sorry to keep you waiting! ok, no im not. that Lamb fella does it all the time.
hiked in tonight along one of my favorite canyons. ahead several hundred yards I was able to spot some deer with a couple bucks. moving in I about blew it, dang those unseen does...
however, for once they actually drifted off the right direction. hmm. unseen does going the right way. quiet walking for once. this just might come together. and, on up a ways, I could see a buck that would do. ive seen him before and while hes narrow, hes a dandy.
he stared at me a while while I was taking this before deciding I was nothing. not his best move...
I eased in low and quiet. the heavy frost this morning had melted into a nice, quiet approach, and some of that buckbrush that I live to cuss helped conceal my movements. while it seemed like it took forever to get close, it actually happened fairly quick.
I took many, many pictures of this buck, this one being my favorite. But one thing kept me from ever shooting an arrow at him.
That thing is, my bow was at home.
Ya see guys, a short while back I was getting into my freezer and noticed how much meat I have. I don’t need to shoot a deer. Just can’t justify tarnishing the grandest hunt ever by shooting something just for a rack on the wall. So, I punched my tag without pulling a bow string. And while this buck isn’t the biggest one I saw this fall, he is certainly bigger than anything I’ve ever taken with a traditional bow. Ahh, but killing a deer wasn’t what this quest was all about to begin with.
It’s no secret around the west mule deer numbers are down. The animals just haven’t adapted like other species to all of the changes out there, and its common knowledge the “good old days” of mule deer and the hunting of them are long gone. However, I found something in those hills. I found deer like I’ve only read about. Both in numbers and buck size. I’ve shown you all a few pics from this fall. I’ve taken several hundred. And while I’m not certain I will ever see anything like this again, I got to see it once. That’s not something to take lightly.
And lightly is not how I’ve taken it.
These deer have been an obsession for the last couple months. I’ve lost sleep. Weight. Missed work. Missed functions. Passed potential dates (for a guy who is FINALLY looking to settle down, how smart is that?). Been late to numerous obligations. Passed up day trips with friends. Basically my world has revolved around these deer. Hell, I bought my dream pick up and It is still halfway across the country, as I just couldn’t pry myself away to go get it. But I’ve seen deer in numbers and quality that I doubt any hunter in the nation has seen. I’ve been so cold the shivering wouldn’t stop. I’ve been so hot my clothes could be wrung out. I’ve had the most exciting morning of my life when I rattled that buck in. I had the most terrifying night of my life with the scream. I’ve hiked many miles in deep snow over rough terrain. I’ve sat cold mornings in a tiny blind. And through it all, this old elk hunter has had the most amazing, beautiful, life enriching experience of my near 40 years of being the outdoors. A rack on the wall is but a pittance to that…
Long live conservation, a full freezer, hunting, hunters dollars and efforts leading the way in protecting our wildlife, and the knowledge to do the right things out there for the right reasons.
hope you all enjoyed this thread. easily, this last two months chasing these mule deer has been the most epic hunt of my life. I likely will never top this. thanks for following along!
Topic: a huntin' story turned blog amidst the greatest muley hunt ever... (Read 12959 times)
