HUNT: Early Season Utah Archery Mule Deer Hunt
CONSULTANT: Outdoors International
August, 2012
In the five days of archery mule deer hunting in Utah, I had been inside 75 yards of a 150 inch buck at least once every day and inside 25 yards twice. We had seen a lot of very good bucks with a few we estimated over 180 inches. We never saw less than three bucks over 150 inches every day.
My guide gave me three different options on the evening I shot my buck:
- Go back to the place where we had hunted in the morning in hopes of ambushing one of the three 150 inch or better deer on the way to alfalfa.
- Hunt a water hole a local wildlife officer said he had seen one 170 inch buck.
- Hunt the Alfalfa fields we checked out the day I arrived to try and ambush a buck coming to the fields.
We Chose Option #1
Knowing that we had at least three shooter mule deer in that area. Caleb also informed me that his father, Travis “Cheeto” who is another guide, would be coming along to help spot for us. On the way to our spot, we saw a good velvet buck next to the road about 30 yards in front of us. Travis suggested I step out of the jeep with my bow as he and Caleb continue down the road, which I did. I then walked down the road about 20 yards to see the buck at 36 yards between two trees. I could just barely see his front shoulder area and decided to try a shot. I drew my bow and was just about settled on the right sight pin, when the buck moved behind the tree and walk away without giving me a shot. He was not scared and seemed to have held up in some heavy brush about 90 yards away.
I began stalking down a trail above him.
As I got to about 75 yards, I could see him sneaking through the brush down the hill and away from me. I doubled back and headed downhill until I found another trail below where I thought the deer might be. After about 10 minutes, I could see the nice mule deer buck cross in front of me headed down the hill at about 70 yards. I slowly worked around some brush that separated us, ranged him at 54 yards, got my release on my D-loop, found a shooting lane through the Aspen trees, and drew my bow while he was still scratching his rump. As he turned to look forward, I let the arrow go. We found good blood and pieces of lung in route to where he lay about 130 yards from where he was hit.
The buck was huge!
I had paid little attention to the antlers when stalking and shooting because I knew the buck was a shooter when I first saw him. I had been focused only on getting a good shot off. I could not believe how blessed I was to take this incredible archery mule deer. In the five days of hunting, I had been inside 75 yards of a 150 inch buck at least once every day and inside 25 yards twice. We had seen a lot of very good bucks with a few we estimated over 180 inches. We never saw less than three bucks over 150 inches every day. Hunting in Utah is awesome!
Our cook did an excellent job providing a new breakfast favorite called banana foster French toast and she made killer enchiladas. The accommodations were first class and all of the staff and guides were absolutely superb to spend time with. My outfitter and his lovely wife were outstanding people and did a great job before and during my stay. I plan be hunting with them again someday, hopefully soon!!
Contact us About This HuntTHE OI DRAW
Apply to win a trip with one of our fully vetted outfitters.
Each drawing is capped making your odds better, and fully transparent. Apply as many times as you want, in essence creating your own odds.
Step 1
Browse the active draws above and apply for any trip(s) that interest you, and purchase as many chances as you want to increase your odds.
There are a limited number of tickets available for each drawing.
Step 2
Share with your friends!
This seems counter-intuitive, but we only draw a winner once all of the tickets for that drawing have been purchased.
Step 3
When all tickets have been purchased for a drawing, we'll show the drawing and announce the winner on our YouTube channel.
You should also follow us on the socials so you can stay in the loop.
PAST OI DRAW WINNERS
WINNER: Seth Sayles
Congratulations to Seth Sayles for winning this great Offshore sailfishing trip in Mexico for two (with $500 of travel expenses thrown in). You're going to love it, great trip.
WINNER: Brandon Ball
Congratulations to OI Draw Winner, Brandon Ball! He won a New Zealand Red Stag Hunt of a Lifetime!
WINNER: Christopher Adams
Congratulations to OI Draw Winner, Christopher Adams! He won a Fully Guided Mexico Coues Deer Hunt.
WINNER: Tyler Kirk
"Thank you Outdoors International! I'm very excited for the trip! I’ll be bringing my dad along with me. If you haven’t put in for the OI draws you should these guys are legit!"
WINNER: Brye Mangum
"I am so grateful for the opportunity! Thank you to Outdoors International, all the PHs and their awesome staff. I made some new friends and will be back to Africa to see them again 100%."
WINNER: Dason Lasater
"I won an OI Draw and it turned out to be one of my most memorable and rewarding experiences. This was my first guided hunt, and the outfitter was amazing! He was able to keep me encouraged and motivated, and he suggested I hold out for true trophies. I would rate him an 11 on a scale from 1-10. I always dreamed about Africa, but never thought it'd be a reality for me."
WINNER: Kim Osborn
Join us in congratulating Kim Osborn, winner of the OI Draw! She's in for an unforgettable hunting experience with a top-notch PH, 5-star lodging, and high trophy quality animals.
Thousands of people have trusted Outdoors International to help plan their hunt.
We have a team of hand-selected hunting experts to help you book your next trip. Our job it is to help you in researching, booking and planning a great adventure with one of our amazing outfitter partners around the world.
My hunt was absolutely top notch.
The outfitter is a fantastic man and incredibly hard working and knowledgeable, there is no doubt he will do everything within his power to make peoples hunts successful and enjoyable. I plan to do it again with him next year for sure.
Wade Zuver
Our hunt was excellent.
We saw bucks every day along with all other sorts of wildlife. Mountain goats, bears, and foxes were common sights. Fishing and crabbing was special bonus. The food was excellent, the crew was amazing. Outdoors International did a great job of finding exactly what we were looking for.
Jesse Neveau
What an amazing experience!
The hunting lodge was out of this world!, Rooms, food and the scenery were all A+. Our guide was exceptional and had us on Shiras moose all five days. We saw over 30 total with at least 10 bulls. They had a plan for everything including taxidermy and game processing.
Kayla Redmon
The hunt reports are starting to roll in. Here's one from a client who just got back from an early archery mule deer hunt in Utah.