Arledge Buck

Arledge Buck

It was 1997 and Robert Arledge had just wrapped up thirty days of hard scouting. During that time, he had found just one buck that he wanted to pursue once the season began. However, this one buck was something special as he carried a huge rack with a noticeable mass of antler on one side and a very big body. Not only did Robert spot this buck while scouting, he had had the opportunity to watch from a safe distance for a long period of time. During this time, Robert was able to learn that the buck stayed in a general area of less than 100 yards and hung out with twelve other bucks. He would only feed and change beds when all of the other bucks were bedded and maintaining a watchful eye. This was a big old buck that had weathered many seasons and would be tough to get to.

Open morning came with much anticipation. Robert was accompanied on this hunt by his father, Jerome. Robert was taking no chances and was adamant with his dad that no talking was allowed. He was not going to blow this chance at a truly spectacular mule deer. They devised a plan and Robert thought it would be best to travel the eight to nine miles around the mountain to get to a higher elevation than where the buck had been bedding. From there, they would hunt down on the buck. Hiking down the hill to find the exact draw where he had spotted the buck, Robert peeked over the ridge and saw three deer sneaking away from another hunter way down the mountain. Robert’s heart sank as he thought his opportunity was just blown and the buck was already gone. No shots had been fired, so Robert quickly collected himself and speculated that the buck was probably using his escape route. Robert whispered to his dad they they had to get moving…and quick.

As Robert and Jerome packed up, they spotted a cow elk at the bottom of a drainage entering an aspen patch. They could tell she had been running due to her open mouth. The cow disappeared and they continued their hurried pursuit when Robert froze in his tracks and pointed to a cloud of dust. Raising his rifle, he realized that it was a four-point elk running with another cow. Running another thirty paces behind them, Jerome spotted a high two-point buck entering the aspen patch. It was then that he broke he silence with a, “Pssst!” Robert turned back to Jerome as he was pointing down the canyon and whispered, “Buck!” Robert was now in full alert and swung his pack off to help set up for a steady shot. A shot rang out and Jerome was in shock. Did Robert just shoot the wrong buck? Jerome raised his binoculars and saw two bucks trotting away. The second buck stumbled and it was then that Jerome recognized the heavy webbing on the right antler. The big buck was going down! Robert fired two more shots and the buck jumped out of the aspens. Another shot put the buck down. Unbelievably, the buck got back up. It took another two shots to finally bring the bruiser down for good.

Robert’s buck was so big that its body matched the massive rack it carried. The 350-pound deer also had the biggest ears either one of them had ever seen. Later examination proved that all six shots were direct hits. With 100 4/8-inches of abnormal points, this buck scores an amazing 304 3/8 gross and 294 4/8 net B&C. At the time, Robert’s buck was the biggest buck taken in ten years. Unbelievably, the addition of ten more years proves that Robert’s buck is still supreme as it has yet to be surpassed in the record books and is now the largest buck taken in the past twenty years.

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