2015 DECEMBER Coues 3 for 3 and a Couple of Elk!!!

[deserttacoma84]

Well, we have been huntin it hard since Thanksgiving and I thought about splitting this up into 2 parts to have part of it in the Elk section, but this will be a rather lengthy story of the last month that we wanted to share with everyone.

 

So let's start with Opening Morning the day after Thanksgiving. My Dad, brother Adam and I had the Thanksgiving Rifle Bull Hunt. My dad had never shot a bull bigger than a spike and the boys' plan was to get Dad a Bull first. We had done some scouting in October and November and had seen some promising results. Our buddy John was supposed to meet us for this hunt to give us some glassing help from above. John was in MT and as luck would have it wasn't able to make it down for opening day.

 

Opening Morning came and we took a nice cold ranger ride to where we wanted to be for opening morning. As we drive out we realize that people had already beat us out to where we wanted to be. So we decided to improvise and do a little glassing in a different spot and hope for the best. Around 9ish the group that beat us out there loaded back up and headed back to camp. I had read from some other members to stay out in the middle of the day and not head back to camp. So that was the plan, after the group left we moved down lower into their spot and decided to hike over a couple ridges and check out an area that we had done some of our scouting in. We got to a decent spot where we could see a bit and started to glass all over this bowl. My brother and Dad were talking about taking a nap around 11ish and just as they were I glassed up a 5x3 right down in the bottom workin his way towards us up the ridge we were sitting on. We watched him for close to 30 minutes as he weaved in and out of the Manzanita thickets and tried to decide what kind of play we would make on him to get a shot off. About 20 minutes later the bull had closed the distance to 350 yards and popped up on the hillside. Things happened fast as I was the only one that was seeing where he was and trying to get my dad to see where I was looking. I told Adam to get Dad's shooting sticks and get his rifle ready because the way the bull was moving this would be the best shot we were gonna get. Finally Dad and Adam see the bull and get set up. Adam ranged the bull and dad let off a shot. 1st shot missed. The bull took a step and put his head behind a bush. Dad took the 2nd shot and his 300wm did the job. The bull took 1 step and then humped down right into this cut below him. He was down right there. We kept dad in a shooting spot as we had a clear view of the hillside incase the bull wasn't down and Adam made his way over to find him. After 30 minutes we had our first bull down and then the work began. He had died facing downward underneath a log and wedged between a big boulder. It took some time to get him pulled out and turned around. We would get the hero shots and then start getting it cut up and packed out. Dad was done and we were glad.

 

After the hike out and time it took getting this bull back to the ranger we decided that we would sleep in on Saturday and spend some time in camp. John had decided that he was going to catch a flight to Phoenix and then take a shuttle from Phoenix to Payson and would get in some time around 230 in the morning and we would head down and pick him up. Saturday afternoon Tucson John also came up and hung out in camp with us for a couple days.

 

Sunday Morning around 230am came and we would head into Payson to pick up John and head back to camp to get ready to head out. Everyone loaded up and we headed into a spot that we hadn't really done any scouting in but one of the locals recommended. We got out onto one of the end of the fingers and started to glass. Adam had glassed up a couple of spikes as the sun came up a long long ways away. He decided to pass and keep looking. About 20 minutes later John glassed up at least a 3 point and a some cows along with a 2 point a couple other spikes. Adam decided he was going to make a play on the 3 point. It was a long hike over but Adam closed the distance with our friend Steve pretty quickly. We used radios to guide him in and get into a position that he could shoot from. At the time Adam was hiking over the bull had bedded down and we could only see a tip of his antler sticking up. Adam got into a position and could only see one of the spikes that was in the group. Adam started to get impatient and was going to shoot the spike because it was giving him a perfect shot. Fortunately Steve was there to talk him out of it and just as he did the bigger bull stood up. Adam fired off a round and missed. The bull moved down the cut about 10 steps. 2nd shot went off and the 300wsm made short work. The bull took a couple steps and dropped down behind some bushes. Adam and Steve made their way over and found the bull. The rest of us loaded up the rangers and moved down the road and then hiked in for the hero shots and the pack out. Adam's bull turned out to be small 4x4, but a great bull nonetheless.

 

We would hunt a couple more days but just weren't seeing any bigger bulls and with 2 bulls down we did not need the meat. So I decided that had we saw any bulls larger than a 5x5 I would try to make it happen. Definitely a lot of people out pushing these elk around and we were happy to have 2 great bulls on the ground.

 

We would have about a week before our Dec WT tags and a lot of butchering and reorganizing to do so we dropped John off in Payson as he was going to help out on the next Elk hunt and headed back down the hill.

 

Fast Forward a week and we are literally 30 minutes from being on the road to head down to Coues Country and John boy calls up and asks what we are doing. He was back in Phoenix trying to catch a flight back home to MT, but flights were cancelled due to weather. Let's go deer hunting! So on the way out of town we swung into Sky Harbor and picked up John and made our way south to set up camp. Adam and I had one of our other buddies Clayton with us who drew a tag on his own and our plan was to get Clayton a deer opening weekend. Clay had yet to shoot a deer ever, so we knew we could get him on some good bucks and let him and his rifle do the rest of the work. We made it into camp and got things set up just after dark and discussed our plan for opening morning.

 

Opening Morning came and we made our way out to the spot we wanted to start in and got out before sun up. We glassed up quite a few does and things weren't looking too promising as the sun kept rising. Around 10:00 John glassed up a buck way up high. After a good look in the spotter Clayton was ready to hike up there and make a play on it. John would go with him and we would keep eyes on the buck and give direction. As Clay and John were making their way up the buck decided the place he was standing for so long would make a good spot to lay down and he bedded up around 11. The boys were making their way up the opposite ridge line and would crest over about 180 yards from where the buck was. Clayton laid down and John got eyes on him. Ready for the shot, 1st shot goes off and Clay smoked him right where he laid. The buck tried to get up and moved down the hill. A couple more shots that missed and the last one that put him down for good. Clayton and John made their way across the canyon to the buck and Adam, his gf, Sarah and I would hike up for the photos and the pack out. Man were making this seem easy.... 2 for 2 on opening day missions!

 

We would hunt for 2 more days more or less "scouting" as Adam and I were trying to hold out for the rut to start. We had to be back in town for work on Monday for the week and would be back out on the 20th for a couple days before Christmas to try and make it happen. John was going to try for another flight when we got back to town, but the weather wasn't having any of it. So John would spend the week on our couch and head back down with us for the remainder of the hunt.

 

We made it back down on Sunday before Christmas set up camp in the same spot and then headed out for the afternoon to the same canyon Clayton shot his buck in. Glassed for the afternoon and didn't turn up anything but did find out that we were camped about 100 yards away from water hole that we didn't know about. So we packed up everything and found another camp spot to set up in. The next couple of days we would try a couple different areas and try and get out early before the other hunters got in to those areas. Tuesday we decided to head back into the same canyon Clayton shot from and at this point were just kind of lazy hunting for the last day and half before we would head back to town for Christmas. It was another slow morning, seeing some does here and there. We had glassed up a couple of smaller bucks a couple days before but decided to pass. Around 11 John glasses up a real nice heavy 2 point. Adam decided it was a good buck for him and ended up being about 150 yards above where Clayton had shot from the weekend before. This one would be tricky because there was no good way to get to the buck. My dad gave John and Adam a ride to the end of the road and they would start the hike up the hill. Clayton and I would stay back and keep eyes on the buck as he bedded down. I will back up this story real quick and say that opening weekend Clayton was using 10x binos and no tripod. He had a hard time glassing with us and after using a pair of 15x Kaibabs clay was sold and went and bought a pair before we went back down. So now everyone was using some form of 15x Vortex binos. Clayton Dad and I would watch the buck as Adam and John kept making their way up higher and higher to get into a spot to shoot. After a couple hours of trying to talk John into the area where the buck was. Adam was set up ready for a shot. John decided to move up a little higher up the ridge line to see if he could get a better look at where the buck was bedded. Adam was laying out prone with down the hill with his legs above his head. He was very uncomfortable and decided that if he was going to be there for another hour or so he wanted to try and get into a better position. Well right as he did the buck got up and started to move away from them. Adam was caught standing up and had to make a freehand shot. 1st miss. Adam sat down and is now shooting off his knees. 2nd shot misses. The buck is now moving down the hill pretty hard. 3rd shot. It's a hit. The buck takes a huuuge tumble/summersault head over tea kettle. Looks like he smoked him. We lose the buck behind a boulder and expect him to be down right there. John and Adam pack up and make their way over. They find blood, but no buck. They start tracking him further and further down the cut we lost him in. The blood keeps getting smaller and smaller. We would spend the entire rest of the afternoon scouring the hillside looking for this deer. It is now dark and we head back to camp with intentions of going out in the morning to continue the search. Morning rolls around and we take John and Adam back to the end of the road and they get up on the hillside to glass back into the cut where we lost the deer. Clayton, Dad and I go back to get a bigger view and continue to glass the same areas hoping this buck will turn up somewhere. Just before sunrise John glasses up a cat right in the same area where we lost the deer. They lose the cat into a thicket and decide that maybe the cat has a free meal and want to make their way over to see if the deer is in that thicket. A half hour later, they are at the thicket and there is no cat and no deer. Best we could come up with is that the deer had a hard stinger and caught his legs back and moved out of the area. Sucks, but part of the hunt. Adam and John decided they were gonna stay out there and move up to the top of the mountain to get a good look on the other side. They ended up glassing up a couple good bucks but ran out of daylight. We would head back to town that night for Christmas celebrations.

 

John stayed with Dad at camp for Christmas eve and Christmas and would check out some other areas to hunt while we were gone. All this time and still no sign of any rut activity. Although on Christmas eve they had 2 illegals come into camp asking for a ride to Phoenix or LA.

 

Adam and I made the trek back on Christmas back to camp. My brother Jared guides Quail hunts in Southern AZ and came over on a day he had open and picked my dad and John up to go out for the day to chase some Mearns.

 

Saturday came and John wanted to go to a spot that had been really good to him over the years and an area that he had taken us to when we first met him on this same hunt 4 years ago. We made sure to be up early because it would be about a 2 mile hike in and wanted to make sure that we were set and ready when the sun started coming up. We got set up and just as it started to get light I glassed up a few does and a good buck feeding. We got everyone watching and John and I set off to try and get a shot. As we were making our way up the buck dropped over the back side of a ridge and we thought maybe he bedded up somewhere. We tried to get a better look at a different angle, but never turned him up. We would name the buck Houdini. At the same time we were looking for this buck, Adam glasses up a bigger buck further to the west of us. Adam thinks he was 100+" buck. John and I break off from Houdini and make our way up a ridge to rock outcropping to see if we can glass this other buck up. We spent all day on that hill and it was nasty cold. The wind was blowing hard and just cut through your clothes so bad. It took a lot to stay on that hillside till 5:00 hoping that we would either see this big buck or Houdini come out and start feeding. No such luck. Sunday we decided we would go back to the same spot we were glassing from Saturday morning and see if we could turn Houdini up again. We were a little late but not super late because I forgot to turn on the alarm. We got out and as it started getting light again I turned up Houdini almost in the same spot. This time everyone picked him up quickly and I wasn't going to dittle dally. John and I got on the move again and headed up the ridge line to try and get a shot. We got within 400 yards and Houdini was just about to dump over the ridge. I laid out over the packs and John was ready on the binos. 1st shot was a miss. 2nd shot was also a miss. I rushed it!! I was so mad at myself trying to make it happen. Houdini had dropped over the ridge and was gone. I figured I blew it. We moved up the ridge line to try and get a better view of the cut. We kept turning up does, but no buck. John said he didn't look spooked so we decided to back out to see if we could pattern him again on Monday. We got back to where my Dad and Adam were and continued to glass. My dad turned the big buck up that we saw the day before chasing a doe. We watched him for a good 45 minutes before we lost him into a thicket. Adam toyed with the idea of going after him, but there was just no good way to go about it. We decided we would head back to camp and come back in the next day and try to make it happen.

 

Clayton came back to camp Sunday as well and we would go out into his canyon for a low key afternoon. Redemption Monday was coming and with some rut activity starting to show we were getting hopeful. John and I decided that we would hike up into the area where I shot from in hopes that Houdini would come through the same area and give me about a 250 yard shot. We made it in before it started getting light and got set up. It started getting light and were seeing all kinds of does, but not Houdini. After the sun came up finally Adam said they had the buck, but he was way at the top of the hill we were facing. From our angle we could not see him. So we decided to head back down to where they were and make our way to the slopes to the North of this mountain and try and glass him up again. We got all set up around noon and John glasses up a buck in a whole different cut a long long ways away. The mirage from the heat was making it hard to see clearly but he and adam decided they were gonna make a play on this buck. Clayton and I would stay where we were and watch for him. They closed the distance in about an hour and got into a spot to shoot. As we were trying to guide them into the area, the buck got up. Adam let the 1st shot go and missed. The buck was moving hard away from them. 2nd shot went and dropped him right in his tracks. Clayton and I had good eyes on him and he was not going anywhere. Sweet!!!! One more buck to go. About 30 minutes later my dad radios and says he has a buck in about the same area where we lost Houdini. He thought it may be smaller buck but then saw a good look of his rack and quickly decided it was Houdini. I was trying to get an idea of where he was as we were in a different spot then where my dad was. John yells out over the radio it's only 1:30. You have plenty of time to get over there. My dad wants me to hike up the back side of the ridge where the buck is and come down on top of him. I was thinking of a different play that would give me the whole hill side to shoot at once he got up. During this time he had bedded down and my dad could no longer see him. So I load up and decided to make go the route my dad wants me to go and start making my way up the hill. As I am about 3/4 of the way up, John and Adam are cleaned up and packed up with Adams buck making their way down the ridge opposite of me to the North. I am now above them in elevation and its 3pm. I continue to work up the ridgeline to a tree that I think my dad is describing. I am still on the backside of the ridge but close to the top, so I turn my beanie inside out to the Orange side and put it over my rifle and hold it up into the air so my dad can tell me if I am in the same area. He says I am about parallel with where he thinks the buck is. I move up a little higher towards the ridge line and drop my pack. I get my rifle ready, chambered round, scope caps open. Zoomed out to 4x. I take another couple steps as I begin to crest over the ridge. My dad is talking to me on the radio and I hear something get up and start running. My dad says the deer is up. I shoulder the rifle and boom. Dropped Houdini right in his tracks. 72.5 Yards!!! Unbelievable! Adam and John decided that they are going to make their way back up the ridgeline they were hiking down to come over to me so we can get some pics and get the deer loaded up and off the mountain.

 

I will say that I am super excited as this buck is my biggest to yet. Super thankful for a great hunt season of Elk and Deer. This is why I hunt. Great time with good friends and family and making memories to last a lifetime! Glad our Dad can still get out in the mountains. This was one season for the books. Big shout out to John for sticking it out with us for a month. Already lookin forward to next season! Sorry for the long read. Now off to stick a Piggy!

[Tucson John]

WOOHOO!

 

You guys Rock!

 

Congratulations to all!

 

TJ

[WampusCat]

Looks like you had a blast. Great memories made. Congrats

[hoghntr]

Awesome! Congrats guys ya did good

[mattys281]

Thats a good year! Congrats to all of you.

[Coues 'n' Sheep]

Looks like you guys had a bast! Congrats on all the success!

[218buck]

Great job congrats to all of you

[BMC]

got it done, great write up! Congrats.

[8OWHUNT247]

Looks like a heck of a trip!

[Jcubed]

Congrats! Someday, I want to go on an adventure like that!

[Couescrazy33]

Jcubed thx for all your help and packing out our meat!

[Jcubed]

Jcubed thx for all your help and packing out our meat!

Packout was easy. Big thanks to you boys for letting a stranger tag along for a month! Lol

 

Congrats on the season. Now, get the javi tags filled!

[Couescrazy33]

1 is filled two more to go

[cramerhunts]

Congratulations to all, looks like a lot of fun!!

[Jcubed]

How are the "two more to go" going?

 

 

 

 

 

Just kidding! Hope you guys have some fun chasing the pigs. If the universe aligns, I may see ya on Sunday. Doubt it though.