THE STALK.

Nothing is more intense for a hunter than getting so close to a mule deer, that he could reach out and touch him. Most Muley hunters get up before dawn, glass the animals as they head into bedding areas, and attempt to stalk within rifle range through trees or other cover. The author has also tried to do so. He has been timing his movements with each surge in the breeze to cover the tiny noises that now sound to him like avalanches: a pea-size pebble rolling a few inches as he shifts his foot, the horrendous scrape of his cotton pants cuff against the stalk of some tiny high-plains plant. Fifty yards back, he removed his boots, forcing himself to slow down even more, to move even more quietly. One can stalk to within yards of a bedded mule deer at lunchtime because of the unique geology of central Montana. INSET: STALKING GEAR.