2012 with a vengeance!

The following morning came fast. And i was high spirited as velvet clad mule deer filled my mind. For 3 years now i have chased the elusive mule deer buck with a bow. Have been successful several times with a rifle but a couple years back i decided to purchase a bow and self title myself a hardcore back country trophy mule deer hunter. Since than my freezer has been null and void of game meat.. In the previous years i have found myself outwitted, under geared, unskilled, unprepared, and mentally unaware of what this title truly defines. This season i took a different approach. I pondered the fact that no pro baseball player ever skipped the minors. No pro football player ever skipped college. I did not consider it lowering my standards but rather giving myself more options. Without the time necessary to get back onto my usual basin i knew i had my work cut out for me.my father and i parted ways he was off to a stream that called his name to do some trout fishing. I was to travel to a new area. Where camp trailers and four wheelers would litter the pinion and sage land like ants. I was correct. The roads were dusty and the company was Easy to come by. I knew i had something they did not. A vengeance, a good pair of boots and a whole lot of drive. ive already tasted blood just days before. So my mind was ready and primed to begin stalking. A couple hundreds yards off a well traveled road layed a large mountain base that reached toward the sky and screamed that it would be a vantage point for some good glassing. Off i went. Banzai pack and a few bottles of water were all i needed for this trip. I reached the mountain top shortly after and there i sat. Glassing every tree and bush between me and success. After several hours i had spotted a group of deer who found a nice bowl to call home away from the roads and hunters where they felt safe no one would work for them. I zeroed in on the largest buck in the group of twenty plus deer. Does and fawns surrounded and intermixed i knew the stalk would be a challenge. I set off in pursuit of what i in the back of my mind considered another learning experience. After closing the distance to a few hundred yards i was feeling more and more confident as they fed and wandered unknowingly. Eventually the buck split from the group and i knew it was now or never. With a quickened pace i close the distance. Bobbing and weaving the pinion pines as shields i ended up within range quickly. Once again i knocked an arrow. Took a deep breath and lowered my heart rate. "just like practice" "this is it" drew my bow. Leveled my riser. Opened my hand. And threaded the needle. The black stick flew true as it entered above his brisket. All the deer blew out of the area and left me wondering if i made contact. Frantically i searched for the buck in the group and could not turn him up. When i glanced back to where i had shot i saw antler tips shining in the fading sun. He dropped like a sack of potatoes. Opun exam i found the arrow entered just above his brisket. Contacted the heart and also a lung just before coming to a stop midway thru his spine. He was quartering to and up hill from me it was more than astonishing to know that no suffering took place with this animal. As i grabbed his horns and reminisced of all the years spent trying to accomplish this trophy i almost came to tears.

WOW.....way to go harstalk, that's awesome! Nice speed goat AND nice mule deer.......in record time! Congratulations on two fine critters with a bow and thanks for sharing them with us. Looks like all the preparation paid off for you.

Best post I have read in a long time! 10sign: Congratulations on two great bucks and with your bow to boot!

That's quite a week! Congratulations!

Congratulations! I agree with Tywire, one of the best reads in a long time.
Those are 2 great bucks, fantastic accomplishment with a bow! :not-worthy

Great post and sorry about the "closed fist impaled my own face" what a bummer to start off the trip that way. Glad it all worked out.

Sweet story. That sounds really fun.

outstanding

Dumb question ... why TWO trucks?

My dad came along on the antelope hunt and wanted no part of the deer hunt. Last year i about hiked him to death. The hunting areas were 5+ hours from home. And there was a creek he planned to fish but i knew i would not have time to join. So we hauled his truck behind mine and once the lope hunt was complete we split ways. He went fishin and i was off for the mule deer.

You are very determined, and a good story writer! You are also very successful. Congratulations on two trophies.

Congrats. Good story and pics. 2 for 2 that's pretty impressive. I like the silhouette picture with the antelope.

Can't help but join in the excitement as you read the story. Well done. At the outset of the story I was expecting to read an "it all went wrong" story.
Nice job.