A
ADDICT
Guest
LAST EDITED ON Aug-28-12 AT 01:29PM (MST)[p]
I moved to AZ in 2005. Growing up in hunting Utah, I never would?ve imagined how abundant the wildlife is here in the desert. The terrain, climate, species etc. are 180 degrees opposite of what I was accustomed to.
I heard through new friends about the liberal archery season that covers most the state. Hanging out at the bow shops, I quickly learned that not only was there mule deer around Phoenix but there were some toads amongst the cacti!
My first few seasons were spent hunting the high mesas and glassing ?up? like you would when hunting for alpine mule deer. I ran into more coues deer than mule deer. Arizona hunters keep their spots very secretive?even getting general areas to hunt was tricky. I fortunately met a neighbor that happened to be one of the most accomplished archers in the world and an expert desert mule deer slayer! He gave me some invaluable insight into where/how to find them and went out with me several times to get me cranking.
The 2010-11 Dec-Jan archery season left me with my first real desert mule deer season. I hunted within 30 miles of metro Phoenix before work, after work, during work etc. almost every day that Jan. Seeing numerous 170?+ rutting toads roaming the desert. It finally paid off on January 31 last minute as I was able to harvest a wide, unique 3x3 that I had seen on and off for 5 weeks.
Because I harvested my buck in Jan 2011, I was not able to hunt the following Dec. I was not able to connect in Jan 2012 but found a batch of new deer and gave them all new names!
This summer, I have committed to harvest a velvet mule deer. With sunrise around 6:00 am and temps already in the mid 80s I wasn?t sure where the rutting bucks I chase all winter would even be.
The desert is nothing like alpine terrain. It's relatively flat, with the occasional ?knob? ascending slightly above the floor. Mesquite, palo verde, ocotillo, cholla etc. entangle and twist across the valleys that can swallow a roaming buck in seconds.
I began in my rutting spots, hitting them bright and early. With Outdoorsman?s tripod in hand and my Swarovski 15x56s, I gridded out all of the usually cuts and pockets I'd seen deer in the past. I scrounged up a few does here and there and maybe 4 little bucks.
The evenings were worse due to the temps being around 110 until about 8:00 pm! Bouncing around day after day, I was not able to turn anything respectable up. I finally glassed my deer from about a mile away feeding parallel to the top of one of the few ?mountains? towering above the desert. He was with another buck and I could tell that both had 4-point frames, eye guards and were definitely mature deer. The time was 6:00 and I knew they were feeding for the evening so I devised a plan and began to make my move.
The wind held steady and gave me a great, shielded parallel approach. My good desert buddy Jake Domres was right behind me as we worked our way up an adjacent draw. I had marked a big split saguaro as the approximate elevation of the feeding deer and we were within 100 yds by 6:45.
I threw on the sneaky feet and we crept up over the shoulder scanning for antler tips in the shaded side of the hill. After about ten minutes I could see where the bucks had been at first site but they weren't there any longer. I scanned every bush and shrub looking for any movement.
With an arrow knocked I moved another 2 yards to get a different angle and saw the back fork of a buck about 15 yards straight below the ridge I was on! As quickly as I picked him up, his sidekick busted me as he was feeding a little higher and to closer to us.
Both deer busted for the saddle at the top of the mountain. Jake waited for the top buck to stop and as the deer paused he ranged him at 63 yds. It wasn?t two seconds and the FMJ topped with a 100 gr Swhacker was through the buck?s ribs and braking his opposite shoulder! The arrow blew right through and the buck, disoriented stumbled quickly up the saddle and out of site.
After customary expletives, celebrations, and mass texts we calmed down and assessed the shot. Both agreed the deer was done but we waited the necessary 30 minutes before trailing the deer.
As I approached the buck, only 20 yards over the saddle, I noticed his right horn was a big 2-point! I was sick. The emotion quickly changed though as I caught the profile of the drop-tines melting off of his main beam! This deer was perfect. Great frame on his left, four side. Heavy bases and eyeguards. His right horn has eight scoreable points that twist and drop in every direction.
We got the deer off the mountain by about 10:30 pm soaked to the bone and still enduring 100+ temps. I was more than worth it. I have to wait until Jan to carry my bow down here but you can bet I'll be glassing until then!
"You skin grizz?"
I moved to AZ in 2005. Growing up in hunting Utah, I never would?ve imagined how abundant the wildlife is here in the desert. The terrain, climate, species etc. are 180 degrees opposite of what I was accustomed to.
I heard through new friends about the liberal archery season that covers most the state. Hanging out at the bow shops, I quickly learned that not only was there mule deer around Phoenix but there were some toads amongst the cacti!
My first few seasons were spent hunting the high mesas and glassing ?up? like you would when hunting for alpine mule deer. I ran into more coues deer than mule deer. Arizona hunters keep their spots very secretive?even getting general areas to hunt was tricky. I fortunately met a neighbor that happened to be one of the most accomplished archers in the world and an expert desert mule deer slayer! He gave me some invaluable insight into where/how to find them and went out with me several times to get me cranking.
The 2010-11 Dec-Jan archery season left me with my first real desert mule deer season. I hunted within 30 miles of metro Phoenix before work, after work, during work etc. almost every day that Jan. Seeing numerous 170?+ rutting toads roaming the desert. It finally paid off on January 31 last minute as I was able to harvest a wide, unique 3x3 that I had seen on and off for 5 weeks.
Because I harvested my buck in Jan 2011, I was not able to hunt the following Dec. I was not able to connect in Jan 2012 but found a batch of new deer and gave them all new names!
This summer, I have committed to harvest a velvet mule deer. With sunrise around 6:00 am and temps already in the mid 80s I wasn?t sure where the rutting bucks I chase all winter would even be.
The desert is nothing like alpine terrain. It's relatively flat, with the occasional ?knob? ascending slightly above the floor. Mesquite, palo verde, ocotillo, cholla etc. entangle and twist across the valleys that can swallow a roaming buck in seconds.
I began in my rutting spots, hitting them bright and early. With Outdoorsman?s tripod in hand and my Swarovski 15x56s, I gridded out all of the usually cuts and pockets I'd seen deer in the past. I scrounged up a few does here and there and maybe 4 little bucks.
The evenings were worse due to the temps being around 110 until about 8:00 pm! Bouncing around day after day, I was not able to turn anything respectable up. I finally glassed my deer from about a mile away feeding parallel to the top of one of the few ?mountains? towering above the desert. He was with another buck and I could tell that both had 4-point frames, eye guards and were definitely mature deer. The time was 6:00 and I knew they were feeding for the evening so I devised a plan and began to make my move.
The wind held steady and gave me a great, shielded parallel approach. My good desert buddy Jake Domres was right behind me as we worked our way up an adjacent draw. I had marked a big split saguaro as the approximate elevation of the feeding deer and we were within 100 yds by 6:45.
I threw on the sneaky feet and we crept up over the shoulder scanning for antler tips in the shaded side of the hill. After about ten minutes I could see where the bucks had been at first site but they weren't there any longer. I scanned every bush and shrub looking for any movement.
With an arrow knocked I moved another 2 yards to get a different angle and saw the back fork of a buck about 15 yards straight below the ridge I was on! As quickly as I picked him up, his sidekick busted me as he was feeding a little higher and to closer to us.
Both deer busted for the saddle at the top of the mountain. Jake waited for the top buck to stop and as the deer paused he ranged him at 63 yds. It wasn?t two seconds and the FMJ topped with a 100 gr Swhacker was through the buck?s ribs and braking his opposite shoulder! The arrow blew right through and the buck, disoriented stumbled quickly up the saddle and out of site.
After customary expletives, celebrations, and mass texts we calmed down and assessed the shot. Both agreed the deer was done but we waited the necessary 30 minutes before trailing the deer.
As I approached the buck, only 20 yards over the saddle, I noticed his right horn was a big 2-point! I was sick. The emotion quickly changed though as I caught the profile of the drop-tines melting off of his main beam! This deer was perfect. Great frame on his left, four side. Heavy bases and eyeguards. His right horn has eight scoreable points that twist and drop in every direction.
We got the deer off the mountain by about 10:30 pm soaked to the bone and still enduring 100+ temps. I was more than worth it. I have to wait until Jan to carry my bow down here but you can bet I'll be glassing until then!
"You skin grizz?"
