Some final thoughts:
I really appreciate the support from this forum. My hats off to Robby, Ryan and crew. You have done a great job. When I drew this tag I had no plans to hunt muzzleloader this year and was not prepared. A lot of people here reached out with help from powder to guns.
I also enjoyed doing the "live hunt". I dont have friends that like to hunt like I do and no family out here. Doing the updates is a lot like getting back to camp and sharing the days events.
It was a little weird but after meeting people and telling them where I was camping they knew I was the guy out there alone. A game warden even stopped by to check my license and mentioned she heard I was out here alone. This was the first time I have been checked by a warden since moving out west 10 years ago and hunting multiple states. Its odd to think that I could have been poaching for the past 10 years and never been caught.
Three mountain house in my gut at one time is my limit.
I read about the Henry's and Pauns when I was a teenager, living in WI. I remember thinking about how cool it would be to hunt one of these units some day. The pressure of this tag was high. I had the thought that I wish I had never told anyone I drew it. When people hear you have a Henry's tag they expect you to shoot a 200"+ deer. I got it from everyone I told. I talked to the woman in the camp next to me. She drew the tag with 25 points. She told me how much pressure she was under from her crew, they had 5 trucks in camp. She said they had friends that drew the tag years ago and they each shot 200" deer. She just wanted to have fun and shoot a nice deer. Listening to her you could tell she was having issues with the difference in what she wanted from the hunt and what the others wanted.
These great limited tags are just a better opportunity to have a chance at a great animal. A bigger deer will be taken off of every general unit in the state this year. When you have the opportunity at these tags you just have better odds, no guarantee. Its important to keep that in perspective.
The bond is strong between a man and a warm sleeping bag.
If one of the most famous outfitters is advising their one client to kill a 180 class buck on day one the state of trophy class deer on the Henry's is down.
Like most hunts, I met a lot of great people. I even had a group offer to show me a good buck they found but didnt want to kill. This is the second hunt in a row that this has happened. We are all on the same team.
After having 2 of the traditionally most sought after mule deer tags in the last 11 months I believe that the state of mule deer hunting is down from what it once was across most of the west.
While I was quartering this deer I had an odd thought. I thought back to when I saw the deer a couple of weeks ago. There I sat watching this deer, thinking of how it would be great if I could kill him. There this deer stood, looking at the man that would take his life 18 days later.
I have been a lucky man when it comes to mule deer hunting the last few years.