Julie Kreuter’s First Muzzleloader Mule Deer Buck on “Beyond the Hunt TV”
John E. Phillips 08.07.13
Author’s note: Rick and Julie Kreuter are the hosts of Beyond the Hunt that appears on the Outdoor Channel Mondays at 8:30 am EST and Thursdays at 3:30 and 8:00 pm EST. Rick and Julie have been married for 14 years and have hunted together for 15 years.
I’m often asked what camo pattern Julie and I wear. My simple answer is, “Brush.” We live in western Nebraska and typically hunt in drier climates. Most of the foliage has a dried-up brown or tan look to it. There are cottonwoods in the river bottoms. We hunt in open country and from the ground. During hunting season, most of the colors we see are grays, yellows and browns, so the Brush pattern blends in best.
Julie’s first muzzleloader buck was taken in Nebraska, in an area called the Sandhills, simply because there are many sand hills there. In the sand hills there are numerous blowouts, or depressions in the sand, that look like bombs have been dropped there. The foliage in the blowouts is a light tan and, in many blowouts, the grass has eroded to just sand and dirt. The big mule deer in this area come in to these blowouts, dig holes, and bed there. These areas are also great places for hunters to dig holes and use them as blinds. Camo helps us to virtually disappear in the blowouts.
On this particular hunt, we spotted a tremendous 180-inch mule deer buck about 50 yards in front of us lying in his bed. We got into the same blowout as the buck and. after about three hours, he stood up, stretched, and looked down the hill. Then he turned, came toward us, and started to feed facing away from us at about 16 to 20 feet. Because we had on Brush, including face masks and gloves, the buck didn’t spot us. Julie and I have agreed that we want to experience the hunt and watch the animals for as long as we can before we take the shot. For us, watching the animals and capturing them on film is the best part of the hunt. We want to bring our viewers right into the hunt with us and see just how close we can get to a deer if we’re completely camouflaged. Julie never attempted to draw her muzzleloader. We knew this buck wasn’t alarmed and he couldn’t see or smell us, so we chose to hang out and film the buck for as long as we could. For us, this type of footage was gold.
When the buck got out about 50 yards out, we decided that we should move on the buck, reposition, and take the shot. At this point. we were both lying on our stomachs. Finally, I gave Julie the green light and so she rolled over, got in a comfortable shooting position, and squeezed the trigger. She was shooting a Traditions muzzleloader with a Hornady bullet. She hit the buck in the front shoulder and he toppled. We were easily able to recover the deer.
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John, the 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the year and the 2007 Legendary Communicator chosen for induction into the National Fresh Water Hall of Fame, is a freelance writer (over 6,000 magazine articles for about 100 magazines and several thousand newspaper columns published), magazine editor, photographer for print media as well as industry catalogues (over 25,000 photos published), lecturer, outdoor consultant, marketing consultant, book author and daily internet content provider with an overview of the outdoors.
Phillips has been a contributor to many national magazines, has been affiliated with 27 radio stations across Alabama serving as their outdoor editor and wrote for a weekly syndicated column, "Alabama Outdoors," for 38-Alabama newspapers for more than 13 years. Phillips was Outdoor Editor for the "Birmingham Post-Herald" for 24 years. Phillips was also the executive editor for "Great Days Outdoors" magazine for 3 years.
The author of almost 30 books on the outdoors, Phillips is a founding member of the Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA) and an active member of the Southeastern Outdoors Press Association (SEOPA). Phillips also is the owner of Night Hawk Publications, a marketing and publishing firm, and president of Creative Concepts, an outdoor consulting group.
Phillips conducts seminars across the nation at colleges in freelance writing, photography and outdoor education besides teaching courses in how to sell what you write to writers' groups. Phillips received his photography training as a still-lab photo specialist for six years in the Air Force. He was the chief photographer for Mannequins, Inc., a Birmingham modeling agency, for 11 years.
While serving as 2nd Vice President of the Alabama Wildlife Federation, Phillips was in charge of all press releases for the organization as well as serving as Chairman of Alabama's Big Buck Contest, which he founded more than 30 years ago. He also was president of the Alabama Sportsman's Association for three years.
Phillips is the recipient of a Certificate of Merit from the Governor of Alabama and the Department of Conservation for his work in the outdoor field. Phillips is vitally interested in the outdoors and travels the nation collecting personalities, stories and how-to information for his articles and features.
EDUCATION: B.S. degree from the University of West Alabama with a physical education major and a history minor.
EXPERIENCE: 10 years parttime and fulltime physical director for YMCAs and 34 years as a freelance writer, photographer, editor, book author, lecturer and daily-content provider for websites. Currently, Phillips is a field editor for Game and Fish Publications; serves on the editorial board of Grandview Media; is a regular contributor to 12 internet magazines and a daily content provider for 8 websites.
WRITING AWARDS: Runnerup - Best Outdoor Magazine Feature - 1981 - SEOPA; Certificate of Merit - Awarded by Alabama's Governor for writings on conservation; Most Outstanding Sports Writer in Southeast - 1983 & 1984; Best Outdoor Feature in Alabama, 1987 - Alabama Sportswriters' Association 3rd Place; Best Book of the Year - 1989 - SEOPA; 2007 - inducted into the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame as a Legendary Communicator; 2008 - received award naming him 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the Year from the Crossbow Manufacturers' Association; 2009 - GAMMA Honorable Mention for Consumer/Paid Best Essay for July/August 2008 in "Southern Sporting Journal."
