Back To My Roots

[azcouesandelk]

Back in July I moved back home to AZ and found out I was not drawn for any tags again this year. It wasn't long until my dad and I decided that we would go for some leftover tags in a familiar unit. Fortunately we were drawn for the early November hunt and preparation for the hunt began.

 

We made several trips down to scout. First being in August for a quick 1 1/2 day trip turning up a good amount of bucks in new areas which got my dad and I excited. Our second trip down we went down for 2 full days to check out more new areas. We found some new spots turning up more bucks and a couple nice bucks at that. The last morning we were there we decided to go back to an area my dad had successfully killed our first bucks. As we were glassing we weren't turning much up until I saw some antlers move in the shade. The antlers turned out to be a very big 2 point, but his running mate caught my attention. He was a very heavy antlered 3x4 with a huge frame! Here are a few pics of him from the beginning of October (picture quality is not the best since pictures are from 1800 yards)

 

 

 

Due to work I was able to go down the 2 days before the hunt, but was not able to get back down to hunt until Monday. The first morning I was waiting for the sun to come up to look for the big 3x4 wondering if he had made it through the first hunt. My answer came quickly as I found him and the big 2 in a matter of minutes. I watched them feed over into a big basin where I suspected they would bed down for the day. I continued to glass turning up several more bucks, but nothing near his caliber. That midday I decided to head to the big basin to see if I could find him and I could not believe my eyes when I glassed him bedded in the shade of an oak. I watched him the entire afternoon and got some better pictures and video of him. Thursday morning we were unable to locate him again, but in the afternoon we found him on a thick slope feeding. Here are some pictures of him from Wednesday.

 

 

 

 

With the buck being located I was able to talk my boss into letting me come in late so I could hunt opening morning. We were setup to glass before first light and thoughts were going through my head of where this buck would be and if there would be a shot opportunity. Within 20 minutes we had the buck found and headed back to the same basin he had bedded in on Wednesday. We circled around to setup to relocate him and hopefully get a shot. We picked apart everything we could see finding a smaller 3 point and a little 2 point, but he was nowhere to be seen. After 30 minutes I saw his antler moving in some thick ocotillos and the adrenaline started to pump. The ocotillos were 400 yards away and I was setup waiting for him to step out. After about 10 minutes the bucks were getting nervous looking up the hill and bolted! At this point I was devastated, I had to go home and work the next 3 days and was not sure if the buck would make it through the weekend.

 

Monday morning came and I was back at it looking for the big 3x4 again. The entire day was spent glassing the basin he liked to bed in along with several canyons nearby with only a couple of small bucks seen. Tuesday morning was spent in the same area turning up 1 decent 3 point and a few does. The decision was made to give the area break and go look elsewhere mostly for my sanity! Debating on where to go with all the new areas we had scouted we decided to go to where I had my first opportunity on a buck back in 2005. We got in there and setup around 2:30 with the wind howling! We glassed for about 2 hours turning up a few does here in there when up on the mountain side I spotted what looked like a good buck. I put the spotting scope on him to see a solid 3 point with beams that wrapped around well. It didn't take long for me to decide that this would be a great buck for me with the limited time I had and the wind only supposed to get worse. The hike was on at this point to get on the ridge between us, and after a 30 minute hike we were 300 yards from the buck bedded. I setup and dialed the turret and settled in for a shot on the bedded buck. I felt comfortable as I settled the crosshairs and slowly squeezed the trigger. The buck laid his head down and never got up again.

 

I feel very blessed to have been able to harvest such a beautiful deer and get back to my roots in some old spots, and also for the opportunity to chase a great buck like the big 3x4.

 

 

 

[John O]

Awesome job young hunter!

[SO I HUNT]

Congrats on a great buck...

[nw07heavy]

Congratulations on the nice trophy buck. That was a very dedicated hunt and well executed. Very well done!

[AZbowhntr]

Great buck Christian. Congrats and it is good to see you on here.

[Coach]

Very cool. Thanks for sharing.

[Kaffer62]

Awesome job. Welcome back home.

[olmos1010]

Very nice, congrats.

[218buck]

Nice buck congrats

[naturebob]

Nice Buck Christian. Congrats..............BOB!

[Edge]

Super buck down!

[Silver Bullet]

Nice story, and congrats on a fantastic buck! And a big thanks should go out to an understanding boss for letting you come in late, for which this wouldn't have happened!

[PseAZ]

Guess its good that you moved back home... Great buck man congrats and nice story.

[bowhunter4life]

A great story and success as usual, welcome home...

[Allforelk]

Good read and congratulations!