First Chiricahua whitetail buck

[Couestracker]

The Chiricahua Mountains hold many great memories for me as my late Father and Late Grand Father took me there on their deer hunts when I was 10 years old. Returning there many times since I have been old enought to hunt, some nice bucks have been seen (none close enough for a shot) and several spikes & a couple of fork-horns were passed on. Once while glassing at a fork-horn, I realized it was a 3x3 but by the time I got my scope on him he disappeared behind a bush never to be seen again.

Each year brings on new confidence & hope (along with the disappointment that follows), but this year I'd shoot anything bigger than a spike if I saw one. On the 4th afternoon of a 4 1/2 day hunt, we decided to climb up on a new ridge and see what we could find. As I glassed from the edge of the ridge, there were several ridges that lay before and below me. On the nearest ridge it was noticed that there was a small clearing with a distinctive double-yucca plant with one "head" missing. As I ranged the spot at 210 yds, I thought that it would be a good place for a deer to show itself (ha ha).

Well, wouldn't you know it, a half our later I saw some movement and out of the thickets and into this clearing came a whitetail buck. I glassed him up and he was a fork-horn! Quickly trading my bino's for my scope, I found him as he passed behind the double yucca. I aimed, fired & watched him run, seemingly unscathed, into a series of junipers. Not wanting to take my eyes off the junipers, I tried racking in another round as it seemed that I might have missed. I couldn't get the bold closed on another round so I had to look at the reciever and realized my left gloved hand had blocked the ejection port such that the spent case wouldn't come out. Jeeze! So I fixed that issue while trying to to keep an eye on the junipers, but didn't ever see the deer.

I hiked around a bowl that was formed from the ridge I was on as it connected to the ridge the deer was on. I made it down to the double yucca just before dark. I looked under the juniper, no deer or blood on the ground. Dang-it, I missed I thought to myself. I looked up to the point I shot from & decided to range it: 190 yds. I thought, "That's not right, it was 210 yds". So I started looking around & found another clearing with another double double yucca with one head missing. Yes, the same side missing! I ranged up to the shooting point; 209 yds, cool! Excited again, I looked under the juniper but no deer. By now it was pretty dark so I started looking around with my flashlight and found some blood behind the yucca. Following the blood trail for 30 yds, I found my deer! I hit him low in the chest, probably due to the angle of the shot.

He was a small forky, but my first Chiricahua whitetail and I was happy.

[bonecollector]

Congrats on your Buck, thanks for sharing your hunt.

[makaio333]

Great Job!!!

[Hunting6]

contratulations !

It is commonly said that it is better late than never... but you got one this time.

He is a beautiful deer....

[Jimmer Negamanee]

Great story and picture! Thanks for posting.

[CouesWhitetail]

Nice write-up!! Thanks for sharing your hunt with us!

 

Amanda

 

[FlyingW]

Good story and nice 2pt !!! Congrats

[tjhunt2]

Congratulations on your buck. I'm sure your Father and Grandfather were looking down from above and was with you every step of your hunt. Your story was really good and sounds like another memory to add to all the other great memories of the Charicahua Mountains. Thanks for sharing.

 

TJ

[Dodger2]

Congrats! I took my first Chiricahua coues deer this year as well and my story was very similar to yours. Both my grandfathers hunted those mountains, and my dad introduced me to deer hunting in the Chiricahuas.

 

Excellent deer!

[Coues Archer]

Thanks for sharing great story. There are some real monsters in those mountains it's just that noone ever sees them just to brushy and full of pines. I've seen them though!!!!