Huntin’ With a Front Stuffer

Huntin’ with a Front Suffer

My short-range quest for a monster mule deer
by Steve Alderman

It is January 3rd, 2007. As I make my way through the federal check station, I realize that a dream of mine is finally coming true. Any trophy mule deer hunter knows that Sonora, Mexico is a hot spot for trophy mule deer, but this muzzleloading story starts twenty years prior in rural Idaho.

It was November 1987, and I was headed out for a muzzleloader deer hunt with a friend of mine. I didn’t even own a smoke pole at the time, so Jim Kast took me into his bedroom, pulled out his old Hawken rifle and gave me the lowdown on how muzzleloaders work. For the next couple of years, Jim was kind enough to loan me his gun and every year I was able to tag out with a nice four-point muley. Back in the late eighties, it was not uncommon to see a thousand deer a day on our hunt, with mature bucks tending to every herd.

Deer hunting was at its prime over the next few years when, out of nowhere, deer hunting in Idaho took a turn for the worse. The devastating winter of 1992-93 took it toll on the deer herds. Deer were lying dead in the fields instead of our freezers. The deer couldn’t come back from a kill off like that without a little help. So, in 1995, I joined the Deer Hunters of Idaho where I was thrown into the vice president position. My passion for mule deer and my desire to help them recover put me on a roller coaster for the next couple of years. On a personal level, I committed to trophy hunting only as this would allow young deer to make it though to the next year and strengthen the herds. For the next four years I would go home with tag soup.

In 1999, now as the president of Deer Hunters of Idaho, I was finally rewarded for all of my hard work for Idaho’s deer. I was starting to see an increase in the number of deer in the field. For the last five years, I had been reading everything I could get my hands on about mule deer including biology, conservation, ecology and even hunting stories. I was absorbing as much information as I could and studying anything that would make me a better hunter and conservationist.

I had bought a new front stuffer and was eager to get hunting. One night on the way to a friend’s house, I saw a mature buck in my headlights headed to an alfalfa field. For the next two weeks I made this buck my quarry until I finally got a break as I noticed some does heading to their bedding area. In the middle of the herd was the most awesome four-point I had ever laid eyes on. Forty-five minutes later, I was belly crawling into position. I watched the buck for the next ten minutes as he tended to his does before splitting off and heading right towards me. Fifteen minutes later, I was standing over the biggest deer I had ever had the opportunity to harvest. He was a 188-gross mule deer with spectacular mass at over 21 inches per side. I then vowed to be a short range weapons trophy hunter for life. There was no better feeling than stalking within 100 yards of a mature buck, on the turf that he had called home for over six years. This deer had every advantage, whereas, I had luck on my side.

A good friend of mine once told me a quote from Luscious Senaka - “Luck is when preparation and opportunity meet.” I had put luck on my side with all the research and studying I had done over the last five years.

During the next seven years, I would continue my research, volunteering and good deeds for Idaho’s deer herds. During that time I took over the local chapter of the Mule Deer Foundation to help raise money and educate people on the plight of mule deer. Those seven years put some great bucks on the wall. Four of those bucks were in the upper 180’s to low 190’s - not too bad for a “know it all” and his muzzleloader. However, the 200-inch mark had eluded me so far in my journey.

During all those years of research, I learned where all the hot spots for mule deer are. It seemed to me that Old Mexico had been producing some of the greatest bucks of this last decade. So, I made up my mind that some day, God willing and with blessings from my wife, that I would hunt Sonora, Mexico. My time came in the spring of 2006 when a good friend, Dennis Palisch, called to invite me to Mexico to hunt the monarchs of the desert.

All of this, my history with mule deer, didn’t really sink in until I was checking in my Markesbery muzzleloader with the Mexican federales on January 3rd, 2007.

Hunting mule deer in thick, nasty, tangled ironwood and cactus is more suited for a high-racked vehicle and a long-range shooting rifle. With all of the vegetation, it was easy to get turned around and lose sight of the quarry, but it also helped with the stalking of game once it was spotted.

On the first cool, crisp, morning of the hunt we spotted a group of deer from a vantage point about 1200 yards away from where they were feeding and carrying on. The date was January 5th and the pre-rut was in full swing. We snuck through the cholla cactus and ironwood to within 150 yards of a buck that scored around the 180-inch mark. He was an excellent deer, just not the buck I drove 1500 miles to shoot. We watched the buck carry on for over fifteen minutes before the herd started to move off to their bedding area. It was then that a monster buck appeared from around an ironwood from off to our left. I knew instantly that this was the buck I came to Mexico to harvest. I soon found myself in a stare down with one of the monarchs of Mexico. It seemed like it lasted for over twenty minutes but, realistically, it was more like three minutes before the buck turned to follow his harem. The sound of my front stuffer broke the morning silence as I squeezed the trigger. After moving around the smoky haze, I could see my Mexican buck lying on the ground a mere 180 yards away. My emotions started to take over and I began to get choked up as I approached this spectacular buck. For over ten years I had been pursuing monster mule deer and, finally, my dream buck was a reality.

I feel very fortunate to have harvested such an awesome trophy. I know how many people travel down to Mexico and never even see a shooter buck, let alone get close enough to harvest one with a muzzleloader.

My desert mule deer ended up being 30 inches wide, with seven points on his left side and six on his right. With a typical rack of 198 4/8 SCI, my buck is the new world record desert mule deer with a muzzleloader. It broke the old record by over 25 inches, which tells me a few things. It’s tough to hunt Mexican mulies with a smoke pole and, perhaps more likely, more people need to bite the bullet, put away their rifles and hunt with muzzleloaders. You can hunt Mexico with front stuffers and trust me, it is much more satisfying to shoot a trophy of a lifetime with a short range weapon than it is with a high-powered rifle. If you love fair chase hunting, then you will really love fair chase hunting with muzzleloaders.

Two days later, I was out hunting for Coues deer. I actually went to Mexico assuming that I would come home empty-handed when it came to a Coues. I had heard all the stories of the gray ghost of the desert and the long shots that are needed to anchor one to the ground. What were the odds of me getting close enough to shoot one with a muzzleloader? Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I could stalk the gray ghost and I had a number of Coues within range of my slug. Finally, on the fourth day of my hunt, I got within a 100 yards of a buck I considered a shooter. After minutes of waiting, the buck finally made its way to a clearing where I could get a shot. At 105 yards, my muzzy barked, and the buck jumped and went five yards before falling to the ground. My Coues was a beautiful 5×5 with matching kickers on both sides. He ended up scoring 106 4/8 SCI making it the largest non-typical to fall to a muzzleloader.

What a dream hunt come true! To actually be fortunate enough to travel to Mexico, have the opportunity to hunt two of the most sought after big game animals in North America and to be able to hunt with the weapon of choice, my trusty front stuffer. Harvesting two new SCI world records, now that was a surprise of a lifetime. Regardless of these two trophies, this will be a hunt that I will cherish for the rest of my life, just like all of the ones prior to it. Thanks to Jim Kast for loaning me that old Hawken rifle (with the bent front sight) as a kid, my dad for introducing me to hunting, Dennis Palisch and friends for letting me share this awesome experience with them in the land of thorns, beautiful sunsets, and, most importantly, the deer of all our dreams. I can’t forget my wonderful family, my wife Amy, and her patience with my crazy addiction and, last but not least, my son Bennett - one day we will be creating memories just like this one, together in mule deer country.

Editors note: Check out this hunt and many more like it on Steve’s television show, Behind the Rack. It can be seen online at behindtherack.com. Check your local listing, dish or cable provider for more information.

Xtended Info:

Hunter: Steve Alderman • Location: Sonora, Mexico • Area: Private land • Guide: Self • Date: January 5, 2006 • Days scouted: 1 • Days hunted: 6 • Weather: Clear to partly cloudy • Temperature: 35-75of • Moon: 97% waning gibbous • Terrain: Very thick with small openings (lots of cactus) • Camouflage: King’s Desert Shadow • Gun: Markesbery Brown Bear • Caliber: .50 caliber inline • Bullets: 348 grain Powerbelt lead conical • Powder: Hodgdon triple seven ffg 105 grains • Spotting scope: Swarovski 20-60×65 • Binoculars: Swarovski 10×42 EL • Range finder: Swarovski Laser Guide 8×30 • Footwear: Danner Grouse • Pack: Eberlesock J 104

Tags: HI32, Steve alderman

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