The story of this deer starts in June of 2023. Some buddies and I went up and set up a camera on a north slope hoping to find a big buck. We went back up in August and found 2 decent bucks on the camera. The bigger one, we named “Frosty”, which was an inside joke at the time.
On opening day of Archery in 2023, my buddies went up to hunt Frosty while I was at work. I was hunting a different buck I had found. We only had a few days to hunt, as one of my friends had drawn a Kentucky archery elk tag that we were all going on. They ended up spotting Frosty in a bachelor group of bucks and both went to make a move on him after he bedded. As they were moving in closer, the bucks rebedded. They ended up jumping the bachelor group at 25yds with no shots. We didn’t see Frosty again, but he did hit the camera a couple times after that.
This story picks back up in July 2024. My friend had set up a cell camera on the ridge he was on during archery season the year prior. He moved up in late June and had him in camera periodically all summer and through the first week of October. My buddies went up to hunt him again in Archery and Muzzleloader, but never saw him. I never went up to hunt this deer either my buddies since I was set on my non-typical buck from last year. However, this was the second biggest buck I knew of besides the buck I harvested in ‘24.
Fast forward to this year, and this buck did not show up on camera until the first week of July again. It was one of, if not, the top buck we had hoped to catch up with this summer. We recognized his frame but saw a large regression in it. This was a common theme of the summer in NE WA muleys this year. I looked at over 100+ certainly different bucks this year between glassing and cameras. I found 11 mature bucks that I knew from last year that were smaller this year. I also didn’t find a single mature buck that I put on a noticeable amount of growth.
Due to some life circumstances and bad timing none of us hunted this deer this year. I had found some other bucks with my cousin that we were going to hunt instead, one of my buddies only had an archery tag and is a collegiate athlete, and my other buddy that was a part of finding this deer has now moved to Idaho. I didn’t hunt with my 2 buddies I found “Frosty” with, and scouted hard this summer with my cousin Chris.
We hadn’t gotten any pictures of this deer in his summer range since August 5th and I had not forgotten about this deer, but had completely shifted focus onto other bucks.
Rifle season had now come and my rifle season was a wreck for the most part. Opening day I saw a cougar in the trail in the dark, and on the second day there was a cat on the ridge I was hunting. It walked across the feeding area Chris and I had seen the bucks all summer. Up until season I had watched that ridge 4 times. I saw a mature buck every time I sat it, including the weekend before the rifle opener. Now, I had seen 2 cats in 2 days and 0 deer. I also found out mid season that my rifle had lost zero and I couldn’t get it to shoot back to its sub-MOA groups. It was 7” high and 6” right at 200yds. I tried multiple scopes and am now trying to different loads. It’s still a work in progress.
I had both weekends of general rifle and I took off the last Monday to hunt as well before I had to go back to work and school. On the last Saturday I decided to still hunt the timber off the north side. As soon as I hit the snow, I cut a fresh track heading towards the ridge I had been sitting to watch. I still-hunted and followed the track until I hit a bench. I had already crossed multiple beds and countless rubs. I knew I was close. I ended up jumping what I know to be a buck at 30yds without ever getting a good look at it. He was bedded in a hole under a bunch of limbs that I couldn’t see into. After he left I walk down into his bed and found that he could see my feet/lower legs moving and at 30yds could most likely hear me as well. He ran over the ridge and down towards the ridge I was hunting, so I decided to not pursue him in hope that he would appear on the ridge I was watching when I went back to sit. Besides that encounter, I didn’t see a single other deer while I was trying to hunt until Monday.
Not too long after daylight on Monday, a buck I had scouted this summer stepped out and fed into the opening. Before season I had decided I didn’t want to shoot it this year and as soon as I saw the matching kickers off his G2s my heart dropped. I watched him feed in the opening for about 15 minutes before realizing that there was no other bucks with him and that he very well could be the only buck I saw all season. He also “grew on me”. He looked more mature now than I had previously thought in the summer and slightly wider. He was by no means a monster, but a buck most hunters would be very happy with. I decided I wanted to take him after watching him feed for that long, as I told Chris “he talked me into it”.
I set up my spotter in case I couldn’t spot my own shot, started videoing, and released a shot. The buck jumped and the turned and looked to his right, where a billow of dust was from my bullet hitting a rock. Confused and awestruck, I grabbed my phone and rewatched the shot. 3 feet right.
The buck kept feeding and eventually fed his way out of the opening and into the thick timber where I could no longer see him. About 10-15 minutes later, on a different part of the same ridge, I caught the butt of a big bodied deer as it was laying down to bed. When it laid down I got to see one side of his rack and recognized him to be “Frosty”. Although, I doubted myself because it was 6 miles from his summer range and I hadn’t anticipated him moving in this direction or this distance in October.
I called Chris, who was about 1/2 of a mile away and sent him a picture of the frame coming out from behind the tree and told him I would keep an eye on the buck while he got over to shoot. It took him 45 minutes to get to me and during that time the buck had gotten up and fed around in the surrounding timber. In that time window, he only presented 1 broadside shot, which I found quite remarkable. It’s not often I get to see bucks of that age for that long in October, and I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it.
The buck had fed in a circle and was almost back to the small opening I had spotted him in by the time Chris had gotten to me. The buck was nearly invisible through the timber, and the only way I could see him was slight movements through the branches. I described to Chris where the buck was and what opening between the trees I expected him to come out in for a shot.
The stars aligned and the buck stepped out just seconds after Chris got set up and dialed. I was on the spotter videoing the shot. The first shot hit a branch. The buck was startled, but due to the suppressor, kept on about his business. He presented one last broadside shot in between 2 trees on his way out. Chris shot and the buck dropped.
We stayed set up to see if the buck stood back up and reappeared for about 15 minutes and never saw any movement. After reviewing the footage we knew the buck was dead and began heading over.
Walking up on this deer and seeing the amount of fat and sheer size of his body was amazing. This buck dwarfed my buck from last year. It’s not Chris’s best scoring buck, but it is his “biggest”. We don’t plan on scoring it because frankly, score doesn’t matter on bucks like this to me. But, for those curious, he’s a touch under 26” wide and has big bases. The pictures don’t necessarily give the buck justice.
As Dioni would say “it takes a series of miracles” to find and kill big mule deer and this situation had all of those miracles line up except for 1. He had the age, his mother was healthy to give him good growth, we located him, we got a shot, and we capitalized. The only thing that was missing was a good year of feed on the summer range.
That’s what makes this deer even more special to me. I’ve known about this buck for 3 years now. This year was his smallest year for antler growth. Last year, he was the 2nd biggest buck I knew of, and if he had not regressed this year, he would’ve been the biggest buck I knew about out of 100+ bucks this year. Looking over that many bucks has helped me to appreciate how few make it to that “next level”. In Washington especially.
This buck defied all odds for 6+ years. I am waiting to hear back on a tooth age. He made it through the gauntlet of being a fawn and young buck, avoided other’s cameras, survived other’s stalks, avoided the 2 cougars I saw opening weekend, and many other situations that led up to me glassing him as he was bedding down behind a tree. I have nothing but respect for these deer and what they go through.
This year of scouting and hunting has taught me a lot. My mindset has completely shifted. Trying to think more like a deer and less like a man has created a much deeper understanding and respect for these animals. You get to know how much more it takes to become a “trophy”. The hot days, cold nights, predators, deep snow, disease, and multitudes of other factors that are life and death for these bucks every second of their lives. Every day of survival is an accomplishment, let alone for a buck to get to 6+ years of age.
I am incredibly thankful to God for giving me the opportunity to hunt these amazing creatures, my wife for all the patience and support, and Chris for sharing in the work and dedication it takes to hunt these majestic creatures.
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