pwrguy Report post Posted December 31, 2011 Great looking buck Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ultramag Report post Posted December 31, 2011 Well that's a Personal best isn't it? That's all you want just get one better than the last . Congrats that is a good buck especially since bigger bucks are getting scarce in that area 2400 tags a year nice bucks are going to be few and far between you did something worth being proud of Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lionhunter Report post Posted December 31, 2011 Well done... I can see why you thought he was better that that. Congrats. Whitey Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
25-06 Report post Posted December 31, 2011 Right on Casey, Dang nice buck are you gunna mount it? I know I would. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jeff Welker Report post Posted December 31, 2011 Congrats on your great buck. No worries about the 105, he'll just be bigger next year Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
standman Report post Posted December 31, 2011 That's a real pretty buck Casey! Congrats and very nice pictures too! Brian Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cramerhunts Report post Posted December 31, 2011 Congratulations again on a dang nice buck! That 100+ will happen soon enough and when it does oh how sweet it will be Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Str8Shot Report post Posted December 31, 2011 Nice buck all the same even shy of that 100 mark ... Way to keep going at it ! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jnobleinaz Report post Posted December 31, 2011 really nice buck casey! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AZ RANGER Report post Posted December 31, 2011 Great buck Casey Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
firstcoueswas80 Report post Posted December 31, 2011 Alright, a little bit more of the story: Opening weekend, myself, and my buddy Sergio saw 72 deer in 2 days. Not a single inch of horn! Sunday, Phil (cramerhunts) came out and we went back into one of my honey holes... Where I killed my buck last year. Well, we finally saw some horn, but it wasnt much at all. We got rained out Monday so we came back for to town. I went out the next weekend, didnt see much. I did manage to slip a TTSX through a coyote at 537 (this comes into play later on). I BARELY hit him, shooting high.... Christmas day I went out and dropped the trailer off and came back into town. The 26th, I met Brian (azpackhorsewhoifyournotcarefulwillwalkyoutomexico) and Codywhi in Amado and off we went to one of Brians honeyholes... It wasnt long before we were seeing bucks, and finally bucks that were breaking the 80" threshold. Not 5 minutes after we got to the good glassing spot, Brian is whistling at me telling me to get over to him. This immedatiely gets my heart going as I know Brian knows how to find bigguns' and he knows what I am looking for. This GORGEOUS 3x3 steps out and I stare and him, and stare at him and stare at him. With a lot of discussion, we all agree he is 97-99" but we can not for sure squeeze 100" out of him, so I (after 2-3 hours of peer pressure) decide to let him pass. When he walks over the hill he looks better than ever and I think to myself I just let a 100"er go. I tell the guys I will shoot him if he shows up again. He does show up again, but at 683 which is too far. The doe he was with decides she doesnt like that hillside and retreats. We stay on that hillside until it is time to make the 2 mile hike out, all in all seeing 13 bucks. On the hike out, we make a few pit stops to glass. At the first one, I see 3 bucks run across an opening one being a no brainer, possibly reaching the 110" area. We take a day off from the area, go into another one and see some nice bucks, 5 between 85-95" which I let walk. The next day (Wednesday) Jim and I hike back into the area looking for the buck I passed on, or the one that I saw on the run. When we get to the main glassing spot, I glass a no brainer in about a minute. One quick glance through the spotting scope and it is affirmed, he is a shooter. The buck is standing at 533 yards (this is where the coyote comes into play). Thinking I was hitting a little high, I decided to twist the turret to the 500 yard marker instead of 525... Well, when I launch the first bullet, Jim calls my shot high. A couple clicks down on the turret, and he says that one went low and off walks the buck. After some discussion, he says he thinks the first one went low as well and just played a trick on him. IF I would have spun the turret to where I should have, that buck would probably be wearing my tag. Jim and I think this buck would have gone between 103-108" (and I think it was NOT the same buck from the day prior), A about an hour later, Jim makes an awesome spot on a really nice buck bedded down about 1100 yards away. After throwing the spotter on him, I decided we need a closer look. We make our way to 480 yards, but are on the side of a 30* canyon and I really have no way to get prone to shoot this buck from his bed. From this spot, we agree he is really tall, kind of narrow, but has matching kickers that look to be 2-3" long off of his G2's... He needs to die. When this buck stands up, we were still trying to engineer a shooting position. After he laid back down, we decided to give up a few yards of range, and get on top of the canyon and get prone. We were a ways back there, and it was getting late. We both agree on a time for the buck to stand up, and if he stood up in time, he would die. Well, he didnt! Bright and early, Jim and I were on our way back up the nearly vertical mountain. From our first glassing spot, we glassed up the same 85" buck we had been seeing, which I kept in mind, just in case.... When we got to our main spot it was dead. The same ridge that 2 days prior held 16 bucks didnt hold anything but one lone coyote walking through. We found 2 does and that was it. At 1130 we agreed we were probably wasting our time and were going to head out to a new area. We made our normal pit stops to glass. Right off the bat, I glassed up 2 seperate does... About 5 minutes later I had another deer... When he turned his head I knew it was a good buck, worth a look. When I threw the spotter on him, he looked really nice, like the buck I missed. I got excited and ranged him, 525 read the Leica. I got Jim on him, the ear plug in and was ready to rock and roll. When he stopped licking himself, I sent a TTSX his way and I saw him go belly up and roll down the canyon. Jim said he could see the bullet impact and knew the deer was not going anywhere. The bullet took out 2 ribs, both lungs, and a chunk of spine... The buck didnt feel a thing, or take another breath. Now came the interesting part... Finding the downed deer on a STEEP, THICK hillside. Surprisngly to both Jim and I, it only took about an hour to get around the canyon, down the canyon, and recover him. He rolled about 75-100 yards and didnt break a single tine! When we got to him, I had my first case of ground shrinkage. We were both expecting to walk up to a solid 105" class buck. We were shocked when we found he was smaller than we agreed he was. A gorgeous deer, and Im proud to put my tag on him. The real work then began getting him taken care of, cut in half, loaded in the packs and out we went. The first 200 yards out the bottom of the canyon was oh so fun! All in all it was a tough, but enjoyable hunt. Started out slow, but I ended up seeing and passing on roughly 40 bucks, some I shouldnt have passed and some I should have. I enjoyed every minute of the hunt and as stated earlier a special thanks to Jim, Brian, Cody, Phil, Sergio, and Sean. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BirdDog20 Report post Posted December 31, 2011 Congrats. Really nice buck. I'm glad all the hard work paid off for you. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coues 'n' Sheep Report post Posted December 31, 2011 Congrats on a whole buck!! Whooo Haaaa! Sounds like you had a good hunt, too! Happy New Years! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TAM Report post Posted December 31, 2011 Congrats on a great looking buck and a great shot! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tjhunt2 Report post Posted December 31, 2011 Congratulations Casey on your buck. Sounds to me like you had a fun hunt with a few friends and that's what it's all about right there. Sharing your success and thanking those who helped shows your character Casey. TJ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
