The Blood Instinct Blog with Crazy Carl: September 2012

This year my dad & I drew Coues Whitetail tags for our favorite unit, 31, in Southern Arizona. I've been bow hunting for years now even if I draw a rifle tag, mostly just to get out and hunt, but also to scout a little for our rifle hunt. I invited my friend Dave Wood for his first bow hunt and to show him what coues deer hunting is all about ( impossible terrain, never ending uphill hikes, and very spooky little deer ). We only had 2 days off work, so it was gonna be a turn and burn trip. We arrived at our camp site around 3AM and got just a couple hours of rack time before we were up and after'em. 20 minutes into the hunt as Dave & I creep along a trail I spot a BIG coues buck feeding along a fence line. I signal Dave to get low & slow. I was able to keep a bush between me and the buck. As I got closer to the bush, I peeked out to see what the buck was doing. Well, I was not aware that there were 2 big bucks and one had me pegged. I was 50yds away and decided if they stayed as I drew I could get a good shot broadside. I drew back and just as I touch off the release, the buck jumps the string. It would have been a perfect hit, but they are so fast! Clean miss. We were pumped running into some bucks right off the bat anyway! We continued down the trail to a spot I know of that dead ends around a Juniper tree. We stopped for a break and as we're sitting there, a rattle snake slithers right past our feet and cozies up next to the juniper. We watched him as we ate a power bar before getting off the trail and into some serious coues country. We started up the boulders and hills, picking our way through shindaggers, cactus, and squeezing through little under cuts. I spotted a few more does through out the morning. Dave was excited just seeing deer but also got a lesson on how hard they are to spot as I pointed out a doe in the open looking right at us;) Around lunch time I decide to take Dave down a trail that we can move a little quieter up and leads to some water. After a quick 30 min. break in the shade we start creeping down the trail.

Dave Wood creeping coues country

Dave starting to feel the effects of coues country, A real trooper!

As we hike up to the top of a group of small hills with lots of cover I jumped a small buck. I signal to Dave to go in and give him a crack at it. I crept down the trail a little further quietly hoping to push the deer back Daves direction. I get around a small bend and stop and wait. A moment later I hear his bow let loose and hear an arrow twang off a couple rocks. I gotta give Dave a big congrats just getting a coues buck in bow range! An accomplishment in itself, especially on a 1st time bow & coues hunt! Well, as the twang from his arrow hitting the rock quiets I see the buck duck behind some cover...almost crouching to hide from Dave. I drew back but didn't feel comfy with the shot and angle. I took one long step left and had him at 30 yards quartering away from me. Perfect. The buck was still focused in Dave's direction. As the buck looks back towards where Dave was I drew my bow back. Now I have missed archery opportunities in the past by rushing the shot or not taking my time to find a good angle ( like twig free ). This time I took a deep breath, settled my 30yd pin on the vitals and touched off my release. I saw the fletching disappear right where I was aiming! The buck bounded off. I crept up to where the buck was when I took the shot to find a good puddle of foamy blood. I was about to back out and grab Dave to help with the track job when I heard thrashing 35 yds away in a little ravine. I look over to see my 1st archery Coues buck kick one last time and take his final breath. I was so excited I hollard at Dave that I got'em and here he is! Dave rolled up and was just excited as I was. We pounded knuckles and recounted the events that just took place. I went to work gutting him out and Dave went to look around to see if any others were sticking around the area and to see if he locate our arrows. He returns just in time to grab my gear as I shoulder the deer and start the hard yet happy hike to the truck.

Finally back at the truck with my trophy

Being nearly 90 degrees, I had to get him skinned and on ice ASAP. It was 3PM so Dave decided to keep hunting while I ran into town to load up on ice. I met Dave back at our agreed spot and headed back to camp. Dave said he'd chased another small buck, but a doe kept him at bay while the buck slipped away. That's coues deer hunting. We had the next morning to hunt before we had to head back for work. We got up early and went to where we saw the two biggin's the day before. At that same spot we were surrounded by does, but made for some fun trying to see them all and look for antlers. Turned out to be all does. We hunted back up the hills and spooked 1 buck that we couldn't get a real good look at. The day turned hotter than the day before and unfortunately the deer just stopped moving, I'm sure bedded up in the rocks in the shade. We decided it was time to pack it in and head home. I got to know Dave a lot better and what a great and determined guy he is. I will do my best to get him on some deer in the 2nd archery season. I hunt alone so often I was nervous about bringing someone with me, but I gained a great new hunting buddy and built up our friendship even more. I was happy to have him there to share the adventure and we'll be getting into a lot more adventures too. I donated my rifle tag to www.OE4A.org which helps handicapped or impaired youth to go on a mentored hunt with my rifle tag:) Another big plus! What a great time we had and I can't wait to try it again!