Well I got home at 2:30 this morning so if my story isn't well written please keep that in mind. Now, I want to warn you that this story is really going to be hard to believe but I promise every word is true.
I shot the deer in the picture in the back of the neck from 12-15 feet, yes thats feet.
I can't tell you if he was so old he couldn't hear anymore or if he was just really confident he was hidden really well and had no intentions to move. The country we hunted was flat desert, some areas had dunes like the Sahara. Before I left on the trip I had watched a lot of youtube videos on hunting desert mule deer since I had no idea how to do it. I learned that in the desert the deer will sit behind anything that will give even the slightest bit of shade during the day. so at mid day with temp's in the 70's I decided to have my friend drop me off 3 miles from camp. I would walk this vast area looking in the tall grass and behind every bush all the way back to camp for antlers sticking up from behind cover. Well about an hour into my walk while glassing I see movement about 500 yards away behind a bush. Sure enough it was a forked antler barely sticking out from behind the bush. I line up a a bush between me and him and start the stalk. After about an hour I find myself 200 yards from his bed. I then only feel safe crawling on hands and knees from bush to bush. Well even though he is facing in my direction I was able to get to 75yds and stop behind the last bit of cover between us. Now the waiting game begins. I sit in the heat in a very uncomfortable position for 1.5 hours praying he would stand up to stretch his legs. When he finally does!! I MISS!!!
I CAN"T SHOOT A RIFLE!!!!!!! well just then as he spins from the blast he hangs his head and takes 2 steps and lays back down. WHAT? did I hit him? Well I creep to 50 yds, very excited and sit for 15 min. All I can see of this deer is his antlers and they aren't moveing. But I am still fairly confident I missed him. So, not wanting to sit in the heat for another hour I decide to start yelling to get him to stand up for another shot. He dosen't move. I yell more, still no movement. I must have sounded like a fool but I wanted him to stand up. So, I finally figure I did hit him and he must be dead. So I approach with caution, very slowly. I get to 12-15 feet and can now see his antlers and the top 6" of his neck and he moves slightly. I now know he is not dead so I take careful aim on his neck and finally get him dead. I was the absolute most fun I have ever had hunting mule deer. And I have been doing it for 20 yrs. This spot and stalk stuff is awsome on these desert deer. I also have to mention I did the same thing the day before and missed a much bigger buck from 150 yds. Trust me, I am going to spend some time at the range before next years trip. By the way this deer was huge, guessing it field dressed over 300lbs.
I shot the deer in the picture in the back of the neck from 12-15 feet, yes thats feet.I can't tell you if he was so old he couldn't hear anymore or if he was just really confident he was hidden really well and had no intentions to move. The country we hunted was flat desert, some areas had dunes like the Sahara. Before I left on the trip I had watched a lot of youtube videos on hunting desert mule deer since I had no idea how to do it. I learned that in the desert the deer will sit behind anything that will give even the slightest bit of shade during the day. so at mid day with temp's in the 70's I decided to have my friend drop me off 3 miles from camp. I would walk this vast area looking in the tall grass and behind every bush all the way back to camp for antlers sticking up from behind cover. Well about an hour into my walk while glassing I see movement about 500 yards away behind a bush. Sure enough it was a forked antler barely sticking out from behind the bush. I line up a a bush between me and him and start the stalk. After about an hour I find myself 200 yards from his bed. I then only feel safe crawling on hands and knees from bush to bush. Well even though he is facing in my direction I was able to get to 75yds and stop behind the last bit of cover between us. Now the waiting game begins. I sit in the heat in a very uncomfortable position for 1.5 hours praying he would stand up to stretch his legs. When he finally does!! I MISS!!!
I CAN"T SHOOT A RIFLE!!!!!!! well just then as he spins from the blast he hangs his head and takes 2 steps and lays back down. WHAT? did I hit him? Well I creep to 50 yds, very excited and sit for 15 min. All I can see of this deer is his antlers and they aren't moveing. But I am still fairly confident I missed him. So, not wanting to sit in the heat for another hour I decide to start yelling to get him to stand up for another shot. He dosen't move. I yell more, still no movement. I must have sounded like a fool but I wanted him to stand up. So, I finally figure I did hit him and he must be dead. So I approach with caution, very slowly. I get to 12-15 feet and can now see his antlers and the top 6" of his neck and he moves slightly. I now know he is not dead so I take careful aim on his neck and finally get him dead. I was the absolute most fun I have ever had hunting mule deer. And I have been doing it for 20 yrs. This spot and stalk stuff is awsome on these desert deer. I also have to mention I did the same thing the day before and missed a much bigger buck from 150 yds. Trust me, I am going to spend some time at the range before next years trip. By the way this deer was huge, guessing it field dressed over 300lbs.
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