Ocean of oak

For a typical mule deer buck to reach it's fifth birthday is quite an accomplishment unless they have the luxury of living on the most premium units in the west with limited hunting pressure. Most buck-hunting seasons across the west have liberal seasons and tag numbers that means a buck deer must find ways to avoid hunters during a vulnerable time of the year if they are to survive. Fall season is when bucks need to move around more than usual as they feel multiple innate urges that they can't ignore to

 1) feed (build body fat for the winter), 2)  migrate, 3)  and breed.

All of these activities require that a buck sticks it's neck out there a bit. Being exposed, feeding and moving about, is a risky proposition and the older a buck gets, and possibly survives a few hunting seasons, the better they understand the need for low-light movement and how to use their habitat to evade hunters. Good deer habitat includes plenty of refugia, or escapement. 

Escapement can be 1) remote vastness that is difficult for hunters to access. This type of escapement might not be thick cover, as much as just limited human activity that allows buck survival. 2) Thick vegetation that keeps deer safe from even the best glassers. 3) Private Land, which limits human activity and provides deer a place without too much hunting pressure.

In Colorado, I happen to hunt public land in an area that doesn't have too much area with backcountry opportunities. With that, I focus on the escapement that the mature deer use to keep away from the typical hunter...the ocean of oak. If any of you have hunted Colorado, you know what I'm talking about. The vast oak is a beautiful area that transitions the deer's summer country from their wintering grounds and is thick...and I mean thick.

This heavy vegetation has saved more deer during a time when their most vulnerable than any other factor I can think of. I love Colorado because there is good habitat escapement which allows a buck to reach maturity, on all the units. This year was no exception. It was the first evening of the hunt, I had just decided to pass a solid 170 4x4 that was bedded with 3 other bucks 150 yards below me, when I glassed out to 480 yards and this old, massive, mature buck stepped out of the wall of oak with waning light.

It's tough to pass a 180" buck, even on the first day. The hunt ended up good to all of us but ended with some gasoline thrown on our buck fever fire, let me explain. Tyler had killed the late morning of the fourth day. Earlier that morning before Tyler killed, I had spotted some does off the back side of where we had been glassing. and I mentioned to Tyler that I wonder what the buck looked like that might be with those does. The oak was so thick, one might never know, but even after Tyler's shot...I wondered. Fast forward a few hours later and we were all sitting back at camp admiring our bucks and eating an early dinner before leaving camp towards home. 

From our camp, you can see (about 4 miles away) the ridge I had spotted the does on near where Tyler had killed. I pulled out the spotter in the evening sunlight and found the does up and feeding immediately. I joked that I'm going to find a giant with those does. Then I saw him. The product of thick oak habitat. A buck that has eluded the many hunters that hunt this area because of the security of oak. A true 195-200" buck. Tyler and Jared had a pushing match who could look through the scope next so we set-up the phone skope so we could all watch.

Jared and I had killed days prior...Tyler had just killed that morning and was realizing that this 200" buck was bedded closer to him within the veil of oaks, than the buck he killed. Reality sunk in and although he was happy with his buck, a buck of this caliber is life-changing. This giant buck brought us a heavy dose of buck fever just as we were leaving camp! It was a great experience and what keeps us dreaming about the next trip! Fortunately for me, I was packing my Colorado camp up and in route for my next mule deer destination...Utah. You just can't beat back-to-back mule deer hunts!