Ron G.

Very nice Lance! Your wife is a trooper. When I have a stomach bug I don't want to leave my bedroom, let alone climb mountains... It looks like coues fever is strong! Congrats to you both! Ron

2008 is turning out to be a great season for me. First, a near miss on a small coues whitetail buck during the August-September archery season, then accompanying two friends on their archery elk hunt, then my wife’s successful cow elk hunt (her first), and now my own successful Coues deer hunt in southern Arizona after being able to pick up a leftover tag. Due to a busy fall season, I wasn’t able to get down and scout as much as I had wanted to. I finally managed to get down south to check out a couple of places that azcouesandelk (Christian) and Bill (AZSlim from AZSJ) [thanks guys!] turned me onto with my almost three year old, Ryan the week before the season started. Ryan playing in the dirt… A few days later it was finally time to pack up and leave for the hunt. There was supposed to be four of us heading down south for the hunt, but due to some medical issues with my mom, my dad opted to stay home and miss out on the hunt. With my dad missing, that left three of us to journey down for the hunt. My hunting partners for this hunt would be Bob, who lives up by my dad and is a buddy of his, and Dick. Dick lives in Gilbert and is a friend of Bob’s. After a long and bumpy ride we finally arrived at camp. Upon getting a quick camp set up, we headed out for a night of pre-season scouting. I headed high and Bob and Dick headed down a little lower. We all spotted about 10 deer apiece that afternoon/evening, but all does from what we could tell. We decided to hit the bowl that Bob and Dick had checked out Thursday afternoon for our opening morning hunt. It was my job to set the alarm and get everyone up the next morning. Needless to say, I failed at my job. I set the alarm, but forgot to turn it on. I woke up Friday morning and immediately jumped up realizing from the glow on the horizon that I had overslept. As we were getting ready we saw three vehicles take the road into the bowl we were going to check out that morning. Since we were already running late and the bowl we had originally intended to glass was getting crowded, we decided to hike right outside of camp and see what we could see from a nearby point. As soon as we started glassing we were seeing deer. After a short time we were able to put antlers on one of four deer that were hanging out together, so the game was on. Dick had yet to harvest a Coues whitetail, so we figured we’d put him on the first shooter we saw. To him that was anything with antlers. Bob and Dick moved off towards the deer while I watched them through the binos until the deer went out of site. After I lost the deer I headed to the draw where I saw the deer headed. Along the way I signaled Bob and Dick to come over to me and join me. We reached the draw I thought the deer would drop into. We glassed across, but only saw two does. We discussed what we thought we should do and then movement caught our attention. We wondered if it was the bucks we saw earlier. Sure enough, it was two spikes sparring. The two other bucks then stepped out into sight. One was a 3x3 and the other a 2x2. We watched them feed up the opposing ridge and figured Dick had better shoot the biggest one before they spooked or went over the top of the ridge. The deer were 330 yards away when Dick took his first shot. He connected on his first shot, but shot another insurance shot that dropped the deer in his tracks. Yahoo! Dick had killed his first Coues buck, and we were all of 300 yards from camp. The two spikes hung around for another 10 minutes or so until Dick started heading in the downed buck’s direction. It was interesting to watch the young deers’ reaction to the bigger deer going down in front of them. We got over to Dick’s deer and he actually seemed a bit bigger than we had thought he was. Dick was very excited about his deer. After a quick picture session, it was time to get the deer back to camp. Bob and Dick with Dick’s deer… Dick and his buck… Check out the holes in Dick’s Buck’s ears. Both ears had big holes in them… From there Bob and I headed up the hill to glass while Dick took his deer back to camp and get it cleaned up. We spent the rest of the afternoon glassing with Dick joining us later that afternoon. We saw plenty of deer, and passed on a couple of smaller bucks as the goal was now something bigger than Dick’s. About 15 minutes before dark I found a couple of deer that were about 1600 yards away. Even through the 15’s I could make out antlers on both of them, so I knew I was looking at a couple of nice bucks. I briefly thought about trying to get closer for a better look, but knew with darkness quickly approaching I wouldn’t make it far. Total for the day was about 10-12 bucks seen, and about 35 deer overall seen. It was a great day and with one already on the ground we were looking forward to the next day. Bob and Dick Glassing The next day found us climbing up a ridge near the bowl we had hunted the previous evening. Our plan was to glass our way to the highest peak around from which we planned to sit and glass from all day. The morning was somewhat breezy, and I think because of it we only saw a few deer. On the way to the top of the knob we kicked out two does from a protected draw. Stopping to watch them we also saw four pigs, three large ones and one baby. We eventually made it to the knob from which we planned to glass from for the rest of the day. Javelina… Doe… Dick left us about noon to hike back to camp to pack up and head home. At about 1pm we started seeing deer again. We were only seeing singles and pairs, but enough deer to keep us in the binos and not take a nap. At about 3:30 I glassed up a buck about 1000 yards from us. We watched him work his way down to a wash and disappear into a brushy draw out of our sight. It looked like the deer should poke out anytime, so we continued to watch for him so we could take a better look at him and figure out if we wanted to go after him. While looking for the buck, Bob said he saw another deer higher up the ridge. I threw the spotter on him and right away saw that he was a shooter. I had Bob come over and look at him. He said we definitely have to go after that deer. Bob spotted the deer, so I fully expected him to go after him, but he offered him up to me saying he’d shot plenty of nice ones throughout the year and I should have a chance at a nice one. I didn’t have to think twice about accepting his offer. I grabbed my rifle, GPS, some water and made my way to close the distance some before it got much later. There was a knob in between me and the buck that I wanted to get to and survey the situation. I made it over there and realized the buck was starting to move down hill. It opened up into a bowl in between me and the buck and I knew if I tried moving any closer the buck would likely spook. I knew I had to shoot from here before he moved out of range. I found a nearby mesquite tree to use as a rest, ranged him at 400 yards, and set up to take a shot. My first shot hit him, but he started walking towards me. I let loose with a few more shots and finally on my last shot he dropped and it was over. I hit him three times, two being in the chest, upper and lower. I was very excited and I made my way over to him as soon as I could, excited to put my hands on him. After admiring him I went up to the top of the ridge to where I had cell service so I could call my dad. I wanted him to be the first to know since he couldn’t make the hunt. I called him to give him the good news and share the moment with him. We did a hurried picture session so we could get him processed as much as possible before it got dark. Bob really wanted to get out of there before it got dark since we had about three quarters of a mile (straight distance) back to the quads and he wasn’t looking forward to walking over the two ridges in the tall grass hiding the prickly pear cactus and softball sized rocks in the dark. Bob and I with my buck… We caped him out and had him quartered out before heading back to the quads. Lucky for us, the draw below us circled around the ridge we hiked up that morning and would dump us out real close to where we parked. It was much easier hiking in the bottom of the wash than it would have been had we taken a straight line. After getting back to the quads we drove them back to camp, loaded up into the truck and drove the truck the hour via dirt roads to where we could get about 1/3 mile from the buck to get the meat out. We made it back to my buck and packed the meat back down to the truck. Dinner at midnight was quick and easy so as we could get to bed and do it again the next day. Getting him out… The next morning we awoke to some pretty good winds that we knew would get stronger as the day went on. The wind made it difficult to glass and we spent most of the day looking for someplace where we could get out of the wind and still glass the protected pockets we expected the deer to hole up in. We finally glassed up some deer, two bucks and two does, all moving to the same clump of trees. We watched them disappear out of site and decided to sit on that area and hope that they would come back out into the ‘open’ later in the afternoon/evening. After sitting there all afternoon and taking turns watching the wooded draw and taking naps, we never did see the deer come back out of the thick trees. Being worn out from dealing with the wind all day, we made our way back to camp. The wind was still whipping and our camp looked like someone had come along and ransacked it. Tables were overturned and stuff was strewn everywhere. The wind up on top of the ridge had some strength to it. After Bob saw our camp and the approaching thunderheads, he made the decision to pack up camp and head home that night. I really wanted to get him on a deer the following morning, but was ok with getting home a night earlier than expected also. We packed up that night and headed home. It made for a very late night getting home. Overall, it was a great hunt! Many thanks go out to Dick and Bob for an enjoyable hunt. Thanks again to AZSlim on the great information of where to go and the spot on information. Thank you also to my wonderful wife Karly who is very supporting and understanding of all my hunting adventures. Thanks for reading... Ron

Thanks everyone! I'm wondering if the hole's in both ears of that one buck is possibly from sparring with other bucks? Not sure... Ron

I was down in 36B this past Sunday and watched a helicopter rounding up illegals. Seemed to be herding them down towards a road. Seemed like it was working 2-3 different groups because it would keep jumping back and forth over a mountain range. 3 of the illegals I saw looked like they took cover in a wash when the helicopter went out of site. I was hoping the helicopter would kick some deer out of their beds, but no luck...

Holy cow! That is amazing! Congrats to your wife and you on a great hunt! Ron

Very nice! Congratulations on a nice buck and glad you were able to get the lion too! That is awesome!

2008 is a year I won’t soon forget. My wife, Karly, decided to put in for elk this year. We put her in for early rifle bull first choice, and rifle cow second choice. When the elk draw results came out, my sorrow at not getting drawn was overruled by joy for my wife getting drawn for her very first elk tag. She was drawn for the October antlerless elk hunt. The work then began. I took her out shooting every chance we got, and an informal education on hunting began. This was to be her first big game hunt, and in actuality it was pretty much her first real hunt except for accompanying me on a couple of duck or turkey hunts. Practicing for the hunt… We didn’t go up until Friday night, as much as it killed me to skip opening day it worked out better time wise for us. We also figured we’d only have to deal with the crowds in the woods Saturday and Sunday am before the majority of the people tagged out or went home. Saturday am found us near where I was archery deer hunting earlier in the year. Many of you may remember the some of the elk pictures I posted after that hunt. I figured it would be a good starting point. After sitting and hiking around some, we were getting ready to take a break and I saw an elk running on the opposite ridge. I pulled out the cow call and gave a couple of ‘mews’. Before I could react, what I now realized was a cow elk came running at full bore right for us. Karly and I looked at each other and she asked me if she should shoot it. I said it was her decision and she said on her first day of hunting she didn’t want to shoot a calf. The calf came over to within 40 yds of us before finally realizing mommy wasn’t over there and wandered off to bed down further up the ridge. The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. We did see one bull that night on a waterhole as we were heading back to the truck. Excited anticipation… Glassing… More glassing… And even more glassing… The next morning found us in an area recommended by my dad and another friend who has a place near my parents. After passing a couple of trucks along the road, we parked where we thought we could intercept the elk that travel back and forth across a couple of ridges. As we were getting out of the truck I heard a bugle. Then another, and another. I mentioned to Karly while sitting in the truck with the doors open that it must be a couple of ‘yahoos’ back up the road a ½ mile and that they must be screwing around with a bugle while waiting for it to get light. As soon as I stepped out of the truck I realized that the bugles were coming from different directions. Hot darn! The bulls were still fired up, probably hot with the ‘second’ rut. Karly and I got on our way and had bugles and cow calls within a 100 yds of us, but it was still too dark to see well enough to shoot. We ended up seeing 3 different bulls that morning ranging from a 3x3 to a 6x6. We did kick up some elk out of their bedding area around 8am. They only offered a quick glimpse and were gone. So close, but no cows seen and no shot opportunities. That afternoon my dad wanted to show us a trail in the area so the whole family loaded up and went out hunting. The kids were pretty good sports and walked a little ways down this trail before wanting a break. They also got to play in the dirt for a while. Papa helping out with the kids… My family… Ryan showing his mommy how the shooting sticks work… Playing in the dirt… We walked with Papa and the kids back to the truck and then saw them off. Karly and I hunted the rest of the evening and didn’t see anything except a beautiful sunset. We’d hiked way too much on Sunday, so I was hoping the elk would be just as fired up on Monday am, and we’d hopefully be in a better position to cut them off at daylight instead of before light. We got out a little earlier on Monday to hopefully allow us a chance to locate the bugles and position ourselves to intercept them. We stopped where we parked the day before and got out to hear bugles 100-200 yds behind us, with cow mews just out of sight. Further up the road we went. I think we went too far though, as when we got out of the truck and started making our way back to the elk all we could hear was very faint bugles, and by sunrise the bugles tapered off to nothing. After crunching our way through the woods for a while, we decided to circle around and possibly get back to the truck a little earlier since we found the elk bedded so early the day before. I suddenly looked up and saw a cow standing broadside about 80 yds from us. I put up the shooting sticks and stepped aside so Karly could get set up for a shot. It was a little comical as the sticks fell to the ground and we fumbled around to get a shot off at the elk. As soon as Karly got all set up for a shot the cow walked off into the surrounding cover. It was only after she was out of sight that I remembered the cow call. We snuck through the trees trying to intercept the cow and saw a flash of movement ahead of us. Once again we got set up and this time I stopped the second cow with a ‘mew’ from the cow call. She was behind two layers of trees and didn’t provide a clear shot. She walked off and the next cow stepped into view. Once again I stopped her with a cow call. Still no clear shot. This happened one more time before we decided to move and try to catch them in a more open area. During this time we could hear weak bugles, more like grunts coming from behind the cows. It seemed like the elk were reacting to the shots and pressure from the last few days and once the sun came up they were quieting down significantly. We moved up a bit and we saw a lone cow behind a clump of bushes. Karly got set up on her shooting sticks and as the cow stepped into the open I stopped her with a cow call. Her vitals exposed, I told Karly to shoot when she was ready. Next thing I hear is the click of the safety and BOOM! The cow dropped in her tracks. She kicked and moved around so we sat and watched her. After a couple of minutes she struggled to get up so I told Karly, “Shoot her again! Shoot her in the neck!” BOOM! She was down for good then. Karly’s first shot hit the cow high in the shoulder, and the second right in the neck. I had ranged the cow at 96 yards. Karly keeping an eye on the downed cow (out of sight)... The view of the opening the cow was standing in... Karly's excited smile after the shot(s)... We walked up on her and found out that Karly dropped her right in the middle of a quad trail that intersected two roads on parallel ridges. It would make for an easy pack out. We tagged the elk and I left to get the kids and my dad for pictures and help get the elk back to the house. I was very proud of my wife and happy to be there with her. She was super excited and can’t wait to get drawn again! The kids were excited to be a part of it and were excited to see Karly’s elk. As we found her... Me bringing the kids... The kids checking out Karly's elk... Karly with her elk... The kids and Karly with her elk... The family with Karly's elk... One proud and happy hunter! Sorry for the length and thanks for reading… Ron

Congratulations Brittany on a great shot and a nice buck! Way to go!

Congratulations Sandra on an awesome bull! Good job Terry and Dusty helping her out! Ron

Thanks everyone! My wife and I both had a great time and look forward to her having another tag. Maybe next time a bull tag??? My wife also says thanks for all the kind comments! Ron

Congratulations Ciarra! Great job on the coyote and the elk!

Amanda, it looks like you had a great time and a great hunt! Thanks for sharing the pictures and stories with us. Good luck the rest of the season!

Awesome job Ian and the Mullins crew! Thanks for sharing the great story and awesome pictures! Ron

At 20 yds aim for the heart so they don't duck the shot...

Congratulations on a great bull Jay! Thanks again for letting me come up with you guys. I had a blast! Just wish we could have sealed the deal for Rob. Ron

It has been a few years since I've been out there, but I've gone out there a few times and ran my dog (lab) for the kids to pick up their birds if/when they shot any. They assign shooting stations like Jim said. You can always move down to an unmanned station if the shooting isn't good where you are at. Phil Smith runs the place out there and is doing a top notch job with the place. He's made several improvements over the last few years. There should be a lot of dove flying around. The kids have always had a great time from what I've seen. They usually have biologists out there to age the doves and give other information on them as well. Have fun and don't forget your eye/ear protection.

I've been wondering about hunting a bedding area myself. In preseason scouting I found bedded and feeding deer several times in a thick thicket. I ended up hunting the ridge above the bedding area and ended up catching one walking down the trail I was sitting over on opening day. Only problem is he ducked my arrow... After sitting a couple of more days and not seeing anything, I decided to check out the bedding area more closely. After climbing out of my stand and packing everything up, I walked down the trail to the bedding area and ended up kicking up what I thought was a doe until I was able to put my binos on it and saw antlers, of course once it was out of range. There were beds and droppings all in there. From the number of times I've seen deer in there while scouting, I think it is used pretty heavily. Needless to say, I think I'm going to be sitting above the bedding area this weekend. I've seen deer in there more often than not, and they seem to put up with a lot of activity from past experiences in there. Hopefully one of the bigger guys will show up. I just hope they aren't too buggered and are still using the area.

Probably in Grand Canyon National Park. Years ago on a raft trip through the canyon we had a herd of sheep come down and visit us while having breakfast across from Deer Creek Falls. Pretty cool...

WOW! Awesome bull! Congratulations Mr. Dunn! Sounds like a good time was had by all up there. Good job everyone! Jim, thanks for sharing the story and pictures. Ron

Very nice bucks! Thanks for sharing!

36B Nov 7. Hopefully I won't be able to use it after archery deer season.

Are you getting an error message when trying to upload the maps, or does it tell you the upload was successful but the maps don't show up on your gps? If it is the latter, there should be a menu to toggle between the Garmin maps and the AZ Topo maps. Make sure your card is big enough also, but you should get an error message up front if that is the problem. Hope that helps some...

Amanda, I have been the last couple of years and was looking forward to going to this years clinic, but with it being on a Saturday of opening weekend of archery deer season I'll have to miss it. For anyone on the fence there are always a lot of good topics covered and a lot of good information given out. Ron

Awol, Thanks for the map link! I got it working on my gps. Not too difficult and I like the better resolution. Here is a link that shows how to toggle back and forth between the Garmin Mapsource Topo maps and the 24k maps on your gps: http://www.miscjunk.org/mj/mp_mapset.html CMC, I think even you ought to be able to figure it out!

Thanks for the info! I'll be playing with this this weekend... Ron