Well, was able to draw the tag we are able to draw every 3-4 years. Muzzleloader. They all seem like poverty tags now but I'm thankful for it.

Always is a difficult hunt physically. You train for it but it still requires you to do things that you scream at, like this year. Every single glassing point no matter where you are is at least a 1k minimum gain, you stay there all day or gain another 1k. Each stalk you go on is worse.

We had a full moon and 20-50 mph winds. Not good.

Bur we grinded. We ended up glassing this giant curved basin and dependent on the conditions the bucks could be above treeline or in the aspens, historically. The glassing logistics are always bad as it's the 2 AM wakeup and hike and climb for 3 hours or the backpack in. Then it's water logistics which ain't good. They were still high luckily so at least we could plan. We couldn't find a buck over 3 years old after our normal haunts. Crap....

We relocated due to the wind and glassed a bit lower in aspen cover from on top of open scree slopes. This was due to terrain and conditions. It paid off. Glassed this guy up in a bit of clearing in the aspens cross canyon the night before. Zero play. It was blowing 40 mph winds. Not a big buck but good enough.

Due to the hike we left all basics there for the next morning due to the weight savings. We built a rifle rest in the scree which was an hour construction project.. Our glassing point was 275 yards from the bottom but we had to gain 800 feet. Sporty.


Glassed him up again this next AM. Killed him. Blowing more, like 40 with 60+ gusts. Was crazy.

He was at 550 which is no issue with the weapon I had but the wind was epic. I closed to 220 which required me to drop again down 800 vertical feet, then climb another 400 to shoot up an avalanche chute which I could hardly rig a rest for due to slope. . He slid 100 more feet and got stuck in aspens. I had to rig him on trees to cut him up. Giant bodies buck loaded with fat. His body size hides his antler size well....

This day was rough as I cumulatively climbed 3500' and did more than 11 miles with between 20 - 90 pounds on top as I got him fully out by 10 PM....

Awesome hunt and buck Greg. Thanks for posting.

Awesome….good deal and great buck…

I went on a hell of grind the last two days for archery caribou. No clue how many miles I hiked though the elevation gain/loss wasn’t bad. I saw easily 1000 but couldn’t get closer than 113 yards from a bull. 0 degrees and all my water was frozen. Toes frozen. Getting up in the morning was COLD.
I loved it but it just wasn’t meant to be.

Great Buck!

thanks for the write up and wonderful pics...and congrats on a beautiful buck.

Toad! Congrats

Congrats Greg and thanks for sharing.

Great buck! Worth the effort. Congratulations.

Nicely done Sir!

Agree- the grind is usually worth it

Nice buck! Congrats!!

That's a beaut!

2 Thumbs up, Greg !!

You earned that guy, Mate !

That scree makes my ankles hurt just looking at it.

Outstanding buck, and really cool looking country!

mmm...mmm...mmm ! We're all going to your place for dinner!


Wearing Asolos?

You haven’t lived until you pack out through a rock garden, multiple times.



Cool hunt, GW!

🦫

Great buck Greg!

Absolutely epic, and man what a buck ! Congrats, you EARNED that one !

Awesome, congrats!!

Great buck, congrats. And congrats on the hunt itself.

Did I read that right, a muzzleloader hunt and 550 not an issue except for the wind? Care to share any details on bullet, load, etc?

very nice buck ! congrats

Well done, amigo! And well-earned!

Awesome country and a well deserved buck. Nice job!!

Scarpas.

Its a custom MZ to take advantage of lax laws in certain states. It shoots a fit to bore Parker Black Max 275 grain .45 bullet at 2600 with 115 grains of BH. It's extreme accurate...

Awesome buck!

Good looking deer - congrats!

Very nice!

Greg another well written success story. Hard work pays off again, gotta love it! Congrats and thanks for sharing.

Badass!

Great buck!

Good grief…that is a really great one. Well done you. Savor those moments.

Very well done and well told!! I need to get into some country like that over the next few years.

Dang, seems like everyone else shooting that far with an ML is using sabots and smokeless.

Very cool.

Awesome buck! Congrats!

Man Greg, you’re my idol. I do almost nothing to mimic your approach and continued success but I do sit back and marvel and always excited for your posts 😆

Congratulations on a great buck and studly way of getting it done. Outstanding

The recoil on that setup is a far cry from a 6x45.

Nice buck! Thank you for sharing the story and photos.

Outstanding!!

Great buck, hunt and write up! Both my real and artificial knees ache just looking at those pics!

The scenery isn’t as epic on my trips as it is on yours, but I need to follow your lead in capturing pics of it to help bolster the memories.

What size spotting scope do you use once you find them with the 12x Meoptas?

It's actually not bad as the rifle is hefty....

Thanks! On this trip and on most trips like this I leave the big Meopta S2 at home and opt for the Kowa TSN 554....

Dang! Not sure how I missed this. Congrats again Greg on another dandy, the hard way. Thanks for the great pics and write up.

Outstanding buck, absolutely beautiful. That is UGLY country, but more than likely why he was there. Again congratulations you earned him.

Attaboy Greg!! Just saw this post. Great buck in some rough country. Congrats Man!!

Greg, that’s a boss! Well done.