Denny Alstad is a shooter among shooters. His work with wildcat cartridges and love of hunting provided a natural background to hook up with Mossback Outfitters. Denny had hunted with them before and had taken the now famous Spider Bull, scoring over 400-points and a number one antelope along with some big deer. This time their eight-day hunt was all about big bucks. They were after mule deer scoring over 200-inches.

Denny brought the rifle for just such a hunt, his custom .30 caliber creation shooting a .300 Super A3 cartridge he designed himself. The only similar off the shelf rifle would be a .300 Ultra Mag. Denny’s cartridge pushes the 168-grain, TTSX Triple Shock bullet at 3800 feet per second to provide a trajectory path that keeps the bullet from experiencing no more than 6-inches of rise or drop out to 500-yards. Denny had spent many hours behind his rifles shooting at 500-yards and knows the performance both he and the gun can deliver.

Doyle knows mule deer and Denny knows rifles. Between them they formed a team the big bucks in the mountains outside Hanksville, Utah, should fear. The area was rugged, but they glassed bucks in the 200-plus class every day. Two hundred inch bucks are the ones you would never see unless situated on a good vantage point and glassing.

The odds of bumping into one of these monsters while wandering around this country is close to zero. They are not average bucks but rather mature specimens that have survived by being smart. To counter their wariness Doyle had developed a process for glassing and will never hesitate to recommend you buy the best optics you can afford – both binoculars and spotting scopes. You must see bucks like this first and the only way to do it is from a distance.

The logic behind this is simple; once you see them you can watch until they bed down. Once bedded, you can stalk to a vantage point within rifle range, get set up, and wait for the buck to get up and provide a standing shot. There is also a possibility of stalking to within range while the buck is feeding. The key is to see them before they see you. Glassing, then spotting a buck provides the best chance of shooting the buck on your terms. If he spots you while you are walking, your shot must be taken on his terms.

The procedure is simple. Locate a good vantage point, downwind of your hunting area, then sit and patiently glass each ravine and canyon, looking into all the thick vegetation. When you think you’re done, start over and check it all again. Patience will kill more big bucks than speed.

During the late morning on day two they spotted a buck that would score over 200 then watched him bed for the day. The buck was about a mile and a half away and after he lay down the stalk portion of the hunt began. It took a while but they eventually set up on a ridge above where the buck bedded. They had him covered and could now patiently wait for it to get up later in the afternoon to feed.

Denny was set up for the 450-yard shot using a solid, prone rest. Doyle had hunted with Denny before and knew the wildcat rifle builder could make consistent 450-yard shots with the accuracy required to put a buck down when the time came. A half hour later another 200-inch buck walked to the same spot then ran the bigger buck out of his bed and he escaped by disappearing into the timber. Such is hunting; the unknown and unthinkable can always happen. The second 200-incher was smaller; after setting their sights on the bigger buck Denny could not make himself take the shot. Watching the bigger buck had spoiled him. Later he kicked himself for not shooting the second buck as he was very symmetrical and any 200-inch buck is a trophy.  

The pair spent the next couple of days glassing from different locations with no results. It wasn’t until the sixth day Doyle whispered, “There’s a good one in that volcanic bowl.” Denny found the buck in his glasses and agreed, “He’s a good one but we can’t wait until he lies down, he will probably walk out of sight first.” Doyle agreed and the foot race was on.

Almost two miles of country lay between them and the buck with a deep gorge in between that would block their view. The buck could lie down or move to the next mountain while out of their sight. The advantage was with the buck. The two climbed the old volcano enduring tough stretches where uphill movement was slow forcing them down on all fours to scale the steep cone.

Nearing the rim the two went into “stealth mode,” not knowing if the buck had moved during their two-hour climb. When Doyle carefully peeked around a huge volcanic boulder he found the buck feeding on bitterbrush leaves on the opposite side of the volcano plateau. He motioned to Denney that the buck was there and Denny quickly slipped into position for a broadside shot as the buck fed.

Events unfolded quickly with three things happening at once: the buck turned his head and spotted Doyle and Denny. Doyle said, “Shoot, the buck made us!” Denny pulled the trigger. At the shot the buck leaped while both the hunters watched every movement, they didn’t want him to leap off the volcano’s flattop and run or worse, slide down the steep side.

The buck made two leaps before his front legs folded and he slid to a halt at the edge of the plateau, just inches from rolling down the side. Both hunter and guide sighed with relief.

When things calmed down Denny commented, “I am more than glad he didn’t roll down the other side,” and Doyle replied, “Yes, now we only have to drag him out about a mile instead of three.” The buck looked as big on the ground as he had while glassing and scored 228.