CHASING INCHES
Its interesting to watch the growth a hunter has throughout his years in the field. Most start out just trying to find a legal animal to shoot. They fill their tag and freezer with whatever game they choose to hunt. The mixed emotions that come with their first few animals usually shapes that hunter into what kind of hunter he will become . I’ve hunted with many different people in my life and stood above many animals. Has to be over 200 if I was to try and put a number on it. Everyone of those lives taken shared different emotions and I have been able to watch the different reactions from different hunters . It’s what has shaped me into the hunter I am and the kind of hunting partners I choose too surround myself with .
I find myself in a time of my life where my freezer is not needed to be as full. My kids have grown up and their hungry mouths no longer require a stock pile of protein to last each year. Allthough I have adapted my style of hunting many years ago, I am now able to be very picky with what animal I choose to harvest. Instead of worrying about the freezer shelves , I can concentrate on looking for an older more mature animal to cancel my tag.
Boone and Crockett scoring
The Boone and Crockett records were created many years ago. It was a way of measuring the biggest most impressive animals of each species. To this day it really is the best system for all antlered animals. It is based off of measuring the inches of antlers in both length and mass. I don’t agree in deductions and taking away inches off an animal. I believe the gross measurement of an animal’s antlers is the true measure of what the animal is. It is how most guys chasing the biggest buck look to gauge how big a buck can be . I have never dwelled to much each year on trying to reach a certain measurement on my animals. I strive for larger , older animals, but don’t set my standards at a certain measurement. That being said, I have always wondered what a 180″ deer would feel like in my hands. What it would look like laying on the forest floor in front of me . I’ve seen many of that caliber over the years and just couldn’t close the deal on them.
The passion for Mule deer
I decided to start some spring hiking about 12 years ago to keep the mountain legs strong. I ventured out to maybe find some antler sheds and see what all the fuss was about. A couple trips in , and a few old antlers found, and I was hooked. Years later my spring shed hunting as become an important part of learning mountain ranges and habits of these mule deer. It evolved into trail camming as well. It’s a lot of work to keep up on setting and checking cameras. It’s about 6 months which is double the season we have to actually hunt. But it tells a story and gives us a glimpse into what lives on the different mountains we hunt . When we’re lucky some years , we are able to connect on a buck that we followed all season and are extremely thankful for the success after all the months of work .
2024 – A season to remember
We ventured into a familiar area to see if we could find some mature animals a bit further into the mountain range. We spread some cameras out on some promising ridges and hoped as usual for some older bucks to show up on our cameras. We were happy to see quite a few bucks but not alot of older bucks on camera. One buck did show some potential so we kept out eyes on him . Later into the season, that buck showed up again. He had non-typical points evrywhere. Lots of mass in his antlers. Definitely a buck we wanted to pursue. We named him Trashcan cause of all the garbage on his antlers. Very cool deer that had us excited all summer .
Trashcan
Opening day had some good excitement that I’ll mention later. My hunting partner had a pretty quiet first day. On day two he decided to hit a spot a few km away from where we had Trashcan on camera. I hit the cam first thing and ventured deep into the timbers looking for him. We had some broken cell service so was able to keep in touch with the morning action. My partner was on two bucks first light that crested a ridge. He said one looked really good. I kept on my morning mission and checked in on how he was making out. He said he caught up with the smaller buck but knew that bigger one was there somewhere. About 45 minutes later, the crack of a rifle shot echoed through the mountains. I messaged my partner and sure enough it was him. He said the buck looked good , but wasn’t sure exactly as it was in some really thick stuff. Just knew it was heavy and had some extra stuff. He chased the blood trail for a while and the text came through. ” It’s Trashcan” . My heart started beating faster . I was so happy for my partner as he had waited years for a bigger buck and hadn’t shot a buck in many years . I started running off of the mountain. I’m sure I spooked a few critters as I just wanted to get over to my buddy. It was a 10km loop around the mountain by vehicle to get access to where he was. He said he could hear the RPM of my truck as I raced through the roads. Big smiles and emotions as I finally climbed up to where he was. A magnificent animal. I always say we’re lucky to be a part of their story. That animal could have died a long winter, eaten alive by a cougar or hit by a vehicle. But we get to harvest them to feed our families and immortalize them by placing their antlers on the wall to remember them and the memory of the hunt.
Opening day Adrenaline
Opening day. I ventured out looking for trashcan. I checked the camera and a few familar bucks were moving in the dark a few hours earlier. I decided to go deep into an area behind the cam I had never been before. Hoping to find some bucks hiding in some big drainages away from the September heat. As soon I descended into the drainage I was on deer, a doe and a small buck. I caught movement through the thick stuff. I saw a big rack so tryed to find a shooting lane. One thing I have learned about myself is that with a good rest , and some time to get set up, I do not miss animals. It’s usually one shot and done.. this was not the case . Haha.
Adrenaline pumping I found the first lane and fired a shot. Clean miss. The bucks just stood there. I fired off a second shot. Miss. I chambered my third and final round . The buck moved through the trees and up the other side of drainage. It was quite thick and not alot of shooting lanes. I got a really good look at the buck. Huge front forks and rear splits that climbed to the sky. What a buck. Once again. Adrenaline pumping. I found the first good rest I could and layed my rifle over a little branch. I squeezed the trigger as slow as I could and hoped the bullet would find its mark. The bullet whizzed over the back of the big buck. He ventured off into the abyss of the drainage. I was left with no bullets and my heart ripped out my chest. I may have just missed the biggest buck I have ever had my crosshairs on. I made sure it was a clean miss and went back for more bullets. I always carry lots on me but chose that morning to only carry what was in the clip. I spent rest of day back in the area. Reassuring that I missed and hoping to cross paths again. Never did get a glimpse again that trip. I hoped that those misses wouldn’t haunt me for the rest of the season
When luck and preparation align
After a week back to work I decided to go out solo back into our ridge and try and find that buck. It was another warm day ahead but the morning was crisp.. I parked my truck and headed into the mountain. It was a surprisingly slow morning. One doe and fawn bedded into the thick stuff really early. Spent majority of morning just pushing ground . Trying to put myself in the mind of an old buck. I was quite aways down the ridge and decided I would do a loop back on an opposing ridge. I saw a truck parked with two guys right where I was thinking of crossing. I wasn’t sure if they had just came out of a hunt or pulled over for a quick stop.
Preparation. I had done my due diligence and scouted this area all summer. I knew I had a few cameras an the opposing ridge and had an idea of travel routes and where they may be hanging out. I knew of a hidden old block that held a good food source. Figured I would venture over for a look. I navigated the timbers and came upon the block between me and the next ridge. I figured I would move parallel instead of crossing into block. That way if I jumped something it would expose itself on the face of the opposing ridge giving me the best chance at a shot if the opportunity arised.
Luck. Of all spots on that ridge that day, I chose to walk there. Any deer sign earlier in morning may have led me down a different path. As I started to parallel the block, I saw movement and white bum of a mule deer. As it bounced through the block I saw the antlers. What a sight it was. Huge dark antlers bouncing with the buck as he moved away from me. I found a good tree immediately and found a rest. He was moving away from me with almost nothing to shoot at. My reticles moved with him as he manipulated the brush. I took a shot and he spun around as I connected. One more quick shot in the boiler room and he was hit good. . he slowly started to move and I decided one more for good measure. He collapsed on the forest floor. . I tried to hold back and let him parish before pushing him. My excitement was too much and I slowly moved toward him.
The first thing I noticed was his huge antlers. Propping his head off the forests floor. Next I noticed he was taking his last breath. I layed my hand on his body and calmly thanked him out loud for his life. I shed some tears as it was emotional for numerous reasons. For 25 years I had dreamed of standing over a buck this big. Life is fragile. It can be taken so quickly. I am very aware as I get older how fragile life really is. I lost my step father last year and wished I could tell him about the buck and show him pictures. He was always so proud of me . . An emotional morning followed by alot of work getting him off the mountain and back home.
Measuring inches
First stop on my way home was to one my hunting partners house. I figured my buck would be right around 180″. Was excited to get a tape on him and see how big he was. We sat in the garage if my buddy and started tallying up the numbers. His eyes grew bigger and he showed me the calculation on his phone. 193″. We both decided to measure again. Same result. I am not one to care too much about the score of my animals. Each animal and hunt is a trophy in itself. But to find an old mature buck of this caliber was something many hunters never achieve. I definitely feel a sense of pride and accomplishment after all the years of hard work. I named the buck Six shooter after the 6 bullets that left my gun after those two encounters. I hope my story can give people motivation to put the extra time in the mountains scouting. It still takes alot of luck but knowing your in the right area sure helps.
Steve Rodgers
STEVE RODGES