When my old friend, Greg Krogh, called me with news of available mule deer tags in Sonora, my initial inclination was, “Thanks, but no thanks”. But the more I listened, the easier it was to decide that a quest for trophy muleys with a good friend would be a great start for 2008.

Now, I have played the Mexico game enough to approach this opportunity with the appropriate cynicism. I am well aware of the lies told by ranchers and booking agents––permits switched from one ranch to another and “never before hunted ranches” which are full of boot prints, cigarette butts, and spent cartridge shells. So as I flew into Hermosillo, my expectations for a monster desert muley were low; but my anticipation for a great hunting experience was high.

Daylight of the first morning revealed terrain conducive to great trophy hunting; several hills, high enough to glass from, dotted the surrounding landscape. After the half hour climb to our vantage point, we encountered many of the deer that Greg had been watching. I was impressed by not only the quality of bucks, but the quantity of deer in general.

On the morning of the fourth day, I told Greg that since time was running short, I wanted to stalk the best buck we saw that day. A few hours into the morning glass, Greg suddenly spotted a truly impressive, wide-racked trophy. Not wasting a second, I quickly packed up my gear for a mad dash toward the buck while Greg prepared to remain on the hill. Just as I set out, Greg motivated me with his patented encouragement, “Bob if you screw this up I will personally tell everyone that you know, and I’ll never let you forget it!” With such a heart-wrenching speech, I knew that I could do no wrong in this highly doubtful situation.

After scrambling off the mountain, Greg gave me my bearings, and I was off. A few minutes later, I was informed that my speed was entirely inadequate “undoubtedly due to your short legs”, and my need to “haul ass”, was of the utmost importance. Furthermore, in an obvious attempt to infect me with some buck fever, Greg also added several more details of the buck’s awesome rack with such accolades as, “this buck is one of my favorite desert muleys that I have EVER seen……he’s at least 30 inches wide……this buck is a total pig,” and lastly, “Seriously Bob, if you screw this up I will never forgive you.”

After making several adjustments for wind changes, I finally came out of a draw with a good view of where the deer had just been. As I called back to Greg for some direction, he pointed me to my left where the deer had dropped off into a ravine. There, I saw the pair working their way right towards me! As they disappeared behind a palo verde tree, I quickly readied for the 100-yard shot. When they came out from behind the tree, the buck promptly mounted the doe for what would prove to be one last “quickie”. With this magnificent animal in my crosshairs, I waited for him to pass on his DNA before taking the shot. As he hopped off the doe, I slowly squeezed the trigger and the buck ran less than ten yards before expiring––not a bad way to go.

I had not appreciated the size of this buck’s rack until I walked up on him. And when Greg finally arrived at the deer, he was also ecstatic. This was a beautiful, classic, legitimate over 30-inch wide, Mexico desert mule deer; and he concluded another fun-spirited, awesome hunt with a long-time friend.