2014 Utah Archery Mule Deer

UP IN THE DANGER ZONE: BIG BACK's

An Incredible Story about the High Country Mule Deer - Big Back's
By: Sean Morgan

Another year has arrived, with my dad and I both drawing general archery deer tags in our home state of Utah. After a successful 2013 season, the challenge of killing another giant mule deer in the high country was upon us. July’s scouting trips produced many young bucks in all the basins we typically hunt, but it appeared that finding something special was going to be tough. Every year we seek out new areas in order to stay ahead of the competition and it wasn’t until ten days prior to the hunt that fate gave us a buck worthy of punching a tag on.

With no trail to follow, this scouting trip took us even further up, into more remote country. On the hike down, I noticed a hidden area high up in the cliffs that looked promising. Having only my binoculars with me, I glassed up into that distant basin and couldn’t believe my eyes! In the middle of the day, a buck “you know is big when you first see him,” was out in the open feeding with some other deer. Immediately, excitement took over and I knew this buck was the one to focus all our efforts on. We returned a couple of days later to get a closer look and decided to name this buck Big Backs, as he had some of the deepest back forks we’ve ever seen. We judged him to be in the 190-inch class; a mature buck with a great frame.

This buck was not going to be easy to hunt as he called the basin at 10,000 feet home, and the area was yet again unfamiliar to Dad and I. This new area offered more obstacles than where we usually hunt, but we knew what had to be done in order to harvest this particular buck. Step one was to figure out the best route to get up and down the mountain safely and with least resistance. We tried multiple paths, but either they were too dangerous or required too much effort. After studying aerial maps, we lucked into a more direct route but found it was much steeper than preferred. Step two was to find a site level enough to camp. By camping as high up as possible it would allow us to exert minimal amounts of energy during the hunt, but at the same time it needed to be located in an area that wouldn’t have any negative effects. Coexistence between hunter and animal is one of the most critical elements of hunting the high country. Staying undetected would increase our odds of harvest not only this year, but for years to come. Third was to collect enough water to supply us for the days we planned on hunting. A pristine water source was just around the corner in the drainage where the bucks lived, so we carefully snuck in well below the bucks, filled a number of containers, and carried them to camp. Lastly, we hauled as much gear as possible up to camp a few days prior to opening day. This included our tent, sleeping gear, food provisions, and other hunting equipment.

Because of the extreme conditions we had to endure in order to hunt this area, we now referred to the place as the Danger Zone. During the process of climbing 3,500 vertical feet in less than 1.5 miles, I began to experience some minor altitude sickness. I believe I began to feel these symptoms because I had hiked this route multiple times in a few short days and although very fit, my body simply couldn’t handle the extent of exhaustion. Having never had this issue before, it really affected my health and I could only hope to feel better before the hunt began.

The morning before opening day arrived and we made the treacherous final climb up the mountain with what seemed like our heaviest packs yet. Knowing this was going to be an all-or-nothing hunt, pushing the limits was necessary for us to be successful. We rested most of the day at camp to conserve our energy for the hunting we would be doing in the days that followed. That morning and evening we were unable to locate Big Backs, but knew he was in the area because two of his closest companions were out in the basin feeding below us. I was confident we made the right decision on hunting this particular buck and hoped he was just out of sight in the thick timber.

It was now the day we had been dreaming of and preparing for all year. We woke up before sunrise, performed our de-scenting routine, changed into our hunting attire, and hiked up to our glassing point. Fortunately, Big Backs and others were out in the open basin feeding through the small pines. We didn’t have much knowledge of their daily movement patterns, so we opted to sit back and watch them for a while. We assumed the bucks would eventually cross the basin towards us and bed down in the deep timber. As the morning hours drew on, the anticipation heightened and my Dad turned to me and said, “This buck is yours, Sean.” He knew how much time, sweat, and energy I had put in and offered me the first chance. This wasn’t the plan, as Dad was supposed to be first up this year, but I definitely couldn’t turn him down.

Three hours later, the bucks settled down into a small patch of pines and presented the opportune chance to move in closer. Choosing to stalk into an ambush position that placed me a hundred yards above them was my best bet and the waiting game began. I figured they would eventually get restless as the sun rose higher and would want to move. Luck was on my side and before I knew it, the bucks began to slowly move up my direction and towards an escape route. At this moment I was very thankful I had taken all the right steps to be scent free and had barely sweated on the stalk. As the bucks got closer and closer, the risk of spooking them escalated. I figured Big Backs would be towards the rear of the pack as big bucks usually are. I had pre-ranged all my distances beforehand and the trail they were taking was going to place them only 15-20 yards away.

Eventually, Big Backs moved up toward my shooting lane where the other bucks were standing, so I pulled my bow back. His vitals were partially blocked by one of the smaller bucks he’d stopped behind, but at this close range I knew I could make the shot. I took the risk and let the arrow fly! It all happened so fast, but I made an excellent shot on Big Backs, placing the arrow right behind his shoulder. Chaos broke out as the bucks scattered in every direction. Cheers of accomplishment echoed through the basin and I made my way back to my Dad, who was ecstatic. We waited a proper amount of time and began the search for my buck. Big Backs had only made it 100-yards down a steep rocky chute before expiring.

Now the task of taking care of this giant buck in the mid-day heat was going to be a challenge. We hiked back to camp to retrieve our large packs, knives, game bags and returned to Big Backs to take photos and quarter him out. The sheer steepness of the area made this hunt especially difficult, but was likely the reason Big Backs grew to be so large. I was very proud of myself for executing our game plan flawlessly and harvesting the buck we were targeting. I’d like to give another huge Thank You to my father, Ken Morgan, for being with me on this hunt! Every trophy we take only adds to the years of priceless memories.