close enough for a shot when both of us decided that we had to be aggressive. I took the high trail and Terry dropped down along the bottom. Before I knew it I was watching a mature 3x3 and two smaller 4x4 ' s chase doe ' s all over a small aspen thicket. The wind was perfect and I just needed a doe to bring the 3x3 my way. After a very short wait I looked to my left and not 15 yards away I can see one of the 4x4 ' s tines sticking up over the sage brush. I could have taken him, but something told me to just hold off a little longer. A few seconds later I see the one I wanted heading up the hill, in my direction. Another 10 yards he would be in a clearing that I ranged at 47 yards. Before he entered it, I drew back, relaxed the pin in the likely area he was going to walk and waited.
As he put his horns back to scratch his back, he let out a big breath and it ' s cloud filled the air in front of him. He walked just as planned into the clearing and I released the arrow. It hit perfectly resulting in a very short blood trail.
After a very short wait, knowing that the shot was executed perfectly, Terry and I walked up on my first mule deer buck.
After several photo ' s and some typical post harvest conversation the real work began. We were several miles from the vehicle, which is always fine by me. The two of us de-boned the deer, caped him for a mount and hauled him out in one load. My first year ever hunting Mule Deer was truly a success. Not because of
filling my tag, but because I spent the majority of the season hunting hard with good friends, bow in hand.
19