Robby Denning

The Brokenheart buck, or so I named him in the summer 2010 issue of Christensen’s Hunting Illustrated. See that issue to read the entire story of the two-year chase after this buck with a bitter-sweet ending. I took this archery buck on one of the private land ranches I manage in Idaho. He lab-aged at 6 years old and sported 6″ bases. I’d scouted and hunted this buck nearly 50 days in two years. Praise the Lord.

I drew my first Montana deer combo tag in 2009. Hunting with my friend, Trevor Carlson, we stalked the timber for 5 days before I crossed paths with this heavy, mature buck (he lab-aged at 6 years old) as he searched for does. All he gave me was a quick 70 yard shot, and thankfully that’s all I needed. Hunting the rut is incredible. Thanks Lord.

Idaho had a bad winter in 2008 and good bucks were hard to come by. I hunted 6 days in the Idaho backcountry before finding this heavy antlered buck that lab-aged at 5 years old. You can’t tell by the picture, but he died in a nasty avalanche chute. I didn’t get him loaded on the horses until midnight and back to camp about 2 am. Praise the Lord!

2007 turned out to be the peak in buck numbers in SE Idaho for quite a few years before the 07/08 winter cut buck numbers way back again. I took this heavy buck on the 29th of October on public land that year. I’d passed him up earlier in the season, but as the end drew near, I decided to take him. He lab-aged at 5 years old and had a huge body to boot. He still managed to gross 170″ even as a 3×3 (not including eyeguards).

In 2005, I hired a pilot to scout some new country in Western Wyoming. I spotted this buck on that trip. I made several scouting trips to the area that summer and almost closed the deal during archery season when I had the buck at 40 yards. By the time rifle season was drawing to a close, I had put in 16 days on the mountain this buck called home. On the last day of the season, I tracked him into some timber on an extremely steep slope. I shot him at 80 yards. He lab-aged at 5 years old and officially grossed 224 B&C points, taping out at 30″ wide. He’s one of my favorite bucks & I still say “Praise the Lord”.

2005 was a good year. I also hunted Colorado’s 3rd season in a unit I’d hunted before. The weather turned off warm and it was slow hunting. By the grace of God and hunting 7 days straight, I took this 185″ gross buck at 60 yards as I still-hunted some oakbrush. I got off three quick shots as he made his escape but only one shot hit him (luckily that’s all it takes.) He lab-aged at 6 years old.

The long-range hunting craze is everywhere these days and while I think we all should be proficient at longer yardages, don’t forget many big bucks live in thick cover where shots are short. My 2004 Colorado buck illustrates that point. He made the cover before sun up forcing me to still-hunt the aspen jungle. Moving slowly and watching carefully, it didn’t take long to get off a 70-yard shot at the bedded buck. He was with a 28″ non-typical, making it hard to decide which one to shoot. In the end, this buck’s mass won out and I took him. Thank you, Jesus. Due to abnormal tooth growth, the lab couldn’t determine an accurate age for this buck.

This was my second P&Y archery buck, this one also from Wyoming. He officially grossed 194″ and was 28″ wide. I took him in 2004 in some new country I found while aerially scouting. Once the season opened, constant rain and snow kept me in the tent for days before finally letting up enough that I could glass. I took this buck on an extremely steep angle at 65 yards as he headed for the timber. You can read the entire story, “The Wait-Him-Out Buck” in David Long’s excellent book, “Public Land Mule Deer”. The buck lab-aged at 4 years old. I still thank the good Lord for making me a deer hunter.

I took this Idaho buck in 2003 after a 9-day hunt on public land on a general tag. It was the last morning of the hunt as I sat and watched some broken timber on a steep mountain-side where I’d seen a good buck a week before. At about 8:30 am, this buck fed into a shooting lane where I got off a quick 150-yard shot, with only seconds to judge his antlers. Imagine my surprise when I walked down there to find this 36″ outside spread buck. He is still one of my favorite bucks that I’ve ever taken (but by the grace of God.) He lab-aged at an incredible 9 years-old. and is the oldest buck my company has aged since we started in 1996.

This is my first P&Y buck, taken in 2003 from Wyoming. He officially grossed 184″ and spread 28″. He lab-aged at 4 years old. The full story appears in David Long’s excellent book “Public Land Mule Deer.” By 2003, I’d been scouting and hunting mule deer almost exclusively since 1991, putting in hundreds of days over those years. It started to all come together with the harvest of this buck. I still thank the Lord for this one.

By 2001, I’d hunted Colorado four different years and had been scouting several units since 1993. A friend, Kevin Kenny, and I had found an oakbrush hidey-hole that usually held a good buck. On the second day of the 3rd season we kept watch on the basin as the sun came up. Shortly after daybreak, Kevin called on the radio and said he’d just glimpsed a good buck in the heavy cover below me. I flopped onto my belly and glassed intently into the cover, finally spotting this giant looking back at me. He taped out at 208″ gross and sported an 8X9 – 28″ rack. Thanks for giving me first shot, Kevin! The buck had a huge body- over 300 pounds- and lab-aged at 6 years old.

In September of 2000, I found a group of bucks living under a cliff not far from a popular Wyoming ski resort. There were a few nice bucks in the group. I kept hunting throughout the fall hoping for something better. Finally, as October drew to a close, I found my way back to the area where I’d seen the bucks back in mid-September. Shortly after daybreak, I glassed the same group of bucks heading for their beds in the timber. I had to put the stalk on to get in range and ended up shooting this good buck at about 50 yards as he exploded from his bed. Scouting works and thank You, Jesus!

The one that started it all. It was 1996 and I’d been scouting & hunting hard for six years for my first big mule deer. I found this buck on the 7th of August that year while scouting by horseback in the Idaho backcountry. I hunted him through the archery season but then got distracted by a 36″ wide buck in another area when the early rifle season opened. Another hunter killed that buck so I returned during the general elk season to see if I could find this buck again. I hunted six days in the worst kind of weather and lots of hunting pressure. On the sixth day of the hunt, I got cut off a good track by another hunter. Frustrated, tired, and full of doubt, I knelt in the snow with tears in my eyes and prayed to the LORD for strength. Standing back up and drying my eyes, I hiked up the hill about 300 yards and stopped to rest. With my naked eye, I spotted this buck standing in an aspen tangle 300 yards below. To say the least, my prayer was answered! The buck officially scored 234 gross B&C and spread 34″ as a 9×11- still my best buck to date. He lab-aged at 5 years old. You can read the complete story and much more in my 2015 book, “Hunting Big Mule Deer: How to Take the Best Buck of Your Life” on Amazon here.   Thank You Lord (and I’m hooked!)

The same buck as above. I didn’t even own a self-timer camera back then so I had to wait for my Dad to get to camp so I could get in the photo. Although so many years ago, that hunt still stirs my soul like no other hunt I’ve been on since. God does that to a guy, you know.