Bowhunting the Grey Ghost

Arizona Archery Coues Deer
August 2019
Written by: Stephen Miller, BowhuntingAZ

After my very first big game harvest in the 2018 rifle deer season, I returned to the spot where it all began. I had put a hefty slew of hours, miles and sweat into preparing this area. On August 23rd I grabbed my pack and PSE bow and hit the mountains for the opening day of 2019’s early archery season.

Glassing with my Swarovski 15x56 bino’s rented from Open Country Optics https://www.opencountryoptics.com/ — Glassing with my Swarovski 15x56 bino’s rented from Open Country Optics
https://www.opencountryoptics.com/

Before I start the story of my archery tag, I wanted to build a little bit on my prep work into this area so that others can learn and take away bits of knowledge. Trail cams have played a HUGE roll in this spot. For instance, I've discovered that there are almost no mule deer to speak of in this area until after mid to late august. It's uncanny how comparative the arrival dates are for the bucks, almost to the day even as I look back year to year. I remember the original sighting that I had here like it was yesterday. Glassing a shelf, I noticed a large herd of roughly 20 deer all being pushed by a stud buck. That classic, widespread, tall 4x4. That was it, from then on out I've had it in for this area. I've learned the lay of the land by putting boots on the ground and by studying via e-scouting. Anything I can do to get a better understanding of my spots, I'll do whatever it takes. Shed hunting after the rut is another huge advantage. Every hunter loves to find that "brown gold."

I nice Coues deer shed also known as “brown gold”

As this spot slowly evolved I noticed the variety it produced. Whitetails slowly began to appear more and more on my cams. It seemed as though the mule deer were disappearing or transitioning out of the area, only to reappear for a few short months and then disappear again. Come to find out Arizona game and fish says the Arizona mule deer population took a hard hit during the long drought we've had. So, it was time to start focusing more on the whitetails. Sure enough, towards the end of July to early August, the bucks started to show up again. Several traveling in pairs and several loner's moseying on through.

Now mind you, I don't want to give the impression that I was targeting any specific buck for this early archery hunt in August. Anything with antlers was in danger. In fact, I was down to my last pack of meat from my 2018 rifle mule deer harvest. I was aiming to put meat in the freezer, period. However, all this intel HAS played a huge role in my efforts towards my 2020 January archery hunt, but I'll get to that later.

In early January of 2019, I put my first stalk down on a whitetail buck. I was fortunate enough to get into 50+ yards, not too shabby for a first-timer. Unfortunately "the grey ghost" is all too real of a name as I lost sight of him in the shadows of a juniper and he spooked. A solid effort given and I walked away with an education of where to keep my eyes focused for them to hide, they love the shadows.

So fast forward to August 23rd, 2019. I decided to go out for opening weekend. The length of a huntless summer lull had taken its toll. I was chomping at the bit to hit the hills. Despite the knowledge of eminent afternoon heat and the real possibility of some chigger bites, I took Friday off of work and headed out at 3 am and was in my blind by 4:30. Since I had been studying the behavior and travel corridors of the deer, I figured this would be a good spot for a blind or ambush-style hunt. I've done several stalks throughout here as well however in august when it's been hot and dry stalking feels like it's almost impossible with nothing but dead grass. Especially after a lackadaisical monsoon season.

Sunrise was at 5:56 am and I prefer to hike in under the early cover of dark, slipping into my spot only by headlamp. I want to allow a minimum of an hour for quiet time, just to let things settle after I get into my blind and get situated for the day. The morning power hour started with little to no action and unfortunately, that's really how most of the day went. There was some light, off-road traffic from other fellow hunters but after the morning coolness wore off everything was desolate. Once the sun was peeking up over the horizon I spent time making several range readings and making mental notes. HOT TIP if you're sitting in a blind and wanted to, one could bring a little bit of masking tape and pre-range certain landmarks, write that down on the masking tape and put it up on the wall in front of you on your blind. I'd still range an animal again if the opportunity presents itself, but in a pinch, this would be really handy to have those ranges ready and right there for you.

I had just recently purchased a new range finder after losing my older Nikon Aculon rangefinder on this same exact spot. I chose to go with the vortex ranger 1300 which turned out to be a phenomenal decision. This rangefinder is SO snappy, I absolutely love it. I'm also super fond of the clip on it as well. I don't like my range finder to just dangle around my neck as I'm afraid it will get caught in my bowstring upon release. I also do not like it being in a pouch or side pocket of my bino harness as it makes quite a bit of noise taking it out, especially when you're inside those crucial close quarters, the smallest sounds are deafening when silence is paramount. Being able to clip my rangefinder on the side of bino harness or pack strap is perfect, I cannot recommend this vortex enough. Need I mention their warranty? This way I figured if I lose it again, I'm covered!

A few large, sunbathing jackrabbits play to and fro in front of my blind for a few hours. Which, after sitting all day and seeing nothing is a real tempt of fate to a bored hunter. But I'm not too keen on the idea of eating jackrabbit after seeing a video showcasing the number of parasites their stomach's hold. I chose to pass on that opportunity. Instead, I glassed and ranged them just to help occupy my mind and pass the time.

During the late morning, I spent my time reading several pages of devotions that I had brought with me. Written by a fellow hunter, I like to spend time with God in any way possible while I'm outdoors. If I'm sitting and glassing I'll pray and proclaim my gratitude for the blessings I have and the ability to be outdoors enjoying God's creation. It really is something truly amazing that we all get to partake in this. For most of the afternoon, I watched a resident roadrunner who I've had on camera before. He jumped around and made a surprisingly loud snapping sound with his beak as he put down continual stalks on grasshoppers. This was quite interesting to watch and almost comical after awhile.

As the shadows grew a little longer I began to get what I call, "the afternoon sleepies." I noticed I was nodding off and decided to reach into my pack and utilize some of the energy snacks I had received from Alpen fuel. Alpen fuel is a great subscription box the comes with all sorts of backcountry snacks and full meals even. You can customize your box or choose from the meal box or the snacks only box. I had my very first honey stinger organic energy gel, the flavor was great and the consistency was exactly what you'd expect, like honey. For a late lunch, I devoured Simply Shredz premium dried pulled pork. They have several different flavors available, mine was black pepper. For a staple meal, I really suggest the product that Simply Shredz puts out. Very delicious and you can eat it right out of the bag or you can add it to something and pour water on it to let it re-hydrate some more.

Feeling a bit hot but revitalized from energy and protein intake I sat for another couple hours until my confidence really began to suffer. I use an Ameristep blind and although the outside is camo the interior is black. This material heats up fairly easily and with temps reaching 100 degrees and little to no breeze I really started to struggle mentally. "Why am I here I can just hunt January"... "forget the rest of today just go hunting in the mornings and don't worry about the afternoon with this heat". For almost an hour I battled with my inner mind on seriously leaving and going home. Fortunately, I snapped myself out of it. Drenched in sweat yet still hydrated and shaded at least I reflected to motivational tidbits I hear like Jocko Willink's "good" and Cam Hanes' "time" video. I was blessed to be here and I had already poured so much time and energy into scouting and prepping this spot. I wasn't about to let the last 1-2 hours of daylight and heat defeat me. I stayed, and it was a darn good thing I did.

As I sat and the sun started to fall below the treeline I could tell my day was wrapping up. I started to feel that bummed out sensation creeping into my thoughts again. I hadn't seen one deer all day, which was weird. There's almost always a doe or even a young spike buck that wanders around. Throughout the day I had examined all my old pics & footage from this spot and I made some notes on pen and paper as to when the deer would come by. Morning certainly seemed more promising on trail cam yet I had always experienced the most encounters here in the evenings. I held on tight to that thought of past experiences.

I always set several reminders on my phone just to give myself a heads up as to when the last legal shooting light is. I turn my phone on "do not disturb" mode so I'm not receiving vibrations and I know that the only vibration I will feel is my notification going off. The first notification is set for 15 minutes of light left, then 10 minutes, then a final "you're done" notification. I felt the first one go off and a little bit of panic started to set in. I was glassing out of the windows of my blind frantically looking for any movement even on ridges across the canyon. I just wanted to know that at least something was moving. Not a thing in sight. I felt the second notification go off. I leaned forward and peered down the slight slope of the travel corridor I knew the deer would walk. There he was, a Coues buck standing quartered slightly away at roughly 70 yards scratching his nose on a hanging branch. I immediately felt all of the days down moments slip away. It was on!

The buck slowly slipped his way forward in what felt like an eternity. From 70 to 53, I contemplated taking the shot and got my bow ready. I ranged again, 52 yards. I raised my bow and drew, lining up the buck in the smallest window of my blind I watched him go broadside. Something didn't feel right, I chose not to shoot but held my bow at full draw. Mostly this was because I knew if I let my bow down he'd probably hear it and bolt. I honestly have no idea how much time passed but dear god it felt like an eternity, especially at full draw! My arms started burning and shaking and I knew that even at less than 50 yards now I couldn't make the shot due to fatigue. With a huge gulp of disappointment, I let my bow down. The buck didn't even flinch. In fact quite the opposite, he kept walking into my position. I watched as he crested a small rise that I knew was 40 yards, then he paused just outside of a landmark I knew was 25! I ranged him again as my arms felt better and he was at 32. I drew my bow and watched him graze and turn broadside. He was now positioned right through my largest blind opening and I put my 30 pin just slightly high above his heart. Breathing slowly I controlled my heart rate and pulled the trigger. The first thing I noticed was an audibly loud SLAP! Then a prolonged whistle which I immediately knew was my broadhead going through the air. This was strange as I have shot these broadheads awhile now and never heard them make any sort of noise. Something felt odd. I watched as the buck ducked and did a pop into the air, turn 180 degrees and sprint downhill back from where he came up. I sat there and listened as his hooves clattered off and then silence.

Blood trailing my deer roughly 30 minutes after I shot him.

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I hastily sent a text to several of my buddies to let them know I was halfway sure I had shot a buck. My heart was pounding out of my chest with anticipation, not really knowing what kind of placement I’d had if any. That odd sound I had heard really had me concerned. Something wasn’t quite right with the whole release. After closely examining my blind and recreating the shot I found out that my arrow had, in fact, slapped the blind on it’s way out. Not an ideal situation and certainly a shot I should have practiced a lot more in the off season. Make note of that, hunters who will be shooting from a blind! Practice your blind shots BEFORE you get into the field! Get to know your blind and what kind of clearance you have, or maybe don’t have. It’s valuable information that you need to know.

My buddy Jake offered to come up and help just in case we had a long tracking scenario ahead, I gladly accepted the offer. After waiting about 30 minutes, with Jake en route I left the cover of my blind and went to study the spot where my buck was standing when I shot at him. Immediately I noticed a handful of large blood splatters, “thank God”! I immediately felt some ease wash over me as I could see I had clearly hit something vital. A thick cluster of branches was right behind my buck and I gazed over at a metallic flash only to see my arrow lodged into the dirt. Dark red blood stained my arrow and I knew the deer couldn't have gone too far. I returned to the point of impact and began trailing, “oh ya he couldn't have gone too far at all.” I tracked dark blood splatters that were never smaller than nickel-sized drops over rocks, prickly pear leaves and grass for roughly 50 to 60 yards before I found the buck laying there expired. He had ran downhill back the way he came and piled up, just barely out of sight. I quickly did my photo op and began to work on gutting him as it was still slightly warm out.

Turning on my favorite playlist, I sent my waypoint to Jake and began getting to work. Jake must have traveled light speed because he got there extremely fast. Happy to have a buddy to watch my back and an extra helping hand, we got the deer skinned and quartered in no time. The extreme heat of the day had completely faded away and the desert gave way to a late-night chill. It was close to 10:30 pm by the time we reached my truck. On the way out Jake let me utilize his brand new Kuiu pro 6000 pack. What a phenomenal pack platform Kuiu has made! I am baffled at how well it conforms and sits to your body. Definitely a pack that I aspire to own soon.

In hindsight, my shot is still a bit of a mystery to me. All I know is that I hit something vital. My arrow ended up hitting way far back as a direct result of slapping the blind on its way out. To be honest, I'm shocked it wasn’t a gut-shot. Fortunately for me, it wasn't and the kill was very quick and still ethical. Part of the liver was hit and a very large pool of blood poured from the buck. However, I personally believe most of the trauma seemed to be from arteries just below or near the spine. I'm grateful there wasn't any long endured suffering. As hunters, we all strive to be efficient and ethical to each animal we harvest. I know that even from this experience I’ll be doing all I can to elevate my skills even further. At the end of it, I'm grateful for the harvest and I’m even more grateful for a hunting buddy who comes to help at a moment's notice late on a Friday night.

As Jake and I headed out with full packs I remembered that I had placed a trail camera adjacent from my blind. Hoping to have footage of me shooting my buck I pulled the card and took it home with me. Unfortunately, the buck never made it into the field of view to set the camera off. I did get a cool shot of Jake and I packing out my buck. I also got a photo of my buck just a few days before I shot him. Reverting back to the intel I mentioned earlier about my 2020 archery hunt. I did, however, get quite the surprise on my card as I now have a target buck in mind for my 2020 January OTC archery season. What a stud! I’m crossing my fingers that he survives the rifle season.

My buddy Jake and I packing out my buck.

My Coues buck exactly 4 days before I harvested him.

Back at the truck, we use our SubZ Coolers to take the buck home. The next day we processed him ourselves and had a phenomenal meal of backstraps, mashed potatoes and veggies. Get your SubZ Cooler here —> https://obrien.com/subz/ — Back at the truck, we use our SubZ Coolers to take the buck home. The next day we processed him ourselves and had a phenomenal meal of backstraps, mashed potatoes and veggies.
Get your SubZ Cooler here —> https://obrien.com/subz/

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Bowhunting the Grey Ghost - Arizona Archery Coues Deer, August 2019

Bowhunting the Grey Ghost

Arizona Archery Coues DeerAugust 2019Written by: Stephen Miller, BowhuntingAZ

Arizona Archery Coues Deer
August 2019
Written by: Stephen Miller, BowhuntingAZ