Chef Report post Posted January 26, 2011 . . Planning and Border Crossing: This hunt all came about while at last years ADA banquet. Whilst at the CW.com tables, Phil (cramerhunts) and Jimmy (rut) were telling me about a ranch they hunted in Mexico. They were going to hunt it again in Jan of 2011 and had one tag left. They invited me along and well, it didn’t take much to have me write the check! Apparently I wrote a lot of checks that evening! Fast forward to this new year and well, the hunt was finally upon us. I have to admit, I was worried about all the dangers and red tape that can come along with a trip like this. After doing a lot of homework and knowing how the ranch owner would take care of us, I felt better. I have to give credit to Phil, all the pre-planning and details were ironed out and we set off in the dark hours of the early morning towards Nogales for our fourteen day adventure. The ranch owner (Justo Sr.) along with his son and another gentleman, actually crossed the border and met us in Nogales, AZ then accompanied us back across the border into Mexico. They escorted us through Mexican customs (Aduana) and assisted us in self-declaration of our firearms, both there and with the soldiers at the military base. Our hosts stayed with us and helped acquire the proper tourist and vehicle permits as we were pulling trailers with utility vehicles. All of their help and assistance certainly gave us piece of mind and made us feel a lot more comfortable about our trip into Mexico. Accommodations and Food: Once we got to the ranch, I was expecting to rough it. As Kevin (Peloncillo) pointed out, the accommodations were super sweet. Beds to sleep on, hot showers every night, hot coffee in the mornings, fireplace to take the chill off. This was Heaven! Justo Jr, was to prepare our dinners every night. We all ate as much as we could! The tortillas were local and homemade, the cheeses were local, the re-fried beans were to die for, and the salsa! A person can get used to this very quickly! Here is Phil and I with some of Justo's family that would come visit to see how we were faring... Chile con Carne! Chiles Rellenos con Bistek! Tortillas Sobaqueras! (delicious I must add) Carne con Vegetales... Cream Cheese filled Breast of Chicken with Ham and Bacon! Shrimp and Spinach Lasagna! (Jimmy's favorite) Other dishes prepared and not pictured were Caldo de Queso (Cheese Soup), Carne Asada Tacos, Spaghetti with Meat Sauce, Birria Tacos, and much more! Terrain and Deer Population: We hunted many parts of the ranch. It consists of flat-lands with washes, rolling hills dotted with mesquites, prickly pear, chollas, and ocotillos. As well as rugged mountains with the occasional “couesy” terrain of grassy hills and oaks. Almost all of it was glass-able and we were able to reach the high spots and sometimes glass all day from the same area. The deer herd was large and rutting activity was great. Especially the first week. Bucks were chasing does and if you glassed up a doe, it wouldn’t take long for a buck or two to show up. At one time, on the second morning, I was able to count ten bucks on the SAME hillside. This made hunting the area extremely fun and rewarding. Video of rutting bucks... My Harvest Day: The day I killed my buck, we decided to try and hunt one of the most remote areas of the ranch. After driving the rough roads to our parking spot, we had to hike an easy 30 minutes to a glassing area. After we set up, Jimmy spots some deer through the spotter at about a mile and a quarter. We make a plan to hike into a different vantage point and an hour and a half hike later, we finally reach that point. Jimmy finds the buck again at 880 yards and we can see that the buck is tall. We plan a method of attack, and I tell Jimmy that if I could make the stalk, I would not second guess the buck, I would take him. Jimmy gets some footage of the buck as I make my stalk. I was lucky and fortunate to be able to have the ranch vaquero Marco come with his horse and pack out my buck! My buck! Below is a view of my stalk from our glassing position 880 yards away from the buck...(enlarge for detail) Below is a view of our glassing position (880 yards away) from where the buck lay...(enlarge for detail) Below is a view of my shooting location (220 yards away) from where the buck lay...(enlarge for detail) View of the moon as I was with the buck... (antlers in bottom right corner of second pic) My FAVORITE part! Marco coming to pack out my buck!!! Video footage of my buck on the hoof... (courtesy of Jimmy and his Swaro spotter/video skills) Extras: After my hunt success, I stayed the entire length of the trip. Helping out Phil and Jimmy in their quest to fill their tags. I was able to see a lot more deer and filmed a nice buck on two separate occasions. We also saw to other bucks that were definite shooters and are out there still. Video footage of the buck I filmed later on in the hunt. We went looking for him and couldn't find him. Only to have me stumble onto him again a day later! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekUCHTTsLAE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvEQ4p95EvQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTVNlex2m9M Chiltepin chiles growing wild all over the ranch... Saw plenty of these out on the flats. I actually saw them sit in the shade of mesquite trees and allow birds to stand on their backs while picking ticks off of them. I thought that was pretty cool to see. Birds nest in a cholla cactus... Lion kill I glassed up... Cool morning shot... ....Finally.... . . . The End! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Schmitty Report post Posted January 26, 2011 Nice job and post! The food looks like reason enough to make the trip. Congrats on a nice deer! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Desertdon Report post Posted January 26, 2011 Chef, Great write up and pictures. Sounds like a super hunt-congrats on a great buck. Between this beauty and your great Kiabab buck, you've had a great season. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BML Report post Posted January 26, 2011 Very cool write up Chef!! I hope someday I get to experience the beauty of Mexico. I am always amazed at how beautiful the country is in all the pictures that everyone shares each year. Of course I would love to go hunt the giants of Mexico some day as well, but just being in that awesome country sounds just as good. Thanks for sharing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
coueswt Report post Posted January 26, 2011 Love the story and thanks for sharing!!! I have been waiting to read these. Where is cramer's story? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OpticNerd Report post Posted January 26, 2011 That was AWESOME! Heck of a job! Your buck has to be one of the tallest bucks I've ever seen. The lion kill buck is freaking cool also. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chef Report post Posted January 26, 2011 Thanks guys! cramerhunts should be posting his story up soon. He shot a BEAUTY of a buck and we took video footage after the kill. He always has lots of trail camera shots as well as you all know. It was great down there with such great guys. Here's a shot after the first week... Here is Peloncillo caping out and preparing skulls... One of my favorite pics...Phil "high rackin" it! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chef Report post Posted January 26, 2011 That was AWESOME! Heck of a job! Your buck has to be one of the tallest bucks I've ever seen. The lion kill buck is freaking cool also. Thanks! The main beams were each 18+" BTW Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SunDevil Report post Posted January 26, 2011 Thx Chef for sharing. Your story brings back some fond memories. Justo and his son are really nice people to spend time with. That salsa is to die for. Did you have any tamales? the sweet raisin, dessert tamales were new to me and pretty darn good as well. congrats on a great, safe trip and nice buck! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chef Report post Posted January 26, 2011 Chris, Yeah, they are top notch and classy. We didn't have the sweet tamales but did enjoy dinner with beef tamales one evening. He did bring in some sweets made locally and even rice flan prepared by his wife, and pies prepared by his daughter. Justo Sr surprised us with a quart of re-fried beans and six dozen flour tortillas to each of us when we left. Needless to say, I've been enjoying them since! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AZbowhntr Report post Posted January 26, 2011 Awesome write-up Hector. Man that looks like it was a blast. Boy are the wheels turning in the head. Phil looks like he got a little sun there. Congrats again. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cramerhunts Report post Posted January 26, 2011 Absolutely wonderful recap and write up of our hunt Hector! Great job on the story and pictures. Congratulations on a truly unique buck and one to be very proud of. I can't thank you enough for joining us this year on our annual trek south. I can't wait for us to do it again real soon as I believe this to be one of the best hunts I've been on in a long time. And yes I did get some serious sun...the last week was hot! Made it almost tuff to stay hydrated I am almost done uploading the video and editing it down to a reasonable fourteen minutes so I'll have my post up soon but Chef has done a great job with the pictures and story so I'll just try and add what hasn't been seen yet. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pine Donkey Report post Posted January 26, 2011 Chef, Looks like a great time, and buck. Glad to see you didn't starve. Thanks for sharing the story and pictures. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tjhunt2 Report post Posted January 26, 2011 Would you look at the height of those antlers. There was no way you could have passed on that beauty. You did a fabulous job of the post Hector and the details make me want to rob a bank and book a hunt down there. I just might go for the food that looks so goooooooooooooood. Sounds like everyone had a great time on their hunt and stay with Justo sr's family. Thanks for sharing and don't wait so long next time to post up. jk TJ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CouesWhitetail Report post Posted January 26, 2011 Wow, great post Hector!! Wish I had been there with you guys! It doesn't get any better than that. I am glad you got to do two weeks rather than the standard 5 day hunt. I love hunting in Mexico!! The people, the food, the quality of deer, and the beauty of the country all combine to make a great experience. Thanks for "taking us along with you" through your post. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
