Opening day, alarm clock goes off and I get up to fire up the generator. I make a tall cup of black coffee, some bacon and eggs. After eating I got my hunting clothes on, loaded the rifle along with my pack and spotting scope in the truck. I drove from camp to my spot and arrived at approxately 6:20 am. Put the pack on and grabbed the Browning X-Bolt Stalker Long Range 30-06. I started across the wheat field to the timber and canyons. I saw 4 deer feeding on the way across by a timber line. A small 2x2, two doe and a fawn. About 5 minutes after 9 more deer come running from my right. These deer were pushed from other hunters from their near-bye property. There was 7 doe, a fawn and another small 2x2. I kept heading for the canyon after they ran out of sight. I sat in the canyon until 8:15 am. I didn't see any deer while glassing the shell rocked and timbered slopes. I decided to get up and creep anlong the timber line spot and stalk. About 15 minutes in I saw a buck about 1,500 yards away. I got out my Nikon Spotting scope and looked the buck over for about 10 minutes. He was small 2x2 once again. I placed the spotting scope and tripod back in my Badlands pack. I no more than put my pack back on and stared walking again when I saw a big bodied deer running to my right. I threw up my binoculars and saw it was a tall, good forked, long main beamed 3x3. He was on a run to the canyon. I started sprinting towards him to catch up as he was now in the tree line and heading down the face of the canyon. He must have heard me running after him because his hooves came to a hault and he looked dead at me. He was now broadside. I got on his shoulder and squeezed the trigger slowly. 💥🦌, he was down hard! I took out my range finder and took a range of 215 yards from me to the buck. I made it over to the mule deer. While I got my tag, notched it and placed it on the deer I saw two men and two children now at the top. It was the family that owns the land near-bye they were hunting that kicked me the buck. They congratulated me, snapped a few pictures, and gave me a picture they took of him alive a few days earlier. This is my biggest Washington Mule Deer I've taken. 29 years in a row now I have filled my Washington State deer tag. Thank you to the good lord Jesus for this tall 3x3 mule deer. I truly feel blessed and humbled. Thank your for taking your time to read my story and best of luck to all my fellow hunters still after yours.🥩🍻
