4 Tags 4 Deer Bark at the Moon 2

[willhunt4coues]

When I found out my buddy Doug and his friend Rich, me and my dad all had got drawn for 24A Late Nov hunt I knew we were in for a long tough hunt. Doug had till tuesday and rich had till the first Saturday both to get it done. Me and my dad had the whole hunt and I wanted a decent Coues and my dad of course (Always wants a big one) had not shot one for awhile so I wanted him to get the biggest I could find. I had 4 bucks spotted way before the first Oct. hunt and went back in after the first hunt and they were all still alive I would only see these bucks once every 5 days or so. First day of he hunt was VERY uneventful not even seeing a doe but NEVER get discouraged I kept telling myself.

The second day with my dad not there started VERY bad with me falling right after we left the Jeep and landing right on top of my 6.8 rifle scope (I wanted to try and take my first harvest with it). Well I told the guys let me go back and grab the .308. When I met back up with them I told them everything happens for a reason. As soon as we get setup I spot a buck coming over the top of the ridge. I told the guys lets hurry and get set up. We rushed from 600 yards to 330 in minutes setting up I ask Doug you want to shoot my rifle? I told him I know it is spot on. He agrees that would be the best and gets ready for the shot. The buck then lays down and I told him to hold it! Right behind that buck was a larger buck. Before we know it he stands up and Doug lays him down with one shot but shot again to make sure he was not going anywhere. Right then Rich shoots knocking the other smaller buck down. 2 Bucks down within 10 seconds. High 5ves all around and then Doug says lets drag them down the mountain, I told him it would be better to do gutless but he insisted. Well you can see what happens when you drag them...LOL.

Well now that I made these guys happy and they are at home relaxing it was time to keep an eye out in the same spot for the other 2 bucks. Returning on Sunday only seeing a Spike and Doe, Monday nothing, Tuesday nothing well all I had to think was maybe we needed to go somewhere else but some buddies continued to tell me to keep at it, they had to show up sooner or later.

Wednesday started out bad knowing that my dad had other things to do I headed out by myself. On my way in I hear a clicking sound coming from the back tire, YEP I had a dang nail. Cursing and trying to get back up by solid ground before my tire went flat I knew I probably was not going to be a good day. I change the tire and headed back down forgetting I had my center consul on the roof of my Jeep. I hear a crash and there lays my pistol, GPS, and other items. Now I know its going to be bad. I told myself just to turn around and go home but I was determined not to miss a morning at this spot. As I get there I set up and here a quad coming they cruse on by and I think if there are deer there they will stand up and sure enough there is the 2 nice bucks. I get set up right away knowing that I was not getting any closer and they had started to walk away. I range them at 550 with NO wind. Now I have NEVER shot a deer at this distance but KNEW I could do it because I have been practicing week after week. I get set up with my Claw and my .308 topped with a Valdada scope and settled in. First shot I missed I just could not keep steady. 2nd shot hit him right behind the front leg in the heart. He stood there rocking back and forth then started hopping on 3 legs not wanting him to get too far away I rang out another shot hitting him in the rear of the lungs. At that point he laid down and I knew I had just got him. doing pictures by yourself is really hard. He is not a monster but he was a decent buck.

Now to get my dad a buck. We headed out Thursday morning to the same spot not seeing anything we decided to head back early and run down to Mesa and get another tire. Friday we found ourselves sick with sinus and tired. But not giving in dad decided we needed to head to our spot last year.

We were there maybe 20 minutes and I spotted a buck at well over 1700 yards. I told my dad where he was and he agreed that this buck was well worth going after and I told him it would probably be a long shot and he agreed to take my gun since, well we knew it was on. My dad has 2 valves replaced in his heart so as long as we go slow he can climb any mountain. We get over to where I think we can shoot and its 350 yards but we could not see him because he was bedded we did see a doe up feeding. I told my dad lets head on up the mountain so we could get to a point where we could see. 380 yards pass, 400 yards pass, and we could still not see him. I told my dad we are going to have to get to the very top to see him. As we approached the top we finally could see him and knowing that we were not getting any closer I told dad you will have to shoot from here 455 yards. He got behind the Claw and .308 and had a hard time finding him with the sun in our eyes. He zoomed out found him and zoomed back in. I told him to let me know when he shoots and he said ready? yep. Shot rings off and I could actually see the sun glaring off the bullet making it look like a tracer but when it hit the shade I lost it but seen my dad shot just over him. The deer stands there dad rings out another and I said high again. He said it was hard to keep steady and I told him try not to even hold the gun just hold the tripod. When he did that one more shot rang out dropping him in his tracks. As long as I have known my dad he ALWAYS shoots deer in the neck but has always taught others to shoot behind the shoulder. Well low and behold my dad finally found a buck he wanted to take since around 2008.

The dang Doe actually watched us bone out the buck. She was at 50 yards just feeding and laying there. I do not think that these deer have ever even seen a human or even heard a gun shot.

[willhunt4coues]

GUTLESS GUTLESS GUTLESS...LOL. We did Dougs deer last year gutless and it only took minutes and heck of a lot easier when you get home. But I still had a great time with Doug, Rich, and especially my dad no matter if we drug them out or not...LOL

[Snapshot]

Nice deer and pics.....but now I can't get that Ozzy song out of my head.lol

[Coach]

Awesome job, Clay! 4 for 4 on coues is outstanding. Great write-up too. And I agree, gutless is the only way to go.

[200"mulie]

Great buck thanks for sharing

[Pine Donkey]

Nice bucks, thanks for the great write up.

[justinspe25]

Clay,

Nice job! I am glad to see your dad take a buck this year. Congrats to all you guys!

[AZP&Y]

Screams break the silence

Waking from the dead of night

Vegence is boiling

He's returned to kill the light

Then when he's found who he's looking for

Listen in awe' and you'll hear him

 

BARK AT THE MOON!

 

I had a total blast. I started getting LONG RANGE SERIOUS for next year! - Vortex LR

 

Congats again to you and your dad. Next year , I'll have the entire week off. BOOM!

 

80's Rockin Leg kick!

Doug

[bonecollector]

Nice job clay. Congrats to all of you guys on some nice bucks.

[trophyhnter]

Great writeup and bucks! Congrats! Way to stick with it! I didnt have enough patience to stick with a spot for that long if Im not seeing bucks!

[willhunt4coues]

LMAO...You didn't!!!....Way too much fun.

[willhunt4coues]

My dad has all his CRAZY camo on. He has a ton of Kings camo and decides to miss match...CRAZY old man!!! BUT I love him anyways..

[CouesWhitetail]

Great story and pics! Thanks for sharing your success!!

[cramerhunts]

Awesome job to you all on some nice bucks. Looks like you guys had a lot of fun which is what its all about and the bucks are just icing on the cake or something like that! Congratulations fellas.

[randyolson]

Congratulations to all! Sounded like a great trip.