Sam

Congratulations. There were afew cold, nasty days this past weekend. Patience is the key. At least you were successful - me on the other hand, had alot of patience, but no deer in the freezer.

Great write up. It must have been very exciting. You guys sure beat the odds on this hunt. Congrats to everyone!

For five days, I hunted the Cerro Colorados hard. I saw some does, but no bucks. My brother in law saw a nice 3 point, but couldn't get a shot - of all places a few hundred yards off the road, close to a tank. He was too worn out to climb up high again, so he sat by a tank. I went back up the mountain. I glassed many hours, hiked high in the wee dark hours of the morning, walked edges of canyons in the high wind trying to jump a bedded buck - nothing. Sat out the rain and hail and a little snow early one morning. I shot one there two years ago, saw a few bucks while scouting this year, but being the 5th hunt, I think there was just too much pressure in 36A this year. Not to mention the 2 mule deer hunts. Very disappointing! I think this late November hunt is a joke. In 20 years of whitetail hunting, I have never had such a discouraging hunt. I'm not complaining, just pointing out that during this 10 year drought, there doesn't seem to be as many deer out there. Luckily, I have a little venison left from a mule deer last year.........Good luck to the December hunters.

Thanks for the nice thoughts. Now I have to say buy to my family and head off to look for some whitetails.....bound for 36A.

What a great way to get these boys hooked on hunting. Congrats to the kid that got the deer. The bigger buck must have been a dandy.

I'll be down there with my brother in law. Green 2007 Jeep, off the Batamore ranch road. I agree, not as many deer as in years past. May move to another area after a day or two. Too many tags and not enough water.

Seems like I always end up with extra garbage after every outing. I have a very hard time with seeing all the trash in our deserts and forests. I think the worst was a camp I came across in 5A a few years ago. A ripped dome tent that was blown under a log, a fly a few yards away - no stakes or poles? Plus beer bottles every where and a fold up toilet seat. I was amazed! Yes, I did clean everything up. I was glad my kids didn't see this. This is why I always have garbage bags in my truck. Sam

Great job! Good luck on your elk hunt. I'll tell my daughter that 12 is the lucky number:).

While scouting over the weekend, I came across a fawn which I believe was killed by a lion - based on the scat I found around the kill. It was not torn apart, but it was fed upon pretty much to the bone. Seemed fresh, the intestines were still around. If it was a lion kill, do you think other deer in the canyon will be driven away from the area? Or will deer still be in the area if it is part of their home range.? I used hunt a canyon in unit 27 and always saw alot of deer. Then one year, no deer were to be found. I couldn't figure out what happened, water and food sources were the same - then one morning, I saw a lion in that same canyon and assumed that the deer were driven away. Sam

These days, I will not pass up on shooting a lion. Over the years, I have let some lions live. But, there are too many things working against our state's deer populations. One less lion will help the cause. It would be a very successful hunt to come home with a buck and a lion. Tags are waiting to be filled.

Nice job on a tough hunt. Wish my wife hunted.......

Exciting and well deserved! Beautiful deer.

Great deer! You are right about it being dry. Both of my reliable water sources in 36A are dry. There are still a few deer around, but I think they are traveling 2 plus miles to get water. Searched all last weekend for some hidden water, couldn't find any.

Interesting. Maybe the lion was hanging out by the tank, which discouraged deer from coming in. What time of year was it?

I hunt an area in Unit 27, and have had the same problem. At one time there were alot of deer and, one year, hardly anything. It is an area that is notorious for Lions as I always find alot of deer skulls. It didn't help matters when I happened to see a mexican gray wolf, and then found gobbs of wolf tracks in the sandy soil of the creek bottoms of two canyons. So true about the Mexican Gray wolf. I know they have had an impact on the Unit 27 deer population. One of the biggest lions I have ever seen was in that unit. Wish I was able to get a shot off. There alot of big bucks in there, but, I haven't had a 27 tag for a number of years - maybe next year.

I agree. A lion will do alot of damage to a healthy deer population really quick.

Short and sweet is right. Congrats! This kind of hunt sure keeps your adrenaline flowing. I kind of remembering BP trucks being green. Did they change recently?

Great write up and pictures Doug. My daughters especially enjoyed the sunrise and sunset pictures. I told them that scenes like that make those early hikes to the top of the hill so worth it. They agreed, not whole heartedly, but they agreed!

Great deer! Nothing better than a hard earned buck. I enjoyed the great story. I'm glad nothing got to the deer overnight. I have never had the guts to leave a deer/elk overnight. I have heard of too many bad stories of meat rotting and animals tearing it up. But, I have also spent many nights working into the night making sure I got back to camp, always with a smile on my face!

Thanks for the info everyone. Salting the hide is a bad plan. Doug - I always use frozen jugs to keep the meat cold too. It is amazing how long frozen milk gallons and two litter soda bottles last. I always bring one big cooler full of them and keep it wrapped in a blanket until I need them throughout the hunt. Our food cooler stays much cleaner too by using the frozen bottles. Clay and Mr. Smith - thanks for the tips on caping and piping out the legs. Clay, I may be calling you the first week if I get lucky. I'm going to send you a PM also. Now let's just hope I have a nice buck to bring in. Sam

Hi everyone, This is my first question on this great website. I have enjoyed reading all the reports and have even commented on quite a few. After hunting in AZ for over 30 years, I think I finally have enough money to keep a deer cape and mount one, if it is good size. I have a hunt coming up in late November. Over the years, I have been lucky enough to connect on a few good size coues, mulies and elk; but have only mounted the antlers. I have a couple questions in regards to keeping the hide on the skull of a deer. After skinning the deer, and pulling the hide up as far as possible towards the base of the skull, is it ok to leave the hide on the skull for a day or two? How quickly do I have to get it to a taxidermist before the hide is damaged? I'm worried about cutting around the eyes and mouth and turning the ears out. I would hate to damage the hide; but, I would also hate to leave it on the skull too long and have it rot. I was thinking that salting the hide and leaving it attached to the skull in a cooler would be ok for a few days. Thanks for the input. Sam

Best of luck. I hope your kids can connect. I'll be down that way scouting as well this weekend. Looking forward to a report and hopefully some pictures of a deer or two.

Good luck with your daughter. Are you guys going back to 36A? My daughter didn't get drawn for deer this year. She was disapointed, but looking forward to the turkey hunt in the spring. Hoping she breaks in her new 20 gauge with a tom! Sam

Nothing better than a father and son team, except a father and daughter team. I have 2 girls .

Thank you is not enough, but that's all I can give. Thank you cousin Bryan, glad you're home safely!