Joe Kauffman Report post Posted December 15, 2007 My brother and I headed down Thursday for my first ever Dec. coues hunt. We arrived to our area a bit late (after some unforeseen issues ) and quickly setup camp to try and get a few hours of shut eye before heading out opening morning. We awoke yesterday morning to 34 degree temps and a good amount of frost on the ground. It was cold but the deer were definately up enjoying the sunny slopes! We hiked out from camp to a good glassing hill we had in mind and started seeing deer immediately. We glassed several groups of 3-4 deer but only one spike in the bunches. We knew the bucks were there somewhere hidden in the Ocotilla and also knew we had to keep our patience. We finished off the morning seeing around 15 deer total and only the one buck. After stopping at the truck for a quick snack & caffeine refuel we headed out to another spot that would surely take us close to 2 hours to get to. We saw several does & fawns along the way but knew we'd get into the bucks the closer we got to the sweet spot. About an hour into the trip we crested a good size mountain that had a thick Ocotilla slope with plenty of bedding shade. Almost as if it was planned, we both glanced back to start glassing the thickets and our eyes fell onto 2 bucks simotaneously. He whispered "Wait!" as I whispered "Deer!". Within 2 seconds my brother had his glasses up and I had the scope pointed towards the 2 bucks. We could tell that neither one of them had huge racks, but one definately had something else going on. After a minute or so of looking at the larger one I decided it was definately unique enough to take opening day due to his 7 points on one side (5 & 2 eyeguards) and 3 1/2 on the other. I jumped down ranged him at just under 300 yards and with one squeeze of the trigger we had a UBD! (unique buck down!) After some celebratory high fives and cheers we dressed and carried him back to the truck. Being my first coues I didn't have any predetermined sizes I wanted and this buck was definately more than I hoped for. He's not huge in the scoring department but his character and uniqueness more than make up for it in my book. He'll look great on the wall and includes another great hunting story with my bro and I. Thanks again for making the trip with me bro! I had a blast and enjoyed the time with you. Just don't mention you new waitress friend to anyone! Here's a few pics from my first Dec coues hunt. Joe Kauffman Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CouesWhitetail Report post Posted December 15, 2007 Congratulations! Nice buck! Amanda Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GameHauler Report post Posted December 15, 2007 Congratulations Joe Way to get-r-done. Cool Buck. Mike Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
COUESAZ Report post Posted December 15, 2007 Way to go Joe K. glad it all came together for you on your first Dec Coues buck. Man i wish i could have been there. I like hunting coues but realy like to hunt December coues. Once again congrats on a great first to ya. Jade. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kcw Report post Posted December 15, 2007 Nice buck.....I've been wating for the first reports on the december hunt....thanks for posting it up. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
coueshunter Report post Posted December 16, 2007 Great job and cool looking buck, lots of character...........Allen............... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
elkhunter Report post Posted December 16, 2007 Good job on your first coues, i bet you're hooked now eh? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
matthewp45 Report post Posted December 16, 2007 Nice buck. Way to get it done on opening day. Congrats Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
haywire Report post Posted December 17, 2007 Man what a blast!! Joe I wouldn't have missed that for the world!! That hunt by itself is a great time, but getting to hang out with your brother and hunt is even better. Not sure about the "unforeseen issues" and the "new waitress friend" is all about, maybe you were on a different trip?? Anyway, the character bucks are the coolest and that one for sure has character!! I almost wish the hunt would have lasted a little longer, but sometimes you gotta take em when you got em. Thanks for allowing me to tag along and CONGRATS on your first coues buck!! Richard Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Huntn coues Report post Posted December 17, 2007 Nice buck! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikep35 Report post Posted December 17, 2007 Great job and fantastic first buck! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joe Kauffman Report post Posted December 19, 2007 Thanks for all the congrats! Rich, forgot about that stuff already?? Must be the old age kicking in ? Joe Kauffman Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
firstcoueswas80 Report post Posted December 19, 2007 nicely done! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
COOSEFAN Report post Posted December 19, 2007 Way-to-go-Joe! Great buck, love the character! That's awesome you and Richie got to hunt together and had a successful trip! Congrats dude JIM> Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
