Arizona 27 archery?

[TradAg02]

Forecast is currently showing no rain. I’ve pulled my rain gear and my tent (replaced with tarp). Dropping the extra weight gets my total pack weight with food and water under 40lbs and solidifies that I’ll be able to pack up camp each morning and roam freely. Being my first time to hunt the area, I’ll enjoy seeing new country as much as I do the hunting. Looking forward to getting out of the city to enjoy some fresh air for a week.



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[RoJo]

I am looking forward to hearing about it. I have not yet hunted deer in the Blue Range, I have only helped a buddy on his rifle mule deer hunt there quite a few years ago, in the fall. I am curious what it will be like in Jan. I hope you take some photos to share as well. A storm just moved through, so I suspect there will be at least a little snow in the higher elevations. Good luck!

 

[dtrkyman]

Albuquerque had a system go through today as well...little snow on the top of the Sandias and some rain down low.


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[BlackFlag]

Tagging this for interest since this is about 4-5 hours away from me. Good luck on your hunt!

 

[TradAg02]

Had to stop in Albuquerque for a client meeting before heading on to Alpine. I swung through Edgar, but couldn’t find anywhere that sold tags (at least that was still open). The bait shop was closed by the time I made it into Alpine so I got a room at the small motel ($77). I’m currently grabbing something to eat at the Bar and Still. I’ll hit the bait shop when they open in the am and grab my license.

This would be a lot easier and I’d be spending the night in a tent tonight and hunting in the morning if AZ would just sale tags online with the license.


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[dtrkyman]

Good luck, hope to be there in a week!

 

[bowuntr]

Good luck. They're rutting pretty good over here. Ed F

 

[Robinhood21]

Good luck! Looking forward to hearing the final report


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[Rich1201]

I'm looking forward to seeing a write up as well. I've got this hunt planned for September 2018. Will be my first hunt out west. Chose this unit as it's the closest to me in Texas. Been staring at maps for a few months now. Good luck out there!

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[TradAg02]

Spent the first few days on the edge of the Blue near Alma. I went into a glassing spot 3.5 miles deep that I had found after reviewing maps. The spot ended up overlooking a massive rock outcrop. I ended up easing through the area for two days. I found a lot of sheds, but only came across 5 mule deer and a few pigs. While there was some sign it just wasn’t the style of hunting I prefer.


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[TradAg02]

I opted for a change of scenery and ended up heading to higher elevation on the opposite side of the unit. I entered in an area with considerable snow then dropped down the opposite side to a lower elevation in the hopes that the snow would have the deer pushed down. I hiked back 5 miles to a partially burned area.

In the evening I found the deer transitioning from the timber to the recovering burn. Last night I saw 60+ mule deer (~15 bucks) including a 170-180” that I spent most of the evening pursuing. He was locked on a doe and could care less that I was there, but the doe had me nailed. Over the course of the evening 7 different bucks came by and checked her.

This morning I only found a few deer in the area so I hiked a little deeper to the next timber stand. I found a small buck and a few does right away so I kept easing through the timber. To my surprise I peaked over a rise to find a coues buck with a doe. Having never shot a coues and this being a good representation, I took the opportunity. After getting him down and looking at the map to find I had 7 miles and 1,500’ of climbing I was happy it was a coues rather than a mule deer.

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[TradAg02]

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[Rich1201]

I opted for a change of scenery and ended up heading to higher elevation on the opposite side of the unit. I entered in an area with considerable snow then dropped down the opposite side to a lower elevation in the hopes that the snow would have the deer pushed down. I hiked back 5 miles to a partially burned area.

In the evening I found the deer transitioning from the timber to the recovering burn. Last night I saw 60+ mule deer (~15 bucks) including a 170-180” that I spent most of the evening pursuing. He was locked on a doe and could care less that I was there, but the doe had me nailed. Over the course of the evening 7 different bucks came by and checked her.

This morning I only found a few deer in the area so I hiked a little deeper to the next timber stand. I found a small buck and a few does right away so I kept easing through the timber. To my surprise I peaked over a rise to find a coues buck with a doe. Having never shot a coues and this being a good representation, I took the opportunity. After getting him down and looking at the map to find I had 7 miles and 1,500’ of climbing I was happy it was a coues rather than a mule deer.

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Congrats man! How far was your shot?

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[RoJo]

That's excellent, congrats! I'm glad it worked out well for you. That is actually a pretty nice Coues buck. Thanks for sharing the story and the great photos!

 

[Nomad]

Very nice. This Arizona OTC tag is still on my radar as a backup if my other draw tags fall through (and has been for the last 2 years). At some point, I'm kinda hoping I don't draw NM so I can go to Arizona. Very nice report and pic. Congrats.

 

[DFB]

Way to go man. Congratulations

 

[realunlucky]

Great buck way to make it happen

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[TradAg02]

Congrats man! How far was your shot?

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50yds


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[Rich1201]

50yds


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That's awesome. Just bought a Sport Hogg Fast Eddie XL to start practicing at longer distances. Doing this hunt in September. I want to try to get comfortable out to 60 by then. Congrats again!

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[cbrown2x]

Sweet buck man