The mountain I shot my buck on had many up and comer bucks last year that I had left to grow because of the low pressure in this area. I was pretty excited about a particular buck I thought to be young and thought he could end up being a target buck this year. The tree my camera was on had also fell during the winter so this was the first camera I was going up to in 2024.
On May 18, I cut out the road to the trailhead and hiked a 7 mile loop and dropped off 50lbs of salt. I had brought up 90lbs the year prior but wanted to freshen up the salt in case I didnt make it back for a couple years. There was a lot of sign there already and a few sets of tracks from what to thought to be a mature buck.
On May 20, I got my first pictures of him. I knew it was early, but he was quite a bit bigger than the other bucks I had on camera at this point. (Pics included below)
The next month or so I scouted out a bunch more new areas and tried to cover as much ground as possible. My buddies and I packed salt to 15 different cameras just looking for something special. I ended up finding some great bucks and thinking I would end up hunting them.
June came and went I had him come in 2x. My camera had gotten pushed to the side by a bear, so the pictures were of him going to and leaving the salt. I knew at this point he was going to have some kickers and I thought the kickers off his main could possibly be a double beam. However, due to his inconsistency and living in a tough area to hunt, I really didnt think too much about making him my target buck yet.
July came and I didnt get much time in the woods. Between school, work, and other family gatherings, my time was pretty limited. However, I did get a quick morning hike in to fix the camera the bear had swatted. And on July 27, it paid off big! He came in that evening and night off and on along with some does and other bucks. He was definitely running the show and didnt allow the other deer to be at the salt while he was there. (Pictures included below)
After seeing what that buck had grown into, I decided he was my target buck. I couldnt get over his unique rack and started trying to figure out how this buck was living. I was only getting him coming to the salt about once a month. I thought maybe he lived on a neighboring ridge and just meandered over every once of a while. So, I got some more cameras ready to go, and started hiking. I set up 50lbs of salt and cell cams on both of the neighboring ridges and set up 6 more cameras on the mountain I had him on. I wanted to figure out where his core area was, because I didnt believe I was already in it.
I did see a few of the bucks from my camera in August while scouting and checking the cameras I had set, but I never saw him or had him on the other cameras. I got some advice over the phone from some guys and they encouraged me to focus on the ridge I knew he was on and find him there. So, after the next rain, I hiked up and covered a ton of ground. I found 3 moose paddles and the deadhead from a buck I had on cam. After finding the deadhead, I wondered if maybe my buck had been pushed out or killed as well.
As September came, I had a big decision to make. Hunt a few bucks in the 160ish range that I knew pretty well, or hunt a 185-190 buck that I knew nothing about and didnt know if he was alive. I decided to hunt the big buck and use that time to hunt and scout. I once again covered a bunch of ground and set up a few more cameras. I also checked the non cellular cameras again and found a few bucks had used the trails I put them on, but not him. After not finding him in early archery, I had to go back to school and hope to find him in Muzzleloader or Rifle. (I was lucky enough to get the multi-season tag this year). I did get him on the salt one time in September while I was at a wedding. The confirmation that he was still there and his dark horns motivated me to get back out there and hit it hard again.
I only got one free day in muzzleloader season to get up to where he was living. I still hunted much of the north and west side hoping maybe I could find him in the nasty areas where I hadnt looked hard enough yet. I didnt find him but did learn more about how the deer were using the north side and found much more bedding. Ill include some pictures of a doe I got to 35yds on and let you guys spot her.
Now it was rifle season, my last chance to get him. I went up with my uncle on opening day to hunt him and check the non cellular cameras. He walked up the center of what we thought to be the main feeding area while I walked by the salt and just off the north side towards the feeding area. Late morning, he jumped a mature buck. But due to the visibility being so bad, never got to see just what it was. We ended up hunting our way back to each other and met up. I found a fresh rub line and bed cluster with a good size track near it. We sat down, ate some snacks and decided what to do next. Being on the cautious side, we packed yo camped and backed out. We moved over to a different area and hunted a few of our backup bucks. On the last Sunday of season my uncle and I spotted a couple bucks feeding along a well known ridge. I had school on the next day, but he went up and knocked down a great mature buck. Ill include pictures below. This buck had a huge body and was 27 tip to tip on its ears!
I just so happened to have the last day of season off from school so I made the drive up and my buddy and I hunted my buck one last time. I decided to go still hunt the timber between my salt and the rub line I had found while my buddy made the hike I had on the previous time in. I was planning on hiking to the camera I had on the bed by the rub line and checking it. And then going along the ridge until I checked most of the cams. I told my buddy that the only thing I was shooting was a predator or that buck. Nothing else would do.
Once I got up to my salt, I walked the crown of the ridge for about 100 yds before I hit some thicker timber and couldnt see much further than 15yds. I tried being as silent as I could but its difficult in the dry ground with all of the deadfall and sticks. The rub line was just in the other side of this thicket and I knew once I stepped out I would be able to see around 40yds. The end of the thicket had a group of 6-12 trees that I think may have saved me. I got the near the edge of them where I could see into the little clearing and saw the body of a buck. I pulled my scope up and saw it was a mature grey body but couldnt see from the neck up. I froze and analyzed the branches above his neck. I could see a tall G2 and G3 on his right side, but nothing more. I had stared at his antlers for much longer than I would like to admit on my phone dreaming to see them in person. And at this second, it paid off to know what buck was staring directly at me through the trees, just 32yds away. I immediately put my crosshairs on the high shoulder (any lower wouldve been shooting through brush) and jerked my trigger. The buck dropped and I scrambled to get another round in the chamber. My gun jammed but I quickly got another round ready to go as I cut distance between be and the buck. Once I got to 10 yards I could see he was still breathing and I didnt want him to get away. In high school, I wounded a great whitetail that dropped when I shot him and got back up. Hit him right between the lungs and spine and never got back on him. So, after that experience I took no chances. I put one one more in his neck and he expired.
Countless hours and miles had finally paid off. I fell to my knees in disbelief and thanked God. I was shocked, one second, I was walking through a familiar spot I had been many times and just seconds later, I had killed my dream buck. It was almost surreal killing a deer that seemed to only exist on my phone. Waylon was only 400yds around the ridge when I called him and he ran over to me. As you would expect, we were completely jacked and having the time of our lives. After all the excitement settled down, I went and grabbed a camera that was only 50yds away and found a fresh rub from that morning. I thought it was pretty amazing that he had made another rub in the same spot he had over a month before.
After a few phone calls and a bunch of pictures, we caped and quartered the grey ghost and got him on our packs. I sent the teeth in to get aged and will update anyone if they would like. Buck rough scores right at 190, had a 25 ear spread and 9 ears. (I like to keep references of that for field judging purposes). What would you guys guess to be the age? Im curious because I have my ideas, but Ive heard lots of differences of opinion so far and am curious how the general census compares to the actual lab age I will get back in February.
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