Second Time Done Right

By: Glenn Thompson 

Having drawn a great Nevada Muzzleloader Mule Deer Tag in 2004, I wanted to make sure I ‘done it right’ and hired an out of state guide who was to have known trophy mule deer and the area. Little did I know that I was to be his scout for his high profile  clients coming in later that year.  After 5 days, we parted ways and he went on to some other state to scout.   I elected to hunt on my own and ended up taking  a decent 4×5 on the 11th day.   I could only wonder what might  have been if I had just had the right outfitter.

Well, in 2007, as I was putting in for my hunt drawings for Nevada, I thought what the heck…I might as well try and draw it again on a long shot. Nevada tags are hard enough to draw, but for Mule Deer there is no waiting period after you draw a tag like with the other species.  So I put in for the best archery elk tag having 11 preference points, all of the sheep, antelope and the deer. When the results we posted I was surprised to see that I had drawn one of two non-resident archery elk tags, but even more surprised to see that I drew one of the two non-resident deer tags again!

Next, I was on the phone to Muley Crazy asking Ryan what might be my best options being the units over lapped each other as well as the seasons. Wanting to do this right this time, I elected to book both of my hunts with Shawn Lytle of White Rock Outfitters.  Shawn and all of his guides live in the area year round and scout 24/7/365!  I started out with my elk hunt, and on the 6th day took a nice 6×6 that grossed out at 350 P&Y.  It was aged at 13 years old by the State and I had a great hunt even though it was really hot.

I was impressed with Shawn’s operation and was looking forward to a great deer hunt, so I packed up and headed for deer camp. Having already met my guide one night at elk camp, we were locked and loaded and ready to hit it hard. Robert (Ruben) Rowe was my guide and he and his family had been living in the area for generations.   Plus his real job of working for the BLM  lets him get to see a lot of the country and know where the bucks like to hang out.

The first evening we hiked out to glass some of the big draws that lead to some agriculture fields a mile or so away.  I saw deer right away, and by the end of the night I had spotted more bucks then I had seen the whole hunt 3 years ago with the other outfitter.  Ruben saw a nice droptine buck in the area when he had scouted earlier, but he didn’t show up.

On our second morning we spotted a great buck making his way up a ridge away from us.  Regrettably, by the time we were set up he had made his way out of range of my open sighted Knight .52 Caliber Extreme Muzzleloader. We pursued him and found him bedded up, out in the open of a desert ridge, under a cedar tree with no way to get a stalk on him.  I guess that is why he is a big buck.

It was the hottest time on record for the month of September….ever!  That limited us to a few hours in the morning and a few in the evenings. We spotted a few other nice bucks over the next few days, but nothing that we were looking for. So the fifth morning we were up and at it an hour earlier as I had spotted a good buck the night before that we wanted to get a better look at.   We hiked up to where I last saw him, but saw nothing.

Robert thought that they might have bedded up on the shady side of the mountain being it was so hot that early in the morning.  We made our way around to the shady side and Robert spotted a good buck bedded not 200 yards away.  The brute was looking downhill guarding his position.

Luckily I had spent an extra night in St. George, UT so that I could replace a set of Crooked Horn Sneakers for the hunt.  I had given my first pair to one of my friends that I was on an elk hunt with in New Mexico.  He was so impressed that he wouldn’t give them back to me!  I was waiting at the door when Sportsman’s Warehouse opened.  It would prove to be a great move!

Back on the hunt, I put on my Crooked Horn sneakers and got ready to make the last part of the stalk in stealth mode. My objective, getting to a distance comfortable for an open sight shot.  After a cautious approach, I got to my spot and had the buck broadside lying in his bed at 140 yards. I settled in and put the front bead right on him…where I wanted to hit, and made a soft squeeze on the trigger.  The next thing was a large cloud of smoke in the air and the sound of a 375 grain Barnes bullet making a whop sound.  I saw the buck get up and hurried to reload as Robert kept his eye on the buck.  He shouted to me to take my time, as the buck staggered only 40 yards and was doing the ‘Curly Shuffle’ right before he went down.

After a few high fives and hand shakes, we made our way over the the buck.  As we approached, he got bigger with each step, no ground shrinkage here. He was a great 4×4 with eye guards. Deep forks on both the front and back with matching tear drop 3 ½” eye guards. He had a 29 ½” inside spread and almost no deductions, officailly scoring 189 6/8 B&C just 2/8 from making the alltime B&C book. He for sure made the Longhunters book and the annual book for B&C, but most of all he made my book.    I don’t know if I have ever saw a more symmetrical buck before, he was perfect on both sides and had such deep forks, just a beautiful deer.

It was the end of a great two weeks with White Rock Outfitters and I had taken two great animals.  They were both fun hunts, and so were the people that I shared the camaraderie with.  That makes the hunt complete, knowing that you enjoyed the hunt in its entirety and going home having made new friends.  Shawn and his staff do it right and have great camps.  Plus they put in their boot time scouting to make sure your hunt is a successful one.  Yes I will be putting in for the tag again this year. As they say, “the third time is a charm”!

Glenn is a full time booking agent and has a great whitetail operation in  Iowa.  You can contact Glenn at 1-800-228-0531 or at:
North American Outdoor Adventures
5858 SE FRANKLIN PLACE
HOBE SOUND, FL 33455

Office 1-800-228-0531
Cell 320-267-4868

Filed under: deer hunting by HeavyD