I tried to type up the "short" version... so here it is

I landed at the durango airport and was picked up by my good friend
Jake Wills. i stayed with jake and roxanna (roxy) and their 6 month
old son easton for this trip. jake hunted with me the first weekend
and monday, then the last friday-sunday of the 9 day season. we didnt
see a single bull elk, and saw only a handful of bucks, the weather
was really warm at first and not good for deer movement.
We hunted very hard for 8 days of a 9 day hunt. finally connected
about 2 pm on saturday, 13 november. we put in a lot of miles, saw
some unbelievable country, a bunch of deer (mostly does), and a few
cow elk. the first day also put us within close proximity to a
beautiful blonde color phase black bear, at about 15 yards. with no
bear tag, he was safe though. we also saw the biggest black bear i've
ever seen, he was on an opposite ridge, and was lumbering along, and
was BIG.

saturday morning, after spotting no deer, just tons and tons of tracks
in the snow, we changed to a slightly different location. we parked
the truck and hiked up to the top of a ridge, and blew out a couple of
does from their cover. we got on the top and eased down for some
glassing, when a forky was spooked (probably by the does) and ran
across the sage flat and found some cover. we were looking to see
where he went when we spotted the big deer running across the sage
flat, going straight away from us. we watched him climb the ridge
opposite us and get into cover. we finally lost sight of him, and
figured he either bedded down or crossed over the top. either way, we
knew we had to go after him.

we backed off the ridge we were on and started our long trek around
to try and get closer and onto a saddle that appeared to be near the
deer. after a while we topped another ridge with a rock wall on top,
so we could stay hidden, and started trying to locate the buck. once
up here we realized the saddle we thought we could cross was not going
to work, and we were unable to locate the buck. after about 20
minutes of glassing, the buck finally stood up and gave up his hiding
place. we realized then that he was bedded in a perfect spot for him,
and horrible for us. there was no way to approach this deer without
getting busted. and no way to sneak around and come down on top of him
from where he was bedded. so we ranged him at 425 yards or so, and
discussed what to do. jake said he'd try the shot, and it was my only
chance, so i decided if i could get a good rest on the rocks, i knew
my bullet would drop about 22" from this distance, and i could make
the shot.

the rock wall was a couple of feet thick, and i found a small V notch
in the rocks. i laid my jacket down in the notch and rested the rifle
in there, and got steady. the buck had bedded back down, and so the
waiting game was on. the notch in the rocks was as steady as any
bench i've ever shot from, and while we waited for the deer to stand,
i was practicing squeezing on my trigger guard and holding the
crosshairs on his eye to ensure i remained steady.

as the minutes ticked by, and ticked by, and drug on, and on, and on,
i was just sitting still and watching the deer through my scope....
and after an hour, the deer stood up. it was game time. i clicked off
the safety, jake is looking through his binos', and i start to ease
pressure on the trigger. then the buck turns towards me, takes a
couple steps, and beds back down. no shot! now we have to wait
again!

this time he only laid down for 10 minutes before getting back up. he
was standing broadside, i put the crosshairs an estimated 10" or so
over his back, and started to squeeze. i didnt' feel anything. i
barely heard the shot. but the rifle bucked in my hands, so i knew
160 grains of pure barnes copper was on its way. when i recovered my
sight picture, the deer was gone. jake just happened to shift his
binos at the exact moment of the shot, so he didnt' see the impact.
but we couldnt find the deer. he didn't run away, he was just gone.
that was one of the longest hour and 10 minutes of my life. except
for a few minutes here and there where i had to move to stretch, i was
on my scope for the entire time looking at the deer in my crosshairs.

jake was sure i dropped him and he fell into the brush and shadows so
we couldnt see. the shot felt good, but i couldnt' get too excited
until i had my hands on him. we glassed for a few more minutes to
make sure he wasnt' slipping out of the brush, and went to the spot he
was standing. it took us about 15 minutes to get down into the
canyon and up the other side, and when we rounded a tree and looked,
he was laying right where he had been standing. the shot was a little
to the right of where i aimed, i didnt take into account any wind
drift, so i did have some luck on my side. the wind had been blowing
in our faces, and at the time of the shot, it switched into blowing
from left to right. with my sub par shooting abilities combined, it
was a good bit right, my elevation adjustment was almost perfect, and
i had my deer!

he isnt the biggest mulie in colorado, but he's a nice buck and i'm
very proud of him. he's a main frame 4x4 with nice brow tines, and
one split brow. he also still has some dried velvet on his antler
that we thought was a kicker from the distance away. after taking
pics and gutting him, we headed down to the truck to go to jakes'
parents house and get a horse. we brought the horse back up and had
to cut the deer in half for packing out, and the horse made life much,
much easier.

sunday felt great to sleep in and rest. i took a few falls on in the
snow and on the rocks, i needed a little break from the mountains, so
we took care of the deer, and went to snag some kokonee salmon for
sunday nights dinner. they were small but very tasty little fish, i
think jake and i ate 11 each, all the time in the mountains will work
up quite an appetite. with the cape freezing in a freezer and the
deer at the processor, i can't wait to get the cooler of meat back and
eventually the shoulder mount of this guy on my wall.

it was a great trip and a dream come true to get a nice mule deer, and
it happened in a way that i loved.

Congrats! Nothing wrong with that ole boy!!

Good job! So much bigger than my first mulie.

Nice story and a fine Trophy Buck.

Nice buck.....a wall hanger!

That's a really nice buck! Good for you. I'm so jealous of all the mule deer bucks being posted!