antlers lurking with them- but no dice . This was a recurring theme for the next couple of miles . I probably saw another half-dozen does , but no boys accompanied them . I was pooped , at least four miles from my truck , and it was starting to snow . I sat down and had a couple Power Bars and a bottle of water , and decided to just go up to the next rise to where a small stand of Christmas trees were nestled into a rare flat spot in the canyon .
When I stumbled in and snapped the first twig in there- you guessed it- I heard the telltale crashing of several deer bounding away . Darn it ! Why hadn ’ t I slowed down and done it right ? A little patience would have served me well . Oh well- I crept along in the direction I thought I ’ d heard most of them go and when I reached a clearing in the trees I saw the rear end of a doe disappearing into a canyon and then hopping over to the next ridge . It looked like the canyon the deer disappeared into would lead me back downhill to the road , so I figured , “ What the heck , it ’ s just adding on another mile .”
I eased into the chute where the doe had disappeared and took a careful look . Across a gully about 90 yards , there was a deer standing in the open looking away from me . I rubbed my eyes and fished out my binoculars because this doe looked funny to me . It had an awfully big body and had something sticking out of its head … I about lost it when I figured it out . “ What ? Antlers ? … SHOWTIME ! “
There was no way to get down on the ground to shoot , and no friendly limb around to use as a rest- I ’ d have to shoot offhand . I chambered a shell , twisted the strap around my hand for a little bit of steadiness , and peered through the scope . I confirmed there were horns on the deer , and then tried to get the crosshairs on some vitals . He was quartering away , with his head uphill pretty steeply from his rump .
He turned his head away to look at something just as I squeezed the shot off , and I watched him take an impact through my scope . I ’ d expected him to bound off a bit , but before I could jack another shell into the chamber , he crumpled over backwards , and I stood there with my jaw on the ground . It had all happened so fast .
I made a mental note of the shrubberies he ‘ d tumbled into- a big dead log would be pointing straight to him- and shinnied across the gorge to him . Even though it was only a 90 yard shot , it took me some time to climb down and back up on his side of the little canyon . When I got to him , I couldn ’ t believe it- I knew he had decent
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