ScottAdams Report post Posted December 31, 2003 (edited) Crazy and I are finally back from our 2 day hunting trip. Monday morning found us atop a ridge looking up a long canyon. It looked whitetailish as all get out but the place was packed with muleys! I think every ridge had some mule deer on it. We only saw one muley buck with all the does in the that canyon and man was he a dandy. He was probably a 170 class buck and the crazy thing headed over the ridge and out of sight before the sun came up. I took a photo but it didn't turn out. I just didn't have enough time to adjust the settings on my camera. This is me freezing to death overlooking that muley infested canyon. Tuesday we were joined by 300 WSM who wanted to go along, check out the optics and point us in the right direction; and the right direction it was. Right off the bat this morning Tommy locates 3 coues bucks across the canyon from us. One is a small 2 point, one is a BIG 2 point and the other is about an 85 or 90 inch 3 point. I was going to try to get a photo of them but we decided to make a run for them and try to put Tommy on the 3 point. However the deer had other ideas and went back into the trees to bed. It was a nice trip in spite of it all. The weather was artic cold on Monday with morning temperatures dropping into the single digits and Tommy and I only able to glass about 20 minutes at time before we had to get up and walk around a bit to warm up. Tomorrow I'll make one last trip into an area I haven't been into yet. I'll let you know what I find. Scott Where we saw the Coues bucks. Edited January 1, 1970 by ScottAdams Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rimhunter Report post Posted December 31, 2003 Good luck tomorrow and thanks for the story and pic my son and I have enjoyed it all . Stay warm and be safe Bruce Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Ernesto C Report post Posted December 31, 2003 Hey Scott very good idea to put that pad under your b..... because that rock was probably like a ice block. God bless you tomorrow out there,hey NICE tripod. We will be waiting for you guys,take care. Ernesto C. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dodger Report post Posted December 31, 2003 Those pads are a life saver if you know what I mean. I bought one for sitting in blinds, etc. during archery season and then took it this year to sit on while glassing. No more invisible thorns in the shorts or sharp uncomfortable rocks and my backside didn't fall asleep as fast. Scott, want to wish you the best of luck as you come down the home stretch with the last days coming up. Thanks again for the pictures. Unit 27 looks like some great country. I have lived in AZ my entire life and I've never been up there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bullwidgeon Report post Posted December 31, 2003 Too many pine trees around there, look lower . Serna got into truck trouble and never made it back. He says you are welcome to whack "Old Chocolate Horn" the 2x3 we couldn't find . Good luck Scott, remember the golden rule of coues hunting, good things come to those who wait. Bret M. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bullwidgeon Report post Posted December 31, 2003 P.S. There is another camo foam butt pad hanging out around the 4-way gate at the base of the mountain I shot at the big bear at 2 years ago. We made a move on some deer one night and my camo seat pad walked off that night. You are welcome to it if you find it, looks like you need it more than I do Bret M. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jason Report post Posted December 31, 2003 Good Luck Scott on your last day. I agree with Bullwidgeon that good things come to those who wait. 27 looks like beautiful country and can't think of a better way to end the year then in the outdoors. Good Luck Scott, Amanda, and anyone else out hunting. Jason Happy New Years Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ScottAdams Report post Posted January 1, 2004 (edited) OK guys, I'm back. I went up high today and hiked in about 2 miles. Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate. The only thing moving was the wind, and lots of it. As usual the Coues deer weren't out in it. There was a couple of inches of snow on the ground on the north slopes, and on my way out it really started snowing pretty good so I didn't waste any time getting out of there. The area I glassed. Here's my end of the hunt self portrait dressed in all my big buck killin rigalia. So with the hunt now officially over, it's been fun. I know I saw at least 13 different bucks and maybe a couple more. A few of them were pretty nice but I had decided early on to hold out for an exceptional one, and while I never saw an exceptional buck that certainly didn't detract from the hunt. I saw some new country and hunted with some new friends. The country was absolutely breathtaking. There's nothing quite like the excitement of setting up to glass in the predawn light. The butterflies you get when a nice Coues buck materializes in your binocular's view. The thrill of finding a nice shed. The tension and sheer exhilaration of the stalk. All these and more make the hunt a part of the fabric of life to those of us who've experienced it and keeps us coming back again and again. It's been fun. Scott Edited January 1, 1970 by ScottAdams Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Ernesto C Report post Posted January 1, 2004 Wow Scott I think that's exactly how Moses or Abraham will look in camouflage Hey you did not harvest a buck,but you did harvest our attention,our hearts and the passion we all have for hunting,in some way we were with you because we wanted to be with you out there,you keep us glued to the monitor waiting for you;it was like a action movie you know. Thank you for sharing your great adventure and succes with us because to me you return home safe, so that is part of the succes,not to mention what you have learn and all those bucks you saw. God bless you Scott,have a happy and healthy new year. Ernesto C. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CB1 Report post Posted January 1, 2004 Really appreciate the effort you made scott during your hunt allowing us to enjoy it with you, maybe next year's the year for the big buck. Like to know how amanda did on her hunt as well as any other dec. coues hunters...come on lets hear some stories.....BH Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
catclaw Report post Posted January 2, 2004 I, like Scott, swore that I would hold out for a big one. I saw about 15 bucks during the hunt but only one would go 100 inches or bigger. I didnt have a chance to move on him as he moved into the trees when the quail hunters started banging away in the distance and I never found him again. I ended up hunting by myself most every day except the opening weekend. The hunting is OK but the frigid weather in camp was a drag alone! I finally went down near the Salt river the last two days and found does and lots of Mule deer but no big ones. I saw 2-points chasing tail! I saw lots of pig herds this year but they were all very small herds which disturbs me. There were more quail than I have seen in many years as well. The country looked to be in good shape overall but the deer numbers and amount of brush made for a very humbling hunt. It was the coldest whitetail hunt I can remember (at times) although I did get snowed out of 27 one year when we got about 10inches of snow one day! Time to concentrate on pigs! I have a tag in 23 and the two youngsters have general tags in 35A. I guess I will go to San Carlos tomorrow and buy a tag for next year so I can hunt Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CouesWhitetail Report post Posted January 2, 2004 (edited) Hey guys, Well, I came home empty handed. Like Scott, I didn't see the buck I wanted, so I just held off. I passed on lots of bucks including one small 3 point that gave me multiple opportunities to kill him on the last day. But he just didn't "grab" me. Sometimes you see a buck and you know that's the one for you, but this year, I didn't see him. But the two guys I hunted with killed deer. One is Martin Guerena (who killed a really nice 2 point on a day I wasn't with him! I posted the pic of his buck in the photo gallery several days ago) and the other is Mark Healy who decided to kill a smallish buck out in the middle of nowhere just so he and I could work off the extra calories from Christmas and Thanksgiving! I glassed up two bucks early in the morning and it took us almost two hours to get over to the ridge where they were. And then it took quite a bit longer to find them again. Mark finally located them and took the shot. It took us over two hours to pack that thing back out in the dark after Mark boned it out. That evening, while Mark was boning out his deer, I did some glassing nearby and saw a really large 2 point that I would have gone after had there been enough time left in the day to get over there. But my legs were tired and the sun was setting. I hunted several different places and found a couple decent sheds. Here is a pic of the largest one, which was about an 89 inch deer if he was perfectly matched. I had a very enjoyable hunt with lots of extremes in weather. One day it would be freezing cold and then others in the 70s! One of the days when Mark and I were backpacked in, we woke up to 16 degree weather with winds ranging from about 15 mph to 40 mph. Brrrrrrrrr........ My water bottles froze solid and stayed that way all day, my stove quite working because the fuel wouldn't flow well enough, and even my contact lenses froze in their case. What temperature does saline (salt water) freeze at? It must be below 20 degrees because I never had that happen before in a camp and I have certainly camped in some freezing weather. There were many days of high winds in my favorite area where I really expected to find a huge buck. So the wind hampered the deer activity in there, which was disappointing. But overall I had a great hunt. I had good people to hunt with in some beautiful country and I saw lots of deer. I could have harvested a buck on almost every single day of the hunt, but opted not to. But I had a great hunt and thoroughly enjoyed it. Guess I will have to wait until I hunt Mexico in January to get my big buck. I hope everyone had an enjoyable hunt this year!! Amanda Edited January 1, 1970 by CouesWhitetail Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jason Report post Posted January 2, 2004 Thanks Scott for keeping us informed of your daily activities and it sounds like you had a great time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
coueshunter Report post Posted January 2, 2004 This has been great seeing Scott and Amanda's hunts on-line. Both of you had great hunts and passed on bucks..........Mexico will be where you both kill monsters..........Thanks for the updates and great pictures...........Allen......... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Guest_whitetaildude Report post Posted January 2, 2004 It was nice to read your stories Scott and Amanda (and others). Nice photos too. Thats a nice shed Amanda. We covered a lot of ground in 36c and could not find a single shed horn, which really amazed us given the number of bucks in the area that we saw. It appears that there's a dense rodent population there, so maybe that has something to do with it. If anyone can tell me how to do it, I'll send a couple pix of the bucks we took this past week. John Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
