My hopes were high, but the part I was most excited about was the chance to hunt big velvet bulls with a rifle. I think it may be every western hunter’s dream to shoot a bull in full velvet. With only a week of hunting until the bulls would be rubbing their velvet, we knew we had to get it done fast.

Two friends Nick & Tad head into the mountains in search of mature mule deer and succeed in their goal with two monster bucks.

In this two-part series, Nate Simmons backpacks through Wyoming’s backcountry with his bow in pursuit of mule deer and elk.

DIY western big game hunting is a lot of work. The planning, preparation, travel, and hunt all require time and dedication to put all the moving pieces together.

We covered more than one hundred and sixteen miles total, and seeing the two float planes land on the smooth river surface made it all worthwhile.

We ventured off as planned, pulling a camping trailer with my 3500 Ram loaded down with two week’s worth of grub, 150 gallons of Avgas in drums, and 130 gallons of diesel fuel in the Tidy Tank. What could possibly go wrong?

We rolled into camp that night very late and shared the good news with Steve and Nate. We had more meat to pack out, but our hunt was over. Four bulls in 48 hours exceeded our wildest expectations.

I looked at 20 rams, walked countless miles, lost over 20 lbs, and spent the better part of summer in a tent. My goal was to take a mature ram and in the end, I surpassed my goal

Hearing that the results had been released, I opened up my oldest son Trey’s FWP profile and saw he was “successful” in the draw. Then I opened up my younger son, Tyson’s, and saw he was also “successful”!

After about 45 minutes, it finally happened. I felt the wind hit the back of my neck. I immediately drew back and like clockwork, the bull’s head whipped upright.

Being born and raised in Montana, I have been very fortunate to hunt big game every year. I have taken some respectable mule deer but have had a few giants escape my bullet in years prior.

Nate Simmons hunts Montana’s backcountry for elk during the peak of the rut.