Search the Community

Day One: Almost immediately we noticed that this hunt was going to be considerably different then my wife, son and daughter’s November hunt. As the sun came up, unlike the Nov hunt, we saw little to no activity in the flat. We started to glass up higher up the slope and picked up does already bedding. We glassed for a couple of hours and decided that they were going to most likely stay bedded until late afternoon. I decided to head to the top of the main ridge and see what I could see from up top. I got of my quad, grabbed my gear and stepped off the road to set up to glass. Immediately got busted by something. Something snorted. I pulled up by binos and noticed a nice 3x3 rounding a juniper and disappearing. Ok, suspicion confirmed. That afternoon, we headed back down to a high bowl and started glassing. Around 5 p.m. we see a buck in the bowl at 200 yards. As it moved to within 170 yards, we noticed it was an odd looking 3x3. 2” G1s angled inward almost touching. The G2s or G3s were facing backwards making it seem like he had double main beams. We tried to get his dad to set up for a shot on this buck, but was unable too before he spooked and ran off. Day two we headed back to that bowl for the morning. Again we noticed more activity up higher. Saw several does and a few small bucks bedding and milling around up high. We went and grabbed a bite to eat and decided to go back to the top of the ridge and glass where that buck from the prior evening ran. Another set of hunters beat us to the ridge and we were not able. We decided to take the ridge road along the ridge south of the draw the yesterday’s buck ran into. We set up started glassing and soon spotted a nice mature 2x2 standing under a juniper 400 yards away. Again we tried to get my friends dad on this buck, but he was not able to see him. I set up for the shot. The buck moved down the slope to 366 yds and I took the shot. I hear my friend chucky say “You missed over his back!!!” The buck disappears in a little draw. We regrouped and started glassing again. I went to the other side of the ridge and started to glass again. Within 30 minutes, I busted a small 2x2 buck bedded below me. He ran out to 98 yards and stopped. He was too small and I watched him snort and stomp off up the draw. I crossed back over to the side where I missed the buck earlier and shortly, the ole man says, “Chucky, I got a doe under a bush”. We go over to look at this doe and realized that is not a doe. It was a really nice, wide, thin racked buck. I good shooter at 401 yards. We set up for the shot, but before we are ready, he steps under a juniper and stays put until after dark. Day three: We head back up to where we put this buck to sleep. We both agreed that today felt like a good day. Maybe we both will kill today. I decide to start glassing the draw where I jumped that little buck while Chucky started glassing where we bedded the buck last night. Shortly I notice several does feeding up the ridge. A few hundred yards behind them game a small 2x2 and spike. I watched the bucks for about 45 minutes or so. Then I get a text. “I got your buck over here”. I replied, “How far?”, “250 yards” he says. “I’m on my way”, I replied. I get to where Chucky is at and sure enough it is my missed buck from the night before, and he was less than 40 yards from where he was standing when I missed him. I range him at 255 yards. I set up for the shot and fire. He did a 180 and started walking back into that draw again, but I knew I hit him. I reloaded, put the crosshairs shoulder high and waited for him to clear the scrub oak. My 7 REM MAG barked, the 168 Berger VLD with 65.3 grains of IMR 7828 finds it mark again and this beautiful buck drops where he stood. What a year of deer hunting. Six days hunting: Three days hunting during my wife, son and daughter’s hunt and three days during my late hunt producing 4 nice Coues. My wife’s: 54lb 2x2, Son’s: 71 lbs 1x2, Daughter’s: 64lb 2x2 and My 91lb 2x2. Now I have to come up with a unique way to mount all four heads (European mount style).

Congratulations Diego and Jake! Great bucks boys!

After not being drawn for deer, I picked up a leftover tag. I haven't had much time to write a story but here is a quick overview. We hunted the week hard, glassing up 20 bucks and countless does. I ended up missing a big buck on Sunday, but I can blame no body but myself. I ended up shooting right over his back, I would not like to go into details due to the fact it is still painful but it was a calculation error on my part. Buck fever right?? On the 2nd to the last day, I shot this guy. Nice little basket buck which will make some pretty tasty tamales. Another year in the sticks with my family is priceless. We are getting ready for a late rifle bull hunt this week. Good luck to all of the elk hunters out there!

After not being drawn, a group of us picked up leftover tags. We all planned on hunting Friday thru Monday morning. On Saturday we were all able to help a good buddy's 10-year old son get his first buck. We continued hunting hard but Monday morning rolled around and my tag was still unfilled. We decided to go back to where we were opening day since we had seen a good number of bucks and felt that the area should hold some bigger bucks. After the long hike up the mountain we were in our glassing spot waiting for it to get light enough to glass. I was quickly able to find a buck feeding on a ridge around 1000 yards away. I could tell it was a 3 point but in the low light couldn't tell much about it. It joined a couple other smaller bucks that we had seen opening day and as it got lighter the buck looked pretty good. We decided to move closer to get in position to shoot. We moved to a small ridge closer to the buck and found him quickly. He was still feeding but acted like he was looking for a place to bed. The range was 500 yards, I adjusted the turret and once the buck presented a shot I squeezed the trigger and heard my brother say he's down. Here's some photos. I was shooting my new 300 Win Mag with Noslers new 210 grn Long Range Accubond. The bullet liked being pushed hard with my best groups at a muzzle velocity of 2860 fps. At 500 yards the velocity should have been around 2250 fps. The buck was quartered to me, I hit him right behind the shoulder, the bullet broke a few ribs, traveled about 2 ft through the bucks body and stopped just inside the hide of his opposite hind quarter. Below is a pic of the recovered bullet. Good looking mushroom with the solid base holding the bullet together. Weight of the bullet is 103 grn so approximately 50% weight retention.

Can anyone offer any advice as a general starting point in Unit 31 archery in Dec. I am not looking for nayones honey holes or anything, just general rds. I will be coming from Mesa and was going to stay on the North side of the mountain closer to Safford. I have heard good things about Klondike Rd, but also have heard that it gets over crowded. Don't mind hiking into an area. Just started hunting last year and have hunted Unit 22 a little and a little in 24. Thanks in advance for any help or pointers.

I'm on my first rifle deer hunt for coues and I'm looking for a little advice. If you guys are kind enough to help I really appreciate it, since I am new to this. If you feel like I am stepping on toes and asking for too much info, i guess I can understand that too. But what I want to know is do you prefer to hunt and glass from the road or do you like to hike or pack in away from the road and crowds? Also, if you find a group of does but can't find any bucks do you stay on the doe and just wait it out until a buck shows up or do you move to a new spot in search of bucks? I hunted Friday moring through Sunday night and spotted groups of does from 300-1000 yards plus. However we could only spot one button buck and a little forky. This glassing has been from or close to the road and I am really thinking about hiking in a mile or two off the roads. I feel like this would be better for seeing bucks but I am hesitant to leave the does that are closer to the road. What do you guys do and what do you recommend? Thanks for any help you guys can provide, I'm just a rookie looking for some help!

Hey guys, my oldest son Matt and I got back from a fun youth hunt on Monday night. Matt was able to take a nice 3x3 on the last morning of our hunt. We got out there Wednesday night hoping to scout all day Thursday, but it started raining hard around midnight and didn't stop until around 10 on Thursday. Once it was dry enough to drive on the soupy roads we headed out to a spot we had found on the map that looked promising. We found a few tracks, but overall it seemed a little sparse for sign. Then on the way out we found a really good set of sheds. This got us a little more exited about the area for sure. We did a little more scouting that evening and found a way to glass that area from the bottom, did a little shooting at coyotes (missed 3 times due to not having the range finder handy) but we knew where we wanted to be opening morning. Friday morning we headed in and I dropped Matt off about a mile before the glassing spot so he could hunt some of the other ridges while I glassed the canyon we figured the big guy to be in. At about 7 I found a decent 3x3, then another almost identical to him, and finally through a gap in the brush I found a good looking buck bedded right in the open on the hillside. I got on the radio and told Matt to head on over. When I got back to the glass, the bedded buck was gone. A little more glassing and I found him moving down the hill in the sunlight and got a good look at him, and he was a dandy - maybe the same buck we had found the sheds from. I watched him drop out of sight behind a little knob. When Matt got there we located the smaller 3x3 and a little forkie I hadn't seen earlier. The shot was a little long, and he really wanted to wait out the bigger buck. Finally Matt got to see the big buck move out from behind the knob as he was heading to a bedding area. There was no time for a shot, and it was out of reach anyway - about 650 yards, so we made a plan to get closer for the later part of the hunt. On the way out we found another coyote, and Matt nailed him this time. We tried to get back on that buck Friday at noon but ended up on the wrong ridge, then at evening got on the right ridge, but the sun was right in our face and we really couldn't see anything. Saturday morning we were back to the same spot, but didn't find a single deer on that hill. The wind started up right at first light and just got worse as the morning progressed. We headed to Snowflake to coach my youngest son's football game and didn't get back to camp until dark. Sunday morning we were back to the same spot at first light and picked up a doe, but nothing else seemed to be moving. I was starting to get a little discouraged thinking we had maybe pushed the bucks out of this spot and was about to suggest we go look for a new area when Matt motioned to me that he had found two bucks. This kid can sure glass. One of the bucks was a small 3x3 and the other a heavy 2x2. After a little discussion, we figured that there was a good chance the big buck would start moving, so he elected to pass on those two. They moved into the same bedding area the bigger buck had gone Friday morning and we didn't see anything else the rest of the morning. In the evening we headed out to a new area just to explore in hopes of lucking into something. We didn't find any deer, but found this really cool gopher snake crossing the road. Monday morning it was the last shot we had, as we had to head home in the afternoon. We went back to our spot even earlier and started glassing. Matt was kind of kicking himself for passing the small 3x3 the day before, but we were still optomistic. Right away we found a couple of does, but no bucks. We moved our position a little to get an angle where we could see more of the hill. Matt found a small forkie moving in some thick stuff, but we could only get glmpses of him through a big cedar tree. I got up and started glassing the upper portions of the canyon to see if there was anything behind us, and as I panned back down there was a nice 3x3 feeding down the hill directly across from where we had been glassing - he was just 200 yards away and right out in the open - almost exactly where the big buck was on Friday morning. I showed him to Matt, and he said, "I'm shooting him". We got set up for the shot and had to wait for him to come out from behind a big cedar tree. As soon as he stepped out, he was quartering to us slightly but broadside enough for a clean shot. Matt made a perfect shot and I watched the buck hunch up, then run behind the closest tree. Turned out to be a very big and very short blood trail, as it was a heart shot. It wasn't the big guy we had hunted for 4 days, but Matt couldn't have been happier. Matt packing him out. A big thanks goes out to the CWT members that were willing to share some info to get us started in an area that was new to us. You guys responed via PM, so I'll keep your identity private, but I really appreciate your willingness to share information and get us pointed in the right direction.

Here is a video from our hunt last December, I finally finished putting it together, hope you guys enjoy! Click the link below, then click on 2012 Coues Whitetail. http://www.youtube.com/user/19gaps/videos

Intended for this to be a new elk spot but wouldnt you know!

with back drop of area I was glassing more of the area I was glassing where I found him laying, propped his head up with sticks where I found him, 100 yards from where I shot him side view So, my friend Colton already posted a picture of this buck last night, but here are some more pictures along with the story. I have stalked 1 mule deer and a bachelor herd of 3 mule deer this season, and in January and last August I have stalked a total of around 30 bucks. Everything from spikes to giants. I stalk any buck I see that is within a couple miles if I can get to it before dark. I am not too concerned with antler size, I was just blessed with a great buck. I was glassing for a few hours like I do almost everyday of hunting season. As it was getting a little warmer I was paying more attention to bedding areas. I finally caught a glimpse of a buck standing and feeding in a bush at the top of a hill about a mile away. I watched him walk in between a few bushes and never emerge from the other side. After watching for about 10 minutes, I figured he bedded down right there. He was in an area the wasn’t too thick and I could see I would have some shooting lanes if I went and waited for him to stand from his bed. So I began my stalk. I went to my truck and dropped off my tripod and my Vortex 15s. I grabbed a couple waters, my home made Sneaky feet (I made them out of automotive headliner carpeting, string and hot glue so I could slip them over my boots, I was sick of walking through the desert in my socks, and this was the first time I used them and they worked great, very quiet), painted my face and sprayed down with scent killer. As I walked to the top of the mountain the wind was perfect. I could see the bushes he should be bedded in so I would take a couple steps and look through my 8s, then a couple more and look again to see If I could pick up an antler tip or any movement to make sure he was still there. And I was also checking in the areas around there to see if he was somewhere else. When I was about 150 yards away I picked up a buck feeding in a different bush. After watching for a minute it seemed that he was content in staying there so I planned my path to come around some bushes and wait for him to step out and hopefully shoot him. But I know Coues bucks often travel in pairs while in velvet, so I was keeping my eye on the bushes I had seen the buck earlier, just incase this wasn’t the same buck. As I was rounding the final bush where I was going to stop and wait for that buck to feed out, I stepped out onto a rock and looked in to the bush where I had seen the buck originally. There he was standing right there still feeding in that bush about 1.5 hours from when I had seen him with my 15s. So I froze, ranged him (luckily I have one of those range snap things, mine is actually home made but after sewing it onto my bino harness strap and getting the connectors, clips, etc. and doing all the work, I wished I would have just bought one) and adjusted my hand on my bow, as I did this he whipped his head up and the staring contest began. I did not move a muscle even though my left leg was shaking so bad I thought I was going to fall off the rock. He kept doing the whole head bob, foot stomp thing and taking steps toward me. After about a minute he turned broadside but was still staring at me. I was afraid to draw because I have done it with a few bucks and they are usually about 100 yards away by the time you reach full draw. So, I said a quick prayer and felt like God told me to draw. So I focused on a spot dead center of his lungs, reached full draw, quickly set my 40 yard pin and watched my arrow hit dead on and pass through him. I watched him run straight down the hill spraying blood. I thought to my self, “God, please don’t let me wake up.” Because I could hardly believe it actually happened. I went over found my blood covered Easton Axis with the Spitfire broadhead fully opened. I sat down and called my wife who was at work and my mom who was watching my 2 boys and told them I had just shot a great Coues buck. Since I didn’t hear him crash I waited for about 20 minutes. I would have waited longer but I knew the shot was a perfect double lung pass through so he had to be dead. I followed the blood trail about 100 yards and found him laying there. I grabbed ahold of him and realized how nice of a buck he really was and I was extremely excited and thankful. Then I took a few pics, called someone to help me pull him out, pulled him into the shade to gut him. My friend arrived and we got him to my truck. I brought him to the Mogollon Taxidermy and had him caped out. Then brought him home and took care of the meat. The equipment I used for this hunt was: 2013 Bowtech Experience set at 64#s (just got his new bow after a few years of shooting a Diamond and it is amazing), Easton Axis 340s, Spitfire Broadheads, Black Gold 7 pin Sight, Carter Release, Vortex Viper 15s with a $45 Dolica photography tripod (works great), Bushnell Legend 8s, Wildgame Innovations 900 yard angle compensating rangefinder, cheap camos, 84 Toyota 4runner. Thanks to: God who is the ultimate hunting guide, my wife for always letting me go out and always shoots bows with me, my mom for watching my kids, Isaac for helping pull this deer out (even though he almost had a heart attack), Jeremy at Chasin a Dream Archery shop who always has great products and helps me with tuning and servicing my bows, and Coueswhitetail.com members for all the knowledge I have learned through reading your posts. Hope you enjoyed the story.

I took advantage of the weather we had today and went out scouting with a buddy of mine. We found a bunch of new areas that I can't wait to explore in more detail. Glassed up a few deer in the rain, had a run in with a rattle snake, got a little too close for comfort with a scorpion, helped a coule of CWT.com members with their dead battery, and got to interact(and video!) a yearling doe at 10 yards for 7 minutes!

Here are a couple of great bucks that I just finished up as well as a nice 3 point. The hard horned 4X5 came from southern Arizona and the velvet bucks came from central AZ.

For sale here is a beautiful, lightly used, highly efficient, 2011 PSE Stinger compound bow. It has been through a few months of the archery season in 2011, and the month of January 2012 for Javelina. Shot less then 300 arrows easily. The bow comes with the hard case, the quiver to match the color of the bow, the sights, arrows, release, vibration dampening components, and broad heads. It also comes with the card to set it up for the warranty through PSE, again just never had time to apply said warranty. Its a spectacular bow, very accurate, light weight given the size, and talk about neat colors on this bad boy! Many many online reviews cannot stop talking about what a grand bow this is for both the sport of hunting, and target practice. This is a very durable bow, easy to use, performs well, and great quality. This bow shoots an average of 304-316 FPS, and has a draw weight ranging from 40lbs, to 70lbs, talk about a variation. This is the perfect bow to grow along with you. Honestly, if you don't believe all I am saying, take some time and do the research yourself, this bow is one of the best selling in America for a reason!!! Contact Paige @ (480)823-1160 with inquiries, or if you'd like to see more pictures. You can either text (preferably as I work and am in school most days) But if you call, I will gladly return it as soon as time opens up for me! Emailing is fine too, I will check as frequently as I can. Thank you for looking, have a fantastic day! ASKING PRICE OBO: 360.00$

Weatherby Vanguard SUB MOA ( same as the new range certified, not to be confused with the new S2.) chambered in .257 Weatherby Mag. has a Bell and Carlson aluminum bedded stock, Black and grey spider web. Leupold base and 30mm rings that have been lapped and a Huskemaw 5-20x50 scope. I still have the two free certificates for custom turrets, to go along with the scope. I have purchased a used Hornady reloading die but haven't used it. As I never bought a reloader. I have some factory ammo to throw in as well. I have only fired factory Hornady ammo through this rifle. I will separate the scope and rifle for the right price. I can send you better pictures if interested. I currently have the scope mounted to the rifle but in the pictures it is not. Thanks If I don't answer leave a message or text, I normally won't answer calls I don't recognize Nate four8zero-6eight8-8one3nine $1750.00

This year was my 10 year old daughter’s first deer hunt. We picked up a leftover tag in November for her. This is what she had to say about the hunt. My First Deer Hunt My first deer hunt was near the Mexican border. Me, Marcos, Matt, and Josh all had tags for White-tailed deer. We came in late on Thursday so we set up camp and took off in our two Rangers and checked out the area we’d be hunting in. Friday morning we set out on our Rangers until we parked in a small clearing next to the road. Then we climbed a tall ridge and glassed from there. When we got to the top we got blasted by a very strong wind. We had glassed for about a half hour until we spotted a group of three deer. Since me and Marcos were the youngest Matt and Josh let us have the first try at the group. So me, my dad, and Marcos had to circle back to the road and drive closer to the deer. We had to hike a couple of ridges to come in full sight of the deer. I was shooting a 308 win. I believe Marcos was shooting a 7mm mag. When we got to a point close enough for me to shoot we stopped and waited for the deer to get in the right position. When I finally shot the gun at 260 yards (a gun I’ve never shot before) there was a big silence. I gave Marcos the bigger one because I already owed him for grabbing me when I almost fell down a tall hill into a pile of cacti. Sure he grabbed me a couple other times but that one would’ve hurt the most. We were supposed to have shot one after the other real fast but Marcos lost the big buck for a second. But then he found it and shot it. We had both shot our deer and killed them but mine was the best hit-and-kill shot. So my dad and Marcos dragged our deer down to a place where we could gut our deer. It was the most disgusting thing I ever saw and heard. For me, she had a few other excuses for not shooting the bigger buck, but all that matters is that she was happy. RIGHT. The next day she did ask or wish she had another tag to keep hunting. I'm very proud and she do alot of shooting with her 22. We borrowed a 243 that she shot before the hunt, but she wanted to use her moms rifle.

I have a mature coues cape for sale. SOLD

Found these sheds in a new area we were hunting. All were found on one ridge. This one scores 192'' Also, a coues found many years ago during spring works on one of the ranches. Side view

Nice buck taken by a client, custom pedestal mount with manzanita base and artificial cast metate.

So the late archery hunt is coming up here in Arizona and I need some tips on how to fill a tag. Ive seen them do it on TV, but Ive always been curious if it works in the West or not. Does anyone have any experience with rattling coues or even calling with grunts for that matter?And even though this is in the whitetail section, what about mulies?

To my surprise Gavin at Weller's Wildlife Taxidermy gave me a call to let me know my January archery buck was ready for pick up. I could not be happier! The team did a great job with the mount and fixing the broken G2. Big thanks to Gavin and his team for some great work! Pictures definitely do not do it justice, but thought I would share. The field photo

Shawn and Jimmy stepped up at the AZFG/SCI Youth Hunt this weekend to help my daughter (Jasmine) harvest her first deer. Due to my injuries I've been unable to get to the deer, much less haul it out. This killer duo made it happen, even in unfamiliar territory. My hat is off to you two gentlemen.

Cross Canyon Coues Dan Adler Diamond Outfitters of Arizona This hunting story actually starts in 1986, no that’s no typo, 1986. I was at basketball practice at the Phoenix Rosenswieg Boys and Girls Club when this punk lanky blonde kid with Coke bottle glasses set a back screen on me that accidentally (he claimed) sent me flying face first across the court. Being the tough 11-year old I was, I immediately got up and pushed him down. Apparently this type of retaliation is frowned upon in 5th grade hoops as I was immediately benched by my coach for the rest of practice. Move on one year and guess who was sitting next to me to start the junior high? There he was, the same punk lanky kid with the Coke bottle glasses only this time he was wearing an Elmer Fudd shirt that made some sort of reference to hunting. His name is Greg. We recognized each other for sure (I’m certain he was terrified). Seeing how it was that I was being raised in a somewhat liberal anti-gun household, I was more intrigued about the hunting shirt than resuming our on-court battle shenanigans. We talked a little bit and started hanging out…guess where…on the junior high basketball court. When October came he told me he would be missing some school because he was going deer hunting in the mountains with his Dad and neighbors. Missing school to hunt? Ummmm where do I sign up for this? A short time after his return I started inviting myself to go on four-wheeling trips with him and his Dad Jerry in his old Ford Bronco. It was a blast and it was with these two that I was introduced to hunting and Ford 4x4’s. (Later Greg and Jerry were responsible in a roundabout way for me meeting my wife but that is a whole different story). Fast forward 25 years to today. Greg and I are like brothers that are also the best of friends. I say that because we love each other like brothers and occasionally (though less frequently these days) we argue like brothers. His Dad is a man I have an infinite amount of respect and admiration for. I look up to him tremendously and he has been a great influence on me over the years. For the past 25 years hardly ever does a week go by in which Greg and I don’t speak. Even when Greg was deployed to Bosnia in the late 90’s we wrote letters back and forth. He wrote from his foxhole and I wrote from my dorm room at the University of Arizona. Well when the 2012 deer draw results came out in July I was not surprised to learn I didn’t draw the strip rifle tag. Neither did Greg or his Dad or our high school buddy Clint. As usual we decided to apply for a leftover tag. Greg and his Dad have continued to hunt the same mountain year after year for mulies or Coues deer. However, in the 25 years I have known them I had somehow never been to this mountain with them to hunt. I was tickled when I learned we drew the leftover tag all on the same application and that we would be heading down there together after all these years. To me this hunt would take place on hallowed ground and I slept little in the days leading up to our hunt. Greg and Jerry made it to my home in Tucson the Wednesday before the season opened. They went down early to set up camp and scout and I would pick up Clint from the airport Thursday night. Clint arrived Thursday night around midnight and we still had a 3 hour drive to the hunting area and only 6 hours before daylight and the season opened. We knew we were in for a sleepless night. The drive into camp was not impressive in the dark. However, when the sun began to rise and I saw how deep in the mountains we were and the scenery was breathtaking. Greg and Jerry had glassed up some shooters on Thursday and they seemed more interested in seeing if they could get Clint and I on these bucks rather than harvesting them for themselves. Clint and I were happy to oblige should the opportunity present itself. The glassing on opening morning was gorgeous. The bucks however stayed hidden that morning and only does provided any eye-candy in the Swarovski 15x56’s. Knowing we had all week to hunt I was totally unconcerned. We went back to camp at noon, stocked up on Gatorade and sandwiches and headed back out. As it was hot and dry we dropped Clint off at one water hole, Jerry at another and Greg and I would climb a very large mountain that had a “secret” water hole. After about an hour climb and close to 800 feet elevation change we found the water hole was dry. However we knew there was a lot of water in the area so we were not too concerned about the dry tank. As a matter of fact a few minutes later after finding it, we watched three does go and play in the dry tank bed. Seeing as how we didn’t have doe tags we moved on to another high point. This time a shorter 15 minute walk and maybe 200 feet elevation change brought us to a glassing area where we could literally glass for miles. After only a few moments Greg said “I got a buck Dan and I think it is one of the two from yesterday”. I was pumped the first buck of the day we glassed was a shooter! The sun however was beginning to do down fast. Greg ranged him at close to 700 yards and said “he is all yours”. I glassed to a little knob where I thought we could get into position for a shot that would cut the distance in half. We hustled down the shale side slope and when we got into position the buck was gone. After what seemed like forever with the sun setting behind us Greg said “I got him”. He had moved another 200 yards and was 400 yards almost straight below us. I tried and tried but could not find an ethical shot in those low light conditions even with a 14 power Leupold variable scope. Greg and I were tired and frustrated but the hunt for the day was over. I felt good knowing we didn’t take a risky shot that could have pushed him out of the area. Having not slept at all the night prior (thanks to Clint’s delayed flight and all night drive) I slept like a caterpillar in a cocoon all night. All I remember about the first night of our hunt was Greg’s T-bone steak and potato supper and going to bed. Next thing I knew Jerry was waking us up (just like old times I thought to myself) and gloriously the next day of our hunt had arrived. All four of us headed out to the same area we left the buck the night before. It took longer than any of us thought it would to glass up the buck yet shortly after 9:00 there he was working a ridge about a mile away and sometime overnight he picked up a doe escort. We watched him cross the ridge and go into a bedding area. He set up a perfect approach for us with one exception; the shot if he presented one would be between 400 and 500 yards. I shoot a 300 WSM with hand loaded super hot 165 grain Nosler Partitians. I know exactly where it shoots, and the energy and ballistic coefficients all the way to 1,000 yards. I have an aftermarket target turret from Leupold that they installed for me and I shoot it year round. I know my rifle and given a good rest and time to set up I can ethically kill at deer at incredible distances. Convinced this buck was bedded for the day we left the area to go eat lunch. While eating we even decided to take a few confidence building rifle shots in the middle of the day. Greg went first. Initially unpleased with his results, he paused to let me shoot. One shot at 300 yards and one shot at 500 yards and I was ready to go. Then Greg totally out shot me with his last shot actually shattering a very small rock he targeted at just over 500 yards. Knowing that both the hunters and the rifles were up to the challenge me, Clint and Greg began the long hike up the canyon in the afternoon sun. Jerry was hunting a lower water hole. When air temps are in the 80’s and there is no wind, the pants and long sleeve desert camo shirt can be brutally uncomfortable. We packed lots of water and up we went. Our first two or three vantage points and glassing set ups did not uncover the deer nor the tree we bedded them in. If you have hunted large mountain ranges you know what I mean when I say it all looks different when you get there from what it looked like in the glass from the bottom. Well after a few additional walks we found the tree the buck was under and I could see his doe above it. With all the sneaking around we did the shot would be just under 400 yards. When you are waiting to shoot a bedded animal, I refer to it as baby-sitting. We baby-sat this buck for hours, occasionally seeing the shadow of him chewing his cud. As the day grew on we got more and more excited for the “inevitable” opportunity the evening would surely bring. As the evening shadows nestled on our hill, Clint picked up the movement of several does and fawns above our shooter. Though Greg and I could not see them from our vantage point, I got on the gun and Greg got on the Swarovski’s to help me call the shot. As it got darker and darker we saw no movement from our tree anymore. The buck we had babysat since 9:00 a.m. had given three above average hunters with way above average optics the slip. “Typical” I grumbled to myself. I so badly wanted to provide the fireworks Clint and Greg had wanted to see take place that evening up on that gorgeous mountain. After a long hike back to the truck the only two remaining Coors Lights could have easily let to fisticuffs. Thank goodness there was two Pepsi’s as well. As we enjoyed the refreshments and waited for Jerry we replayed the days hunt in our minds. We all tried to convince one another we had done everything right, the buck just simply didn’t cooperate. When Jerry arrived I hollered “well, where is your buck” to which he promptly retorted “at the water hole”! This quick response from Jerry yielded an excited “REALLY??!!” response from the three of us. He said “well I missed one coming down the hill”. Clint, Greg and I were really happy that Jerry took the first shot of the trip. We all wanted him to get a buck. Although I would put him in any mountain hunting competition with someone 30 years his junior, at 70 years old he would be in the Coues hunting elite if he got one…at least in my mind. Jerry asked for a beer and we had to sneak him the last remaining Pepsi. He gave us a stark “what the” look and then he finally drank it. At camp we were tired and I was starved. The afternoons MRE of meatballs, snack bread, cheese pretzels and coffee had worn off hours earlier. Greg lit the campfire and announced “tonight’s dinner is an all meat eating event”. He got no complaints from any of us. A short while later the four of us consumed four packages of Costco chicken wings flame broiled on the camp fire after marinating in Texas Pete’s Hot Sauce all afternoon. Ironically when he first started to cook I think we all thought that it was way too much food….it wasn’t. As Greg and I finished cleaning up camp, Clint went to rack out in the Kodiak. I am not exaggerating when I tell you he was snoring away in less than 3 minutes. Somewhat jealous of his slumber I slipped away into my tent to get some much needed shut eye myself. The third morning Jerry woke us up and it was markedly cooler, almost cold even. The coffee (mostly hot water with lots of grounds in it) helped warm me up and got me moving. Greg announced that he was going to spend the day hunting with his pops for old times’ sake and that Clint and I would be on our own. Clint said he had a place picked out from his opening day’s evening hunt and we needed to start a moderate hike up the mountains in the dark. As night gave way to day break we crested the mountain top in time to see the sunrise. “Thank you Lord” I said out loud as the birds began to sing. As we came around the corner I saw a spot we could glass for miles. I thought this would be the spot to spend the next couple of hours and maybe longer. Just as I thought Clint and I would be slowing down, Clint moved down the ridge at a blitzing pace (a move I later referred to as the “Urlacher maneuver” in honor of Clint’s beloved Chicago Bears). Befuddled but not overly concerned, I followed about 15 yards behind him. Just as the slope started going downhill I could hear the unmistakable sound of fleeting hooves. In less than 5 seconds Clint shouldered his rifle and got on the buck and fired. A huge white cloud of dust exploded from right behind the deer, the buck ran and a second shot lit up the morning daybreak right under the buck. A third round echoed through the canyon and both Clint and I thought it was a good hit. In fact, we both thought the buck went down behind a mesquite tree. After a very brief celebration I reminded Clint it was still very early and that since his buck wasn’t going anywhere (and we had already climbed to the top of the world) we should just stay where we were and keep hunting for another hour or so. Clint agreed (which surprised me given how bad I would have wanted to put my hands on my own buck) to glass for me and I thought maybe we’d spend only an hour or so as to not take too much advantage of his generosity. Shortly after the shooting Clint spotted a doe and I spotted two bucks on the opposite ridge unaffected by the earlier barrage of lead. I thought the bucks I saw were probably the same ones Jerry had shot at the evening prior. As they prepared to go on the other side of the mountain I ranged them at 762 yards. That would be quite a poke I thought to myself. After an hour went by we walked down the hill 200 yards to where Clint’s buck should be. There was no buck, no hair, no blood and no positive sign of any kind. We spun circles looking for Clint’s prize as we both had seen the buck fall. Later we learned the bucks “fall” was his going under the range fence. All three shots were clean misses. We were both pretty disappointed and it was getting hot. It would have been great for Clint to get a buck before returning to Maryland. Clint kind of collapsed under a tree and said he needed a break. I told him I needed one too but would go another two hundred yards to find a shade tree and a spot to glass some new country. Clint agreed to go with me although he didn’t get up overly fast. We ended up moving closer to half a mile and set up in an oak tree for what I thought would be the rest of the afternoon. After enjoying our crackers, candy bars, apples and Gatorade I started to glass again. After 20 minutes or so I told Clint “I think we should get out of this spot”. He asked “why” and I told him that from this vantage point it would be a “two day hike” to get a deer out. He looked around convinced at my logic and disappointed we had to give up such a nice shade tree. Before moving Clint said go check back on our original ridge which was exactly what I was thinking as well. Only three or four minutes into the glassing effort I found two bucks bedded down under a tree. It took several minutes but I finally was able to get the range finder to tell me 492 yards. I thought one of the two bucks was a shooter for me or Clint. I went back to the tree where Clint was resting and I told him “I am going hot pickle” which means in Clint speak that I was going to shoot something. Excitedly he joined me on the ridge. In fact he expertly set up right next to me with the Swarovski’s so that he could call my shot. He asked me to tell him before I was going to shoot and I told him it would be at least 20 minutes before I would be ready to shoot at that range with all the rocks and cactus around me. (I think he thought I was exaggerating). As I made a makeshift bench rest for the prone position shot we noticed Greg and Jerry driving back on the road they went in on. Clint and I briefly discussed what they may have been doing before I resumed getting set up “sniper-style”. After what was closer to 25 minutes of waiting for the “perfect” set up for my nearly 500 yard shot I started deep breathing and focusing. I asked Clint one last time if he was sure he didn’t want the deer (since I had all week to hunt). He said he really wanted to see me shoot it. Then I dialed in 32 clicks on my turret for the range and wind. Thanks to Clint’s positioning I asked him to zoom my scope all the way out. Once he did that I quickly found the shooter, still bedded and fully exposed broadside. I asked him to zoom me back in all the way and when he did everything looked perfect. I asked him if he was ready and shortly after he said yes I slowed my breathing down and gently began squeezing the trigger so that the rifle would surprise me when it went off. The mountain erupted and I knew the shot was true. The bullet echoed down the canyon for several seconds…music to any hunter’s ear. Clint hollered, “oh my gosh just high and the buck is up and moving!” I could see the dust where the buck had been bedded and instantly it hit me I did not account for the down-hill angle thus the (albeit barley) high miss. The buck had no idea where the shot came from and he presented this time quartering away. Instinctively I zoomed out my scope and found the buck again. He had gone downhill some more and barely increased the distance. I fired and Clint screamed “you smoked him” and then said “wait I think you missed, yeah he bucked but it looks like a miss”. The buck only moved another ten yards and I was confused. I took a moment to recover from the first two shots, discuss with Clint what had happened and reload the rifle since I only had one more in the chamber. After a brief discussion I was behind the scope again. The buck was in the sun trying to determine where the danger was. I rushed this shot, I know I did, because I yanked the trigger. Clint said “low and left” and the deer are moving up the hill. When the buck stopped I fired again and again I rushed the shot inexplicably except for my concern he was going to go over the mountain pass. Again I took a brief break to talk with Clint who was doing a great job of being my “fire traffic controller”. During this shorter break I reloaded the rifle and unfortunately the bigger buck went behind an oak tree almost on the skyline below us where he could escape over the top. I could not see the bigger buck, only the smaller buck. Clint assured me the bigger buck was still on our side and said “Dan just find the lone century plant on top”. I said “I got it”, then he said “forty yards down and thirty yards right”. Almost instantly I found the tree but not the deer. My heart started pounding. I found this strange since I was totally relaxed during the first four shots. I took this moment while the buck was hidden to range the green tree. It took several attempts before it responded the range was now 817 yards. It was at this moment Clint asked me if I could still see the smaller buck. I said “yes I see him and your green tree”. Clint said that “the little buck is going right to him. He will show you where the big buck is”. At this point I knew I would only have one more shot at this deer. I started doing the ballistic math in my head on my rifle and hand loaded ammunition. Even with 32 clicks I knew I would have to aim two feet high….yikes. Knowing this was an incredible distance relaxed me somehow. Just as I was relaxed years earlier on a bull elk in Colorado I harvested with one shot at 695 yards with a 300 Ultra. About that time Clint yelled “hear he comes Dan, he is out and in the wide open!” I quickly found the buck with Clint’s missile like precision guidance. I laid the crosshairs on the bucks shoulder and then slowly, delicately, raised the crosshair another two feet high. I took three calculated deep breaths and slowly touched the trigger with only the very tip of my finger and waited, and waited and waited. Finally the gun reported into my shoulder. In the recoil I couldn’t see the deer in my scope any more. There was no need. Instantly Clint yelled, and I mean yelled, YOU GOT HIM! Simultaneously he slapped me on the back in between my shoulder blades with the power of a jack hammer. (I still have a handprint there four days later). Surprised to learn of my shot and still seeing stars from the collision between Clint’s hand and my back I asked “really, I really got him?” Excitedly Clint responded “dude I have only seen a deer drop like that on TV, you got him and he in dead in his tracks”. It took us about 25 minutes to get where the buck expired and about another 25 minutes for us to cape and quarter him for the long pack out. He is a terrific Coues deer buck. He is a four by four main frame with a split eye guard (an 11 pointer for you Midwesterners) with dark chocolate antlers. We haven’t taped him yet, but he has great beams and that split eye guard makes him a unique and special trophy. We were excited to learn that when Jerry and Greg moved the truck they actually moved into a position to hear all the shooting. That made the experience even better that in some remote fashion they were on the mountain with us. That night I wrapped my buck’s tenderloin’s in bacon and cooked them over hot coals in camp with potatoes ‘o Brien for supper. It was a great way to end a fantastic day! To top off the hunt, the next day before 7:00 a.m. Greg was in back camp early with a 6+ year old heavy three by three he sniped at almost 500 yards with one shot at 6:30. The rest of that morning was spent cleaning up camp and making a plan for next year. I really want to thank Greg and Jerry from the bottom of my heart for sharing with me this special mountain. After 25 years of hearing stories about this place setting foot in it was very surreal. Getting a buck from “their” mountain that will be on my wall for generations to come makes this one of the most fun hunts that I have ever been on. I also want to thank Clint for being my eye in the sky. I could have never got a second shot(or 3rd, or 4th or 5th) without his guidance and direction. Also, I want to thank all of the guides at Diamond Outfitters of Arizona. What a group of Coues guiding talent, I am infinitely grateful for all that you have taught me. Lastly I want to thank my wife Terri for her love, support, patience and all the help while I am in the field and my beautiful children Joshua and Rebecca for inspiring me in everything I do.

I'm looking for a hunting partner for my hunt in AZ 24b. I'm planning on heading out on Nov 5th and go until I get one or have to come back for work on Nov 9th. I'm going to try to backpack it as I did a little scouting in Reavis Ranch area so I'd be interested in going back there but I'm also open to what others have going. I'm a early 30's father of 3 and I work in public safety and live in East Mesa.

My dad and I spent the weekend looking over some of God's country! We checked out some new areas for our upcoming hunt, had some laughs, got a sunburn! First area we checked Found a bear track in the wash we were walking Cool rose looking plant in the wash We saw a ring neck snake that I did not get a picture of (slackn). It was dark grayish/brown with a ring at the base of the head and it curled the end of the its body to show a bright red color! Really cool! Second area we checked Found these two ladies bedded until they made there afternoon move for new shade local wildlife hanging out! Third area we checked Here is a guess how many deer you see Here is a guess what is in the pic.....hard to see but if was taken far away through my binos and the batteries were dieing on the camera We had a great time looked at a lot of county (didnt take pics of all the areas). Cannot wait for the hunt! All the deer we saw were bedded before 8 am! Good luck to all on your fall hunts!

Velvet Coues going home tomorrow. Custom wall pedestal form with custom wall habitat.