Mule deer that almost got away

[HKshutr]

A couple years ago, I got my first 20c tag. I knew the unit pretty well, but had never been drawn for it. I went out scouting the Saturday before the hunt. I saw plenty of sign, but no bucks. I decided I would scout again on Sunday, and I had picked a nice spot to glass a big wash near water with plenty of hills and draws around it. I got to the spot @ 30 minutes before sunrise. Around 8:30, I pulled the binos from my eyes for a rest, turned my head, and there was a nice 3x4 standing 150 yds away looking at me. I held still and watched him. After a few minutes, he just started meandering around, and eventually worked his way to a ridge @ 500 yds away and bedded down. I found my spot.

Opening morning, I followed the same routine. Got the before sunrise, and waited. About 20 minutes after I got there, I hears a jeep park down the hill out of my view, and heard 2 hunters climb up, and set up to glass @ 200 yds away from me. They sat there until @ 6:30 and left. Then @ 7:00, a hunter in a yellow vest walked into view 100 yds from me, and spent about 30 minutes walking around in the saddle below me where I had seen the buck the weekend before. He sounded like A bulldozer. I was a little annoyed, but hey, he's got rights too. After he left, I waited about an hour, and decided to hike the ridge above what the buck had bedded down. I glasses and hunted hard the rest of that day, and the following day and saw nothing.

Early Sunday morning, I decided to go back to my original plan. I set up in the same spit at the same time, and settled in. @ 7:30, again I lowered my binos for a rest, turned my head, and there he was in some trees @ 300 yds away. I froze and waited. He strolled around, and all of the sudden, I lost him. I kept panning slowly around, and Bam! There he was @ 220 yds away standing in front of a Palo Verde. Perfect shot, you know, the one you dream of. The sun was coming up behind him, and I had a hard time seeing his horns. I was sure it was him, but just couldn't take the shot without being sure. He slowly turned his head and looked back toward where I had first seen him, just like a doe does when she has other deer behind her. I still couldn't see horns, and I really started thinking it was a doe. Then he turned, and started walking at a 45 degree angle away from me up to the ridge. As he crested, I saw the horns. Oh crap! I pulled up my rifle, and BOOM! I took a shot as he was moving just at the top of the hill. I heard a loud crack, and watched him run over the ridge. I jumped to my feet like I was 18 again, reloading on the run, and hoofed it to the top of the ridge. I looked for him for 15 minutes and saw nothing. So I started looking for blood. After @ 5 minutes, there it was. A large bone fragment that looked like it came from the hind legs. The valley he went into was HUGE. So I called up my buddy who was @ 20 minutes away and asked him to come help me track him.

When he got there, we hashed a plan. He would follow the blood trail, and I would walk the ridges above him. He started finding blood and we kept on going. It took about an hour of tough hiking before we found him. He got up from under a Palo Verde, and started gobbling up hill. I pulled up, and dropped him. When we got to him, we both said, "This is gonna be a rough pack out." I told him I would climb up the hill and look around. The top was about 50 yards away. I got there, and halleluyah! There was a road right there. I went and got the jeep, and pulled up to the road. We drug him up the hill, and that was it. Hunt over.

That was absolutely the most satisfying hunt I have been on in a long time. Hard work, perseverance, and a good buddy to help me out. But man, I wish I had shot him while he was in front of that tree. It would have been a 50 yd drag straight down a hill to the jeep. But then again, would the hunt have been as satisfying as it was? Maybe.