"A Tribute to Art"

This mule deer would be the last deer my brother in law, Art Snyder, would ever shoot. Art had lived in Kansas for five years before finally drawing a rifle mule deer permit for the state of Kansas. He was excited, the opportunity to harvest a nice mule deer buck had him on pins and needle's leading up to opening day.

Opening morning found Art and I perched on a hillside overlooking a field where I had found a very nice buck prior to the season opener. I had seen the buck several times and had a very good understanding of his daily routine. The buck had a bad habit of feeding in the same field day after day. Our plan was sit on the hillside above and wait for him to come to us.

It was barely light enough to see when we first spotted a group of deer heading straight towards us. We watched them, as one by one, they jumped the fence that surrounded the field below us. Art and I were very excited because we knew we were only moments away from harvesting a good buck.

I thoroughly glassed each buck in the group, and sure enough, the buck I had seen while scouting was there. He was the best buck and Art quickly decided that he was good enough. Art took a good rest and in an instant, the buck was down.

This is a tribute to Art, my best friend, because two months later, Art passed away. This was my greatest hunt Art, God Bless you.

Written by Tom Montgomery