Idaho late hunt. First time being in the unit and first time hunting during the rut. Goal was a mature buck, looked over a lot of young bucks before deciding this one would work.
Here's my 2024 Idaho buck taken on November 15th. As it got light I spotted this buck with another keeping close tabs on a doe at 600 yards. It was one of those mornings during November that seemed as though a switch had been flipped, the rut was in full swing! He took off down the hill and I lost track of him, "I might get a closer shot" I thought, I began trying to relocate him. As my head was in my glass I heard something and caught movement out of my peripheral, Buck! 10 yards underneath me, at that moment he caught my wind bounding off. I had just enough time to recognize him as I reached for my rifle and chambered a round. I gave him a Merrpp! He made that critical mistake mule deer get known for and it was over. That escalated quickly!
Wet, miserable, and a sketchy packout over super slick deadfall. Purty scenery, though! (Wasn't quite sure what file size to upload... went from 9MB to 6MB)
Got this buck 11/25. Chased him a long time. Needle in a haystack and a very uncommon caliber of deer for where I was fortunate enough to find and harvest him.