ShadowCamo Story: Finally… The Big One

ShadowCamo story
Finally…the big one

By Nate Jacobson

As I think back about my first years with a bow, I reflect on those fun days with my Bear recurve and my dad’s old, woodshafted arrows with Bear razor points. I practiced hours on end with that bow. My brothers, James and Russ, would throw boxes in the air or across the ground like a bird or moving animal and I would shoot at them. I remember thinking, as a young cocky boy, that I was a pretty dang good shot. Boy, I sure was naïve! I never would have guessed how difficult it would be for me to kill that big muley of my dreams with a bow. I had no idea how many blown stalks or missed shots were in store for me over the next twenty years. However, one thing I can say for sure is that I have enjoyed all the hunts that have led up to this one.

I killed my first buck with a bow when I was about eighteen years old. It was a nice, respectable buck, but I decided from that hunt forward that if I was going to kill a monster, I had to pass on everything else.

I started getting to know remote areas that held big deer. It seemed that finding big deer wasn’t the problem, but getting within 35 yards from them for a shot was becoming a challenge. When I actually did get into range for the shot, it seemed extremely hard for me to keep everything together. And when I found a group of deer and decided which one I wanted out of the group, it appeared that the others knew they were safe, but the one I wanted always stayed out of range. One hunt, in particular, stands out in my mind for this very reason. While hunting high country bucks in southeastern Utah, my brother-in-law, Ron Kirk, and I were pursuing a giant typical muley. One morning while hunting this buck, I spotted him coming up the ravine towards me. With great anticipation, I sat there waiting for my shot, and wait I did! For some reason, this big mule deer got one up on Houdini for disappearing! All the other bucks filed by, but the big one was nowhere to be found. Later on that same hunt, a local friend of ours killed the buck which ended up scoring 185 5/8-inches net typical. I have had many incredible encounters with big deer over the years. I feel very lucky to have been so close to these animals, even though I never killed a big one. I put in my time and energy – uncountable days of scouting and getting up at 3:00 a.m. to hike tall, Utah peaks with my good friend Cody Powell. I put so much effort into get the job done just to end up being one second too late or ten yards too far to shoot.

These many years of preparation bring me to my great Canada adventure. For years, I have been filming various hunts in Canada. Always in the back of my mind, I would think about someday hunting there. Most of the areas I filmed didn’t seem to hold very good deer. I started contacting people on the phone and, after many conversations and plane rides, I learned about some areas that held good deer. I was able to get some great footage of big deer and was very excited about the prospect of hunting the area myself. In late summer of 2004,

I spent about two weeks in Canada filming with help from Bear Paw Outfitter owners Scott Taylor and Bowen Dolhan, and their guides. We all became good friends. Scott was gracious enough to allow me to return the following year to hunt for myself with my bow. Between filming and hunting, I spent a full month that year in Canada. Many thanks to Scott for his hospitality and for Smoky’s great cooking. I had opportunities for some great deer, as the footage will show in my upcoming videos Burly Bucks, Volume 2 and Volume 3.

In the days prior to opening day, my guide, Chris Gilbert, and I found a monster we named “TNT.” Once the season began, Chris and I enjoyed hunting these huge velvet deer and passed on some big ones because I was after TNT. As always, TNT knew just how to evade me. We were able to find him four days of my ten-day bow hunt. TNT liked to spend his time in a remote area in a canola field. Canola is the plant from which canola oil is made. Deer love to live in the f i v e - foot tall, thick canola fields and eat the canola because it has a high concentration of protein. The day we found TNT, we were glassing through these hills of canola, and I saw some velvet tips sticking out of the crop. When TNT turned his head sideways, we both about had a heart attack when we saw all of his points coming straight up out of his head - hence the name “TNT,” because his points just seemed to explode out of his head. I remember getting some decent footage of him that day and being so pumped. But, the canola is noisy to stalk through and getting close enough for a shot was difficult. The question soon became, “How am I ever going to kill this deer if he never leaves the canola?”

In the pursuit of this 215- inch monster, I saw, on occasion, a big buck in the same area who I dubbed “The Railroad Buck.” He had 40+ inches of mass and scored in the 190-class. During those days when I couldn’t find TNT, I would hunt Railroad, but he seemed even smarter and more elusive than TNT. As the bowhunt ended, I found myself going home emptyhanded but with no regrets. After seeing so many great deer that I passed on, I felt my hunt was a success in a way. My friend, Jim Giles, had come and filmed my bowhunt for me, and he has always wanted to kill a big mule deer for himself. I lined Jim and his friend, Bryant Wilson, up with rifle tags for this same area that fall. I was also able to reserve Chris and Ryan’s help as guides, thanks to Bear Paw Outfitters. I was able to film Jim shoot TNT with his rifle. TNT ended up scoring an amazing 215 inches. Way to go, Jim! Before I knew it, it was 2006. I contacted Bear Paw and wasn’t able to line up a bow tag. I w a s pretty b u m m e d about not being able to hunt this year, but still planned to make my annual filming trip in late summer. At the last minute, I came in contact with Mike Dziengielewski, the owner of Birch Creek Outfitters. Mike said that he had an extra bow tag available from a client that had cancelled. In Canada, you are required to have a guide, so I contacted my good friend Ryan Jones who guided for Birch Creek Outfitters and the hunt was back on!

As my hunt approached, I decided to do a road trip with my family and drive up through British Columbia and the Canadian Rockies to my hunt area. We had an incredible ride ahead and would be looking at some of the most amazing country in the world. So, with my pregnant wife and our two boys by my side, we started our unforgettable seventeen-day, 5,000 mile journey, not knowing how sweet the ending would be. As usual, my great friends Chris, Ryan and Jay were excited to go hunting. We all love to hunt with our bows. There were three big bucks that we would pursue during this hunt. After days of hunting, I started having some close calls with Railroad. Railroad had grown to surpass the 200-inch mark this year, but as luck would have it, he always seemed to be one step ahead of me. Between tree stands, ground blinds and spot-and-stalks, getting eaten alive by mosquitoes, sneaking past big bears, getting up at 4:00 a.m. to be in position by first light, and about slicing my index finger off with my broadhead, I was starting to wonder if any of this would pay off. Railroad was the buck I wanted and I prayed for a chance at him.

Toward the last few days of the hunt, Lady Luck would shine as I snuck along the thick tree line trying to ambush Railroad. I remember that there was a light rain in the air, and I began to realize that things were actually coming together. Within minutes, I was at full draw with Railroad at 40 yards. As I released the arrow, I heard that beautiful sound as it passed through his lungs. Soon, I was finally standing above my dream deer. With tears in my eyes, I remember having a conversation with this 205-inch, 375-pound, giant velvet buck with 44-inches of mass. The memories of all the years of pursuing a big archery deer came to mind and I knew how blessed I really was.

I want to thank all that helped through the years in my pursuit of killing a monster deer with a bow and especially for this hunt - Chris Gilbert, Ryan Jones, Jay Becker, and Mike with Birch Creek Outfitters for this tag. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without you. For hunters interested in a big mule deer or whitetail, I recommend giving Mike a call. He runs a great operation. Most of all, I want to thank my wife for being so incredible, and my kids for going on this journey with me. Hope to see you on the hill!

Tags: HI31, Nate Jacobson

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