Rack Report | Montana Bowhunter Arrows 6x6 Buck Nicknamed Moose

Eastern Montana deer hunters have had a rough go of it the past few years. Many areas have been heavily hit by Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD). The area where Loren Dempsey hunts has been hammered for multiple seasons, reducing the deer population to well below normal.

“Even though numbers are down, there are still a few good deer around,” Dempsey said.

One of those deer was a buck Dempsey first noticed in 2025. “He was a good buck last year, but I knew he was still young and had serious potential,” he explained. “I passed on him multiple times with both my bow and rifle.”

Despite multiple rounds of EHD, Dempsey rolled the dice and passed on this same buck last season. Images by Loren Dempsey

Of course, there was a possibility that EHD could potentially claim the up-and-coming buck in summer 2026, but Dempsey still rolled the dice and passed the animal, hoping it would make it to fall 2026. His patience was rewarded. During late summer this year, the buck returned, healthy and quite a bit larger. Dempsey immediately took notice. “I knew as soon as I saw those first trail camera photos that this was going to be my target deer this season. It was him or nothing.”

As soon as the first summer trail cam photos rolled in, Dempsey knew this would be his target buck for the season.

The buck’s home range consisted of river bottom cropland. After watching trail cameras all summer, Dempsey and a buddy hung a stand along the edge of the timber near a standing cornfield.

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“We had named the buck ‘Moose’ because of its webbed, wide main beam, and my buddy called it the Moose stand and said that I would kill the buck from that stand. And he was right; I took him the first night I sat in it, even though it wasn't my first hunt of the season.”

The buck earned the name “Moose” because of his thick, almost palmated main beams.

Dempsey had hunted opening weekend, but he purposely avoided his best stand location because he didn’t have a lot of faith the buck would show; it had become nocturnal after shedding its velvet. High temps made for poor deer movement. He only saw a handful of does and fawns.

A forecast cold front the following weekend got Dempsey’s attention. He purposely stayed out of the area until the temperatures dropped. With cooler weather and the potential for better deer movement, he was excited to climb into the stand for an evening hunt. Again, because the wind was questionable, he avoided his best stand location. He saw a good deer — possibly a shooter — but decided to hold off for his target buck if the deer wandered any closer.

“It never came all the way in, so I didn’t have to make the choice,” he said. “It was probably a blessing that he stayed out a ways. He would have been hard to pass up.” Dempsey did take a coyote later in the evening.

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The following evening, the wind was perfect, and Dempsey had a good feeling. He headed for the Moose stand. Not long after climbing into the stand, four bucks emerged from the timber and jumped a fence, heading for a nearby cornfield.

Dempsey had just enough trail camera photos to know the buck was still in the area.

Another hour passed. The sun was setting when he heard antlers raking a tree behind him. Slowly, Dempsey turned in the stand. “He was standing there, pretty much directly beneath me. He was three yards from the base of my tree,” he laughed.

Dempsey waited until wind and weather conditions were perfect to hunt his best stand and it paid off with a close range shot.

Dempsey watched the buck below. When the deer stepped with its head behind a tree, he came to full draw. The buck jumped the fence and started walking toward the nearby standing corn. Once it had cleared four of five steps, Dempsey released his arrow.

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The shot hit high due to the steep angle, and the buck dropped instantly. After making sure the buck was fully expired, Dempsey climbed down to admire his trophy. He had left his phone in his side-by-side, so he made the hike back to call a buddy to come help him extract the buck. The two made short work of it and soon had the deer out and ready to process.

“I’ve always wanted to take a clean 6-by-6 buck, and this one fit that bill with a few extra points to spare,” he said. One of those points sprouted from the base like an extra main beam. The 14 scorable points taped out to 160 ⅝ inches (gross-green).

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