My December Hunt

[BirdDog20]

Born and raised in Tucson, I grew up with an appreciation for the mountains of Southern AZ. Finally moved away after college in '95, but I always come back every year for deer season. Too bad I couldn't afford a lifetime license back then, I would have saved a fortune. Every year, instead of forking over $96.25, it runs $384. That $675 cost for the lifetime would have paid for itself many times over in the last 16 years. But hunting Arizona for the challenge and camaraderie is part of my heritage and I hope I can pass it off to my son as well. At 74, I'm nearing the end of an era hunting with my dad. He stays in shape for hunting (and bowling) ... but how much longer could it last? Gotta enjoy it while you can! And besides I could never hunt in Texas over a feeder.

 

Anyway, I was fortunate enough to draw a late hunt tag (36B). First one in 10 years. Drive in from Houston area was grueling. 12 hours to get across Texas to El Paso alone. Left Wednesday and got to my dad's house 22 hours later (usually takes 17ish - but i must be getting old ... had to pull over to nap. Better safe than sorry). Took Dec7 - Dec18 off for the drive / hunt.

 

Day 1 - Saw 18 deer, including 3 bucks. First thing in the morning, had a shot at a decent buck, but I let him go looking for a 100pt head. I couldn't see the eyeguards or the 3rd point out at 600 yards. But he did have some mass. Attached 2 pics which I enlarged. A little blurry ...

 

 

I thought it was an old forkie past his prime, so i hiked up the mountain and jumped a decent 3x3 twice. It didn't have mass, so I let him go as well. My dad's 74 now, so he doesn't go on the crazy hikes like I do any more ... anyway that original buck fed down to ~ 250 to 300 and turned out to be a decent 3pter (so he says). I think he just wanted me to take him. Lol.

 

 

Day 2 - Not much doing. Went higher up on the mountain, but it was blustery and tough to glass. Just saw a bunch of doe.

 

Day 3 - Went down to Pena Blanca. Big mistake. He had heard there was a burn, but we didn't realize just how severe it was. Amazing. I wish I took pictures. Funny how the deer trails recovered first ... you could see the yellow grass paths going all over, but it was desolate. Took the opportunity to drive Ruby Rd and many of the 4x4 trails off it. Some great looking country that i've never seen before. I was impressed with what the Border Patrol had set up with the sentry outposts high atop the peaks. My dad and I joked that they may have set the fire because it sure made it a heck of a lot easier to keep a visual on all the cuts and draws.

 

Day 4 - Went back to an area down Arivaca Rd. This was the start of the rain. Great looking country, but I think the rain had the deer in a different pattern. I got soaked as I tried to walk them up after not glassing up anything. The deer ended up being in the bottom of the cuts out of the weather (and out of sight). At least I validated that they were there.

 

Day 5 - Dang rain ... harder than the previous day. I love that the rains had come. The country needed it ... but dammit, couldn't it come during the week i'm not hunting. . Learned my lesson from the previous day. Tried glassing from the truck. Made a makeshift shelter out of the extra scraps of emergency ponchos.

 

 

Day 6 - Rain finally stopped, but not much doing. Just a handful of doe. Met a hunter from Utah who took a nice 85-90ish head. I'll have to post it later. Cool to see one of the other 4 non-res hunters in 36B.

 

Day 7 - Last day. Went back to try to find the first buck as my dad said he was heavier than the one Utah took. Sat all morning into the afternoon, but didn't see him. Then started slowly climbing out of the canyon we had been hunting. I look up and saw a doe silhouetted on a heavy ocotillo hill. Didn't see anything else around, so we started moving again and two other doe spooked out. I look up again and there he is. I could see him looking down, ears alert, could see the rack / curl. I could only see his face and neck clearly. Super thick. I thought I could see the top of his back and thought there was a prickly pear hiding the rest of his body. I ended up aiming for where his front shoulder should have been and let go a round. And ... like that, he was gone. I got up there and there was rocks in the way. No blood. Anyway, that's the bitter sweet end to my hunt. If i would have shot at his throat through the only clear opening I had, I could have dropped him.

 

Incidentally the deer i shot last year was 325 in a crosswind angling into me a bit and i hit him at the base of his spike and turned him into a unicorn. No wasted meat! But I was leery about shooting this one and hitting him high. The shot setup was makeshift as we were on the broadside of a hill and he knew something wasn't quite right.

 

The plus side is that he should make it another year.

 

Sorry for the length.

 

Since I have no pictures of dead deer, i can only offer some scenic pics :

Experimenting with panoramic mode on my camera.

 

Fog rolling in on us.

 

 

My dad's makeshift stove to make hot chocolate up on the mountain. Everything collapses back into the can. Nice to heat up rocks for a hand warmer too. Lol.

 

 

[SDHunter11]

Nice story. I too am an out of state hunter that forks over the $400 every year to hunt the place I grew up in! I really enjoyed your scenic photos (makes me a little home sick). Even though you didn't put one down, it still seemed as though you enjoyed the adventure. Good hunt.

 

Oh, and nice stove set up, that thing is cool.

[Elkaddict]

Neat story and pictures, your walking stick looks exactly like mine.

[Coach]

Great write-up and pictures. Glad you could make it home for another hunt, and hunting with your dad as he gets older is priceless, regarless of whether you get a deer or not. I lived in Tucson while going to college and also eventually ended up in Houston. Funny how you can drive through all that hill country heading back to AZ hoping you don't run into deer (literally) because they are all over the highway like opossum and armadillo, then get here and hope you can find them.

 

It only took a year in Houston to realize it wasn't a good fit for me. Lots of hunting and fishing, but it was all private and kind of "pay-per-day" to fish, or join a club to hunt. I missed the thousands of square miles of public land we have out here, where you can just jump on a 4x4 road and drive all day without worrying private property issues - at least in most units.

 

Anyway, enjoyed the pics and story. My dad is 68 now and we don't get out much together these days - not as much as I'd like. He's still very active for his age, but he's way more into fly fishing these days and doesn't even put in for AZ hunts these days.

[BirdDog20]

Those hiking sticks are invaluable. Lol. I've used that one for about 12 years (at least). Painted it to make it darker and put a rubber stopper from a crutch to soften the sound. My dad put a javelina snout on the top of his (ha - no thanks!) I use mine all the time to break trails and to steady my bino's for a quick glass when I'm still hunting so i don't have to break out the tripod from the pack. We still carry our deer out whole and that third leg has save me countless times from taking a tumble.

 

My dad ended up driving back with me for the holidays. Going dove hunting tomorrow ... my treat. Funny you mention the deer in the hill country Coach. Saw several in the middle of the night on the side of the road ... one made buck was super nice and made me go "woah". At the same time, I'm just hoping they don't get spooked and jump out in front of us only to end up in our lap.

 

Always a great trip and I appreciate any time I get back there. Thanks for the comments.

[CouesWhitetail]

Excellent write-up and photos! I like reading about the whole hunt whether you kill or not. It's great you get out there with your dad!

[bonecollector]

Nice write up. Thanks for sharing your hunt and pictures.