Colorado 4th season from 11/22/2025. Glassed for hours and hours. Looked at a bunch of 1-3 yo bucks and does. Rut activity was pretty much wide open. Finally found a mature 4pt. After the winter kill of 2022, I was glad to see the amount of deer in the area, especially the young bucks. Next year will be promising if it continues like this.
Shot this buck at 309yds with a 7-08 Fed Fusion 120gr factory load. Hit the buck quartering to in point of left shoulder. Penetrated all the way to the right rear femur. Disintegrated the femur completely for several inches of bone. Bullet appears to be fully intact. I was impressed by the penetration. The buck actually stood a bit after impact somehow. I put a second round in him just to be sure he was down. Lost a bit of meat with the two rounds. Didnt really need the second but i wasnt taking a chance! First muley hunt for me since 2016. Forgot how fun they are to rifle hunt. Hadnt done that since 2014 either.
