POLL: What makes you trigger happy?

buckhorn · Apr 3, 2020

buckhorn said:
Here’s a Nevada buck I killed back in my younger days. He’s got some pretty good mass and good thing he does. Check out the right antler base where my 300 WinMag hit him.View attachment 4412 View attachment 4413

Since a lot of us are at home now with some extra time on our hands I will tell a bit of the story on this one.
I was hunting with a partner that was along to help me.
We had ridden our ATVs into some pretty remote country on a really old washed out jeep trail that had basically turned into a cow trail. We went for a long hike and did a bunch of glassing but after not seeing much we decided to head back to the bikes and go check out another area. My friend was riding his quad and I was riding my Yamaha big wheel motorcycle. That thing was hard to ride on rocky ground so I really had to pay attention to the trail. My partner was riding ahead of me. We hadn’t gone very far when I heard him yelling something so I looked up and this buck was trotting across in front of us about 75 yards away. We jumped off the bikes and my partner was saying Shoot him! Shoot him!
The buck looked pretty good to me so I jacked in a round and started looking for a place to rest my gun for a shot. By then the buck had stopped on a little ridge about 150 yards away and was looking at us. I could tell he was getting ready to take off because he turned his head to look where he wanted to go then he turned to take a look back at us. I knew I had to hurry and the only thing I had to rest my gun on was my motorcycle handlebars. I got him in the scope and pulled the trigger. I saw something fly off him at the impact of the bullet but didn’t realize what it was at the time. He dropped like a rock and looked like he was stone dead. When we walked up to him we could tell he was still alive but wasn’t really moving. I could see where the bullet had hit the base of the antler and it had knocked the hide loose all the way around the pedicle. The buck apparently had been knocked out cold but by then he was starting to come too. He started blinking his eyes and shaking his head and trying to move his legs so I had to give him a finish shot.
We had to be really careful moving him around and loading him on the quad because I was afraid that antler was going to break all the way off where the bullet had hit.
I later repaired the bullet hole and his antlers are now in one of my chandeliers.

littlebighorn · Apr 4, 2020

It's clear to me that every part of a Big Muley's horns makes Buckhorn Trigger Happy! ?
Thanks for sharing an impressive parade of Monster Muleys!
And hat's off to you my friend!

hawkbill · Apr 5, 2020

You think Buckhorns Muley Crazy. He is, he’s never put in for a sheep tag. That’s Muley Crazy!

buckhorn · Apr 5, 2020

Thanks guys.
I’ve had a passion for hunting since I was old enough to carry a gun. Shotgun and rifle. I’m 63 now.
I’ve also had the Muley buck hunting bug since I was a young kid.
Back when we could by tags over the counter my cousin and I used to go deer hunting for weeks on end. We would hit multiple different states on one trip. We hunted Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, New Mexico and California all otc. I didn’t start hunting Nevada, Oregon or Arizona intill the early 80s.
I am very fortunate that my wife who I’ve been married to for 40 years doesn’t complain too much. She has her job and our kids and the grandkids to keep her company while I’m gone.
I’ve never had a lot of extra money to spend and most of my hunts are diy on a tight budget. I have only hired a guide twice. Once for my Nevada elk hunt in 2006 (when I turned 50).
and once for my Arizona deer hunt in 2016 (When I turned 60).
Most of my bigger bucks I have taken on solo hunts and they haven’t come easy either. The majority of my solo hunts turn into a long grinding ordeal in some pretty tough conditions. I think I usually hunt harder and longer when I’m alone.
I do occasionally hunt pronghorn and elk and have a few of them in the record books but they don’t give me near the adrenaline rush or the excitement a big muley buck does.
I am running out of big bucks to post but I do have a few more if you want to see them.
They all have interesting stories and I seem to remember every detail about all of my hunts.
I guess that’s a big part of what makes hunting so exciting for us.
And the meat isn’t bad either!

Conrad8899 · Apr 5, 2020

Let see those big bucks and the stories that go along with it buckhorn... I no there are sum more big buck killers on here lets see them....

huntindad4 · Apr 5, 2020

buckhorn said:
Thanks guys.
I’ve had a passion for hunting since I was old enough to carry a gun. Shotgun and rifle. I’m 63 now.
I’ve also had the Muley buck hunting bug since I was a young kid.
Back when we could by tags over the counter my cousin and I used to go deer hunting for weeks on end. We would hit multiple different states on one trip. We hunted Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, New Mexico and California all otc. I didn’t start hunting Nevada, Oregon or Arizona intill the early 80s.
I am very fortunate that my wife who I’ve been married to for 40 years doesn’t complain too much. She has her job and our kids and the grandkids to keep her company while I’m gone.
I’ve never had a lot of extra money to spend and most of my hunts are diy on a tight budget. I have only hired a guide twice. Once for my Nevada elk hunt in 2006 (when I turned 50).
and once for my Arizona deer hunt in 2016 (When I turned 60).
Most of my bigger bucks I have taken on solo hunts and they haven’t come easy either. The majority of my solo hunts turn into a long grinding ordeal in some pretty tough conditions. I think I usually hunt harder and longer when I’m alone.
I do occasionally hunt pronghorn and elk and have a few of them in the record books but they don’t give me near the adrenaline rush or the excitement a big muley buck does.
I am running out of big bucks to post but I do have a few more if you want to see them.
They all have interesting stories and I seem to remember every detail about all of my hunts.
I guess that’s a big part of what makes hunting so exciting for us.
And the meat isn’t bad either!

Do your kids hunt? Mine love it. I haven't been on many solo hunts since they were old enough to go. Which they all went along to camp and go on truck hunts when the were too young to walk. Probably prevented me from killing a few more big bucks but I wouldnt trade it for a truck full of trophy bucks. I live for their hunting accomplishments now over my own.

Just curious if your kids caught the bug or not.

Great bucks by the way.

Bill

buckhorn · Apr 5, 2020

huntindad4 said:
Do your kids hunt? Mine love it. I haven't been on many solo hunts since they were old enough to go. Which they all went along to camp and go on truck hunts when the were too young to walk. Probably prevented me from killing a few more big bucks but I wouldnt trade it for a truck full of trophy bucks. I live for their hunting accomplishments now over my own.

Just curious if your kids caught the bug or not.

Great bucks by the way.

Bill

That’s great that you get to spend so much time with your kids.
I did that a lot when mine were younger but now that they’ve grown up and got married things have changed a lot. My son who is 35 years old now does like to hunt. He doesn’t have the passion for it like I do but we do go together on occasions. He is a real good Hunter and has killed several good bucks over the years. His job and family keeps him really busy so he doesn’t have a lot of time to commit to hunting. And his wife isn’t quite as understanding about it as his mom is.
He has 21 non-resident points for limited entry deer in Utah. He decided this year that he doesn’t want to wait any longer for a high demand Utah hunt so he applied for the Pauns Management rifle hunt. We are expecting him to draw so that should be a fun hunt with some quality father-son time.
He also applies in our home state of Nevada for all the Big game hunts and has quite a few points accumulated.
My grandkids are still about 5 to 7 years away from being enough to go so we’ll see what happens by then.

littlebighorn · Apr 5, 2020

hawkbill said:
You think Buckhorns Muley Crazy. He is, he’s never put in for a sheep tag. That’s Muley Crazy!

Yes Buckhorn!
Don't get started with sheep!
If you do your understanding wife might not be so understanding anymore!

buckhorn · Apr 5, 2020

littlebighorn said:
Yes Buckhorn!
Don't get started with sheep!
If you do your understanding wife might not be so understanding anymore!

Your probably right.
I try to be like a little puppy dog on my best behavior to get away with the hunting I do.
I know a few guys that have gotten hooked on the sheep bug and they really get it bad. I don’t have that kind of money to pull it off.
I don’t apply for sheep but my son does have a bunch of resident sheep points in Nevada. If he gets drawn were just gonna go have a good time and hope to have fun looking for a nice looking ram. Not worried about the highest score.

buckhorn · Apr 5, 2020

Conrad8899 said:
Let see those big bucks and the stories that go along with it buckhorn... I no there are sum more big buck killers on here lets see them....

Yes lm sure there are a lot more guys on here that have killed some big bucks. I also would like to see more of them and hear stories of the hunt.
If you don’t want to give away the spot where you killed it just be careful what you say.

ridgetops · Apr 5, 2020

buckhorn said:
Yes lm sure there are a lot more guys on here that have killed some big bucks. I also would like to see more of them and hear stories of the hunt.
If you don’t want to give away the spot where you killed it just be careful what you say.

You need to be careful buckhorn, your on the verge of getting some hate mail coming your way. There's a few guys out there that seem to hate seeing others success. I know I've paid that price and I'm no where at your level.

littlebighorn · Apr 5, 2020

buckhorn said:
Your probably right.
I try to be like a little puppy dog on my best behavior to get away with the hunting I do.
I know a few guys that have gotten hooked on the sheep bug and they really get it bad. I don’t have that kind of money to pull it off.
I don’t apply for sheep but my son does have a bunch of resident sheep points in Nevada. If he gets drawn were just gonna go have a good time and hope to have fun looking for a nice looking ram. Not worried about the highest score.

Well if he ever draws, I'm hooked bad enough to volunteer to come down from Utah to help spot! It's a horrible disease much worse than COVID 19!

Muley_73 · Apr 5, 2020

Mass and forks. 6” bases 41” of mass 21.5” G2s and 12.5” G3’s made up enough for the fronts on this buck. Passed him once but just couldn’t do it the second time

Muley_73 · Apr 7, 2020

Founder said:
This one here is my most massive buck. He's got long tines and extra stuff too. Not real wide, but he's one of my best.

View attachment 3340

Founder that buck is what dreams are made of.

bigmoose · Apr 7, 2020

Here's a buck that made me trigger happy. I shot him late in the afternoon and had to leave him overnight. This was as far as I could get him off the ground.

This was the next day and I was still happy. My sister snapped this photo. Not sure what was so funny but I was happy with this buck.

Conrad8899 · Apr 7, 2020

That's a nice buck bigmoose...... I new U where holding out on us.. Come on guys lets see those big bucks...

buckhorn · Apr 7, 2020

bigmoose said:
Here's a buck that made me trigger happy. I shot him late in the afternoon and had to leave him overnight. This was as far as I could get him off the ground.View attachment 4760

This was the next day and I was still happy. My sister snapped this photo. Not sure what was so funny but I was happy with this buck.View attachment 4761 View attachment 4762 View attachment 4763

That’s a big buck there Ray
It’s no wonder you have that smile on your face!
That buck had to be a heavy beast.
Just for comparison, “bigmoose” is a big man.
He’s about 6’- 8” and 275 pounds!

bigmoose · Apr 8, 2020

I had passed up 8 or 9 bucks on this hunt already. One was around 190 but did not have much mass. I only looked at this guy for a few seconds and decided he was the one. He goes 186 on the main frame and 200 with the extras. Love those heavy dark horns.

rocky2track · Apr 8, 2020

Outstanding thread!! Thanks to all that have shared photos and stories.

Buffs35 · Apr 9, 2020

All of the above. Depends how full my freezer is.

buckhorn · Apr 10, 2020

Here’s another one.
Not a giant but a nice solid four-point. I killed this one on an Idaho OTC unit.
Interesting story on this one also.
I was really busy that year and barely was able to hunt the opening day of rifle season. I hadn’t even had time to shoot at all before the season opened. At that time I was using my 300 Weatherby mag Mark V. It always shot good so I wasn’t worried about it.
Opening morning I woke up early grabbed my gun, loaded some gear on my quad and rode up the mountain as far as I could. When I got off to start hiking up the trail it was really foggy and cold with almost zero visibility.
When it started getting light I realized I wasn’t going to be able to see anything at all so I decide to hunker down and wait it out.
I found a spot in some thick maple trees that had some really soft leaves on the ground. I laid down and tried to take a nap but it was too cold. I got so cold I had to jog around in little circles and do jumping jacks and anything I could to stay warm while waiting for the fog to lift.
After a couple hours the fog started lifting and I could finally see across the canyon.
I started walking real slow along the ridge and I saw some really fresh tracks that looked like I had jumped a deer and it had ran off down the hill to the left. A few minutes later I heard a deer snorting somewhere down below me so I stopped and started scanning the far side of the canyon.
That’s when I first saw this buck clear across the canyon sneaking up the ridge towards some thick trees.
I took off my pack and laid it on a little rock pile and rested my gun on the pack.
By the time I got my rangefinder on him he was just entering the trees.
I ranged the edge of the trees at 424 yards.
The buck disappeared into the trees and I couldn’t see him any longer.
I carefully scanned the trees with my 10x42 Binos and I finally saw a patch of white.
I set up my spotting scope right next to my rifle to get a better look.
I found the white spot in the spotting scope and sure enough it was the bucks white rump patch.
I cranked up the power on the spotting scope and I could tell he was standing facing away from me and his head was turned around and he was looking back over his shoulder and down the canyon in the direction the other deer had snorted.
I guess he thought he was hidden because he could have easily went over the ridge in the trees and gotten away. But he stopped there. I don’t think he was really sure what the danger was.
Anyway I found him in the rifle scope and cranked it up to 14 power. I could see his white rump and a little bit of gray but not enough for a good shot.
I was laying on the ground and I could look through both the spotting scope and then back through the rifle scope without getting up. I had watched him for quite a while through the spotting scope when he finally turned sort of broadside and I could see I might have a shot. Through the rifle scope I could see enough of his chest and I felt I could make the shot.
That 300 Weatherby is a pretty flat shooter and I had a good solid rest.
I knew if I held at the top edge of his back I should hit him in the kill zone.
I got the crosshairs on him and was holding steady so I slowly squeezed off the shot. Everything felt good except that the gun did not go boom!
It went Click!
Holy crap! What happened???
I opened the bolt and ejected the round. It was all there except for the primer was barely dented.
So I chambered another round got a steady aim and slowly squeezed off. Another Click!
Then I’m starting to panic!
After all this waiting out the fog, finally finding the buck and now my guns not gonna fire!
OK I cranked in another round got the buck in the crosshairs and gave it a pull.
Well I was expecting another Click but to my surprise it blasted off!
Let me tell you that was quite a jolt!
It took me a few seconds after all that to find him in the rifle scope again but when I did I could see the he was down.
Talk about an emotional roller coaster!
The problem with the gun was that I hadn’t cleaned it and the firing pin and spring was gunky and wasn’t hitting the primer hard enough to set it off.
That’s the last time I ever slacked on cleaning my guns.

Soccerdude · Apr 10, 2020

Rimrock said:
This buck is put together with the characteristics I like: good mass, deep forks, an inline, eye guards, blading, and dark chocolate color. We found him on the final day of the season, after 10 cold days of looking from dark to dark.View attachment 3621

Yep that's my dream buck.

ironhead · Apr 11, 2020

Great Story and Buck, buckhorn!
Here is an OTC Buck.

marley · Apr 11, 2020

My sons buck had my finger jerking and I wasn’t even holding a rifle.

buckhorn · Apr 11, 2020

marley said:
View attachment 4960
My sons buck had my finger jerking and I wasn’t even holding a rifle.

marley
Another great buck!
That burn has produced well for you.

ridgetops · Apr 12, 2020

When I glassed up my biggest buck to date bedded at first light. It was all the extras that got me excited to pulled the trigger on this special buck.
After I walked up on it dead, it was the width that really had me even more excited.
Even though he has great mass out on his tines, it was the last thing that got my attention over the other characteristics but it is the mass that makes him look like he would score more than he really does.

Conrad8899 · Apr 12, 2020

Thanks for sharing these are for shore sum big old bucks

buckhorn · Apr 12, 2020

ridgetops said:
When I glassed up my biggest buck to date bedded at first light. It was all the extras that got me excited to pulled the trigger on this special buck.
After I walked up on it dead, it was the width that really had me even more excited.
Even though he has great mass out on his tines, it was the last thing that got my attention over the other characteristics but it is the mass that makes him look like he would score more than he really does.
View attachment 5001

View attachment 5002
View attachment 5003

Great Buck ridgetops
One of the things I really like about mule deer bucks is their antlers vary so much from one buck to another.

ironhead · Apr 12, 2020

Another OTC buck.

DH56 · Apr 13, 2020

Founder · Feb 26, 2021

This is an older thread from last spring, but a good one. I saw a pic from it in the member photo gallery.
Anyway, wanted to share what makes me trigger happy.

ckat · Feb 26, 2021

littlebighorn said:
Mass and deep forks!
I'm a sucker for a big typicalView attachment 3219

That buck is what dreams are made of!!!

Gator · Feb 26, 2021

That Buck Picture that DH 56 posted is what we all would like a chance at least once.

DH56 · Feb 26, 2021

Gator said:
That Buck Picture that DH 56 posted is what we all would like a chance at least once.

We have hunted this buck three years now- we have no daylight pics of this buck. We thought he was dead this past fall since we had no trail cam pictures of him and we heard no one harvested him. But we got word in January another hunter my friend knows saw the Buck crossing the road about a mile from my friends place one evening. We have another picture of my friend in the back ground in a tree stand with this buck standing in front of him, about 10 minutes or so before legal shooting time . This is one smart old Nocturnal Buck, even during the rut.

Homer · Feb 26, 2021

buckhorn said:
Thanks Gator.
I’ve been obsessed with hunting big Muleys for the last 30 years. My best ones have come from Idaho and Nevada. All DIY. None of them have come easy. I’ve always been in pursuit of a really giant granddaddy but I feel that opportunity may be slipping away.

Dana says you're a chump.....lol

buckhorn · Feb 26, 2021

Homer said:
Dana says you're a chump.....lol

Who?

Homer · Feb 26, 2021

buckhorn said:
Who?

lol....exactly

buckhorn · Feb 26, 2021

Homer said:
lol....exactly

I don’t know what’s going on in Hawaii but did you see that buck I posted up on the winter range this January? He’s just a short drive from my humble little home here in Nevada.
Makes me feel like a wealthy man!

SS! · Feb 26, 2021

buckhorn said:
Who?

Dana

fullthrottle · Feb 26, 2021

I really like a buck with some trash, but I will take a massive buck every time. (Don’t have a buck with serious mass) looks like Canada is in my future!

buckhorn · Feb 26, 2021

fullthrottle said:
I really like a buck with some trash, but I will take a massive buck every time. (Don’t have a buck with serious mass) looks like Canada is in my future!

View attachment 34010

View attachment 34011

Those are both big bucks!
Is that you in both pics?