Spring Time: A Season for Shed Antlers and Longbeards

by Matt Palmquist

As hunters we all live for the fall months. September in the mountains and November pursuing rutting deer is hard to beat, but I enjoy the spring more and more. It is refreshing to get some warmer weather after enduring the cold, lack luster months bridging the gap between hunting seasons. As the days lengthen and the temperature rises it means that turkey season is approaching and exploring deer bedding areas for shed antlers is finally here. I typically avoid these areas like the plague from late summer through the fall and can’t wait for the first expedition into my core areas in search of sign left by rutting bucks and hopefully find some hard evidence that a good buck survived the deer seasons. 

I always get impatient when the warm days arrive and enter some of my areas too early. It is hard to find many antlers when you watch them all run off into the

distance. This resulted in several hikes that netted very few sheds, but it was still great to scout for sign. Several late snows kept me out for a while and allowed the deer to drop their antlers without being disturbed. I was anxious to get back a field, but the time off paid in results. Several short trips resulted in 20+ antler days, which always makes it more fun!!

 

There were still plenty of antlers left throughout the prairie, but when April finally arrived my focus was turned towards chasing love sick gobblers with my Heads Up Decoy! I was lucky enough to hunt with my brother Lucas and my nieces and nephew for the opening weekend. High winds resulted in tough hunting but we were able to use the HUD to fill a couple of tags before the weekend was over. We had to work for every opportunity we got. The birds weren’t very aggressive yet so we spent most of the time crawling towards the birds hoping to get a response. I was lucky enough to find a group of toms that were ready to challenge the encroaching turkey and arrowed my bird at 10 yards with the HUD in my bow mount. Talk about a rush!!

I still have another tag left to fill before the season is over. We are blessed in Kansas to be able to hunt until the end of May. Most years the foliage is tall and it gets hard to locate birds late in the season, but this year it has been cold and windy throughout most of April delaying spring growth close to a month. Due to Mother Nature I think the best is yet to come and I can’t wait to get back after them!! Good luck to everyone that is still out hoping to punch a tag or two!

Reminisce

By Lincoln McClure

With turkey season fast approaching here in Kansas I sit at my desk staring out the window behind my computer screens (yes there are two of them).  I think about my performance and success during the 2012 hunting seasons and how I can improve to make this year even better.  While the previous year has left me with much to desire going into a new round of seasons, I am not disappointed with my triumphs.

2012 started well for me with the harvest of my first double on turkeys which was self filmed with two different cameras.  Though I have been criticized by some for my active participation in the shooting of young turkeys.  I will continue to shoot Jakes as long as they come to my decoy, because it is really fun and man do they taste great.  Due to the lack of a hunting partner at the time and my need to successfully capture my hunts on film, I did unfortunately shoot my turkeys out of a ground blind.  But lucky me the Heads Up Decoy Tom Turkey works no matter how you use it.


After turkey season I made the move from Western Nebraska to North-East Kansas.  Excited about living in a new area that is prime habitat for big whitetails I began to prepare for deer season.  After months of practice and shooting the Kansas deer season was approaching and the time came for me to find a place to hunt.  After countless hours of driving around and knocking on doors to no avail I resorted back to what I have been so accustomed to over the past several years, Public Land.  After finally finding a Public spot I felt was far enough away from the Public, I hung my stand and anxiously waited the final two weeks for season to start.

My first trip out for the year ended well with the harvest of a whitetail doe 45 minutes after I climbed into the tree.  This was also the first time I had killed a deer while wearing Blaze Orange as it was the last day of Muzzleloader season.  After a couple more trips out without even a glimpse of a decent buck I decided it was time for a change of scenery and planned a trip to Nebraska for a week.  On the way I decided to stop in North-West Kansas for a weekend hunt with my dad and friend from Colorado.  We had permission for the weekend to hunt a piece of land I have hunted most of my life but was going to be leased for hunting soon.  We checked the pasture on Saturday and didn't see a single deer.  Sunday was a different story.  We spotted two mulie Does laying in a deep cut and they had us pegged.  After the Does left we glassed another cut and spotted a decent buck laying all by himself, the stalk was on.

While getting ready for the stalk I handed the Heads Up Decoy Mule Deer Doe to my friend who was running the camera and he said he didn't think we needed it since the buck was almost asleep.  I told looked at him and said "It weighs less than a pound and could be the difference between harvesting this buck and not harvesting him, so we are taking it."  He agreed.  The stalk to the buck was successful though he smelled us at the last minute and ran out to 40 yards.  It was windy, and the shot was far back.    We watched the buck lay down 100 yards from where I shot him and went and found the arrow, which was covered in dark red blood.  I knew at that moment my arrow had angled good enough to catch liver and he was done for.  After giving the buck some time I decided we would sneak up to where we had seen him lay down and see if he had expired or not.  As we approached the buck I spotted his antlers sticking up from a large group of yuccas.  I walked around to find the buck laying up against them with his nose in the ground and his head upright.  While the buck looked dead I knew something wasn't right, so I drew back and he met the Grim Reaper for the second time that day.  He sprung to life and after a short run down the hill I had harvested my first mule deer with a bow.  And even though we didn't use the Heads Up Decoy, you know it was right there in case we needed it.

So What I am taking with me from 2012 into this new year of hunting seasons is that even though I had a very successful year (with the harvest of my first double on turkeys, my first Mule Deer, and Shooting 100% during deer season for the second year in a row)  I still have much to accomplish in this great sport.  My goal for this year is to harvest my first Pronghorn, an animal that has eluded me for far too long.  In conclusion to this post is a short video of my hunts from 2012, I hope you enjoy it.

HEADS UP DECOY: MULE DEER

Changing The Way You Hunt

by: Evan R. Williams

I peered through the gap between my riser and my Heads Up Decoy Mule Deer to see that I had another 140 yards to close to be within bow range of M3.  I had already maneuvered my way in from 600 yards but he was beginning to move with the rest of the bachelor group of bucks and I needed things to change in my favor soon to get this done.

All of a sudden twenty yards to my right I jumped a doe out of her bed I hadn’t seen before and I thought it was all over.  With the wind in my favor I froze hoping she would remain calm and begin feeding.  To my astonishment I looked up and the entire bachelor group of five had turned, heading directly for me. 

There are few products in the hunting industry that truly change the way we hunt.  With a multitude of accessories to pick from designed to aim better, shoot straighter, or some how improve the way we harvest animals there is only one product that I have used in the last few years that has CHANGED the way I hunt.  This is the story of that change:

This story dates back to 2010 when Garrett and I spoke on the phone for the first time.  I work at the local Pro-Shop in Colorado Springs and one day I received a phone call about a new decoy: The Heads Up Decoy!  Garrett and I shared a nice conversation and I remember while on the phone looking up his website and thinking, ‘it’s a cool idea but that’ll never work, HOW and WHEN can I use this?’  Everything I knew about decoys from experience and reading told me that it wouldn’t but what I couldn’t shake from my mind was they were from my “Hometown”. 

I continued to follow Garrett and the team harvesting elk, mule deer, and antelope but what really grabbed my attention was their exploits with turkeys!  Stalking them in open fields and having successes where other, “conventional”, methods simply weren’t working.

During the 2011 Spring Turkey season in Kansas I had some of the worst luck I have ever experienced! Call shy birds, huge flocks, or simply non-responsive birds in the middle of 140+ acres of drilled wheat and alfalfa with no way of getting to them.  Now was the time!

Before the 2012 Spring Turkey season rolled around I knew I was going after the birds from the previous season.  I had spent 2 years trying to get at these thunder chickens and this was the year.  I called Garrett and ordered my turkey!  With AMAZING results we were on TONS of birds all spring and filled both of my tags!  I immediately ordered the Mule Deer and Elk.  I now knew how to use this decoy and exactly where!  The Colorado High Country!

Spring 2012 H.U.D Double!

Hunting Mule Deer in the High Country is the ultimate challenge for a DIY Hunter.  They are in bachelor groups, feeding patterns (which is the best news), above timberline in the open, and NOT in the breeding mood so calling, etc isn’t going to help you.  It’s hunting an animal in his home, on his terms, and you are completely out matched.  Let’s face it the odds aren’t good, but that’s my passion!

I was unsuccessful in the draw for Colorado during the 2012 archery season, however, I was fortunate that a week before the season I received a phone call from a good buddy who had found an archery voucher for mule deer in a unit I have never stepped foot into or, for that matter, looked at on a map!  But I had to have a mule deer tag in my pocket so with five days before the season it was crunch time and I jumped at the chance.

I picked up the voucher and immediately began going over Google Earth, topo maps, calling anyone and everyone that I knew trying to get information, including speaking to a few local taxidermists.  I was working twelve-hour days at the shop getting home and spending another four on the computer trying to put together a game plan.

My 8 days was split into two trips.  The first was a week into the season and was going to be a quick three-day excursion.  Followed by a week back at work and then another five-day trip.  The goal was to cover a lot of ground on the first trip, locate a buck and kill him on the second trip and away we went.

On the last afternoon of my three-day scouting trip I saw him: M3.  Quite possibly the largest 3X3 Mulie I had ever seen! I judged him in the 150-155” class.  The best part about the situation was that he only had a one buck entourage that was a 4X4 in the low 160s and a high country buck I wouldn’t mind putting one of my mullet arrows through (A mullet arrow is a fancied up shaft with wrap and vanes party style and a broadhead on the front for business).  Game on for round 2!

My mind just couldn’t get over the size of M3.  I was sure that I had seen him wrong and there were really crab fronts or I had just not seen him right.  I had a few other places on my mind that I really wanted to see so as I closed up the shop and began my drive I decided to hit some new country.  After two days of seeing nothing but does in some new basins my mind was made up.  I now had three days to seal the deal and almost a two-hour drive from one trailhead to the other. 

I didn’t see M3 at all that morning and began to get nervous that I had made a big mistake not getting in there sooner and wasting time the previous two days until 1 hour before last light he emerged from his willow bed and began feeding.  All alone and with nothing for stalk able cover between us I watched him as light faded, knowing I would find him close in the gray light of morning.

As the sun began to rise the next morning I found myself unable to greet the morning rays.  I was physically so exhausted from work and hiking over so much new area trying to cover ground to find animals my alarm had no affect.  When I finally struck out from camp my only thought was to go into the willows where I had seen him emerge from the night before and hope he was still around.

Eight hours later with light fading and feeling that I had to MAKE something happen I began still hunting through the willows and came up with nothing.  I began trudging back to camp when I looked up and spotted him feeding up the drainage sixty yards below my camp!  It was now or never.  The grass was tall enough to allow me to move and still provide sparse cover but it was a bold attempt at an open stalk.  Grabbing my Heads Up Decoy off my pack I began my approach angling slightly ahead of the direction they were heading.

With 200 yards between us my over eagerness cost me.  From my right popped up a doe.  In my haste to cut off the bachelors I hadn’t taken the time to do the most critical thing…GLASS.  My heart sunk as I huddled down and knew it was over.  All I needed was 140 yards and I would have been well within my effective bow range and because I got in a hurry it was all over.  As I sat and watched that doe I began to realize that she didn’t care I was there.  My Heads Up Decoy calmed her down and within minutes she was feeding twelve yards from me without a care!

What happened next may be one of my most memorable moments while mule deer hunting. As I am admiring the fact that this doe is paying no attention to me I looked back to the bucks and they were no longer feeding their way on the same vector.  They were now feeding directly at me!

With an arrow already nocked I remained in position as they began closing the distance.  180, 140, 100, 60, 40, 35 yards now stood between me, and the buck I had chosen to hunt, M3.  For more than three minutes he stood facing directly at me feeding and I decided to make a decision.  At thirty-five yards with my selection of broadheads I was going to run it right down the center and take a frontal shot.

As he lowered his head to feed I eased up on my knees preparing to draw while the other four bucks came wandering up behind him.  I had forgot about them because my focus was so narrowed I had stopped paying attention to the others that were walking at a much slower pace behind M3 and now were adding to the number of eyes.  To my surprise he took a few steps closer and turned broadside. 

As he lowered his head to feed I didn’t hesitate.  M3 was now standing at thirty yards and all I had to do was draw, anchor and squeeze.

THUMP

The familiar sound of my arrow-penetrating hide confirmed my shot as the whole group of deer scattered in every direction not knowing what just happened.  M3 ran forty yards and did a 180-degree turn to look back my direction and didn’t take another step.  I hit the ground rolling to my back celebrating my harvest.  Seconds seemed like an hour as the adrenaline from the encounter flooded over my body in waves. 

As I stood over M3 and said a prayer I couldn’t help but be reminded about my love for this majestic animal and my new decoy that will never be away from my side!

Fight Night

contributed by Les Welch

After a 3 week stint in the Rocky Mountains I was finally able to hit the Whitetail woods of Wisconsin in early October. I was scouting a large tract of big woods public land. I had narrowed down 3-4 areas I really wanted to take a close look at; on the aerial and topo maps. It was our early youth rifle hunt, but I knew I would be getting far enough off the road I wouldn’t have many, if any, distractions to my bowhunt. After miles and hours of walking and looking I started finding areas with good sign, actually some of the best sign I had ever seen for this early in the year. I was finding nice scrape lines leading from multiple bedding areas into heavy mast mature oak stands. Sign was good, and being a mile plus from the truck, there wasn’t any competition. Multiple sits in the area over the week-end had me seeing deer, but nothing I was ready to wrap my tag around.

The second week-end of October had me headed to my cabin in Northern WI, about a 3.5 hour drive. There are far less deer in this area, and the woods are big and unbroken. This makes for a different style of hunt; peace and solitude abound. The odds of seeing wolves are better then deer on most days! Essentially this was to be a scouting trip, with a little hunting mixed in. Late October in WI is my favorite time to hunt, the odds of being able to call/decoy mature bucks is not better any other time of the year, and that time was rapidly approaching. I knew what I had around home, but I needed to figure out which spot gave me the best opportunity to tag another Monster mature Whitetail. Over the course of the next two days I put on a lot of miles scouting many new areas, and many old areas that I had good luck in over the years. My elk hunting partner and good friend has a cabin about 10 miles as the crow flies, from mine. We met up at the local restaurant after hunting hours that Saturday night to compare notes. We were both finding the same thing, not a lot of deer sign, but lots of wolf and bear activity. Even one of my most productive areas over the years was pretty void of sign. This is the area where I harvested my buck last year. Sunday was also an unproductive day scouting. It’s getting to crunch time…

Les' Great 2011 Buck

The third weekend of October I was able to get out on Sunday and I headed back to the area I found that first weekend of scouting. Amazing the changes those two weeks had made. The sign had dried up. The deer had switched food sources, leaving the acorns and feeding on maple leaves. Third week of October and I am back to burning boot leather, NOT what I was anticipating, but that is the name of the game when it comes to big woods public land Whitetail hunting. Adapt and overcome or be like the masses, unsuccessful.

Here we are approaching my favorite time of the year, the last week of October, and I’m not even sure where I will hunt for the weekend and the whole first week of November! Saturday morning I went into an area that I have hunted for many years, essentially it is a proven spot that gave me a chance at something cruising. I didn’t have any luck so I was back in the truck and headed for more scouting. I crossed off two more areas on the map and was headed to a 3^rd when I started finding some sign. The farther I got in the better it looked. I was finding plenty of scrapes and some rubs. Things were finally starting to come together. I always have a map, compass, and GPS while scouting. I take plenty of notes, and mark waypoints. These I can cross reference later on a big map to get the “whole picture”. Looking at my map I had circled a pinch point about a ½ mile from the truck. Cross country I wasn’t far from it, so I headed that way to check it out. As I got closer the scrapes became more frequent and bigger. I was starting to pass scrapes every few yards. All of a sudden I broke out into the funnel and was amazed. In the 120 yard section there were at least 20 scrapes, many rubs, and deer scat everywhere. It was the best sign I had found in years. I knew I needed to hunt here, and I should do it now. Unfortunately I had a prior commitment that night and had to hunt closer to home. I have this same commitment on the same night every year. Prior to this year I had been in the stand Sunday before light and hunted all day, I had the same intentions this year. Age must be catching up with me, because I decided at 5am that sleep sounded better then hunting!!!  Waking up at 10 am I was kicking my own backside for not “sucking it up” and getting in the tree. Looking back it is the best decision I could have made. So I was headed for my “hotspot” by 11.  Weather was mild, around 38° and sunny. I had ¾ mile to walk so I dressed only in my Sitka base layers. Everything else was packed into my pack. I strapped my climber and Heads up Decoy to the outside and was off.

Here is where I want to explain why I said that this is my favorite time of year hunting whitetails. As you know, guys always say they like the rut. In my neck of the woods I consider that from Nov. 3^rd to Nov. 15^th or so. This is when bucks are cruising, running does, and just being stupid. Yes if you are around deer it is an exciting hunt as you can see lots of animals, and lots of bucks. BUT if you aren’t around the deer it can feel pretty isolated, and even if you are seeing them more often then not it’s a game of being lucky and hunting in the right place, at the right time. The week prior though is a different story. Those big mature bucks are on their feet in their core areas, and they are callable! The decoy and grunt calls are the most important piece of gear in your pack this time of year.

After arriving in the area I had to alter my set-up a little due to the wind. Scouting the day before I had selected a tree that gave me the best set-up to play the wind and do some calling.  The wind switched over night and I re-evaluated what I needed to do. Getting the tree picked it was time to position my HUD. I put him in front of me about 17 yards. I climbed the big Oak, and my feet were 31’ off the ground. I was set perfectly on the center of a small Hogback with the ground in front of me dropping and the decoy being about 8’ lower then the ground level of my tree. This was perfect. By facing the decoy I kept the Oak between myself and the direction I expected the deer to come from, help breaking up my outline.  With the decoy set, bow hung, it was time to finish getting dressed. It didn’t take long for the birds and squirrels to resume their routine of tweeting, hauling acorns, and going about their business. 2.5 hours later it was time for my first rattling sequence. I turned and faced the tree and readied my shed antlers. After 3 minutes of sporadic antler crashing I slipped them back into my pack…I could feel the anticipation in my stomach building. The gross 170” class buck I killed last year succumbed to the same sequence I just went through, would history repeat? Within seconds it happened, my phone vibrated! I keep it in the breast pocket of my Fanatic Vest. In the calm, still woods, it made me jump. A good friend and his wife were also hunting. He was letting me know it had been slow all afternoon for them, two small bucks cruising was it. Texting him the reply that I hadn’t seen anything yet, I hear crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch….. I knew it immediately. It was that typical buck on the move walk. I knew he was heading for the fight he had just heard. It took mere seconds to pocket the phone, but in that time he had broken into the hardwoods. I reached for my bow and slid it off the hanger, at the same time swiveling 180° to pick him up again. By this point I could see he was already angling away from me and at a steady walk. I was grunting on the tube in my vest as I was re-hanging the bow. By the time I could really give it a good tone, he was out of sight and the leaves obscured any chance that he would hear it. Knowing the typical walk of a mature buck I knew he wouldn’t go more then 25 yards or so before stopping and listening, before resuming his walk. I grabbed the antlers from pack and smashed, ground, and twisted them together for a long enough period I knew I should have had at least two chances for him to stop and hear them. Reaching to drop them back in my pack I spotted him coming at a dead run, he was about 80 yards and closing FAST. Fortunately I was facing my bow and was able to slide it off easily. Ironically he stopped 30 yards away directly under the tree I had been planning on sitting in if the wind hadn’t changed. The set-up was perfect, he was still below the ridge rise and couldn’t see the “deer” he heard. With his ears flared to each side and licking his nose he started the heavy straight legged walk directly toward me. It still amazes me how these animals can pinpoint a sound. He heard that rattling from over 100 yards away and was now walking directly towards me at less then 30 yards. All I could do was face the tree and hope he gave an indication which side he would pass. If I picked wrong, he would likely survive. I knew he was a shooter with a lot of points, but had no idea exactly what was coming at me. At 8 yards he came to a small downed tree, he elected to circle it instead of jumping it. This enabled me to get to the left side of the tree, and it opened up his vision…he spotted the HUD buck now a mere 20 yards away. The ears laid back, hair bristled, and the sideways walk started. He was 4 yards from the base of my tree, in the wide open. Being fixated on the decoy, I knew I could get away with drawing. Settling in on him, I voice grunted him to a stop, as his head turned upwards our eyes locked and I touched the trigger. The arrow zipped through him; he looped 50 yards back and tipped over in plain sight. I was a wreck. As the arrow flashed through him I finally noticed the row of tines that lined his close main beam, as he ran off I seriously began to fall apart. I hung my bow up and sat down. I don’t drink, but the list of friends that I texted at that point had to think I was drunk. It was the most unreadable incoherent message I have ever seen. On my descent down the tree I was overly cautious as I knew that I was a mess. Once I was on the ground I called my dad and gave him GPS coordinates to where I was. My lifelong hunting partner would be waiting at my truck in an hour. I had 20 minutes of extra time to spend with the deer. Walking up to him as he lay motionless was bittersweet, awe-inspiring, and emotional all wrapped into one. I was able to sit beside him, lift his rack, give thanks for everything, and best of all just soak it in. This past weeks’ events at Sandy Hook have made me more appreciative of things in life and have me that much more excited to get my anxiously waiting 10 year old on his first hunt in a couple months. My thoughts and prayers to everyone involved in this senseless tragedy.

2012 Buck with the HUD

Just sitting here writing this and reliving the hunt brings back memories and gets my fingers shaking. This is why I do it. Happy Holidays to you all.

3rd Time

Submitted by: Kent Hensley

The Heads Up Decoy (HUD) once again proved to be a “go to” method for the 2012 archery deer season.     Dalton spent several days in the field and passing on several smaller bucks earlier in October, but the first part of November brought another father-son HUD adventure, for Dalton and me, into the Kansas prairie.



Dalton's 2010 Mule Buck



The initial plan was to hunt a cedar glade bedding area in the morning and catch deer as they moved off the wheat fields.  We work into the glade just at first light as to not spook any early movers.  Five minutes into the hunt we spotted a mature 140” buck, he was harassing a doe that didn’t really want anything to do with him.  We slipped into position and I grunted and lightly rattled.  Dalton was positioned to the left, tucked in front of some small cedars.  The buck immediately responded, but was a bit cautious on his approach.  He quickly spotted the decoy, but was working to the right to catch the wind of the intruding buck.  At 35 yards Dalton stood but wasn’t tall enough to make the shot over the cedars. The buck spotted some movement but was still unsure of what he saw, knew it wasn’t right, but couldn’t figure out why his HUD buddy wasn’t running off with him.  Oh well, we still beat him just couldn’t get the shot.

We returned to the pickup to move to a different location to glass some pasture in search of another rutting prairie buck.  We hadn’t gone 3 miles and unbelievably lying 40 yards off the road was a giant 170’s whitetail buck with a hot doe.  We drove by and parked ¼ mile north.  The wind was westerly and a nice draw would allow us a somewhat simple stalk within about 80 yards of the buck and doe.  As we closed the distance, I peeked to see where we were and the buck caught my movement.  We were still about 100 yards away.  I told Dalton to get an arrow on and get in position off my right shoulder.  I slowly raised the Whitetail buck HUD and the giant instantly stood and began coming our way.  I told Dalton to draw and within seconds he was on us. I ranged the buck at 33 yards but he was facing straight on and still coming.  Within 20 yards he slightly quartered to, I moved the decoy to the left to open a shooting lane and I told Dalton to shoot.  He didn’t shoot, didn’t shoot, and still didn’t shoot.  Seconds later the prairie giant was gone.  I was frustrated with Dalton because he didn’t shoot, but will give him all the credit in the world for not letting Dad pressure him into taking what was a marginal shot at best.  Guess I taught him well, and should listen to my own preaching.  Oh well, we still beat him too just couldn’t get the shot.



2012 Whitetail



Back to the pickup to head to our original destination, we didn’t make it 3 miles, and spotted another buck tending a doe next to a nice switchgrass waterway in a sprayed wheat stubble field.  We glassed them from almost ½ mile away and noticed there was a satellite buck bedded just north of the pair.  After a minute or two the buck and doe were bedded in the water way.  Preparing for the third stalk, I told Dalton it looked like a 130’s three-year-old and asked what he wanted to do.  We were both still a little frustrated about not sealing the deal from the Giant Buck encounter.  He said let’s get him. Enough said….  I told Dalton that the satellite buck would see us the entire stalk, to get behind me and we would walk behind the Whitetail Buck HUD to try and get into range of the 3 year old.  We closed the distance quickly and soon spotted the bucks antlers bedded 30 yards in front of us.  The satellite watched us approach the entire way and was still bedded in the stubble 60 yards away.  We moved into the magic 20 yard mark and the doe spotted us.  She busted out of her bed with the buck right behind her.  The HUD once again proved its value for a prairie deer hunter, as the buck was in disbelief that another buck (the HUD) was standing 20 yards away.  They both stopped at 25. Dalton was already drawn and as the buck began laying his ears back, I heard the twang of the string, saw a direct double lung hit and blood instantly spewed from the cut of the 100 grain Magnus Buzzcut.  We watched the buck make it a mere 150 yards and expire within seconds.

2011 Mule Deer



This successful hunt was the third hunt of the morning; we beat three mature bucks, and believe it or not this is Dalton’s third year in a row to kill a mature buck with a Heads Up Decoy.








That Was Quick...

As stated in my pre-season write up, I had looked forward to this season more than any I could remember. My preparation and accumulation of quality gear were at all time highs, and I'd spent more time scouting/shooting than ever.

The season began a little later than originally hoped, with a Kansas antelope hunt in late September. As usual the goats were rutting hard and hunting was even harder. I used about every tactic in the book to try for a large buck I'd known for the past two seasons. As they say, he didn't get that big because he was stupid.

Four plus days had been planned to get the job done, but it was becoming evident early on that killing the big buck would likely take a miracle. He was being pressured by more young bucks, arrow flingers, and amused passers-by than was ideal for a quality chance at a kill. On my second morning, while making my way towards the primary buck, I stumbled on a 12" satellite buck that had been stealing does and breeding them while the big one was occupied with others. He and I had the same idea, so I quickly hustled to a yucca covered hillside and popped up the Heads Up within 150 yards or so. The buck was a little leery, though primarily ticked off. He stomped his way to 50 yards and as I drew he jumped back about 5 yards or so giving my a broadside shot. As I released he tore off unscathed before my arrow even hit the dirt. A couple more attempts at the large buck yielded nothing encouraging, and he was eventually pushed off the property I was hunting and held on another by a group of pickups. Discouraged I quickly changed gears and headed off to another spot.

On the way I passed a group with a medium sized buck I had missed the year prior. I knew he was plenty mature as he had held this large group of does for at least two years and probably even longer I believed. A quick stalk to the edge of some abandoned corn, where the buck and his harem of 13 slept about 120 yards out led to a long sit. An hour and a half later a few of his does happened to feed my way. The decoy was at my side, but I was fearful the does would pick me off before the buck got a chance to investigate. These were some wise old fat does I wasn't about to try to outsmart. Thus I waited and finally got a chance at the buck. The first arrow was inches low at 50. He hopped up confused, and offered another attempt at 65. This one found its mark and a quick 300yd dash later he face planted in some wheat stubble. Another perfect KS antelope season was complete, my third in a row.

Instantly my focus switched to big northwest Kansas mulies. I'd seen some beautiful bucks over the summer and hoped to match or exceed my first mule deer, taken the year prior. After helping a buddy kill a great buck in muzzleloader season, I immediately jumped into it. I knew the best way to find and kill a big buck was to actually get out and cover some ground. And cover ground I did. For as dry as it was this year harvest seemed to drag on forever. Big deer were invisible. The first three weeks of October held little promise. However, finally much of the crops had been taken out and little by little mature deer began to appear. With time dwindling before a move and job change I hit it as hard as possible the last week of October. In little more than a day or two the switch flipped on the muley activity. On the 28th I followed a large buck in to some deep canyons, but had to pass when I found he'd already busted of a whole fork, likely 20-25" on a deer of that caliber. Minutes later I was 150 yards from a big bodied 4x4 in some standing milo. I stuck the muley doe decoy into the bow bracket and raised my bow high above my head. He spotted her instantly. Without hesitation he came on a string and gave me about 5 seconds at a 15 yard broadside shot. The buck had small forks and barely reached his ear tips in width, so he lived to see another day.

The following morning found me in another spot full of canyons and crp surrounded by crop ground. I had know of some large deer to come out of the area, but had yet to lay my eyes on one since season began. As luck would have it, one of the biggest deer I'd ever laid eyes on to date happened to appear out of some crp terraces that morning. He had a group of 25+ does and bucks within 200 yards of him as I observed his morning feeding, but paid little to no attention to any of them. With decoy in hand I decided it best to attempt a stalk and get a shot off undetected. After bouncing yucca to yucca for what seemed like forever I finally got my chance. He circled back for a broadside look and I punched one through the rear of his shoulder. He was hurt badly and made a quick dash down into the canyons. After a couple attempts he finally put himself in a good position for a finisher. I was without a buck tag heading in to November for the first time ever, but who am I to complain?

September Magic

Contributed by Prostaffer Ron Niziolek

The canyons and ridges in the rugged Wyoming backcountry remained silent during my early morning hike. On a morning this calm, bugles should have been echoing everywhere, making my bowhunt a little easier. I conceded that I would have to rely on my calling skills to create some action. I eased my way westward, still-hunting along ancient elk trails, slowly gaining more elevation. Suddenly, I heard some branches break ahead and slightly below me. I paused, listening to stirrings of elk moving through the forest.

I stepped forward to some small pines, quietly removed my pack and unbuckled my Heads Up Decoy. I clamped that likeness of a cow elk head to a chest-high branch, cleared an area to kneel in, nocked an arrow and then softly cow called. I patiently waited five minutes, and then sounded off with a locator bugle. A short, muffled grunt returned through the trees, definitely a bull elk. I estimated him to be about a hundred yards away. A slow 10 minutes went by before I bugled again. This one was met with silence. In fact, the next dozen were met with silence. The only sound was the occasional snap of branches or a hoof on a log. It was an agonizing wait.

Anxious for the long stalemate to end, I arranged the decoy a little differently and crawled forward for another 30 yards. The forest floor was covered with branches, pine cones and needles and sounded extremely crunchy. I felt if I went further, I’d push the bull out for sure. Finally I found a place where I could set up in front of a stump with some low brush for cover and once again I carefully cleared a place to kneel. When I was ready, this time I ripped the loudest, nastiest bugle, and that’s when the real excitement began…..

Brittle tree limbs cracked and shattered into pieces as the bull plowed his way toward me. He was mad as hell, huffing with every breath and coming in fast, trying to intimidate the bull that had just challenged him. I caught glimpses of chocolate colored legs and ivory tines as he snaked his way through the dense blowdown. He paused briefly and I could tell he was looking at the decoy. He screamed a challenge and continued toward the decoy. When he passed behind a large uprooted tree at 40 yards, I drew my Hoyt to full draw and prepared for the pending shot, but couldn’t stop the gentle shaking at the tip of my arrow.

I focused intently on my anchor point and kept my sight pins on him. He was close now and as he stepped broadside from behind a tree, my 30 yard pin was on him solid and I pulled through the release. Whack! The arrow hit a little high and rocked the bull to his knees. As he dropped and stumbled, I furiously nocked another arrow and sent a second one through him. He stumbled for another 60 yards, then was down for good. I usually like to spot and stalk, but now feel very confident when calling, especially while using my decoy.

The full story detailing Ron's hunt for his 2012 Wyoming bull will be featured in an upcoming issue of Extreme Elk Magazine.