The Horseshoe Buck of 36A

[azsugarbear]

Much of my hunting heritage comes from my Grandpa. In those rare moments as a young boy when I would sit still and listen, he would try to teach me as much as he could about hunting in Arizona. My Grandpa was born in 1904 in Woodruff, AZ. By the time he was 14, there wasn't much he hadn't hunted on foot or horseback. In his early years, he was befriended by Aldo Leopold, a government contractor who was tasked with the extirpation of wolves from the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest. My Great Grandfather (also a native Arizonan born in 1881 in Woodruff, AZ) was serving as the Forest Ranger in Heber District at the time. In later years, while hauling heavy equipment for several mining concerns in central and southern AZ, Grandpa was befriended by another like-minded hunter by the name of Jack O'Connor. I still have the custom .270 rifle Grandpa had built according to O'Connor's specs. The picture below was taken in 1917 at the Ranger Station in Pinetop, AZ. My Great Grandfather is behind the wheel and my Grandpa (age 14) is in the Tom Mix cowboy hat.

 

 

My Grandpa taught me the importance of how to think like the game I was hunting. He was also careful in his teaching to include hunting ethics and conservation. In spite of his prowess as a hunter, he would never turn down a chance to improve his luck. I remember on one deer hunt outside of Prescott, we came across an old, discarded horseshoe. He picked it up and then turned it up and set it against a pine tree. With a quick wink he said, "We need all the luck we can get. Don't we"? Later that day we came back with a nice buck and some bragging rights.

 

Fast forward to this year's hunt. I was fortunate enough to pick up a leftover tag for the early November Coues deer hunt in unit 36A. I had never hunted this unit before. Due to time constraints, I would not be able to do any scouting prior to the hunt. The first morning of the hunt, I stayed low and glassed over a trick tank that had lots of sign around it. Unfortunately, it was all due to mule deer activity. I pulled up stakes at mid-day and drove a lot of back roads trying to get higher and yet still be away from the crowds. I finally found a spot near the 4,300 elevation mark and set up camp.

 

Late afternoon, I climbed a fairly steep mountain to glass into some canyons on the north and west sides of the mountain. While I did not see any deer, I did come across a high saddle hidden from the road below that had quite a few tracks running across the mountain and down into the canyons. I decided that this is where I wanted to be Saturday morning.

 

The alarm went off at 4 AM and by 4:30 I was slowly climbing my way up the steep side of the mountain. On my way through the fence gate, I spied an old used horseshoe in the light of my headlamp, but took little notice of it. It was another four or five steps before I thought of my Grandpa's lesson on luck. I turned around, found that horseshoe and turned it up against a rock. I shook my head and let out a small chuckle before starting up the mountain again. At the time, I had no idea just how important that act would be to my hunt. Pictured below is the horseshoe I found on my pack out - just as I had left it. I couldn't get the picture to rotate, but it is turned up.

 

 

By 5:30 AM I was in place above the saddle. At 6:10 I was treated to a magnificent sunrise. I sat under my tree and glassed for the first couple of hours. Seeing nothing, I began to still hunt and glass my way slowly around the north and west side of the mountain. Being on top gives a hunter a great advantage. Although I had a great seat to the show, I saw nothing. I continued working around the top of the mountain. On the southwest side of the mountain, I nearly stepped on a doe - busting her out of her bed. I circled around the southern end of the mountain top. I spent a lot of time glassing some big country. I saw a bunch of different hunting groups below me, but did not find a single deer. By 10:30 AM it was getting very warm, so I began working back east to the saddle. I immediately busted some javelina that were snoozing under an oak tree. I must have played hide-n-seek with them for ten minutes before resuming my hunt.

 

It was now hot and I had so enjoyed the encounter with the pigs, that I was no longer being careful. One minute I was looking for a foothold to place my boot, the next I was flat on my stomach trying to see the deer that had just snorted and bounded down the mountain. I found him ten seconds and 150 yards later standing dead still below me in the ocotillo. He was a small buck with three points on one side. I decided to let him go. I made it back over to the oak tree I had sat under during the sunrise earlier that day. The heat wasn't so bad in the shade.

 

Granda, like nearly all hunters of his generation, was a meat hunter first and a trophy hunter a distant second. Any game animal you brought down honestly with hard work was a trophy. As I took a drink, I began to second guess myself. Not having seen anything but one doe and one buck in two days of hunting, I began to doubt my decision to let the buck go. Another one of Grandpa's lessons popped into my mind: deer and elk will often return to their bed later in the day when they are unsure of what spooked them. When I busted that buck out of his bed, he had heard me rather than seen me. I was in full camo and laying flat when the deer stopped to look back at what had spooked him. I was fairly certain he had not identified me as a human, so I decided to set up shop under the tree and wait. It was now close to 10:30 AM.

 

I was not expecting any traffic through the area until after 4 PM when the shadow of the mountain top began to provide some shade down below. There was a slight breeze to provide some comfort, so I set the rifle on my pack and used both as a blind. I opened up the latest Jack Reacher novel and began to read. Every so often I would watch the saddle down below me. Every so often, I would catch myself dozing off. Then suddenly, I became aware of a peculiar sound off to my left. I looked over just in time to see this huge green and yellow snake head looking at me from three feet away! I scared it as much as it scared me. With a zip he was gone. I think it might have been a coachwhip. He left me standing about ten feet outside my blind (apparently I can still move fast when the occasion arises) with an elevated heart rate. I gingerly made my way back into my make-shift blind once I was certain he was no longer around.

 

I settled back down and started to flip back through my book trying to find the place where I had left off. I had only been reading for about five minutes when something told me to lift my eyes off the page and scour the saddle below me. I caught some movement going behind a mesquite tree far below. I put my bino's on the area, but nothing moved. I watched for another few minutes. I finally figured the grey that I had seen moving around was one of those huge jack rabbits that inhabit the 36 units. Just as I was about to put the bino's down, I saw a buck come around the other side of the tree. Talk about a cautious animal! I remember thinking, what is this guy doing walking around at 1:30 in the afternoon? A quick second look let me know this was not the same buck I had busted out three hours earlier. He had four points on each side and double eyeguards.

 

Although he was not the trophy I was looking for, I couldn't help but feel he was a gift. I sat and watched him through the scope for the longest time. I had already decide to take him, but I wanted to watch him and learn what I could until the shot could no longer be delayed. I lost him in the recoil of the rifle, but I knew he was down.

 

 

After tagging and admiring the magnificent specimen, I trekked down the mountain to refuel my body and to get the pack frame. It was 3:45 before I made it back up the mountain to my buck. By 5 PM I was all packed up and coming down off the mountain with a heavy load. I made it back out to the gate by 5:45, just as the sun was starting to sink. My mind was on a thousand different things: packing up camp; getting the meat on ice; the difficult four wheel drive out on the old mining road; a nice dinner in Tucson; and sleeping in my own bed later that night. Then out of the corner of my eye, I saw that old horseshoe propped upright against the rock. My thoughts quickly ran to my Grandpa and a smile came to my face. That old horseshoe had brought me luck. It was every bit as much a trophy as my buck. I picked it up and took it home with me. When my mount is complete, the horseshoe will hang there just below my antlered trophy suggesting to all who see it that there is a story to be told with this deer.

[desertmafia21]

Great write up and story! Congrats on the buck. Ive always picked up horseshoes but now I will try that method in the future!

[208muley]

Congrats! Great write up! 10-2 a Coues deer hunters favorite time to hunt!

[10Turkeys]

That .270 that was built to O'Connors specs have a Sukalle barrel on it by chance?

[Allforelk]

Good read and congratulations! This story resonates with me on a couple different levels.

[azsugarbear]

The barrel has very few proof markings on them and no names of any manufacturer. It does, however, have a gain-twist barrel. It was built in the late 1950's. Grandpa was on a budget, so he did the best he could. The action is a Mauser brought back from WWII. It still has the german swastika and proof marks on the side of the action. The scope is a Weaver K4 scope with german reticle (post and crosshair).

[AzDiamondHeat]

I'm humbled just reading this...

[azhuntnut]

Great story. I expecially like the Arizona history and picture. David

[CatfishKev]

Not the trophy you were looking for?? Thats a great buck! Your story is probably one of the best I have read. I wish I would have had a Grandpa relationship but I just didn't. My goal is to be the pop-pop for my Grandkids that I never had. Which hopefully still ain't for a dang long while.

[Eagle mountain ranch]

Great write up !! That's a awesome buck for 36A .. Congrats

[MULEPACKHUNTER]

Great story and hunt. Congrats

[Arizona Griz]

Definitely a great story and write up.

[PRDATR]

Nice story. Haven't heard of a gain twist barrel since the 60's. Congratulations on the horse shoe. It looks a bit like one I came across with another hunter on this site during his wifes hunt.

[bigorange]

Great buck and write-up...thanks for sharing.

[azbow]

You have an outstanding story telling skill that brings your adventure and family history to life. Very well done sir and having your grandpa along was strongly felt while reading it. Thanks for sharing! Nice buck also!