iowamonsterbuck
New Member
Well I just finally getting time to post my 2012 hunting season and what a season it was for me. I started out heading up to Peace River Alberta for a mule deer, whitetail, elk, and bear hunt. Left around mid aug and was set for a 7 week hunt up there. Season started off with a bang up there in killing a 215 inch nontypical with my bow. Made a 1/2 mile stock to get within 30 yards of him bedded and had to wait 5 hrs waiting for him to get up. Was one of longest waits I ever had to do but was well worth it. As I made a perfect shot broad side shot and he didn't go more than 40 yards. Next on list was the elk I didn't get to go out to much hunting them but the few times I got to it was very close calls on some very nice 350 + class bulls. Then I moved on to spot and stocking bears and there also I came very close in killing a giant black bear with a miss just over back of a 7ft bear but man what a rush it is to be stocking in on a bear with only a bow in hand. Then rifle season open out there and I got to help with the guides up there taking some of the other hunters and we did very well killing many world class animals up there from bear moose elk mule deer and whitetails. Also got to on a wolf stock and got to shoot a few of those while was up there but of course the big ones got a way but did manage to kill couple small ones. We were down to just a week left before I head to Utah for another mule deer hunt and outfitter’s son still had his mule deer tag left so I started hunting with him to see if we could get on this giant non typical that I had also been hunting before I killed the one I did with my bow. After a few days I finally located him and we end up getting up on him and killing him he scored 228 what an amazing deer. He was a lot bigger then I thought he was. I then head to Utah for my muzzle loader hunt which turns out to be extremely hard hunt as the deer I went out there for got shot on first day of season. So it was a search to find another deer I would shoot but in the process of running trail cameras and stomping all over the mtns there I ran across the biggest elk I have ever seen. He was nontypical 9x9. First time I seen him I jump him out of his bed and really never got a real good look at him but I knew he was a giant. I had also see what I thought was a nice mule deer in same area so I set up some cameras to see if I could get on this deer. It wasn't but 2 days and I see this elk again this time he was only 100 yards from me and didn’t know I was there. I sat there just wishing I had a tag but I didn't so just sat there and watch him. On my way out that evening I pulled the cards on camera and guess what I had him on there. That was pretty much my high light of that hunt. The bull did finally get killed in late rifle season there end of scoring 428 inch. Well it was now oct 3rd headed back to Iowa start hunting there. I had heard all about the ehd killing while I was gone and really was wondering how bad it really was and if any of the deer I had been watching all summer got killed or not. I started right in by pulling cards of cameras and seen a lot of the deer I wanted to shoot where on them up to first part of September and then nothing I didn't have 1 shooter on camera after that and I run about 40 cameras. So I had bad feeling about this year season right from beginning. I hunted every morning and evening for 25 days without seeing one buck I would shoot and not getting one on camera ether. With rut now coming up I just knew one of them had to show and finally I got a buck on camera that I didn't know about that I guess was at least close to 180 class. I hunted him for 7 days nonstop without seeing him once. So I decided to give him a rest and start looking for another one. This went on for few more days without much luck putting 12 to 13 hr sits in stand per day. It was now getting full rut and was seeing lot of nice bucks on does. Then one morning it was pretty windy and I was like it’s time to go stalking so waited till sunrise to head out and it wasn't but 20 mins of driving around and this giant 10 point with monster split browtines come racing across the road right at me. I slam on brakes just in time to just tap him and spin him around. I stop to see what just happen and got to see him running off across a hay field. I really didn't get to get a very good look at him but I knew he was plenty big enough for me. I tried for rest of day to locate that deer and never could find him. So I spent the next 3 to 4 days sitting watching from top of hills all day long trying to locate where this deer was living and with it being rut I really had no clue where he lived or where he was headed to. So decided I wasn't going to find him as i had not seen him for few days now so I decide to head over to a farm that is at least 2 to 3 miles away from where I had the encounter of this big 10. I pull up there first thing in morning right at day break and who do I see the big 10 and about 8 other bucks chasing a hot doe. It took me at least 3 to 4 hrs playing cat and mouse around this cut corn field with very few draws with cover. I would get in close to them and doe would take off. They finally got down in this thin draw and had perfect light wind to really make my move I get just in my bow range which is pretty far and he steps out and gives me a shot. I hit him little high but it got the job done. He end up scoring 199 inches with 36 inch of browtines. This is my best whitetail to date and couldn't have been a better bow hunt. It was a long wait for muzzle loader season but I spent my time searching for a deer bigger than this one and I had one found that was quite a bit bigger but by time shot gun season was over he had made it into hiding and never could get on him in muzzleloader season but still was a lot of fun knowing that I had found another super monster. Now just hoping I can get my hands on his sheds and wait to see if he shows up next year.
This is mule deer i shot with bow when i was sitting at 30 yards from him
Here he is after recovery
Here is the other giant mule deer i got to guide that i was also after before i killed the other one with bow
this is taken while i was bow hunting this deer
these are after we killed him
This is that giant Utah elk i got to have several encounters with
And here is picture of him with the lucky hunter that took him in late rifle season
Here is the big 10 with giant bowtines i killed with bow
This is mule deer i shot with bow when i was sitting at 30 yards from him
Here he is after recovery
Here is the other giant mule deer i got to guide that i was also after before i killed the other one with bow
this is taken while i was bow hunting this deer
these are after we killed him
This is that giant Utah elk i got to have several encounters with
And here is picture of him with the lucky hunter that took him in late rifle season
Here is the big 10 with giant bowtines i killed with bow
