For Week 4, it's Colorado Mule Deer

Welcome to a postcard from the edge. The question is, the edge of what...and where? One look at this landscape and you might think southern Arizona...the Eastern Cape of South Africa...maybe the Sonora desert of Mexico. Try the plains of Colorado...about 1.5 hours east of Denver to be exact. It's the land of yucca and cedar...and rock, lots of rock. But it's also the land of mule deer...really big mule deer. And if there's a part of the planet that gives me a good deer hunting vibe it's eastern Colorado. Did I mention that I took my biggest ever whitetail here along with my near best mule deer?

There is, of course, an element of luck in taking any trophy but more often than not it's about the miles you put in rather than happenstance. That's especially true in this vast landscape where a buck can hide jack rabbit like behind any yucca, cedar, or boulder. Hunting here can sometimes seem like panning for a 5-ounce gold nugget but sift through enough of this country and you'll eventually strike it rich...if you can make the shot.

When you spot a buck that you want...the kind that you dream about...the kind that if you miss the shot on you'll need therapy...the complexion of a hunt changes from a game of hide and seek to one of high stakes poker. The instant that I saw the tall, heavy antennae like antlers of the bedded buck I had the edginess of a predator...a hungry predator.