2013 Dec bucks!

[AZwest16]

July 2013 had my brother Ryan and I on pins and needles checking my credit card statements in anticipation of drawing a premier deer tag. Seeing as how we drew this same tag last year we didnt have high expectations of getting it again and were already planning on picking up a left over tag. Well lady luck was on our side and we drew a late December Coues tag for the second year in a row!

 

Last year was going to be tough to beat. Ryan tagged out on a stud 107 inch deer and I harvested a pretty 4X4 that went right at 99 inches. Both of which were our personal bests!

 

We only made it down for one scouting trip and planned on backpacking into some country that we knew a lot of people didnt get back into. I have never backpacked before and was hesitant to do so but after purchasing a big Agnes sleeping bag with sleeping pad and discovering the amazing multiply flavors of Mountain Houses I was sold!

 

Day prior to opening day found Ryan and I hiking in the 3 ½ miles to camp to get set up and maybe do a little glassing before dark. Made it to camp in good time and got set up before dark!

 

 

 

 

 

 

After a cool December night in the back country we were up well before day light getting our packs on and up to our glassing point. As grey light hit the first deer I saw was a 70 inch buck cruising for does! Good sign to start off seeing horns and about 30 minutes later glassed up a stud deer that went over 100. It was tough to know exactly how big he was but he was in a sport where it went from semi thick to real thick and he vanished within seconds. We went on glassing and found six more bucks throughout the day. Solid first day with 3 of those other bucks going in the mid to low 90s.

 

The next few days we continued to see several bucks everyday but not he big one from the first day or anything that got our blood pumping this early in the hunt. On day four about mid day we decided to pack camp and head back to the truck to re locate to look at some new country.

 

We made it to the truck with a little over a hour left of glassing light. We moved down the mountain a little bit and decided to glass the lower hills that shot up into the mountain. Ryan picked up some deer about a mile away and after a quick look we saw two bucks that needed a closer look at! One of which looked to be solid! Well we basically ran until we reached a small knoll that ended up being 500 yards from the deer. I set up my 15s and immediately picked up a nice 3 point. I got Ryan on the deer and light was fading fast. We debated about how big he was and if he was the nice buck we saw from a distance. Ryan said he liked how he looked and wanted to take him. A few minutes later Ryans buck took a dirt nap and before we could celebrate the bigger buck we had seen from a distance decided to stand up. Not very proud to say but I emptied my gun at this buck as the sun went down. This stud slowly made his way over the top of the mountain and gone forever. This was by far the biggest buck I had shot at yet in my coues hunting days. Also to add insult to injury this was the first deer I have not harvested in the past ten years that I have shot at! I had a good streak going and new it was bound to be broken some day. Just wish it didnt happen with this deer.

 

 

 

 

 

We hunted for a few more days saw several more bucks but nothing compared to the buck I had missed. We ended up going home for Christmas! Big thanks to my new bride as we were expecting our first baby in February and being supportive in my efforts to kill a good buck. Needless to say I was on way back up to the mountain the day after Christmas now with my good buddy Tracey.

 

We backpacked into our original campground to see if we could relocate that good buck from opening morning. Well the plan worked good and we glassed from a new knob that put us about 600 yards from where Ryan and I had glassed him up. First thing in the morning I found him again about 100 yards further up hill from the last place I saw him. He was on the move and leaving a doe and disappeared into the jungle again. About an hour later further up the ridge in the thick stuff I caught a glimpse of him going deeper into the canyon and he disappeared again. Later in the morning we glassed we could deer snorting down lower in a bull behind us. I ended up picking a beautiful mid 90s 3X2 mounting a doe and chasing her all around! Before we could get a great look at him a smaller buck joined the fun and ended up chasing the doe out of sight with the bigger buck in tow! That was a lot of fun to watch and got the blood flowing good!

 

Next day we decided to check out the backside of the mountain we had been glassing hoping to find some new bucks. It had been a slow morning and was approaching 11 or so. Tracey and I were sitting on top of ridge deciding what to do when Tracey about jumped out of his boots getting to his feet. I jumped up too when he said he saw a deer right below us. We threw up our binos to see a doe in a small saddle about 200 yards acting like there might be a buck in tow. Well there was and right about the time I thought Mack daddy was stepping out I realized he had about four inch spikes on either side! I kinda had to laugh inside from being disappointed there wasnt a bigger deer with this doe. Before I could even get a smile out another deer stepped into the saddle and was a mature deer with real good mass! Tracey said shooter as I was thinking the same thing in my head. I quickly grabbed my rifle and my hunt was over moments later. We made our way over to my buck and were excited to see how much character he had! He grossed right at 97 inches. Not as big as my deer last year but super dark horns with tons of mass I couldnt have been happier. I was looking for a mature buck that was heavy and that was exactly what god blessed me with.

 

 

The pack out with camp!

 

 

 

Well I failed to mention my dad drew a late tag in a different unit and only had one day to hunt. The only problem was I had spent a total of 2 days hunting this unit about 10 years ago and wasnt very familiar with it. Thanks to a few different guys from this forum and their generosity we were able to hunt an area that held some deer. Well there ended up being five us going out to try and help my dad kill a buck. The goal was to shoot the first 60 inch and up deer we came across. With out going into a crazy story I will let the pictures do the talking. My dad had previously killed a small spike and two point the last couple of years hunting and he was blessed with this amazing buck. We grossed him at 104 inches with the trash. Thank you to the guys that made this happen by putting us in a great spot, you guys know who you are!

 

Regards,

 

Regan

 

 

 

[DrRx09]

Nice bucks man, Congrats

[ScottAdams]

Great write up and great bucks Regan! Got my blood pumpin', now I'm ready to get back out there! I love backpack hunts!

Congratulations!

[capoeirajosh]

Fantastic write up!! That was a pleasure to read this morning. Congrats on the great bucks!

[couesntime]

Good job! sweet bucks!

[PatrickJr]

love it!

[randyolson]

Congratulations Ryan and Regan! As always, great pictures, great story and great deer......!!! YOU guys really do an awesome job and work your tails off for those bucks and always come up with some dandies!! Congrats to your dad also on a very nice buck for only one day to hunt.....! Keep it up!! Thanks for sharing!!!!!!

[reganranch]

Awesome write up! Congrats Guys!

[couesmagnet]

Very nice bucks indeed. Congrats.

[Mocha1545]

Great story and Great Buck's! Congrats guys!

 

Congrats to your Dad as well.

[clifhunter]

nice bucks!

[papa]

Very nice bucks and a great story to go along with it. Congrats.

[Chef]

That's cool.

Backpack hunts always bring the adventure.

Congratulations on the bucks. I really like your Dad's buck.

[cramerhunts]

Congratulations on some nice bucks! Super cool that you guys drew it back to back.

[BackwoodsHunter]

You guys had a awesome December! Congrats on the deer and on the child!