Honest, this isn’t a tale in the sense that it is fictional, unless of course the hunter involved was telling a hunting yarn. In late October I swung home to grab some gear before continuing my 2009 North American Hunting Tour. While stopping by the local sporting goods outlet, Rocky Mountain Discount Sports (307-672-3418), to acquire a rifle, a gentleman rushed into the store with a huge smile on his face. He walked straight to the young clerk helping me and blurted out something akin to the following.
"See. I told you so!"
“Well Curtis, I got him and he’s all of 30 inches wide, likely wider. He’s out front in the back of my truck if you want to see him.”
The excited hunter walked out and Curtis explained to me the reason for the excitedly, but bluntly short conversation. It seems as if this hunter showed up in the store an hour or so earlier asking if the season was still open for mule deer. Curtis explained it was while the hunter impatiently explained that there was a giant mule deer in his front yard just out of the city limits of Sheridan, Wyoming. He needed a license and he needed it now!
Curtis sold the guy a license and as an afterthought, told the guy to swing by if he shot the giant deer. He wanted to see if it was truly a 30-incher. When the guy showed up again, Curtis asked me if I wanted to check the deer out as well. How could I say no?
Sure enough when the hunter dropped the tailgate to his truck, he truly had shot a buck that would easily surpass the 30-inch mark and likely score close to the magical 200-point mark. I was envious as any hunter would have been over the brute.
While showing this photo to another friend of mine the other day, he quickly remarked he had photographed the very same buck this summer as it stood in the middle of the cul-de-sac where he lived. The buck apparently was a city slicker part of the year and escaped hunting pressure to grow the massive set of antlers by hiding amongst swing sets, and dodging golf balls near the public course.
The lesson here is to never overlook your backyard. You never know what might be lurking along the hedge line.
Mark Kayser
Comments on this entry are closed.