phones in about 90 seconds or less.

Concentrate instead on what good you can do around you and for yourself. Practice shooting your bow or gun, teach an adult or youth around you how to shoot or get started in another way with our great sport of hunting or fishing. Support your local charity, wounded soldier event or conservation organization. Get back to nature and “God’s country” instead of concentrating on the all the spin, hype, and garbage out there.

BE AWARE OF YOUR EMOTIONS AND YOUR RESPONSE TO A SITUATION. How long do you stay

angry or upset? 15 minutes or 15 days? We all go through issues like being outdoors in bad weather, not seeing anything you are hunting for in the field or fishing for on the lake, a missed shot or even a bad shot placement. I have been there with you. We all have. What you do after an experience in response to it is your choice. To paraphrase most positive thinking books out there, it’s not what happens to you, it’s what you do with what happens to you. Keep smiling! Even if your gun jams, your arrow falls off the rest when you’re drawing your bow, or you get a bird’s nest in your fishing reel after you cast.

Life goes on and there is so much we have to be thankful and grateful for in our world today.

REMEMBER, THIS IS THE GOLDEN AGE OF OUR ERA.

We often take for granted the time we live in. Never before have we had the technological innovations and modern conveniences that people only dreamed decades ago. We have so many things to be grateful for at home and in the field. Life can be tough, but look at all we have! GPS systems in the woods and in our vehicles, rifles and ammunition that can accurately shoot 1,000 yards or more, Crossbows than can send a bolt flying over 400 feet per second, 24/7 access to just about anything we ever wanted to know from our computers and cell phones, and much more. I can’t find much to complain about with all that we have today.

REMEMBER WHO MADE ALL OF THIS. Most of us

outdoorsmen have a belief in a higher power. The organization and systems of nature alone is incredibly fascinating to me. An animal dies, another animal or organism is there to clean it up.

There is not a lot of natural pollution, dead and rotting carcasses, or other inconsistencies or imbalances found in God’s country throughout nature. It all works on a self-sustaining cycle with or without our help; although we have altered this environment and hunters play an important part in maintaining the balance. This was all created somehow and developing a relationship a higher power can help one maintain a positive attitude through all the ups and downs of life, and hunting.

Our connection with nature is a great way to remember and be thankful for all our creator has blessed us with. There is so much to celebrate.

WHAT LEGACY WILL YOU LEAVE BEHIND?

One thing we must never forget is the legacy and memory we will leave with those around us now and after we are gone. What example are you setting for those around you? What do you want to share today with the youth of today that might impact the next generation or generations to come in the decades ahead? What legacy will you leave behind one day?

We have so much to be excited about in the day and age we live in and I think outdoorsmen and women have even more to be thankful and grateful for as we have the best of both worlds.

We are blessed with modern conveniences of our time along with the pure natural beauty of the great outdoors. Make your experience outdoors positive and memorable. As always, hunt hard, shoot straight, be safe, and have fun out there!

Dustin Vaughn Warncke is an avid hunter, outdoor industry consultant, and Pro-Staff for Mac & Prowler as well as several other outdoor industry product and guide service businesses. Learn more about Dustin at www.dustinsprojects.com

THE MOM

MENT OF TRUTH WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR SHOOTER ARRIVES

BY DUSTIN LEE

I

t’s early in the morning. It’s cold. There’s a frost on all of your gear just from the short hour that you have been in the stand. You hear something just through the densely covered woods, as the fog makes it hard to see what you heard. Then all of a sudden, you see him. That buck you’ve been spending hours and days trying to get is finally in your sights and heading your way! Are you prepared? Do you have what it takes to follow through with this next moment that could cause you to go home empty handed or with a big buck in the bed of your truck?

Countless times there are situations where the hunter has the opportunity of a lifetime to harvest a great deer. However, sometimes the lack of mental or physical preparation means that the deer escapes unscathed and the opportunity of a lifetime slips away. Now, of course, you have clearly done things right to have this opportunity unfolding right in front of you.

Now this is the time where you truly test yourself to see if you have what it takes to make this rare opportunity worth all the trouble.

Mentally you’ve got to convince yourself the truth of the matter. That the hardest part of killing this deer has already happened. The deer is in front of you. So with the proper dedicated practice with your choice of weapon the shot should be the easiest thing you’re going to have to do. You also have to tell yourself, after you know it is the buck that you want to harvest, that you can’t keep looking at the rack. At this time you should be only thinking about the shot. Think about squeezing that trigger with a smooth release. Think about the openings that you should have already located and know when and where would be the proper time to shoot him. If he is going to be walking downwind of you that means you must find a gateway to his vitals before he crosses that path.

Constantly be thinking about a small spot on the deer that you will aim for. Don’t aim with the thought that you have a size of the heart and lungs to hit. Think about a small dot no bigger than a pop bottle lid that you will focus on. Be thinking about the angle of the deer as far as where his vitals will be while you’re picking that small target on him.

You’ve also got to establish if there are any other deer in the surrounding area. If so you have to keep a close eye on them while you’re trying to focus in on your target too. You’ve got to make slow steady movements and try to control any adrenaline that you may have. You must keep calm so you have the capability to draw your bow back and hold it steady while making the shot. You have to keep in mind where all the deer are and see what they are doing and make sure they aren’t looking at you. If this were to happen and they bust you and run off, the buck you have your eyes set on will, of course, see this and more than likely flee the area as well.

Drawing back on the deer can be a very difficult task at times. I find myself spending multiple minutes trying to succeed at simply drawing back. Time and time again I’ll get a deer looking in my direction or maybe the buck keeps getting behind a tree or bush. So timing is everything and you should take every opportunity that you see possible to at least try to draw. While looking for these opportunities you should still be thinking about that one spot on the deer you will be aiming for. You must know that when that buck is in your shooting lane that you have already ranged the yardage to know what pin to use and how to aim on the deer to hit the spot you are going to be focusing on. It’s a great idea to already range these pockets of opportunities before any deer even arrive and familiarize yourself with them as best as possible.

Once you finally achieve drawing back your bow you should really just focus in on making a great shot. Focus on the different anchor points you should have from practicing daily.

Think about squeezing the trigger off with a smooth and steady pull. Not only think about where the arrow will be entering the deer but think about where it will exit the deer so you have an idea as to where it will hit the vitals. If

the deer is spooky you need to aim a little low because chances are the buck will drop some once he hears the bow go off and hears the arrow heading his way.

Once you squeeze the trigger off and the bow fires away, the next few seconds are more critical than anything! You must try your hardest to see where the arrow penetrates the deer. See if it’s where you were aiming or if it was off. Is it still a vital shot? Once the deer runs off you need to still keep your composure long enough to see how the deer reacts to the shot. Is his tail down or up? Did he turn around and go back to where he came from or just run straight trying to get out of dodge? Was he humped up? If a deer has its tail down and it’s humped up normally this means that he is gut shot.

This means you should give the deer about 24 hours before pursuing him or you take the chance in jumping him and never finding him after that. If the deer turns around and heads back, this sometimes means that he’s not hurt and that he has established his grounds enough already that he knows he should just go back to where he came from since he was safe there. A great sign is when the deer runs straight ahead trying to get out of dodge not caring what he runs through and normally his tail would be just twisting like crazy behind him. A great thing to do as well, is pick multiple trees that he ran by. Pick a bush, a brush pile, a rock, fallen limb, just about anything. This way if there is no blood at first you still have a good idea as to where the deer ran so you know where to continue your search.

Basically it just comes down to mentally preparing yourself for the situation that you hope falls into your lap this season.

It’s about practicing yourself to really focus in on being fair to the game and fair to you as well. You must practice at any given moment you have and keep running these thoughts through your mind. Train yourself to do this. If you don’t feel too confident in yourself try to harvest some does first. Use

this time to practice to make yourself better so when that big buck is in front of you it will be instinctive to focus in on all these things to hopefully take your success to a whole new level. You’re putting in the time and effort to make these opportunities happen, so make it worth it in the end and know that when these times present themselves you’ll be ready to tackle them with confidence.

Keys to Being Ready for the Shot • • • • • • • • • •

Don’t look at the antlers, focus on a small spot you want to hit on the buck Identify all your shooting lanes, and range landmarks earlier in the season Identify wind direction and be aware of when you may get winded Aim small, smaller than a pop bottle lid Think about the entrance and exits points, where your arrow will go through the vitals, not just where it will enter Keep tabs on other deer in the area, making sure they don’t bust you moving or drawing Make slow, deliberate movements, control your breathing Focus on anchor points, and doing the same movements as you do during practice Focus on a smooth, steady trigger pull After the shot, watch the deer, making notes on behavior, entrance point, and where he ran, ideally locating landmarks

BIG GAME STATS There are three simple keys to becoming a successful hunter, find the animal, spot the animal, then be able to make the shot!

Prerut satellite bull.

Hamilton Greenwood Photo.

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THE

JAMES JORDAN BUCK

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ne of the most famous whitetails of all time, the James Jordan Buck was a world record that almost didn’t happen. It was Nov. 20th, a cold and snowy day in western Wisconsin. It was 1914 and Mr. James Jordan and friend, Egus Davis were looking to harvest deer for some winter meat. They drove their wagon along the Yellow River and it wasn’t long before Egus harvested a nice doe. He let Egus borrow his knife in order to dress out the doe, and went on ahead alone. His best chance would be by the river, so he walked carefully toward it. He soon came across one set of hoofs prints that were the biggest he had ever seen! He followed the huge tracks in the new fallen snow. A nearby train whistle startled a group of deer and Jim could easily pick out the monster buck that had made the tracks. Raising his Winchester rifle, he squeezed off one shot, and then another and another, while the buck kept running. Jim was sure that at least one shot had found its mark. The wounded buck crossed the Yellow River and offered Jim one last chance as it came out on the far bank. With his last bullet, Jim took careful aim and fired. The buck collapsed where he had stood.

Reaching for his knife to start field dressing the buck, Jim realized that he had loaned it to Egus. He would have to walk the quarter mile back to his farm to get another. Once home, Jim and Egus quickly gathered knives and walked back to where the buck had been felled. He was sure that he knew the exact location of the deer, but when they arrived, it was gone! Both Jim and Egus were no strangers to the woods.

They studied the river bank with trained eyes and it soon became clear what had happened. The banks were slippery with the new snow and with perhaps a final kick; the buck had slid down the bank and into the frigid waters of the Yellow River. Even though the weather was cold, the river was still open enough to carry something downstream. It took a hike around the next bend to find Jim’s deer caught on a rock in the middle of the river. For Jim, this deer was worth a bone-chilling wade into the water to retrieve him.

Even in 1914, a 400 pound deer with a trophy rack was something that deserved to be mounted. Jim soon delivered the deer to a local taxidermist. He didn’t know then that he would not see his deer again for 50 years. Soon after, the taxidermist’s wife died, and he moved to Hinckley, MN, some 25 miles away. Travel was difficult in those days in the northern woods, and Jim was not able to follow his deer for several years. When he finally did make the trip, Jim learned that the taxidermist had moved to Florida and Jim sadly assumed his trophy was lost forever. A few years passed, and Jim himself moved to Hinckley.

In 1958, the rack mysteriously showed up at a garage sale in Sandstone, MN and was purchased for $3 by Bob Ludwig.

Bob worked with the Minnesota DNR and recognized the rack as a potential record whitetail. He had it officially scored in 1964. But who had taken the buck and where did it come from? Soon after, he showed it off to his older distant cousin, Jim Jordan. Instantly, Jim claimed the deer as the one he had taken so many years ago. The buck was declared the new world record typical by Boone and Crockett in 1971 but it took until December 1978 for James Jordan to be awarded status as the rightful hunter. Unfortunately, Jim would never know that his persistence in pursuing his claim had finally paid off, since he passed away, just two month prior at the age of 86.

The Jordan Buck claimed the world typical record title with main beams of 30 inches, an average circumference measurement of 6 5/8 inches, providing over 50 inches of total circumference score, and tines stretching up to 13 inches. And this entire outstanding score was achieved as a 5 x 5! But the greatest feature of the Jordan Buck is its symmetry. There are only 3 2/8 inches of asymmetry which is almost unheard of in bucks of this size. These amazing attributes easily held off all record contenders until the Milo Hansen Buck claimed the title in 1993. It still retains the title as the largest typical 5 x 5 in the world.

Danbury, Wisconsin 1914 206 1/8� Typical Former World Record Typical

BEYOND THE SHOT BY: HUNTER FRANKFURT

“As a result of all the time spent outdoors, I am very passionate when it comes to animals and nature. I take pride in what I do and have a ton of respect for the animals. I can’t speak for every hunter out there, but watching an animal mature over the years is very captivating and you take pride in that animal! �

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ow hunting was first introduced in Egypt at the time of 7500 B.C. to 5000 B.C., but for me it was introduced when my dad (Shawn Frankfurt) carried me out into the woods every waking moment he could. Before I was in pre-school I had been scouting the animals, helping set up tree stands, or just being with him while he was hunting. Of course being as young as I was, I did not realize that this would be me in the near future. Hunting is not just going out and shooting an animal, it’s the moments you experience in the field.

The first time I ever shot a bow was when I was four years old, which is pretty cool for a pre-schooler. Once I started to know a bit more about how to use my bow, my dad and a couple other young families from Yorkton made our way to Melville to shoot with their archery club. Mr. Eugene Molnar was the man who showed me the ropes of how to shoot the bow.

When I first started, my dad tells me I would release the arrow, it would rainbow and then hit the ground very far from the target. I progressively got better, hitting the target and better form. I don’t know who was more excited when I hit the target for the first time, my dad or the four year old girl. My dad and a couple of other guys got the Broken Arrow Archery Club back up and running. Every Wednesday night we would make our way out there to shoot, spend quality time with our new friends and to fill my face with the delicious Saskatoon berries.

This led to spending a lot more time outdoors; we went camping, fishing and shot our bows more and more often.

As a result of all the time spent outdoors, I am very passionate when it comes to animals and nature, I take pride in what I do and have a ton of respect for the animals. I can’t speak for every hunter out their but watching an animal mature over the years is very captivating and you take pride in that animal!

For me that animal is a deer named “Crazy Horns”. We have watched him grow and he is a regular on our trail cameras, but whenever we sit he NEVER shows up! These past couple winters have been very hard on the deer in our area. If anything happened to “Crazy Horns” I would be devastated, not to mention heartbroken!

I only bow hunt because I feel like I am closer to the animals and I find it more exciting. My family spends lots of time shooting our bows, whether it’s sighting in or just shooting some arrows. I like bow hunting because it’s challenging and waiting for the animals to walk into your range is so exciting!

Although having a moose stand right in front of you with no trees covering you may be scary to some, I find that exhilarating.

My dad is the reason why I am hunting; he is the one who got me fantasizing about huge bucks and cinnamon colored bears. When I was young, my dad would pull me behind him on a toboggan during the winter and in the summer he would strap me in a backpack and carry me. This is what we spent our spare time doing. As I got older my dad would let me stay later in the field with him. One of the coolest things I’ve ever seen was when a bunch of does were in the field chasing each other back and forth as if they were playing tag! It was so funny to watch, observing these animals in their natural habitat was pretty amazing and I was hooked! Occasionally my dad would talk about “Buck Fever” but I never really understood

it, until one night when my dad and I were just sitting, watching all those does. All of a sudden these huge antlers came out of the bush and started coming towards us. His antlers were gigantic, nice dark chocolate and heavy! Shortly after my heart just started pounding and my whole body started shaking; the closer he came the more it happened. After the deer had left I told my dad what I just experienced and he said that is “Buck Fever”. My dad has taught me numerous things before I had my hunting license, and I couldn’t wait to get it to show him what I learned.

Since I turned twelve I have been hunting for four years and have harvested a moose, a mule deer and three whitetail deer.

As I am in high school it has been hard to make time for hunting with all the sports, school work and social events. But because hunting is a passion of mine, I always figure out a way to make time for the hunting seasons. Every year my dad puts in for draw moose, elk, and mule deer, and I had never put much thought into draw season. I always just enjoyed going out for elk, bear and whitetail during regular seasons. I thought for draw you had to put in forever in order to be drawn since no one I knew had been drawn. Right before tags were going to be drawn I was packing to go to Orlando Florida to a World Archery Tournament, NASP (National Archery in the Schools Program). This would be my fourth time participating in Worlds, which did I mention was in DISNEY WORLD!?!

Earlier that year I won nationals and provincials so I was pretty excited to experience Worlds again. I was supposed to leave the first week of October. But draw tags came out...and I was drawn for archery moose!! WOOOO! I was ecstatic; my dad was practically jumping up and down! It was like Christmas morning in the Frankfurt house, but there was one thing I had to do, make the decision Disney World or the moose hunt?

I chose the moose hunt! A couple days later my dad injured himself at the fire hall and was now on bed rest! So we both thought my moose hunt was over and no sunny Florida. But my dad’s good friends Brian and Barry came to the rescue and took me hunting. The next morning at 5am we went to search for the gigantic moose that roamed in that zone. At 7am we saw the nice chocolate brown moose and waited for him to come in a little closer. This was the first time I’ve ever hunted moose, and now I was face to face with a big bull moose! He came to 33 yards, I let er’ buck, the arrow flew and he dropped

after running less than 100 yards.

Now whitetail is always a definite YES to hunt so every year I sit in my blind waiting for the right buck to walk in. So far every whitetail season I had been successful but this past year I struck out. I was waiting for big ol’ “Crazy Horns” to show up, which he did not. I waited right until the last day for this particular buck. One night I was sitting for him once again, it was a very foggy night. Does came, then all of a sudden I saw huge antlers! I thought it was him but we would not give me a good shot. My dad said to grunt so I did, but I spooked him and blew my chance. That concluded my whitetail season.

This past year was the first time I went for mule deer. Now when it comes to hunting there are three people I look up to; my dad, my grandpa and Cody Robbins. The lady hunter I look up to is none other than Kelsy Robbins! I have been bear hunting with Cody and Kelsy multiple times and struck out every time. Now it was time to try for mule deer with Cody, and he is the king of mule deer hunting. Cody knows the “in’s and out’s” of mulies. So hunting with him

is an honor! For our mulie hunt we had to wake up at 5am again. We headed out to get myself a mature mulie! After scouting, we came across three mulies, one velvet, a bigger buck, and a smaller buck. Cody asked which mulie I would like to go after and it was a very easy decision.....VELVET! The weather was terrible; rainy, windy, and just plain ugly, so we had a very low chance of success. Cody, Anthony and I made our way to the three bedded deer. As we were army crawling to the deer Anthony was trying to video, now I had never been on a mulie hunt before so I had no idea what to expect. Cody said to stay as low as we can to the ground; I had my nose buried in the stubble. Nothing was stopping us from getting to that deer. That crawl was intense to say the least, an experience every diehard hunter would love to do.

We were in their beds, and because of the weather the deer didn’t even notice us! The velvet buck was standing right in front of me!!! Eleven yards away.... Cody gave me the signal, and I let the arrow fly! Perfect, from that moment on the adrenaline was just racing through me. While I was walking up to this gorgeous buck in this picture perfect stubble field, I still couldn’t believe it! My first mulie buck, in velvet, with Cody, and on camera! I was pumped, I couldn’t wait to get back and tell Kelsy all about it. Over the time I have gotten to know Cody and Kelsy they have became like my older siblings. Kelsy is so caring, funny, she is so fun to be around, and they are great hunters and even better people. Cody is like a big sister, I mean brother. He is always trying to find new ways to embarrass me and our hunting adventures are always very interesting. I can’t wait to see where all of our other hunting adventures take us!

Hunting is a great way to get involved in the outdoors and a very rewarding experience. You not only get to spend time with your favorite people but also take in what the great outdoors has to offer. The adventures and memories you spend in the field make for great stories.

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We dared to question our own rules, and in the process, discovered a whole new system for superior accuracy and unrivaled feel.

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TEACHABLE MOMENTS IN YOUTH HUNTING

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half-hour before sunrise I was settling into a brush blind on the edge of a cut cornfield. One foot in front of me was 13 year-old Daniel Muther, 20 gauge in hand, awaiting the first gobbles of the youth turkey season. Behind me was my good friend Joe Darcangelo, along on his first ever turkey hunt.

The first hour produced no turkeys. Sensing that young Mr.Muther might be getting chilled and worried he would get bored, I decided we’d move to another location. After walking only 200 yards, I spotted eight jakes sunning themselves on the edge of a hidden green field. We hastily set up and I began calling.

The young birds responded immediately. Quickly, the young man’s body language changed from cool and calm to one of uncertainty and excitement. I could tell he loved what he heard and was anxious to see the birds.

When the birds stepped from behind a fence line at only 50 yards, they immediately saw our decoys and raced toward the lonely plastic hens. I whispered to Dan, “Get the gun up. Take the safety off ”. Slowly and steadily the young man took aim.

When the first Jake reached the decoy I gave Dan the ok.

“Go ahead and shoot.” I saw the gun twitch. It didn’t go off and a bird didn’t fall. “Shoot one Dan”, I whispered. Finally I saw the problem. He’d forgotten the safety. As the inexperienced hunter moved his hand to the gun’s safety, the Jakes spotted him and began alarm calling. Snap. The safety was off and Dan’s cheek was back against the stock. My heart was racing in anticipation. I could hear my friend Joe breathing heavily behind me. KABOOM! All eight birds jumped into the air. He missed. “Shoot again”, I squawked at Dan. He ejected his spent shell and took aim again. POW! This time the birds didn’t stick around. Dan missed twice.

This is where things really went wrong. Instead of calmly talking to Dan about what happened and discussing what he could have done better, Joe and I fell backwards laughing hysterically. It seemed like we laughed for 10 minutes straight but it was probably only 15-20 seconds. That was 15-20 seconds too long.

When I finally gained some sort of composure, I turned to look at Dan. Apparently he didn’t think the whole ordeal was funny at all. There were tears in his eyes. He was totally dejected. I knew I’d screwed up and quickly initiated damage control.

HOW NOT TO SCREW UP A YOUTH HUNT Thankfully Dan doesn’t hold a grudge. I’m happy to report that he and I have enjoyed many successful hunts together since that fateful day. Dan’s killed two beautiful Toms since then and performed like a veteran on both occasions. Quick thinking and a bit of humor got me out of a tight spot but things never should have gotten to that point.

Since then, I’ve come up with a few rules for us “seasoned veterans” to abide by when taking a young person hunting.

Rule #1: DON’T FORCE THE ISSUE. Just because we enjoy hunting, doesn’t mean a young person will. Let them decide when they’re ready to hunt and only take them when they want to go. Letting a young person make the decision to hunt or not is empowering and will ready them to make other decisions in life.

Rule #2: SAFETY FIRST. Teach safe and responsible handling of all firearms, bows and shooting equipment. Pay special attention to muzzle control. If I see a young person pointing a gun in an unsafe direction, I calmly point out the mistake and remind them to know where the muzzle is pointing at all times. Always make sure they’re familiar with the weapon they are using before they hunt with it. Repetition with blank cartridges will build confidence and better prepare them for the moment of truth.

Rule #3: KEEP THEM COMFORTABLE. If a young person gets too cold or tired, they won’t have fun.

A child that’s shivering or falling asleep will lose interest quickly and be less likely to go hunting again. Most young people aren’t ready to face the same elements as seasoned hunters. Hunts that require extended sits, long hikes or extreme temperatures should be kept to a minimum. Pay close attention to a young person’s body language. Dragging feet, fidgety hands, shivering body or nodding heads likely mean they’re ready to go.

Rule #4: DON’T PUT UNDUE PRESSURE ON YOUNG PEOPLE TO PERFORM. It’s all about the experience, not killing the animal. If a hunt doesn’t end with a perfect shot or ends with a miss, don’t worry about it. Focus on the positive and reinforce the things the youngster did correctly. Teaching young people to savor their time afield appreciate the outdoors and to understand our role in the ecosystem is the best gift we can offer them.

Rule #5: TAKE TIME TO TEACH. Teach young people everything you know about the outdoors. Tree, wildlife and track identification is a great way to get them interested in more than the kill. Take time to discuss biology, ecology and sustainable use of our resources. It’s imperative that our youth be prepared to tackle the challenges presented to our sport in the future. An educated hunter is far more valuable than a hunter unable to properly defend and articulate what we do.

Rule #6: EMPHASIZE ETHICAL BEHAVIOR AND OBEY THE LAW. We should all obey the laws of our state fish and wildlife agencies. Teach young people the importance and significance of these laws. Let them know that game wardens and conservation officers are our friends and partners and not the enemy.

There are grey areas with all rules but teaching a young person how to bend and not break rules should never be our goal. Teaching them how to distinguish right Sharing the tradition of hunting with a young person is a privilege I enjoy more than hunting on my own. Though I don’t have children, I’ve been lucky enough to mentor a few of my friend’s kids. I’ve broken my own rules and made mistakes but improve each time I take a new hunter afield.

Our goals should be simply to pass our love and appreciation for hunting on to as many young people as possible. Create as many new and positive memories as we can. Children are our future. Take the time to pass our hunting heritage on to a new generation so it doesn’t become a thing of the past.

from wrong in relation to our sport will help strengthen public opinion and help preserve our hunting heritage.

Rule #7: EMPHASIZE THE PROPER CARE OF HUNTING GEAR. Hunting gear can be expensive. Sure, hunting clothes will need to be replaced as a young person grows out of them but some of their gear should last a lifetime. Teach them how to care for their guns, bows, knives and accessories. Set a good example by taking care of your personal gear. Teach them the value of a dollar by making them pay for small things now or even saving for a big ticket item. Most people appreciate things more when they have to pay themselves.

Rule #8: PRAISE THEM WHEN THEY DO WELL. Don’t focus on the negative. Positive reinforcement is the best way I know to boost a young person’s confidence. Let them know they’ve done well. There’s no satisfaction like a job well done. This shouldn’t be limited to congratulations upon taking an animal. If the young person handles a gun properly, spots an animal before you or even if they’ve sat quietly for an extended period, give them praise. This will only reinforce positive behavior and boost their confidence.

Rule #9: TROPHY IS IN THE EYES OF THE BEHOLDER. Teach young people that the size of the animal is not the only way to define a trophy. Any animal they kill should be celebrated as a trophy. There’ll be plenty of time later to discuss record books, tipping the scales and measuring antlers and skulls. One of my favorite harvests of all time is the first deer I killed; a doe I took with my father by my side. I wouldn’t trade that trophy for the world!

Rule #10: TAKE LOTS OF PICTURES. Quality pictures of every animal, taken in the field will provide a young person with years of good memories, pleasure and pride. With a little luck, they’ll show the pictures to a child of their own someday and the circle will be unbroken.

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Sean Morgan with the high country mule deer he aptly named “Big Backs”.

The deer was incredibly tall with 19” G2-s and very deep back forks. The hunting pressure and rugged country meant that Sean had to go high to find a buck of this caliber.

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nother year has arrived. My dad and I both drew general archery deer tags in our home state of Utah. After a successful 2013 season, the challenge of killing another giant mule deer in the high country was upon us. July’s scouting trips produced many young bucks in all the basins we typically hunt, but finding something special was going to be tough. Every year we seek out new areas in order to stay ahead of the competition and it wasn’t until 10-days prior to the hunt that fate gave us a buck worthy of punching a tag on.

With no trail to follow, this scouting trip took us even further up, into more remote country. On the hike down, I noticed a hidden area high up in the cliffs that looked promising. Having only my binoculars with me, I glassed up into that distant basin and couldn’t believe my eyes! In the middle of the day, a buck “you know is big when you first see him,” was out in the open feeding with some other deer. Immediately excitement took over and I knew this buck was the one to focus all our efforts on. We returned a couple days later to get a closer look and decided to name this buck “Big Backs” as he had some of the deepest back forks we’ve ever seen. We judged him to be in the 190-inch class; a mature buck with a giant frame.

This buck was not going to be easy to hunt as he called 10,000 plus feet elevation home and the area was yet again unfamiliar to me and Dad. This new area offered more obstacles than where we usually hunt, but we knew what had to be done in order to harvest this particular buck. Step one was to figure out the best route to get up and down the mountain safely and with least resistance. We tried multiple paths, but either they were

too dangerous or required too much effort. After studying aerial maps, we lucked into a more direct route but found it was much steeper than preferred. Step two was to find a site level enough to camp. By camping as high up as possible it would allow us to exert minimal amounts of energy during the hunt, but at the same time it needed to be located in an area that wouldn’t have any negative effects. Coexistence between hunter and animal is one of the most critical elements of hunting the high country. Staying undetected will increase our odds of harvest not only this year, but for years to come. Third was to collect enough water to supply us for the days we planned on hunting. A pristine water source was just around the corner in the drainage where the bucks lived. We carefully snuck in, well below the bucks, filled a number of containers, and carried them to camp. Lastly, we hauled as much gear as possible up to camp a few days prior to opening day. This included our tent, sleeping gear, food provisions, and other hunting equipment.

We now referred to this area as the “Danger Zone”, because of the extreme conditions we had to endure in order to hunt it.

During the process of climbing 3,500 vertical feet in less than a mile and a half, I began to experience some minor altitude sickness. I believe I began to feel these symptoms because I had hiked this route multiple times in a few short days and although very fit; my body simply couldn’t handle the extent of exhaustion. Having never had this issue before, it really affected my health and I could only hope to feel better before the hunt began.

The morning before opening day arrived and we made the

treacherous final climb up the mountain with what seemed like our heaviest packs yet. Knowing this was going to be an all-or-nothing hunt, doing the impossible would have to occur if we were to be successful. We rested most of the day at camp to conserve our energy for the hunting we would be doing in the days that followed. That morning and evening we were unable to locate Big Backs but knew he was in the area because two of his closest companions were out in the basin feeding below us. I was confident we made the right decision on hunting this particular buck and hoped he was just out of sight in the thick timber.

It was now the day we had been dreaming and preparing for all year. We woke up before sunrise, performed our de-scenting routine, changed into our hunting attire, and hiked up to our glassing point. Fortunately, Big Backs and others were out in the open basin feeding through the small pines. We didn’t have much knowledge of their daily movement patterns, so we opted to sit back and watch them for a while. We assumed the bucks would eventually cross the basin towards us and bed down in the deep timber. As the morning hours drew on, the anticipation heightened and my Dad turned to me and said, “This buck is yours Sean”. He knew how much time, sweat, and energy I had put in and offered me the first chance. This wasn’t the plan as Dad was supposed to be first up this year, but I definitely couldn’t turn him down!

Three hours later, the bucks settled down into a small patch of pines and presented the opportune time to move in closer.

Choosing to stalk into an ambush position that placed me a hundred yards above them was my best bet and the waiting game began. I figured they would eventually get restless as the sun rose higher and would want to move. Luck was on my side and before I knew it, the bucks began to slowly move up my direction and towards an escape route. At this moment I was very thankful I had taken all the right steps to be scent free and had barely sweated on the stalk. As the bucks got closer and

closer, the risk of spooking them escalated. I figured Big Backs would be towards the rear of the pack as big bucks usually are.

I had pre-ranged all my distances beforehand and the trail they were taking was going to place them only 15-20 yards away.

I noticed Big Backs was moving up toward my shooting lane where the other bucks were standing, so I pulled my bow back. Unfortunately, his vitals were partially blocked by one of the smaller bucks he’d stopped behind. At this range I knew I could make the shot, so I let the arrow fly! It all happened so fast, but I made an excellent shot on Big Backs, placing the arrow right behind his shoulder. All chaos broke out as the bucks ran in every which direction. Cheers of accomplishment echoed through the basin and I made my way back to my ecstatic Dad. We waited a proper amount of time and began the search for my buck. Big Backs only made it 100-yards down a steep rocky chute before expiring.

Now the task of taking care of this giant buck in the mid-day heat was going to be a challenge. We hiked back to camp to

retrieve our large packs, knives, game bags and returned to Big Backs to take photos and quarter him out. The sheer steepness of the area made this hunt especially difficult, but was likely the reason Big Backs grew to be so large. I was very proud of myself for executing our game plan flawlessly and harvesting the buck we were targeting.

I’d like to give another huge Thank You to my father, Ken Morgan for being with me on this hunt! Every trophy we take only adds to the years of priceless memories.

Scouting and live footage of Sean’s buck can be found on his YouTube Channel – Bugleboy Outdoors. Also, be sure to attend the 2015 Hunt Expo in SLC, UT to check out Sean’s mounted buck that will be on display at the Monarch Mountain Taxidermy booth.

BIG GAME STATS

SEAN’S BUCK ENDED UP WITH A FINAL SCORE OF 189”, INCLUDING A GREATEST SPREAD OF 27.5” WIDE AND 19” G2’S

BUILT TO TAKE YOUR FEET PLACES THEY REALLY DON’T BELONG.

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TM

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