The Puzzle Rock Buck

[CouesWhitetail]

 

The Puzzle Rock Buck

My 2010 Oct. Coues hunt

 

I was exceedingly weak when I finally arrived at the Emergency Room. I had been doubled over in excruciating pain for about the last 12 hours and it was taking a serious toll on me. The ride down the bumpy, dirt road from Young to Globe was never so long as on that day. But we had made it to the ER and I was glad to be near medical help. After multiple tests they finally diagnosed me with gallstones and suggested surgery was the only fix. So I was scheduled for the surgery the next day and fortunately all went well. I was released to recover at home with orders not to lift anything heavy for 6 weeks until the stomach muscles cut for the surgery had time to heal. So how does this relate to a hunting story? Well, normally for several months before my hunts I take progressively heavier backpacks on progressively longer and steeper hikes in order to get in shape for my Coues hunts. Now with this unplanned surgery, I could not train as I usually do. I was worried I wouldn’t be in good enough shape to make it up the large mountains that we always climb on my hunts. We had planned to do a backpack hunt and I was worried my stomach muscles wouldn’t even let me lift a heavy pack. After the required 6 weeks rest, I had a few weeks left to train and one of those weeks I would be in New Hampshire on a family vacation eating way too much food! I did what I could and felt ok, but not really ready by the time my hunt came around.

 

My good friend Scott Adams had spent the summer checking trail cameras, as well as regularly glassing areas to find some good bucks for the three of us that had tags (me, Scott, and Trent). We basically had three areas (one for each of us) we were going to hunt and right before the hunt in Sept, Scott got a nice buck on trail cam in the area that is my favorite. This was the 2nd biggest buck Scott had seen during his preseason scouting.

 

Here is a picture of him (he is a very big-bodied Coues with some very nice antlers). Note the bladed 2nd tine on his right antler, that’s how I figured we would identify this buck during the hunt.

 

 

 

Look how big he looks compared to this young mule deer buck.

 

 

 

Opening day found me in my office frantically trying to get caught up on work, but Scott and Trent went out to an area where Trent killed a nice buck last year. We have seen lots of bucks in that area, but on that day, they only saw does. I showed up late that night and Scott was all pumped up to go into “my” area after that buck he had on camera.

 

For the first time ever, I showed up at hunting camp without having had time to sight-in my trusty .270. I figured I would just do it one afternoon during the hunt when we had some down time. I hadn't expected to hit "my area" the first morning, but that's how it was playing out now. Luckily, Trent had a very nice .257 ackley improved that he had dialed in for long range shooting and he was gracious enough to not only let me use it but he volunteered to carry it up the mtn until I needed it. Thanks Trent!

 

So after a long hike in we get to the designated glassing spot and start glassing. I quickly spot a small buck, but right after that the sun starts peeking over the mtn and blocks our view of the buck and where he is going. He was moving fairly quickly but now we can’t monitor where he is going or if there are more bucks with him. So we anxiously glass what we can while waiting for the sun to give us a break and let us see into the ridge the buck was on. Well, by the time the sun had risen enough for us to see there, the buck is nowhere to be found.

 

Me glassing:

 

 

We continue glassing and the clouds roll in and the wind picks up. We can’t find any deer and it’s getting frustrating. It's starting to feel like this won't be the day we find the buck. Scott and Trent decide to nap but I keep glassing because I am too cold now to sleep! Austin moves to a different area to glass something new. About 11 am he calls on the radio to say he sees a couple does. That call wakes Scott up and now he is rested and ready to get back to work. He gets behind his 30’s and boom! spots a buck moving downhill not far from where the little buck was. “That’s him!”, Scott says. I look through the 30s and see he is indeed a nice buck. Scott gets Trent on the buck, while I pack up my gear so we can move on him fast. Trent will monitor the buck while Scott and I motor over there to try and get a shot before he disappears.

 

We get across the canyon about 400 yards from the buck and start thinking about where to setup. Suddenly the buck is running!!! What the ????? It doesn’t seem like the buck is aware of us at all. He had looked higher up on the mtn and seemed spooked by something completely unrelated to us. Earlier in the morning we had seen a few hunters up on that ridge and so perhaps they were moving and spooked the deer. Or perhaps we bumped some deer on our side of the canyon and they ran and we never knew it but the buck did? I don’t know but I could plainly see this buck running very fast away and over the ridge across from us. Our only option is to make a long loop up and around to get on another ridge to look back into the canyon where he went. When we finally get to that other ridge, Scott immediately sees a small buck standing in the open in the sun looking very nervous. We figure that buck had been with the bigger buck and so we start picking apart the area around that small buck trying to find him. At least a ½ hour goes by and that buck isn’t moving a muscle and is still staring hard in the same place. Surely the other buck is right in there somewhere! I figure if we can just find him, there is a good chance that the big buck will just be standing still in the open like this little one is. We glass and glass to no avail.

 

Finally I decide to move down the ridge and try and get some other views of the ridge the buck is on and perhaps see into the next canyon over. So we move down and glass some new areas. It doesn't take too long before I spot the buck on a third ridge completely across the very large canyon from the little buck. Hard to believe he ran that far from where we first saw him! But there he was standing frozen in place (just like the little buck) in the open on a very steep ridge. It takes me awhile to decide whether it really is the same buck and that I indeed do want to shoot him. Once I confirm that he has the bladed G-2 on his right antler and see the big fork on the end of his left, I make up my mind to take him. Time is ticking….the buck has probably been standing there stock-still for as long as we were watching that small buck earlier (maybe 40 mins?) and we are wondering how much longer we will have before he spooks. It’s a real wonder he hasn’t seen us working down this ridge. Scott helps me setup in some rocks for the 370 yard shot. It’s very windy where we are and we spend some time trying to figure where to hold for the shot. Trent has target turrets on his 18x scope and I dial it in for the yardage and aim for a high shoulder shot. I try and slow my breathing and steady myself on the somewhat wobbling rocks I am using under the front and butt of the gun. BOOM!! “You nailed him! He is down!” Scott yells out. “Really??”, I ask having never shot this particular gun before in my life. I look and see the buck rolling down the steep slope, but I get ready for another shot just in case. We watch and the buck keeps rolling and rolling….it’s a lot steeper over there than we had thought! Now we both start worrying that he will break his tines while rolling down the steep rocky slope. He finally stops rolling and I can’t see him anymore in the bushes. Scott can see parts of him from where he is and says the buck is down for sure! I am pumped!! I never kill on the first day of the hunt! It’s hard to believe that just a few days ago I was in Maine looking at the ocean and now I have just taken a nice Coues buck at 7,000 feet elevation on a big mountain in Arizona!

 

Now, of course, the hard part starts and it takes us probably 45 minutes to hike over to that buck. (Yes…that’s right 45 mins to go little more than 400 yards!) We wade through a lot of short but thick patches of gambel oak and brush to get to him. Wow, what a beautiful buck! He is even bigger than I thought. Gorgeous dark antlers with a great coat too. I spend a lot of time admiring him as does Scott. I give Scott a big hug and thank him for his help. What a great hunt!

 

It's so steep we had to use a large boulder to keep the deer from rolling farther.

 

 

 

This buck had tons of fat on him...very healthy buck.

 

 

 

yummy backstrap....

 

 

It's dark about the time we start the hike back to the ATVs. We have about 3 miles and 1500 ft in elevation change to go. It's an exhausting hike out, but a happy one anyway! I am wearing my saftey green CouesWhitetail.com shirt and Austin said he could see me like a beacon coming out even though he was probably over a mile away.

 

I think about how only about 10 weeks prior I was laying barely able to move in the surgery recovery room. Thank God for the advances in medicine that made it possible to recover that quickly.

 

I have hunted this particular spot for several years and I love it. The ridge that I shot the buck on is one that I often glass but have never seen a deer on it. But it looks good to me, so I keep checking it now and then. Sure am glad I did that day!

 

Being the stud that Scott is, he offers to pack out my buck for me and even though I had just cleared out my pack to make room to pack it out myself, I relent and let him do the work. Thank you Scott! Well on the way out, Scott is hiking above me when he suddenly realizes that we just killed this buck below Puzzle Rock. The funny thing is that earlier that morning while Scott was glassing he saw that rock and thought how cool it would be if we killed a buck near that rock because then we could call it the Puzzle Rock Buck. He never mentioned that thought to me until the moment he was hiking out and saw the rock. How cool is that??

 

here is a pic of the puzzle rock...

 

and Scott packing the buck out by Puzzlerock...

 

 

And this hunt story just keeps getting better and better because as we are hiking out Scott starts thinking that the sheds we have found in that area in the last couple years are from this buck. And lo and behold, we compare the buck and the sheds when we get back and indeed they are from this buck. So now I have one single and one matched set of sheds from this buck. But wait….it gets even better…..a few months later while his son was trying to arrow a muley buck, Austin finds another shed from my buck and I think it may be last year’s shed. So now I will have three years of sheds and the buck! SWEEEEET!!

 

So thank you to Trent, Scott and Austin for making this an amazing hunt to remember. We continued hunting after I got my buck, but unfortunately never found the bucks that Scott and Trent were looking for. But we definitely had some great backpacking adventures, so here’s to some wonderful hunting buddies ….surely you remember the kool-aid cup….LOL!

[luvcoues]

amanda, huge congrats on a great buck. awesome write up.those memories with great friends will last for life. whats your buck score? jim

[CouesWhitetail]

amanda, huge congrats on a great buck. awesome write up.those memories with great friends will last for life. whats your buck score? jim

 

 

He is a little bigger than I thought...before I killed him I was guessing he would go less than 104, but he is 106. Neat buck and I love having his sheds which we found in prior years. That's the first time I have had multiple years of sheds from a buck I have shot.

[lucky2hunt]

Amazing buck and great story! So cool you have the trail cam pictures, all those sheds, and now him! Way to get after it, looks like crazy steep country!!! Once again, congrats!!!!

[Coues D]

Nice Story and a great buck Amanda, congrats!! I've spent a little time with Scott on my elk hunt and I really enjoyed his company and his hunting ability, great guy..

 

Thanks for sharing...Brandon

[Chef]

Great write up Amanda.

that puzzle rock is cool!

Looks like some great coues country there.

[creed_az_88]

Awesome story. Awesome pics. Awesome buck. Congrats.

[cramerhunts]

That's so cool to have trail cam pics, sheds, and now the buck! Awesome buck and a huge congrats to you on a job well done! It just doesn't get any better then having great hunting partners and friends. That puzzle rock is really something, thanks for sharing the story and pictures!

[Weston]

Great write up and beautiful buck good job!

[billrquimby]

Great story, beautiful buck, Amanda. Congratulations. Wish I still could walk and climb. I truly miss hunting our special little deer.

 

Bill Quimby

[308Nut]

Awesome. Just plain awesome.

[pwrguy]

Awesome buck and write up, congrat's Amanda.

[hunterdude]

Cool story and its nice to have good hunting buddies like that! Congrats to all !

[CouesWhitetail]

here is a trail cam pic of my buck the year before

 

[Sam]

You earned this one. Great deer. Who needs a rut hunt to get a big Coues?