My first western hunt. Public land mulies!!

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flinginairos
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My first western hunt. Public land mulies!!

Unread postby flinginairos » Tue Sep 25, 2018 1:00 am

WARNING. Long story ahead. Feel free to skip and look at pics if you want :lol:

Wow. Where do I even begin on this hunt? It all started with the idea between three buddies to hunt mulies in Wyoming. No idea why we decided on Wyo but when I was asked if I wanted to do it I quickly answered YES! We started getting preference points in hopes of drawing a good unit one day. Fast forward six years and we had accumulated some points but no idea where to go. The idea of a high country hunt had always appealed to me and we started looking into Region G. We really had no gear and no plan so we started getting some stuff together and started training for the demands a hunt like this can dish out. Time slipped away from us and we found ourselves with 8 points going into the draw. We figured now or never it was time to apply! I wasn’t sure if we would draw or not but I ramped up my training, packing weight up and down hills as many times as possible several times a week. My backpacking gear was dialed in and I felt pretty good about the hunt. When the draw came out and I saw the words “successful” it began to get real! I hit the training even harder and so did my buddies. We tweaked and swapped gear and started pouring over maps trying to find some spots to hunt.

Finally after years of waiting it was time to roll out and head West for our first western hunt, first backpack hunt and first time ever chasing mulies.

We had the truck packed and on the road by 12pm Wednesday and drove straight through without issue.
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We arrived in Wyoming right at daylight Thursday and I couldn’t help but stare off into the sage brush looking for critters. Tons and tons of antelope and even a moose as we got closer to our area.
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Finally, in the distance we could see the Wind River range on the right and the Wyoming range on the left. The closer we got the more surreal it seemed. We got close to the trailhead we had picked and couldn’t help but stop and take several pics along the way. Just absolutely beautiful!
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We arrived to the trailhead and saw a couple trucks but nothing bad. We had planned to camp at the trailhead to acclimate to the higher alititude but within 20 minutes we were hiking up the mountain! Lol. We quickly realized we had better find a place to camp and take it easy and not overdue it the first night. We made it half way up and found a nice flat bench on the side of the mountain to set the SeekOutside LBO up.
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As dark approached a bull ripped a bugle somewhere on the mountainside. This is what it’s all about!

At daylight we were up and hiking with plans to get to the top and start glassing for some bucks. We made the steep climb and the training definitely helped, but we all ran out of air pretty quick!

Once we hit the top we found a great place to camp and headed out to hopefully find water and some bucks to go after on the opener!
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It was early afternoon and hot and dry. We hiked out to the water hole I had marked on the map only to find it was extremely muddy. We glassed a little bit and didn’t see anything so we headed black to camp for a bit.

About 4:00pm we headed black to glass and try to figure out the water situation. As we crested a steep ridge I looked up into a rocky chute and spotted a STUD buck standing 500 yards away! He was just feeding with no clue we were there. As we watched him my buddy looked down and noticed an elk track full of water! A seep right on the side of the mountain was flowing with just enough water to pump our bags full after digging a hole out with a small rock as a shovel and our bare hands. Perfect! Water and a big buck to go after!
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Two other smaller bucks joined the big one and we decided to sneak out and glass another area close to camp. Within ten minutes I had spotted another shooter buck! A solid 4x4 with a dark rack.
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Confidence was high for the opener and we drew sticks to see who would go after the big boy. Josh drew the winner so I decided to hunt the buck close to camp while his brother Jeremy went with him to help glass.
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Daylight broke on the first day and I was sitting below camp glassing the steep hillside for bucks. I didn’t see anything for the first hour but it wasn’t long when I saw two racks in the small pines headed toward a bigger strip of pines. It was a nice and tall 3x4 and a young 4x4.

I had him broadside at 475 but the wind was just ripping down the canyon. I decided i was going to circle downwind and try to get close on the bucks for a shot. I slowly crept through the timber and got within 200 yards but no sign of the bucks. I pushed on. I got within 80 yards of the timber patch and finally caught a glimpse of them. They entered the pines but I lost sight of them. I inched my way forward hoping to catch them bedded. At 60 yards the 3x4 jumped up and stopped broadside. Instinct kicked in and I shouldered my rifle and fired, hitting him right in the shoulder! He buckled and came crashing right toward me in a cloud of dust! He flipped and landed not 20 yards from me. My first mulie down!!
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The first thing I noticed is how big these deer really are. Much bigger than the white tails in WV.
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I sent an Inreach message to the boys and snapped a few pics. Turns out Josh had seen the big one but he slipped away without a shot

We got the buck quartered and caped and loaded into the packs. I had half the meat, head and cape in my Kifaru Reckoning and it was heavy but I couldn’t be more excited to finally pack my first mulie out of the mountains. Josh and I packed my buck out while Jeremy went back out to hunt for the afternoon.
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As we were headed back to the trailhead I got a message from Jeremy that said “BBD! It’s going to be a late night”. We were pumped that he got one but also exhausted and had another buck to pack! Lol. We made the several mile hike back to the top and met up work Jeremy and he had killed the buck we spotted the first day. A 175” stud. Just a beautiful buck! We got him taken care of and packed him back to camp. We finally got to bed at 1am. It was a long, hard but freakin AWESOME day of hunting!
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Sunday Jeremy and I caped his buck out and packed it off the hill while Josh hunted.
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After getting the buck to the processor we started back toward the trailhead and I noticed a cloud of smoke coming over the mountain exactly where camp was. I was a little concerned but couldn’t find any info on any recent fires online. I lost cell service and tried Inreaching Josh with no reply. I messaged my wife to call the FS and ask about any new fires but she couldn’t get through to anyone. We got to the trailhead and the smoke is definitely close and choppers circling. Not good! Jeremy and I start running up the mountain only to meet Josh completely out of breath. He had run all the way off the top leaving all the gear behind. He said the smoke was so bad up top he could barely see and ashes were landing all around him. I messaged back and forth with my wife and she was able to find out where the fire was. We figured we had some time so we were going to run up the mountain, get our gear and get out.
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That climb was brutal. I had packed two bucks out and was just about out of gas, but we made it up, packed our gear and got out of there.

That night we decided to get a hotel and come up with a new game plan.

The next day we moved to a new area on the backside of the fire and all we found were people and the area had been hit pretty hard with hunters. We knew If we wanted to kill buck #3 we had to get off the beaten path and find some unpressured bucks.
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That plan seemed good, but harder than we thought. You can for sure outhike a lot of people in region G, but you can’t outhike the horses lol.

We hiked into the third area and man, the views were AMAZING but not many deer to be found. We glassed up a decent 4x4 but he was too far to get to and something ended up spooking him.
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We glassed the next day for the entire day looking at a TON of country. I saw two nice bulls and a herd of cows and really enjoyed watching them. No mulies to be found other than a couple does.
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It was time to make a new plan. We figured with the pressure up top the bucks had probably timbered up at lower elevation, so we packed up camped and headed down toward a small finger ridge with no trail access. As soon as we got there Jeremy spotted a huge bodied deer at the top of the hill in a patch of timber and it was a dandy of a buck!! He was in some timber and no shot so we watched him bed up in a patch of timber. We sat there the entire day waiting for him to come out but he never did.

That night we had to hike back to the truck because we were out of food, water and fuel. Our plan was to just sleep in the truck and hike back in the next morning before daylight.

We woke to 20 degree temps and nearly a four mile hike in the dark to get back to where the buck was the night before. Our last morning to get it done.

We made the hike and were setup right at first light and it wasn’t ten minutes and I spotted a big 3x4 at 675 yards straight up. Josh got setup for a shot and we watched through the spotters with hearts thumping, thinking we might actually pull off a triple!

The gun cracked and I watched the bullet go a foot over the bucks shoulder. He wasn’t sure what happened but he wasn’t sticking around to find out either! We were all disappointed. It took several days of hard hiking and glassing to get that shot but we couldn’t help but laugh. That’s hunting, and that’s how it goes sometimes.

In the end we hiked over 60 miles, 11k vertical feet, camped in four different spots, killed two great mulies, dodged a forest fire and saw some truly amazing country. My feet hurt, I’m dirty and tired, but I would turn around and do it all over again tomorrow!
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Some things I learned on this trip...

Wyoming locals are some of the nicest people! We talked to several guys at the trailhead and everyone willingly shared info and even scored Jeremy’s buck for us.

You need more Leuko tape, wet wipes than you think

You need less food and clothes than you think.

The mountains are intimidating when your standing at the bottom, but you CAN climb them.

You can train all you want, but the elevation will take your breath faster than you think. Took me two days to acclimate.

And finally....if three red necks from WV can do a trip like this, so can you!

I can’t wait to go back!


RidgeGhost
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Re: My first western hunt. Public land mulies!!

Unread postby RidgeGhost » Tue Sep 25, 2018 1:09 am

Epic! What an experience :dance:
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Bigburner
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Re: My first western hunt. Public land mulies!!

Unread postby Bigburner » Tue Sep 25, 2018 1:19 am

:clap:
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Jackson Marsh
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Re: My first western hunt. Public land mulies!!

Unread postby Jackson Marsh » Tue Sep 25, 2018 1:31 am

Great looking bucks and great story! :clap: :clap: :clap:

Pictures are outsanding.
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Re: My first western hunt. Public land mulies!!

Unread postby BorealBushMN » Tue Sep 25, 2018 1:38 am

What an awesome experience! Cheers! You did it right!

Thanks for taking the time to write this all up. I love reading these kinds of stories.
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Boo
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Re: My first western hunt. Public land mulies!!

Unread postby Boo » Tue Sep 25, 2018 1:52 am

Awesome story and hunt! Thanks for sharing
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Re: My first western hunt. Public land mulies!!

Unread postby muddy » Tue Sep 25, 2018 1:58 am

Amazing story and great pics to go with it. You can take me next time!
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WV Bowhunter
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Re: My first western hunt. Public land mulies!!

Unread postby WV Bowhunter » Tue Sep 25, 2018 2:04 am

Awesome!! I knew you would be all over them. Congrats a experience you will always remember.
Luck is when preparation meets opportunity!!
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Re: My first western hunt. Public land mulies!!

Unread postby tbunao » Tue Sep 25, 2018 2:06 am

Awesome story! Sounds like you picked the right unit. Congrats
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jwilkstn
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Re: My first western hunt. Public land mulies!!

Unread postby jwilkstn » Tue Sep 25, 2018 2:09 am

What an awesome trip! Congrats on your buck!

I don't know if I have the patience to wait for a good tag like G, but it sure sounds like it might be worth it. I'm only sitting on 2 points for deer.
Not all those who wander are lost...
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jmaas07
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Re: My first western hunt. Public land mulies!!

Unread postby jmaas07 » Tue Sep 25, 2018 2:14 am

Sounds like an amazing trip and experience, awesome bucks too, congrats to you guys
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NYBackcountry
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Re: My first western hunt. Public land mulies!!

Unread postby NYBackcountry » Tue Sep 25, 2018 2:18 am

Great hunt, thanks for the breakdown as well! Congrats on the bucks 8-)
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flinginairos
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Re: My first western hunt. Public land mulies!!

Unread postby flinginairos » Tue Sep 25, 2018 2:24 am

jwilkstn wrote:What an awesome trip! Congrats on your buck!

I don't know if I have the patience to wait for a good tag like G, but it sure sounds like it might be worth it. I'm only sitting on 2 points for deer.


I wouldn't hold out for G. Put in for H. We hunted the border of H and it looked exactly the same and will hold some great deer as well!
matt1336
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Re: My first western hunt. Public land mulies!!

Unread postby matt1336 » Tue Sep 25, 2018 2:25 am

:clap:
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crankn101
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Re: My first western hunt. Public land mulies!!

Unread postby crankn101 » Tue Sep 25, 2018 2:30 am

Nice job, congrats


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