I was bored so I thought I might share the full story of my desert muley that I killed this past August.
The story really started several years back but I will start in 2005. My brother-in-law drew an Arizona archery antelope permit in an area that I had hunted before. I advised him that he might want to purchase an over the counter archery deer tag, as I had seen several good muley bucks in this area before but he declined because he stated that he wanted to concentrate on his antelope permit. By the middle of his hunt he decided that he better purchase a deer tag because he was within 60 yards of 180 class muley, while trying to stalk a small pronghorn. Needless to say I razed him for it. I told my BIL that the buck or bucks in this are were all his because I had to scout for my wife’s elk hunt and I only had a few days to hunt with him. We glassed up the big muley a couple more times but we were unable to put him or any of the other bucks on the ground that year.
In 2006 I was able to draw an archery elk permit and chose not to hunt the area because I wanted to concentrate on filling my elk permit. In the off season of 2006 I did manage to download some video that I took of the 180 class buck in 2005. While watching the video I decided to nickname him "STUD". Too me, he was a perfect desert buck and he was definitely the stud in this area.
A 2005 video frame of three bucks that we often found together.
After, I was unsuccessful in drawing permits in Arizona, Utah, and Nevada in 2007, I told my wife that my goal was to kill a wall hanger buck with my bow. In the back of my mind I knew what buck I wanted to hunt but I had doubts about him still being alive or back in my honey hole. I started scouting the last week of July and I spent several days checking out rumors but my mind kept wondering back to my honey hole. Around the second week of August I decided to start hitting my glassing spot in my honey hole. On the first trip I was able to glass up one good buck but I was not sure if it was "Stud". After reviewing the video when I got home my feelings were confirmed, as the buck was nice but he had pinchers for front forks.
This was the first buck I saw in my honey hole in 2007.
I scouted four more times before opening weekend and I was able to locate a few more bucks but not "Stud" or anything in his class. My first day of hunting was the 2nd afternoon of the hunt and I was determined to find a big buck in my honey hole. With an hour of light left, I glassed up a big framed buck heading out of his bed. With the light fading I decided to jog a mile to get a closer look. I was able to beat the fading light, as I got within 50 yards of the buck before he bedded down at dark. By now I was disappointed because the buck wasn't a buck I was after but he was a big 25" 2x3. I then began the long dark walk back to the truck in the most rattle snake invested country in the world.
The next morning I was sitting in my glassing spot as sun rays peeked against my back. After an hour of glassing I spotted 3 bucks heading towards me from a mile away. I switched between watching the bucks and glassing for more bucks for over an hour. Looking at one of the bucks with my spotting scope, I was able to confirm that he was a 160 class main frame buck with a couple of small kickers. I watched as the three bucks bedded down in a cactus patch and then glassed over my approach for almost thirty minutes. I kept telling myself over and over again that I had all the time in the world, so don't get impatient. Before I began my stalk I decided to check the area around me once again, just in case a better buck was lurking around. I swung my 15's to my right and my eyes started watering, I felt a lump in my thought, as "I whispered where have you been". It was him, (Stud) he was within 200 yards of me with two other bucks.
Stud and a couple of other bucks heading to their beds in 2008.
After gather my thoughts I grabbed my camera and started taking still pictures of the bucks through my spotting scope. I knew by his main beams that this was definitly Stud and I did not care about the other buck that I had been watching all morning. I watched as Stud disappeared into a deep wash and frantically looked that area over, for more than a hour. I watched the two other bucks that were with him bed down. Again, I told myself to be patient, as Stud had not came out of the deep wash. I waited for another thirty mins but I was unable to relocated him. I was pretty confident that he was in the wash but you guys all know how easy it is to glass over something. I then made my plan & decided to make it to the wash below, where I had saw him disappear. I then took a drink and slipped off of the hill.
I made it to the deep wash without any problems and I took my time and advanced to where I had last seen him. From this point on I followed his tracks and decided to slip my shoes off and pack them on my shoulder because this place was full of cactus. I now was at a point in the wash, where it split into four small fingers. The total distance across all four fingers was only 30-40 yards, so I knew I had to be carefull. I looked down at the big buck tracks and they seemed to go up every damn finger. I was confused, so I decided to use the wind and go up the second finger to my left. As I reached the top of the finger I cursed myself, as I could see one of the other bucks laying 60 yards away under a cat claw. I then decided to back out and go up the last finger to my left. I made it to the end of the last finger and crawled up and onto the bank. I was now only 50 yards from one of the small bucks and I could see he was still lying in his bed. Against my poor judgement I decided to keep my butt on the ground and wait it out.
Here is a picture of Stud just before dropping down into the deep wash.
After about ten minutes of sitting on the edge of the wash I knew it was going to be a long day of burning in the hot Arizona sun. I set my bow to the side of me and began thinking about how I should have kept my water with me. A few mins later I threw up my glasses and began watching the only buck I could see. It was so quietI could hear a chipmunk moving around in the cactus thirty yards to my right. I put my glasses down and began day dreaming about how much I would give to kill this damn buck. I even promised God that he could take one of my family jewels, just not both. Just then I heard the chipmunk make so much noise that I had to take a look. I turned my head and the chipmunk turned into a big rack. I must have walked right by him and I mean I walked within 10 yards of him and I did not even know it. He now was facing straight away from me with his head down. I reached for my bow and he heard me, as I got to my feet in a crouching position. I thought it was over but after a several minute stare down he laid back down. I don't really know if animals can sense something is watching them but when he was staring at me the only thing I could think of was to try and not to look at his eyes. I knocked an arrow and swung to my knees. The wash was about 8 feet deep, which was great because it kept me out of his sight but I could not see him for a shot and my nerves were gone.
In 2007 Stud walks away and shows that his back end was a little weak because of drought and possibly age.
Stud in 2005 with a little better back end that would have made him an even bigger scoring buck.
I thought about just waiting it out but I talked myself out of it because the general winds normally came out of the south in this area and the buck was 30 yards north of me. I made the choice, after I ranged the bank of the wash at 35 yards, I was going to draw. I slowly stood up and drew back. I now could see the top of his antlers but that was it. I grunted at him with my mouth 3 or 4 times and he just calked his head. I then came up with a brilliant plan (not), I decided to coyote howl and it worked but almost too well. After the second long howl he stood up and was looking dead on at me. I decided that I was going to shoot him because he was nervous and I felt that I could make the shot. I settled into my peep and he wheeled and made three running steps quartering away from me. I squeezed it off or punched it, I can't really remember. I saw the arrow hit and immediately started cursing, as I knew I had just gut shot him and it was going to be a long day. Soon after that thought I was able to spot the buck running away and the blood was gushing out the opposite side. I GOT LUCKY! He was quartering enough and I had just the right angle to catch his artery. Stud only made it about 100 yards from where I shot him and was down for the count.
Stud green scored at 172" and I did measure him. He was not as big as he had been in the past but he was indeed a wall hanger.
I hope you guys enjoyed and stay out of my honey hole...
The story really started several years back but I will start in 2005. My brother-in-law drew an Arizona archery antelope permit in an area that I had hunted before. I advised him that he might want to purchase an over the counter archery deer tag, as I had seen several good muley bucks in this area before but he declined because he stated that he wanted to concentrate on his antelope permit. By the middle of his hunt he decided that he better purchase a deer tag because he was within 60 yards of 180 class muley, while trying to stalk a small pronghorn. Needless to say I razed him for it. I told my BIL that the buck or bucks in this are were all his because I had to scout for my wife’s elk hunt and I only had a few days to hunt with him. We glassed up the big muley a couple more times but we were unable to put him or any of the other bucks on the ground that year.
In 2006 I was able to draw an archery elk permit and chose not to hunt the area because I wanted to concentrate on filling my elk permit. In the off season of 2006 I did manage to download some video that I took of the 180 class buck in 2005. While watching the video I decided to nickname him "STUD". Too me, he was a perfect desert buck and he was definitely the stud in this area.
A 2005 video frame of three bucks that we often found together.
After, I was unsuccessful in drawing permits in Arizona, Utah, and Nevada in 2007, I told my wife that my goal was to kill a wall hanger buck with my bow. In the back of my mind I knew what buck I wanted to hunt but I had doubts about him still being alive or back in my honey hole. I started scouting the last week of July and I spent several days checking out rumors but my mind kept wondering back to my honey hole. Around the second week of August I decided to start hitting my glassing spot in my honey hole. On the first trip I was able to glass up one good buck but I was not sure if it was "Stud". After reviewing the video when I got home my feelings were confirmed, as the buck was nice but he had pinchers for front forks.
This was the first buck I saw in my honey hole in 2007.
I scouted four more times before opening weekend and I was able to locate a few more bucks but not "Stud" or anything in his class. My first day of hunting was the 2nd afternoon of the hunt and I was determined to find a big buck in my honey hole. With an hour of light left, I glassed up a big framed buck heading out of his bed. With the light fading I decided to jog a mile to get a closer look. I was able to beat the fading light, as I got within 50 yards of the buck before he bedded down at dark. By now I was disappointed because the buck wasn't a buck I was after but he was a big 25" 2x3. I then began the long dark walk back to the truck in the most rattle snake invested country in the world.
The next morning I was sitting in my glassing spot as sun rays peeked against my back. After an hour of glassing I spotted 3 bucks heading towards me from a mile away. I switched between watching the bucks and glassing for more bucks for over an hour. Looking at one of the bucks with my spotting scope, I was able to confirm that he was a 160 class main frame buck with a couple of small kickers. I watched as the three bucks bedded down in a cactus patch and then glassed over my approach for almost thirty minutes. I kept telling myself over and over again that I had all the time in the world, so don't get impatient. Before I began my stalk I decided to check the area around me once again, just in case a better buck was lurking around. I swung my 15's to my right and my eyes started watering, I felt a lump in my thought, as "I whispered where have you been". It was him, (Stud) he was within 200 yards of me with two other bucks.
Stud and a couple of other bucks heading to their beds in 2008.
After gather my thoughts I grabbed my camera and started taking still pictures of the bucks through my spotting scope. I knew by his main beams that this was definitly Stud and I did not care about the other buck that I had been watching all morning. I watched as Stud disappeared into a deep wash and frantically looked that area over, for more than a hour. I watched the two other bucks that were with him bed down. Again, I told myself to be patient, as Stud had not came out of the deep wash. I waited for another thirty mins but I was unable to relocated him. I was pretty confident that he was in the wash but you guys all know how easy it is to glass over something. I then made my plan & decided to make it to the wash below, where I had saw him disappear. I then took a drink and slipped off of the hill.
I made it to the deep wash without any problems and I took my time and advanced to where I had last seen him. From this point on I followed his tracks and decided to slip my shoes off and pack them on my shoulder because this place was full of cactus. I now was at a point in the wash, where it split into four small fingers. The total distance across all four fingers was only 30-40 yards, so I knew I had to be carefull. I looked down at the big buck tracks and they seemed to go up every damn finger. I was confused, so I decided to use the wind and go up the second finger to my left. As I reached the top of the finger I cursed myself, as I could see one of the other bucks laying 60 yards away under a cat claw. I then decided to back out and go up the last finger to my left. I made it to the end of the last finger and crawled up and onto the bank. I was now only 50 yards from one of the small bucks and I could see he was still lying in his bed. Against my poor judgement I decided to keep my butt on the ground and wait it out.
Here is a picture of Stud just before dropping down into the deep wash.
After about ten minutes of sitting on the edge of the wash I knew it was going to be a long day of burning in the hot Arizona sun. I set my bow to the side of me and began thinking about how I should have kept my water with me. A few mins later I threw up my glasses and began watching the only buck I could see. It was so quietI could hear a chipmunk moving around in the cactus thirty yards to my right. I put my glasses down and began day dreaming about how much I would give to kill this damn buck. I even promised God that he could take one of my family jewels, just not both. Just then I heard the chipmunk make so much noise that I had to take a look. I turned my head and the chipmunk turned into a big rack. I must have walked right by him and I mean I walked within 10 yards of him and I did not even know it. He now was facing straight away from me with his head down. I reached for my bow and he heard me, as I got to my feet in a crouching position. I thought it was over but after a several minute stare down he laid back down. I don't really know if animals can sense something is watching them but when he was staring at me the only thing I could think of was to try and not to look at his eyes. I knocked an arrow and swung to my knees. The wash was about 8 feet deep, which was great because it kept me out of his sight but I could not see him for a shot and my nerves were gone.
In 2007 Stud walks away and shows that his back end was a little weak because of drought and possibly age.
Stud in 2005 with a little better back end that would have made him an even bigger scoring buck.
I thought about just waiting it out but I talked myself out of it because the general winds normally came out of the south in this area and the buck was 30 yards north of me. I made the choice, after I ranged the bank of the wash at 35 yards, I was going to draw. I slowly stood up and drew back. I now could see the top of his antlers but that was it. I grunted at him with my mouth 3 or 4 times and he just calked his head. I then came up with a brilliant plan (not), I decided to coyote howl and it worked but almost too well. After the second long howl he stood up and was looking dead on at me. I decided that I was going to shoot him because he was nervous and I felt that I could make the shot. I settled into my peep and he wheeled and made three running steps quartering away from me. I squeezed it off or punched it, I can't really remember. I saw the arrow hit and immediately started cursing, as I knew I had just gut shot him and it was going to be a long day. Soon after that thought I was able to spot the buck running away and the blood was gushing out the opposite side. I GOT LUCKY! He was quartering enough and I had just the right angle to catch his artery. Stud only made it about 100 yards from where I shot him and was down for the count.
Stud green scored at 172" and I did measure him. He was not as big as he had been in the past but he was indeed a wall hanger.
I hope you guys enjoyed and stay out of my honey hole...
