iBowAZ Report post Posted November 29, 2012 With the help of my friend Brady and my brother Jeff, I was able to harvest a nice 4x4 on the last day of our hunt. Thanks guys! This hunt was tough and warm. We hiked up and down mountains everyday glassing the flats and foothills. The bucks were sparse, so we hunted in different areas almost everyday, trying to glass them up high and low. Jeff and I were set on at least 4x4’s, while Brady was out to take his first deer. Brady ended up taking a great 2x2 on day five and I took this 4x4 Sunday morning, the last day of the hunt. The day started with a pre-dawn hike, which was much higher and steeper then we expected. About three-quarters of the way up, Jeff said that’s high enough to start, so we setup for glassing and waited for the sun to rise. Not long after first light Jeff picked up four deer, which soon disappeared behind a small hill without us knowing whether they had antlers or not. At that point, I relocated to the top of the hill to see if I could find those deer from a higher point. I glassed the low hills and didn’t see anything, so I turned my attention to the vast desert landscape to the west. After glassing the greater reaches of the flats with the 15’s, I put the 8’s on the tripod and glassed some of the washes and drainages closer in. Following some quick looks around the desert floor, I decided to do a full North to South swipe at about 800 yards. No sooner do I put my eyes to the glasses, I see three deer trotting up the wash, straight for me. I blinked, they came to a stop and all had antlers. The nerves started firing because I could see one had a much larger rack than the other two. Something had them spooked, because they were running, stopping, and zigzagging between a couple washes. I signaled to my brother and Brady to come up the hill and then back to the binos. Now there were also four does in the mix and the bucks had vanished. A minute later the bucks popped out from behind a Palo Verde and were on the move. In between trying to communicate with the guys, get my rifle in place, and keep an eye on the deer, I lost them all. Side note, I think the does and bucks were independently making their way across the desert, crossed paths and spooked each other. Anyways, as the guys arrived I’m frantically trying to find some movement below and picked up the does after a couple minutes. They were now straight out in front of us at 300 yards and still seemed spooked as they were walking quickly and looking back often. Still, no sign of the bucks. I couldn’t imagine where they ran off to because we had an amazing bird’s eye view over a large area. For several minutes we were all glued to our binos. Then I heard Brady mention something to my brother and then in slow motion not to attract attention Jeff pointed straight down under the cliff below us. I peered over the edge and there they were looking up at us from 140 yards. They had moved right up under the 60-foot cliff and steep desert terrain below us. At that point we all leaned back away from the edge hoping they wouldn’t run. I moved around to my rifle, eased up to the edge; as the bucks seemed to lose interest in us and started walking away. I then moved a few feet along the cliff and struggled to pick up the 4x4 in my scope as Jeff read off the growing yardage…200, 250, 275, etc. By the time I was ready to shoot, the 4x4 was walking straight away up and down through washes and never offered a broadside view. Finally, at 450 yards they all stopped on a shaded dirt bank, pacing around checking out their surroundings. At this distance it took a minutes to pick up the 4x4 in the shade, but once I did, I was in a comfortable steady position, so decided to shoot. The distance was 450, I confirmed the hold over from ballistics chart taped inside my scope cover, relaxed and squeezed the trigger. Click…nothing happened. Side note, later Jeff looked at the round and said it had a light primer strike. So, I cycled another around and got back on the 4x4 now up the hill a little at 460 yards with one of the smaller buck bedded down behind him, but to the right. I got on target again and fired. He walked towards us as I waited for Jeff to give me some good news. First, I heard “you didn’t hit him”, then “no…he’s hit.” I cycled another round and picked him back up as he and the other two bucks slowly walked our way. Jeff and Brady said they could see he was hit as he disappeared in the wash behind a Palo Verde. From time to time we saw antlers move through the Palo Verde as the other bucks stood there looking around. After a few minutes, the antlers were still; and the other two spooked, and moved off. A ½ hour later we all agreed he was down, so Brady and I made our way off the hill and to the wash while Jeff kept an eye on the antlers. Once in the wash we located a couple landmarks and made our way across the desert. Ten minutes later and after walked straight into a cactus because I was focused up ahead we found him…and he was down. Jeff joined us; we all exchanged congratulations, took a bunch of pictures and then put a plan together to get him out. While they went for the quads, I took care of the field dressing. Bonus, with GPS, a known horse trail, iPhone maps and some wide washes they were able to get the quads right to the deer. We loaded him up and were on our way. Overall, it was an awesome hunt. Glad our new big game hunter Brady could bag one. Hopefully, he’s hooked. For me, harvesting the 4x4 is a distant bonus compared to spending quality time with my brother. Thanks Jeff for keeping us going and on task. Finally, a huge thanks to my wife Jen for minding our little one while I came and went in the darkness for eight days. Where we glassed and shot from. Finally...hands on! Shot was taken from top of cliff in the background. A team effort! Thanks for reading…Tim. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mossyoak Report post Posted November 29, 2012 Congratulations on a nice buck! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bigorange Report post Posted November 29, 2012 Nice buck and great story...Congrats! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Couzer Report post Posted November 29, 2012 Nice job! Way to hunt hard through the hunt! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
trophyhnter Report post Posted November 29, 2012 Great buck in a tough unit! Looks like your did what it took to get it done! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
200"mulie Report post Posted November 29, 2012 Congrats !! way to get it done 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eagle Eye Report post Posted November 29, 2012 Nice job! Good buck 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Redman Report post Posted November 29, 2012 great story and nice shooting....nice buck 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coach Report post Posted November 30, 2012 Congrats on a great buck. I really enjoyed the story! Nice job. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
crittergetter Report post Posted November 30, 2012 Great story. I had a lot of fun being out there with you and Brady and just glad to be a part of it all. As usual 24B was emotionally draining, but your perseverance paid off. You shot a great buck. Way to stick it out. BTW.....nice shot! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iBowAZ Report post Posted December 6, 2012 Meat is done! Can't wait to try some of this maple sausage in the morning. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chef Report post Posted December 6, 2012 That's what it's about right there! Congrats on your desert muley. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coues Archer Report post Posted December 7, 2012 Congrats on a nice desert muley! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
randyolson Report post Posted December 13, 2012 Great story and nice buck! Congrats! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pine Donkey Report post Posted December 13, 2012 Great buck! Thanks for posting the story. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
