Hunting & Fishing Whitetails & Mule Deer

[S_Lunsford]

Let's see your trophy whitetail and mule deer.

I'm going to start it off with my best whitetail. This past november I got the opportunity to go on a deer hunting trip with a friend in Missouri. I shot this buck on the second day of the hunting trip at about 1:30 pm. I was in my tree lounge and I was using my Rem 700 5r 300 WM. I was hunting in a real thick area and the deer was only at 90 yards when I shot him. It was a real challenge to get a shot even at that short of a distance because of how thick it was. He ran about 30 yards before he dropped. Field Dressed 188 lbs.
Load data:
CCI BR Primer
70 gr H4831 SC
185 Berger VLD Hunting

 

[stealthgoat]

Re: Whitetails & Mule Deer

Steven, nice deer!

That seems to be how hunting works too.
You had a rig & load for long range, so of course that buck was 90 yards.
If however you had brought a lever 30-30, then everything all day would have been at 400+ yards

Congrats!

 

[S_Lunsford]

Re: Whitetails & Mule Deer

Thanks stealth goat,

Yeah, I know what you mean. I love to bow hunt and I have been in the situation that you mentioned many times.

 

[S_Lunsford]

Re: Whitetails & Mule Deer

Here is a couple pics of a decent buck that I got with my bow in Georgia this past December. He came in to 30 yards and gave me a nice quartering away shot. I hit him with a 2 inch shwacker broadhead and he didn't go far.

 

[Niles Coyote]

Re: Whitetails & Mule Deer

Very nice, thanks for sharing.

 

[mulie_mike]

Re: Whitetails & Mule Deer

Not DRT yet but hopefully this year I can connect with him. A lot more moisture on the ground and another year of growing he should be a dandy.

 

[bassani]

Re: Whitetails & Mule Deer

got this one a few paces behind a doe as i was about to get on my 4 wheeler.

185 lbs

 

[bassani]

Re: Whitetails & Mule Deer

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Steven Lunsford</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Let's see your trophy whitetail and mule deer.

I'm going to start it off with my best whitetail. This past november I got the opportunity to go on a deer hunting trip with a friend in Missouri. I shot this buck on the second day of the hunting trip at about 1:30 pm. I was in my tree lounge and I was using my Rem 700 5r 300 WM. I was hunting in a real thick area and the deer was only at 90 yards when I shot him. It was a real challenge to get a shot even at that short of a distance because of how thick it was. He ran about 30 yards before he dropped. Field Dressed 188 lbs.
Load data:
CCI BR Primer
70 gr H4831 SC
185 Berger VLD Hunting

</div></div>

that is one hell of a deer....i bet there are some farms in the vicinity for that big boy to grow those horns

 

[redirt78]

Re: Whitetails & Mule Deer

Some great bucks in here. I will post some of mine when I'm not on a cell phone. Good to see threads like this to remind us of one of the reasons we put in so much time. I know there are a few out there that I passed up or didn't seal the deal on that I hope to see again

 

[S_Lunsford]

Re: Whitetails & Mule Deer

[/quote]

that is one hell of a deer....i bet there are some farms in the vicinity for that big boy to grow those horns[/quote]

There are some big farms near by that alternate each year between producing corn and soybeans.

 

[jasonahull]

Re: Whitetails & Mule Deer

If these pics dont get you in the mood to hunt.....what will?

 

[buckey]

Re: Whitetails & Mule Deer

Here's my first & only mule deer = Montana 2004, 417 yds with a .300 Win Mag:

 

[S_Lunsford]

Re: Whitetails & Mule Deer

Awesome mule deer Buckey, I hope to go out west and kill a big mule deer one day.

By the way, how do mule deer taste compared to whitetail?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Buckey</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Here's my first & only mule deer = Montana 2004, 417 yds with a .300 Win Mag:

</div></div>

 

[Pigman]

Re: Whitetails & Mule Deer

Here's my best whitetail that I got a couple years ago. I shot him at about 80 yards away with my .25-06, hit him in the lungs and he took off towards the brush about 100 yards away and we thought I had missed. He stopped about 10 feet shy of the fence and I was getting ready to shoot him again but thankfully he did a few circles and hit the ground. It was the buck that I was after and we only had one trail cam picture of him. No one had ever seen him in person until that day. I don't remember what he weighed but his gross score was 174 5/8. And he was a native buck, not bred.

Here's my buck from this past year that weighed about 150lbs and had a gross score of 142.

 

[bassani]

Re: Whitetails & Mule Deer

Hell ya

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: a-hull</div><div class="ubbcode-body">If these pics dont get you in the mood to hunt.....what will? </div></div>

 

[S_Lunsford]

Re: Whitetails & Mule Deer

Pigman jr,

When can I come hunting with you...ha ha

Awesome kills!

 

[buckey]

Re: Whitetails & Mule Deer

Steven,

To me, mule deer tasted just like whitetail - we fried up the backstraps off my mule deer that evening I killed it.

 

[308crosshairs]

Re: Whitetails & Mule Deer

Here are a few bucks i got hunting in Canada, Mexico and South Texas, no high fence deer in this group. Alot of good memories!

 

[S_Lunsford]

Re: Whitetails & Mule Deer

308crosshairs,

those are all beautiful and I really admire that none of them are high fenced deer.

 

[308crosshairs]

Re: Whitetails & Mule Deer

Thanks Steven,

Everyone of those hunts was different from short/long shots to warm weather to -25F in driving snow. That buck in the bed of your truck is a great buck, nice and wide. There would be no hesitation trying to get him laying horizontal if i saw him roaming woods.

 

[psinclair]

Re: Whitetails & Mule Deer

Some bucks from last year that could be "shooters" this fall....

 

[psinclair]

Re: Whitetails & Mule Deer

One of each...

 

[psinclair]

Re: Whitetails & Mule Deer

This one could be a real dandy this fall...

I nicknamed this guy, "28".

 

[psinclair]

Re: Whitetails & Mule Deer

Couple nice bucks, I photographed from the same spot...

 

[psinclair]

Re: Whitetails & Mule Deer

Pretty nice chunk of mule deer bone...

 

[psinclair]

Re: Whitetails & Mule Deer

 

[psinclair]

Re: Whitetails & Mule Deer

It doesn't suck living in Montana......

 

[CoCaDoRi]

Re: Whitetails & Mule Deer

Taken this morning...

hopefully 6 years from now...

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Pick one...

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Wishful thinking...

Pat I am desperately trying to schedule my Deer hunt in your neck of the woods this year...

 

[Wireman]

Re: Whitetails & Mule Deer

Idaho whitetail

Washington muledeer

Washington Blacktail

No Fences

 

[S_Lunsford]

Re: Whitetails & Mule Deer

That sure is some beautiful land out there in Montana with a lot of big bucks.

PGS, are you a hunting guide out there? Is that land private or public?

 

[captain zeke]

Re: Whitetails & Mule Deer

Here Is the one I kill the year before

 

[mdesign]

Re: Whitetails & Mule Deer

Here's one of each from a hunt with the boys a few years back...

One I let walk...

and one I didn't...

 

[tommy13gun]

Re: Whitetails & Mule Deer

Tha's one fine whitetail buck!

 

[redirt78]

Re: Whitetails & Mule Deer

Here are some of mine. All in Central Georgia on family land I manage

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[FN in MT]

Re: Whitetails & Mule Deer

Hardly record book. But a 150" buck that took a lot of Fair Chase outsmarting to allow a shot. No BS tree stand hunting or feeders on this guy. Had to crawl about 1/2 mile in stubble to get within 300 yds. While trying to NOT get caught by a ton of other deer in the same field.

Taken with a .280 Rem and 150 gr Nosler Partitions.

FN in MT

 

[mdesign]

Re: Whitetails & Mule Deer

FN - Nice buck...sounds like my kind of hunt.

 

[jrob300]

Re: Whitetails & Mule Deer

This bad boy was taken 4 years ago. He was bedded in the middle of a FS road at noon on Sat. I had just fallen into a stream with my rifle after stepping on a rock covered in ice. I almost called it a day and found him 5 minutes later.

He was just shy of 300 lbs. dressed. The largest bodied mulie I've *ever* seen. That neck was enormous.

Here's a mulie my boy took 2 years ago not 800 yards away from the above spot...

I agree with PGS. Living in Montana does not totally suck.

John

 

[FN in MT]

Re: Whitetails & Mule Deer

JRob,

Good Lord! What a HOG of a Muley!! My Cousin is over by St Regis and I swear his local mature bucks outweigh my prairie bucks out here by 50-100 pounds. Simply HUGE bodied.

For whatever reason we don't have any truly trophy quality muleys out in my area of L&C/Cascade Counties. They don't live long enough? We lack the genetics? No idea.

We do OK on whitetails though.

FN in MT

This guy is exceptional for our area.

 

[jrob300]

Re: Whitetails & Mule Deer

Those were taken north of Olney. A lot of big ones over the years have been hauled out of there, but guys I know who have hunted there all their life have never seen anything like him. You should have seen the look on the guys at the check station.

I've seen some of the mulies taken out east. Some great racks, but you're right, most of the bodies are much smaller. This guys rack is not that big, but I will never forget spotting him... at first I thought he was a small bull elk when he got up out of his bed.

John

 

[SavageSlayer]

Re: Whitetails & Mule Deer

Here is my best whitetail from the 2008 season in Oklahoma. I never had him officially scored but I did my best to score him myself and came up with a gross score of 148ish. He was 152 lbs dressed and has a 19" inside spread.

The shot was a perfect broadside at about 100 yards, give or take. I used a Marlin model 336 30-30 and Winchester 170 gr. CXP2 rounds.

 

[redirt78]

Re: Whitetails & Mule Deer

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: FN in MT</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> No BS tree stand hunting or feeders on this guy. Had to crawl about 1/2 mile in stubble to get within 300 yds. While trying to NOT get caught by a ton of other deer in the same field.</div></div>

I don't hunt over bait or feeders even though it was legal last year but I wouldn't call hunting out of a tree stand BS. It's not the same here. There aren't that many places to spot and stalk deer feeding in a field or crossing a pasture. The hunting pressure here is crazy and it seems like there is at least one hunter for every household. It takes our deer at least 4 years, usually more to become a trophy. Most are shot at 2-3 years of age or younger. Almost all of the trophy class bucks are very elusive and educated by the time they hit 4 + years old. We have swirling winds and deer that come out of their skin when they smell you, even the does. Sometimes you have to climb 30 feet or more to hunt an area.

Every now and then someone walks or crawls up onto a good buck around here but it is rare.

I understand you do it your way and others do it theirs but to post that it's bullshit is narrow minded. As far as tree stand hunting goes, I do what I have to in order to kill what I'm after. For the most part, the only thing getting snuck up on around here on foot are wild hogs. I have gone on foot on the powerline in my pictures to get a better look at distant deer chasing does during the rut but it hasn't paid off yet. Most of the places I can hunt are very thick and they require you to get up off the ground to see.

Nice bucks by the way. Would love the chance to spot and stalk something like that on a hunt in Montana one of these years. It would be nice to see how it is to hunt deer in other parts of the country.

Doubt I would be looking forward to hunting the Southeast if I were you but I can't wait to see if I can outsmart some of the bucks I passed or that got away last year here.

 

[psinclair]

Re: Whitetails & Mule Deer

A non typical whitetail from way back in the day.....

 

[psinclair]

Re: Whitetails & Mule Deer

A buck I found in September and showed up again in November in the same xact place. My shooting buddy Don took him with his GAP 30/06.

 

[Dagsta]

Re: Whitetails & Mule Deer

Pat you're all but disgusting!!!!

 

[S_Lunsford]

Re: Whitetails & Mule Deer

Yeah it's official, I'm moving to Montana!

 

[FN in MT]

Re: Whitetails & Mule Deer

CWO,

Nothing AIMED at You, hunt the way you want to. I simply made a statement.

FN in MT

 

[buckey]

Re: Whitetails & Mule Deer

Here's a bow kill from a couple years back here in PA:

 

[Huntr]

Re: Whitetails & Mule Deer

Fantastic bucks, Pat!

 

[Niles Coyote]

Re: Whitetails & Mule Deer

My biggest bodied whitetail

My biggest mulie, but I haven’t been hunting them long.

 

[MJBmxz]

Re: Whitetails & Mule Deer

Them some good lookin animals!

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