A year ago this thanksgiving I decided to accept an invite to my 2nd mule deer hunt in Montana. So I started the lengthy process of getting everything together. I was worried about it, my dad had been diagnosed with cancer just a few weeks earlier, would I be able to actually make it the following October, that was the questions. Then 2020 happened. Covid started in china, but my dad's cancer was shrinking. Everything was looking good at Christmas, I had done put in for the opening week of mule deer at work. Then after the new year my dads cancer started coming back and the world shut down. Just before easter, my dad lost the fight and covid wouldn't even allow us to have a proper funeral, although he probably liked the fact that there wasn't a big crowd. With all this going on, I started to really look forward to a 10 day trip with a good friend in October to put this year behind me. We fast forward to October, I had gotten my gear ready, some new that I learned from the 1st trip would be helpful, such as a decent spotting scope. I had prepped with a visit during velvet to my buddies to make sure our rifles were ready, on my first trip the rifle got knocked or something and ended up over a foot off. Then a week before we got some shocking and appearing record news. The weather turned cold, really cold for a planned mid 40s hunt.
So plans got changed, warmer clothes and layers got added to the bag and heaters to there equipment list. I arrive at my buddies the Wednesdays before opening day on Saturday. We leave his place in middle Tn and head to to Montana. We drive to the South Dakota border and rest for a couple hours before heading to Rapid City Thursday night. We make a stop at the Cabelas in Mitchell, SD. They had some friend in the coop for there big pheasant hunts.
While on the way to Rapid City, the weather turned worse.
We were able to make it to Rapid City, after seeing trucks with campers in the median and cars and jeeps up to 200 yards off the road trying to get back on, and of course the closed roads. I would recommend that anybody stoping in Rapid City try the Firehouse brewery out. Great food, love the buffalo burger. After one last night in a warm, if not the nicest hotel, we decide to head out to hunt. We were going to go by Devils Tower, but decided to try to let the roads clear up a bit. Get to the hunt are lucky enough to set up in a shed with some electricity, did not know before hand that this would be possible. Was glad it was because the weather changed again.
But we got camp set up and down some scouting before the opening the next day. We saw what we knew was a shooter right on the property line. He was at least a mile away and you could see his kickers, he was at minimum a 4x4, and another tall buck with him. We saw another good buck towards last light that was wide and a potentially really good buck, he ran as soon as he saw our truck. All and all we saw about 11 bucks, and then back to camp. Had a good muley backstrap dinner for luck, then to bed for the following morning. We spot some bucks and does in a draw and see a good buck in them. Its time to put the stalk on. We make it to a wind break along the draw, then a buck comes up within about 30 yards, my buddy kinda wished he brought his bow. Lucky for us the wind had picked up and was blowing snow toward us. But we were stuck there for about 20 minutes, and it was cold, probably mid 20s. We got lucky, he didn't smell or see us with the weather and went back down in to the draw. We got up to the draw and saw a very good buck, I was up first. I get up to a post for a rest and he starts walking away.
I wait and luckily he turns broadside, boom he goes down. I quickly chamber another round, thinking of my last mule deer hunt, but he stays down.
I had clipped front shoulder and got bottom of the heart.
We get him to the shed and processed for return to Tennessee. That ends Part 1 of the story.
Montana Muley 2020 pt 1
- Thread starter WG3
- Start date
raywa
Well-Known Member
Congrats and Nice Buck
Congrats and great buck!
thirdwilliam
Well-Known Member
nice buck congrats
Great job - congratulations
JKC
Well-Known Member
Congrats!
fairchaser
Well-Known Member
Congratulations on getting a buck after all the stuff you went through. It all makes success so much sweeter.
Congrats!!!
Great buck - congrats.
JCDEERMAN
Well-Known Member
Nothing like hunting out west. Congrats. I got cold just looking at those pics
