The buck that didn't fill my tag

[Buster]

This guy broke my heart when, in deadly bow range, his two buddies stood up perfectly, but he went from bedded to running. Sorry for the blurry pics, but I figure 182-184 frame with 13-14 inches of extras.

 

[chiefhoyt]

man thats a heartbreaker!

 

[velvetfvr]

Man that sucks! But that's why hunting big Muleys is so fun and heartbreaking.

 

[Buster]

Moments like that are why my wife and I convinced one set of grand parents to watch the kids for 5 days so we could pull our trailer 6 hours one way, to get hosted by my dad, spend probably over $1500 in expenses, just for a chance. By the way, mu wife had a heartbreaker buck that haunts her dreams too. Money and time well spent.

 

[Highcountry_Hellrazor]

It's almost crazy to think how much time and money we spend on this sport.. It's deer like these that keep us up at night for months, and make us train harder, refine gear, and practice shooting. Hope you get one of those deer best of luck.

 

[Buster]

A glimmer of hope, plans are starting to form for a return trip. Just the thought of round 2 is pretty exciting.

 

[Manosteel]

Heart breaker, but also what drives us to come back for more. One of my long time goals is to anchor an nice 4x4 typical Muley. This year our options for OTC tags are pretty limited for muley's but I'm still gonna giver a try!

 

[Buster]

We hunted zone 150 and 151, and I was pleasantly surprised at the deer numbers. I used to hunt them a lot 10-12 years ago as a resident, but then the cull happened and we lost some of the best mule deer hunting in the world. It was my first time back in old stomping grounds. I was happy to see that the deer are starting to make a come back. It'll still be a lot of years before it'll be back to the paradise it once was though.

 

[InDeep]

That would have broke my heart as well! This year was my first experience with alpine mule deer , Well good bucks anyways.. And I can honestly say I get it now!

 

[Muledeernv]

That sucks he is a really nice buck maybe next year

 

[Evan Williams]

Been there for sure brother! Sorry to hear that but you saw a BRUISER!! Take that and run and go back for him!! Good luck on the rest of your tags!