Over the Counter

Well we just had an awesome weekend taking Shane Frost out for his first ever elk hunt.   This was the over the counter elk hunt.  Elk numbers are few and it is difficult to find them in such a small area.  Here is what Shane said about the hunt.

"So the story starts out a few months ago as I talked to TC about the grand opening of the new shop. I made mention to him that I had never seen an elk in person. After he was done being shocked he said he would have to have me come up around the shop and they (TC and Dustin) would see if they could show me some elk. I had been to the shop a few times to pick up a Coues mount for my dad and for a bow (best price in town by the way). So I picked up a tag and made the trip from the Valley to Holbrook. We got to the Taxidermy shop and we went out for an afternoon hunt. We saw a few tracks but nothing too fresh. The next day we met at the shop again to go out in the morning. We glassed and walked a bit but couldn’t find any fresh sign. We had some heavy wind and some rain so our chances were pretty slim as we figured the elk were bedding down. We headed in for lunch and pretty much had no luck in the afternoon either. Saturday we got to the shop and headed out. When we got to our spot, Dustin cut some fresh tracks as TC and the others went to cut sign the other direction. We were on what looked like a cow track based on the size. After tracking for a max of 15 minutes, Dustin motioned to me and there was a Bull Elk no more than 75 yards in front of us. He was quartering away and soon gave me a broadside shot. I put the cross hairs of my 300 WSM right on his front shoulder. I was sighted in for 200 yards so my first shot went high and was a clean miss. The elk didn’t spook and stayed there and after a quick adjustment I put the 180 grain Barnes Triple shock right on his shoulder. He took off out into the open plains and could not put any weight on the front right leg. He bedded down and we stayed back to not push him thinking he would expire. Shortly after he got up and headed off. We followed the blood trail and didn’t think it would take long for him to go down as we were seeing good dark red foamy blood that let us know we got at least one lung. As we came over a hill and down the other side to a shallow ravine I lost the blood trail. There was a canyon and we didn’t think there was any way the Elk could make it down the ravine with only three good legs. Dustin worked his tracking skills and picked up the blood trail again and sure enough he had made it down the ravine.  The tracking was easy as there had been recent rain and the creek/river bed left great tracks. We could see that the Elk was dragging its leg that took the shot. As we continued walking I saw that look on Dustin’s face again and saw some antlers in the thickets and reeds. I grabbed Dustin’s gun as I had used my 3 rounds (rookie mistake to not bring more rounds with these tough animals) hitting him twice in the shoulder. I took aim and put one right behind the front shoulder. He reared back a little and stumbled. It was a good shot, he went down right there and after a short time he was down. When we finally got close to him I was ecstatic. He was still in full velvet and Dustin and TC estimate him at 2.5-3 years old.  He has some really good and thick bases with a cheater on his right side. I was thrilled and extremely happy and thankful for Dustin and TC’s help. They are definitely the real deal. I can’t wait to see what this thing looks like on my wall. Thanks again Dustin and TC for a trip I will never forget!"

Enjoy the pics.

One thing about being so close to the shop we got to bring our kids out.  I hope we all take a little time and let our kids come with us to get a feel for this awesome sport that we all love so much.  My kids haven't stopped talking about this!

Thanks to Shane and his family for the fun time!

Casey Windsor's Antelope

Good friend Casey Windsor was able to kill this buck a few years back.  He had froze the cape and horns and decided to get the buck mounted.  The mount turned out great.  Congratulations to Casey on an awesome buck!  Thanks for using BCT!!!

Also to keep in mind if you are not sure if you want your animal mounted.......cape it, put the cape in several black garbage bags (to prevent freezer burn) and put it in the freezer.  By doing this you buy time to make the decision.  If you have one in the freezer and are debating getting it done, or have a good cape that you are not going to use....give us a call!

December Coues

One of the most exciting times of the year for most hunters in Arizona is the end of July.  Most of you know this is when the results for deer and sheep come out.  Like most of you the excitement was building and when the day arrived it was a great one for us.  All five of the family had drawn tags.  Two on the early coues deer hunt and three of the luckier ones had drawn the late rifle hunt.  The talk of what size and when we could go began.  Little did we know it was going to turn out to be a long season.

The desire to hunt the ghost of the desert started about six years ago.  I know many of you have known how awesome it is to hunt these little deer for years now, however six years ago my great uncle introduced me and my family to them and it has become one of if not our favorite hunt each year.  I drew my first tag back in 2007 in a good unit.  That hunt was great.  Due to some unfortunate circumstances I was unable to tag a deer that year.  Over the next five seasons I waited and waited and waited for my second chance.  I watched as each of my brothers and dad harvested nice bucks, not mention the few other friends that I helped each year.  Each year we became better and learned about the grey ghost and just how fun they are hunt.

I work in the cotton industry and due to harvest starting in October, and running till the end of November and sometimes into December, my only chance is a late rifle tag, or late archery hunt.  Finally in 2012 my second chance came.  I had drawn a late rifle tag in what I considered a great unit to hunt coues deer.  Work and family obligations limited our scouting efforts this year but we know the deer were there and December couldn’t get here fast enough.

December arrived hot, and dry.  I kept waiting for the cold snap to come and change the weather.  It came alright but not until the first weekend of the hunt.  With the start of the hunt came snow and rain.  These conditions forced us to change the area we had been scouting and hunting and move down a bit lower in elevation.  With five days of hunting down, only one nice buck having been spotted and the rut not really doing anything Christmas came.  My wife informed me that if I missed Christmas to go hunting that I probably shouldn’t even bother to come home.  So I took four days off from hunting and went home for the holidays. 

December 26^th TC said he could come out and go hunting with me.  That morning found us on the top of giant knob looking over some great country.  We spotted deer immediately.  We say lots of does and a group of muleys with a decent buck chasing does.  Finally about 9 am TC spotted some deer about 1.5 miles away, as the crow flys.  As we started watching them we spotted what we thought was a great buck.  The decision was made and I grabbed my gear and headed out.  Well the only way to get to where the deer were was across two giant canyons and a good 2 mile hike.  An hour and twenty minutes later found me on the opposite ridge of the deer looking for the deer.  We had forgotten our two way radios so our only communication was with our cell phones with spotty service.  TC helped me locate the deer again and I started looking for a spot I could shoot from.  Looking around I found a sweet flat rock I could lay my pack across and shoot lying down.  However it was right out in the wide open.  I decided to chance it and snuck over.  After getting set up I took out my binos and tried to look the deer over to be sure I wanted to take a shot.  I was breathing so hard from my stalk that I just sat there for probably for what felt like an eternity trying to catch my breath.  It probably ended up being about 2 minutes.  After looking over the deer I almost decided to pass.  He had long beams and was wide, but lacked a bit of mass and long points.  TC said I think he will go mid 80s.  After my long stalk and knowing the rut wasn’t going that great I just said I’m shootin.  With my phone on speaker lying on the ground next to me I ranged the buck, 503 yds came back.  I ranged again just to be sure I was seeing correctly.  Yep 503 yds.  I know where my .300 Ultra shoots at that range so I settled in and got ready.  The buck walked right out in the open quartering away and I let lead fly.  The recoil of the gun knocked me of the buck in the scope, as I was trying to figure out where he went, I hear TC, you nailed him.  Hurriedly I prepared to shoot again but couldn’t find the buck.  I kept asking TC where is he, where is he.  He comes back with he is dead, go pick him up.  The excitement and realization finally set in that I had finally taken my first coues deer.  After five years of waiting I just sat there and took it all in.  It was fantastic.  Finally I got up and walked down the canyon and up the other side to my deer.  He’s not a giant, but man I was excited.  TC made it over and we took lots of pictures.  After we had the deer boned and caped my dad and sister showed up and helped us with the pack out.  I had a great time out in the mountains with my family doing what I love.  Thanks to TC, Dustin, Larissa, Dad and all those who came out with me on this hunt.  It is one that I won’t soon forget.

Just a side note, the other two family members who will remain anonymous that had this tag didn’t shoot any deer.  We had fun and got some shooting in but were unable to tag any other deer.

Enjoy the Pics!!

Day 2 with Andrew Gillett

After Andrew had killed his buck he helped a good friend out on his in the same unit.  Congrats to Levi on a nice buck.  Below is the story.

"On the second day of our Oct. coues hunt we once again found ourselves sitting on top of a juniper ridge before daylight, and we once again had a buck in the 25’s before the sun was up.  At over half a mile I could tell the deer was a buck, but the shade of the juniper he was laying under prevented me from getting a good look at his head gear. 

With the sun beginning to creep over the ridge he was on I hoped he wouldn’t walk over the ridge to bed on the North facing slope.  Fortunately as the sun past his bed, the buck merely stood, took a few more bites of manzanita and lay back down to chew his cud.  After watching the buck for 45 minutes we were certain he was going to stay put, and Levi was anxious to put some lead in the air.  We quickly dropped down the ridge we were on and started up the cut on the opposite slope.  We knew if we stuck to this cut we would top out at under 250 yards, point blank range for coues deer hunting.

As we neared the top I dropped my pack and belly crawled to the top of the ridge to make sure the buck was in the same spot.  When I peaked over I din’t even need binoculars to see him still bedded just 231 yards away.  I motioned back for Levi to bring the gear and get set up.  It took a few minutes to find a spot that worked, but soon we were set up and Levi was cranking up the scope to 20x.  I whispered to Levi that I was ready when he was, but because of the wind I wasn’t sure he heard me.  I turned to whisper louder just as the .300 Win Mag went off.  I turned back just in time to see the buck stand and move 10 yards to the left.  I wasn’t sure if the shot was a hit but as I watched the buck I was amazed to see him start feeding on a manzanita in the open.  For the next 10 minutes I tried to tell Levi how to get the buck back in the scope.  Finally, I crawled behind the rifle got the buck in the scope and then carefully switched places with Levi.  During this exchange a big gust of wind came along and blew over my tripod with my 15’s mounted to it.  I grabbed the bino’s and quickly checked the focus to no avail.  The alignment was shot.  So I pulled up my 10’s and gave Levi the green light.  There was no doubt about this shot as the buck immediately back-flipped down hill,breaking his G-2 in the process.

This buck ended up being much better than we had initially anticipated, although the deer won’t score high, he was the oldest buck I have ever seen on the ground.  With just two points on each side he was most likely on the downhill side of his life.  I believe the year before he was a wide 3 point I got several trail camera pictures of.  A great trophy for Levi, and the best part was I didn’t have to carry one ounce of meat out, Levi proved his masculinity and carried the entire boned out buck the 2 miles back to camp."

Enjoy the pics.

Jace Hall

Congratulations to Jace Hall on his awesome buck.  This buck is heavy as all get out.  The pics don't do it justice.  We thank him for using Badlands Custom Taxidermy.  Congrats Jace on a buck of a lifetime.  Enjoy the pics.

Special Year

Good Friend Andrew Gillett has had an awesome year as he was able to harvest an awesome black bear and now this sweet coues.  We can't wait to put them all in his man cave for him.  We have to give him a special thanks as he has come up to the shop and helped us out with the plumbing.  Congrats on an awesome year.  Here is what he had to say about the hunt.

"When I drew an Oct. coues tag in a unit we hunt regularly I looked forward to a summer of scouting and trail camera pictures.  Unfortunately schedules and some other hunts ran interference and I ended up doing a lot less scouting than I had hoped.

Opening day we made the mile trek into a glassing location that seems to always deliver early in the hunt, and this day was no exception.  Within a few minutes of getting setup I had a buck in my 15’s.  We quickly moved positions to get a better look and discovered a handful of bucks running together.  Two of the bucks were definite shooters that we had seen prior to the archery season.  The bucks were over 600 yards away so we moved down the slope to cut the distance.  Within a few minutes we were setup at 430 yards with both bucks located.  The 30 mph wind carried the first shot wide right about 12” and I saw the buck run about 20 yards and stop, but heard my spotter say that the buck was still standing in the same spot, he was looking at the wrong buck!  We quickly got on the same page but he couldn’t tell me where I missed because he had not seen the first shot.  I must have been focusing really hard on the second shot because the scope jumped up and opened up a ½” cut on my nose.  The shot missed right again and my buddies began to tease me that the deer had drawn first blood.

After regrouping we were able to locate the bucks holed up in some rocks a few hundred yards down the canyon.  It didn’t take long to get into position again, now at 330 yards.  This time I made the first shot count, striking the buck in the neck.  A follow up shot anchored the buck.  Despite my buddy Mike’s best efforts, we were unable to take the second buck during all of the commotion.  When we had glassed the buck up I had decided quickly the buck was a shooter and had not looked much at his head gear after that.  I was pleasantly surprised when I walked up to the buck and saw his 6” eyeguards.  Thanks again to those who helped on the hunt; Mike, Levi and with scouting; Josh, Blaine, and Marc.  There is no way I could have done it without you."  

Enjoy the pics.

A Few Years Back

Here is a deer that my brother in law Win Wright killed a few years back.  He had a great year as he killed the bull that has been previously posted on the blog and this buck.  He missed another deer that was nicer than this one but this is his first coues deer.  I aged this buck at 2-3 years of age.  This buck had the character and make up to be something special.  Enjoy this pictures.

Top of the Mountain Buck

Good friend Eric Fish capitalized on an opening day opportunity.  Here is what he had to say about the hunt.  


"It was opening day, the sun was coming over the mountain and there was a thick fog in the air. After a couple hours spent looking through the binocs in the lower country the fog finally started to clear. My dad, Chad Hall and I decided to hike to the top of a mountain we knew had no roads on it and no hunting pressure. It was a steep, unwelcoming terrain but i had a good feeling about it. We drove as close to the mountain as we could and started hiking from an elevation of 3103 ft.  After several hours of hiking almost to the top I caught a buck bedded down under a cedar tree.  Hurrying to get in the shooting position, the buck jumped up and then another buck came into sight. They headed to the top of the finger almost to bail off the other side when he decided to stop and look one last time at us, only having a few seconds to shoot, the 25-06 (old faithful) did the trick. marking it on the G.P.S. with a final elevation of 4555 ft, we had a long hike back but it was well worth every second".