Mike Pope, aka Smokepole here at MonsterMuleys.com, took this nice buck while hunting in northeastern Utah.
Mike writes, "It was a tough hunt, not very many deer. I put a lot of miles in before I found this buck. I did pass on a forky first thing Saturday.
On Monday I dropped down into a steep canyon and hunted up the other side to the top of the mountain. When I reached the top I picked up a set of tracks that I knew were left by a buck. I tracked the deer for about a quarter of a mile when I came to an open hillside. I stopped to get a look at the top end of the clearing and there, about 100 yards away, getting up out of their beds were a couple bucks. As I raised my rifle they began to run. I shot once just before they passed behind a lone pine and then a second shot just before they entered another patch of pines. I went up to find their tracks and started to follow them (no blood). I was still following tracks as I entered the patch of pines and still no blood.
However, after I went another 20 feet into the pines, I could see the buck on the ground 30 yards ahead. There was no blood trail at all! I drug the buck out to the edge of the pines and took these pictures. This buck was shot at about 10,500 feet elevation in some very beautiful country."