Oregon Beauty

“You Just Killed The Biggest Deer I Have Ever Seen.”
by Rob McKibbin

It was Friday, the day before opening day, when I called my hunting buddy Dennis to see how soon he could get off of work and go with me to scout some bucks for the next day. Dennis finished up around 1:00 and we headed out east to our hunting area. We got set up and were glassing for bucks by 7:00 p.m. Dennis and I were looking in and around the sage draws that funnel out of some farm fields. We were trying to catch a bachelor herd heading down to feed. About an hour and a half into it, we saw two does and three fawns moving to the fields. Despite the lack of activity, we continued to glass because we saw a couple of very nice mule deer bucks last year in this same area, but did not get an opportunity to harvest one. Sitting patiently, Dennis and I waited until dark. It was then, in the very last light, that we made out the forms of three bucks. However, with the low light, we had a very hard time distinguishing just how big they were. As we got ready for bed, we came up with a game plan for the next morning.

Dennis and I were awake on opening day by 3:00 a.m. We quickly set up on a small hill to watch the fields for the three bucks as the sun rose. When the sun is fully up, the daily high can reach 100-degrees. Obviously, our window of opportunity was short. As morning dawned, we glassed a group of five bucks 500 yards out. The bucks were moving to bed down and wait out the heat of the day. This bachelor group had a spike, a 1×3, a 150-class 4×4, a mid-180 class 4×4 and a very large typical 4×4 in the 200-inch range. Dennis looked at me and said, “That’s the one we want.” Dennis has harvested some very nice trophy deer and can field judge accurately from a distance. The bucks were making their way up the hill and out of the fields. When they got to the edge of the sage, the two smallest bucks turned and headed our way and the three large bucks headed a different direction. It looked as though the big bucks were going to move into the timber to bed down. Dennis and I made the decision to move around the bucks, get ahead of them to set up, and try to intercept them in the timber.

Dennis and I made a large loop and set up about 500 yards inside the timber where we thought the bucks would come through to bed down. We were on high alert and sat patiently for about an hour, but there were no bucks to be seen. We got up and brainstormed ideas of where the bucks could have gone. As we talked, we decided to still hunt very slowly back to where we had seen them last. Hopefully, we would be able to find them or where they were bedded. We began taking a step and then glassing for about five minutes through binoculars as to be sure not to bump them out of their beds - it was imperative to see them before they saw us. Dennis and I started moving out slowly and, for the next 45 minutes, we saw nothing.

Finally, we spotted a large set of antlers sticking up above the brush a good 200 yards out. The buck was bedded down on the other side of some brush and all we could see were his large, velvet-covered antlers. After looking at the depth of his forks and his 30-inch plus spread, we both agreed that this buck was the one we were after. Dennis and I set up and tried to spot the other two bucks. We did not want to get busted by one of the other bucks that were with this large buck. After looking for another ten minutes, we found the other two bucks. They were bedded down about 30 yards farther out and looking away from us. Dennis told me to go ahead and make a stalk over to the large buck and try to get an arrow in him.

With the wind in my face, I got a reference to where the buck was in case I lost him during the stalk. I took my boots off and proceeded to move in. It was a clear day and the wind was blowing hard enough to hide some of my sound and movement. Timing my movement with the wind gusts, I was able to close the 200-yard gap down to approximately 50 yards in an hour. Both of the smaller bucks, which I had made sure to keep out of sight, were still bedded down and looking away. I now had to move to be able to get a clear shot. When you’re 50 yards from a 200-class buck, it’s hard to make a step. With every gust of wind, I would slide my feet six inches or so. Finally, I got to where I could see the buck’s vitals and I was within shooting range at 36 yards. Unfortunately, the buck was looking my way and I had to wait for him to look away. I waited for what seemed like an hour but was probably only about two minutes. The buck looked away to check out something and I drew my Hoyt Ultratec and put a Thunderhead right into his armpit. The buck jumped up, ran about 60 yards, stumbled, and fell over dead. Not knowing if he was down for good, I snuck back to Dennis who had watched it all in his binoculars. Dennis’ first comment was, “You just killed the biggest deer I have ever seen.” We sat there for another thirty minutes to make sure he was down for good before we approached him. While Dennis hiked back to the truck to get the camera, I thanked the good Lord for this magnificent buck.

The big velvet buck was officially scored after the sixty-day drying period and, for a couple of days, was the new Oregon State Record. The buck scores 202 5/8 gross and 192 4/8 net P&Y.

Tags: 2007, archery, HI34, mule deer, oregon, velvet

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