Spot and stalk coues

[turbo]

Saw this deer with a buddy that sleety, snow Saturday. Went up and arrowed him at 13-15 yards. Largest deer for me, a 5 point, barely. Bow is homemade hickory self bow, rawhide backed, about 50# at 24-25 inches. Inclement weather a big help that day. Made the shot from a huddled up position.

Have a Merry Christmas.

[WHALE]

That is a huge accomplishment. I have Spot&Stalked a couple coues with my bow but never that close and never with a stick bow.

[wildwoody]

Awesome....

[creed_az_88]

That's awesome. Bucket list achievement for sure. Spot n stalk coues with a stick bow is one of the biggest accomplishments in the hunting world in my opinion. Especially in December. Wow.

[.270]

Hair o' the bear. Excellent job. Tell us more about the bow. This is a heck of an accomplishment. You didn't need a 1000 yd rifle, fancy camo or a posse. Truly impressed. Lark

[Flatlander]

You are a man!

[CWpredator]

Flatlander that's not saying much now a days... Hahahah congrats that is one heck of an accomplishment Turbo. Something many will never be able to accomplish!!!

[longshooter]

Wow! Kill a coues spot and stalk with a home made bow with no camo. Pretty impressive and one heck of a accomplishment.

[eagle#eyes]

Pretty awesome. Congrats.

[mattys281]

Congrats! Thats a pretty incredible feat!

[Stoner]

WAY TO GO!!! I am following a mulie right now, that I would like to send a osage selfbow pointed message to. Congrats. John

[218buck]

That's awesome not many people can say they have done that

[carpcody]

That's cool man

[AverageJoe]

I wish more people would realize the importance of tradition and skill. That is truly an amazing accomplishment

[turbo]

Lark,

 

The bow:

 

The bow is hickory from a tree my uncle and I cut in Missouri. I designed it for a "shorter" draw. That is the important part. There a some coues that are alive today, over the years 2012 t0 2014, because I am stubborn and refused to accept that I draw primitive bows to a max of @25inches. My recurve is 46# at 28", so I am drawing about maximum 37# at my draw. Deer have experienced many an arrow swish under the deer, or land in front of the vitals.

 

After testing my draw almost every day, and finally accepting the length (researching others, like Ryan Gill who shoots 22" on primitive bow but is fairly tall in stature), I picked an Osage Tribe type bow, keeping the working limbs wide. The wide limbs help prevent set while strung for up to 12 hours, in monsoon humidity. A knot on the stave made a bend-in-handle D bow like many Natives used impossible; the narrower arrow pass makes the bow more forgiving of spine. The rawhide protects the back from the inevitable stumble and the rocks of beloved Arizona. The bow is a bit overbuilt, as the humidity varies so much here.

 

Archers/weightlifting/tennis elbow caused me to switch from drawing right handed to the left. Best thing to occur! I tried a longer bow wiit a tapped on sight pin, using Olympic anchor. Accurate, but not practical at my range limitattions. In Missouri, in some swampy marshland, I could not shoot on my haunches. And trying to get up more vertical on my knees was too much motion. Two times I spooked the deer; Missouri deer do not tolerate that motion within 20-25 yards.

 

So I went back to a more gap-instinctice style. I kept practicing, in my house (not married, obviously, LOL), at 15 and 14 and 13 yards, closing the dominant right eye and canting the bow and not moving the bow hand.

 

The hunt, for anyone interested:

Going to build a blind, I saw the motion of a deer about 250 yards. I froze, and soon realized that I was underdressed and wearing a blue and grey wool shirt-jac, and that deer see blue pretty well. After an hour of "True Grit" motionless in the sleet, I looked again, and my newly purchased, but pre owned Swarvoski 10x42 binos picked out a tine, and a ear and eye. I pulled the coffee bags-camo material out of my lightweight pack, put on tan over the blue, and went up into an area were I had come close and missed before.

 

I get into that 30 yards zone, and no deer. There should be two bucks, so I just weighted, arrow nocked. I waited and waited, and finally saw an eye, that dark camera eye the deer have, through a yucca. I slowly moved onto my haunches and waited. That deer got up, to feed, and I felt lucky. His buddy came in, to about 14 yards. I shot.

 

The arrow hit some unseen woody stem, I guess, and it twanged and turned sideways like a semi truck skidding on ice. I can see the colors on the arrow well. That buck then comes in trying to wind me, as I am huddled up in a ball, low in the grass. I drew an other arrow from my back quiver, and that moved the buck out at a walk.

 

Luck was with me. The original buck came in, and when it looked to move off its broadside position at 15 yds or so, slightly uphill. I grunted once. He stopped, I released. The 530 grain arrow hit into the neck, as he moved, and thunk, blood shot out. Later autopsy showed that the buck turned upon release and the broadhead went into the neck and up into the muscle below that spine. In any case, I waited a while, tracked it and found it bleeding out. I should have waited longer, but wasn't sure if I had inflicted only a minor wound. I followed up with an other arrow, a mulefat shaft, and "that was that". I had killed a coues spike in 2011 with the recurve, but this is my first primitive bow success.

 

I originally posted here as Natureboyfloyd, but had to change some things internet wise. I appreciate all who share information and tips here; Regarding the camo vs no camo, a member named Bull said, I think, something to the effect that if you are going to try to kill Indian style, you better be real humble, and not overly confident. I think about that a lot.

 

Mark