Going Public

A Great First Buck

- Brad Fenson

Steve McGrath finally put together his first deer hunt. Mike, his lifelong friend, who lives in Colorado, knew just the place to plan the public-land adventure. The first morning brought the usual emotions of excitement and apprehension for a first-time mule deer hunter. The two men found a high spot in an otherwise featureless valley, planted their back sides, and with spotters on tripods started picking the area apart. The rising sun highlighted many feeding deer but none that motivated them to move in for a closer look.

An hour after systematically picking apart the mountainside, a deer with large-framed antlers slid over the ridge and into the drainage they were hunting. They watched the tall buck and discussed getting a closer look. After discovering they couldn’t get close to the buck without spooking other deer, they retreated off the mountain that morning to hit another spot in the area.