Monster Muley taken.......

[Backcountry]

It's gonna be too bad if that 35" wide buck (on the outside) actually has an inside spread of 25" and a total score of "just" 150"-170"... for big racks, the outside and inside dimensions can differ by a huge amount, and it's the inside dimension that is most proportional to the net score, not the outside dimension... still, it's the trophy of a lifetime for California hunters, but I hope nobody is out buying a fleet of King Ranch F350's just yet.

Given the limited zones that were open this weekend near Sacramento, and that the buck was presented to Trinity River still in the back of the pickup near his home outside of Sacramento, it was most likely harvested in D6 or X12. Slim chance it could have been C4, and wouldn't that be a hoot! My guess is X12.

As for having to discriminate between California and Rocky Mountain mule deer... nope, there is no such complication.

Backcountry

p.s. I hope there's still a kegger!

[deerhuntr44]

I hope its x-12 and his brother is still roaming around or even 1 of his son's would be good. I have a tag for there.

I'd say no chance for c-4 I hunt there every year and they are mostly if not all blacktail, maybe some mixed. I'm still guessing x-9b. I live in sacramento and I hunted there 1 year. Don't rule out d3-5 either. I've seen some big boy's come out of there. Lot's of private property big one's

[Backcountry]

Yeah, C4 would be a serious long shot.

However, I definately rule out D3-5...

Good luck in X-12!

Backcountry

[Kentuck]

Let's see, places to start looking for the pics and story in the coming months; Eastman's, Trophy Hunter, Outdoor Life, California Game & Fish, Sports Afield...shall I continue.....na. Would do the same if I were the lucky one. Well, Maybe give up the zone and weapon. I vote X12.

[Buck-eye]

Jesse,

That rack is fake!! And I know from experience.

If I had a dollar for every fake rack I kissed, I would have...

well, I wouldnt have any money. Im just saying thats a fake rack.

[duckman2002]

well here are where the record mule deer in california have came from 1.score 195 7/8 lassen county 1943 2. 194 2/8 siskiyou county 1946 3. 187 modoc county 1939 4.177 3/8 modoc county 1993 5. 164 calavaras county 1950 6.162 7/8 D-7 1982 7.162 7/8 D-7 1982 these are two differant deer by differant people. 8.160 6/8 ventura county 1998 9.160 4/8 calavaras county 1950.

[Bose]

X9a, middle of the Ansel Adams, rifle.

[Backcountry]

Originally posted by Bose@Sep 21 2004, 07:57 PM
X9a, middle of the Ansel Adams, rifle.

Doubtful... remember, Trinity's buddy had him over to his house to see the deer, and it was in the back of the pickup... if it was a backcountry trip, I imagine the deer would have been quartered or boned out... granted, Trinity didn't say it wasn't, but he made it sound like it was more-or-less all in one piece when he saw it...

On the other hand, your guess is as valid as anybody else's since none of us know diddly.

This folks, is a fun thread.

Backcountry

[spectr17]

I ain't seen this many guys work themselves into such a lather since the Tanya Harding wedding night video.

Could this be the buck in velvet? Is it live or is it memorex?




On a serious note, Jim Matthews is starting up a California Bucks newsletter like the California Hog Hunter newsletter he puts out. If anyone wants to contact him with pics and stories about big bucks he's all ears. 1st edition is due out in October 2004.

You can reach Jim at

909-887-3444 or ODwriter@aol.com

[Trinity River]

Actually Backcountry,it was a cape ,skull and horns.Figured i owed ya one Dont worry 'bout the King Ranch neither,hes got a plenty nice F250 sooper dooty already.I wish i could give you fellas more info,but i have to respect my buddys wishes,but nothing says you all cant speculate a bit.I will,at SOME point be able to give up some info,just cant say when.Oh yea,its Memorex.

[Backcountry]

The mystery deepens and the plot thickens... thanks for fleshing out the legend. Hmm... Might be premature to call it a legend already when the buck ain't even been dead but a few days.

So, I heard through the grapevine that somebody put the tape to it this evening... how's about some digits?

Backcountry

[soupr]

I'm calling B.S. on this story. He probably picked it up on a road kill in Idaho. If he actually got a 35" plus deer in California, great for him. I would love to just see a deer that big in the wild. I don't think I would be so greedy on holding out how big he is. It's only a deer. For get monetary value. You don't go out huniung to make a profit, only outfitters do. If your friend was all that excited about his deer and called you over to see it, he would of told not to post anything on this particular site. You have got a lot of people worked up over a deer and when someone has got a large deer, somebody else has got a larger deer. I hope the person with a larger deer will post his pics and story behind it. I'm pretty sure it's not a world record.

[MQ]

I was gonna post a pic of my 132 pound salmon but decided to hold out for the money. Caught it in my secret ocean fishing hole

[Luckyshot]

I am confused. If a guy takes a trophy and posts the picture on a site, it still going to score the same and is still his kill. If the buck is all that spectacular whether it has been exposed or not the profit potential would remain. If I was the maker of this guys rifle, binocs,clothing,sunscreen,deoderant or underware and he whacked a 35" buck I be knocking down his door with endorsments wheter he's cut loose with the pics or not . Show the pic!!

[wingbone_2003]

i'm gonna say x9a just northwest of the laurel lake road just before you get into city limits,there is a buck that roams that area,through the spotting scope it only looked to have a 25-28" inside spread,a nice massed typical 5x5 though!

[lxtrail]

i am going to say X-12 near grizzly lake just off the PCT. or in that gen. area. My second guess it was in his dream and trinity river has not woken up yet and can type in his sleep.

[wello]

To play the skeptic detective role I would ask Trinity what zone he hunted so we can eliminate it. If he did not go hunting with his buddy can we deduce that the buddy with the monster buck drew a good x-zone tag and Trinity didn't? If this is indeed a Muley I am gonna guess it a stray from Nevada into some real wild low elevation desert country farther South then the popular x-12. I just can't see a pure Muley of this size migrating much if at all into areas full of the camping fruit and nut group along the PCT. Such a buck would have to have been huge at least the last 2 years and yet it avoided hunters, poachers, cars, and cameras? It must have been way out of the way and wintered somewhere very desolate or protected. I wonder if this deer is really gonna turn out to be smaller and in fact a blacktail taken off a ranch in the Tehama area or from a backyard in one of the D-zones. There are Blacktail right outside Sacramento within an hour drive that have antler bases the size of a mans wrist and tines too long to measure. They are seen a few times for a few years during daylight hours and then they up and dissapear forever into some nocturnal habit that no man ventures into or can find... ..Nah, just kidding. I am sure it is a Muley and it may indeed be from X12. I was too busy fighting 80mph winds atop a wasteland of a mountain and being amused by the 4wd club taking their piss break 1000ft. below to see that monster. Other then that, I vote it a high country D-3 muley.

[wmidbrook]

California has produced some super bucks. There's a buck hanging on the wall out of C4 in the Town Lounge in Chico that's simply amazing and I think is the "sticker buck" for CDA's logo.

My bother-in-laws grand father took 3 or 4 bucks well over 30"'s in C4 that were never scored.....hang loose until the pics.

Trinity River may well prove you nay sayer's wrong. Reserving judgement until I see the pics.

[Backcountry]

Nope, wasn't a D3 buck either, unless it was poached... D3 doesn't open until Saturday.

Guys, I doubt any of us go out trying to shoot a buck that has accompanying $$$ signs. But I'll call :bs: on most of us middle-class blue-collar types here that say they wouldn't sell their trophy if offered 100K+ for it. After it's recorded in the record books as being harvested by me, I'd sell it to Cabelas or a collector in a heartbeat. Pay of student loans, get a new truck, down payment on a house, with a little left over for a JHO kegger and several more hunting trips.

But realistically, statistically, that will never happen to me... I'm happy to get a deer every three years, any deer, let alone a big one, but the fantasy is harmless. Kind of like playing the lottery (also known as a tax on the stupid)... I toss in a buck every couple months for a day's worth of fantasizing about vacationing for life with the Swedish woman's beach volleyball team, and then I don't win and I move on.

In terms of advertisers and endorsements, the "just post up now, it will all work out" method mentioned below isn't how it works in the publishing world. Advertising campaigns are timed to coincide with publications so that both get the best bang for their buck, and that's why stories and accompanying product advertisements, be it about the new Ford GT or a big racked mule deer, are embargoed for releases until a certain date.

Even if the rack isn't worth any money, if a guy has a chance (for the story alone) to get a little free Mossy Oak gear, or maybe a new scope from Leupold, or an attaboy and a spotting scope from Swarovski, more power to him.

Now, realistically, I may be the one responsible for starting some of this hoopla, but in my defense that's because I didn't know if the 35" measurement was inside or outside... but I'm not embarrassed at all, and in fact I think it's kind of funny that that pot has been stirred so vigorously... moreover, IMHO these healthy discussion don't harm our sport and instead may get a few more guys to buy hunting licenses and weapons and gear and gas to try their luck themselves next year... what I'm saying is, hype is good for the economy.

As for the measurements that were supposedly made last night... Trinity River, can we get a ballpark range? How about that stick-figure diagram?

Backcountry

[wmidbrook]

I like ribbing a fella with outlandish claims with nothing to back it up just as much as the next fella.

I've seen on other sites where there are simply just attention seekers who eventually are found out, and then givin' a ration of grief until they either change or are too embarrassed to come back. Since TR doesn't have a history here, I'll just give him the benefit of the doubt for the time-being.

Just hate the see the tone here @ JHO turn into a lot of unjustified flamethrowing....there's plenty of flaming going on @ other hunting sites that have ruined the "end-user experience" imo.

[Trinity River]

Originally posted by duckman2002@Sep 21 2004, 04:37 PM
well here are where the record mule deer in california have###### came from 1.score 195 7/8 lassen county 1943 2. 194 2/8 siskiyou county 1946 3. 187 modoc county 1939 4.177 3/8 modoc county 1993 5. 164 calavaras county 1950 6.162 7/8 D-7 1982 7.162 7/8 D-7 1982 these are two differant deer by differant people. 8.160 6/8 ventura county 1998###### 9.160 4/8###### calavaras county 1950.

Where did this info. come from? B@C only list the top 5 Ca. deer.Is this a California only book? Thanks.

[Backcountry]

I too think TR is on the up-n-up... he's not going to benefit one way or the other, just passing along exciting news of a big buck. "How big" remains to be seen...

I was thinking last night, if I had my sights on a 35" buck how much I'd miss by when I yanked my release or trigger... I'm gonna take a stab at 2+ feet.

Backcountry

[Trinity River]

Originally posted by Backcountry@Sep 22 2004, 07:26 AM
Nope, wasn't a D3 buck either, unless it was poached... D3 doesn't open until Saturday.

Guys, I doubt any of us go out trying to shoot a buck that has accompanying $$$ signs. But I'll call :bs: on most of us middle-class blue-collar types here that say they wouldn't sell their trophy if offered 100K+ for it. After it's recorded in the record books as being harvested by me, I'd sell it to Cabelas or a collector in a heartbeat. Pay of student loans, get a new truck, down payment on a house, with a little left over for a JHO kegger and several more hunting trips.

But realistically, statistically, that will never happen to me... I'm happy to get a deer every three years, any deer, let alone a big one, but the fantasy is harmless. Kind of like playing the lottery (also known as a tax on the stupid)... I toss in a buck every couple months for a day's worth of fantasizing about vacationing for life with the Swedish woman's beach volleyball team, and then I don't win and I move on.

In terms of advertisers and endorsements, the "just post up now, it will all work out" method mentioned below isn't how it works in the publishing world. Advertising campaigns are timed to coincide with publications so that both get the best bang for their buck, and that's why stories and accompanying product advertisements, be it about the new Ford GT or a big racked mule deer, are embargoed for releases until a certain date.

Even if the rack isn't worth any money, if a guy has a chance (for the story alone) to get a little free Mossy Oak gear, or maybe a new scope from Leupold, or an attaboy and a spotting scope from Swarovski, more power to him.

Now, realistically, I may be the one responsible for starting some of this hoopla, but in my defense that's because I didn't know if the 35" measurement was inside or outside... but I'm not embarrassed at all, and in fact I think it's kind of funny that that pot has been stirred so vigorously... moreover, IMHO these healthy discussion don't harm our sport and instead may get a few more guys to buy hunting licenses and weapons and gear and gas to try their luck themselves next year... what I'm saying is, hype is good for the economy.

As for the measurements that were supposedly made last night... Trinity River, can we get a ballpark range? How about that stick-figure diagram?

Backcountry

Well said Backcountry,you have a great way with words.Thanks.....

[Trinity River]

Originally posted by wmidbrook@Sep 22 2004, 09:30 AM
I like ribbing a fella with outlandish claims with nothing to back it up just as much as the next fella.######

I've seen on other sites where there are simply just attention seekers who eventually are found out, and then givin' a ration of grief until they either change or are too embarrassed to come back.###### Since TR doesn't have a history here, I'll just give him the benefit of the doubt for the time-being.###### ######

Just hate the see the tone here @ JHO turn into a lot of unjustified flamethrowing....there's plenty of flaming going on @ other hunting sites that have ruined the "end-user experience" imo.

I cant blame the naysayers,ive seen my share of BS claims over the years.I can ASSURE you this wasnt an old mule deer hunters dream of some sort,it is very real,i cant speak to the scoring as i have been told to button up.Just know that now the info has dried up considerably,my bud is none too eager for the specifics to get out yet.Cant say as i blame him,considering the POSSIBLE press/financial ramifications.

[Backcountry]

Originally posted by Trinity River@Sep 22 2004, 10:45 AM
Just know that now the info has dried up considerably, my bud is none too eager for the specifics to get out yet. Cant say as i blame him,considering the POSSIBLE press/financial ramifications.

So, what you're saying is that it was measured last night and it's BIG? I've got to guess that if the alternative was true you'd be spilling the beans.

This is the cliffhanger of the month for sure.

Backcountry

[Rookies]

Not to throw a low blow or anything but I just has to ask this question.
Trinity Rivers does these look familiar?

Californiahunter2004

sharpshooter1288

BigBuckHunter99

WorldRecordGuy

[Backcountry]

The same thing crossed my mind... but those handles tended to appear and disappear linearly... one got banned, then the next one suddenly appeared... and the new handles typically started off controversially with little break-in period. Moreover, the writing style by the owner of those handles was pathetic... probably just a bored kid in junior high on his summer vacation.

TR has been a member since February, and his prior posts were not wacko or inflamatory... He's legit...

Backcountry

[Rookies]

Sorry I just had to ask.

[Trinity River]

Actually i did have another handle here at one time,it was "Shep". My only picture posting was a 6 x 6 non-typical muley i shot in Colorado.It was in 2000 i believe.Cant blame the skeptics,id be looking at this thread kinda funny too. Thanks BC.

[lxtrail]

Ok Trinity river here the plan if the deer is within one of these scores just say no to that score, SOUND GOOD TO ANYONE ELSE. we'll just number each on and say no to the right one OK
1. 150-180
2. 180-190
3. 190-200
4. 200-210
5. 210-220
6. 220 ++++++

example: No to number 6