hunter4life Report post Posted November 1, 2011 I finished a good hunt with my dad last weekend. We glassed up a bear with her 3 cubs and got to watch them for a few minutes as they climbed up the opposite side of the canyon. That was a lot of fun. Then we were making a water run to what we thought was a pretty large reliable water source. Mostly mud and some green water, but it tasted okay. We found 6 of these little turtles in the small remaining puddle of water. I think they are Sonoran mud turtles from what I looked up on the internet. That evening we glassed up two good bucks at 1300 yards. A long stalk down a canyon over a saddle and up the back side of the ridge they were on ended up in success. This plan would put us right on the bucks at close range. I was leading and I saw one of the bucks stand up out of his bed at 30 yards. I threw up the gun and shot, but could not see much due to the cloud of smoke that enveloped us. After my shot the second buck jumped out of his bed at about 15 yards and was over the edge in 2 bounds. My dad ran to the edge of the canyon, found the buck and it made the fatal mistake of stopping at 200 yards to look back. I then searched for my buck, which had only made it about 15 feet before piling up in the grass. They were both kind of strange in that neither deer had eyeguards. I have never seen a mature coues without eyeguards before this. Mine taped out at 88" and my dad's was 92". Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
izquik72 Report post Posted November 1, 2011 Thats great a smokepole double!! The bears and the turtles are definatley a nice bonus. glad you had a great outing with your pappy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tjhunt2 Report post Posted November 1, 2011 Nothing like hunting with Dad. Congrats and thanks for the awesome pictures of the bears. TJ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cramerhunts Report post Posted November 1, 2011 Congratulations on a couple of very nice bucks. Looks like it was a great time judging from your pics. Always nice spending time with your dad and throwing in some wildlife and beautiful country is a super bonus. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OpticNerd Report post Posted November 1, 2011 Nice bucks! No eye guards on either buck there's something you don't see to often. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coach Report post Posted November 1, 2011 Awesome! Looks like a great time with your dad. Doesn't get any better than that. BTW, that sure looks like some familiar country! My son and I found some of those turtles 2 years ago about that size. Unfortunately, that water source was all dried up this year and there were several dead turtles around it. Congrats on some great looking bucks and an awesome hunt. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lucky2hunt Report post Posted November 1, 2011 Congrats on the great hunt with your dad! I love all the bonus pictures, bears are cool but those turtles are awesome! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nighthawk Report post Posted November 2, 2011 +1 on eye guards ... Nice bucks!! Nice work!! Coues are normaly known for there beautiful eye guards . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brian Payne Report post Posted November 2, 2011 Nice job and good pictures! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pine Donkey Report post Posted November 2, 2011 Congratulations on two nice bucks. I love the pictures of the bear party. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AZantlerhead Report post Posted November 2, 2011 Looksa like a trip to remember, congrats on a smokin double! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chef Report post Posted November 2, 2011 Nice! Short and sweet! Congrats to you and your Dad on your success. Good shootin too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cvw789 Report post Posted November 12, 2011 Thats realy cool and some nice looking bucks. Congrats cole Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
.270 Report post Posted November 18, 2011 great story. i love to see it when folks pay attention to everything when they're hunting. there is a lotta stuff to see besides your prey. looks like you and your ol' man had fun. last year in colorado my son shot a pronghorn and i was by the guts the next day and turtle was eatin' the guts. Lark. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hunter4life Report post Posted November 20, 2011 Thanks for all the comments. It sure was a fun hunt. The deer steaks and sausage that I made, have made for some good meals. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites