Coues 'n' Sheep Report post Posted October 15, 2008 Well the stage was set when the draw results came out…. Two of the boys in our family drew early junior’s tags, my nephew (Clayton) and his cousin (Cory). We were excited that the boys would have first whack at any buck in the unit. As the hunt drew near it was planned out for the whole family to go to my little cabin and hunt from there as we would be centrally located in the unit. With much anticipation the scouting began…. Short on time, my Bro-in-Law (Larry) and I were very busy and enlisted my son (Colton) to handle some of the scouting duties for the hunt. As the hunt grew near the deer seemed to be harder to come by than normal and we were nervous and hopping for a break in our luck! The night before the hunt, our two hunters (Clayton & Cory) arrived at “camp” with Cory’s Dad (Dallas) and all our cards were on the table. Colton had videoed a nice 4x3 that day in a spot that Larry considered to be his “Back up/for-sure deer spot” and it was agreed that Clayton would have first shot on this buck in the morning. Opening morning as the six of us were pulling our packs on and starting to walk, there is a “Boom” a half mile away on down the road…. Colton throws up his Swaro’s and says, “There are the hunters… and the Bucks are running right at us!!” The other hunters are chasing the bucks around in the cedars and here they come…. At this point I am scared we are going to get shot at!! I grab Clayton and move to get in position so that as the deer go past us we can possibly get a safe shot…. the bucks had other plans, as they race past at a mere 60 yds with no shot! We then run down the ridge to try for a shot on the other side…. I finally find the bucks at 385 yds and still moving away… it is the buck from the video and no shot. We regroup and set down to try and relocate the bucks or maybe some others that should be in the canyon. Within an hour we had 10 other deer including 2 spikes and then our boys showed themselves at 580+ yds…. with almost no chance of a shot or a stalk. Time to wait…. By 2:00 pm we had found and lost the bucks several times, Larry and Colton had exhausted every angle to look in on those bucks, and then…. the bucks just up and moved back into a spot where we could hunt them. We had set Clayton up a couple of times to try to get a shot, but the bigger buck just never gave him the time he needed to get off the perfect shot. At 3:15 he was sitting behind my 300 Weatherby looking through the scope at just the head and horns of “his buck” at a distance of 350 yards, waiting for him to stand….. and then he did. “Whenever you’re sure, Clayton”…. BOOM! “He’s Down!” The gang roars!!!! Patience and persistence got it done for Clayton on his first deer!! Way to go, Bud!!! Congrats!! You earned him!! Day two dawned with fuzzy/ hung-over eyes, lightening in the sky to the South, and a brutal wind! We had big plans to make a long ride into a piece of country that would have no hunting pressure, but with the look of rain, and the terrible wind we opted to just take the trucks to a couple of easy, “kid spots” and hope we got Lucky….. We all got out of the trucks at our prospective glassing points with a tinge of disgust as the winds gusted over 30 mph. After hours of glassing the same barren hillsides, a lone buck literally stood up in the middle of a pair of Swaro’s as a piggy passed by his perfect hiding spot on a very windy knob. No one would have expected to see a buck in that spot on what appeared to be an open, but brushy knob right out in the wind! Not to mention that it was only 440 yards away from the truck!!! The buck stood for a moment and bedded again. An hour or more later found Cory set up behind the rifle patiently waiting with just a bush in the scope, and Dallas right next to him coaching and keeping him focused. The buck, for no apparent reason stands and is immediately moving. He stops in an opening and Cory shoots! “You shot over his back!” his Uncle Larry whispers, and the buck is gone into a thicket. The minutes were like hours…. the buck did not leave the thicket, and then a break! With an amazing spot an ear and a horn of the buck is located in the back of a very small hole/shadow in the wall of brush, after staring at the hole/shadow long enough it is determined that the “shadow” is the buck’s bedded body!!! The only place that the buck could be seen in his bed was at a distance of 375 yards…. and so Cory was set up in a comfortable and stable situation to take the shot at the non-moving buck. When he was 100% sure that he had acquired the proper spot in which to shoot at, he squeezed the trigger on the Weatherby…… The buck was gone at the shot, as if stung and a distinctive “whack” was heard. The escape routes were watched, but no buck emerged from the thicket….. so a plan was made to sneak in there and relocate the buck…..While the spotters wait on the ridge. A short time later, Cory put his hands on his first Mulie buck less than 60 yards from where he had put that shot on the bedded buck! The Paper Punching Berger 168 gr. VLD’s made for a short recovery on the buck. Way to get it done Cory! It was a Pleasure to get to participate in another “Family Hunt” and to see the boys have success in the field. Due to a joint effort of the adults in the Family, Colton with his amazing eyes, Larry and his game plan & “Honey Holes”, and me with my 300 Wby, (which I now plan to call “The Tradition”). Thanks to the boys for making it so fun for us adults…. What a weekend! Here is a pic of me and my new huntin' Pard (Zip)! He got Bloody three times in three days... he is well on his way!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Desert View Report post Posted October 15, 2008 What a great hunt congrats to both those kids, they are knocking them down!!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kaffer62 Report post Posted October 15, 2008 Congrats... Beautiful Bucks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tines Report post Posted October 15, 2008 Awesome stuff right there! Congratulations! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cramerhunts Report post Posted October 15, 2008 Wow great bucks for sure! Congrats to the hunters and thanks for sharing it with us. Phil Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
azcouesandelk Report post Posted October 15, 2008 Awesome story and pictures! Those are some dandy mulies! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SpotNStalk Report post Posted October 15, 2008 Congrats to you guys... Way to get it done... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coues Sniper Report post Posted October 15, 2008 Very cool. Congrats on a great hunt Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AZ RANGER Report post Posted October 15, 2008 Great read, those are some lucky kids. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
azyoung Report post Posted October 15, 2008 Congratulations to both hunters! Awesome bucks! azyoung Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
desertbowhunter Report post Posted October 15, 2008 Nice bucks!!! I love those mulies! Congratulations to both those kids!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eagle Eye Report post Posted October 15, 2008 Well done! but whats up with the kid in a chair? rough him up a lil bit Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flagpknmule Report post Posted October 16, 2008 wow!! nice bucks what area . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
firstcoueswas80 Report post Posted October 16, 2008 Very nice Gino! That 3x4 has some nice mass! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
standman Report post Posted October 16, 2008 Way to go!!!! Great Story and Great Deer!!! Congrats!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
