He's back. Our mule deer seasons are history now (archery and rifle), and I had not seen this fellow for about a month. Figured he was history, as I had heard a couple shots and noticed rigs parked along our urban/country boundary about a mile out. He came through tracking a doe yesterday and was showing signs of the rut kicking in. Just a glimpse on his first pass, but he came back through about an hour later and Cookie nailed him.
Present: Notch is not quite visible in left ear, but does show in some other images.
Back in July when he was stealing apricots:
He had a similar sized buddy along back in July, but we've not seen that one yet. Hope we winters well and adds a bit more stature next year.
Have a good one,