Wyoming 2014

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I recently returned from Wyoming where ATHiker and I spent a few days chasing mule deer. We've been talking about planning a western hunt together for a few years, but both of us have differing amounts of points for various species and states, so it hasn't really been in the cards. After talking this winter we determined that neither of us had the points we wanted for the units we wanted to hunt, so we applied for an almost impossible unit to draw with a second choice of a unit that typically has leftover tags. We drew the second choice and gained another preference point.

The trip started out with neither of us packing until the night before we were scheduled to leave. It wasn't a big deal for me. All my backpacking gear has been laying out all summer, so all I had to do was add a gun and some bullets. We left early and got to Wyoming with a few days to scout before season starts. After many miles on our boots and a ton of deer seen, it was obvious that this was a second choice unit due to no real big bucks being spotted.

Opening morning found us hunting some public land adjacent to an alfalfa field. The deer feed on the alfalfa all night and make their way into the cliffs to bed at night. I had a really nice buck coming off the field and just needed another 50 yards to get a good shot, but he bugged out after some pigeons flew out of the cliffs. That evening we went out to explore some new land and the only thing spotted was a bunch of does.

The following morning, we decided to hunt the alfalfa field again hoping to see the same buck as opening morning. We didn't. As a matter of fact, we saw another nice buck, but someone we never saw, literally shot it right out from under us. Public land, can't complain. But, @#$% this. When I think of hunting Wyoming, I don't expect to have to take cover to keep from getting shot. That evening, we decided to pack into the National Forest and set-up camp for a few days. Well, wouldn't you know it, but 5.02 miles into our hike, we spotted a buck bedded on a knob. Looking threw my binoculars I could see that he was narrow but tall. His backs forked, but I couldn't see his fronts without pulling out my spotting scope which was buried in my camping equipment. Even without seeing his fronts, I could tell he was the nicest buck we've seen so far. My range finder was handy; 219 yards and very slightly quartering too me. I put the crosshairs on the front of the onside shoulder and jerked to trigger back. 3-position safety saved me from making a bad shot. It's not the first time I've not slid it all the ways forwards. Took a couple deep breaths and eased the trigger back. The deer flopped 3 times and never got to its feet. The bullet went in front of its left shoulder and exited behind its right shoulder.

What do we do now? We have a dead deer and are still 1.5 miles from where we need to camp to be close to water. The deer was skinned, quartered, and hung. It was going to get down into the 30's that night, so we packed out what we could with all our camping gear. The following morning found us headed back in to pack out the rest. That evening, we headed into town for some good food, a few beers and some much needed sleep on some real beds.

The following morning, we slept in and decided to hunt the same area as I shot my buck. This time, we decided to not camp and just planned on hiking out the 5-6 miles in the dark. We got to almost the exact spot I shot my deer and we spotted 3 bucks bedded at the bottom of the ridge. ATHiker pulled out his spotting scope and determined that the closest one was worth shooting. We planned a stalk down one of the finger ridges that hopefully would put us in range of the deer. Just as we were running out of territory, I saw the deer and a few of them spooked. I was hanging back some and never saw the bigger buck. I did see AT bring his gun up, find a rest and shoot. He immediately moved forwards, found another rest and shot again. This was followed by a fist pump in the air and a couple high fives.

The pack out was similar to the last. It was dark, and our loads were heavy with half a deer apiece. I just kept reminding AT that we had cold beer leftover from the previous night at the truck. It went down good.

Here's a few pictures from the trip.

Well, photobucket isn't working. Pictures to come later.
 
First night






Photobucket keeps throwing up an add that covers my link page. It's just not worth it to me right now. I may resume posting pictures when I have more patience. Sorry for not completing this.
 
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Onto some dead animals.

It took me a couple minutes to figure this picture out. It's obviously a mule deer, but not one that we shot. Then I remembered that I took a picture of the one shot right by us.



Mine. You can see all 10 feet of its blood trail behind me.







 
Poser said:
Very cool and well done, guys.

There is a pic of a silhouetted buck that appears to be sitting upright on its haunches like a dog would. Is that what I am seeing? if so, I have never seen a deer sit like that.
Click to expand...

Thanks.

It's a jackalope. Douglas, WY is the jackalope capital. They have several silhouettes on the hillsides around the city. I guess the whole town has a pretty good sense of humor.
 
The things we do to have fun; packing out over 60lbs for 6 miles in the dark (4 times because 1 wasn't enough) and tenting in +30mph winds. Yep, had a blast and cannot wait until the next trip!



Mule deer and Uinta Porter Stew, helps heal the muscles after a long haul out! Make sure you have a 6-pack, one in the stew and the rest are appetizers.





The new Outdoor Edge Razor Edge is a great knife especially for the gutless boning out method, only downfall is its weight.

 
megalomaniac said:
You guys did VERY well for an leftover tag unit in Wyoming with thier recent population decline
Click to expand...

I have noticed a major decline over the past 5 years, they really need to reduce tags and possibly put a antler restriction on the units. Revenue seems to be king over quality...
 
Poser said:
AT Hiker,

I hear a lot of guys complain about the taste of mule deer that come from sage brush country. I've never had it myself, but I assume that the gaminess of the meat gets blown out of proportion and that it tastes just fine if you cook it right. Thoughts?
Click to expand...

To me it has a milder "gamey" taste than whitetail and more tender. Personally, I love the stuff. I also hear people complain about pronghorn, which is my favorite to eat. We use very little if any seasoning on mule deer and people we have fed it to hear typically do not believe it is venison. So compared to our whitetail...the only comparison is its a red wild game meat.

I assume most of those that complain about mule deer and antelope are spoiled on elk.
 
I love hunting western game. Some friends of mine from Utah tell me the best tasting wild game is mountain lion. They prefer it over elk, mule deer, whitetail...
 
Love reading the stories and seeing all the pics of these outta state hunts !! Congrats and thanks for posting.
 
Yep, you did extremely well. Nice Muleys, congratulations.

The food they eat gives the meat a tang, you can tell its a sagebrush muley versus an alfalfa field deer. The sagebrush flavor is nice.

A rancher who let me hunt his property just outside Porterville CA had lion depredation permits. His ranch raised horses-some kind of particular breed-and he had several foals killed by lions.

Anyway, he told me mountain lion tastes very good. His opinion was lions were hunted to near extinction because of their meat.
 

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