Still Holding Out For the BIG One

Still Holding Out For the BIG Buck

I’ve had deer on my mind lately…probably because the season is in full swing and here I am sitting behind my computer!

Unfortunately, I’ve chosen the difficult and lonely path of a trophy deer hunter. What this means is I’m holding out for a true, one-in-a-million, mule deer giant, also known as a superbuck. What makes a superbuck you ask? In Utah a “trophy” is defined as any buck with at least a 30-inch spread. But a trophy is really in the eye of the beholder. In my mind, a superbuck is:

  1. At least 30 inches wide.
  2. Has at least 5 points on each side (eyeguards included).
  3. Is a mature buck with a huge body and worn down teeth.
  4. Has long and massive main beams with deep forks.

If the buck doesn’t have at least three of these four qualities, I’ll pass. Passing any big, mature mule deer is extremely difficult. Not only is it rare to find any mature bucks these days, but getting within 50 yards or less is nearly impossible. The biggest challenge is when you come face-to-face with a “good” buck–not a great buck. It’s easy to get excited and fool yourself into thinking he’s bigger than he really is. And what if you don’t get another chance? But when you pull the trigger, it’s all over. Remember the old saying: “You can’t shoot the big ones if you shoot the small ones.”

I didn’t set out to become a trophy hunter, it found me! For decades I was happy to bag any buck. The problem is with human nature. It’s human nature to continually seek bigger and better things. Complacency and mediocrity might be common traits nowadays, but it’s really an anomaly. Human consciousness compels us to achieve more and more, even sometimes to our detriment. For me and my mule deer aspirations, I simply choose excellence because I can. I just love big bucks.

Trophy hunters sometimes get a bad rap. Some people associate trophy hunters with “head hunters” or people that shoot deer not for the meat, but for their headgear. This is sometimes true, but for me, bigger heads means bigger bodies, and that means more meat. Besides the meat, their regal, majestic heads are just beautiful!

I only get to hunt one deer a year; why not make it something I’m proud of?! I hunt trophies not for the glory, but to prove to myself that I can. This year I refuse to settle. No matter how difficult, no matter how much time I must spend afield, I won’t even think about pulling an arrow until I’ve verified a genuine superbuck. My mantra is: One tag, one year, one superbuck!

I’ll probably need some superluck…

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