Spencer Gledhill (aka GLEDEASY) had a nice Utah muzzleloader hunt. He shared the following in the forum......

"500 Bucks in 4 Days - Ok, not exactly what you may think but I did see 10 coyotes while hunting during the general season muzzleloader hunt in UT.

I was able to harvest what I would consider a great buck for the unit on day 3.

I had the goal in mind of not shooting anything that wasn't bigger than my last two bucks (about 140" 4 points).

As the sun went down on the night of day 2 I spotted a decent buck. I had told my wife I would probably shoot him, but didn't think he was all that big and didn't think I would go back in the area.

While trying to sleep I thought a lot about what my wife's response was. She asked why I would not go back to an area where there was a buck I'd consider shooting.

That morning I found myself glassing before first light where I last saw him and in the tree line spotted a white something that I thought could be a face or part of a dead tree. I sat and watched waiting for either the light or movement to confirm one way or another. Sure enough, I noticed an antler coming off that white head and the hunt was on.

I had practiced and felt comfortable shooting my muzzy at 200 yards with a Barnes 250 gr tmz and a volume of 100 gr of 209. I had the buck bedded at 182 yards but decided not to take the shot due to the wind. As I approached the 160 yard distance he and 3 other bucks got up and left.

I began with the what if's concerning had I taken the shot, but continued with the search of relocating the deer.

In the process I saw 2 bucks a mile away. They were headed to a bedding area and I decided to make a play to get a better look.

As I approached the area I saw 2 bucks within 200 yards. One was a good 4 point so I dropped my pack and began my stalk. When I got to 160 yards 2 more bucks appeared and I realized one was the same buck from the morning.

The wind was perfect and I knew they weren't going anywhere. I crawled and slid through the sage brush and oak inching my way closer. I was now 136 yards away when they bedded. The problem was I didn't have much of a clear path to get closer and no open shot through the brush.

An hour went by before I was able to push myself through the brush and find a shooting lane at 130 yards.

When the buck stood to reposition his bed I took the slight quartering shot and off they went over the ridge.

I knew he was hit good as I watched him hobble off with his blood stained coat. Still my thoughts turned to the horror of maybe not finding him.

I followed his tracks and after 20-30 yards the blood stopped. His tracks were still very visable and as I was about half way down the ridge looking at the vast landscape he jumped up 20 yards in front of me and I touched off the last shot.

I was excited to have this buck down. He was much bigger than I thought and seeing that he had an extra on his right side added to the joy as I thought he was just a 4x4.

After the excitement the work began, but knowing I had just killed my biggest buck on public ground and totally DIY made it all worth it."