After waiting quite a few years for a mulie buk tag in 116, I finally got drawn this year. I took my sons (8 and 10) out for a long walk the first Saturday and passed on about 15 bucks. Even though we had agreed what would constitute a shooter, suddenly the standard got lowered when they were the ones spotting the deer.LOL. The second Saturday I was out by myself because it was -30 with the windchill, and after walking 10 miles (and passing up 14 bucks) I still had my tag in my pocket. The third Friday I got out for 1 1/2 hours before sunset and passed on 7 bucks, including a tall wide heavy (mature) 3x4 that I put to bed that night.
The plan was to come back Saturday morning with my 10 year old and get the 3x4. Legal light found us already one mile from the truck. We found the 3x4 moving some does and after he bedded down 1 mile from us, we started the stalk. Unfortunately there were 5 does and a smaller buck in the way, so we had to make a big loop to keep the wind in our favor. Wouldn't you know it, while we were still 400 yards from the 3x4 we were after, we jumped the buck I harvested. He was so heavy in rut, he just couldn't leave his does. And in the words of my son, "that will be the last mistake he ever makes".
After dressing him where he dropped, I took one hind quarter and all of the other gear 2 miles back to the truck. I brought back my big pack and a small pack for my son, and we packed the rest out in one trip. He took the two front quarters (23.8 lb) and I took the rest. He was totally bagged by the time we got back to the truck, but it was everything I could have hoped for in a trip with my son.
Not the biggest mulie that I have ever shot, but certainly the most memorable.
[IMG]
[/IMG]
[IMG]
[/IMG]