Muley Crazy Article

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STORY BY JEREMY G
TWO KANSAS WHOPPERS IN JUST FOUR DAYS!
I here's nothing quite like the feeling of finally working
in close to a monster mule deer, especially one you've
been watching grow season after season. Luckily, I get
to do that several times a year while guiding for my outfitting
business. Sagebrush Hunts LLC. The 2009 Kansas muzzleloader season was no exception as we shot two monster
muleys in seven days, getting in as close as 20 yards.
With the help of my brother, Jerad, we had been scouting
hard all summer long. Not long into the scouting season, I
located a buck that we needed to keep tabs on. Taith be
told, I had actually seen him the previous winter. But this
year, I guessed him to be slightly over 30 inches wide and
somewhere in the 180s.
Our first client of the season, Harlan Anderson, arrived the
clay before the early season opened and I knew he had
been looking forward to this hunt all year. He had called me
several times throughout the year and he was always asking,
"Do you have that big buck tied up for me yet?" When
Harlan got to the lodge, I was happy to tell him that I had
indeed found the big buck, but I had to chuckle as I said
that I hadn't been able to get him tied up.
The morning of the first day we
got set up on a high point overlooking some rough, choppy hills.
We started glassing and right away
we saw a group of does and
fawns in just the spot where I was
expecting the buck to be. Then. I
spotted a group of eight bucks farther into the hills. They were
about a half-mile away, but I knew the buck we were looking for was there. We quickly made a stalk and closed the
distance to 500 yards. Once there, I had a bedded buck
spotted so we again headed closer. As we weaved through
the sagebrush, we busted a doe, which in turn, promptly
jumped up the big boy! Disappointed, we watched as he
ran straight away from us!
Not ones to give up easily, we found a high point and after
getting him relocated, luck was finally in our favor as we
were able to make the stalk to within 140 yards. He was
bedded in tall sagebrush and yucca so we had to wait until
he stood to take a shot. Since it was only mid-morning, I
feared it would be a long wait. My eyes ached after staring
at the buck for more than an hour but
it was another long hour after that
before we saw his antlers begin to rustle in the brush. Harlan prepared his
muzzleloader for the shot but when
the buck stood and turned broadside,
all the anticipation had unsteadied
Harlan and he missed. The buck,
unsure about the noise, stood perfectly
still. Harlan quickly reloaded and shot
again, this time connecting. While the
buck only ran 100 yards before falling,
just as I turned to congratulate Harlan,
the buck gathered his footing and took
off. He wasn't going to make it easy,
and that was never more evident as he
led us on an all-day, gut-wrenching
track job. An afternoon rain rolled in,
however, and with no end in sight, we
called it quits for the day.
After a long sleepless night, we returned
to the same hill. At daybreak, I saw the
buck bedded only 500 yards away with
his antlers glistening in the morning
sun. We quickly dosed the distance, but
as we peeked over the hill the buck
was nowhere to be seen. Then, to my
surprise I heard Harlan whisper, "There
he is." I saw the buck just in time to
watch Harlan drop him at 20 yards with
a single shot. It may have only taken a
little over a day to kill the buck, but it
was a challenging hunt we won't soon
forget. Well worth it as the buck scored
just shy of 180 and was 31 inches wide,
~ One Down, One To Go After getting Harlan headed home, I
quickly set out to find another great
buck for our second hunter, Michael
Atha. At first light the next morning, I
immediately spotted a big non-typical
in my 15s that I recognized as a buck
from the year prior. I could hardly
believe my eyes because he had grown
a tremendous amount. Last year I felt
he was a young buck and as such, we
decided to give him at least another
year...and man, was I glad we made
that choice! Knowing
our window of
opportunity could
close at any minute,
I called Michael to
see if he could
come right away.
Unfortunately, he
couldn't be there for
two more days and
so I was forced to
simply watch this giant
buck go about his business.
Finally, the time for Michael's hunt was
here and the first morning found
Michael, Jerad, and I set up on a hill,
glassing. True to his pattern, we found
the big buck about a mile away, with a
group of bucks feeding. We watched
them until they bedded down but much
to our surprise, we never saw them
again that day.
The second day of the hunt brought
renewed excitement for all three of us.
We positioned ourselves in similar locations, but by midmorning, neither Jerad
nor I had seen any of the bucks from
the group. I was beginning to wonder if
the big non-typical had disappeared for
good. Just as we were about to pack it
Harlan Anderson harvested the first great buck taken on the 2009 Kansas
muzzleloader season with the above 31-inch wide, 180-gross typical.
in for the morning, Jerad indicated that
he had spotted something. Michael and
I rushed his way, just in time to see the
big non-typical move out of sight about
a mile away from us. We set up and
began glassing and after an hour had
passed with no sign, we figured they
must have bedded down.
Luckily, there was a good, 30 mph
Kansas wind that day and being that we
had a pretty good idea where they
might be bedded, I felt comfortable
enough to walk in blindly. So, Michael
and I left Jerad glassing and we made
our way in.
As we approached a hill where I
thought we would be able to see the
buck, the cover began to get somewhat
thin and so we had to bellycrawl the last
200 yards to keep our concealment in
the sage. Once set up. I rose up on my
knees to look around and as I did, the
big non-typical stood up 59 yards from
us! Michael scrambled to get his gun on
the tripod but the buck was standing
right behind a big yucca and he never
presented a clear shot. A few minutes
later, the buck laid right back down in
the same spot, having never known we
were so close. Michael looked at me
with wide eyes, fumbling to get his gun
back on safety. He handed me the gun
and asked me to uncock the hammer,
because he was shaking like a leaf.
Michael Atha's incredible Kansas buck was a direct result of Jeremy Gugelmeyer's relentless scouting efforts, as is evident from
the above photos. Many people say that a hunter is only as good as his guide; fortunately for Michael, he had one of the best.
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We watched the buck intently while
Michael regained his composure. He
was laying right behind the yucca and
all we could see were the tips of his
antlers, but at 59 yards his giant rack
was intimidating. With no other options,
we were forced to w7ait for him to make
a move.
Thirty minutes passed when I saw the
classic shaking of the antlers, indicating
that he was going to stand. Michael
quickly prepared for the shot and after
the buck took one step from behind the
yucca, this time he was steady. Michael
made a perfect shot and just like that,
the buck fell in his tracks.
As we approached the downed buck, I
could not believe my eyes! I knew he
was big, but I didn't realize he was this
big! He had 21 total points and measured 28 inches wide, with 40 inches of
extras, resulting in a whopping score of
243 5/8! After many high-fives, Michael
couldn't thank me enough for his
once-in-a-lifetime buck. In only four
clays of actual hunting, my hunters had
shot more than 424 inches of mule deer
bone.. .with their muzzleloaders! Many
thanks go to Harlan and Michael for
their business and friendship. I also
want to thank my brother, Jeracl, for all
his help in the field and my wife and
sister for their help at the lodge. I
certainly couldn't do this alone. I look
forward to trying to top this
season...bring on 2010!