AZcoues_addict

Wow! Really cool pictures! There must have been some type of tracks around to get a better idea of the size with all the sand and activity?

Wow, that is an absolute monster with a bow! I was thinking he was just over 200! Congrats to your father with a once-in-a-lifetime buck!

Well, 2009 deer is already over for me, and I can't believe it ended so well! I was still on a mental high from my last day archery buck, and only 5 days later, I end up getting a shot at my largest mule deer to date! I saw a few, passed on many, and didn't want to end my year on a buck unless he was exceptional. Well, I finally found him and he was exceptional and a stud! The stalk took nearly an hour, then I spent 25 minutes motionless within 100 yards of this buck and his does, and watched him do his dirty work and chase off a fork. I waited patiently and it paid off as the does finally made their way 40 yards through a shooting lane. First one, two, and so on until the buck finally followed. I held my 40 yard pin and waited as he passed through, and once his neck hit the opening I squeezed the release and he walked right into my arrow. I watched him jump, kick and run up the hill, and drop 75 yards away! This buck truly is a warrior of the desert flats. He is massive, symmetrical, beautiful and mine! I was in awe, God blessed me with such a great opportunity.

Nice javelina! Its great to see female archers out in the field. Congratulations and thanks for sharing!

Great looking buck! I love the non-forked antlers on a big old muley!

That buck is a monster! Congratulations and thanks for sharing!

Haha! Its a good time to find an area where deer may be concentrated later in the year, but that's also a good time of year to find sheds!

Great looking buck, those are some long tines! Congratulations and thanks for sharing!

Nice pig Jim! Congratulations and thanks for sharing!

Great story and great shot! Congratulations and thanks for sharing! Question - Do you really archery hunt with a white hat on?

That buck is awesome! Congratulations and thanks for sharing!

Wow, awesome 2 yard shot Christian! That is intense, thanks for sharing!

Wow, congrats on the great looking bulls! Thanks for sharing!

My little brother Josh drew his first bull hunt this spring and we were all excited for him, so we took turns scouting his unit throughout the year. Scouting showed us a particular area that had a high number of bulls. In fact quite a few exceptional bulls were spotted, but we anticipated most to be taken in the earlier seasons, or else to be hiding in the thickest, darkest canyons and out of sight by the time the late hunt rolled around. Josh is in college in his senior year, so we knew that he only had 3 days to hunt, and had to back at ASU by Monday. We arrived at our campsite late after a Thanksgiving feast, and got to bed a little after midnight. We awoke early and drove to our parking spot, and hiked out to our vantage points. Opening morning was exceptional! The weather really got the elk moving, and the other hunters in the area pushed game exactly the way we anticipated and to our spotting hillsides. Within 2 minutes of daylight I had spotted a heard of cows, and a few smaller bulls. Josh and my father wanted to head out to a better vantage point to see some new ground where we anticipated a larger bull might be hiding. Gunshots rang out in the distance, and a I split up to get closer to the bulls for a better look. After crossing a couple small draws, I jumped up a bedded whitetail at only 50 yards that I guess to be around 100 inches! I became very distracted and follow him, jumping him about 30 minutes later again! Man was I excited! Then, I heard more shots, and then movement down in the draw behind me. As I pulled up the binoculars, I spotted 8 bulls were heading through, 4 of which were 6 point bulls! (some with broken off tines from fighting). They were going directly out on the finger toward my brother, so I called him to warn him to keep an eye out for the bulls. After a short time some of the heard was spotted, but no clear shots due to trees. I moved out to another point and quickly spotted around 15 cows, with 2 or 3 spikes. We were looking for a larger bull, so we passed. Then about 30 minutes later, two average 5 point bulls were spotted. They were feeding quickly through, so Dad and Josh headed my way so I could point out the hillside they were on. By the time they arrived, the bulls were bedded or gone, so they slowly stalked through the area for the next hour, but with no luck. The rest of the morning and afternoon was uneventful, as we ate, spotted, slept. . . spotted, ate snacks. . . spotted, slept, and then spotted some more. In the late afternoon we were trying to make a plan, when after not too long, I spotted this great bull and his friend quite a distance away and the long stalk was on. Here's my favorite pic In this picture you can see his small devil points Josh got over to where the bull was, but by that time the bulls had fed over into a thick canyon out of sight. He tracked the bulls for a ways and finally lost their tracks. Daylight was running out, so he moved quickly through the canyon, and the bulls busted out and up the other side. He didn't have much time, so he guess the distance and shot a few quick shots. Well, without a rangefinder he guessed it around 300 yards, but he was way off! He's not a very experienced hunter, and finally his last shot was seen hitting way low, but too little too late. The bulls didn't even flinch, but Dad and Josh went to check for blood anyway, and of course not a drop was seen. The bulls were out of sight, and gone forever. Big brother gave quite a lecture and hounding that night, but I didn't want to be too hard since it was his first hunt, so it was hopefully a hard lesson learned for him. The 2nd morning Dad and Josh went out by themselves, as I had to head to town for parts since my tensioner pulley froze and serpentine belt broke. I had an extra belt, but not the pulley In the morning, they ran into a 5 point bull at 50 yards in a juniper thicket as he was heading to bed, and Josh shot just as the bull passed through the only opening he had. He thought he could squeeze a shot through a small bush. Well it turned out the small bush had a small tree directly behind it and his bullet shot right into the 2 inch trunk of a small pine! Bull #2 missed, and Hard lesson # learned! Later that evening they spotted a spike across a small hillside, but Josh decided to pass. Then at dark a nice 5 point bull headed out across a meadow, but as he set up for the shot, the bull was headed into the tress and too far away, so no shot presented itself! Meanwhile I fixed my truck and headed to a quick vantage point in the late afternoon, and ran into a couple who had a nice bull down! Linda had downed her first bull elk! It was a nice 5 point and I helped them carry the skinned and bagged quarters to their ranger, which they were greatly pleased! The rest of the evening I spotted 3 sets of different cows, each with no more than 5, but no bulls. Oh, and a few whitetail too! The final and last morning, we all hiked down a canyon to where we thought the big bull from the first day, and some others we'd seen during scouting might be hiding. We really thought this was his best chance for a last day bull. I crossed the canyon and got up to a high spot to glass. Meanwhile, Dad and Josh jumped a mountain lion up the other side of the canyon, but couldn't get a shot off, and it disappeared. I then headed down the finger across from them to a heavily used elk trail crossing. Along the way, I saw fresh BIG bear tracks, and now a chill was running up my spine as I didn't have a gun and I was on a hillside of a lion and huge bear possibly! OK, it was only a quick chill, been there - done that, back to hunting. Suddenly, we heard an elk kicking rocks down in the canyon, and Josh spotted a bull heading up his side of the draw. His first shot rang true, right through the heart, and the next broke his front shoulder and put his first bull down for good! He wasn't the biggest bull, but a nice first bull, and a great last day bull! The packout wasn't too bad, and we only needed a small 2nd trip between the three of us! Dad and Josh with his first bull!

Great bucks, looks like you guys really tagged out nicely! And cool story with the coati, thanks for sharing! Your story reminds me of once I was archery javelina hunting, and fell asleep down in a wide wash in the middle of the day. Next thing I know, I hear rocks turning and light footsteps all around me! Some coati were less then 5 yards from me! They were eating small insects under the rocks and turning them over, noisy as heck! I grab my bow and see coatimundi all around me 360 degrees, there must have been 30 of them passing through and I was directly in the middle. By the time I drew back and aimed, they were moving quickly through, and I only grazed one's back with a broadhead. But they also moved a heard of javelina out of the bottom of the same thick wash and we ended up tagging two of the javelina thanks to the coati!

Those are a couple of STUD bucks right there! Congratulations, and thanks for sharing! 10 years is a long time to wait, do you think you can wait another 10 years?

Nice pictures, and great spot on that buck! Pretty country, reminds me of some of my bear hunting areas. Congratulations on a beatiful buck, thanks for sharing!

Congratulations on a nice buck and thanks for sharing!

Great write-up and story! Awesome job those bullets did on that buck too! I love hearing about a hunter who names a specific animal, and gets the opportunity to harvest the one he wants. Much admiration here. Congrats and thanks for sharing!

Great buck, thanks for sharing! I'm with Cory, do you have a side pic? Congratulations, and welcome to the site!

Oh, I wanted to hear from some of you what you think the big bull will score (especially COOSEFAN, Lance, etc). We had a discussion over him in camp, and I just wanted some other's input. Thanks.

What a STUD buck! And the write up is outstanding, congrats on a buck of a lifetime! Glad all your hard work paid off, you truly deserve it.

Congratulations Jenna! Its great to see young females out hunting and enjoying the outdoors! Thanks for posting!

Congratulations! That is an excellent buck, and even better on a leftover tag! Thanks for sharing!

Great job on some outstanding bucks! Congrats and thanks for posting!