Weston Report post Posted December 23, 2012 Well, I managed to get it done again this year with the Hoyt! Last year I was fortunate enough to put the smackdown on an absolute monster with my bow and I was able to connect again this year, although with a buck that was quite a bit smaller. I had hunted january and august with my bow this year along with being lucky enough to draw another BP. So I knew once december came I had to put in the effort and get a buck killed. I had planned a 5 day backpacking trip beginning december 18th and as it sometimes happens I couldnt find any of my hunting buddies to commit with me. I was not going to let this ruin my plans and decided I would go on the trip whether or not I could find somebody to come with me. Solo backpacking is quite a bit more intensive than backpacking with a group as all of the required gear (tents, water filters, first aid, GPS, stove etc) must all be carried. I ended up leaving my house at 3AM with a pack that weighed 73 lbs with enough gear food/water to be comfortable for three days if I did not find a water source and 5 if I did. I pulled into the foothills of the mountains that I wanted to be in at about 5:10 AM and set out for the mountains. At about 2:45 PM I found a suitable spot to set up my spike camp and set up camp, and was back looking through the glass at 3:30. I had already seen 4 small bucks and one shooter as well as a herd of pigs, a coyote and a couple dozen does by the time I begun glassing, I saw a good number of deer coming in and out of a box canyon previously and was not only about 600 yards from the canyon so I decided to drop all my gear except my empty pack with water and raingear and see what I could find. As I made my way up the canyon I finally found the only water I had seen so far (after about 8 miles of hiking) right where I had been watching deer go into the canyon, so I decided to build a small blind and sit the water before I walked up to it and got scent all over it. Not 15 minutes after I started sitting my makeshift ocatillo blind I had a doe and a spike come in, but not to where I expected, I had set up 45 yards off the visible water and they were clearly drinking but at a puddle I hadnt seen at 76 yards, I decided to wait and see if anything else came in, about 30 minutes later I had a good buck come into the same water (76 yds). I had already ranged the deer that had previously come in so I wasnt worried about the distance although this water was significantly higher in the canyon and the deer could see right into my "blind" and I was much more exposed than I would have liked to have been. Regardless I knew that it was a buck I wanted to take with his good frame and long seconds so I drew back, he saw me draw and pinned me, I held my bow for what seemed like 5 minutes although I'm sure it wasnt more than 30 or 40 seconds before the buck put his head back to the water. I squeezed the trigger and watched my Axis Arrow sink into the buck. I hit him back, way back and felt a slurry of mixed emotions pass over me, I have seen more than a few animals take arrows far back and never be recovered, my arrow blew right through him and I heard it hit the rock shelf behind him so I knew that I did not need to worry about finding the arrow, although I decided it was best to back out for the night and look for him in the morning so I wouldnt bump him. As it goes anytime I have something like that on my mind when I got back to camp I had about an hour before dark and I couldn't sit alone any longer replaying my poorly placed shot over and over again in my head. I decided instead of blood trailing him I would hike up a ridge that overlooked the canyon and glass and hope to find him bedded under a tree, so I headed out with my 10's and my scope on the tripod. As luck would have it I managed to glass him up dead under a tree not 50 yards up the canyon from where I shot him needless to say I was ecstatic! I made my way down to the buck and took a few (terrible) pictures. got him back to camp about an hour after dark quartered and caped and spent the next hour deboning him for the hike out. I fell asleep early and woke up at 3AM the next morning and couldnt get back to sleep in the ripping wind so I decided to pack up camp and start the trek out. My pack now weighed over 100 pounds with 4 days worth of gear left and a boned out deer, and I had a grueling hike ahead of me but I knew having another P&Y buck on my wall would be well worth it! It took me until about 11:45 the next morning to make it back to my truck without taking my pack off, and was undoubtedly the most physically/mentally draining hunt I had ever been on, between the solitude the heavy pack, and technical terrain. This buck is not a monster by any means, and is not one of the biggest bucks I've taken, but I'm still incredibly proud of him and had a hunting experience unlike one that I typically have. I apologize for the terrible trophy pictures, I figured my iPhone would have a self timer, it didn't. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Redman Report post Posted December 23, 2012 Thanks for sharing that was a great story congrats on a great buck Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jimmyc Report post Posted December 23, 2012 Holy Moley that buck is nice! And with a bow,,,,,,,,, I thought I did really good with my rifle, that thing is sick. Great Job. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WHALE Report post Posted December 23, 2012 Great buck awesome story that had to of been a awesome experience. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
singleshot Report post Posted December 24, 2012 Great story! I feel really old and puny after reading about your trip. Nice buck also. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GRONG Report post Posted December 24, 2012 Dude you rock!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
'Ike' Report post Posted December 24, 2012 Great buck, congrats... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bow.hunter8971 Report post Posted December 24, 2012 Congrats and good write up and hard work and determination Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
paul navarre Report post Posted December 24, 2012 Your story and pics just make to want to leave for AZ earlier that Jan 12th. Will be down there for two weeks and hope to have simular success. Thanks again, Paul Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ccran Report post Posted December 24, 2012 What a story. Congratulations on getting it done in true fashion. Merry Christmas. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tjhunt2 Report post Posted December 24, 2012 Thanks for taking us along on your hunt. Congrats on a nice buck. TJ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Snapshot Report post Posted December 24, 2012 Simply awesome! 100lb pack? Thats quite a haul. Great job! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WOODSAZ Report post Posted December 24, 2012 Nice work Weston! Jay Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
izquik72 Report post Posted December 24, 2012 Congrats on another well earned buck Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
trophyhnter Report post Posted December 24, 2012 Great story! Congrats your hard earned buck! The harder you work for them, the more memorable! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
