This was not the biggest buck that we saw, but I am happy with it. We spotted some deer while driving. I get the binoculars up to look and I see about 5-6 deer, all but one of them are bucks. Most are smaller, but I do see one that looks pretty nice. With no rest, and all the deer bunched together, I choose to try to get closer, or to a better spot, for a better shot. As I start heading out towards them, I am able to stay pretty much out of their sight, but I see them run to the right, up a coulee. I get up above them, and I notice two of the smaller bucks coming back towards me out of the coulee. I can't see the bigger buck anywhere. then all of a sudden a bigger buck and a doe come running out into the bottom of the coulee from the left. All I have at this point is a 250 yard shot on the run, right next to the doe. Again, a shot i choose not to take. I follow the deer up the coulee for about 300 yards and spot one of the smaller bucks again. He sees me, but I don't see any of the other deer. I walk right at him and then the bigger buck and his doe appear to the left, and they walk part way out of the coulee and stop. With the sun glare, I am not sure if this is the buck I want, or not. I decide to take him, and after my approximately 200 yard shot, he only goes about another 30 yards up to the bottom of the coulee, and is dead right there. After all this happens, I find out the deer that I shot was bedded down way up to my left, almost on the road, and was jumped by my hunting partner. He was not even part of the original herd of deer that I saw. I also realize that he was not the biggest deer that I had seen. Oh well. He is only the second mule deer that I have shot, and is the biggest, so I am happy this him. I have had a great year with moose in AK, elk in WA, and mule deer in MT. The best part of the trip though, was CHNGSTHD's son getting his first deer. I'll get him to post that story and pictures.
