Rick Kreuter’s Never-ending Hunt for a Monster Muley
John E. Phillips 08.19.13
Author’s note: Rick and Julie Kreuter are the hosts of Beyond the Hunt that appears on the Outdoor Channel Mondays at 8:30 am EST and Thursdays at 3:30 and 8:00 pm EST. Rick and Julie have been married for 14 years and have hunted together for 15 years.
I was hunting in Utah with the R&K Hunting Company (435-655-5484), and Doby Batt was my guide. My cameraman was Ian Mavjac. We were bowhunting big mule deer above the treeline, at over 10,000 feet. I was using my PSE EVO. That morning, we saw what I believed to be a world-class mule deer about two miles from us, allowing us to but we reach him around midday. We spotted this big buck with two other bucks going into a small stand of pines. We could see the other bucks but the big buck was not in view so we assumed it had bedded down. We stalked down into the same stand of pines where we had seen the buck, and I got in close.
I had one of the bedded bucks at about 30 yards, but I couldn’t locate the big shooter buck. As the day progressed, the bucks got up to find another shady spot, but I still didn’t see the big buck. Late in the afternoon, two smaller bucks came out of a pocket of trees to feed. Finally, we spotted the big buck walking straightaway from us, but he never presented a shot. I felt totally defeated, within bow range of a huge trophy mule deer buck and unable to get a shot. We went back to camp, regrouped and went out again to a different pocket. We spotted another mule deer with a non-typical rack that would score 200 inches. Though we hunted that buck for two days, I barely could get close enough to take a shot with a bow. I was running out of time for this hunt. Gun season had arrived in Utah, allowing me to switch weapons. So, I put the bow down and picked up a Thompson/Center .270 rifle.
I knew there was a front coming in, and we were scheduled to get a lot of snow in the high country. We actually got caught on the mountain and had six inches of snow dumped on us, so we built a shelter and a little fire and weathered the storm. When the weather broke three hours later, we started hunting again. I saw a big mule deer coming off of a south-facing slope about 400 yards away. Some hunters could take that shot, but I’m not a long-range shooter. Since I am a bowhunter, I like to take close shots and don’t practice long-range shooting. I didn’t feel comfortable taking that shot, so we returned to camp.
The following morning, Doby had two more hunters coming to camp. The two hunters were gracious enough to let me go back up the mountain with my cameraman to try and take the big buck we had spotted. We had been glassing one part of the mountain, but there was another area with a lot of oak brush where we hadn’t hunted yet. I thought this was where this big buck might be. We went where we could look into this oak brush, and a storm arrived bringing rain and then snow. Finally I saw a buck working his way out of the oak brush toward the top of the mountain, studied him carefully with my binoculars and identified that he was the buck I was hunting. He was walking side-hill along a game trail that went up to the top of the mountain. He got within 160 yards, across the canyon and quartering away from me, headed to another patch of oak brush where I couldn’t see him. A fog bank was moving toward us.
I quickly put my pack on a downed log and got in the prone position. When I looked through my scope, I couldn’t see anything, because it was full of snow. I cleaned my scope as quickly as I could, then got back down and got ready for the shot. Through my riflescope, I aimed between the deer’s hindquarter and his last rib. I hoped the bullet would pass through his vital organs and come out on his offside shoulder. When I squeezed the trigger, the buck jumped and immediately ran downhill. I tried to get down into the bottom of the canyon where he was headed, but when I reached the bottom, I couldn’t see him. I went about 150 yards up the mountain and found where he had fallen right near another patch of oak brush. The buck had big dark antlers and scored 208.
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John, the 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the year and the 2007 Legendary Communicator chosen for induction into the National Fresh Water Hall of Fame, is a freelance writer (over 6,000 magazine articles for about 100 magazines and several thousand newspaper columns published), magazine editor, photographer for print media as well as industry catalogues (over 25,000 photos published), lecturer, outdoor consultant, marketing consultant, book author and daily internet content provider with an overview of the outdoors.
Phillips has been a contributor to many national magazines, has been affiliated with 27 radio stations across Alabama serving as their outdoor editor and wrote for a weekly syndicated column, "Alabama Outdoors," for 38-Alabama newspapers for more than 13 years. Phillips was Outdoor Editor for the "Birmingham Post-Herald" for 24 years. Phillips was also the executive editor for "Great Days Outdoors" magazine for 3 years.
The author of almost 30 books on the outdoors, Phillips is a founding member of the Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA) and an active member of the Southeastern Outdoors Press Association (SEOPA). Phillips also is the owner of Night Hawk Publications, a marketing and publishing firm, and president of Creative Concepts, an outdoor consulting group.
Phillips conducts seminars across the nation at colleges in freelance writing, photography and outdoor education besides teaching courses in how to sell what you write to writers' groups. Phillips received his photography training as a still-lab photo specialist for six years in the Air Force. He was the chief photographer for Mannequins, Inc., a Birmingham modeling agency, for 11 years.
While serving as 2nd Vice President of the Alabama Wildlife Federation, Phillips was in charge of all press releases for the organization as well as serving as Chairman of Alabama's Big Buck Contest, which he founded more than 30 years ago. He also was president of the Alabama Sportsman's Association for three years.
Phillips is the recipient of a Certificate of Merit from the Governor of Alabama and the Department of Conservation for his work in the outdoor field. Phillips is vitally interested in the outdoors and travels the nation collecting personalities, stories and how-to information for his articles and features.
EDUCATION: B.S. degree from the University of West Alabama with a physical education major and a history minor.
EXPERIENCE: 10 years parttime and fulltime physical director for YMCAs and 34 years as a freelance writer, photographer, editor, book author, lecturer and daily-content provider for websites. Currently, Phillips is a field editor for Game and Fish Publications; serves on the editorial board of Grandview Media; is a regular contributor to 12 internet magazines and a daily content provider for 8 websites.
WRITING AWARDS: Runnerup - Best Outdoor Magazine Feature - 1981 - SEOPA; Certificate of Merit - Awarded by Alabama's Governor for writings on conservation; Most Outstanding Sports Writer in Southeast - 1983 & 1984; Best Outdoor Feature in Alabama, 1987 - Alabama Sportswriters' Association 3rd Place; Best Book of the Year - 1989 - SEOPA; 2007 - inducted into the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame as a Legendary Communicator; 2008 - received award naming him 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the Year from the Crossbow Manufacturers' Association; 2009 - GAMMA Honorable Mention for Consumer/Paid Best Essay for July/August 2008 in "Southern Sporting Journal."
