cramerhunts

Here is the link Josh all though I think you know most of the story..and have seen the pics A Great Hunt

You must have missed it Josh I posted the pics and story, I'll look for the link. Good luck on the bow hunt, I'm heading out this weekend to see what's shaking.

That is a great buck, definately one to be proud of. Congrats and thanks for sharing it with us.

That a way to go! Congrats on a successful hunt.

I like the heavy horned bucks as well, score doesn't always matter. Congrats and thanks for sharing.

Congrats on a great buck Josh, and to do it with the bow too.

Awesome! Great bucks and I'm sure it was all that much sweeter being with friends.

Man what a toad of a buck! Congrats to you and your family on a great year.

Great story and great pictures. Thanks for sharing them with us and congrats to both of you on awesome bucks.

There is a new game warden for the area that might be able to help you, her name is Lainie Ozment and can be emailed at lozment@azgfd.gov. She should at least be able to tell you where to start.

Beautiful, unique buck! Congrats to your brother. Thanks for sharing these pictures with us.

Awesome pics! I know in S.E. Arizona I saw some of the same thing with very young fawns in Oct./Nov.

Boy great attitude you got there. I don't know if I could be so logical and level headed but good luck to your guys.

Great bucks, thanks for sharing them with us and welcome to the site.

Awesome buck! Congrats. I am going to guess that he will gross 115. Bummer on the lack of eye guards but I know how that goes since I shot a buck with only 1" on one side and none on the other this year.

Cool finds for sure. Boy you weren't kidding about being ancient.

Way to go Jim. Great Video and awesome buck.

Went out to set the trail cameras on Friday and found this nice rack near one of my sets, to bad he won't be getting caught on camera! I couldn't tell how he died as there wasn't anything left but the skull.

That is some good shooting, go it er done! Having kids definately changed my life but they still let me sneak away to the hills...I can't wait till they are old enough to go with me. Good luck and congrats on becoming a father soon.

Great buck and photos. Congrats. Thanks for sharing your hunt with us. What did he score?

This hunt actually started in March of 2005 when my father first took me into a new area to see what I thought of the country. I instantly fell in love with the area and knew that it would produce some quality bucks, so my dad and I made plans that had us spending all of our free time scouting and hunting starting that August. On one of my many trips I spotted a very nice high racked buck that I thought might be a 90-95 inch class buck. I drew a Nov. rifle tag for the area and during that hunt I spotted the high-racked buck once again and figured him to be at least 95 and probably closer to 100 inches. I could not go after him where he was on that occasion but later in the season I hunted him hard and ended up blowing a stock that sent him high tailing it out of the country not to be seen again the rest of the year. During the December/January archery season a very good friend got me started on trail cameras by loaning me some of his and teaching me how to use them. I passed up a lot of bucks with my bow waiting for the buck that I had messed up on by not being patient during the rifle hunt but he never showed up. Dreams of the next season set in and the scouting began with me putting the cameras out and making the almost 8 hour round trip every other weekend. Over time I got pictures of a lot of deer and some good bucks, but not the high-racked buck. Finally in Late August and again in early September I found him in the same basin as he was in the year before. After endless trips of checking the trail cameras and glassing the hillsides the November rifle hunt crept up on me. My father and one of our hunting partners set up camp the weekend before season and we all met up on the Thursday before the opener. The three of us hunted hard for the first couple of days with very little seen all though my dad did jump a very good buck but wasn't able to get a shot off. On Sunday two of our other hunting partners came into camp to share the joy and agony of chasing the grey ghost with us. That evening I headed out to the basin and I spotted the high-racked buck. I watched him in his bed until the sun was lost behind the mountains but was unable to make a stock so I walked back to the quad and headed for camp. Once back in camp I found out one of our party would be leaving due to family obligations so that would leave Jim, Keith, Dad, and myself to pursue "High Rack". Daylight found us set up and scouring the hillsides with the best optics money can buy (thanks to Jim and Keith) but we could not find the buck. I saw a flash of a deer where the buck was the day before and I felt confident that it would be High Rack so a stock was planned. Keith and I made several attempts to close the distance but with other deer in the area and the wind direction we had to back out every time so we eased off of the ridge and headed back down to where Jim and Dad were set up watching our antics. After comparing notes, collectively we had only seen two small bucks all day so we packed up our gear and headed to the trucks. By the time we got there the sun was down and we were able to glass back to where the small bucks had been earlier in the day and it didn't take long for Jim and Keith to find them. Looking through my binos I noticed another deer feeding a little ways away from the two bucks and immediately recognized it as the buck we had been looking for; it didn't take long for the light to turn into darkness but not before everyone got to see High Rack and quickly field judge him in the 100-110 inch range. It was a long sleepless night that finally ended and Jim and I were soon climbing the ridge that Keith and I had been on the day before. Dad and Keith took the trucks back to where they were the previous day to set up and try and locate the buck once again. Jim and I got to the top just as the day began to break and the wind began to howl. After getting set up and a quick radio check with the guys down below we started picking the hillside apart directly across from us in hopes of finding the buck where he had been when we left him. To my surprise I quickly spotted High Rack and shouted/whispered to Jim his location. He was standing right on the edge of some very thick cover so I wasted no time in getting a solid rest for the 300 ultra mag short action and ranged him at 404 yards. As soon as Jim said he had him firmly in his binos I squeezed the trigger and the buck dropped. After a quick hug I started across the canyon with Jim staying put to walk me in to the downed buck. Keith made his way up to me to help with the pack down and handle the pictures and Dad worked the quad as close as he could. I am very pleased with "High Rack" and he ended up scoring 109 5/8" gross. Not only was this hunt a success for getting this buck but it was a success for having my father and two very good friends with me and all being together, not to mention I couldn't have done it without their help; thanks guys! I also have to thank my wife and daughters for allowing me to spend so much time in the field. My good friend and hunting partner Jim Parker My best friend and hunting partner (my dad) and good friend and hunting Partner Keith Goyen Thanks for reading, Phil Cramer

Great pictures! Thanks for sharing them with us.

Thanks for all of the kind words and responses. Backcountry, I personally have never shot a coues buck before with little/no eye guards such as this one, so one out of nine means not very common to me. Funny thing is that I shot a good Mule deer with my bow in 2004 that has the same thing...no eye guard on the right side and a very small one on the left. Go figure. Phil

Beautiful Buck. Congrats and welcome to the site.

Good write up on a unique buck. Congrats Casey