Angie gets it done!!!

[Gr8 White Jr]

As many of you already know, my “city girl” girlfriend Angie has become a hunting fanatic like myself. Before we started dating Angie had never even shot a gun let alone a bow. It all started about two years ago with taking her along on trips into the outdoors so she could see some wildlife. She really liked being outdoors and loved seeing different types of game. She came along with me to the archery range a few times and thought that it looked like fun so she decided to buy a bow with no intentions of hunting, she just wanted to join in on the shooting. She loved archery from day one. Then she tagged along on a few predator calling trips that she really enjoyed and then last November she came with me on my rifle coues hunt where she watched me shoot a buck and absolutely loved every minute of it. After that she really wanted to hunt so we put her in for a rifle javelina hunt in which after three days of hunting she killed a pig, her 1st big game animal. From that point on, to say she was hooked was an understatement. Well after filling my ‘09 deer tag with a muley buck in January, two things happened. First I decided my new obsession would be to kill a coues buck with a bow and second I told Angie that this year was going to be her year for hunting. “I’m done for the year so its all about you” is what I told her. With her new love for hunting she was happy to hear that! Well I ended up combining my obsession for killing a coues with a bow and this year being all about Angie hunting. The planning started back in late spring with my good friend Justin (Gotcoues) who has had the archery coues obsession for years. After months of searching, scouting and planning Justin and I each found our own location of choice to set up on and hunt. Well since I couldn’t hunt my spot I asked Angie how she felt about trying to hunt with her bow and she was more than willing to give it a try so that became the plan. My new obsession became the idea of Angie killing a coues with her bow. I have never put so much time, money and research into any hunt and I was not even the tag holder. We were all very excited for the upcoming season and felt very confident that our scouting and preparation would pay off. We went out before the hunt to set our tree stands and that was one heck of a task in itself. We set mine and Angie’s stand in the same tree with my stand being about 5 feet higher than hers and facing 90 degrees off of hers. That way I could look over my left shoulder and talk her through her shot when it happens. After the tree stands were set Angie came up with her bow to practice shooting from the stand since she had never done so before and was only used to shooting on the ground. We set a target on the trail that we expected the deer to come down. After some coaching on keeping proper form while shooting at a steep angle my confidence went through the roof as Angie was drilling the target with each shot. The season came quickly and we were prepared to give it all we had. The first weekend of the hunt we were only able to hunt two days. The first morning we weren’t in our stands for 2 hours when a bobcat came down the trail and Angie missed it by literally and inch. In the two days we saw a total of 12 bucks but all were on a different trail about40 to 60 yds away and never came within range. We were excited to see so many bucks but at the same time it was a disappointing tease to have them so close yet so far away. The next weekend Angie and I both had Friday and Monday off of work so we planned on hunting all 4 days. It was a slow weekend with only a few does and a spike seen in the first three days. All were on the same trail as the deer the weekend before. Monday morning we only hunted the morning so we could get home at a decent time. In the few hours that morning we saw five different bucks and again they were all on the same trail as every other deer we had seen before. All about 40 to 60 yds away. Every deer we had seen in 6 days of hunting had come down the same trail so we got down out of our tree stands early and moved them about 50 yds closer to the other trail. Now they would be walking almost right under us. After moving the stands we packed up and headed home excited about our new stand location and looking forward to the next/last weekend of the hunt. The next weekend we were back in our stands an hour before light and very confident that our stand move was going to pay off. Before it had even gotten light I could see 3 bucks in the moonlight feeding around about 40 yds away. I told Angie that I could see bucks and to take her bow down off the hanger. We waited and watched the bucks as it got light and as they fed around getting closer for the next half hour. The three bucks ended up getting within 15 yds of us but Angie could not get a shot because of the direction that I had her stand facing. The bucks were on the right trail but directly behind her. I was expecting the bucks to come out at a different point on the trail so that’s why I directed the stand the way I did. The bucks ended up feeding in a wide circle and the smallest of the three bucks, a forky, came by a little past the trail through some thick brush. He was headed for a small shooting lane and I asked Angie if she was going to have a shot when he stepped out. She said yes so I ranged the opening. With the angle compensation my range finder said to shoot for 22 yds. The buck started to walk forward and into the shooting lane. I told Angie to draw her bow and I whistled stopping the buck when he reached the opening. I told Angie to hold he 20 yd pin right on him. She released and her arrow hit some over hanging limbs sending it into the dirt and the bucks busted and took off. Angie was very disappointed and very upset that it was a miss. I was disappointed as well but didn’t want to show it. I tried to explain to Angie that everybody misses and that it’s a part of hunting. I kept telling her that it was okay and that she would get another shot. After about an hour 2 more bucks came in, a 70 inch 3x3 and a fork with eye guards that had a little kicker on its right side. Again Angie could not get a shot because of the direction her stand was facing. The bucks were directly behind Angie and she was watching them over her shoulder. She asked me if she could stand up and rotate because she thinks she could get a shot if she did so. I told her to go ahead very slowly. Big mistake! The bucks saw her movement and busted out of there. I was very frustrated with myself for facing Angie’s stand in the direction that I did because it cost us so many opportunities. We climbed down out of the stand in the middle of the day for lunch. After Angie climbed down I loosened the straps on her stand and rotated it about 45 degrees and cleared some branches so that she could get a shot if the bucks come out at the same point on the trail again. Our stand were facing almost opposite directions now. We ate lunch and continued to hunt the rest of the day with only seeing a doe and a fawn. The next morning (Sunday) Angie and I were in the stand well before light again. I was praying that the bucks would come down the trail the same way again because I knew if they did Angie would have a shot. Right around 6:10 am the same two bucks from the morning before, 70 in 3x3 and the kicker forky, came down the trail. They were feeding and headed right for us and just before they got into Angie’s shooting range they circled off of the trail and right in front of me in the direction I was facing. Angie had no shot but the bucks were feeding right in front of me. The 3x3 left the kicker forky and circled back to where it came from and just out of Angie’s shooting range and into some thick brush. I stopped watching the 3x3 and turned my focus on the kicker forky. Because our stands were facing almost opposite directions I could not see that the 3x3 had turned and was headed back and right in front of Angie, and Angie could not see that the kicker forky started heading right at us and was going to walk right under us. Basically I had no idea what was going on on Angie’s side of the tree and Angie a had no idea what was going on on my side of the tree. Neither of us could talk to each other because the bucks were so close. When the 3x3 was headed for an opening Angie was getting ready for the shot and she shifted in her seat spooking the kicker forky who was less than 15 yds on my side of the tree. When the forky spooked he ran about 30 yds but in a half circle back to the trail and the 3x3 took off back into the thick brush. At this time a shot at the 3x3 is now out of the question but the forky is now on the trail and staring right at us. He stared at us for a few minutes and then relaxed and went back to feeding. He finally turned broadside and started to walk off the trail. I asked Angie if she had a shot and she said yes. I told her to go ahead and she drew her bow. The buck stopped and I told Angie to hold her 20 yd pin low on his chest and as soon as I said that she released. Whop!!!! I heard the hallow thud of the hit as I saw the arrow hit its mark and disappear behind the bucks shoulder. It passed all the way through the buck like a hot knife through butter and stuck in to the ground on the other side of him. He ran about 10 yds and stopped, looking back at us. I could see the ruffle in his fur right behind his shoulder where the arrow had hit. After a few seconds of standing there he bolted into the thick brush and out of sight. I waited, listening for him to crash but never heard it. I was so excited and was telling Angie, “you smoked him, you smoked him!!!” Angie could barely talk and asked me if she could hang her bow back up and I said “yes, of course”. She was so nervous she could barely hold her bow any more. She kept saying that she thought she missed and I kept reassuring her that she made a good hit. She was not convinced and kept doubting the shot and started making me doubt what I had just saw with my own eyes. I told her to stay in the stand and I climbed down to look at the arrow. Upon looking at the arrow I was concerned about the hit as it had some grass and green matter on it. I thought that maybe the buck was quartering toward us without us realizing it and maybe the arrow only caught only one lung and must have exited the guts. There was no blood to be found. We decided to leave and give the buck time to expire. We hiked out back to the truck and drove about two miles to where we could reach Justin on the radio while he was sitting his stand. I told Justin the news and headed to meet him. I hiked down to Justin’s stand and we high fived and I told him the story of what had happened and my concern about the hit. We hiked out and back to our trucks. We ate lunch and drove back to my spot while we let time pass. We gave the buck 4 hours and then hiked back in to look for the buck. We went down to the stands and headed in the direction that the buck had ran. I looked for blood and Angie and Justin went on searching for the buck. After about 5-10 minutes I hear Angie yell “we have a deer”! She found him piled up under a tree. What a relief! The buck only made it about 100 yds before going down. We gave some more high fives and hugs, took pictures and started the pack out. Justin and I switched off packing the buck out on my frame pack. Thanks Justin!!! I’m so glad you were there to share the experience and celebration with us. I can’t thank you enough, it was a blast and can’t wait to do it again buddy! I still can’t believe my “city girl” girlfriend took a coues with her bow. Her 1st buck, a coues with a bow??? Amazing! She even gutted it herself! I am so proud of Angie. She spent 64 hours over 6 and a half days in the tree stand, through rain, cold, heat and sleep deprivation and never complained once. Every time we left the stand she couldn’t wait to get back in. She’s a real trooper and one heck of a hunter! In all it was the best archery deer season I have ever had and I wasn’t even hunting! Thanks for reading my story and allowing me to share our hunt with you!

 

-Tracy

 

 

Hanging the stands.

 

 

 

 

Angie practicing from the tree stand.

 

 

 

 

Hiking out of from the stands.

 

 

 

 

In the stand.

 

 

 

 

Angie's Buck.

 

 

 

 

Sporting the Coueswhitetail.com shirts.

 

[gotcoues]

Well that was one heck of a right up my friend! Congrats again to you Angie and I can't wait to do it all again. It just doesn't get any better than this!

 

 

[AZMEATHUNTER]

epic!!!!

good job! thanks for sharing the great story and photos.hats off to you for introducing someone new to the thing we all love so much!

AZMEAT

[firstcoueswas80]

Thats what I am talking about! Love that third point!

 

Nice matching shirts!

[CouesWhitetail]

WoW!!! That's just awesome! Thanks for the write-up and pics! Angie you rock!! Way to go girl! I gotta say it's been great watching you become such a successful hunter! Definitely one of my favorite stories yet this year! Nice job helping her Tracy! And nice shirts, thanks for those pics!

 

And for those that haven't been following Angie's hunting adventures, here is the link to the post about her first big game animal taken last Feb:

http://forums.coueswhitetail.com/forums/in...showtopic=12616

 

 

Amanda

[SilentButDeadly]

What posers for the camera! You all look awesome in those shirts!

[cramerhunts]

Very, Very cool! A huge congrats to you both! What a great story and buck. Way to stick with it and get it done! Thanks for sharing it with us! Completely awesome.......

[Kaffer62]

Congrats Angie!! That is one beautiful buck....I had a feeling that this last weekend was going to be productive for you!!! I was excited as soon as I recieved that Pic on my phone!

[CVLCADMAN]

Congrats you guys! That is an awesome experience, I wish I could get my city girl to hunt with me! Guess I have to just wait for my son to get old enough to hunt with me!! HAHA

[johnnie blaze]

Attagirl!!! Get ready for January Ang. Your a dang lucky guy Tracy!

[W.O.T]

thats very exciting Angie, congrats to you! can I have you talk my wife into getting out there w/me?

[daryl_s]

It just doesn't get any better than that!!! 1st coues with a bow?!?!?! That's amazing. You two have been knocking 'em dead big time in the last year or so. I really enjoyed reading the story and seeing the pictures. Thanks for sharing your success story with us.

[Lookin4amonster]

That deer is a trooper for sitting up straight for pictures.. what a good sport!

[bowsniper]

One question......why is Angie your girlfriend? You better marry her quick before someone from CWT.com beats you to it!!

 

Way to hang in there Angie! A coues with a bow is a remarkable accomplishment! You guys showed great skill and self control by waiting 4 hours. I am impressed that two of you were able to sit quietly enough to take that buck. It's hard enough for one person to be quiet. What's next? Turkey with a bow? Now that you have killed with a bow, it will hard to go back to a rifle.

 

Mark

[stanley]

Awesome story and pics!!! Congrats to Angie!!!

 

S.