This started out like every other year hunting Montana/visiting family for Thanksgiving. I made the 19-hour trip, and this year, my two sons decided they wanted to go. The first few days, I was able to spend some time hunting with my dad, uncle, and aunt. I got to see my aunt harvest her first mule deer buck with her brother’s rifle at 66 years old. She was so excited and is definitely hooked.
We hunted a few days on some block land and some state land around my dad’s house as I waited for my longtime friend and hunting partner, Luke Kunkel, to show up from New Mexico. We saw a lot of deer numbers near my dad’s place but weren’t turning anything mature up. On the plus side, I was able to take my boys out and see some deer. I can’t wait until I’m able to hunt side by side with them.
The next morning, I woke up to a text from my buddy saying his truck was broken into at the hotel his family stayed at in Colorado. They took all of his hunting clothes and all of his family’s clothes they had packed for their vacation. I figured his trip was over before it even started. However, they decided to make the best out of a bad situation and made it to Montana. I told him, “If you don’t feel like taking off and going hunting, I completely understand.” His response was, “Let’s go!”
Later that night, we decided to take off. On the drive, my buddy asked what it was going to take to squeeze that trigger. I replied with something like a 170" class deer or better. He said, “Don’t put a number on it. What kind of buck are you looking for?” I said I like the tall, heavy, and dark-antlered bucks. He said now we had a goal.
We were able to find a hotel room so we could get up and hunt early in the morning. The first morning sitting on top of a ridge, it wasn’t long before we turned up a small buck and a couple of does. As the morning continued, my partner spotted a good buck pushing a doe at about 1,500 yards. We watched them bed up, and it was time to plan. We spotted two hunters already in the bottom with the same idea in mind heading in the direction of the buck, so we just stayed on top to watch the show. As they were walking through the bottom, they spooked about a hundred head of cattle which spooked the buck and doe onto private land.
With all the hunting pressure we were seeing, we decided to load up and find a new location for the afternoon hunt. As we headed down a road, there were hunters parked off every turnout and vantage point we could see. We hit the end of the road and came to a sign saying foot access only. We got out to hike, and about a mile or so down, we sat on a good vantage point. Right off the bat, we saw a group of deer in the bottom of the canyon. A young 4-point was with a group of does.
We continued to pick up deer tucked away in nooks all over the hillsides of this big canyon. We put on around four to five miles never turning up anything mature. As the day ended, we headed back to the hotel empty-handed.
The next morning, we had about a two-hour drive to our hunting spot. Hunters were everywhere with five vehicles ahead of us and three or four behind us. We ended up getting lucky with the same glassing spot we had the morning before. It was now shooting light, and I picked up some deer near where we had seen the good buck the morning before. I asked my friend to check them out. I told him to keep an eye on them, thinking they would come across the fence from private land. As he did, I kept glassing and picked up a few more deer 850 yards below us. I said, “I think I have a good buck below us.” My buddy put him in the spotter and said, “You need to shoot this one. I think it’s the buck from yesterday.”
With so much hunting pressure around us, I decided to hurry and make a stalk. I dropped in and was on the move. I slipped in to 380 yards and decided I would take the shot here. I lay prone on top of a knob, and the buck was facing me. In my mind, I played out waiting for a broadside shot. Then I also thought that if he kept walking towards me, I would lose sight of him. I took the shot with my Fierce Rival. I did not hear an impact, so I looked up and saw two deer easing out of where I had shot. I was thinking bad shot or complete miss. I jacked another round in and dropped down. I came up on the ridge and saw the two deer hop the fence onto private land.
Thinking the hunt was over, I dropped off the ridge and down to the trail the deer took off on. When I got to the bottom, I looked up to my friend. I was able to get his attention to ask what happened, and I just got the shoulder shrug. I continued to walk the trail looking for blood, hair, or tracks but nothing. I ranged from where I had shot, and I was only 180 yards. I told myself to walk out to at least the 380-yard mark and just look it over. As I headed out, I walked away on the trail through some tall grass. When I got through it, my buck was piled up where I had shot. He never took a step. I couldn’t believe it. I was looking at the biggest buck I had ever put eyes on in public land maybe ever. I finally did it. All the boot miles, all the years of driving had paid off. It almost felt like all the pressure I put on myself over the years had been a weight lifted.
Excited, I waved my buddy down to help me out. When he got down to me, I asked why he didn’t come down when I shot, but I guess the buck had just walked out of sight and he couldn’t see it when the shot went off. We got to the buck and were both in disbelief. We propped him up for a few pictures, and then the work began. Being in the bottom of the canyon with some steep cuts, we quartered up the buck, put him in the packs, and headed up the mountain. When we made it to the truck, there was another hunter there to greet us. He said, “I must see him. With all the noise you were making, I assumed you got him.” He had been hunting this deer all season. He shared a few stories about the buck and showed us pictures and videos for the previous year. He pulled a small tape out of his pocket and just started scoring this buck right there. I know it’s not an official score, but he managed to stretch his tape to 203".
Tired as could be, we loaded up the truck and made the journey back to my dad’s place just in time to be with the family for Thanksgiving. It was a year to be thankful for and a trip that will be hard to top. The hardest part was having to leave the buck in Montana, but I know the boys and Purcell’s Wildlife Artistry will take good care of him. Soon enough, I’ll get to enjoy this memory in my own living room for years to come. I want to say thank you to my dad and my buddy, Luke. I couldn’t have done it without you guys.
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