2008 Father/Son Success

[azcouesandelk]

Let me start off by thanking everybody who helped out on the hunt by giving me information and being there on the hunt itself. Matt (matthewp45), Brian (azpackhorse), Tyler (elkhunter) and Cory (Cory).

 

Thursday morning my dad woke me up at 3 a.m. to finish loading some ice into the coolers and loading them in his truck. He was to head down and secure our camp spot since I was unable to get to camp until late that night due to a midterm. Around 7 that morning my dad called to tell me he got the spot we wanted that it was only 28 degrees! He setup camp and took it easy until noon when Tyler showed up to do an evening glass. My dad and Tyler both went out turning up around 20 to 25 coues does and a group of muleys with a small buck. After finishing my midterm and finding out I got a 94% on it with coues on the brain I packed up my truck and headed down. I was able to get to camp and in bed around 1 a.m.!

 

Here is camp and the view from camp.

 

 

 

Friday morning the alarm went off way to early, right at 3:45 a.m.. We ate our breakfast, made our lunches and loaded our packs in hopes of finding some big bucks that roamed the hills. We parked the truck around 4:45 and started our hike in the dark. We made it to our destination around 6:15, just in time for first light. We started off glassing and Tyler picked up a deer in a matter of seconds, but it went out of view before we could tell if it was a buck or not. Within 5 minutes of the first deer spotted Tyler found 3 more deer and one was indeed a buck. After looking him over we determined that he was a 3x3 that was right around 70 inches. Going into the hunt my dad had told me that he just wanted a 3 point or better so we packed up and moved in closer. Tyler stayed on the point to keep an eye on the buck while my dad and I dropped down to get on the ridge between us and the buck. By the time we got onto the designated ridge the buck had fed up and over his ridge and out of sight. With high spirits we hiked back onto our perch to try to find another buck for my dad. We continued to pick apart the mountains turning up does and fawns on what seemed like every ridge or hillside when Tyler said he had found another buck! The buck appeared to be a heavy 2x3 that we figured would go 75 or so. We just watched him feed in hopes that he would bed down, but he eventually fed out of sight and out of mind. We continued to glass and turned up a spike and even more does and fawns. Midday we decided to circle around some of the hills to get a better look at some bedding areas and along the way we busted out 5 does and fawns. We glassed from our new location for several hours before we returned to our original spot. After arriving at our original location we setup and almost instantly Tyler found another buck. This buck was a small 3x3 that was in the 65 to 70 range, but my dad wanted to go after him. So my dad and I dropped down again while Tyler stayed on the perch to watch the deer. He eventually bedded down while my dad and I were working our way up to a peak to get setup. We waited for around 45 minutes and then we felt the wind on the back of our necks. Instead of possibly having the buck bust we decided to back out and come back another day in hopes of finding him or his buddies again. By the time we returned to our glassing point we had just less than 2 hours of light left so we hit it hard. I was able to finally glass up a couple of small forked horned bucks and a spike with a few minutes of light left. So the first day was done, but we had seen 7 different bucks and close to 30 does and we had 2 stalks under our belt already. When we arrived back at camp my dad said he was going to take Saturday off since his back was giving him problems.

 

Here is a picture of the small 3x3 (it is hard to see his g3’s but they are there).

 

 

 

 

So Saturday morning Tyler and I woke up bright and early around 4:00. We did our normal routine of breakfast, making lunch and loading the packs. We planned on glassing from the same point as the day before since we knew there were larger bucks in the area. Again Tyler found 2 bucks within the first 30 minutes of glassing. One appeared to be the same 70 class 3x3, but now he had a small fork running with him. We continued to glass until 10:15 to 10:30 turning up around 15 does and fawns. We then decided to make our way to the northeast side of the mountains we were glassing to look over the bedding areas. We hiked the 1 ½ to 2 miles around and came up on the knob to see binoculars on tripods. We moved up and talked to the other hunters telling them what we had seen and wishing them luck. They did tell us that there was a road only 1 mile north of where we all were. After hiking back towards our original glassing point Tyler and talked it over and we decided to head further into the mountains to try to get away from the roads more. After 3 hours of straight hiking we made it to the base of the hill we wanted to glass. We made it up on top by 3:00 and ate some lunch. After lunch we crested over to start glassing and again within 2 minutes Tyler said he had a buck and it was big. I went over next to him and setup my spotting scope and watched the buck. After evaluating the buck we both decided he would break 90 easily and was probably pushing the 100 inch mark! So I loaded up my gear and bailed off the mountain while Tyler stayed on top to be the lookout. I made my way to around 600 yards of where I had last seen the buck and relocated him only 10 yards to the left. I then worked my way to the next ridge to get setup and relocate the buck again. I got to the ridge and got all setup and found the buck still standing in the same spot. I ranged him at 350 yards and got on my rifle. I got comfortable with the crosshairs just over his back and slowly squeezed the trigger. The shot had gone high and the buck ran up the hill about 30 yards and stopped. I found him the scope again and tried to calm down to get another shot. I aimed just over his back again and this time the bullet grazed his back! The buck ran up the hill and bedded underneath an oak in the shade. So I loaded up my gear to move another ridge closer so I could have a 200 yard shot. I got to the next ridge and found a buck bedded but it was a different buck! This buck was a 4x3 non-typical that I thought would go 100 to 105. I continued to pick it apart and found my buck again. I got comfortable on my rest and settled the crosshairs right on his chest and slowly squeezed the trigger. I saw the buck hunch up and run down the hill and go behind some brush. I tried to relocate him but could not find him, but Tyler was on his way down and knew exactly where he had bedded down. He got to my location and pointed the buck out and I took aim and put the finishing shot on him. While this was going on the 4x3 was on the skyline just staring us down! So Tyler and I circled around and I went down to recover my biggest buck to date. We took our field pictures, caped him out and quartered him up. We loaded our packs and then made our way back towards the truck. By the time we got back to the truck it had taken us just under 2 hours to pack him out and we were beat.

 

Here is a picture from our glassing point

 

 

Here are some field pictures of my buck

 

 

 

 

 

 

And here is the pack out

 

 

Sunday morning we woke up just a touch late, around 6:00, but we got up onto the same hill Tyler had glassed my buck off of the night before around 8:00. We were hoping to find the 4x3 buck for my dad since we thought he had a good chance of breaking the 100 inch mark. We got setup and glassed in the 30+ mph winds for around 30 minutes when I was able to locate a doe with 2 fawns only 20 yards away from where my buck had gone down. Another 30 minutes had passed when Tyler found a few more does but still no bucks to be found. Around 11:00 I looked on a north facing slope above a tank and saw a buck. I put the spotter on him and saw that he was a 3x3 but could not tell how big due to the wind shaking the spotter. After another hour or so we decided to just go back the next day in hopes the wind would die down. After returning to camp Tyler and I started to look over maps and figured that on Saturday we had put on close to 12 miles hiking, with 3 ½ of them being the pack out. That night I had talked to Cory and he said that he was going to be able to make it out midday on Monday and just joking around I said we would be done with the 4x3 that was running with my buck.

 

Monday we woke up at 4:00 again and did our normal routine. We arrived at our parking spot at 4:45 and started our hike in the dark. After an hour and a half we made it up to our glassing point just in time for first light again. After about 5 minutes I was able to locate a spike, but just kept looking for the big 4x3. Another 10 minutes had gone by when Tyler told me he had a buck and he looked big. I threw the spotting scope on and saw that this was a huge typical 3x3 that would go at least 100 inches. So my dad and I bailed off the mountain to try to get on the buck while Tyler stayed high and watched. Once we got to around 700 yards I worked on relocating the buck, and after 5 minutes I found him bedded amongst the rocks and ocotillos. We then moved to the ridge nearest him and got setup for a shot. I found him bedded again and ranged him at 255 yards for my dad. As he was getting comfortable I realized how big the buck actually was, he was definitely a 110 to 112 type buck with beams that were nearly touching! My dad said get ready so I stared hard to watch the shot. I heard the crack of the rifle and saw a rock explode just 2 inches above the bucks back! He got up and ran over the ridge and was then followed by yet another 3x3 that was probably a mid 80’s to 90 inch buck. Disappointed we started our back to the knob when Tyler said he had found another big buck. So I worked my way up to the peak to get my bearings while my dad waited in the bottom. I found where he had bedded and bailed off the peak to meet my dad so we could go try to get on this buck. We worked our way along the washes until we reached the ridge we had to crest to hopefully relocate the buck. We got up and crawled under some mesquites and sat in the shade hoping to find the buck bedded in the oaks. I glassed for 30 minutes or so and asked my dad if he thought we might have busted them out. We decided to have some lunch to get our energy up and right after we were done my dad said he saw a deer. I threw my binoculars on him and saw it was a spike and underneath the oak was the 4x3! I told my dad to take the bottom buck and that he was at 220 yards. He shot and hit the buck hard, but the buck went into the canyon and we lost sight of him. So we worked around the hill and I found him bedded down in the bottom of the canyon. My dad took 1 more shot at 200 yards and finished the buck off. I have to say my dad worked extremely hard on this hunt, he was in pain for most of it with bad back problems but he muscled his way through it and harvested the biggest buck he has ever gotten.

 

Here are some pictures of my dad 4x3 non-typical.

 

 

 

 

 

And the pack out

 

 

After another 2 hour pack out we reached the truck and made our way back to camp. I called Cory and told him that we actually had the 4x3 down and he was on his way to see the downed bucks. He brought some tools so we could measure up the bucks and to my surprise my buck ended up gross scoring 100 6/8 and my dads buck ended up grossing 96 2/8 with 3 ½ to 4 ½ inches broken off. Also I cannot thank Tyler enough, if it weren’t for him I do not think we would have harvested either of these bucks!

 

Here is a picture of both bucks with the coueswhitetail.com sticker!

 

 

This hunt is definitely one that I will remember for the rest of my life since we worked so hard for both these bucks and the fact that I was able to spend so much time in the field with my dad and some of the best friends a guy could ask for.

[cjw2222]

WOW! great read Christian, thanks for puttin us all in the hunt right there with ya.

 

I really have to give you a sincere congratulations though. I have never and I mean never seen somebody with such dedication to Coues hunting and your story just cements that notion. I can honestly say you and your Dad deserved every inch of bone you brought down this weekend.

 

Congrats again on a hunt you and your dad will remember for a long long time.

 

P.S. thanks for havin me come down AFTER you knock down two studs glad i could be so much help

[YOUNGGUNZ]

Unbelievable Bud, I was confident you would find the bucks you were after Those bucks are BIG!! Your story puts me right there with you dude. You and your dad both have alot to be proud of. You are very lucky to have the Friends you do, they make the hunt that much more memorable. Fantastic job to all that were involved.

[Red Rabbit]

Christian and Randy,

 

Congrats to you both on two fine bucks. Thanks for your call earlier as it put the taste of anticipation in waiting for your post and pics. Tyler will have to start booking for his eagle eye services. Did you get the rain and hail Sunday evening?

 

Doug~RR

[Snapshot]

Very Nice bucks. Sounds like you guys had a great time.

[Young]

Congrats to both YOU and your POPS. It's not everyday a father and son can harvest two monster bucks on the same hunt. That trip will make for some great memories to look back on on future hunts. Who knows, maybe you can top this hunt next year. Conrats again to you both

[matthewp45]

A huge congrats to Christian and his dad. There is not another human being more deserving of a 100" buck than Christian. He and his dad worked their butts off for these bucks. Those are some incredible bucks for some incredible coues hunters. Congrats again to you and your dad.

[Chef]

Great write up and pictures!

Congratulations to you and your Father on two awesome bucks.

I appreciate all the hard work you put into all your hunts and

most importantly the effort you put into thinking about us during your hunts.

With all the pics and attention to details, its the best!

[Basser15]

Christian, way to go on two fantastic bucks! Make sure you tell your dad I tell him congrats as well....I know both of you will remember this hunt forever.

 

But I gotta ask, is your buck still growing? The text said he was 100 5/8 and in the thread he is 1/8 larger. Most deer shrink during the drying period...

[cjw2222]

Christian, way to go on two fantastic bucks! Make sure you tell your dad I tell him congrats as well....I know both of you will remember this hunt forever.

 

But I gotta ask, is your buck still growing? The text said he was 100 5/8 and in the thread he is 1/8 larger. Most deer shrink during the drying period...

 

 

Ummm...

 

 

That would be my fault not Christians. apparently i cant see the difference between a 2 and 3 in my own handwriting. Sorry Christian :ph34r:

[WFGinNM]

Christian,

That is awesome, once again thanks for including us on your hunt. Congrats to both you and your Dad on memories that'll last forever. I'll be in 36B in 2 weeks to prepare for my 1st AZ coues hunt. Your story makes me even more anxious.

 

Congrats,

--Bill

[Weston]

Thats pretty sweet man, I hope one year me and my dad will both harvest Trophies.

[briant_az]

Congratulations Christian!! Both of those are nice looking bucks!

[Coues Sniper]

Awesome work guys Those are a couple great bucks.

[SilentButDeadly]

waawhooo!