South Dakota Mule Deer Hunter Takes Prize Buck

Neil and his mule deer

The first three days of Neil's hunting trip on the game-rich prairie of South Dakota were met with falling skies and falling temperatures. On the fourth day, the weather finally broke and the hillside came alive. "Mule deer were literally everywhere," Neil remembered. "It was as if cracks in the earth had been opened and a new crop of mule deer were released to the grasslands."

After picking over a slew of does, yearlings, fawns, and younger bucks, Neil glimpsed a beautiful buck that was a sight for sore eyes. "The stalk was on!" he said. Neil watched his buck climb down a cut bank hillside into a swollen creek bottom. As he disappeared into the Cottonwood trees, Neil made his move. "The buck was hanging around some does," Neil said. "Evidently, the break in weather kicked up his libido."

Neil brought his Knight KP1 .50 caliber muzzleloader to bare and focused the crosshairs of the Leupold Ultimate  Slam scope.  The shot broke as the 4 by 4 mule deer approached within 100 yards, and the 250 grain Hornady SST-ML bullet hit its mark. "It may not be the biggest mule deer that ever walked the plains, but he's a trophy in my book!" said Neil.