Ten Years for One Buck
By Michael “Micky” Luby, for the Mule Deer Foundation
The first time I saw him, it was almost cruel. He stood on the far side of a canyon, antlers catching the last light of the evening. A mule deer buck so wide, so heavy, he seemed unreal. The only problem: he was in a different unit than the one I had a tag for. All I could do was glass across the line and dream.
That was the beginning of a journey that would span ten years. A journey that tested my resolve, taught me hard lessons about patience, and reminded me of what makes mule deer hunting so special.
The First Tag
After four years of applying, I finally drew the tag for that coveted unit. I set aside nearly a month, 21 full days to chase the deer I had watched grow older and heavier across the drainage.
The hunt was grueling. The first week was filled with optimism and close calls. The second week brought snow and biting wind, pushing deer into the open. Twice I shouldered my rifle and nearly pulled the trigger. Twice, fate intervened, wind, brush, or hesitation robbing me of the moment.
By the final days, I was worn down. My boots were torn, my body ached, and my confidence was frayed. I missed one good buck cleanly. I passed another, holding out for the ghost I had seen for years. When the season closed, my tag was untouched. The drive home was silent.
The Waiting Years
Failure has a way of teaching you what success never can. I licked my wounds, then started building points again. Four years turned into five. I watched others draw, kill deer, and hang wide racks on their walls. I kept applying, year after year, holding onto the dream that one day I’d get another chance.
And all the while, I kept scouting. Kept glassing that same drainage. Wondering if he or his sons were still out there.
The Second Chance
When the tag finally showed up again I was older, grayer in the beard, but hungrier than ever. I had only five days to hunt this time (not three weeks) but I promised myself that hesitation wouldn’t steal the moment.
The first few days were quiet. I cut big tracks in the snow, wide and deep, but didn’t lay eyes on him. On the final morning, I found him. Not where I had first seen him years ago, but two ridges over, standing broadside in the sage. His antlers were darker now, tips blunted with age, but still massive, still regal.
The stalk took hours. Every step crunched like thunder in the frozen basin. At 280 yards, I steadied my rifle and let ten years of patience, failure, and determination pour into that single squeeze of the trigger.
When it was over, I knelt in the snow beside him. My hands rested on his side, feeling the last warmth fade, and I thought of the long road it took to get here. The miles. The years. The lessons.
Why It Matters
For me, that buck represents more than antlers on a wall. He represents the full circle of hunting, the loss and redemption, the growth that comes not from success, but from enduring failure and coming back stronger.
And he represents something bigger than me. That deer lived on a landscape that is shrinking, fragmented, and more pressured than ever. His survival depended on intact migration corridors, healthy winter range, and quality summer habitat.
That’s where the Mule Deer Foundation comes in. MDF is working across the West to restore sagebrush, protect migration routes, and ensure that deer like him have the chance to grow old. Without conservation, there are no “ghost bucks” to dream about, no ten-year journeys to shape our lives.
A Call to Action
Hunting isn’t just about pulling the trigger. It’s about stewardship; taking care of the resource so that future generations can experience the same highs and lows, the same long roads, the same redemption.
If you’ve ever dreamed of a buck that got away, if you’ve ever carried the weight of an empty tag home, or if you’ve ever felt the indescribable gratitude of kneeling beside the deer of a lifetime, you understand.
Join the Mule Deer Foundation. Become part of the effort to restore habitat, protect migration, and keep the mule deer legacy alive. Because these deer deserve more than just our admiration, they deserve our commitment.
Join the Mule Deer Foundation!
Send any success pictures or stories from the field to [email protected] and you could be featured on our website or in our magazine. If this article or any of our articles have helped you become a better hunter or conservation steward, consider becoming a member of the Mule Deer Foundation or the Blacktail Deer Foundation or both. Click here to join: https://muledeer.org/product-category/membership/ or https://www.blacktaildeer.org/
Michael “Mickey” Luby – Writer Bio
Michael “Mickey” Luby is a modern-day mountain man and unapologetic traditionalist living deep in Western Montana. A seasoned mule deer hunter with decades of experience chasing high-country bucks, Mickey has earned a reputation for grit, stubbornness, and a sixth sense for finding big deer where the air is thin and the trails are long forgotten.
