|
NAME: Devon Hass
WHERE FROM: California
HARVESTED: Arizona
TYPE OF FIREARM OR BOW USED: A 7 Mag.
SPECIES TYPE: Coues Deer
SIZE AND WEIGHT:
DESCRIPTION:The Camo Jacket was shed for the drag out! Even though Coues Bucks are relatively small, dragging one up through cactus and Mesquite covered canyons with a spotting scope, tripod, day-pack, heavy jacket and my Leica 10x50 binos (my binos alone are almost 3 lbs!) was enough to wear me out! I had been sitting for the past three days in this canyon on the advice of a friend from Tucson, named Ed and glassing the hills with my tri-pod mounted binos for hours each morning and evening. I was on my first Coues Deer hunt and I had been applying for the December hunt in Arizona's unit 33 for 5 years.
I had first run into Coues deer while on my annual late season hunts for mule deer. Arizona offers some great over the counter archery tags and I had been out chasing mule deer in January when I spotted a Coues deer doe up the hill moving through the Ocotillos one morning. I moved across the flats towards the doe as I had seen no mule deer that morning I figured I would try to get a closer look. After closing the distance to some 600 yards or so I noticed the doe was not alone. I had never seen a Coues buck "in person" before but one look let me know that the buck chasing this doe was nice! I ended up 70 yards from the buck, but the doe had seen me and the damage was done. But I had just added something to my wish list and I knew I wanted to try for a Coues, bad. After a visit to a Tucson sporting good shop and a little research I knew I wanted the December tag for unit 33.
I had arrived on Friday evening with just enough time left to find the canyon Ed had told me about. As I walked out in the dark I wondered what the morning would bring. Around Midnight I was woken up by something. I looked around and noticed two lights above me on the hills to the south, and someone was spotlighting a hill to the north opposite of what appeared to be the two people with flash lights this was immediately followed by two shots! Needless to say it was not the best night's sleep I've ever had. I walked up the canyon in the dark the next morning and just before light I climbed up to a good vantage point and set up my tri-pod. After some time I spotted a group of does and a spike buck under some oaks to the east and was watching them off and on when a decent buck came trotting up to the does, he was not bad looking through the binos.
After putting the spotting scope on him he looked a little narrow and not as tall as I would like, but he seemed to have 4 points per side plus really nice eye guards. I thought I should wait and see what else I may see that morning, which turned out to be nothing. I had past on a fairly decent buck and was second guessing my self all day. During the day I drove around glassing the shady hillside and was able to spot 10 more Coues deer two of which were small 2 points! Saturday afternoon I walked back in the canyon, I saw only two deer one of which was another decent buck, a little better than the one from the morning, 3 point plus eye guards, about as wide as the ears and decent height. I decided to try for him; I made my way to the deer in the fading light.
I needed to set up the tri-pod and binos to find them again after moving closer, they were about 350 yards away and I had no time to get closer, I missed on a bad shot just before the end of shooting light. I was laying down hill and the deer was up a hill in front of me. As uncomfortable as I was I should never have taken the shot but thankfully I missed clean and watched the buck go back to pursuing the doe, the rut was definitely starting to kick in.
The next morning I spotted 24 deer in the canyon, but only two were bucks both small two points, I had not tried to go after them. Tuesday morning I walked into the canyon for one last try, as I was supposed to be at work in California the next morning, I was pretty sure I would need to come back after Christmas to continue my hunt, but a half hour after day light, I spotted my first deer behind an oak tree. When I put the spotting scope in the area I had seen the deer I saw a decent buck chasing a doe through the field of view. He was chasing her like a dog chasing a cat and she was running up and down the hill, a smaller buck was following them.
The larger buck would turn and chase off the smaller buck when he came too close. I decided to hurry over a couple of small hills and take a closer look. On my way over I told myself "you don't have to shoot this deer, you can come back in 4 days, don't shoot unless he's what you really want."
I was almost at the top of a small lava rock hill where I figured I could better see the buck and may be able to get a shot from. As I peeked over the rocky out cropping near the top of the hill I noticed a single deer standing in an open area of shin-daggers. One quick look with the binos and I knew this was not one of the bucks I had seen chasing the doe, they both had light colored antlers, he was dark antlered and had very good mass, that was enough to convince me. I tried to rest my 7 mag. on the rock out-cropping in front of me but looking through the scope I saw a lot of brush between me and the buck, I took off my pack and laid it on top of the rock to improve my shot.
I could still see some grass in the scope but thought I was ok to shoot, as I was trying to control my breathing and steady myself for the shot the buck turned broadside and started to walk out of view, I took the shot, but was it was hurried. After the recoil I saw movement behind some Mesquite trees next to where the buck was standing. I climbed over to the area and began to search for blood, after several loops and no sign of a hit I looked in a ravine next to the flat that the buck had been standing in, nothing.
I was convinced I had missed completely and was ready to leave. I had started to walk back when I decided to take one last look, to go up to the top of the ravine and walk the edge of it all the way back down on way out. As I got to the top of the ravine and looked over the brush to the far side I saw the buck standing and looking up the hill. I ducked down and took my safety off when I raised to shoot, the buck saw the movement and took off, I swung with him and shot him through the shoulders he only went 50 yards up the hill and fell in my sight, needless to say I was pretty exited!
I got to the buck and really got to see how lucky I was, to take such a good buck for my first Coues deer hunt, I then thanked the Lord as I always do for the opportunity to do what I love. After taking some photos of the Buck and enjoying the moment I was additionally lucky enough to be able to get a call out with my cell phone to some friends in Tucson who were kind enough to come up and help me, saving me hours and a lot of wear and tear on my back! I would like to thank Ed for the great info and my friends from Tucson Adam and Rino for coming up and helping me get my trophy out. |
