Arizona Youth Deer Hunt: Youth Drops Giant First Buck
Arizona Youth Deer Hunt
Youth Drops Giant First Buck
Written By: Nate Harrel, Open Country Optics
Unit 42 Youth Hunt
Everyone hates this annoying sound. It happens every morning. It wakes us up before we want to. Sometimes it is music, sometimes something soothing, but most frequently - it is a backing truck (BEEP, BEEP, BEEP).
If you are a hunter, you love this sound the morning you are leaving for deer camp! Friday 11/22/19 was opening day for the Unit 42 JR. Hunt. Due to work, I couldn’t make it up there the night before. Pops and I were leaving the morning of opening day.
Pops showed up at 6 am so we could load my gear. The truck seemed somewhat empty. We both felt like we were forgetting something - and we were. We didn’t have any weapons. We were not going on our hunt. We were going as mentors for the Arizona Mule Deer Organization youth camp. Terry and AMDO put on youth camps for people that are new to hunting, maybe need some help, and just overall having fun.
We arrived at camp around 8 am. The group had already taken off for the morning hunt. Pops and I decided to get our bearings and do what we do best - GLASS!
Glassing is a term that is used for hunters. It means grabbing a pair of binoculars, climbing that mountain and looking around for our target. For us, we choose to use Swarovski 15x56 SLC HD binoculars, always on a tripod.
Around 11 am people start trickling back into camp and we start meeting the hunters. AMDO teamed us up with Lisa and her son Trace. Trace is 13 years old and has been unable to seal the deal on his first buck. He is armed with his .243 equipped with a muzzle brake. I asked Trace if he had been practicing, how far he was comfortable shooting, and if he had any expectations on what size of a buck he would want. He said he had been shooting and practicing out to 300 yards but was inconsistent at 325 yards and beyond. He just wanted a buck, he didn’t care about a particular size. At 2:30 pm, we head out.
I am not super familiar with this unit. Lisa asked where we should go, and I just decided to go with my gut. We drove a couple of miles up the road and hiked up a little hill.
Pops and Lisa’s husband stayed in one spot, glassing to the north, while Lisa, Trace and I went up to the next hill (about 50-100 yards away) and glasses to the south.
I pulled my GCI pack seat out of my Vanguard Pioneer pack, set up my Vanguard Veo 2 265 CB Tripod and placed the Swarovski 15x56 SLC HD on top. I got comfortable and started my glassing session. I did not have high hopes for tonight. Still getting my bearings, it is opening day, and tired from working late the night before.
Every hunter has to make a decision when packing their hunting pack. I wanted to make mine lighter tonight, not expecting success. I took out some snacks, water, and flashlights. Save some weight. Sounds like the guys from Black Hawk Down as they empty out their packs for their short mission.
I was glassing for about 45 minutes and I hadn’t seen anything. I was expecting that. I started to look further away. That is the problem with big optics. You can see a long way out and you will find stuff.... a long way out.
I started glassing into this little bowl that was about a mile or so away. I really liked the way it looked. Secluded from the roads and two tracks. Nice shade for the afternoon.
All of a sudden I caught a glimpse of that beautiful sight! A white mule deer rump. Mule deer have a bright, white patch on their hind end. It makes them stick out like a sore thumb in the desert canvas. This deer came out of nowhere. Now I needed to see if it was a buck.
I switched out my binoculars for the BIG, BIG glass. I placed a 20-60x 65mm spotting scope on the tripod. I relocated the deer and all I could see was antler sticking out of the grey scalp.
I slowly pulled my head away from the tripod, I looked at Trace and told him to grab his mom. Lisa came over and I told her I spotted a buck. It was a long way off and we needed to make a move very quickly if we were gonna get on him before lights out. We looked back over at Lisa’s husband and Pops and I made the decision we didn’t have time to go back and get them.
Down the hill, we went.
Our wind was good at this point. But it can change at any moment. I kept my Dead Down Wind - Wind checker in my right hand. We walked a couple of ridges. I pulled up my binoculars and located the buck again. He was just feeding and staying put at about 1700 yards.
One of the problems with finding deer so far away during the evening hunt is time. You have to move fast, but not so fast that you are not careful. We needed to cover a lot of ground and cross several ridges and washes. There could be deer anywhere out here that I missed and if we jump and push them, this buck could get spooked out of the country.
We moved closer, checking the wind, and moving as quietly and swiftly as possible. We got to another ridge about 700 yards away and he was still in the area.
At this point, I started telling Trace to start breathing and thinking about his shot. Think about his trigger pull, his sight picture, etc. I wanted him to start getting the shakes out now.
We moved onto another ridge. I pulled up my Swaro's. I looked for the buck, and you know what I saw? Absolutely nothing! He was gone. I couldn’t find him.... anywhere. I ranged the area I last saw him and it was 455 yards away. Where was he? It is almost 5 pm. We are running out of time. The sun has already gone behind the large mountain to the south of us.
I could see the frustration on Lisa and Trace’s faces. We just hiked all this way, it is getting dark and the buck is nowhere to be found. I told them to sit down and start glassing the bowl. I said that buck didn’t spook, he bedded up again. Lisa questioned that decision because it was time for deer to be moving. Honestly, I questioned it too.
We sat there for about 15 minutes looking everywhere on that hillside. Finally, I hear Lisa say, that looks weird. She was looking through some smaller optics but saw something weird and out of place. She directed me to where she was looking. It was Him. He had bedded down in some tall grass behind a rock. The only thing we could see was his face and antlers, lots and lots of antlers.
I ranged him at 455 yards. Trace could not make that shot. We had to get closer. I told Lisa to drop into the wash and get him as close to 300 yards as possible. She said she couldn’t do it. She wanted me to take Trace. I agreed and told her to keep her eyes on the buck.
Trace and I grabbed his gun, my binoculars, and a rangefinder and dropped into the wash in front of us. We hiked another 20 minutes to get into position.
We belly crawled up a small ridge, I pulled up the binos and ranged him at 317 yards. This was as close as we were gonna get. I had Trace set up the gun.
I got him into a comfortable prone position and told him to locate the buck. He was shaking and nervous. I told him we needed to wait him out. I wanted the buck to stand up to give Trace a shot. I told Trace of the deer didn’t stand up, he was gonna need to shoot him in his bed.
At about 5:30 pm, the buck has not moved, only turning his head every couple of minutes. It was time. We couldn’t wait any longer. We were gonna be out of legal shooting light.
I told Trace to put the crosshair on the buck's nose and squeeze the trigger.
I could hear Trace take a deep breath, slowly letting out the air in his lungs. I hear the click of the safety turned off. I am looking into the binoculars. Waiting, waiting, waiting....
BOOM!!!!!
The shot rings out, the gun rises, the smoke from the barrel clears the air. The buck doesn’t even blink an eye. I mean nothing. What the crap?!?! “Trace, reload! I have good news and bad news.”
“Bad news is you missed and I don’t even know where your shot went. The good news is, he is still there.”
Trace chambers another round. I am now in panic mode. Where am I gonna tell him to aim?
I told Trace to put the crosshair level with the top of the ears of the bedded buck. I told him to breathe, and smooth squeeze that trigger.
BOOM!!!!
The second shot rings out across the canyon. Holy crap!!!! That buck still doesn’t move. The second shot from Trace hits high about 4 feet and right about 4 feet.
“Reload Trace!”
I now know where he hit, but he is way off. But the buck stayed true to his limited hiding spot.
I located a large boulder with some green mold on it. It was placed below and to the left of the buck. I instructed Trace to put the crosshair on that rock and blow the rock up.
Trace said the scope was not on the deer at all. I told him to breathe and pull the trigger exactly the same way as the last shot but to shoot the rock. He reluctantly agreed.
BOOM!!!!
I watched the vapor trail of the bullet leave the gun, flying through the air. SMACK! The bullet slams right into the tall grass in front of the buck.
Down he goes. He just laid down his head.
I waited for a couple of seconds, watching for movement, waiting ......nothing.
“Trace, you just killed your first buck!”
Trace jumps up and screams I bet if anyone was sitting in camp, they could hear him. He started crying and was shaking. He gave me a big hug. He was speechless.
I told him to take some deep breaths and to sit down and reflect on the moment. I had to go back and get Lisa and our packs.
Lisa and Trace shared an awesome moment together.
Now the real work begins of gutting, quartering and field dressing a deer. Dang, I wish I would have brought my water, snacks, and flashlights.