CouesWhitetail Report post Posted November 11, 2009 Hey All, Well, this might ruin my reputation as a trophy hunter, but at times I become a meat hunter and since I came home empty-handed from my AZ hunt, I was in the mood to take a buck home. This year I had a NM tag and my buddy Scott said he would help me out. Day 1 - we went to a neat little spot where we saw some bucks but couldn't get them relocated after they went into thick cover. But at least we enjoyed the gorgeous sunrise that morning. That afternoon we took a chance and hiked a mile or so into a really neat looking basin where Scott thought we might find some WT bucks. The thing about NM seems to be that the WT are in little pockets and it seems there is some good WT country that doesn't have WT but mulies. Anyway, we weren't sure if this area would have WT or mulies and it just looked great on the topo map. It was a hot day and we finally arrived at the Basin around 2:30 pm. In a few mins we had located several mulies up feeding. As the afternoon wore on we found even more mule deer and one bull elk. Unfortunately even though the deer were out feeding all afternoon, we never saw a WT. So we decided this was just one of those spots that didn't hold whitetail. Day 2 - another nice sunrise. This day there was a lot of smoke in the air from a fire somewhere. Scott couldn't hunt the morning with me, so I went back into the area where we had some bucks the morning before. I found one just at sunrise, but it was small and it was in such thick stuff that I only saw it for about 2 seconds. So despite the low odds of seeing any bucks in that thick pinyon/juniper I decided to hike over there and try for a different angle. I set up and glassed hard for over 3 hrs and found NOTHING!! Ugh.... No afternoon hunt this day as we went to church together instead. Day 3 - Went to a neat big canyon that was very glassable. Found a few deer including some bucks and we decided to get over there and get a better look. We relocated the bucks and one looks good, but we are 480 yards out, so we back out and get higher up the ridge. Finally get to where it's a 390 yard shot. One buck is bedded and we search for the larger buck. Scott eventually spots the buck with his 30's through the juniper tree the smaller buck is bedded in front of. So I get set up with my bipod in the front and tripod under the butt of the gun so I have a nice rest for the shot. I have the bedded buck in my sights for about 2 hrs, but we are waiting for the other buck to come out from behind the juniper. Pic of the buck we didn't shoot: It's a great morning. Hardly any wind to speak of and just a beautiful area. Scott says "it just doesn't get any better than this" referring to the classic coues whitetail setup we are in. It was classic for sure. Spot a buck from far away, close the distance, relocate the buck, wait him out for hours until you can get a shot. here is my gun setup. I used the new Jim White V-shaped rifle rest on my tripod to hold up the butt end of the gun. this was a very stable way to shoot. This 390 yard shot would be the longest shot I have ever taken on a deer. Scott set up with his 30s behind me so he could be the spotter. Note the nice CouesWhitetail.com sticker on his 30s For those interested in the Jim White rifle rest, you can buy it from the CouesWhitetail.com store. Look at the bottom of this page: http://www.coueswhitetail.com/bookstore/adaptors.htm As the sun gets higher and starts hitting the bedded deer, the little buck gets up and starts feeding away from the area. Still waiting for the other deer to get up. I can see a little movement. Scott can actually see more of the deer behind the tree with his 30s. He says the deer is preening itself and stretching. We both know it will only be a short time before he steps out from behind the juniper. My heart starts beating faster and I try and stay calm and concentrate on what I need to do to make a good shot. The buck comes out and stands with his body showing but his antlers sort of in the branches of the tree. I take the shot and Scott says "you shot low" and I am thinking I missed but eventually he says he can see the bucks heart hanging out of his chest and that the buck is "dead on his feet". I have put another round in and watch him stumbling in my scope. Then he falls and rolls a little, he is done. WOO-HOOO!!! Scott and I do some high-fives. Awesome, all the waiting paid off and the buck is down. We pack up and head over there. Immediately we realize it's not the same buck we thought it was! Apparently there were three bucks in the area and we assumed there were only two. Oh well, the original buck would have been a 90s type buck, but this one is much smaller. Anyway, I wasn't trophy hunting this time anyway, so I didn't care. The really funny thing is that the buck we watched bedded and which presented a zillion shot opportunities (which I purposely didn't take while waiting for the "bigger" buck) was probably bigger than the one I shot and we waited out forever! Anyway, it was another really fun hunt with Scott and I was very happy to have this buck. One 390 yard shot from my trusty .270 and hit through the heart. It actually hit lower than I wanted, took out the sternum and just clipped the bottom of his heart, but killed him very quickly. As we processed the deer we noticed he had a deformed right ear and right front foot. If you look at his ear in this pic you can see how it's kind of kinked. Here are some pics of his deformed foot It was a great day and many thanks again to Scott for his company and help on the hunt. We sure have spent a lot of nice days in the field together. Hopefully we will have many more! Scott packing out my buck: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
willhunt4coues Report post Posted November 11, 2009 Great read and a great deserving buck you got there Amanda....Congrats to you on a great shot. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
firstcoueswas80 Report post Posted November 11, 2009 Dang Scott even packed it out?! Thats what I am talking about! congrats, and good shootin! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CouesWhitetail Report post Posted November 11, 2009 Dang Scott even packed it out?! Thats what I am talking about! congrats, and good shootin! Yeah, he is a stud!!! Amanda Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bowhuntaz1 Report post Posted November 11, 2009 Good story and nice buck. thanks for sharing... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
luvdemcoues Report post Posted November 11, 2009 Amanda, sounds like an awesome hunt! Congratulations on the longer shot. I enjoyed the story. Thanks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SouthernCouesHunter Report post Posted November 11, 2009 Congratulations!!!! Meat tastes better than antlers Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ernesto C Report post Posted November 11, 2009 Impressive!! You the .......woman! Next time...please get the shot on film PLEASE! Ernesto C Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AZP&Y Report post Posted November 11, 2009 Nice buck! Great shot! We'll call him club foot! AzP&Y Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stanley Report post Posted November 11, 2009 Awesome Amanda! Congrats to you & Scott on another GREAT outing!!! Good for you guys!! S. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
redline410 Report post Posted November 11, 2009 Good read Amanda, nice buck, and great shot! with the 270 to boot. Well done....His buddies were probably tired of Quazimoto draggin' that foot around anyway- Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest 300ultramag. Report post Posted November 11, 2009 as long as its not a slick head its a trophy... sweet buck Amanda... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CouesWhitetail Report post Posted November 11, 2009 Good read Amanda, nice buck, and great shot! with the 270 to boot. Well done....His buddies were probably tired of Quazimoto draggin' that foot around anyway- hehehe, funny My little buck had a bit a rough, short life for sure. Amanda Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rharris Report post Posted November 11, 2009 Great story and nice buck. Congrats! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Apatkelley Report post Posted November 12, 2009 Very cool!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
