He had gone about 40 yards when he saw the rump of a large blacktail. Alberts believed he'd found one of the big bucks. A possible opportunity for a good shot presented itself, so he quietly got into a sitting position and slowly cocked back the hammer of the flintlock. The wind direction was favorable as he looked down the barrel and placed its front bead a few inches above the top of the deer's brownish black tail. The buck's head was completely hidden as it fed on acorns about 45 yards out.

Seven to eight minutes slowly went by. The large-bodied deer passed behind thick brush several times, each time reappearing with its head down, still feeding. Alberts knew his time would come. He'd just have to wait.

A sudden zephyr changed the wind's direction and blew Alberts' scent toward the flat. In most cases this would spell the end to an unsuccessful day of buck hunting, but on this day it would be a blessing.

A previously hidden buck suddenly sprang to its feet and trotted off across the flat and into the brush -- it was the tall-tined 5x4. At this time the large deer that Steve had in his sights swiftly raised its head and peered over its back, focusing on Alberts. It was the non-typical 4x3, wide and heavy.

"It sniffed the air and was about to bolt," Alberts recalled. "I quickly pulled the trigger."

The hammer sprang forward and the distinctive sound of a traditional flintlock muzzleloader echoed through the woods. A 110-grain round ball hit the buck hard and its back end dropped immediately. Alberts quickly started reloading while keeping a watchful eye on the downed buck through the haze of spent black powder.

"I walked up to him and finished him off through the lungs," said Steve. "I wanted to mount him and didn't want to ruin the hide."

The buck's unusual rack was large and typical on its left side, exhibiting three well-defined points. Palmation -- a rarity among Western deer -- on the upper half of its right antler made each circumference measurement here (C-3 and C-4) almost 2 inches larger than the base measurement (C-1) on the same side. Also, instead of having a typical fourth point or tine (T-4), the buck had a point that grew off the side of the main beam like a "sticker" or "cheater" point before curving upward. The point measured 9 1/8 inches. The inside spread measured 22 3/8 inches (24 3/8 outside). The bases measured 4 3/8 inches and 4 4/8 inches in diameter. The brow tines were 1 7/8 inches and 2 5/8 inches.

Using the Safari Club International scoring system the Alberts buck officially scored 141 4/8 as a non-typical, making it the No. 1 muzzleloader buck in the California Records of Big Game inland Columbian blacktail category.

FOR YOUR INFORMATION
For information on the California Records of Big Game, contact: CRBG, P.O. Box 107, Greenwood, CA 95635, telephone (530) 409-9720, or e-mail catcreekproduction@2xtreme.net. The CRBG is looking for mule deer trophies for Inyo (zones X-9a, X-9b, X-9c, X-10), Burro (zones D-12, D-17), and Southern (zones D-15, D-16, D-19) mule deer. Contact them at the address above for minimum score requirements.