Redbeard Report post Posted November 1, 2005 This has been a weird hunting season for me. First off I've had a rough few months with my Dad and two other friends having passed away. Secondly, I never like to hunt other people's spots or info. I love scouting and having one tied up by opening day. With all the stuff going on and gas prices being so high I never went scouting for this hunt. Fortunately my good buddy and hunting partner Andy K. was on 'em like a looter in a New Orleans Wal Mart. I was leaving it all up to him and I was determined that this hunt would be fun and stress free. It turned out to be exactly what I needed. Thanks for being there to make it that way Andy. Our big plans to kill one of the bucks he has trail cam pics of went out the window immediately since there were 36 trucks with God who knows how many hunters in his "secret" spot by sunup Friday. Somebody must have seen something and told everybody they knew and then some. We went for it anyway and were hiking in by 4:15 am Friday figuring we'd get ahead of everybody and let them run the deer past us. We sat in the dark for over an hour watching satellites and shooting stars cross the sky above and flashlights cross the desert below. I've never seen anything like it. Our plan worked as nobody hiked in as far as we did and we saw a ton of deer, probably 15 bucks but none of the big ones we had hoped to. I just hope some of the bucks survived all of the shooting. It sounded like opening weekend of dove season. Poor Andy and Devin have put so much scouting into that area. Hopefully it won't be so bad for archery season. We saw the biggest buck of the day while crossing a canyon to get on another ridge to glass. I stopped to take a whiz at the bottom and just about halfway through the process Andy starts shouting in a whisper, "Buck! buck! hey there's a buck!" The dang thing must have been watching and waiting for me to drop drawers because he was only about 50 yards away when he busted. Somehow I shut off the flow and grabbed the rifle in time to get a look at him as he headed up the other side of the canyon. Looked to be about 85-90" buck but I never had a good shot. I never would have thought it possible but I managed not to pee all over myself during the excitement. We hunted a different area Sat. am with the same 4 am start time. More lying on our backs in the dark satellite spotting and we only saw 8 hunters. Unfortunately only 3 bucks too. Sat. afternoon we checked out another spot where we had wanted to go earlier but thought there would have been a ton of hunters. We were so wrong on the first place we figured this couldn't be any worse. Guess what? Nobody was there. The area looked so good we both just knew we would be leaving with a buck. I had decided the next mature buck I saw was good enough. We hiked to the top of a mountain and crept up to the edge of a canyon on the other side and there was this buck standing under a tree below us looking like he was about to head out. I could see he was a good one so immediately told Andy I was going to take him. I didn't bother to count points or worry about score. I honestly didn't care. This was the perfect place and time to shoot a deer. As quick as I could I put the bipod up, ranged him at 184 yds, stuffed my ear plugs in, and as soon as the cross hairs were behind his shoulder I squeezed one off. Andy watched the bullet hit him and saw the buck drop immediately. That quickly it was over. It was 2 pm on a beautiful day so we took our time talking taking pictures and boning out the meat. We had hiked and hunted hard to get away from the crowds all day Friday and Sat. am and then there we were 20 minutes and less than half a mile from our quads and all by ourselves with nice buck. Andy is a great friend and I couldn't ask for a better hunting partner. He's always up for busting butt and hunting all day. He totally pulls his weight (except this time he forgot food and water!) I've never hunted with somebody who is so much on the same program as me. He knows how to eat lousy food, sleep in the dirt, bake in the sun, freeze in the dark, pound the crap out of gear like he stole it and love every minute of it. You shoould see what he does to boots in a few months. He had his duct taped together for this hunt. Even though we got shut down in his spot we just had a great time checking out new spots and giving eachother crap. I think Andy should start an outfitting business, "Slam Dunk Outfitters" I think his motto will be, "We're all 'buck' at Slam Dunk" Inside joke... We laughed all weekend about being "...all buck and s@%t." Hope the picture link works. http://img349.imageshack.us/img349/3323/unit33buckac6fb.jpg Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
azcouesandelk Report post Posted November 1, 2005 Sorry to hear about your losses Redbeard. Great job on your hunt that is a great buck. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hunterdude Report post Posted November 1, 2005 I feel for you redbeard, Congrats on your deer, it will make for some great memories later on in life. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CouesWhitetail Report post Posted November 1, 2005 Great story and nice buck! It is always great to have a hunting partner who hunts the same as you do. Amanda Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
azhuntsmen Report post Posted November 1, 2005 Nice buck its, a shame it came after such a tuff time. Congrats on the harvest. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
az4life Report post Posted November 1, 2005 RB This is an awesome story about the hunting experience. A good hunt really can clear the mind and refresh your spirit. Great story and thanks for sharing it. Nice Buck too! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
COUESAZ Report post Posted November 1, 2005 Way to go Redbeard. Nice buck , And great picture. I like the fact I see you your buddy, The deer and the counrtry you took him in. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
crazyaboutcoues Report post Posted November 1, 2005 Great story and congrats on a great buck. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dds Report post Posted November 1, 2005 Redbeard, Congrats, sorry to hear of your losses. PS I sent you an email. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Redbeard Report post Posted November 1, 2005 Hey guys (and gal), I appreciate your sympathy. I sure wasn't looking for any but I know there is a good bunch here so I'm not surprised. Thanks really. I wrote the story up because it was such a fun hunt. Even considering the way we got shut down at Andy's spot. We hunted hard, had fun, and didn't get too discouraged or worked up when things didn't go as planned. It was good because I went into it with a good attitude that I was going to have fun and not worry about it the way I sometimes used to. It is so easy to get carried away (for me anyhow) with trophy hunting and secret spots etc. that sometimes the hunt itself becomes secondary to the end. I've not been too excited about hunting for awhile but the recent events in my life reminded me of what hunting used to be about for me so I decided to go back to the basics- just hunt hard and have fun then if I see a buck I want to shoot -- shoot it. Chris Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Redman Report post Posted November 2, 2005 Great buck, Andy's spot wouldn't be in unit 33 would it? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chef Report post Posted November 2, 2005 Congratulations on a successful hunt and a good hunting partner. Chef Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Red Rabbit Report post Posted November 2, 2005 Chris, Great story about your fun hunt. Congrats to you and Andy. Doug~RR Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BowhuntCoues Report post Posted November 2, 2005 Great buck and great story. Congrads!!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Arizona Griz Report post Posted November 2, 2005 Chris, nice buck and story. My hunt starts in a couple of weeks. I will let you know how it goes at the next BIA meeting. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
