Many a mule deer hunter dreams of being stuck in the rut. Dreams of big rutted-up bucks fill most of their heads at any given time. These same dreams also fill my head constantly. However, these dreams were at a fever pitch when I received a successful email for a CWMU mule deer hunt in my home state of Utah in 2019. Utah’s CWMU program allows public land hunters to draw a tag and hunt within the boundaries of private landowners. Many of these hunts allow hunters to hunt deer in early November or as it’s known to mule deer hunters the rut or at the very least the pre-rut.
Hunting CWMU’s in Utah
As stated above, hunting CWMU’s in Utah provides hunters with unique opportunities. Many of these private lands would never be accessed by the public without the CWMU program. I guess I better cover the basics as well. CWMU stands for Cooraptive Wildlife Management Unit. The major difference in hunting a CWMU is that you must follow the landowner’s rules. However, the Utah Division of Wildlife does a great job working with the landowners and all the landowner rules can be found prior to applying for the hunt. The program allows hunters to apply for several species including mule deer, pronghorn, elk, and other species. Now that I’ve adequately explained the program let’s get to the hunting part of this story.
The Rut and Hunt Begins
Opening day of my hunt started on Nov. 5th. It was clear and cool that morning, with the temps sitting around 15 degrees. We sat on a high lookout point that the landowner had directed us to. The fields and valleys below were filled with deer. We also saw a herd of pronghorn and several coyotes moving throughout the area. While there was a lot of deer below us, we did not turn up a buck we thought needed a closer look. We traveled around to a few more areas but never saw any big bucks that first morning. Although the mornings were brisk, by mid-day it was still warm enough that most of the deer would head for cover.
That first evening we saw our first 4×4 of the hunt. He was tall but very narrow and we decided to pass on him. He was moving back and forth gathering does and this was the first rut activity of the hunt. The rest of the evening was slow, wherein the morning over 100 deer were feeding we only saw 11 that evening and only that one buck.
Locating a Shooter Buck
On the 2nd morning of my hunt, we were headed to another glassing point right at daylight. In the early morning light, a buck crossed the farm road in front of us. While the lighting was poor we could see he was a fairly solid buck. He had decent width and was a 4×4. However, his antlers were very spindly and he had weak forks both front and back. The shot would have been close, the hunt would have been over quickly. Unfortunately, he wasn’t quite what I was looking for. As we watched him move off into the fields and sagebrush we noticed a herd of deer feeding in a nearby field. While glassing the herd we noticed a rack sweep up over the top of the uncut crop!
The rack was heavy, that was the first thing I noticed. I was immediately interested in this buck. After a quick inspection of the buck, we decided he was a shooter. While he was only a 3×4, he had great mass and carried it well, he had good forks and eye guards on both sides. However, we decided he was most likely under 24″ wide. But, with the mass that he carried and the shape of his antlers, I was all in on trying to get him. He was pushing the does around, lip-curling, and acting like he owned the place.
A Golden Opportunity
While the deer did their thing my old man and I discussed our ideas and plans. As we made a plan of attack, the buck decided he was done checking this herd of does and began to head towards a farmer access road. The road provided fairly good cover for a stalk. The buck was on the move and there was no time to talk. I crouch-ran down the road, using the high sagebrush for cover. As my cover ran out I stopped at the last bit of cover and waited. In my mind, I was thinking “boy this is working out great, this bucks walking right to me.” The buck stopped and I quickly ranged him at 266 yards. I rested my gun on the nearby fence post and settled in.
The crosshairs were steady on the buck and the shot felt good and that’s when everything fell apart. At the report of the shot, I saw my shot hit much too high. I watched as my bullet sent dirt flying at least 18 inches over the bucks back. While that part was bad it was about to get worse. When I fired the floor plate on my Ruger M77 sprung open and sent my other rounds falling into the tall grass near the fence.
Regrets and Confusion
I scrambled around in the grass looking for around to load back into the rifle. I finally found one and loaded it into the rifle. At that point, the buck was much further out and gave me one brief look back. I was ready and shot again. The shot landed harmlessly to the bucks left by more than a foot. The buck kicked it into high gear and we lost sight of him.
To say I was confused was an understatement. I had used this rifle for years and never had a problem. I had used it in Idaho earlier in the year and had no problems. Prior to heading to this hunt, I had shot it and checked it and had zero reasons to believe I was going to have an issue. Upon inspecting the rifle we found that the set screw that holds the floor plate was pretty loose. My theory is that the recoil from the shot caused the loose floor plate to move enough that it dropped the ammunition onto the ground. We tightened up the screw but we were still concerned that the rifle may be off.
Graciously the landowner allowed us to use their rifle range to check the rifle. All it took was two shots to prove the rifle was still on. To this day I’m still unsure if the loose screw had caused the inaccuracy or if I had done something wrong. As I stated above I was calm and the shot felt good. However, for some reason, I had missed my mark by a wide margin.
Paralysis By Analysis
I’d be lying if I said the issues that arose on the 2nd morning of my hunt didn’t shake my mental state. For the next day and a half, my hunt would have several missed opportunities and failures due to me hyper analyzing nearly every aspect of the hunt and assuming if I got another chance I’d just miss again. The 2nd evening of the hunt was once again quiet and very few deer were seen.
On the 3rd morning we spotted the best buck we would see the entire hunt. Simply put he was a dandy! I made a play on him and cut him off in the high sage. However, I had a problem, the only shot he offered me in that tall sage was a small portion of his neck. The shot would have been 184 yards and I would have been shooting at a small mark. Because of my miss the day before and gun troubles I had zero confidence in myself making that type of shot. Against the advice of my hunting companions (my father and cousin), I decided to pass on that opportunity. I assumed we would turn him or the buck I had missed the day before up again.
Searching for more Bucks
Around lunchtime on the 3rd day, two of my hunting buddies came down to help us glass and cover more country looking for deer. On that afternoon I put one buddy stationed on a nearby field to keep tabs on a buck I was calling my backup buck. He was more than willing to do it and I’m very appreciative of him. Likewise, I put my old man on the glassing point overlooking where we had seen the two best bucks. Myself, my other buddy, and cousin decided we’d stay mobile and cover as much ground as possible. The rut had picked up and bucks were moving around a lot checking for hot does.
We stopped at a glassing point and almost immediately spotted a buck that warranted a closer look. We hustled up to a small flat top ridge that would provide a good shooting location. That was when we got our first good look at the buck we affectionately called “Battle Axe.”
He was rough, scared, and beaten-looking. His antlers were decently heavy, and he was reasonably wide. However, his forks were so weak, even though he was a 4×4 he was closer to being a 2×3. I settled in on my rifle and heavily debated on taking him. But once again doubt began creeping into my mind. “Can I even hit this buck at 300 yards?” “What if the other big bucks show up?” “You’re just going to miss again.” While all these questions raced through my mind Ol’ Battle Axe followed his does further and further out of range. The rut in all its glory was able to drag him away from my firing position. Once he moved off we had a hard time finding him again and the night ended uneventfully.
Breaking Out of the Slump
The morning of the fourth day ended up being the worst day for seeing deer. Everyone other than my buddy keeping tabs on my backup buck had a hard time turning up deer let alone any bucks. It seemed that the best bucks had moved off the property as the rut continued to ratchet up. However, something eventful happened that pulled me out of my slump a bit. I was told by the landowner at the beginning of my hunt that coyotes were fair game while we were on the property. That morning we surprised one and I made a beautiful running shot that dropped the coyote in its tracks. This seemingly small event gave me a much-needed confidence boost in myself and the rifle.
Crunch Time
My CWMU permit was good for 5 days. It was now the 4th evening and we spread out trying to find a shooter buck. As the evening drug on I believed that once again the evening hunt wasn’t going to produce anything. Even my backup buck had not shown up so far. Suddenly we got a call on the radio my backup buck had finally shown up. We had very little time, I left most of the crew to watch at a safe distance while me and one buddy hustled up the backside of a ridge to get into position. The buck had positioned himself in the middle of a pivot with a large herd of does. The buck was running back and forth and pushing hot does all across the field. The light was fading it was crunch time, we needed to make something happen!
I settled my gun against a sketchy piece of a fencepost and tried to get a good rest. Just as I was settling in the buck turn his back to me and began walking straight away. The rut was taking effect, he was chasing a hot doe and he got to around 610 yards. For me, that was beyond what I felt comfortable with. Despair started to creep in, but then that hot doe turned and led the buck right back into my range. The buck stopped and turned broadside at 408 yards. I took my time and squeezed the trigger. The shot was good but the big-bodied, rutted-up buck took the hit and started to struggle towards cover. I had to shoot several more times before I anchored the buck.
Reflections
We as hunters know the mix of emotions we feel as we walk up to an animal we have taken. Excitement, remorse, appreciation, and respect are just a few of the emotions that ran through my mind. I am incredibly thankful for my “backup buck” he fit the bill of what I wanted to take when I started out this hunt in 2019.
He has since provided my family with prime cuts of lean protein. Likewise, he continues to provide me with memories of one of my favorite hunts I’ve ever had. Maybe it was the different way of hunting we did. Or maybe it was the people that came with me to help me on my hunt. Even more so, maybe it was the issues that tried to pull me down that I was able to break through and still have a very enjoyable hunt. On top of all of this it’s not very often you get to hunt mule deer during the rut in Utah.
Hunting has a special way of connecting us with the land, our prey, and our friends and family. I would like to thank my father (Brian King) for always making time to hunt with his son. My cousin (Jaydon Christensen) for being willing to take the time to help out, and my two hunting buddies (Nate Grace & Jared Barton) who were willing to come down and help bust me out of my funk.
What did you think about this rut hunt? Have you ever hunted mule deer in the rut? Let us know in the comments!
