Click for larger image - Kyle Lopez with his 2007 Colorado Mule Deer
The monster mule deer taken by 14-year old Kyle Lopez in Colorado during the 2007 season has been officially scored. A conservative green score put the buck at just over 303 net. However, good news for the Lopez family as Roger Selner has scored the buck after the 60-day drying period at an amazing 311 2/8 gross and 306 2/8 net B&C. This buck has 26 points on the right and 17 points on the left. This buck will be invited to the next Boone & Crockett panel scoring, but that won’t take place until 2010.
Kyle’s Buck is now the new #2 non-typical buck for Colorado and #13 in the world. That is a incredible!
Read the story of Kyle’s buck in the Best of 2007 issue of Hunting Illustrated Magazine out on newsstands January 29th!
Come see the buck in person. The Lopez buck will be in the King’s Outdoor World booth at the Hunting and Conservation Expo in Salt Lake City February 6-9th. Here is some more info about the Hunting Expo.
Where does this compare against the all-time greats from Colorado?
Top Ten Non-Typical Mule Deer from Colorado
1. 306 7/8 Montezuma, CO Lloyd Pyle 1972
2. 306 3/8 Douglas, CO Kyle Lopez 2007
3. 306 2/8 Norwood, CO Steve H. Herndon 1954
4. 304 5/8 Elk Creek, CO Andrew Daum 1886
5. 303 6/8 Eagle, CO James Austill 1962
6. 302 4/8 Paonia, CO Louis H. Huntington, Jr. 1965
7. 300 Mesa, CO George Blackmon, Jr. 1961
8. 297 5/8 Larimer, CO Jack Autrey 1941
9. 296 2/8 Mesa, CO Unknown 1981
10. 287 5/8 Montezuma, CO Travis Shippy 1985
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January 28th, 2008
David King - King's Outdoor World
Our December/January 2008 (HI33) issue of Hunting Illustrated has been available on newsstands and subscribers for a while already. Now all of you can check out this awesome issue. Our Virtual Magazine for this issue is now posted. If you want to view and read the whole issue of the magazine click the link below.
Click Here to read Hunting Illustrated Virtual Magazine
Special cover story on the craze of coyote hunting
Predatorflage
by Les Johnson
You Have Got to see It To Believe It!
by Cory Lundberg
The Will to Live
by Walt Earl
A New Twist On Predator Shooting
by Hazer Bulkley
Corporate Interview:
Minaska Outdoors
Of course that is just a taste of what you will find in this packed issue of HI. Also read the story on the Robert Arledge 294 Idaho mule deer and Rob Brennan’s amazing muzzleloader whitetail deer scoring over 290 that was taken in 2007!
Want a special offer on Hunting Illustrated? Call 800-447-6897 and get a full one year subscription (that’s 6 issues) for just $10. Yep, that is just ten bucks (normally $24.95).
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January 25th, 2008
David King - King's Outdoor World
Thanks for Michael Burrell for giving me the heads up on this and the link to contribute. Here is the skinny:
Dear fellow sportsmen,
Certain parts of Colorado has received large accumulations of snow and extremely cold temperatures making being a mule deer a bit tough this winter. CDOW has implemented an emergency feeding program to help out the deer. Below is a link you should check out and contribute what you can to help these deer out. Let’s show the rest of the world who steps up when wildlife is in need of help.
Click Here to Contribute on the Colorado Fish & Game Website
JANUARY 25 UPDATE ON DEER FEEDING OPERATION IN THE GUNNISON BASIN
The emergency feeding program by the Colorado Division of Wildlife in the Gunnison Basin is in full operation with feed being distributed to big game animals at more than 60 sites.
The program was started Jan. 13 because of extreme winter conditions in the area. Up to four feet of snow is covering natural food sources, and cold temperatures that have reached 40 degrees below zero are affecting the animals.
The feeding effort is being aimed at mule deer and pronghorn because their natural food sources are completely covered with snow. Elk, which are well-adapted to severe cold, are being provided hay in select areas only to keep them away from deer feeding sites and ranchers’ haystacks.
For the past 10 days Division of Wildlife personnel have been packing trails and roads into feeding areas with snow-cats and snowmobiles. Now that the snow on those trails is firm, feed is being taken into areas by snowmobile, snow-cat and on foot. Feeding is being done by DOW staff and volunteers. About 150 people have signed on to work as volunteers in the effort. At this time the DOW is not soliciting more volunteers.
Deer, which are naturally wary of people, are becoming accustomed to human activity and are starting to move to the feeding sites. Deer are being provided approximately 2 pounds per day of a specially formulated, high-energy feed.
Feed is also being provided to about 380 pronghorn in the basin. These animals, however, are notoriously skiddish and are difficult to draw to feed sites.
One problem facing wildlife officials is that some people are feeding deer inappropriate food. Deer are browsers, they survive mainly on shrubby-type vegetation. They cannot survive on hay, pet food, corn, birdseed, table scraps, etc.
“Unnatural food hurts deer more than it helps them,” said J Wenum, area wildlife manager for the Gunnison area.
If people want to help deer, wildlife officials recommend that property owners knock snow off of shrubs and pack down areas with snowshoes or skies to allow deer to move around in snow more easily.
Even though winter conditions are difficult in the basin now, snow came late which allowed deer to feed on natural vegetation until mid-December. Consequently, the body condition of many deer still appears to be good at this time.
Wildlife managers note, however, that the tough conditions will mean that mortality among deer will likely be higher than average. In a normal winter, 12 percent to 18 percent of the population will die. Most susceptible to harsh winter conditions are fawns and older age bucks.
“We’re not trying to save every deer in the Gunnison Basin. More deer will probably die this year than in average years. But our feeding program is meant to avoid a catastrophic die off,” Wenum said.
Colorado residents are reminded that the Colorado Division of Wildlife has posted a temporary emergency closure on wildlife-related recreational activities on public lands in the Gunnison Basin below 9,500 feet through May 15. Activities prohibited include all hunting and shed-antler collecting. Fishing is still permitted on Blue Mesa Reservoir and area streams. Collection of big horn sheep horns or skulls in sheep unit S70 is also prohibited. The full closure notice and a map can be viewed at the DOW web site.
Anyone can make a donation to the feeding effort. Go to the DOW’s home page to donate on line or for more information:
http://wildlife.state.co.us.
# # #
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January 14th, 2008
David King - King's Outdoor World
Brand new release from Nate Jacobson and Alpine Antlers. The long awaited release of Burly Bucks 2 is here and ready to ship. Get this action packed mule deer hunting DVD. Nate has some great bucks on film and some hunts of some monster bucks that will keep you entertained from start to finish.
Click on the clip above to view a short video trailer. To buy a copy of this new DVD go to the Hunting Illustrated On-line Store.
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January 11th, 2008
David King - King's Outdoor World
This buck was taken by Scott Simmons on a January 2007 Sonora hunt. He actually got a cancellation hunt last year and was able to take this nice 180 class buck.
Sonora, Mexico Cancellation Hunts – Mexico Mule Deer and Coues Deer
Sonora, Mexico Mule Deer and Coues Deer hunts available at discounted prices. Priced to sell quickly! First come first served.
Contact Arnold Sandoval now for details and pricing:
(805) 300-1092
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January 3rd, 2008
David King - King's Outdoor World
Rusty Hagadone emailed me some photos about the success his boy Dalton had in 2007. Wow, what a year. I asked him to send me over a little story so I could share the great year the Dalton had - at just 12 years old.
***
I guess it all started on Oct 14th, I told my son Dalton that on the 15th we would go out after school to see if we could get an Antelope. We did, but saw nothing that big so I said I would take him out of school the next day Oct 16 for an all day hunt. Probably should not say that if any of his teachers read this but we did. Our first stalk
was unsuccessful then we went to another area of the property that we were hunting and found a herd of about thirty does and eight nice bucks. The stalk would work out perfect because the antelope were on the east side of a big draw with a southeast wind about 10-20 mph. We had to go about half a mile to the north, then half a mile to the east just to get to the top end of the draw without them seeing us then another half to three quarters of a mile to the south to get across from there location. As we walked down the draw I told my son that the only thing that might mess this up would be if we jumped a deer and it ran through the middle of the antelope.Well it didn’t take long, we didn’t take more the ten steps and a three point muley got up but he ran down the draw, lucky for us. We had to go about thirty more yards down the draw to where I thought they might be. We went up to the top of the draw to take a look and there they were sixty yards away. But to our amazement the ones that were closest had there heads down in the tall grass, so we could not see any bucks and we crawled up another five yards popped up and there were two bucks with their heads up.
He got into position to shoot and the one buck turned broad side to us, my son pulled the trigger on his dad’s 22-250 and all the Antelope gathered up and started to run off . I asked my son if he hit him and he said “I think so, I had the cross hairs right behind the front shoulders” as they ran out about fifty yards one of the bucks ran out of the herd by itself and then went down about one hundred fifty yards away. I got the biggest high five and hug out on the prairies of Montana that anyone could ask for, the antelope is fifteen inch tall.
Now we were thinking of the youth elk tag that he put in for and got. He didn’t have long to think because he was able to go three days earlier than the regular season with this elk tag. It started on Oct 18, the area where my son had his tag was the same area that I archery elk hunt in, so I knew the area well. He was going on days off from school for teachers conferences, so on Oct 17th we drove two hundred miles from home to stay with his grand parents, the morning of Oct 18 came early because we had to drive another ninety five miles to get to the area to hunt at sun up.
We showed up about five minutes after legal shooting light and a friend of ours and his son had spotted nine cows and calves and one bull already, so we watched as they put a stalk on them. But it didn’t work out for them, so when they got back to the trucks we talked about the fact there were five or six youth hunters in that area, so my son and I decided to head more to the south for the evening hunt. All we saw there was a nice 5×6 bull and no cows, now it’s dark and we have to drive about one hundred and twenty miles back to the grand parents house to stay again.
The next morning we got up a little earlier to get to a different area at legal light and we saw one cow and calf and three bulls and one of them was a 320-330 bull, but my son had a cow tag. It just seems to work out that way, but we made a great stalk from about a half mile away to where he made the shot with his dad’s 30-06 at one hundred sixty yards. We had the wind in our favor, but as we got closer the wind quit, we were about two hundred fifty yards away and dad’s new boots where squeaking and I knew if we could hear it the elk could too, so I untied my boot for the last hundred yards. He made the shot at one hundred sixty yards and the cow Elk went down. Then another high five and hug under the Big Sky of Montana, then the work started.
Now it’s Nov 11 and we were out for a spot and stalk for a Muley buck, while we were out Antelope Hunting we had seen four or five 20-24 inch muleys and for his first buck anyone of these would be great. I’m not sure what happened but the only one we saw was the one he shot. He spotted it about three hundred yards away with some does, they worked there way over a hill and out of sight. We made the walk up to the top of the hill and there he was, one hundred yards away looking back. We had to hide in the sage brush for just a few minutes and then he turned broad side to him and he took the shot with the 30-06. The buck jumped into the air and ran, I asked if he hit him, which with the other two shots and kills it was a dumb question, the deer ran about thirty yards and went down. Once again the high fives and hugs were flying for one very excited boy and one proud father.
- Rusty Hagadone
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December 18th, 2007
David King - King's Outdoor World
An Alberta, Canada native just knocked down a monster whitetail deer about two weeks ago. From what I have been been told this deer is indescribable and kind of resembles the Hole In The Horn buck. It has been green scored at 287 gross and 280 net non-typical B&C.
From what I understand, the kid missed it last year, which they figured the buck was even bigger - pushing the 300-inch mark. Right now that green score puts it as the pending #1 in Alberta and #8 in the world. I will try and find out more and keep you posted on the official score when it happens.
UPDATE: A photo of this amazing buck has now been posted on the Wild TV web site. Hunter Helgie Eymundson of Alberta is the lucky hunter. What an incredible deer!
LINK to Wild TV
Helgie Eymundson with his massive Alberta Whitetail Buck from 2007
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December 15th, 2007
David King - King's Outdoor World
Kyle Lopez with his 307 7/8 gross Colorado monster mule deer
Some of you may have already seen this photo of this incredible buck flowing around emails and message boards. Is it true that a legit 300-inch non-typical mule deer buck was roaming the hills in 2007? Apparently there are a few bucks still around that you would think only happened in the good old days of mule deer hunting. Another example is the 307 inch sheds that Landon Wittwer picked up in Arizona.
This monster buck was taken by 14 year old Kyle Lopez of Colorado in November of 2007. He was hunting with his father when they came across this buck. Kyle knocked it down, and at the time had no idea how big the buck was. When they walked up to the buck, they couldn’t believe what they were seeing. Points everywhere!
I am excited to announce that you will be able to read the awesome story to this hunt in our next issue (Feb/March 2008) of Hunting Illustrated. You will also see Kyle’s buck in a future King’s Calendar.
Even though the buck still has until January 7th to be officially measured, Kyle’s dad Steed wanted to get a good, legit green score to have confidence in the score he was telling people. Roger Selner is an official measurer for Boone & Crockett and stopped by the Lopez home to score Kyle’s record buck. The green score is the following:
307 7/8 gross B&C
303 5/8 net B&C
207 0/8 typical frame
20×16 points
37 2/8-inch outside spread
100 7/8 inches of abnormal points
Stay tuned to this post as I will be keeping it up to date on the latest happenings and will post the official score as soon as it comes in.
So where does this rank?
The state record non-typical mule deer for Colorado scores 306 7/8. You would kind of think that the state record would be higher considering Colorado’s great tradition of mule deer. However, out of the 22 mule deer that are listed in Boone & Crockett that score 300 inches or higher, six of them are from Colorado (double any other state/province).
If Kyle’s score holds, it will be #5 for the state of Colorado and #19 in the world!
UPDATE: See the latest post about the official score of the Lopez Buck
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December 11th, 2007
David King - King's Outdoor World
For decades, Americans have debated whether the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution affords individuals the right to keep guns. Today is your chance to be heard on the issue.
USA Today’s Quick Question asks: Does the Second Amendment give individuals the right to bear arms?
Click here to let the nation know what you think. Take the single-question survey now, and find out how many people agree with your interpretation of the Second Amendment. (Results appear after you complete the survey.)
Then of course leave us your comments on what you think.
UPDATE: Here are the results of the poll so far:
USA Today On-line Poll
Does the Second Amendment give individuals the right to bear arms?
Yes 97%
No 2%
Undecided 1%
Total Votes 112,586
(as of 12/17/07)
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December 5th, 2007
David King - King's Outdoor World
Breaking News:
A 51 year old hunter from Calgary was found dead two days ago. He was attacked and killed by a grizzly bear. He was out hunting and found dead just 200 meters from his vehicle. Don Peters, an avid hunter, was hunting near Sundry, Alberta when apparently he crossed a grizzly bear. Authorities are thinking that he was trying to make it back to his truck. They discovered that one shot from his rifle had been discharged and that he went down fighting.
Don had a tree stand in the area. The weather was very cold and snowy and the attacked occurred in a heavily wooded area. He did not return on Sunday and a search was conducted, taking three days to find him. Authorities are still in search of the grizzly bear.
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November 30th, 2007
David King - King's Outdoor World
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