COUESAZ Report post Posted October 30, 2007 Well i got th Big OK from John over at www.azsj.org to post the photos of this buck over here on the site that will like to see it the most. his story in his words . My last deer was in 2002, I have had tags in 2004 & 2006 & didn't get a deer. I was determined this weekend to break that streak. I was drawn for 36c early WT. it was crazy hot this weekend, when I got in my truck to leave this afternoon it was 94. It was a full moon & warm. I never worn more than a sweatshirt, no gloves, no jacket, it was warm. My plan stemmed from a place I had seen during spring Javelina season. It was a very high saddle that had a ton of deer tracks on it. It also was a likely avenue of retreat for any deer busted out of the lower mesquite thickets by late arriving hunters. I knew if I was going to be in position to take advantage of deer being pushed we would need to get on the saddle by first light. It was about 2 mile walk on a old two-tracker that is closed off to foot-traffic only, from the two-tracker it was about a 500 foot or so vertical climb to the saddle. We left at 3:45 & made the saddle by sun-up. I picked out an overhanging rock out cropping & setup my binoculars & Chandler Chevy set up my spotting scope. I started to look below & than thought it would be better if I glassed the flat area of the saddle & the oaks a bit to the south of us to make sure I looked the area over before the sun was high enough for any deer in the area to see us & take off. I was glassing maybe 5 minutes when I saw a doe about 200 yards off. I was watching her wondering if there were any bucks around when a forky walked out from a rock that was blocking my view. He was about 150 out. I told CC about it & we cut the distance about 80 yards & I set up on a rock out cropping putting my sweatshirt on top of it to pad my gun. I was debating weather I was going to shoot the fork when shots rang out from the above us & below us. The guys weren't shooting at these deer, but the deer didn't know it & they took off on a sprint. At first we only saw the fork & the doe, but CC was glassing & picked up two more bucks. He sez in a really excited voice, John one is a monster. I had got new glasses last Saturday & they weren't finished in time for the hunt. The deer were 300 plus yards out & 100 yards above us & I couldn't make them out with my naked eyes. I got down behind my scope & finally picked up a couple. I couldn't tell if they had antlers. In the meantime CC had lost them & couldn't relocate them. I was watching the two & not sure if they were bucks or not when a third one walked out & his antlers were really big. Honestly, my first reaction was he would go B&C. I let him get broadside & I fired a round & missed. I put the cross-hairs a deers length above him & pulled the trigger on the second shot & he took a hit. It was limping a little & I thought I had hit in in the rear, but that didn't turn out to be the case. By this time CC, had locked in on him with the binos & my third shot dropped him. It didn't kill him, but it stopped him. I had to make my way over & finish him off. He is in the top 2 of WT's I have killed a 3 x 4 with eye guards & really good mass. I am not someone who scores stuff, but guys that looked at him in the field felt he was mid-80's to mid 90's. Very nice buck & one I was very happy to take. CC & I hung him in a oak tree & spent a couple of hours boning him out. CC was awesome for tagging along. He had no dog in the fight, but came with me just to hang out & help. Without him I would have been alone on Friday & would have been looking at two trips forsure, to get my gear & deer out of there. On Friday night my boss & friend Matt showed up with our customer Ken. I was beat down from Friday & in the back off my mind I was thinking making the climb to the saddle would have probably been the right move, but I knew another place that I have almost always glassed up deer from, so I went with that instead. We left at 4:00 a.m. & hiked in in the dark, we hit the glassing point & I set up the binos. About 15 minutes in I pickup a 2-point at 800 or 900 yards. Ken had never taken a deer before & although he was hoping that I would glass one up within rifle range, he agreed to go after the buck. CC & Matt, stayed behind & Ken I took off. We got into a wash that had sign of heavy UDI activity & it was actually a little erie. I was a bit worried about who we might run into. The buck had bedded down toward the top of this ridge & I figured if we went around we could come from the top & make about a 60 yard shot. It took us about 2 hours to make the stalk/climb. Once we got on top we couldn't find him. He had moved about 50 yards from were we had last seen him & he was actually about 150 yards away from us. CC & Matt were signaling that he was still there. In the end I blew it when I rolled a rock. He came out running & Ken, only had about 3 seconds to shoot before he made it to safety. We were pretty beat up by than & I decided to stay high & glass the area below us & hope to pick something up. About 3:30 I picked up 27 UDI's at about 700 yards coming through a wash. I was following out the wash & if they stayed in it it would have put them about 30 yards from our camp. I only saw them for about 30 seconds & than the wash hid them from our view. About 10 minutes later they came out of the wash & went cross-county. They were all carrying backpacks & gallon water jugs, of the 27, 3 were women & they all looked fairly young. I didn't see any weapons, but the thought that they were up in the foothills running through the rough country made me wonder if they were drug runners. Earlier when we started our stalk we hit a trail that was well-worn & I thought it was odd because there were no cattle. As we continued we started to see from the trash that it was people not animals that had made the trail. While Ken & I were doing the stalk Matt & CC glassed up two sets of Javelina & a couple more does. Matt said the pigs were chunks, really large. As luck would have it, CC & his friend Orlando have both WT tags & fall Javelina tags for the same unit for the same hunt dates Nov 9th thu the 18th. I have a Javelina tag so we will be going back to try for more WT's & those chucky pigs. It was a great weekend, but the country is tough. If I don't make an effort to drop a bunch of weight I am not sure I will beable to do this stuff more than another 5 years. I am beat up, tired & looking forward to doing it again in two weeks, Take Care, JLG. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
azryan Report post Posted October 30, 2007 great write up...congrats on a beautiful az coues Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stanley Report post Posted October 30, 2007 A great buck indeed (and a great write-up as well....). Thanks for sharing! S. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cramerhunts Report post Posted October 30, 2007 Great buck and great story. A very good write up. Is it just me or does anyone else think he looks a lot bigger then what the author states? Phil Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
scoutm Report post Posted October 30, 2007 Great buck and great story. A very good write up. Is it just me or does anyone else think he looks a lot bigger then what the author states? Phil When I took the mental tape to it I came up with 90-93. So I would say he's on the higher end of the range the author stated. Great buck though regardless of score. I really like tip of it's left main beam. Congrats to the hunter. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cramerhunts Report post Posted October 30, 2007 Great buck and great story. A very good write up. Is it just me or does anyone else think he looks a lot bigger then what the author states? Phil When I took the mental tape to it I came up with 90-93. So I would say he's on the higher end of the range the author stated. I was thinking 95" gross so I feel better about my scoring ability. I didn't see the part about mid 90's....I guess I was too excited to get to the pictures. It looks like a score sheet in the bottom pic doesn't it? Regardless its a nice buck no matter what the figures are. Phil Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cpugsie Report post Posted October 30, 2007 Nice heavy buck. Congratulations! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
crazyaboutcoues Report post Posted October 30, 2007 Yes...congrats on a great buck. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
azpackhorse Report post Posted October 30, 2007 Very nice buck! I talked to a guy today that's in 36C that swears that "there aint no deer in this unit" Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
COUESAZ Report post Posted November 1, 2007 I have a few of those areas also. I tell people all the time that my favorite areas are hunted out. One of them realy is but the others i just say it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KGAINES Report post Posted November 1, 2007 Congrats on a great buck, thanks for the pics and story. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mr.smith Report post Posted November 1, 2007 John is a great hunter and an even greater friend. This man goes out of his way to help his friends with their hunts or anything else for that matter. I have had the privelige to hunt with John a couple times and all I can say is congrats buddy, you deserve it. What a buck. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
COUESAZ Report post Posted November 2, 2007 I know he spent lots of days on others pig hunts and his this year. I have seen him be very helpful to other hunters in info as well. Here are his coues racks. I wish we could get him to join this site i think he would be a great addition to have on the site. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Switchback Report post Posted November 2, 2007 thanks for sharing! He sure has some nice ones Congrats Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
