Mega Muley

My husband’s obsession to harvest a monster mule deer is always on his mind. He is constantly researching record books, studying maps and talking to fellow mule deer hunters for any opportunity to hunt big deer.

We arrived a few days prior to the opening day of muzzleloader season to scout. The local scenery was worth the trip and we were both enjoying the beautiful country as we glassed for mule deer.

Opening morning of muzzleloader season was upon us and I noticed Leo and his guides were quite serious and very focused. We arrived in our hunting area well before daylight to begin glassing the Utah mountains in search of a deer worthy of the special tag in our possession. We began glassing at daylight and the first couple hours were slow. Leo’s guide Gunner moved off around the mountain to gain a new vantage point to glass new country, moments later they motioned for Leo to make his way over to their spot. Gunner had a huge buck along with a smaller buck spotted out over 600 yards feeding in our direction. The two bucks slowly fed in our direction and we waited anxiously wondering if Leo would get a shot opportunity on the monster buck. After feeding for awhile the bucks lifted their heads and began to travel towards us at a faster pace. The bucks were walking fast and the smaller buck got a little too close to the monster buck and the big deer spun around and gave him a shove with his massive horns. As they began to spar, Leo whispered to Gunner “I’m going to shoot him right now” Gunner gave the green light and things were happening fast. Suddenly the air filled with smoke and Gunner excitedly announced, he’s hit and is going down. The excitement of the moments like these are indescribable. We began to walk over to the monster deer still trying to comprehend the moment. As we walked up to the deer, he grew bigger and bigger, all I could say was wow! He was so incredibly big, like pictures you’ve seen in hunting magazines from decades ago. I was so excited for Leo harvesting the buck of his dreams as well as very proud of him for keeping his composure and making it happen on a world class buck.

Leo and his guides were all very excited and celebrated the moment and talked about the sequence of events that led to the harvest of this great Utah buck.

The results of this hunt were made possible only because of the hard work of many people. Specifically, Gunner Steele, Kalan Lemon and the rest of the great team at Wade Lemon hunting.