Late December Coues 1 out of 2

[deserttacoma84]

I had this all written up last night and the website/my connection went down. Not sure which but I will give this another go...

 

It was our first late december tag in a new unit. We weren't able to get down as much to scout due to our work schedules. We came down on the 12th to set up camp and spent the 13th doing some last minute scouting. Saw a few deer and a decent buck on that Thursday that we determined we'd shoot had we seen him come opening day. Thursday the rain/snow moved in and the majority of Friday was spent sitting in the truck and getting out at times when the rain had stopped hoping to see some deer.

 

We glassed up a 3 point and bedded him down and decided to get up for a closer look. He got up around noon and while not a monster we decided to pass as we still had alot of time left to hunt.

 

The rain continued Saturday and on the way out I eneded up getting a flat tire which I did not end up having a spare for. We ended up having to go to Tucson to get a new tire...$350 dollars later we were back at camp waiting for the rain to stop. It didnt.. so we played about 50 games of gin rummy.

 

Sunday, John (JCUBED) came out and gave us an extra pair of eyes and some good company, showed us a new area that had us hike in about 3 miles. We started seeing deer right off the bat. A couple bucks that we saw go up the mountain a way and into some trees. We determined that we would hike up to knoll to see if we could get a better look. After hiking up the canyon, Dad and John spotted 14 UDA's coming out of the same canyon. BP was called in and we went back to glassing for the evening. We never did end up seeing the bucks.

 

Monday, we went back to the area we had seen the buck on Thursday and glassed up some really nice deer, but were way up the ridge line. We decided to give it a go and see if we could get to a spot to get a shot. Half way up, we got word that the Deer had made it over the ridge. Bummer.

 

Tuesday we decided to try and see if we would find the deer again. Sure enough same spot there they were. We hoped to see if they would bed down before putting the stalk on. Unfortunatly they crested the ridge once again. We decided to call it a day and head back to camp to pack up and head back to town for the week.

 

On the way back, in Tucson 2 lug studs on my truck broke and my wheel fell completely off of my truck. Fortunately I did not hit anyone, wasn't hit and maintained control of the vehicle with minimial damage.

 

Saturday, we decided to come down to get a better look at the mountains where we had seen the bucks cresting the ridgeline to see if we would get into a spot at night and hope that they would continue the same routine. We did not see a single deer and headed back to Phoenix.

 

We came back down on Christmas day to finish the hunt. Wednesday we went back to our "honey hole" and continued seeing good deer. The bucks started becoming interested in the does, but the rut had not started. We bedded a decent buck that my brother decided he would try to shoot. He and our other buddy that joined us worked there way up within 250 yards. 1st shot rang out, the buck stood up and started moving up towards the top of the ridge he was bedded on. Boom, 2nd shot rang out. It turned the buck real quick the opposite direction. My dad thought he hit him. I thought he shot behind him. Adam made his way over and after a thourough look, there was no blood. Adam had to shoot off his knees using the rifle railz/loc jaw because the grass was so high.

 

Thursday, a return to the area would see some more good deer. We glassed up a 90" class buck that we saw chase some does. He, however went over the ridge instead of bedding down. My dad in the meantime had glassed up another buck that he was watching and managed to bed down 3 spearate times. On the 3rd time we set up a plan to get into a spot to shoot. We moved around keeping a knoll with a rock outcropping between us and the buck. That outcropping would be where i would set up to shoot. It worked out perfectly. We laid across the rocks and were 150 yards from the buck but couldnt see him because of the grass and the trees. We waited there for 2 hours like a sniper and spotter. Finally we decided that my brother would work up and around the buck and if the buck stayed bedded and my brother could get a shot he would shoot and if the buck got up and I saw him I would shoot. Sure enough 20 minutes later the buck had winded my brother and got up. It happend fast! i just caught a glimpse of his hind end going through the trees. I flipped off the safety and got behind the scope. 1 shot sent and looked like a miss. The buck moved up and skylined himself on the ridgeline. 2nd shot sent. I can't tell if I hit him or not. Adam left his radio back with me but was within shouting distance. He yelled out "did you get him?". " I dont know.." I yelled back. We hurried up and got our gear together and hiked up to the last spot I saw him. Theres the blood. we started working down the ridge. The buck jumped up and I could see I shot him right in the butt. He was losing alot of blood. He got half way down the ridge and laid up under a tree where he finally was put down. He wasn't a monster but a good buck nonetheless.

 

Friday we glassed up another 90-100 class buck with a 3rd main beam. Adam would try to move in closer but the buck was up and over the other side before he could get into position. Sometime between Friday night and Saturday morning someone had caught a Lion in a trap and that Lion had pulled loose and raised all kinds of heck in that same canyon we had been in. We saw alot fewer deer on Saturday but still put Adam in a position to shoot. Most of the deer we saw were way up towards the top of the mountain which we had not seen them that high the entire trip. We glassed up another good buck but was over the mountain with in 30 seconds of seeing him. Then we saw the splitter again. We managed to bed him down and thought for sure Adam was going to get it done. Half way up the mountain the buck spooked on something and was gone within a minute.

 

All in all we put in some good mileage on the boots and saw alot of deer. For being a new unit I couldn't be happier and had a great time with Dad and brother and meeting a new member. Hope you all enjoy the pics.

[RAM]

Way to go! Cool buck and it sounds like you really over came some obstacles to get him.....

 

-Ryan

[Jcubed]

Congrats on the buck guys...I know how hard you worked for it. Sorry we just couldn't put it together on the second tag. It was a pleasure hunting with you and spending time with the both of you and your dad.

 

Hopefully, more adventures to come in the future!

 

Keep in touch...

[Coues Archer]

Very nice story! Congrats on the buck

[Mocha1545]

Nice Buck. You sure earned him. Thanks for the story and pics.

[trophyhnter]

Great writeup! Sounds like a lot of ups and downs! I think they make an experience more memorable! Congrats on your buck and thanks for sharing!

[cohntr6]

Excellent story and pictures!\Congrats on the buck despite the bad truck luck.

What is your tripod/shooting "platform" combo?

Jeff

[cohntr6]

rifle railz/loc jaw?

Jeff

[deserttacoma84]

rifle railz/loc jaw?

Jeff

 

Yep! We both have our rifles set up with it. The tripod head is a "Kruger/Weifeng" Joystick style head... you can find them on ebay for about 50 bucks with an extra plate. My brother glasses/shoots off a Vortex High Country Tripod. I ended up having to shoot off my pack because of the angle we were at. The set up is ideal for sitting and or standing. Pretty sure Amanda still sells the Rifle Railz/loc jaw set up in the store...

[bonecollector]

Way to over come all the obstacles and still put a good buck on the ground. Congrats.

[pwrguy]

Great story! That country down there reminds me of Mexico.

[cohntr6]

Thanks, I did find them. $180 is a bit pricey!

But it looks like they work well.

Jeff