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“Talk to me!” That was my greeting to the phone call I was answering from long-time friend and muley guru, Jeremy Dugger. “All hell has broken loose on the mountain!” was his reply. Jeremy continued with much enthusiasm, saying that there were bucks popping up everywhere in one of our favorite northern Arizona mule deer honey holes. Jeremy said that he and his nephew, Taylor Dugger, had spent an entire day looking things over. In their search they located many potential shooters – one even got the nickname, “Wide Load”, due to his exceptionally wide spread. Jeremy said “Wide Load” was a basic 3x3 but would possibly stretch the tape to nearly 30 inches in width. I was pumped and began counting the days until the opener.
Over the next month Jeremy continued to call me with exciting scouting reports. He was seeing many great four points and several shooter bucks. He even got video of “Wide Load”, as well as some great trail cam pictures of the wide-racked buck. Jeremy’s brother Larry had located a giant double-drop tine buck on one of his scouting trips. The buck was estimated to be well over the 200-inch mark and would be the focus of Larry’s hunt.
Finally, the season rolled around and we had opportunities on some of the better bucks right off the bat. A couple days into season, Larry connected on the double-dropper. The massive non-typical bruiser green scored an impressive 203 P&Y. Jeremy later connected on a great 4x4 that he had seen on previous scouting trips. The day before I rolled into camp, Larry’s son Taylor connected on a nice forked-horn buck. Taylor hammered the buck with a perfect 45-yard shot, dropping the buck in his tracks. This was Taylor’s second buck in as many years … not bad for only two seasons of bowhunting!
Joining me on the hunt was another good friend, Chase Hudson. We met at a pre-determined rendezvous in northern New Mexico. We gathered the last of our essential gear and food, and then made our way to the mountains of Northern Arizona. Joining us in camp were Jeremy, his father, Leroy, and Leroy’s brother, Dennis. Chase and I listened to the stories of all the bucks that had been hammered the past few days, and of all the close calls and near misses. Sleep did not come easy that night as visions of big velvet racks consumed my every thought.
I eventually fell asleep, but it wasn’t long before the alarm sounded. To say Chase and I were pumped would be an understatement. Though Chase has been hunting mule deer with me for years, he had yet to connect on a buck. He and I made a deal that he would take the first shot. Jeremy, Chase and I jumped in one truck to head to our hunting area, and Leroy and Dennis went their own way in another. The morning hunt was slow. We located a heard of dandy bucks early in the morning but no shots materialized. Leroy put a stalk on “Wide Load” but no shot opportunity presented itself. Wide Load was notorious for toying with hunters, presenting brief glimpses, but he always seemed to keep just enough brush between himself and us, never allowing a clear shot.
The evening hunt of the first day started slowly. Deer were not moving much at first, but just like they often do, all at once deer began to show themselves. As we were changing locations we noticed a herd of deer cross the road ahead of us, one of them being a buck. Upon glassing the deer I noticed the buck was a young 2x2; however, he had a drop-tine on his right side. Knowing that Chase wasn’t picky, I urged him to put a stalk on the buck. This would be a fine first buck for any hunter, and Jeremy agreed with me. Soon Chase was stalking the herd. Jeremy and I stayed back and watched as Chase closed in. When he was a mere 40 yards from the herd, the buck turned – offering a perfect quartering-away shot. Chase bent his Katera XL back, took careful aim and put the arrow right on the mark. The buck kicked his rear legs out like a bucking bronco and only made it a short way before piling up. Many slaps on the back, followed by a quick photo shoot, and my good friend had his first bow buck under his belt.
Day two dawned cool and rainy. After discussing the strategy for the day, I decided to try my luck at Wide Load. As we were making our way into one of the canyons that Wide Load was known to frequent, we saw a great 4x4, a smaller 4x4 and a doe. I glassed the bigger buck and realized he was a near 190-inch buck. As I was stalking the deer I noticed another buck had joined the threesome … it was Wide Load! Eventually an unseen doe ruined my stalk, and all of the deer headed for a shallow canyon. The big buck headed away from the other deer into an area that was not conducive to stalking. I backed out and went back to the truck. Jeremy thought he knew exactly where Wide Load was headed, so a plan was made and we were off.
As we rolled down the two-track logging road that split the canyon, Chase spotted a buck. Jeremy said, “That’s the small four-by-four that was with Wide Load.” I eased out of the truck and dropped down into the small canyon and began to still-hunt toward the buck. After several minutes the buck and a doe began to walk away from me up the other side of the canyon. I noticed movement to the left … it was a buck … it was “Wide Load”! Finally, I was up close and personal with the legendary wide-racked buck that I had heard about all summer. And I wanted him badly. The crafty buck would walk slowly away and stop, always with brush obstructing any view of his vitals. Every time the buck would walk I would try to get a good rangefinder reading. I would get the reading and draw my bow, and the buck would begin to walk again. Finally, I decided I was just going to have to go old school and rely on my yardage judging skills. I moved down the canyon with a big Ponderosa pine between the buck and me. As he topped the ridge just above me, I drew my AlphaMax and anchored. I began the count, looked at the ground, found the 20-yard mark and then added 30, 40, 50 … 55. I settled the pins and squeezed the release. THWACK! The buck lunged forward and disappeared over the top. All went silent.
Soon Jeremy and Chase arrived and we tracked the buck only a short distance before finding him piled up. My arrow had found its mark and the buck was mine. Though not the record book buck I had set out for, Wide Load is a special buck and he will be one of my fondest hunting memories for years to come. Starting with Larry, then Jeremy, Taylor, Chase and I, we loosed five arrows from Hoyt bows and five bucks bit the dust with five perfectly-placed arrows. How much sweeter does it get?
Editor’s Note: Jeremy and Larry Dugger are the owners of Xpert Archery in Farmington, New Mexico – a premier Hoyt dealer in the Four Corners region. Learn more about them at www.xpertarchery.com.