23 Year Drought Over!

[Heat]

After 23 years on and off of hunting deer with a bow and arrow, I finally managed to get it done! I killed my first mule deer buck on Monday January 2, 2012.

 

Conditions were extremely windy and helped me get in my comfortable range of this deer. I made a 40 yard shot and the deer made it about 100 yards before piling up.

 

There are a few folks that I want to recognize. First my family and my girlfriend Amanda, for putting up with my bowhunting addiction. Second, my buddy Marvin, who is one of the best hunting buddies a guy could ask for. Thanks for helping with those front quarters Marv! Finally there are a few standout guys that have inspired me to keep at it and have given me lots of great advice and motivation like Roy Grace, Jake Ensign, Bill Allard, Marvin Zeiser, and Dick King! Thanks for all!

 

DIY, public land Mule Deer buck! Don't get much better than that!

 

Nick

 

Here's the long version:

On this particular trip we planned on returning to a spot where my buddy killed a javelina and I had a few shots at them in the past. Marv got there the day before I did and did a little poking around not seeing much. I arrived on the New Years Eve. I set up the tent and camp and was ready to go for the next two and a half days or so. It was nice when I showed up but as the day turned to night the temps dropped and the wind kicked up. It was so bad I got up in the middle of the night I got up to try to fix the tent fly so it wouldn't flap so bad. I didn't really rest all that well compared to how I normally do. I thought it was going to be a nice change from the freezing temps we endured in the last javi season.

 

Opening morning was really windy still. I had a quick snack and bit of coffee and I headed out. I was packing my 15s around and tried to sit and glass as much as possible but the wind made that pretty tough. I also figured whatever was around might be holding pretty tight to cover and not moving much. I covered a bit more country with the boots and the glass, not turning anything up. Went back to camp and ate some lunch and got ready for another session. That evening I didn't see anything either, but felt that with the near constant 20-30 mile per hour winds, it would give me a little more leg up than usual. Didn't see any javis but did see a few set of tracks that weren't too old and some digging, so the javelina were around somewhere. Marv saw a buck that morning as well so things weren't all that bad.

 

The next morning on the second day I went more towards some flatter country rather than some of the bigger hills where we had seen the javis before. I made it up one glassing spot and spent some time but realized I would probably have a much better vantage to glass from on the next ridge. This is where it gets funny. So I get up on the next ridge over and I'm heated up and ready to take the thicker layers off. I also had nature call so I dropped a deuce. Since I was on top of the hill I tried my phone and saw that I had service so I called my girlfriend. After all that I packed it back up and started heading for another spot to look from. I hadn't made it 50 yards from my glassing/break spot when I spotted a buck just a short ways over the crest of the little hill on the ridge I was on. I couldn't believe it.

 

I slowly knelt to one knee and got my rangefinder out. He was 54 yards away. Some might have taken a shot from there but I felt it was best for me to wait. I was behind an ocotillo and there was a short palo verde just a few yards ahead. There was also a big saguaro that somewhat gave me some cover. The buck I don't think ever noticed exactly what I was and the wind was gusting my scent way beyond his scent zone. I kept analyzing my next move and all I could come up with was just wait and see what he does. I also was slowly moving towards the palo verde in front of me to give me just that little bit of extra cover. The whole time after I ranged him, I had an arrow knocked and ready to draw. After what seemed like an eternity I noticed some more movement down below me even closer. It was a doe. "Awesome" I thought. A huge distraction for the buck. I think the doe might have been ready to move out and the buck stayed with her. They stood there for another minute or two then the doe started to come my way, even more upwind and into much better shooting terrain. As they were passing by another palo verde about 40 yards away, I drew back. As the buck cleared the tree they stopped and I realized this was it. I put my pin on him and the next thing I know I hear the arrow hit him. I felt pretty sure I hit him, but with some of my previous experiences a lot of what ifs went through my head.

 

As I watched the doe and the buck bail out, I noticed the buck starting to get really hunched on his leaps. They just started to get out of sight over a small rise when I saw the buck start to tumble. Right then I knew I had killed my first archery deer. I screamed out loud "Oh F-sharp Ya" in jubilation.

 

So I tagged the buck, took some pics off the pack and started cutting him up. I got the hind quarters and the backstraps out with me on my first load in my Kifaru Late Season. My friend came back with me and we grabbed the fronts and the head and some trim. We ate a delicious meal of fresh backstraps that night in the blowing wind. They got cold fast but meat never tasted so good as it did that night.

 

I stayed up well past 1 AM that night running the day's events over and over in my head staring at the deer and the stars and drinking a few choice ales.

 

I am incredibly stoked beyond belief and have accomplished something that at times seamed impossible but nonetheless within reach if I just kept putting myself in positions where I could get it done. This particular hunt it just all came together. Now if I could just kill a javi!

 

 

 

Here is a pic of the arrow as I found it.

 

 

Here is the bloodtrail.

 

 

As I found him.

 

 

Happy Hunter!

 

 

One more with the bow!

 

[rclouse79]

Nice Job! That has to be a sweet sweet feeling after 23 years.

[mcelkhunter]

Congratulations!! That is a good looking deer. When I first saw your post I started jumping for joy thinking that Arizona was going to get some more rain!!

[Tines]

Congrats, Nick! Big body on that sucker!!

[azdesert rat]

23 years that isnt a drought thats a desert,lol well if any one would deserve to get a deer itd be you, if 23 yrs isnt persistance i dont know what is, big congrats

[John O]

Awesome! Way to go.

[Pine Donkey]

Watch out! Often a drought is followed by a flood! Congratulations.

[izquik72]

Super congrats

Way to stick with it Very nice buck by the way. Nice, wide, big bodied, mature buck!!

[bigorange]

Nice buck congrats. I'm looking to end a similar drought...just under 20 years, but I took more time off than I would have liked. Finally getting back into it the past couple years.

[azcouesfanatic]

Way to stay after it. Looks like a great buck.

 

Brian

[ADDICT]

You earned that guy! Nice work!

[CouesWhitetail]

AWESOME!

[briant_az]

Man all these pictures of muleys is really making me want to shoot one!

[Chef]

Congrats on your bow buck.

I like that type of country.

[Coues79]

That's awesome! Sure isn't easy slipping one in on good buck like that. Congrats!