Rick Gravance writes, "It's been since 1986 that I last hunted deer.
This hunt and buck are dedicated to my Grandfather Frank Avila "Vo" who many times in the past, I accompanied during his hunts in California Section D7 "known as Portuguese Flats to the folks around the area". These times with him really inspired me to continue the tradition of hunting.

After moving to the city and not hunting for years, I began watching the hunting shows on cable which reminded me of the thrill of hunting and the challenges every hunter is faced with in the field.

So, I decided to put a trip together with my friend, Tristan (Who happens to hunt all the time). We went up to Eastern Oregon last Oct. 2005 and I learned a very valuable lesson.

"Don't aways follow others in the group and know your capabilities before deciding how much ammo you need"

On opening morning, around at 5am, I asked Tristan how many bullets are you taking? "Five" he told me. Well I took five too. (Remember I have not hunted since 1986.) Well, it took me five bullets to down this nice buck. I'm very proud of my first mule-deer buck!! He's a 5x4 or 4x3 scoring hopefully in the 160's."