My First Trophy Mule Deer Buck.

by Mac Olsen
(Donnelly, Alberta)

I know this is a website for white-tailed deer, but I wanted to share this story about my first trophy mule deer buck, too.

This season has been my best yet, as I just harvested my fourth deer, a mule deer buck with a three-by-four rack. It was my last weekend to try and harvest a mule deer buck, so I wanted to make the best of it. Early Saturday morning, I drove to WMU 520, which is about 90 km north of Donnelly. I went down a private road where oil rigs operate. I knew there were deer in that area, so that was my focus. As I came to the bottom of a hill, I saw a doe at the edge of the trees. I used my binoculars and determined it was a mule deer doe. It watched me for a couple of minutes and then went into the trees. Guessing there might be mule deer bucks nearby, due to the rut season, I decided to follow the doe. I got out my rifle and bog pod and went into the trees, following the tracks. I got about 150 yards in and saw some does and bucks together. I stayed a distance away and watched them for a few minutes. There were a couple of bucks and the one with the three-by-four rack seemed to be the best one. So, I decided to move in to get a good position for a shot. As I did, some of the deer turned and saw me. But they didn't flee immediately, as I just walked in slowly towards them. As I got to within about 125 yards of my target, I stopped and set up the bog pod. The deer watched me, but it still didn't make any move to flee. So I got my rifle on the bog pod and set the cross hairs on my target. When one doe finally got out of the way, I pulled the trigger and hit the deer in the stomach. It stayed where it I shot at it, while the other deer fled further into the woods. As my target was still standing after several moments, I put another shot into its thick neck -- and then it went down. I slowly moved up and when I go to within 10-15 feet, I heard its last breath and it expired. Success! I just harvested my first mule deer trophy buck! I looked at the antlers and it had a three-by-four rack. Three points and couple of kickers are on the left antler, with four points on the other side. He was a nice deer! I had to go back to the truck and get my field dressing kit and a rope. After I finished the field dressing, I started pulling him back to the truck. He was heavy! It took me about 20 minutes to get him to the truck. Then I had to load him onto my deer cart and, finally, into the cargo box. That felt like a Herculean task in itself! I barely managed to get him loaded, but I did. Then I headed back to my house to get some stuff and headed for a friend's place to finish processing him. I gave the carcass to my friend and I kept the head. I plan to put it in a friend's freezer until next summer. Then I'll get it made into a wall mount! What a hunting season it's been for me! So far, I've got four deer, eight ducks, two Canada geese and a pheasant. But it's not over. I've got a three-day deer hunt at a military base in central Alberta in two weeks, as well as an antlerless elk hunt in December/January. I have three tags - a black bear tag, a white-tailed buck tag and a calf moose tag - that I wasn't be able to fill. Nonetheless, I feel so fortunate to have all these opportunities and a great place to hunt. Good luck to everyone else for the rest of the season!