NEVADA 2026

Where were you 14 years ago?  In the spring of 2012 I decided I would make an attempt to hunt mule deer in Nevada.   I didn't make the decision lightly, I knew it would take years to draw a tag to hunt as a non-resident.  Years cost money, more every year, no guarantees.   For grins, I threw my youngest son's name in the draw as well.   He was 15 at the time and figured some day he would be able to help the cause and get me to where I needed to be to get on a big mule deer.   Time flies doesn't it?  Think about 14 years ago and how much has changed in your life.  Where were you in the game of life back then?   I was a dreamer then.   I still dream.   Big dreams.    There are plenty of hunts I apply for every year, maybe next year I will get lucky.  You can't hunt if you don't apply and you can't kill big deer if there aren't big deer to kill.  So, don't ever quit is a good mantra to live by.  Speaking of luck,  I have a friend in Montana who drew a tag after 44 years of applying this year to harvest a Big Horn sheep.   That's luck, perseverance, and never quit all wrapped in one.

Here's how lucky we were.  Right from the Nevada regs.   I had applied as a party application so we would draw as a team.  Team Parisian!   Party of 2.

According to the 2026-2027 Nevada Big Game Seasons and quotas published on eRegulations (sourced from NDOW/approved Commission Regulation 26-11 data):

• 221-223 Early: Oct 5 – Oct 20 → Resident quota 75; Nonresident quota 5
• 221-223 Late: Oct 21 – Nov 5 → Resident quota 5; Nonresident quota 1

These are the standard (non-guided) nonresident any-legal-weapon tags for antlered mule deer (Hunt 1332). The season structure is split into Early and Late; there is no single continuous Oct 5–28 rifle season listed for these units in the official quotas. The Oct 5–28 window you mentioned fully covers the Early season and the first portion of the Late season.

Separate restricted nonresident guided ALW tags (which require a licensed Nevada guide) were set at 4 for Early and 1 for Late in the same units.

So to talk about luck in being 2 of the 4 hunters who drew tags in the non-resident guided, (requiring a licensed Nevada guide) we were 50% of the lucky ones. Talk about a reason to go to Las Vegas!

In the spring of 2026 we were notified of our success and I quickly got on the phone to the outfitter I had named as the outfitter/guide we would hire for the hunt. That outfitter is Greg Krogh. He came highly recommended by many in the Mule Deer Forums in the MONSTERMULEYS.COM web site.

I still haven't met Greg Krogh in person and probably never will.

I will say this about Greg, he is one of the best mule deer hunters on the planet.

His crew hunts the Book Cliffs, the Kaibab Plateau, the Arizona Strip, the Paunsaugunt Plateau, Mexico, the greatest names in North America that harbor big antlers on mule deer.  I can't think of a better team of guides that work together, setting aside ego's and tips, that are more dedicated, capable, and have the ability to put hunters on big deer.   It was an absolute pleasure to hunt with the M.R.O. guides.  World class effort, desire, and ability are in short supply everywhere.  These guys were a hell of a team and I don't say that lightly. 

You can read about Greg Krogh on Instagram, he owns Mongollon Rim Outfitters.

My love for hunting muleys began long ago. In the fall of 1968 in the Badlands of North Dakota, specifically south of Lost Bridge, off the Ft. Berthold Indian Reservation, where we lived in Mandaree, I harvested my first mule deer . Saw some deer at the top of the breaks, north of Killdeer, North Dakota, off the road. Back then the deer season started at noon on a Friday. We spotted a few deer feeding midday and it was game on. I was excited with a lever action, .30-.30, no scope, and it took 5 shots to tip over a yearling mule deer doe. I remember well, how difficult it was to drag that small deer up out of that canyon. That was a long time ago, being 72 years young today, and a vast number of mule deer harvested since then. It got in my blood early.

It's still there.

I've had some luck over the years for sure. Luck is where hard work meets opportunity. You have to make it count. I have put some great antlers on the wall and made some shots that even I have been impressed with. I always felt I owed it to the resource to be a good marksman. Why cripple an animal and have it crawl off and die a miserable death? I never took shots at distance, never stupid shots I didn't think would be lethal, and always believed in safety first, not taking shots on the skyline that many who hunt mule deer do.

I hit the gym in spring and summer, having a setback on Fathers Day. Busted up my wrist cutting a large tree. You can read about that debacle here:

Fathers Day 2026 Debacle

I took my time getting to Nevada. I drove. Three days to nowhere!

Before I left Montana my wife and I spent some time having fun. From the One & Only in Moonlight Basin to the Yellowstone River it was great weather. She doesn't hunt but enjoys wild game and can catch fish with the best of them. Here are some highlights.

She loves hats. She looks good in hats. She loves to buy hats!

At the world famous, PRIMAL, in Bozeman!  Owned and operated by my pal, Cam Holt.  Cam and Trevor Luce own the Rosebud204 property on the Yellowstone River, west of the Ghost Ranch, that adjoins the famous, Bukoskey Farms.  PRIMAL, coming to a city near you before you know it.

Her Dad taught her to fish long ago. She hasn't forgotten how to get it done!

Most people who visit the Great State of Nevada never get outside of Reno or Las Vegas. The bulk of Nevada’s population is concentrated in those two metro areas; the rest of the state is sparsely settled. In fact, if Reno and Las Vegas populations were removed, Nevada would be the least populated state in America, including Alaska! There is alot of state to visit! 

We were hunting in a unit that is a migration route for mule deer from the mountains in summer to the desert in winter.   We spent the vast majority of time in the optics, glassing for bigger bucks among the hundreds of deer that were on the move.  They were around the 8,000 foot level in elevation.   I don't live at that elevation.  I trained and trained some more but to little avail simply because  oxygen doesn't fill my lungs like it does a mile lower where I reside.

The week started with some nasty weather.   We had lightening, fog, thunder, ice crystals, wind, cold, sleet, rain, and snow flurries.   Wild times on the mountain!

I killed this buck early in the week.  Spotted deer a couple miles away and went after him but unfortunately we weren't alone.   An outfitter and client were on mules they had hobbled and were making their way into the same group of deer we were after.   They were down wind of the deer maybe 500 to 700 yards when they fired a shot and the deer herd bolted into the wind and came over the ridge.    I settle in to the shooting sticks, and downed him at around the 417 yard mark on the run.   The sound of the bullet was solid and it took a bit to get to the buck.   He was a bit mobile and I put another round in him to make sure he wasn't going anywhere.  Unfortunately my bullet hit the base of his right antler and blew it off, hence the black tape on the right antler base.

On the sixth day of the hunt my son connected on a solid buck with a 560 yard shot.   We had spotted him lay down on a ridge in the tall sage and had to wait a bit for him to stand up and reposition himself as the sun moved.

This is the last buck I killed on the fourth shot at over 400 yards on the dead run in Colorado.   I've had success at over 400 yards but don't shoot further.   That's me, I know my limitations.

It was a great week in Nevada.    At 72 my legs don't move like they did.  My lungs don't operate as effective as they once did.   I have more hunts in me, it's drawing the tags that are the $64 question.    

Maybe the mule deer Gods are still waiting for me in camp.

God willing I just need to stay on the right road to get there!

ILHAN OMAR

There are a few things in life you should know with 100% certainty:

• Your name. 

• Your birthday. 

• Whether you married your brother.

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No vax for the common cold since 1600 BCE. 

Yet a virus mysteriously appears and within 12 months a 'vax' is found by 4 pharma companies all within 1 week.

Charles William Hild

 

Charles William Hild.      Charles was Father, Son, Husband, Grandfather, Brother, Uncle, Father-in-Law, Deacon, and  Friend.

We knew him as Pepper.  

I stand here as a son-in-law, which is a peculiar and blessed office. You don’t choose your father-in-law. He arrives with the woman you love, and then, if you are fortunate, he becomes one of the men who quietly steadies your life.

Pepper was that kind of man.

He welcomed me not as a visitor, but as family. He never made me audition for a place at the table. He treated the marriage of his daughter as a trust, and he honored that trust by being kind. 

Today, I want to turn this around.     I want to speak to all of us on behalf of Pepper.

What would Pepper want for us?  What would he want to say today? 

In times of death words can be difficult.   I know he doesn’t want tears.

He wants warmth, and smiles, and gratitude for life well lived.  He wants the best for us.

Charles, Pepper, or POP,  none of us will ever forget you.     You were a loving husband.  You were a caring father.  You were a proud grandfather.

Your spirit will carry on,  we will always hear your voice.

Today and all the tomorrows ahead, it will be Pepper and Wanda, together again. with wide smiles, and happy times in the presence of angels and our Heavenly Father.      

Pepper had an attitude that Good always won over Bad.  He always told us to be careful in most aspects of life and things would be okay.

Losing a father is not easy.   There aren’t many people in life that stand in your corner and never quit.

Remember Pam and Adam, Your Dad will always be with you.  You will carry his energy and his spirit, in your heart, and in your mind, and you will never forget the man who gave you so much to remember. 

Now let me speak for Pepper.  Fathers are not replaced but Pepper doesn’t want us mourning his loss.   He thanks us and wants us to gather here and celebrate life, spirit, positive attitudes, and the joy that he brought in his wonderful voice and his warm smile. 

So today, we smile.  We give thanks.  We remember.  What I will remember most is not a single speech or a single day, but a pattern: a man who showed up. Who asked after his grandchildren. Who took pride in work well done. Who loved his daughter without making a performance of it. That kind of love doesn’t announce itself. It simply holds.  Over three short decades ago I talked to Pop about taking his daughters hand in marriage.  Hadn’t done it before, haven’t done it since. 

He said to me after I awkwardly got the question out of my mouth,  “ That would be fine, she’d like that”.     So from the lakes of Minnesota to the hills of Tennessee I knew it would be okay with Pepper!

To my wife: he gave you a foundation. To our sons: he gave you a grandfather’s example of what a decent man looks like when no one is watching. To me: he gave the rare gift of a father-in-law who made it easy to honor him.

We do not replace a man like that. We carry him. We tell the stories. We keep the standards he lived by—loyalty, work, family, and a handshake that meant something.

What Pepper left behind makes us appreciate life even more.   Pop, your legacy lives on.  

We have our memories and more will flood over us in the days to come.  

I only fished with Pop a couple of times, but I know he loved being on the water. He loved fishing and football.   He loved the game.

I always felt Pop would have been a great football coach.  He loved the sport, the play calling, the strategy of the grid iron!  He always watched  U of TN football games.

What I most admired about Pepper was the time, of strength, of effort, of patience and faith it took to take care of his wife, Gramma Wanda, for the last decade of her life as she suffered with dementia.   

Pepper did his best, at her side.  It wasn’t easy.  It was a courageous undertaking and he did his best.  His best was the only thing he knew how to do.

Pepper today we gather not only to mourn our loss in this world  but also to celebrate you “going on ahead” to a better place.              

For sure, Father Time always wins but he was very generous with Pepper.

We know that you were taken from us before we would have liked but the Lord had other plans.     But lucky us,  we had the distinct privilege of having you for nearly 90 years!

I would like to end by thanking God for the many mercies he has shown the Hild family over the last few years. 

In so many ways, Pepper, we were fortunate to have you in good health these past few years.    

Today, Pepper, we know you look down on us from heaven above.  We know you soar with the angels.  You will remain an enormous influence on us.  And so today, Pepper, we honor you.   

Tomorrow we will miss you. 

Forever Pop, we will love and remember you. 

We hope to join you in heaven in our own time.  We loved you dearly, Pop.

And we close today not with a goodbye,  or a farewell, but with wholesome gratitude for the life we were lucky enough to share.

May the light Pepper carried shine in each of us.

Pepper, thank you. You were a good father, a good grandfather, and a good man to have standing behind a marriage. Rest easy. We have the watch now.

May we never forget the goodness of Charles William Hild as he would want the Lord to be with every one of you.

Amen.

Boys of Fall

 

Nevada doesn't require orange gear to hunt mule deer.  That said, deer are color blind.  

There's fun ahead.  Nevada here we come.