I have taken a couple of mid 90 class Coues Deer with my rifles in the past twelve years of hunting these gray ghosts, but had yet been able to take advantage of an opportunity with my bow. I have to say that I have had a couple of opportunities, but did not realize I had to aim at the ground to hit one. LOL
This story starts with me chomping at the bit to get off work as it was 28 Aug 2013 and the early season had just started the week before. It was an overcast cool day (75) for Southeastern AZ in the Huachuca Mountains and finally the work whistle blew and I meet my buddy who has just started hunting and he wanted me to take him out and show him how we glass in AZ. Unknown to the both of us at the time this was going to be a lesson from start to finish. After getting to our glassing spot I still had to change out of my work cloths so my buddy began to glass around. Within minutes he has glassed a Doe here and another there. After I finished changing I pulled out my 9x binoculars and did a quick scan and also spotted several Doe moving about. Finally I pulled out the tripod and the 20x glass and started scanning the far bank of the huge wash we were hunting. After about 10 minutes I glassed up a small buck moving down the wash bank on the far side and low and behold behind him was a shooter! The wind was terrible for a stock from where we were sitting so I made a big loop to get into position on the bank just above the Deer. Once I was finally able to peek over the bank I spotted the smaller buck feeding in a small thicket of mesquite 95 yards away. I could not see the larger buck so I just stood there picking the patches of brush apart until finally I could make out the backend of another Deer bedded down. I figured that was the big boy so I eased along the side of a small bush on the edge of the wash wall to get into a possible shooting position hoping that when they got up to feed they would move into my bow range. The smaller buck bedded down shortly after I had gotten settled in and it was around two hours or so before they decided to get out of bed (kind of like my teenagers). Once they got on their feet a third buck materialized out of the unknown and now I had three set of eyes to contend with. Well the bucks fed toward me a bit but as luck would have it there was too much brush in the way to get a clear shot. Finally the bucks started moving up the wash to my left so I had to make a move to try to get in front of them. I was able to low crawl out of there and being way above the bucks I was able to stand and stretch a bit before make a loop so the bucks would not hear me. I got about 100 yards in front of the bucks and I found a good place to slide down through the glass of the bank wall and get into a good 30 to 40 yard shooting position. I patiently waited there for 20 to 30 minutes and the bucks still had not shown themselves so I decided to crawl up to another mesquite bush to use as a blind. After reaching the bush I stood up to take a peek. I saw one of the smaller bucks feeding about 35 yards away to my left and my heart jumped when I saw the “big boy” at 37 yards to my right. Unfortunately, all I could see has the top of his head and antlers in all the brush, but if he took two steps I could have a shot. At this point, I was really thinking that this was going to happen! After another 10 minutes of agonizing heart pounding excitement, big boy and his buddies started feeding away from me to the far side of the wash 60 -65 yards away. I practice shots almost daily out to 60 and 70 yards but I still wanted to see if I could get a closer shot. As it was getting dark I had to do something so I finally decided to try to slide down the bank so I could clear the brush in front of me for a shot. I slide down about 5 yards and the small buck picked me off. Dang, I was busted and now I am thinking this is over for sure! As the small buck just stood there and we had a staring contest big boy moved a bit to the left and stood broadside at 56 yards but I was afraid to move as the little buck would blow the whole deal. After what seemed like an eternity the small buck finally gave up on me and I was able to finally lay down and move my shoulders around as my muscles were aching from the odd position he caught me in. I got my kinks out so I sat back up and now big boy was behind some brush and it was starting to get dark and I was sure this hunt was over. Just then he decided to walk back to the right and stood slightly quartering toward me at 56 yards. I was not sure if I could even see through my peep at this point, but when I drew back…. I could see! I settled my 60 yard pin just underneath his rib cage right in front of his right shoulder and gently squeezed my release and the next thing I heard was a loud whack like I had just shoot a tree….I have heard that sound a time or two before. LOL The buck jumped and all three of them bounced off through the brush. I sat there another 30 minutes and it was now completely dark. I quietly moved over to where the buck was standing and I could hear the bucks blowing at me from the ridge less than 100 yards away. Once I was standing in the spot I immediately found half of my arrow with blood on the broken end. I found a few spots of blood but just could not see much of a trail with all of the vegetation and it began to rain, so I slowly headed off in the direction big boy had gone and after crisscrossing back and forth I found him lying in a deep ditch about 50 yards away. The arrow had slammed into the front of his right shoulder and blew through it and out about 6 inches behind his left shoulder.
Big boy weighted 89 lbs. dressed and I have green scored him in velvet at 100 2/8”. I am a very proud bow hunter, and already cannot wait until January.
