I've been trying to kill a coues deer with a bow since I started bowhunting. Countless trips to AZ, several times a year for a few seasons, tons of close calls, a miss, lots of all day sitting in stands, lots of stalks, and mostly frustration. Coues deer have been my unicorn, my personal white whale. It finally came together yesterday morning. I was hunting with my friends Rich and Cindy and they had been scouting extensively and had the bucks dialed in!
I only had 2.5 days to hunt and was down to my last morning. I had already endured two sunup to sundown sits in tree stands and was going absolutely bat shit crazy. Long summer days imprisioned on a small platform 20' up a tree is tortuous, especially when all I had seen was 2 does and 2 spikes total.
So I climb into my stand yesterday morning feeling better that I could only be tortured for just a few more hours. It was just breaking light. I had just clipped in and hung my bow up. I turned around surprised to see a spike headed my way. I wanted a better buck ideally, but I also wanted to get the skunk off and wanted the meat too. I stood there thinking about it as the buck nervously worked closer. I made up my mind to shoot him and got my bow off the hook. I waited for a clean shot as the deer started to circle downwind. He knew something was up. Before I had a shot he got a good nose full and bounded off, flipping me his flag. I watched him for a minute or so as he scampered away. Oh well, it wasn't meant to be, I thought, and I really wasn't that bummed.
I turned back around to the front of my stand and immediately saw antlers coming over the ridge. Game on! It was just a small, narrow forky, but he was better than the spike! The deer kept looking back over his shoulder and a couple minutes later I saw a little better buck coming in, a bigger fork with eye guards. They turned 90 degrees and looked like they were going to take a ridgeline trail away from me. Right abut when I was thinking of a 45 yard shot, they turned and headed down hill right to me, the bigger buck in the lead. They closed in on a string and never stopped.
I was at full draw
waiting for one to turn and give me a shot but they just kept walking directly at my tree. At less than 15 yards I had enough. I put the pin high where the neck meets the shoulder and let rip. Perfect shot for the angle, and a good spurt of blood on impact and an exit right through the offside armpit and heart. The buck took off seemingly unhurt, and I'm left thinking WTF, I drilled him. He made it about 20 yards and I could see blood just gushing from the low exit hole. 5 more steps and he did the funky chicken dance and went down with a thud. You could have heard me scream a mile away.
Cut and stuff and in the pack for the steep hike downhill to the truck. Mission accomplished. Now I want a bigger one!
I only had 2.5 days to hunt and was down to my last morning. I had already endured two sunup to sundown sits in tree stands and was going absolutely bat shit crazy. Long summer days imprisioned on a small platform 20' up a tree is tortuous, especially when all I had seen was 2 does and 2 spikes total.
So I climb into my stand yesterday morning feeling better that I could only be tortured for just a few more hours. It was just breaking light. I had just clipped in and hung my bow up. I turned around surprised to see a spike headed my way. I wanted a better buck ideally, but I also wanted to get the skunk off and wanted the meat too. I stood there thinking about it as the buck nervously worked closer. I made up my mind to shoot him and got my bow off the hook. I waited for a clean shot as the deer started to circle downwind. He knew something was up. Before I had a shot he got a good nose full and bounded off, flipping me his flag. I watched him for a minute or so as he scampered away. Oh well, it wasn't meant to be, I thought, and I really wasn't that bummed.
I turned back around to the front of my stand and immediately saw antlers coming over the ridge. Game on! It was just a small, narrow forky, but he was better than the spike! The deer kept looking back over his shoulder and a couple minutes later I saw a little better buck coming in, a bigger fork with eye guards. They turned 90 degrees and looked like they were going to take a ridgeline trail away from me. Right abut when I was thinking of a 45 yard shot, they turned and headed down hill right to me, the bigger buck in the lead. They closed in on a string and never stopped.
I was at full draw
waiting for one to turn and give me a shot but they just kept walking directly at my tree. At less than 15 yards I had enough. I put the pin high where the neck meets the shoulder and let rip. Perfect shot for the angle, and a good spurt of blood on impact and an exit right through the offside armpit and heart. The buck took off seemingly unhurt, and I'm left thinking WTF, I drilled him. He made it about 20 yards and I could see blood just gushing from the low exit hole. 5 more steps and he did the funky chicken dance and went down with a thud. You could have heard me scream a mile away. Cut and stuff and in the pack for the steep hike downhill to the truck. Mission accomplished. Now I want a bigger one!
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