A Big Montana Mule Deer Harvested by a Female Archer

9/22/09 After looking through the Montana record book this buck very well could be one the largest bow killed mule deer by a woman this year, as well as the top three or four killed by a woman with a bow in the state (all-time). I won’t make any promises but I will keep an update on this buck as the official score comes in.

Jamy Simonsen was lucky enough to draw a coveted unit 270 mule deer tag. Having spotted a great buck that would have scored around 180, I had her come out for the day to see if we could find the buck. After spotting the buck we put three different stalks on him with no avail. We decided to go check another area when we spotted the buck she ended up taking. As Jamy drew back to shoot, the buck bedded offering no shot. Jamy remained patient and waited for over an hour for the buck to stand and offer a shot. She made a perfect shot and the buck fell about 40 yards away.

It was a great trophy and to top it off I got the whole hunt of film.

For More info on hunts check out www.montanaoutwest.com

Montana Elk Hunting At Its Finest

9/26/09 The week of elk hunting couldn’t have ended any better. Every day we had bulls with in 45 yards but most of the days there were just no clear shots through the trees. We even had two big six points battling it out 35 yards away but still offering no shot. After the week of hard hunting we had a ton of action every day, one miss and one bull on the ground.

On the day of the harvest, Jon was up to bat. We got into a group of close to 150 elk with over 10 bulls in the group. They were bugling and running around like mad. The rut was on and the action was hot. We spotted one huge six point in the 320 class but there were other good bulls running around as well. We chased the elk up the mountain as they pushed cows getting closer and closer with every set up. When we reached the top, I let out an estrus cow call which a bull bugled to. I set Jon up, dropped back and bugled. The bull got fired up. The bull came in but held up bugling 40 yards away and out of sight. I picked up a stick and started to rake a tree. The bull got pissed off and came in right to Jon’s lap. At 20 yards Jon took his shot. The bull only went 37 yards from the shot. It was a great bull and I don’t think Jon could have been any happier.

The week ended with two deer and one elk down including one bull missed. We are still 100% shooting for the year on both elk and deer.

For more info on a montana elk hunt check out www.montanaoutwest.com

First Day Deer and First Whitetails For Two Hunters

9/19/09 With the dream of harvesting his first whitetail and elk with a bow Jon Lesperance of Phoenix, AZ got his hunt started right by taking a nice buck on his first evening in the blind. A group of six bucks fed out into the field giving Jon a shot at one of the bucks before the evening had ended.

9/21/09 Mike Marchese of Reno, NV also harvested a whitetail buck two days later. Although we spotted a big buck the day earlier, he opted to take the first buck that offered him a shot after 15 minutes on stand. His buck was a "slump breaker" since he had not harvested in a while. It was also his first whitetail.

My Own Montana OutWest Combo Hunt

Having a week with no clients really is no different than a week with clients. I am still in the hills, the only difference is that I am holding the bow. Although one of the biggest rushes for me is to call in a rutting bull for a client, it was fun to pick up the bow and chase the bad boys around for myself.

The past few days I have hunted alone and called big bulls into 40 yards or less but all the bulls came straight in as usually happens when you don't have a caller. Although the bulls were close they presented no shot. This evening however, one of my guides Brett Hinckley came along to call for me. It was cool to get to see what it might be like on the clients end of the hunt (being in the shooters positions).

After spotting a group of elk mid-day, we waited until evening to move in on them. As we closed the distance in the timber I caught a cow no too far away. We got down and set up. We began to cow call using a lot of estrus whines in the mix. It is amazing how realistic my Carlton Call sounds, it is hands down the best call on the market to imitate a cow in heat.

As the cows closed in around us I let out a soft bugle with no threatening overtones. Immediately the bull responded. after a series of cow calls I bugled again. This time the bull answered more aggressively. I responded in the like, escalating the intensity of the situation. when the bull responded with an aggressive long chuckle I interrupted his bugle with my own chuckle sending him over the edge.

The bulls next bugle was close. All the sudden behind a stand of trees 60 yards away the whole forest seemed to come crashing down as the bull raked a small tree. I could see the tree moving but i still coulden't see the elk. I repositioned to make sure that the shot would be broadside because it looked like it was coming straight for where I had called from.

I signaled Brett to rake the tree behind him. It sounded so realistic it really sent the bull over the edge taking his frustration out on the little tree. Brett one again raked his tree like a pro - following it up with a bugle. It was all the bull needed to send him right into our set-up. as the bull crested the hill I drew back seeing his horn tips waiting for his shoulder to clear a small tree in between us.

The bull focused in on the decoy by Brett and had no clue I was honing in on him. I let out a mew and stopped him at 18 yards. I settled the pin behind his shoulder and let the air out of him. It was a perfect double lung shot. the bull only ran about 45 yards and expired in a matter of minutes.

A big buck and a nice bull to boot, my combo elk deer hunt was a success. It was a great feeling to fill another tag on a great animal.

For more information about our combo hunts check out http://www.montanaoutwest.com/

As soon as I get some time, a lot of this years hunt videos should be available on my website and YouTube channel so please check back a little later in the year.

As always I love to hear feed back about the website, videos, blogs, and articles.

you can reach me at hunt@montanaoutwest.com.

Happy Hunting,

Remi Warren

Montana OutWest Outfitters

http://www.montanaoutwest.com/

Monster Mule Deer Buck

Although unit 270 is said to have gone down hill the last two years, there are still some smokers to be had. Yesterday I was able to hang my tag on the trophy of a lifetime - a 215 inch muley that I harvested with my bow. After getting permission to hunt on a piece of property where I heard a big buck was hanging around I headed out to see for myself if there was a trophy hiding in there.

The area was open and the buck seemed to move to the fields down below after dark to feed. We started out on the top of a ridge by sun up but had only seen one smaller four point. We continued to stay as high as possible when a group of nine buck spotted us from a quarter mile away and took off. I got the spotting scope on them and saw the big buck with them. They were headed straight up the mountain and as wary as they were it was not going to be easy to close the distance.

I climbed/ran up the back side of the steep mountain where they were headed hoping to cut them off. As I crept over the top, I spotted the group of bucks below me 135 yards, but I didn’t see the big buck. I laid down on the hill to wait them out for about a half an hour until they moved out of sight. Once they moved I got up to close the distance and caught a glimpse of the big buck lower by a lone tree. As I circled down and around I saw the group of buck moving over a small ridge off to my left. I continued to stalk down to the tree to see if the big buck was there.

I got to 65 yards from the tree and saw a 3x4 bedded there sleeping. I decided to go see if the big buck was with the other deer before sneaking into the tree just in case he had joined back up with the group. Not seeing the big deer, I decided to stalk into the tree.

At about 20 yards away I spotted the bucks horn tips bedded just before he stood up. The 3x4 had known something was up but the big buck never saw me. He was tucked up under a pocket between the rock ledge and the tree nearly invisible. The bucks bolted out to the side hill across from me. I grunted and they stopped. I ranged the buck at 47 yards, drew back, released and let the air out of him. The buck’s body was the biggest I had ever seen. It was like shooting at an elk. He far out weighted the buck that stood next to him. He ran over the ridge and disappeared. I gave him a few minutes then went over to see if I could spot him. I found him, head laying down about 90 yards from where I shot him from.

It was definitely the biggest buck I had ever killed. His mass and tines were unbelievable. We took some pictures then packed him out. We ran a quick tape on him last night but it was just a rough score, it came out to 215 inches, with a 200 inch typical main frame. A super deer for a bow kill. After caping out the skull I was off again to chase elk for the evening. Although we only had a few hours we spotted one bull and had some elk respond to the calls.

This morning while out I called a bull into 40 yards but he never presented a good shot. Not many places you can kill a monster buck and get on a bull within 24 hours.

For more information about hunting in the trophy mule deer area check out http://www.montanaoutwest.com/muledeer.html

For information about our combo elk & deer hunts check out http://www.montanaoutwest.com/bitterrootelkhunts.html

First Blood

Day two of the Montana archery season and the first bull is down. Brian May the Real Hunting Magazine hunt winner scored on a nice bull on his three day archery hunt. We callled the bull in to 20 yard and captured the whole thing on tape. It will make a great video and will hopefully be posted to the web site soon http://www.montanaoutwest.com/video_placeholder.html. The bull came into the cow calls and was coaxed with help from the Montana Decoy.

NEWS FROM THE HILLS

Archery season is almost upon us and the season is looking like it will shape up nicely. Horn growth is up this year because of the moister we have been getting and it looks like we may be able to harvest some wolves this season if everything holds through.

The first client will arrive this weekend and start their hunt Sunday. We are focusing on taking a good mule deer. I will keep everyone posted throughout the season.

The posts have been fairly sparse this past month because I have been out in the hills everyday since August first. I, like many Western hunters, apply for tags in almost all the western states. I focus on seasons that are in either August or December/ January so they don’t conflict with the Montana hunting seasons.

This year I hit the jackpot drawing four awesome big game tags. I had a Nevada early season elk tag where I took a monster 382 velvet bull, a Nevada deer tag where I took a great non-typical type three point buck with my bow, a California deer tag where I harvested a really heavy 3x4 with popcorn burrs. I also had a Nevada antelope tag taking a nice buck with my bow on the last and only day I had to hunt it. By August 20th I had four trophies down. I then spent the next eleven days helping friends and family fill their antelope tags getting my dad on a nice 78 inch goat and my buddy Brett on a stellar 80 inch goat with 15 ½ inch horns. I also helped put my friend Ross on a huge mule deer in Nevada for a 15 yard bow shot the last day in August. It has already been quite a season to say the least. I am praying that we can keep the momentum going for the Montana archery and rifle season.

Pictures of my trophies will be on there way. To read the story of my bull make sure you pick up the next issue of Real Hunting Magazine. It should be a good read.

- Remi Warren
Montana OutWest Outfitters