In 2017, a harsh winter in Eastern Idaho and Western Wyoming took its toll on the deer herds. Now, five years later, there are signs of a rebound. Things are better, but I still think we’re a couple years out for good big buck hunting as long as nature plays fair.
In 2020, I scouted Eastern Idaho, looking for big, mature bucks. The numbers of deer were low, and I never saw a buck that was mature enough for me to shoot. I had little motivation to even hunt deer, so I hunted predators.
In 2021, I again scouted various units in Eastern Idaho. I saw twice the number of deer as I did in 2020. I saw a lot of 2 to 3-year-old bucks but not many older bucks. In September, I archery hunted elk in Eastern Idaho. I saw very few deer and no mature shooter bucks.
Rifle deer season arrived, and even though I hadn’t located a mature target buck, I decided to give it a try anyway. I’d hunted deer and elk in Eastern Idaho for 30 years, so I knew the country fairly well. I decided that for opening day I would hike three hours up on top of a nasty ridge where I’d found mature bucks in the past. I really didn’t think I would see many deer, but I was hoping to see one mature buck.
Opening morning arrived, and I made the three-hour hike in the dark. It had rained the day prior, so it was a muddy mess. The weather report indicated heavy snow for the next few days. My hunting window looked narrow. Finally, there was glassing light.
It was really cold with a slight breeze that made it brutal. I glassed from several different vantage points. At 11 a.m., I had only seen a few elk and no deer. The elk bedded really early. The morning started off with clouds, and it was kind of stormy. The clouds had now cleared off, and the wind was gone. I started seeing a decent amount of deer, with various groups of bucks and does feeding out. Between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., I had spotted 12 bucks and a huge herd of 22 does. The bucks were in small bachelor groups, and most of them looked to be 2 year olds. There were also two bucks that looked to be 3 year olds. They were 20-22" wide 4-pointers. It was nice to see some decent deer for the future.
At 1 p.m., I was glassing down into a nasty canyon that was thick with timber. At 780 yards, I glassed what looked like an older white-faced buck looking at me. This was in a small opening in the middle of the timber. I grabbed my spotter and zoomed in to 55 power. It looked like an older buck with decent horns. He was looking right at me with his body broadside. At any moment, he could walk off and disappear into the timber. I had to make a quick decision. He appeared to be at least 4 years old. His rack looked to be 24-25" wide, and he had decent mass and was fairly tall. Since he was looking straight at me, I couldn’t make out all his points.
I decided to take a chance. I ranged him using my Sig Sauer 8K ABS, and it indicated my MOA adjustment for the 780-yard shot. There was no wind to worry about, so I made the scope adjustment and went prone. I was on the deer. I checked my bubble level and squeezed off a shot. After the slight recoil, I was back on the spot where the deer was. He was gone. I didn’t see him lying there, and I didn’t hear the bullet impact. Did I miss? I’d made further shots in the past, but a miss at 780 yards was still a possibility. The shot felt good, but not hearing my 210 grain Berger making impact made me doubt my shot. I routinely hear bullet impacts at 600 yards. I thought maybe at 780 yards the bullet just slowed down too much to hear an impact. I recalled shooting a deer at almost 1,000 yards with no sound of an impact. Maybe my 54-year- old ears just couldn’t hear the impact.
I gave it an hour and then glassed for the buck. The Sig Sauer 8K ABS has the ability to range a spot and transfer its location to BaseMap. This was the perfect time to use it. I ranged the spot in the timber where the deer once stood, and it was Bluetoothed to my BaseMap app on my phone. Now I could walk to the location using BaseMap to guide me through the timber.
I started down the steep canyon. Once I arrived at the timber, I allowed BaseMap to guide me. I arrived at the spot indicated by BaseMap, but there was no deer lying there. I looked back up where I had shot from and confirmed I was indeed in the opening in the timber. I looked down the ridge from where the deer had stood, and I saw a deer leg sticking out from the brush. So many emotions came over me. I had made a great shot, and a mature buck was down. The rangefinder worked perfectly.
I walked 40 yards over to the buck. It was a perfect shot as he had dropped and rolled down the hill. I was very happy with this buck. He was a 25" wide 4-pointer and was a mature older deer with good mass and height. I took some photos and boned out the deer for the pack out.
I made it back to camp that night, and the snow rolled in. I drove home the next day. I have shot bigger bucks, but based on conditions, I was happy with this one. I’m looking forward to next year’s deer season.
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