Monster Muleys Podcast
All aspects of western hunting, with a focus on mule deer.
Monster Muleys Podcast
Episode 4: Hunt Where Big Bucks Live with Bryant Hemingway AKA One Dry Boot
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Welcome back to the Monster Muleys Podcast. I'm your host, Shane Rasmussen. In this episode, I'm joined by longtime MonsterMuleys.com forum member Bryant Hemingway, better known online as "One Dry Boot."
Bryant has spent decades chasing mature mule deer across the West, and today we dive into one of the most important—and often overlooked—aspects of finding and harvesting truly big bucks: understanding body characteristics. We discuss how an old buck's body can tell a story, why body size is critical when judging antler size in the field, and how hunters can avoid being fooled by young deer with impressive-looking racks.
We also talk about the importance of hunting where mature bucks actually live and how location often plays a bigger role than hunting tactics alone. Finally, Bryant shares the story of a recent giant buck he harvested, including the lessons learned and the decisions that led to success.
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Alright, this is Shane Rasmussen, your host of the Monster Mulies podcast. I've had a couple guys ask me some questions. Um, anyways, want to know kind of who I am. And anyways, on Monster Mulies, my name's Schoolhouse Grizz. Been on there for about 13 years, uh, 14 years, but yeah, social media Rasmussen Adventures for YouTube and Instagram. But and maybe we'll do a podcast coming up with uh with me on there. Um maybe I'll have someone interview me. Let me know if you want to be a host. Maybe I'll have a founder do it. But yeah, today I got one dried boot on. Uh first name, real name is Bryant. Anyways, Bryant's killed a lot of big bucks. Um that's what I love about MM. He's got a lot of these good hunters that no one knows about. And I mean, he's killed three bucks over 200. Um, anyways, it's fun to talk to him, hear his knowledge, hear his experience, get his thoughts. So, anyways, as always, there'll be a thread on MM that talks about this podcast. If you have any questions for him or me or any thoughts, get on there and ask him. And uh yeah, I would love to hear you guys' thoughts and questions about this podcast. All right, here we go. All right, guys, welcome to the Monster Mulies Podcast. I got Bryant Hemingway on here today, a longtime member with Monster Mulies. Some of you might know him as one dry boot. So, how's it going, Bryant? Pretty good. How about yourself? Good. So, one thing I I think I'm gonna start doing is when I have MM members on here, I'm gonna ask them how they came up with their name, their handle. And I haven't done it yet, so I'll tell you about mine. Okay. So um, mine schoolhouse grizz. So, what what that comes from is uh there's a place in Idaho I like to hunt. Uh, name of the canyon, a schoolhouse I've been going up ever since I was little, and um one day ran into a a breeding pair of grizzlies in there um about 70 yards away. And but but uh they didn't pay us much attention, just ran off there chasing each other, or the boar was chasing the sound. So, anyways, I always thought that was super cool. So I decided schoolhouse grizz. And now on your name, Bryant, I've always I've always wondered like where did he get that one dry boot? Can you tell us the story behind that?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, um when I was younger, my dad used to play in some poker tournaments, and uh he would go by the handle one dry boot. And so it, you know, nothing it came from him. Um I kind of took it over. I thought it was a kind of a fitting name for a you know a hunting forum. And you know, uh a lot of times hunting you have, you know, well, I do. I have one one, well, mostly two wet boots, but yeah, one dry boot sounded sounded better, so I stuck with that. I love it.
SPEAKER_01All right. Do you know where your dad, how he came up with it? I have no clue. All right. I was thinking that you were on maybe some hunt adventure and I don't know, fell in the water. I don't know. That's what I was thinking where it came from. But all right, cool. Um, all right, so I've talked I've talked a little bit, a little bit to you before, and you've killed a number of big bucks. You've got a you got two or three over 200, correct? Yep, three, three now. Three over 200. That's very impressive. Um, so what maybe tell us how you got started hunting mule deer, or yeah, just kind of your early days and how it went, and maybe even how old you were when you shot your first buck. I wasn't I didn't get a first buck. I was such a mess in a panic. I didn't get my first buck till I was 21. So yeah. Oh wow. I got an elk before that, but yeah, let's kind of hear your story.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, um, I grew up hunting with my dad at a young age, eight years old, seven, you know, before I could actually hunt. Uh it was kind of a family tradition. We'd go with my uncle, my grandpa, my dad. Um, and we'd just deer camp every year, you know, kind of this traditional family style hunt. We'd all go out and have fun. Um, I'd say the real one that got me hooked was the first deer that I I watched my dad actually kill. We were walking through the through the aspens, and I had found a great big deadhead. Uh he's probably a 190s buck, six by seven, you know, just junk. And my dad walked over it like he he wasn't looking at the ground, he just walked over it like a piece of sagebrush.
SPEAKER_01Hey Brian, let yeah let me that stupid song came on. I'm just gonna I'm gonna I'm gonna cut it right there. So and then so I think I just asked, tell us about the early days, right? When you started. Yeah. Okay, so just just start now. Sorry. Start that over. Yeah, sorry. I was wondering what I didn't I didn't know if that was just, you know. No, I pushed the wrong button.
SPEAKER_00So, anyways, yeah, go ahead. Um my my early hunting days started with my dad, um, family hunt with my uncle, my grandpa, just the traditional style, you know, family hunts that a lot of us grew up doing. And that's how I got hooked. My first where I really got hook hooked was my first watch my dad shoot the first buck. We were walking through the the aspens, and um he stepped over what he thought was a sagebrush, and I looked down and it was a great big dead head, probably a 190s type buck, you know, junk, trash, just an awesome, awesome animal. And I'm all excited, pick it up, and we're dinking around. And I wanted to shoot my BB gun because I was carrying my BB gun. I was eight, nine years old, and so I I point my BB gun getting ready to shoot, and right where I was aiming, I see some movement, and there were a couple deer walking um through the aspen, I said, Dad, there's a deer. And uh he uh raises his gun and I mean instantly just gun goes off, boom, and scared the crap out of me. And then all of a sudden he takes off running down the mountain. And I, you know, I'm eight, nine years old, it's getting dark. Um kind of scared me because he was gone. I didn't know where he went. And finally he yells to me, I come over, and we can't find this deer, so we're looking around. And finally, I come around a little corner um behind some pines, and it's just laying there. And the shock hit me because I'd never been around a deer, and I just you know, the shock of an of a dead animal, I was just like, holy crap!
SPEAKER_01And how old were you at this time?
SPEAKER_00Eight, nine years old, pretty young. Um and that was that was really kind of what got me hooked, is you know, that family tradition. We'd go every year, and you know, then when I became old enough to hunt, I think it was 14 in Utah, um went up on my uncle's dry farm and opening morning, you know, there's an 18-inch three-point, and you know, I harvested my first deer. The next year I got in trouble in school or something, so my dad grounded me from hunting opening weekend, which devastated me because I was hooked at this point. And that's rough. Um, but we went, I think, the third day and same, same deal. 16, 18 inch three-point shot at um.
SPEAKER_01Did your dad did your dad go out opening weekend or he was probably busy, so he just is like, I'm gonna tell him he's grounded.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I don't remember. I don't think he even had a tag. Okay. Um I don't remember him hunting. If he was hunting, at that point he was, you know, they had to be pretty good size for him to kill it. So he was more, you know, letting me letting me get my taste of you know, of hunting and filling a tag.
SPEAKER_01So nice. And so anyway, so you got a couple three points. And then now when you're hunting, now is it I mean, I have a feeling it's probably a mix of depending on the hunt. I mean, is it more of a family deal or is it a little more serious, maybe just with you or a hunting buddy where you head out, or you try to involve the family, or just kind of a mix of both?
SPEAKER_00Um, I'd I'd say once I once I became an adult, you know, I I kind of hunted just a little around Utah, and then around 20 2008, you know, a couple buddies, my uncle, we found some Colorado tags, and that's really where kind of the the mule deer trying for big deer um got me hooked is you know, we went to Colorado and um Colorado's a different world, you know, compared to what we are used to here in Utah. You know, we saw a lot of good deer, and you know, I ended up my my buddy he killed a 200-inch buck the first year we went. Um I held out trying for big, passed a few decent ones, and you know, ended up killing like a 170 buck the last day, which you know that picture has has spread around monster mullies. Um I'm in a camo man thong. Okay, and uh a lot of people have seen it, and it's a it's a pretty good meme, but you know, we were just dinking off, taking dumb pictures with it, and it it got on the internet somehow.
SPEAKER_01So all right. I think I have seen that floating around years ago. I'm sorry, I apologize for that. Yeah, so those tags you got in Colorado, are you still able to go to those units or are they way out of your reach now?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, um, a little of both. You know, when we first started hunting Colorado, we'd buy landowner tags in that unit for 500 bucks. And um, you know, the first year we did real well, the second year we went back, and you know, my mindset kind of changed of um I I started setting goals hunting. You know, I wanted to kill my first two goals was I wanted to kill a a 30-inch deer, I wanted to kill a 180-inch deer. And then I my third goal was a 200-inch buck. Um that second year I was able to kill a 30-inch four-point. And then the third year we went was my first, you know, 200-inch deer that I ended up killing on that same hunt. But now those those same tags, you know, it went from one point, two points to draw a third season tag to now it's eight or nine. And, you know, you're looking at three, four, or five thousand dollars for those same tags now. Jeez, you know, landowner tags.
SPEAKER_01So yeah, uh the more I talk to people, um, those people that were able to get in, um, I may be a little ahead of the curve um before social media and all these different maybe application agencies came out. Those people that were in the know were able to get some good tags there. 2000, 2000, even up to 2000, I don't know, 12, 13, and then it kind of, I don't know, started getting harder and harder. But that's awesome. Um so when when so how old were you when you shot that your 200-inch buck?
SPEAKER_00Oh, it was 2010. I was I don't know, 30. Okay. Um, I mean, I'm 44 now, 2010, 16 years ago, 28. I don't know how to do math.
SPEAKER_01I went to Morgan High School, so um, but so when when you go to have you been to Colorado in recent years? Yep. Well yeah, we hunted it. Go ahead. No, go ahead.
SPEAKER_00You can go ahead and finish. Sorry. We uh I took my boys to that same unit last year. Oh no. Um and I've hunted it quite a bit over the years. We hunted it four or five years in a row, and the quality, you you know, you mentioned the you know, the magazines that come out, and you know, they pump up units, and it got real hard to draw, but also the quality went down drastically, you know, and that's not just from the magazines, but it's from um, you know, too many tags, predators, whatever.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that's what I was gonna ask you. So when did you start noticing the quality drop, would you say?
SPEAKER_00I would say probably the fifth fifth, sixth year. Um when uh you know, some of the a lot of the hunters started drawing the tags from these um you know hunting magazines. They're a lot more serious hunters, you know. They're they're uh big buck hunters, they're gonna come in. They're they're better hunters, I feel. You know, before the first few years, you'd see a lot of you know, two points and small bucks in camps, and um probably that fifth year after it kind of got pumped up, quality. You could see quality was going down, but you know, that was also from our doing. You know, we'd have a group of four every year, and at least half of us would kill 180 plus bucks, and usually three out of the four of us would, and a couple of them would be over 190.
SPEAKER_01Jeez. So that was probably like what 2017-ish? When you about then, when you the fifth or sixth year you were there, would you say?
SPEAKER_00No, 2010, 2011, 12. Oh then we we went back, you know, I've had the tag a number of times in the last five or six years. 2022, I killed a 190 buck um on third season. But I was also there 12, 13 days between scouting and hunting, and he's the he was the biggest buck by far. I saw the next biggest was probably a 150 buck. Jeez, and so I spent a lot of time and just didn't couldn't find anything.
SPEAKER_01But back in around 08, 09, 10, all that, they were you were seeing quite a few, huh?
SPEAKER_00It was amazing, yeah. It was, I mean, there were a lot of good deer, mature old deer. Um, you know, we call them dinosaurs, yeah. Or or bunny rabbits. They were just, you know, big, fat, huge swollen necks, and um, you know, a lot a lot's changed since then. Yeah. Were you hunting mainly third or second and third? Um both. We did a lot of third first um for years, and then as that became more third season became more expensive or harder to draw, we switched to second season, even started doing muzzleloader and archery in the same unit. Um, because you can draw the archery or muzz with zero to one point. Hunt the same bucks, you know, and hunt them up in the high country timber line type stuff.
SPEAKER_01So okay. When you went from third to second, did you notice a big change in quality and quantity of bucks spotted?
SPEAKER_00Um, it was yeah, it was a little bit harder to find the the mature deer. You know, they were kind of in that transition zone in the thicker country, that mid-elevation, where it's harder to find where a lot of the third season bucks, um, and what I found interesting is we're hunting them on the winter range where we'd find and pick up sheds while we're hunting. And we we've killed four or five of the of the bucks we found sheds to in the same canyons. And the um probably the most memorable one was um that first 200-inch deer that I ended up killing in Colorado the year before I I killed him. Um I found him, and I just as I was setting up for the shot, he was feeding broadside, and he lifted his head and looked at me, and one antler was completely broken off. I don't know if it was shot off or he broke it off fighting or something, but I passed him that year. The next year I went back and I I told my uncle and my buddies, I said, I'm I'm gonna kill this deer. Um, I hunted the same spot, the same knob for four straight days, didn't see hardly anything. And um through glassing, I'd found 20-something sheds, you know, just on the hillside in this big basin. And I was burnt out. I was like, oh, screw this, I'm gonna go pick up sheds. So I think it was the afternoon of the third day. I'm going in this big basin, picking up all the sheds. Then just about prime time, I'm heading back and I come over this little spine as I'm walking back, and I found the sheds to that buck from the year before that broke off one side. I found his I found his non-typical side that he didn't break off. And we went back to camp, and you know, I I was joking around with my uncle and buddies that said, I'm gonna sleep with his shed under the pillow, I'm gonna kill him tomorrow, you know, just totally goofing off. And that very next morning I killed him 200 yards from where I found his shed.
SPEAKER_01And that was third season, third season. That's cool, that's way cool.
SPEAKER_00And it was, man, it was it was one of the coolest experiences just you know to find his shed the day before, and then all of a sudden he's there. It's like, what what is going on here with a doe or a doe? He was with another buck, actually, another big buck. And um he was with a 190s buck, and my my buddy ended up killing him later on in the hunt. Okay, yeah, he was he was still running with bucks and no does, no rutting at that time.
SPEAKER_01Huh. So now that you've uh it sounds like you've got you had some pretty good hunts back then, maybe when there's a few more mature mature bucks. Um, so now when you're out hunting, are you depending on the area you're in or even the state, are your are your standards a little different and are you still getting excited? What do what are your thoughts on that?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, um I've killed uh over the years I've killed a lot of you know 160 to 170s type deer. And even from when I was young till now, I've always tried to kill bigger every year. You know, if I've killed a number of 160s, I want the next level. And so I've you know, I a lot of years I was able to kill bigger up to a certain, you know, you get to a certain point, and then you know, those 180, 190 plus bucks get hard to find. And um I think for me, I really started hunting Colorado and Wyoming, and that's really where I could find those next level type bucks. Utah, you know, we've talked a little bit about Utah and areas we've hunted um in the past, just you know, DMs on monster mullies. And you know, if if I see a 160 buck in Utah, I mean I'm I'm probably killing it.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and so yeah, I just I got done with a podcast with Robbie Danning, and he was saying I really liked his advice. He's like, make sure you're not hunting phantoms, and that that's the thing is um, you know, maybe I maybe I get a little picky in Utah sometimes, but yeah, I want I would say from all the hunting I've done in glassing, uh I I think a 160 buck is pretty dang good in Utah on a general season tag, to be honest.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely, yeah. I've yeah, I've I've killed a few 160 type deer in Utah. Um nothing nothing huge, but you know, to me the hunting in in other states is so much better. Um, the management or the genetics, um, you know, Colorado, Wyoming, but you know, I'm to the point now where even Utah, if I have a tag, you know, I had a I had dedicated down on Pine Valley, uh-huh, um, which we discussed, but I'm still of the mindset, like I'm pretty much anywhere I go, it's it's 190 or bigger, you know. Um, and I it's not just a number. If I see a cool deer, yeah, something that intrigues me, but I don't, I'm not gonna kill a deer just to kill it anymore.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, no, I uh I uh I'm the same way, so I had a Colorado tag. It wasn't a great tag this last year, and my goal was okay, I'm gonna hold out for 170. Um and I man, I hunted hard, and it was the last day, the last night actually, probably honestly five minutes before it was dark. And this I was watching this buck, and he was about 160, but I could tell that it was gonna excite me to shoot him. And I'm like, you know what? I've hunted hard. That's a good looking buck. Yeah and I I f I found myself wanting to shoot him, so I did. All right. And I was I was happy it was a good, it was a good hunt. So sometimes, yeah, the experience definitely plays a role in it for sure.
SPEAKER_00The one the one thing you that you keyed in on is, you know, you can't hunt ghosts. You can't hunt phantoms. If you're you know, if you're a trophy, if you're trophy deer hunting, you know, the area helps, you know, you gotta hunt big deer. where they live. If very few big deer live in you know certain units in Utah or wherever, your chances are very slim.
SPEAKER_01Yep. No, I I yeah for sure. There was a I remember there was a thread on MM one time and this guy was talking about how uh he um he was he was shooting 150, 160 bucks and all of a sudden he got he I think the the girl he married uh the father in law had a bunch of land and he's like all of a sudden I became some great hunter because I was shooting 180 bucks every year. It's like then he lost his land and I wasn't such a good hunter anymore.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Yep. And that's the key you know Wyoming um we've talked a bunch about Wyoming as well and you know listening to Founder in the first podcast um you know you hunt where where the big deer are and um once in a while you get lucky.
SPEAKER_01Yeah yeah and there may be some people out there saying there's great big bucks killed in general units all over the West and there is right you guarantee there's going to be 200 inch bucks killed on general units in Utah this year. Like there's always going to be those those bucks around it's just yeah it's pretty hard to count on it I guess or to you know they're they're there for sure but yeah not maybe consistent.
SPEAKER_00Yep and I've with me you know I I I would say I hunt more than most people um generally usually I'll have two or three different different tags in different states a year. And so for for me it's more more timing.
SPEAKER_01I don't have the time to dedicate you know to general season Utah yeah um if I'm hunting Wyoming Colorado or Idaho um but the guys that can put in the work you know I I think they can they can do well if they dedicate it put in the work learn it year after year and and can hunt it consistently I think they you know they'll they'll turn up those style bucks even in general yeah for sure yeah yeah you're right and I don't want to give Utah a bad name because they're I mean they're out there right people putting in the work and the time the they can turn them up for sure but yeah realistically like let's be honest it's a little harder in Utah yeah but yeah there's still some big bucks for sure but yeah um what uh what would you say anything you've learned over the years or a mistake you used to constantly make and kind of figured it out or something that uh really helped you kill get on get on these bigger bucks and have success on them anything come to mind or not really yeah um I think for me is um for a lot of years I was so concerned on killing an animal oh I gotta kill a buck I gotta kill a buck and you know it wasn't about the experience it wasn't about the hunt the mountains the friends or family you were with you know it was more I just gotta kill a buck um after I killed a few and like I said I've always tried to kill bigger and bigger um for me now I enjoy I the I enjoy the whole experience of you know scouting in the summer finding the animals um trying to pattern them um because big deer they're they are a smart animal um most of the time they win even if you think you haven't figured out um they win more than you do for sure and so for me it's more I enjoy the whole experience of it being out there just being away from the rat race of of work and everything we deal with here and just go be in peace up there and I'm not afraid to eat eat my tag yeah yeah that's um and that's what's that's what's changed for me is I don't if I eat my tag I eat it and I've I've eaten a lot of good tags over the years and it doesn't bother me. Yeah no I it yeah I've I've gotten better in that way for sure um I ate a Colorado tag a couple years ago but yeah I just couldn't find what I wanted and I'll I've hear a lot of people say you know if you've got a few 160 bucks maybe 170 bucks if you haven't I've heard people say if you haven't broke 180 it's probably because you're just not staying off the trigger. Yeah um which you know I'm sure it's true in some cases for sure.
SPEAKER_00But so I have a I have a nickname you know with my my uncle nicknamed me years ago FL um which stands for F and lucky yeah um I won't say the real word you know on the podcast but I don't want you to have to beep it out but thanks um you know I I gained that nickname because I have killed you know a lot of good animals but to me I pass up you know those 150 160 bucks and once in a while I'll get lucky where you know my buddies I have a few friends you know oh you always kill big deer you're you're so lucky it's like well dude opening morning you kill the 150 buck you didn't even give yourself a chance you know and that's that's the difference is if you want to kill a big deer you're gonna have to pass up some decent animals to get there most of the time.
SPEAKER_01Yeah there's that famous saying out there that I I disagree with it's uh never pass up the first day what you'd be happy to shoot on the last day and I'm like no like right the more you pass up the better better chance you know the more bucks you see the better chance you're gonna see when you really want so yeah yep and it it it all depends on your goals and what you know what you want and you know if you're happy um killing a a two point or a a 160 or a whatever you know if it makes you happy do it.
SPEAKER_00For sure. But you know don't don't come to don't come to me and tell me how lucky I am when I've I've been eating tags and t after tag and once in a while I'll get lucky.
SPEAKER_01Yeah have you type of deal. No sounds like I'm sure it's a little more than luck but yeah luck definitely plays a role.
SPEAKER_00What uh any you ever passed a buck that you're like oh man maybe I shouldn't have or not really uh yeah oh yeah yeah there's there's one that comes to mind um 2015 I was hunting Wyoming and I was packed in um I it was I was hunting the biggest buck I've ever hunted he was probably a 230 inch buck um we'd seen him multiple years archery I should have killed him but I didn't um and on the rifle you know I'd I'd been up there a lot of the archery hunt most of the rifle hunt I saw him one day on our on opening day of rifle I saw him and then I didn't see him I hunted 30 days up there around 30 days never killed him but I there was a buck he was probably a 190 deer and uh I knew I'd seen him previous in the summer scouting and you know I was so dead set on to this other buck or nothing that when I saw him at my binoculars you know I hit I found him in the binos and I basically like eh and I just kept going yeah and I actually that's when I I kind of got burnt out I would after I passed him and a couple days later I'm like what am I doing like I'm up here that's an awesome deer like what am I doing yeah no yeah we all have those thoughts creep in sometimes yeah like what am I yeah what am I doing but yeah that's a big that's a big buck to pass 190 man yeah and it it's he was a beautiful deer but you know I was so dead set on that one buck.
SPEAKER_01Yeah at that time you'd probably kill the 200 incher so I had yeah so that I mean that makes it a little different.
SPEAKER_00I mean especially when you know he's there if you know the 230's there and you've killed a 200 inch buck I mean I see why you passed him yeah but I at the same time after that season was over I I deleted all the pictures off my phone of that deer I was so burnt out that I said I will never hunt that way again and and for the most part I I've changed the way I hunt now you know last year I drew a good Wyoming tag this year I have the same tag but every year you know this year I'll go up there and I'll uh scouting I'll I'll probably scout five or six different weekends and um I'll I'll put a good amount of time in but I'll I'll have a hit list of you know three to five or six bucks that are you know I feel are shooters and the first one of those those bucks I see I I will shoot.
SPEAKER_01Yeah nice yeah no that's nope I've heard of uh quite a few my my father in law told a story about that same same incident kind of passed up a buck and then was down and mad at him yeah the other thing is too is I've noticed like we see these bucks so about 2022 I had a Colorado tag and anyways my goal for this tag I'm like if I see 175 plus I'm gonna shoot so opening morning I'm not kidding you 10 minutes into the hunt there's this buck and there's this buck and I'm like are you freaking kidding me and I'm looking at him and I'm like he's probably right there he's probably like 175 and I'm sitting there and I don't know what to do and I my dad's with me and I'm like dad I think I'm gonna take him and so anyways I take him ends up scoring 187. Oh wow yeah and so I was super happy first time I I'll be honest first and only time I broke 180 and so and so um anyways we we see a lot of these bucks and we we score them up in our mind um and we just figure at least me I figure yeah that but even on the winter range it's like oh yeah he's probably like a 170 buck and the truth is I mean they are so tricky um the how big their body is how far apart how big are their ears their heads and and sometimes you can overjudge for sure I've done that too but right but it's interesting it's like you're probably I mean you're probably pretty close but I mean they'll they'll they can be tricky you might be you might not be as close as you think you are sometimes if they were on the ground and you had a tape on them.
SPEAKER_00Right yeah there's a lot going on I mean the curvature to the body size yeah so yeah but well and you it and it depends on the state you're you're hunting I had a book cliffs 2019 I had a bookcliff's archery deer tag did that buck have a cheater on one side it did yeah yeah that was a good looking buck yep he's he's a great deer and then I also had a Wyoming deer tag in region G that year and so I go up and I kill that Book Cliffs Archery buck opening day and I just found him in the summer um we thought he was probably a 170s deer um but they have tiny bookcliffs tiny little bodies little head little neck um and he ended up scoring right around 190 with the cheater yeah I was gonna say he looked better than 170 to me yeah well and I underjudged that one but his antlers looked so big but then I go 10 days later I go to Wyoming and on the archery hunt and the bodies are just huge. You know the buck I killed in Wyoming that year had 26 inch ears from tip to tip.
SPEAKER_01Yep and you know if you're judging you know in Utah you're judging okay 20 to 22 ears if you're doing that in Wyoming thinking they're 22 inches wide and they're 26 he's a lot bigger than what you know what you yeah thought he was yeah that buck I was telling you about it was 187 his ears were 26 inches. Yeah and but I had the reverse happen to me one year at oh man I was sick to my stomach. So the buck's ears I'm not even kidding you I'm not lying they were 18 and a half inches and I walked up on that thing and oh I had just passed a pretty good buck and he come he came out I was younger a little dumber but um son was hitting his antlers and I'm like dude I'm gonna take him oh I was so sick when I walked up on him there it was snowing and there was no one in there there's deer running everywhere and I oh I blew it yeah it made me sick oh man well and that's and it it's hard you know was he alone or was he standing next to other boxes he was with uh doe and I mean he was bigger he was bigger than her but that but that's the thing I was I was too young and dumb right then because even though he is you know obviously bigger body he's a buck four point buck you know but I've that's one thing I've started trying to pay a lot more attention to is uh is their body size um my my nephew a handful of years oh probably three for three years ago four years ago we were in Colorado and um I spotted this buck and I'm like I don't know if you want to shoot him dude he's I mean he's like he's probably I'm like he's probably like one forty and he hadn't shot many bucks and he's like I don't care is he a four point and I'm like yeah so he's he shot him I was so I was so off so he scored he's like pretty much 170 one like 169 in change and I was way off and I was looking at the video video because I got a video of him I'm like dude I I would have I don't think I'd have gone after that deer and if I'd have known what he was I'd have been ticked but looking at the video his body is so long it looks like almost it almost looks funny like his body looks so long and uh and uh compared to his head and just huge you know big old belly on him and uh so anyways that body size can make a huge difference as you probably know oh yeah yeah yeah I I killed uh 2016 I killed a buck we thought was you know 22 he was he was right right at his ears thought he was 22 inches wide and I uh I passed him for a minute because I was like oh we thought he was maybe 190s in the in the summer when we found him and I found him in a snowstorm first couple days of October and he was feeding in an avalanche chute and I passed him up because I was like oh I don't think he's as big as I thought and then I was like you know what and this was Wyoming so I was I was gonna go hunt the lower country in Wyoming and I was like you know what I'll kill this deer down there so I'm gonna kill him and I shot him and when I walked up to him his body was just ginormous you know about 26 inch years the same and he was a lot bigger than I than I thought just just the body can it does tricks to your eyes yeah it does you know if they're all alone I found if if bucks are with each other it's a lot easier to judge you know yeah you know bucks you know something to compare to but if they're alone yeah they they're they're hard to judge yeah for sure yeah that's something as I've gotten older I pay a lot more attention to just characteristics of an older buck um what are some things you look for when you're when you're looking at say a buck's alone and you're like is this an older buck what are you looking for um I'm a sucker for tyne length uh um definitely tie if it has big deep forks I don't care if it's 18 inches wide you like the deep forks if it's deep forks you know mass you know the mass and the deep forks get me anything on the like the body of the deer you're looking for oh yeah yeah um I mean it that big that big chest brisket you know popping out yeah um brisket sticking out way in front of their legs right yeah um big pop belly um that if they just look like a just a mule on the on the hill with antlers you know they're you know there's a few yeah I mean usually you can tell if it's a big old body you can if you're studying it you know you can tell if it's a big body but a lot of times we're we're not looking at the body you know we're looking at the antlers trying to oh what does he score and you know we get a lot of a lot of hunters and me included get caught up in the score of an animal and you know so the body is doesn't it it gets looked over yes for sure and that's what I've been trying lately I try to I mean even if it's a buck I'm not gonna shoot I'm trying to be like okay you know is this an older buck and just yeah just by body features but because that can from my experience of few of the deer I've dealt with that that can make a huge difference in antler size what's going on with her I mean whether a big body buck or small body buck.
SPEAKER_00Yeah any uh any story you want to share with us maybe one that got away or maybe your favorite buck you killed or the most memorable one um anything like that or I thought about this too or your favorite MM thread ever one that you loved oh man I think I definitely think my favorite MM thread would be the the duck call thread where the kid in the background is smoking pot or whatever he was doing but it turned into he was playing his you know he claims he was blowing a duck call in the back of the picture and you know it look it I'm pretty sure and everybody called him out on it you know it looked like he's smoking a bong back there type of deal so did he post a picture and he didn't realize what was in the background is that I think it's there's somebody in front holding the deer or something and then there's a kid in the back of the picture like smoking a you know smoking something and he claimed it was a duck colo out deer hunting huh?
SPEAKER_01Yeah when we get off here I'm gonna I'm gonna find that thread and I'll revive it you know I'll bring it back to the top yeah bring it up for sure but it that's probably my oh it just it never died it was here it was it was on for a long time just people commenting and um giving him crap on that so you know because he tried to play it off oh it's a duck call so awesome yeah um well any any story you might want to share about one that got away or your favorite buck you killed or most memorable anything like that just five six minute story something yeah um I kind of shared the one I think that got away that 230 buck the 190 um I'd say probably my Wyoming I mean my Wyoming buck last year is the biggest buck I've ever killed.
SPEAKER_00And how big was he? 206. Okay and you know that that one's pretty memorable to me um obviously my first real big deer is memorable finding his shed but yeah last year was a tough hunt for me um you know I scouted in the summer didn't find anything real big you know a lot of nice bucks but nothing probably over 200 and then my buddy that I I drew with he killed the second day and then that night I found a real big buck and missed him snuck in as I was sneaking in on him I fell on my gun get in and I shot 10 feet over his back and didn't know what happened but um came back realized my gun was off and uh had to side it in and I hunted him for four or five more days and then my wife my wife texts me and I'm up in the middle of nowhere satellite phone she texted me and she actually had COVID and she's like I have a fever I feel like crap so I was like hey I'm coming home and I came home dealt with that and I kind of wrote off last year as you know okay well I'm probably not gonna get one haven't found anything real big yeah you know one 190200 type deer and I get back up there after she's feeling better and it's snowing that day it's perfect. I'm like oh I'm gonna find this deer I missed I'm gonna kill him and my wife call and my wife texts me and she said our our second child 15 years old I get a text Blaine's in the ambulance he just had a seizure and they're taking him to the hospital and he he's never had a seizure he's never had any any issues whatsoever and I'm looking at my phone and I'm six miles in in a snowstorm and by yourself you have buddies with you or all by myself yep yep all at this after the second day everybody killed their deer and they were gone you know I was I was hunting solo and you know my first instinct is oh this man it's such a good day I'm gonna I could kill a giant today and as I sat there I was like it doesn't matter I gotta go home and so I said I'll I'll be home as quick as I can and I I I got out I packed a couple miles back to camp I grabbed what I could and I had a big camp you know I had a a nice camp set up in there and I grabbed what I could grab on my back and got out of there and um you know went to the hospital my boy he ended up being okay um And so I actually went back. Well, before I went back, my buddy, a good friend, texted me and he's an MM member. I won't mention his name, but he texts me and he said, some not so nice words. He's like, You must you must suck as a hunter. What's your problem? Why haven't you killed a deer? You know, just razzing me. And what good friends do. And I I texted, I called him and I said, Okay, bud, um, come show me how it's done. Like, I'll pick you up, come show me, and I'll cut this a little shorter. But we went up, and the very first spot we went to, new spot, never been there. Um, first 10 minutes of light, found my buck feeding in a burn, and it was a little bit of a rodeo. My gun was still off, shooting two feet to the right.
SPEAKER_01Umtry by now.
SPEAKER_00Uh mid mid-ground, yeah. And ended up ended up ended up killing him, you know. A buck I'd never seen, never scouted, never even been been in that spot before.
SPEAKER_01And so now you gotta listen to your buddy tell you how he can get it done, huh?
SPEAKER_00Oh, it was yeah, and I had to bow down to him, and you know, I you know, I I definitely give him credit because you know, I he he came through and he he showed me how it was done. I was just the trigger man that day.
SPEAKER_01So well, that's awesome, man. Yeah, so um, anyways, uh you guys that are listening, um, I'll have a a thread on so it's uh it'll be under the Monster Mullies podcast forum. I'll have a thread with this um podcast on it. It'll by the time you're listening to it, it'll probably be oh mid-July-ish. But yeah, if you have any questions for Bryant Um or me, let us know. We'll see. Uh love to hear your thoughts on the podcast. But um, Brian, anything else you want to say?
SPEAKER_00Or uh just it's fun chatting. Um, I always love talking to mule deer. Uh, you know, mule deer are my favorite animal to hunt. Um love just yeah, talking, seeing pictures of, and that's why I'm I've been on monster muleys for years. I love seeing the pictures, and I've met a lot of great people on MM that I'm you know, I've been friends with for years and years, and some of them I've hunted with, some of them I've never met, but there's a lot of good people on MM, and you know, it's it's a pretty good community. We bicker at times and give each other a lot of crap, but you know, it at the end of the day it's it's all in good friends.
SPEAKER_01So yeah, MM's a great great place. I've also met a couple guys I'm in touch with constantly. I've hunted with a few of them, but yeah, it's uh I mean not everyone's hardcore mule deer hunters, but if you want to find them, come to MM. There's some really, really good hunters on there, just like Bryant today. Not a lot of people probably know about him, but I mean he's killed three bucks over 200 inches. A lot of knowledge, a lot of expertise on that website. Um, if you come on, get to know people first and stick around for a while, maybe before you start asking for too much help. That usually doesn't go well for you. Yeah, get on there and make some friends and be a regular and yeah, it's it's fun. So I'm I'm checking it every day. So, anyways, thanks, Bryant. Yeah, thank you. We'll see ya.