BY STEVE ALDERMAN

My heart began beating uncontrollably when I saw huge mule deer antlers at 56 yards. The date was October 1st, at 8:30 a.m and it was forty degrees, overcast, with winds gusting up to 35 miles an hour. I had been watching and fi lming this buck for the past three months and now wasn?t the time to mess up all of the hard work I had done. I knew I needed to cover four more yards to get a clean shot; but, the buck bedded with his butt into the hill so HUNTING ILLUSTRATED.com

Mule Deer &

he could see every movement within the 240-degree fi eld of view in front of him. My only course of action was to slowly back up a couple yards, lay fl at on my belly, then move ever so slowly back into place at a mere 52 yards from my quarry for a clear shot. I wasn?t in much of a rush, as the deer was now bedded for the day. Lying on my belly with my gun at my side, I started inching forward ever so slowly. A mature mule deer has keen senses that can pick up movement at hundreds of yards away, so how was I to go undetected at fi fty? Moving as

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Can muzzleloading mule deer make you a better hunter?

slow as possible was going to be my only choice. Using knees and elbows would cause too much movement, which meant that all I could use was my toes. That?s right. My plan was to use my toes to push my body the last four yards. Nothing was moving except for my toes which were hidden from the deer by the rest of my body. Moving two inches at a time worked out to be slow enough as I got to my marked destination without being noticed. Now, all I had to do was wait for the deer to stand

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