Rack Magazine

When hunting eastern Colorado, you might have to cross your fingers and channel your inner reptile.

Bill Lambert of West Monroe, Louisiana, never imagined he’d find himself belly-crawling with a weapon after leaving the military. But the old training came in handy while he was deer hunting in Kiowa County, Colorado, in December 2014. He and his guide, Ty McFarland, covered more than half a mile that way, just to scoot in range of a whitetail Ty thought might score in the 160s.

With 38 hunting seasons under his belt, Bill really wanted to shoot a mule deer. He’d applied for a Colorado muley tag in 2014, but he drew only a preferred whitetail tag.

After securing the tag, Bill and his friends booked their hunts through Global Hunting Resources, an outfitter they’d met at the Dallas Safari Club convention.

The guides took two hunters every day.

“On this hunt, my partner was Scott Tubbs from Bastrop, Louisiana,” Bill said. “We drew straws to see who would get the first shot, and Scott won.”

The post-rut hunt began on a Monday. The two men saw plenty of big bucks, but most had sheared off points through fighting. Their guide, Ty, had already scouted the area and told them a big 5x6, rack intact, was still in the vicinity and that it would probably score in the 160s.

“We knew the buck was feeding in a cornfield,” Bill said. “The first morning, we set up to ambush it coming out of the field en route to its bed.

“When the sun appeared, we spotted two bucks about 2 miles distant. Both had good racks, but one was noticeably larger. The animals were headed to private property our outfitter didn’t have permission to hunt,” he added.

On the second day of the hunt, Scott was positioned to take the big 5x6, but once again the buck got past him and out of range. Then the hunters learned that the ranch owner went out before daylight and broke ice in the water troughs for his cattle, which spooked the bucks out of the cornfield well before sunrise.

During the third day of the hunt, Bill and his party never spotted the 5x6, although they saw plenty of bucks with busted racks.

The wind shifted on the fourth day, and the hunters climbed to the crest of a high hill. They saw the 5x6 with three does, and a smaller 11-pointer was about a half-mile from the stand.

Scott was set up perfectly and in position to take the shot as the small band of whitetails moved toward him. Just before the deer got in range, a cow lying beside a fencepost moved and spooked the does. They ran off, but started moving back toward the cornfield.

“We left Scott where he easily should have been able to get a shot, and Ty and I pulled out and went to another hill,” Bill said. “We spooked a band of 30 pronghorns that took off like someone had lit fires to their behinds, running straight toward the small band of whitetails before finally turning.”

Bill and Ty heard a shot and thought Scott had taken the big buck, but later learned he’d missed it four times. Ty set up his spotting scope and saw the two bucks with the three does about 2 miles away, walking down a fence line. That’s when he realized Scott had to have missed.

The whitetails bedded down on the opposite side of the fence behind stacked tumbleweeds. A muley buck was bedded on the side of the fence closest to Bill.

“We need to go after the big whitetail right now,” Ty said. “We know he’s bedded down, and this probably will be the last chance to take that big buck before he moves off our property onto private lands.”

The two men began crossing open country with grass not even knee-high. Ty went first, and Bill walked in his shadow.

The mule deer buck kept a close eye on the two hunters. Once they were within a mile of the bedded whitetail, they bent over, walked low to the ground, and then belly-crawled for half a mile, with their chins about 4 inches off the ground.

The mule deer buck rose and walked down the fence line. At the same time, the 5x6 also stood. The hunters watched the big whitetail stretch before lying down again.

Once the hunters were between 200 and 250 yards from the bedded whitetail, Bill took off his backpack and rested his Thompson Center .300 Win Mag on it. Five hours had passed since they’d left the truck.

When the wind shifted toward the bedded whitetails, a buck stood.

“Whoa,” Ty hissed. “That’s not the big one.”

When the 5x6 stood, the hunters could see only its head and antlers above the tumbleweeds.

“I couldn’t see enough of the deer to make the shot,” Bill said.

But Ty assured him the .300 Win Mag would punch through the tumbleweed. Once Bill saw the top of the buck’s back, he lowered his rifle accordingly and squeezed the trigger.

The buck collapsed.

Scott had watched the hunt unfold through his binoculars.

As soon as he saw the deer up close, Ty realized he’d misjudged the buck by at least 20 inches.

Editor’s Note: For more information about Bill Lambert’s guide, go to www.globalhuntingresources.com.

Hunter: Bill Lambert
BTR Score: 185 1/8"
View BTR Scoresheet

This article was published in the February 2016 edition of Rack Magazine. Subscribe today to have Rack Magazine delivered to your home.

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