BML

Get in touch with a member here that goes by wardsoutfitters. He will more than likely be able to answer all your questions. From what I understand, he operates his entire operation (or most of it anyway) on private land. Don't know if he utilizes feeders, but I know they use food plots. I know those aren't your true inquiries, but I imagine he probably has plenty of interaction with the GFD and would be able to help??

Big bucks don't get BIG by being stupid. Just because he hangs out near a road doesn't mean he is going to get whacked right away. He probably has lived his whole life in the same area and has lived through many hunts so far. If it were me, I would help a buddy out. That sort of thing goes a long way, IMO.

That's awesome!! Great job Mike. If you get a chance to post a video link, please do. Sounds like some awesome footage.

What a difference a year makes!! I was in SE WY near Wheatland last year, October 5-7, hunting antelope and it was still pretty hot. We slept in a tent on top of our sleeping bags and wore T-shirts during the day.

Not really any cool stories to tell about this bull. I hunted hard for 6 days, hearing bugles only two of those days. We struggled with an abundance of hunters, very little rut activity, and even a fight on a water hole with a couple guys who thought that because there blinds were up I had no right to be sitting there before they got there. On night number 2 I had a nice 290-300 inch 6x6 come to water about 10 minutes before dark. I let him get to the water and start drinking, but soon realized that at 22 yards he was WAY too close for me to be able to draw my bow without him seeing me. I waited until he lifted his head out of the water and he still saw me and took off. I never had another shot opportunity until the last night I was up there. I had a small spike coming to water right before dark and decided that it had been such a terrible hunt so far that I would go ahead and fill my tag and put some good meat in the freezer. I drew on him before he got to the water and shot him right as he lowered his head. Shot was only 18 yards. He bolted and took off right through the water. I waited 30 minutes and decided that it was too dark to track him so I waited until the next morning to recover him. My dad and I found him a mere 60 yards from the tank.

Thanks for the comments guys. For those that have asked about the whole waterhole thing, here is the skinny. There was a great tank that was seeing alot of action from the elk right before dark. My dad and brother hunted this tank for the last two years in a natural ground blind that we built. I didn't get into elk camp until Wednesday and that tank was the first place I went for the evening. I saw a blind on the tank when I got there, but it was empty so I sat. A small bull came in but a little too far for a shot. The next two nights I took a gamble and sat a different tank. I then returned to the original tank only to find a second blind set up about a foot away from my natural ground blind. Again, both blinds were empty so I sat. About two hours later the two hunters showed up wanting to sit in their blinds. There were some words exchanged and a small argument ensued. They insisted that they were going to stay, regardless that I was there first. Too my disappointment, they both went to the other side of the tank and into their blind. They were in their blind long enough for me to calm down and then they both came back over to me and stated that they were going to leave. They had made a phone call to a mutual friend of ours(small world) and decided that they would leave. Since I had calmed down, I told them that the tank was plenty big enough for the both of us and if they wanted to stay in the other blind, I didn't care. In my opinion, we are all hunters and we were all out to do the same thing. That tank was 80 yards long and there really was no reason why we both couldn't sit a side. I was not going to be the one to ruin an evening of hunting for a couple guys knowing that the tank was that big. Most of my hunting friends told me that I was an idiot for letting them stay, but so be it. I really don't care. We spoke after we returned to our vehicles that night and we both were cordial with each other. There were some mentions of ethics and I still feel they think I was in the wrong, but page 10 of the regs says it all. I actually ran into them on my way back to camp the night I shot my bull. We spoke again and they were very congratulatory when I told them I shot my bull finally. In retrospect, I truly believe that had I met these two hunters under different circumstances I am pretty sure that we would end up being great friends and/or hunting buddies. I have no hard feelings regarding the way they acted and actually made the decision to not go back to that tank again. I actually just received a cell phone picture of the bull he was able to kill I think today. I don't know if he is a member here, but if so, congrats on your bull. You definitely earned it!!!

Thanks for all the comments. I went back and re-read my story and it does sound a little like I was disappointed. I was just flat out beat from a week of hunting when I wrote it. I am very happy with my bull. I feel it was a huge accomplishment just to even fill a tag this year as bad as the hunting was. Now the wait begins for my next tag!! :lol:

Funny you say that Josh. About an hour before I shot my bull a nice male coyote came to water. I was sitting flat on my rear trying to stretch my legs when I saw him. Unfortunately, flat on my rear is the only position in which I cannot draw my bow back! I tried to draw and could not for the life of me get past the let-off point. Too bad too, because he never knew I was there and he watered 24 yards away and left.

One of the antelope hunters on the Deep Well did the same thing this year. Bob nearly shut his ranch down after all the BS last year and I am sure he will see that carcass. They lazy hunter left the whole thing right in near all the horse feeder things under the power lines. I wouldn't be surprised one bit if he doesn't allow any access next year.

On the rifle hunt last year, we had three bucks my dad was trying to kill. They were all together and the biggest was a small 3x3 that was solid brown like that. I tried to tell him to wait for that brown buck, but he shot the first one that presented itself which was a smaller fork horn. That brown buck was very cool to watch.

Thanks everyone! Brent, The buck on the left is the one that I wanted to mount on top of that really cool pedestal base you made, but I just couldn't afford it. I will probably end up having you make me one in the future though. The base that is on it right now is too big for where I really want to put the mount. Where it sits now is the last place in the whole house I can put it and it the left horn is actually pressed up against the ceiling! I figure I will save the current base and maybe put a life size javelina on it or something.

Finally got my AZ antelope from last year back. My taxidermist has a fantastic turn time, but it took me over 6 months just to decide how I really wanted to do it. I am very happy with the results. Here he is! Oh, and don't mind the blue/brown paint scheme. I am in the middle of repainting! AZ buck on the left and WY buck on the right!

That buck is a stud!! Please tell us what he scores! Congrats!

VERY COOL!!!! I love it when the youth hunters are successful. That's a stud of a buck. Congrats!

Tim, I sent some good mojo over your way for your antelope hunt. You should now be able to find that one particular buck you told me about yesterday.

This story actually starts last October during the rifle coues deer hunt. I was very fortunate enough to be able to harvest my biggest buck at the time on the second day of the hunt. He scored 71 and change. I realized after that hunt, that I was in an area that I knew with enough hard work the following summer I could have a great chance at killing a buck with my bow. The plan was set in motion back then and yesterday the plan came to fruition! I started in June going in every Monday after work and setting up my trail cameras and then going in the following Friday to pick them up. Although I rarely ever see anyone in this area, it is still an area that is very easily accessible and at any time could see a lot of traffic so I tried not to keep my trail camera up over the weekends. Each trip in, I would see a TON of new deer sign at the tank, but never a single picture on my cameras. This went on for two solid months before I decided to move my camera(down to one since one broke on me) into a gnarly canyon with a spring in the bottom. My thought process was that I could have a better chance at killing a BIG buck off this spring. After about 20 or so days in the field scouting opening day was upon me. I had seen several small bucks and does, but nothing that really peeked my interest. Here's the story of my hunt: Day One: Due to various schedule conflicts, I was only able to free up about 6 hours a day to hunt. Opening morning I was heading into the spring. Here's the view from the top looking down to where I was going. Trust me, you don't want to take this trip every day!! I actually wasn't planning on hunting this spring this year, but I still had my trail camera down there and I had already built a blind, so I figured what the heck. I have to get my camera anyway. Here is a picture of the spring water. Can you say deer sign?? I sat this spring for 6 solid hours and only had one doe come in. Unfortunately, I had this to look forward to on my way out. My truck was several hundred yard on the other side of the top!! Day Two: I couldn't hunt over the weekend, but I was back at it on Monday. I went to my #1 spot where I had spent so many days scouting over the summer. I set up a ground blind (Thanks TAM!!) and the wait began. About two hours into the wait, I see a very nice buck get up from a draw and start walking up the hill behind the tank. He made a huge half circle and spent 30 minutes before he decided that he wanted to come get a drink. He stepped into the open at 50 yards or so and immediately saw my blind. He did not like it either!! He still wanted to water, but he was very cautious with every step. I had all my distances pre-ranged so I was ready where ever he would go. He hung up at 60 yards for what seemed like an eternity. Normally, 60 yards is a chip shot for me, but this is the first time I have ever really hunted coues deer with my bow. I know how small they are and I know how tough they can be if you make a bad hit. I decided not to try to let one fly at 60 yards and he obliged by never coming all the way to water and turning around and leaving. As quickly as he showed up, he was gone. I was sick to my stomach figuring I had just passed on my only opportunity. Day Three: After day two's encounter with a nice buck, I decided that before I left I needed to move my blind and brush it in much better. I spent about an hour cutting a whole in some oak brush and really concealing my blind. I didn't know if I would ever get another chance, so I wanted to be sure if I did, it wouldn't be the blind that ruined it. Here is what the final result was. I sat this tank for another 6 hours and only had one doe come in. There was some good news, though. She came in downwind of me and hung out a mere 20 yards from my blind for a solid 5 minutes and never once looked my direction. That really got my hopes up for sure! ........aaaah yes, the dreaded TO BE CONTINUED!!

I spent 20 hours in my blind over 4 days before I tagged out. I did a TON of texting and surfing the web via the blackberry. I played some games, but quickly realized that I was paying for too much attention to the game and not enough attention to what was going on around me. Another thing I also learned is that I didn't want to be overly comfortable. When I am too comfy I fall asleep real quick!!

I shot my buck last week with the netting up. Up until that day, I was sitting with the netting down, but the breeze was blowing the netting around a little. It also let too much light in, making me more visible inside. Don't worry about shooting through the netting. It won't make a difference.

That's awesome man! Way to stick with it. Sounds like you have an area loaded with bucks!!

Thanks redman! About 90% of this thread belongs in the trash bin! Congrats to the hunter. Congrats to Mullins Outfitters. Congrats to the bull for living long enough to become the majestic beast that he is. None of the rest of it really matters.

Again I need to thank you all for the comments. I really thought I had a good grasp on hunting these deer and this hunt proved me wrong. These deer are truly "magical" animals! They earned all their nicknames about being ghosts. Although I didn't see many deer, the few deer I did see appeared out of nowhere and only showed them selves for mere minutes and then disappeared just as quickly. I gained a TON of knowledge and experience in the 7 or so hours between when I first shot him and the recovery. As hard as it was to do I knew that I had to leave him alone for several hours at the very minimum. I now know that even a slightly quartering to shot is not the right shot to take. I figured I would have hit at least the first lung, but I didn't. I don't know that I will ever take another quartering to shot, unless I know I can slide one into his chest between his legs. I learned that even when mortally wounded, these animals are still very crafty!! He had us completely fooled and we searched for over an hour in the complete wrong direction! Most importantly, I gained a whole new respect for these deer and the people who have successfully arrowed one in the past. I never really understood, or should I say "grasped" the idea of just how much time and effort is truly put into the entire start to finish process of successfully harvesting a mature coues deer with a bow. I do now. My hats off to all you guys and gals out there that manage to get it done year after year!!

Thanks for all the kind words everyone!! Any thoughts on a score?? I put a tape on him today, but he was frozen and I am not very good with the tape so I got a real high number. Much higher than I think he actually scores.

.........so after I lose sight of him, I start to come to the realization that not only did I just shoot a coues deer with my bow, but I shot the biggest deer of my life!! I am shaking like a leaf! I immediately check the clock and start to assess the situation. Since I was shooting through the screen in my blind, I never saw exactly where the arrow hit. The buck was slightly quartering to me, but not too much (so I thought). I decided to wait a full hour before getting out of the blind. After one hour, which seemed like 10 I went to where I hit the deer. NO BLOOD! Ok, so I start looking for my arrow. I search for 45 full minutes and could not find my (censored) arrow! Now I am freaking out. I knew I hit him good, but with no blood and no arrow I just didn't know what to do. I had to go back to my blind, pack it up and hike back to the truck to give myself time to calm down and think. About two hours later, I went back to find the trail where he left. I immediately found good blood, but then it stopped after only 40 yards. At this time, I had to force myself to STOP and just get out of there before going to look for him. I called my brother and dad and told them the good news/bad news story. As I knew they would, they both said chill out and wait for us to get there. They both left work and headed up my way! In the meantime, I had 90 more minutes to wait for them to get there, so I went to the nearest town to eat lunch and refuel my brain a little. It was really what I needed because I had myself so worked up over the whole situation that I really wasn't thinking straight. So, a little over 5 hours later we began aggressively searching for my buck. We picked up the blood trail again, but it was very sporadic. My brother is a tracking machine and he was having trouble as well. We were able to pick up a few tracks here and there as well. About 80 yards or so into the track job, we noticed that he was dragging one of his legs in the dirt. I never hit any of his legs, so I knew this meant he was hurting real bad. We lost the blood, but had a good idea where he was going, or so we thought!! We grid searched the entire mountain side for over an hour and nothing!! I was just sick thinking I was going to lose this deer. We decided to go back to the last blood and start over. We soon picked up one little tiny spot of blood and wouldn't you know it, he was going the completely opposite direction than we had been searching!!! Tricky little booger!! We searched for another 30 minutes or so and by this time I am in full depression mode!! Then, while I was on my hands and knees looking for blood I hear my brother shout "I got blood!" I started his way and hear my dad shout "There's a lot of blood here!" My walk quickly turned into a run! I came around the corner and there was my brother holding my deer!!!!! WOOOOHOOOO BABY!! After a few screams and shouts I finally was able to get my hands on him. I was amazed at just how beautiful he was. I had never taken a deer in velvet, or any deer in AZ with my bow for that matter. The wait is over! Here he is: This is by far my favorite!! Most of you know by now how much I truly enjoy spending time in the woods with my dad and brother. They dropped EVERYTHING at a single phone call and drove 90 minutes to come help me. I never would have found my deer without them! Rarely will you ever see a picture in my photo albums that doesn't have at least one of them with me. Most times they are both there. The same holds true with all of there photos. Hunting just isn't the same without them. We have had plenty of hunts where tags were filled and plenty more where they weren't! Either way, we always have a great time and that's what it's all about!! One last parting shot for you as we were heading home. The pic says it all.

Day Three: This day started out with much optimism. I had learned a few things over the past few days of sitting and I also knew that it was supposed to be blazin' hot outside with little or no clouds. I knew that if there was ever a day for deer to water it would be this day. A couple hours after getting in my blind, I was surfing the web via my blackberry since I was so bored! Believe it or not, and this really is no joke, I was visiting the CWT.com family when something caught my eye. On the other side of the tank, there was a big cedar tree and something under it that wasn't there before. At first I thought it was one of the two squirrels that had been playing tricks on my mind over the last couple days. I threw up the binos and was shocked to see a deer standing under that tree!! I quickly grabbed my bow. I didn't know if it was a buck yet, but I wanted to be prepared just in case. He took two steps and it was very obvious that this was not only a buck but a very BIG buck!! He started down to the water at a spot that I had pre-ranged at 42 yards. I have no idea how I kept my composure as this deer headed to the water. I was a wreck after my close encounter two days prior! This time was different, though, and I was ready. I drew back when he was just a few steps from the water. He was slightly quartering towards me when he put his head down to drink....I started with my 40 yard pin on his front hoof.....slowly I raised my pin up his leg until I reached the heart....his head was still down when I touched the release. THWOP!!!! The arrow struck true!! He jumped a little, took a few steps and then stopped behind a tree. I knocked another arrow just in case. He walked in between two trees and I could see he was hurt bad. He was all hunched over and his tail was stuck between his legs. He slowly walked off and I lost sight of him after about 20 yards. ........gotta go get my daughter....be back soon!!

Awesome deer. Congrats!