The day before I arrived, a rifle hunter took this 4X4 mule deer on the private ranch I had permission to hunt. Bowhunting the open plains of South Dakota with a bow is always challenging and made more so during the firearm season. I had prepared well for this adventure and looked forward to an exciting hunt.
South Dakota offers archery “any deer” tags valid for both whitetail and mule deer, as their habitats often overlap. That was the dream situation I found myself in this past week. My three-day hunt on a private ranch would be intense, and the Federal Government Shutdown had fouled my plans; yet, I arrived late in the afternoon of the first day. My friend Matt Sullivan had hunted the ranch for the past 20 years, and he and his sons had success rifle hunting. Could I succeed with a crossbow?
Key Geer
In the wide-open Great Plains, shots can be long and accuracy demanding, and I took maximum preparations for the quest. The screaming arrow launched from a Barnet Raptor BCX, mounted on a Final Rest grasping tripod, was my goal, aided by the Burris OracleX for precise aiming and range determination. Barnett Head Hunter arrows, tipped with Grim Reaper 150-grain heads, explicitly designed for crossbows, would seal the deal.
Quick Encounter
Like mountain sheep or moose hunting, a key tactic is to find high ground and glass for game. At our first high point, we could see for miles in three directions, and Sullivan was quick to spot a mature buck 200 yards away. Although the calendar indicated that the rut should be in full swing, we hadn’t seen bucks roaming the prairie. The instant the big 4×4 spotted our silhouette, it paused for a few seconds and then raced away, leaving two does behind. With a rifle, the hunt could have ended quickly, yet all we could do was watch and hope it would return the next day.
Too Small, Too Soon
I’ve been hunting South Dakota for many years and taken some great whitetails, but never a mule deer buck. Two hours later, we crested a small knoll and watched a 2X2 crest a ridge 100 yards ahead of us. With the deer out of sight, it would have been a perfect stalking situation to close the distance and take a high-percentage shot. With a full day of hunting tomorrow, I chose to pass on the opportunity.
Break Out the Grunt Tube
The next morning, we finally spotted a lone muley buck roaming the prairie and looking for does. It was about half a mile away, but with a fast quarter-mile jaunt, we hoped to cut it off. Unfortunately, the buck worked along the back side of a pond and appeared 120 yards ahead of us. “Let me try my grunt tube,” I whispered to Sullivan, who had seen me work magic on a muley buck before. While my buddy glassed the buck, I gave a series of tending grunts. “He definitely heard you,” Sullivan said, and with the next series, the buck came and walked steadily toward us. The set-up was perfect as we lay behind the berm of the pond dam, and I would get a prone shot at close range. “He’s at 70 yards,” whispered Sullivan, who was ranging the deer as it approached. Then, it happened. The wind shifted, the buck stood alert, and turned and trotted off. (Tune in tomorrow for the conclusion and a most unusual hero shot.)