MeatEater: Montana Mule Deer with Janis Putelis

The crisp air biting with every breath, the changing wind conditions giving warning to every creature near, and the unforgiving environment that mountain ranges provide make for an idyllic yet grueling hunt. These are the conditions that Janis Putelis of MeaterEater chooses to hunt in. Janis documents this hunt in a recent MeatEater production titled "Montana Mule Deer| On the Hunt with Janis Putelis."

To begin, Janis drew a tag in a limited unit with a five-week season. However, he decided to hunt the last five days to optimize the rut and to take advantage of the cooling temperatures that should lead to more movement of game animals. For success, Janis needs patience. A majority of the hunt is spent behind glass—either binoculars or a spotting scope. But he was ready; the tag alone took more than five years to draw. Over the first days, Janis drives from spot to spot, glass, moves to a better vantage point, and then repeats if nothing appears. And nothing did for the first two-and-a-half days.

Three days in, no Mule deer is in sight. This is not a high-yield unit but is known for producing monsters. At this point, Janis was looking for something "shootable." And then his luck shifts. Three does appear, but no bucks, Janis is on the move. A buck must be nearby. He comes across another group of does, but this time, a mature 4X4 buck is in their midst. It isn't the "monster" he was hoping for, but it was worth the chase. As he matriculated through the mountainside, inching closer to his target, Janis stumbled across several elk. Luckily, his presence didn't startle the Cervus canadensis, and he could continue the stalk.

With time, Janis comes into a good position and gets settled in. He builds a stable shooting position with his MDT HNT26-equipped Tikka T3x chassis rifle, but as he does, the buck he is chasing decides to bed down—with a tree branch in the way of its vital zone. Janis has no choice but to wait for the buck to stand up. Unfortunately, Janis's bad luck continues. For most hunters, the next sequence of events wouldn't happen. But this hunt is being filmed. As the buck rises from its bed, Janis steadies his rifle. But he must wait for the cameraman to focus on the shot. This throws off the timing. As it would be, the buck is mysteriously spooked and trots away. Dumbfounded. Dejected. The hunt just got a whole lot harder.

For the hunt Janis carried a Tikka T3x mated to an MDT HNT26 Chassis System.

Regrouping, Janis moves to a ridge that overlooks where he originally spotted the buck in hopes that it will backtrack. But after two hours of glassing, Janis's patience wears. He is on the move again. Janis loops around the basin to where he last saw the buck. To his surprise, the buck stands three hundred yards away from where it was bedded previously. But this chance proved challenging. The buck doesn't cooperate as daylight fades, and even though there is one more day of the season left, opportunity feels like it's slipping away with the waning sun. Only ten minutes are remaining of legal shooting light. All Janis needs is for the buck to take two more steps in the right direction. Tensions rise. He steadies his rifle, waiting for his shot. Tune into the MeatEater YouTube channel to find out what happens.

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