I remember applying as always for a shot at another AZ archery bull tag. Since I had 2 points I figured I might as well throw a hail marry and put in for my usual 5BS archery permit. Knowing I would probably not draw, I put my wife in for the limited opportunity archery tag in November, thinking at least one of us will have a solid chance of drawing. Low and behold results came out and not only did I draw, but so did my wife and my Dad, all on separate applications. What a year 09’ would prove to be!

I’m blessed with an ample amount of time in the woods because I have a cabin that just happens to be in my unit. As spring quietly turned into summer and moisture seemed to be plentiful, I celebrated each weekend with trail camera photos and excursions to remote locations looking for fat and lazy bulls. Elk were plentiful and scouting seemed to be too easy with big bulls all over the place. Knowing my unit and the fact that everything changes the few weeks leading up to the rut, I also realized I still had my work cut out for me. I figured my captive audience would more than likely move on and new bulls would wander in the day before my hunt? What’s amazing is that the only thing that wandered in was a bunch of hunters – to my exact spot! I quickly realized that I had some competition and it looked like there were 10-15 bull tags to be had within three or four camps right where I intended to hunt.

As opening day came and went I was completely demoralized as the elk were barely talking. It was over by 7:30am and maybe started back up a little after 6:00pm. Weather seemed to cooperate, but the rut never really kicked in until the 6th or 7th day. I remember chasing two herds around that each had over 150 elk and NO respectable bulls! It was the craziest thing I’ve ever seen during the AZ archery season. I must have passed on about 10 decent bulls by sitting water in the evening and chasing during the morning hunt. My goal was to shoot something 340+ and I was sticking to my guns! The 7th day everything turned in my favor! As my guide and I chased some evening bugles for the first time, we followed them right to the shore line of a lake we’ve been skirting most of the hunt. As we watched a 310 bull bugle and make a good amount of noise we noticed a nice 340-350 bull on the other side of the lake rip off about five bellowing bugles. He clearly wanted the smaller bull’s harem of 8 cows. Just as I asked Steven “Do you think?†he sure did! He swam over and took the 8 cows bugled twice and swam back across the lake to his safe haven. We barely had a chance to make a stalk before he exited with his new batch of lady friends. As we sat in awe on the shore line and watched the circus only 350 yards away we also noticed two or three other bulls that would equal or exceed the swimmer.

We sat and quickly drew up plans for the next days hunt much like a quarter back calls an audible at the line. In the morning we would chase on our side because of the prevailing wind and hope they swam back during the night. If unsuccessful in the morning we will keep the wind in our face and kayak across for the afternoon hunt! I just so happen to have a pair of kayaks in my garage for trout fishing and there was zero trail access to hike around the lake properly with the wind in our favor. The morning hunt confirmed that our elk remained on the wrong side and the kayaks were coming out! We could barely contain our excitement and shoved off around 2pm for our afternoon hunt. Besides Steven’s poor kayaking skills, we made it across quietly and without trace.

We snuck into the tree line and waited for the bugling and action to start. Holy smokes did the action start up, but all the way across the lake at least 800 yards away. I think we counted 150 elk and at least 3 great herd bulls and another 8-10 smaller bulls. We didn’t see any of our bulls and knew ours were just late to the happy hour. At about 5pm our elk started to move and vocalize their presence. Closer and closer they came. When they seemed to be parallel with us we started our stalk. Keeping the wind in our face we moved 100 yards and quickly encountered some resistance. A cow fed 7 yards from us and eventually busted us, but thankfully walked off. As we crept to an opening and had our elk in sight we were surprised by what sounded like a herd of horses running our way. As we turned our heads we noticed a 7×7 and maybe 10 cows running behind us to the water? I tried to pivot and ready myself for a twenty yard shot, but it was too late! They winded us and slammed on the brakes. Off they trotted with no opportunity at all on what looked like a 360 bull. Our attention then swung right back to our bull and his cows that just finished drinking. They started to filter through the cedars in single file fashion; cow, cow, 4×4, cow, cow, cow, small 6×6, cow, cow, BIG BULL! Steven ranged the opening and whispered 60 yards! As if on a string, Steven cow called and stopped the bull perfectly in the 3 foot opening between cedars. I remember touching off my release, but everything else was a blur. I remember telling Steven I thought I had missed him clean, but he assured me that my shot was a fatal heart shot and that elk was smoked! I know I heard Steven say he was a shooter, but I didn’t realize his size until I stood over him 20 yards from where I shot him.

Even as I write this I get emotional because one of my passions in life is to elk hunt and help my family and friends hunt these magnificent creatures. Who would have thought that in Arizona I would kayak across a lake to shoot my elk? What a memorable story and incredible experience. I’d like to thank my wife Laurel for all that she puts up with and all her hard work and preparation for my hunt. I could not have done it without her! Of course Steven Ward and Ward’s Outfitters who is a good friend as well as an incredible hunter. I can’t wait to see what happens with Laurel and my Dad on their hunts this November.

Last year was my first time hunting Coues in southern Arizona. My friend and I spent 5 days in 36B on a late Dec guided hunt and left unsuccessful. Although we saw bucks, none were “mature” (spikes/ little forks) and we decided to pass. 

This year was different. We had no problem obtaining Oct. tags for Unit 32 and made our way down to AZ again in search of those little gray ghosts of the desert mountains. Through Ward’s Outfitters (Steven Ward) We managed to gain access to several sections of landlocked forest service land via a private ranch with extremely limited access….sorry, I can’t give any more details on location…sworn to secrecy. Opening morning we immediately began glassing up lots of deer. Does, little bucks, and an occasional shooter on a distant mountain. Later in the morning when the shadows started to retreat, the deer began to move and we glassed up a bachelor group that contained two shooters. We made our stalk and positioned ourselves 369 yds from the bedded bucks. After a long wait, the shadows moved with the sun and the bucks began one by one to get up and reposition in their bedding area. When, finally, one of the shooter bucks stood up, my friend Kenny ( who had won the right to shoot first in a “pick a number between 1 and 20” game ) squeezed one off…miss! All heck broke loose then. Bucks began running everywhere. Kenny regained his composure and squeezed another shot off at what he thought was the largest buck. Unfortunately, Kenny had tunnel vision and failed to notice that the buck shot at had switched positions with the larger buck. At the report of the 300RUM the smallest buck in the group, a 2 x 1 folded up….oops! Nevertheless, Kenny had his first Coues and a helluva story to tell.

I was up next. My turn wouldn’t come till 2 days later. We had lots of packing to do to get Kenny’s deer out and taken care of as well as some other business to attend to. Steven’s other clients had taken some bucks and we decided to help them with their recovery. Sunday AM we hit the mountains again and began my search. The morning produced ~ 15 does/fawns and 2 bachelor groups of bucks with no shooters. Again, like opening day, when it started to warm up and the shadows retreated to the gullies around 10:00 AM, the bucks began to move. I managed to glass up a small 2×2 at about 700 yds. We watched him intently because all the other small bucks we had seen were not alone. This proved to be the case here as well. After about 5 minutes of glassing Steven spotted a large mature buck that suddenly appeared about 30 yards to the little buck’s left….and he was a good one!

We glassed him for 15-20 minutes before he bedded in a spot where he was clearly visible from our position. Next came the stalk. I was not capable of making a 700 yd shot on him so we needed to get closer, a lot closer. Slowly we made our way along a ridge, keeping a close eye on our bedded target. Eventually we found a shaded spot under a cedar that we felt would be a good spot to set up. Steven and I had a lengthy discussion on the ballistics involved with the shot. I had data for my rifle and load for 300, 400, 500…etc. yards but not for any intermediates. The buck was bedded at ~350 yards from us and the shot would be uphill at an fairly steep angle. We finally reached a conclusion of where to “dial up” my turret, settling on 9 clicks up from my 200 yard zero. 

It wasn’t long before the buck rose to his feet to reposition himself as the shadows shifted. Immediately upon rising I locked in on him with my custom Rem 700 in .308, cranked up the magnification of my Leupold Mark IV up to 25X, and placed the crosshairs just to the right of his elbow. Slowly I squeezed the trigger until….BOOM! The next thing I heard was “You smoked him!” from Steven. The deer ran about thirty yards across the hillside before piling up. Now the only thing to do was make the recovery. Thirty minutes passed as we watched what appeared to be his crumpled body lay against a couple of mesquites above a prominent rock pile. When we were sure he was dead and not going to move I began the steep climb up to him. It didn’t take long with direction from my spotter below to locate him. No ground shrinkage here…I had my first Coues and he was a dandy!

After the photo session and an hour of caping and quartering the hike out commenced. The adventure wasn’t over as we jumped several other deer and found both shed and a bear skull as we made our way back to the truck. Once at the truck the tape measure came out. We rough scored the buck at 97 7/8 BC gross. 

I gotta say I’m hooked now. No doubt I’ll be stumbling along those cactus infested, rocky hillsides again next year. It’s hard to say whether or not I’ll ever be privileged enough to take another Coues like this one but that doesn’t matter. The adventure I had with one of my best friends on this trip is what I hope to revisit again in the future. 

**If you are looking for an adventure like this, don’t hesitate to call Steven Ward of Ward’s Outfitters….he’s AWESOME!

Written by Beard Hobbs

After eight years of diligently applying for a trophy elk tag in Arizona, I finally hit the lottery and drew a trophy archery bull elk tag in unit 5b South, near Winslow, Arizona. With tag in hand I booked my hunt with friend and guide Steven Ward of Wards Outfitters.

Over the past five years I have hunted coues deer, mule deer, javalina, cotamundi and now elk with Wards Outfitters. Wards Outfitters is based out of Wilcox, Arizona and primarily provides guiding services to bow hunters. Steven’s camps are generally first class. He always rents a nice cabin and has excellent guides, hot showers, warm beds and a great cook.

My elk hunt started on September 09, 2011. The first day I missed a 60 yard shot at a 340 class bull. On the second day we made a great stalk on a bedded bull that would have scored somewhere north of 370â€. We crawled within 200 yards of the bedded bull, and then waited for him to get up and feed over the ridgeline. As soon as the bull and cows cleared the ridgeline, we literally raced across the flats and up the side of the ridge. As we neared the ridge, we could see the big bull standing in some oak brush at about 50 yards. As we waited for the bull to clear another hunter came in from the side and busted our stalk. Oh well, close but no cigar!

Every day we were constantly in contact with various herds of elk. Steven doesn’t much believe in bugling or cow calling. He only uses a bugle to locate elk when they aren’t bugling and he only uses a cow call to stop a bull when he wants you to shoot. I can honestly say that when it comes to elk hunting, Steven, out thinks them, and moves in and out of a herd as if he were some form of elk shape shifter. Having hunted elk for the better part of the last 45 years, I am in awe of Steven’s elk hunting skills. Steven Ward is the ELK WHISPER!!!!!!

On about the fifth day, with extreme stealth Steven walked us directly into the middle of a herd of elk. For at least an hour we had four 6×6’s and maybe 30 plus cows, anywhere from 20 to 80 yards from our position. Just before dark, the entire herd walked single file past us at 45 yards. The biggest bull in this group was a 325 class bull, and having already been spoiled, it was pretty easy to hold off on shooting him.

On the ninth day of the hunt, at first light we raced across several canyons in an attempt to close the distance between us and several herds of cows and bulls. As we slipped from tree to tree, Steven positioned us within 30 yards of a 350 class 6×6. As we stood waiting for him to move into an opening, a cow walked within 10 yards of us. Steven just whispered, hold still and don’t look up. The cows moved slowly off and the bull followed.

Almost immediately a group of cows and a 360 class 6×6, moved up from the bottom of the draw.  Steven silently moved us into shooting position. The cows, followed by the herd bull, walked directly in front of us.   As the big bull cleared, Steven cow called and as the bull stopped and turned his head towards us, Steven whispered shoot. My shot was high, right and barely created a flesh wound. Steven and I glassed the bull as he followed is cows down the draw and up the side of the adjoining canyon. I was distraught and devastated but somewhat relieved in that Steven confirmed my shot as nothing more than a slight flesh wound.

Within minutes, Steven turned his attention to three separate groups of elk moving up the side of the canyon and heading towards the ridgeline. With raging bulls screaming from all sides, Steven and I picked our way through the cedars and pines. As we pushed forward, we were able to get in front of two of the groups of elk.  As the first group moved past us at 60 yards, Steven stopped a big 6×6, as the elk moved through the cedars. Again I shot and missed wide to the right. Steven looked at me and “said, something is wrong with your bow.†At this point I was beyond distraught and could not even fathom how I could miss three big 6×6 bulls.  Steven just said hang in there, we are going back to the cabin and we will fix the problem. After watching me shoot my bow we discovered that my drop away was catching the fletching of my arrow causing the arrow to kick right approximately three feet at 60 yards. At thirty yards, the defect was not noticeable but the further I moved back the more noticeable the problem became. Steven got out his bow tools and within a ½ hour had the problem fixed and we were back in business.

Fast forwarding to day eleven, at first light we heard bulls off in the distance. Steven and I hiked approximately two miles only to find ourselves on the rim of a canyon over looking a lake. We could hear two bulls screaming, and both Steven and I swore that they were directly below us in a cluster of pines at the bottom of the canyon. We moved about 400 yards to the north and then dropped off into the bottom of the canyon. As we closed in on the cluster of pine trees we began to hear bulls bugling across the lake. Steven looked and me and said, the bulls are across the lake and what we have been hearing is an echo bouncing off the surface of the lake. We took off and headed around to the other side of the lake. By the time we reached the far shore, the bulls had stopped bugling and all was silent. Steven said no problem, he would find them. We slowly and quietly picked our way from cedar tree to cedar tree. Suddenly, Steven stopped and motioned for me to be quiet. Steven whispered that the herd bull was bedded approximately 70 yards front of us. Steven picked up a broken branch and started raking it against the nearest cedar tree. Within seconds, Steven said the bull was coming and for me to get ready and look towards the clearing to my right. As I set up, the bull walked into the opening and Steven whispered 60 yards. I settled my 60 yard pin and touched off the shot as the bull spun and ran off into the cedars. Although the shot was a little far back, it was a good liver shot. We waited for approximately one hour and then followed the massive blood trail for approximately 250 yards where we ultimately found the dead bull. My Arizona elk scores 367 5/8â€. The hunt was incredible. I probably saw more than 30 6×6 trophy bulls and one white cow elk.  Oh, and the other hunter in camp killed a bull that scored 393 the day after I shot my bull.

So fifteen years later, “El Diablo†returns to Mexico for a Coues deer hunt with Steven Ward of Wards Outfitters. I drove with my hunting equipment to the SHOT Show in Las Vegas and then down to Tucson, Arizona. I think the round trip was nearly 5,000 miles. I haven’t flown with hunting gear in well over ten years.

We four hunters all met up in Tucson near the airport and drove for an hour to the border in the outfitter’s vehicles. At the border we showed to the Mexican authorities our rifles and the paperwork we were required to prepare in advance of the trip.This took about 20 to 30 minutes and then we were on our way. The ranch is about 45 minutes from the border.

The final 30 minutes of driving was in an area that was both remote and picturesque. As we drove into the parking area I remember thinking, “This doesn’t look like a modest ranch house that I was expecting.†We were all surprised at the size and quality of the digs that would be our home for the next 5 days.

I would describe the accommodations as a specialty hotel/lodge associated with a working ranch. Quite luxurious, really. It was built in 2002 as a small, intimate specialty lodge targeted at weddings and other family gatherings. Our wives would have been quite comfortable there. The floors were all beautiful Mexican tile as were the walls in the large bathrooms.Sturdy built-in bunk beds with good mattresses were very comfortable. There was ample drawer storage and closets.

The main room was like the lounge area in a fine hotel with two separate seating areas furnished with comfortable leather couches and chairs.The fireplace was huge and magnificent. It burned warmly each morning and evening.

There was a large dining table but we did not eat there. Rather we walked about 100 feet to a separate building that amounted to an eat-in kitchen. Here we watched our Mexican cook prepare entirely authentic Mexican fare each morning and evening. For one meal, we feasted on hunter Zach Fallin’s game birds and elk meat that he brought with him.

I have a ridiculous sweet tooth and was initially disappointed that Magdalena the cook served no desserts even though that is a good thing for me! But I soon discovered the pancake syrup and a jar of strawberry jam up high on the pantry shelf. Since she cooked warm tortilla shells for each meal it was easy for me to feed the cookie monster in me by spreading some syrup or jam on the shells. By the third morning Magdalena had me figured out and the sweets containers magically appeared right in front of my spot at the table.

Our guides were outfitter Steven Ward himself plus Mike, Nick and Tanner. In talking with them it quickly became obvious that they were all passionate hunters and were also long range shooters themselves.

We would be hunting on 30,000 beautiful acres in grassy mountainous terrain dotted with mesquite, cholla and a few saguaro cactus. The river bottoms had many sycamore trees including some giants that I did not know even existed in nature. My hunt 15 years earlier was in an area further west and had only gentle hills. I like this new spot much better. The altitude of the ranch buildings was about 4,000 feet. The elevation gain was about 1,500 on some of the mountains we hunted but closer to 1,000 on most. The ranch road system had been augmented by the owner at Steven’s request when he started hunting this land last year. 

Each morning we left after breakfast with plenty of light but just before actual sunrise. That’s a pleasant switch compared to our Wyoming hunts. On those we left camp 2 hours before first light and returned from one to two hours after last light. Steven explained that the full moon resulted in the deer feeding during the night and bedding down before dawn. But then they would get up from their beds shortly after good light and start moving again.

Each hunter went out with his own guide and two were in pickups and two were in four-seat Polaris Ranger ATV’s. I had not hunted from an ATV before but found it quite pleasant. It was also quite effective for glassing as we moved around the property. WIth either style of vehicle we would start the day in one spot out of the vehicle glassing from the ground and then move on depending on what we saw.

Usually we were glassing at distances just under a mile. Binoculars were effective much of the time especially if mounted on a tripod. But spotting scopes were essential to find the bedded bucks in many cases. For my next trip down here I will definitely bring a small folding stool. 

All the guides were phenomenal game spotters. I saw between 10 and 15 bucks each day and in most instances the other three hunters did about as well in sightings on the same days. So collectively, we were seeing a ton of different bucks during the five days. Each day we did sort of a round robin approach to who was going where to hunt each day. I think everyone got to hunt all the spots that others had been to. We four hunters each killed very nice bucks. On day one after one hour of hunting Doug Rosa took his buck. Doug tends to kill early. In 2014 using a rifle I built he killed his Alaskan Dall sheep just minutes after first light. He and his guide had located his ram late in the afternoon on the day before the season opened and spent the dark and frigid night up on the mountain without tent or sleeping bag just waiting for dawn.

Zach Fallin killed on day two, I killed on day three and John Wayne Smith killed on day four. We all had many to choose from. Some that we saw were bigger than what we shot but had broken tines. I had chosen the hunt dates and as it turned out we were just past the peak of the rut. There was lots of rutting activity still going on. Being a little late to the party, we were finding quite a few bucks had some tines broken from fighting.

Zach Fallin and his buck.

John Wayne Smith killed his buck on the fourth day.

Steven had told me that the buck to doe ratio was high on bucks. This made for a very competitive rut situation that accounted for so many broken antlers. Next time I thought our LRH group will come earlier for this reason. 

Imagine, though, going on a hunt where there was almost too much active rutting going on. That’s pretty close to the dream of deer hunters everywhere.

There are bobcats and javelina on the ranch. I almost took a 500 yard shot at a sneaking-away cat but he got into brush too quickly. A day later I had another bobcat sighting. Several sightings of javelinas afforded opportunities. I saw a coatimundi up close on day three. Coyotes were heard but not seen.

There was very little wind in the mornings but on some of the days we saw wind speeds picking up by mid afternoon. Most of the good spotting activity and perhaps all four kills occurred in the mornings.

Several times while on this hunt I thought about how perfect it would be for some who would like to hunt in the mountains but don’t want to sleep in a tent or don’t want to ride horses or just don’t want to work as hard as it takes for our Wyoming horseback wilderness hunts.

My buck was taken early in the morning of the third hunt day. We left the ranch compound at our normal, civilized time. We headed off in a direction that was new to me. Soon we entered a very narrow canyon with steep rocky hillsides on both sides. Then the canyon widened out as the route meandered along a creek bed with running water. 

Steven stopped the vehicle to glass as we moved along. The second time he did this he saw a buck that may be a shooter. So we got out of the Ranger and he quickly set up his scope on the tripod. After acquiring the buck in the scope he motioned for me to take a look. It took me only about 2.6 seconds of viewing to decide to kill this buck.

He was over 700 yards away up on a steep hillside and I wanted to get to a spot both closer and with better ground conditions for taking the shot. So we grabbed our stuff and hurried off on foot. As I walked I immediately looked forward to spots that I thought Steven may direct us to for the shot. I also started mentally listing the numerous shooting positions that I would choose from. Once I got to a good location I knew the buck may be on the move and I needed to be ready.

So I also ticked off my list of “go†equipment: rifle, ammo, BR2 rangefinder, binos, shooting sticks, tripod with saddle rest attached, backpack if I needed to lean my shooting arm against it or rest my rifle on it. For this steep shot (which turned out to be at 17 degrees) my bipod may be too short. As I walked I checked that my scope was still on a lower power for quick target acquisition and that my parallax knob was set accordingly.

We stopped on a relatively level spot at about 400 yards. The grass was still a little high for a prone shot. But I wiggled into an okay spot on the ground, confirming that the bipod was indeed too short. So I quickly switched to the backpack as my front rest. 

The buck had not seen us but he had started slowly walking to our left as we approached. He stopped as I hit the ground and prepared for the shot. I got the shot off before he started to move again and Steven later mentioned this. “Most of our hunters aren’t able to get the shot off that quickly.â€

Well, all the thinking and prepping I did while on the move to my shooter spot enabled this. We teach this in the NTO-LRH Shooting classes in the Wyoming mountains. At the shot the buck just folded to the ground.

The dead deer was on a 45 degree slope and part of our walk upwards to it was through tallish grass that obscured the loose rocky turf underneath. I thought again about some hunters who may be looking for a physically easy hunt. The trip up the mountain to recover my deer was the only part of my hunt that was at all difficult. And a hunter doesn’t really have to accompany the guide if the recovery is difficult.

The body size of the Coues deer is really small. All four of our bucks were about four and a half years old. But look at this image of the entire carcass of my buck being packed out whole after gutting.

Steven and the guide packing Len’s buck.

The first three bucks taken.

I have lived in Arizona four years now but have loved to hunt my whole life. When I was a child my Dad would spend days bow hunting whitetail on the east coast. I was always fascinated by what would drive my father to sit for hours in a tree stand regardless of the weather. I was formally introduced to bow hunting just a few years ago by my husband Derek, for he too shares a passion for the sport. That’s probably why my father and him hit it off so well. Several months after meeting each other they were off hunting together for days. Derek has shot an elk with my dad and a black bear, both with his bow. I was jealous; I wanted to know what it was about, this sport that the two most important men in my life loved. So I made Derek buy me a basic starter bow and I started shooting. From the moment I let the first arrow fly I was hooked. Something about how precise you must be and having a methodical system that you can repeat over and over again regardless of the situation was addicting. I shot every chance I had trying to shoot the smallest spot on the target I could pick.

Ever since I moved to Arizona Derek told me how he hunted with some of the best guides in the state, Wards Outfitters. Whenever he would archery hunt for elk or deer in this state he called Steven Ward. So after two years of practice and hunting a bit on our own Derek and Steven started talking about how I could get an opportunity to shoot my first buck with my bow. The first thing we did was to get me a new bow that can shoot faster while still pulling only 53 pounds; a PSE Ex Force SS. Steven told us if we wanted an opportunity to shoot a good buck we should come to Southern Arizona and hunt Coues Deer in the rut out of ground blind’s. So by September I had my new PSE dialed in and I started shooting from a chair in my back yard every day. We had booked time with Steven in Mid January when the rut is typically in full swing. So when the time came we made the 3 hour drive from Phoenix down to meet up with Steven Ward.

We were hunting out of ground blinds Wards Outfitters had set up along some heavy traffic trails and near scrape lines. Hoping we could catch them as they passed through. Traffic was not a problem, the first day in the blind hunting with Steven we saw 15 deer, but all does. The second day we saw 25 more deer 20 does and fawns and 5 bucks! The first buck was a nice 3 by 3 with nice eye guards. We watched him chasing a doe about 80 yards away. Sadly he never came in any closer than that. When the next set of does came through there was a nice heavy fork horn with them. He was a big 2 by 2 but had a lot of character. He came right into a doe that was only 35 yards away. As I got ready to draw another 3 by 3 buck came charging in and chased him off! After that we saw 2 more small bucks but they never came close enough for a shot.

On day three we switched spots and we had not been in the blind 10 minutes when a spike walked in and was trying to chase the does only he was so little they were chasing him!! Just as it looked like he was going to come close enough to give me a shot all the deer got a bit jittery. I looked to my right and saw a bobcat creeping our way 75 yards out. Immediately our goal of shooting a Coues deer turned to shooting a bobcat! Unfortunately the cat never came inside of 50 yards to give us a shot. The amazing thing was that in the end, one of the big does actually charged at the bobcat and chased it away. Regardless, the rest of the deer left and were not coming back for a while.

The next day started out much the same although my husband Derek and I were now hunting together. We saw a bunch of does with really no bucks until midday. After lunch we had 2 spikes walk in and start sparing with each other. It was really exciting to see them confront each other. They were trying to rub trees, chase does and challenge each other. Unfortunately, again we just never got a good opportunity on these deer.

On day 5 Derek and I hunted a new spot where Steven said they had seen several good bucks. This blind was set up again on a trail, which passed through a nice meadow area. There was a few does that passed through at around 9 am and they bedded down just 100 yards from us. These same does continued to come and go all day long. Around 3:30 pm had been typically when the deer stopped moving and so far in 5 days we had seen no deer after 3:30. So as the hour approached my heart sank, another day without a shot. As I tried to remain hopeful, I looked over at my husband and he was fast asleep!! Clearly anticipating another slow evening.

At 4:30 one of the does that we thought was gone popped up out of her bed with her fawn and wandered back along the trail in front of our blind. She lingered around with a fawn for about 15 minutes and then I herd it. A grunt, a good grunt. So I leaned to my left to peer around the corner of the right window of our blind to see if I was hearing things and my heart stopped. There he was, sneaking in on this doe, a huge mature Coues deer. A big tall perfect 3 by 3 with tall eye guards.

He came right in after this doe, I was shaking so bad and my heart was pumping through my chest. I could swear this deer was going to hear my heart beat. 19 yards in front of me was the largest Coues deer I had ever seen. I knew I had to calm down, I looked at Derek to ask him to range the buck and I saw he was shaking too!! This did not help, I was hoping him being cool and relaxed would help me get it together but he was so excited he could not even range the buck! Luckily we had ranged several spots earlier so I knew he was about 20 yards away with the doe he was after in between him and our blind. I tried to compose myself as the buck came in after the doe and as he turned broad side I drew. I was still shaking and I knew I would have to calm down or I was not going to make a good shot. Just then the buck turned to face the doe, which meant he was facing us. I told Derek I was going to let off and get set to draw again and I could sense his frustration. Having shot many deer with his bow himself he knew I was not going to get many opportunities at this big buck. But I knew that I had waited 5 long days in a blind for this opportunity and I was not going to blow it because I took a shaky or otherwise risky shot. I wanted a good shot on this handsome buck. The buck turned broadside again and I drew, just as I drew he turned to face the doe again I held on him for a minute and he never turned back. So I let off again. Then came the toughest three minutes of my life. The buck walked away. I blew it, I missed my opportunity! My heart sank and I was devastated. But the doe was still in front of us. She had not left. Derek told me the buck would come back as long as she was still there. So we sat hopeful. 3 minutes later the buck was back, on a mission. He was so focused on that doe it was amazing. So I gave myself a little lecture on not being a girl and set my mind on shooting this deer. That buck turned broadside one more time and I drew my PSE super short for the third time and let my Vortex broad head fly.

I new it was a good shot and my husband and I jumped for joy. I know you are supposed to be quite after you shoot a deer but I could not help it. I looked at Derek and the look on his face was irreplaceable, pride and joy. I started crying and hyper ventilating. I could not breath. I started screaming and waving my hands in a truly girlie fashion. Shouting: “Call Steven, Call Dad, Call Everybody I just shot a huge deer!!.†Derek thought I was going to pass out from sheer excitement. This is why I started bow hunting. I have never been so excited (or so nervous) in my entire life. The rush was the most amazing thing I have ever experienced. And the fact that I got to share it with my husband who taught me to shoot my first arrow 3 years ago was priceless. This is a memory we will remember and share for the rest of our lives.

I shot the buck late in the afternoon so we decided to wait until the next morning. So I prepared for a long night I had 2 glasses of wine a big dinner and took and Ambien but I still could not sleep. I sat staring at the ceiling all night long. Finally daylight came and we got back out there. Steven found the blood trail and a little while later there he was, my buck. It turns out he had taken a step toward me at the last second so I hit him on an angle from one lung into the liver but that Vortex broad head did the trick! I had killed my first Coues deer with a bow!

Growing up watching my Dad bow hunt and now hearing Derek’s stories I knew that to shoot any white tail with a bow was a huge challenge so many things can go wrong. In my dads lifetime he has killed 10 pope and young white tails and every one is a hunt he will remember forever. I have been trying to shoot a deer with my bow for a few years now, just to get one under my belt. My husband Derek took me down to hunt with Wards Outfitters and five days later I had my shot. I knew I was very fortunate to have my first deer turn out to be this guy. He scored 87 inches, A Pope and Young Coues deer! The first of hopefully many bow hunts I will remember forever. I had this opportunity with a little luck, and lot of practice, but mostly the help of Wards Outfitters. They knew where to go and how to hunt these deer. Hunting Coues deer for them is a passion. So archery hunters like myself can have opportunities to see and hopefully get a shot at these amazing deer. I am thankful to my father and my husband Derek for introducing me to this incredible sport and to Wards Outfitters for the hunt of a lifetime.

 

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