My first archery coues (long read) added live pics

[MDH]

Like many others I have always wanted to kill an archery coues spot and stalk. This was the year I was going to focus and hit it hard. I started hunting the Tuesday after Christmas. I had the whole week off and was going to hunt everyday all day. I called my buddy and asked him about an area that they had been in and had seen a big buck in the week before Christmas. I went out to try and locate the buck they had seen. The first day out I glassed a buck that I really wanted to try and kill. He was an upper 90’s 2X3. I couldn’t close the distance the first day due to it getting dark. I was out sitting the next morning sitting there waiting for it to get light enough to glass. I picked the buck up right at daylight with two does and got my plans for my stalk together. I started to work my way up the bottom and was at 110 yards from the buck when all of the sudden one of the does saw something up the canyon that she didn’t like. She flagged and trotted over the ridge with the buck in tow. I made a loop around to try and glass the buck on the other side. I slowly made my way through a saddle and could already see two does on the hillside in front of me. I assumed that it was the same does that the buck was with. I watched the does for 5 minutes and still hadn’t seen the buck. I figured that he had bedded down since it was now around 11AM. I started to sneak down on the two feeding does when I caught movement off to my right. I froze and could see 3 deer at 150 yards. I pulled up my binos and could see it was the buck and his two does and they had me pegged. The does soon took off flagging and they all ran back over the ridge where I had stalked them earlier that morning. I looked down at the other two does and now there was a little buck with them. I decided to stalk the buck for fun but I wasn’t going to shoot him. I stalked up to 17 yards of the feeding 2 point before I got caught. The next morning I was glassing the ridge for the big 2X3 and finally picked him up at around 930. I was able to stalk to 80 yards when a little buck fed up to my right and behind me and ran right through the middle of the buck and his does. I watched them run off and decided to sit and glass to the north. I immediately picked up a buck chasing does at around 1200 yards. I got the spotting scope on him and decided that he was a low to mid 90’s solid 3 point with big eye guards. I took off and was soon within 150 yards of the feeding buck and his 6 does. I dropped my pack in the wash and sat and watched the buck bed on the edge of some trees while all the does were still feeding. It was starting to look good as all the does started to feed away from the bedded buck and I soon had the does on the other side of the point. It was now just me and the buck. I started up the ridge and was now 47 yards from the bedded buck. All I had to do now was wait him out. The wind had been steady out of the north all morning when all of the sudden the infamous swirl. The buck jumped out of his bed and never looked back. I was very disappointed now. It was now dec. 31 and I had my dad with me as we glassed for the big 2X3. We started glassing the canyon and only glassed 1 little buck. We then moved over to the big bowl and glassed 5 does and another little buck. My dad soon glassed the good 3 point I had stalked the day earlier out chasing does but with only half a day to hunt we wouldn’t have time to stalk him before having to get back. I asked my dad if he would keep hunting in January if he was me( I have 10 bp’s for deer). He said that I would be crazy to quit hunting the two bucks. It was now Jan. 10 and I hadn’t seen the big 2X3 the last 3 times out and was now worried that he had left. As I was walking in that afternoon to glass I stopped to glass way down the canyon and could see a buck chasing a doe, it was the big 2X3. I went up through the saddle to head towards the buck and jumped a bedded 85 inch 3 point at 40 yards. I wanted to look into the big bowl that always produced deer on my way to the big 2X3. As I glassed across the bowl I could see a deer just getting out of its bed and about to walk out into the open. I nearly dropped my binos as the buck walked out into the sun. I quickly set up the tripod and spotting scope and knew the buck would crack 105. I looped back out and was crawling in on the buck. He had a hot doe he was chasing and a little buck that kept chasing her also. I made it to 80 yards and could see the doe now feeding. The big buck all the sudden appeared chasing the little buck right at me. The little buck was now 50 yards but the big buck had stopped behind a cedar tree at 75 yards. He then turned and walked back to the doe at now 100 yards. I decided to back out and come in a different way. I made my way around the point slowly crawling from bush to bush when the doe fed out at 46 yards. I immediately got ready knowing the big buck was right behind her. All of the sudden the little buck appeared to my left walking towards the doe. As I glanced over at the doe there was the big buck headed towards the little buck. My heart started racing as I knew it was about to happen. The big buck came out at 56 yards as I drew my bow. He was watching the little buck as I was trying settle in for the shot. I had one limb that I was going to have to get by as I was sure that I could clear it. I released my arrow and watched it barely clip the branch and deflect my arrow which still stuck the buck. The buck ran down 20 yards and bedded as he was bleeding bad. I was shaking so bad trying to get my composure back together knowing that I had just stuck a huge buck. I was able to sneak around the buck and get another arrow in him at 35 yards and that was it. I had just killed a buck of a lifetime, and worth buying a bonus point this year. My buck taped out at 107 3/8 gross and was the most exciting hunt I have had with my bow. I cant wait to do it next January.

[bowhuntaz1]

Good job!!!!

[loco4coues]

Great buck! Way to keep at it and make it happen! Thanks for sharing.

[stanley]

AWESOME!!!!!

Thanks for the nice write-up and thanks for sharing with the site!!

 

S.

 

[JLW]

incredible!

great write up! Awesome Buck!

 

James

[Coues Sniper]

GREAT buck man. HUGE accomplishment. Did that first shot catch his neck?

[MDH]

Yeah it did after I clipped that branch, got lucky. I was very disappointed in myself on that one

[cpugsie]

Nice looking buck! Congratulations!

[POB]

It never fails, you couldn't hit that branch if your life depended on (at least I couldn't). But just try to miss it and you will hit it every time.

[AZwest16]

Great buck! Spot and stalk makes it that much sweeter!

[talltines]

Way to go man! That is one heck of a nice buck. Thank God it all pull together for you, usually those branch reflections don't result in the recovery of a monster coues like that toad!

[papa]

Very nice buck! way to stick with it.

[GRONG]

SWEEEEEET!!! Congrats man! If I still lived next to you I'd come runnin over to see it!

[azcouesfanatic]

heck of a buck. Way to stay after it. Well you wont have to worry about where to put in this year.

 

Brian

[Couzer]

Very nice buck!!!