Buck Hollow Sporting Goods - click or touch to visit their website Midwest Habitat Company

2016/2017 AZ Hunting Journal

New Gear and Trip to Iowa

I wish I could say life has settled down, but it hasn't. Dealing with an estate from 1300 miles away is a royal pain in the butt. But we're making progress and that counts. In the middle of all of this, my wife dropped a nice surprise on me when she gave the go-ahead to use my pro deal and order the pair of Swarovski binos I've been wanting pretty hard since last January. Last week, I called Swaro and ordered my 15x56 HD SLCs for glassing while hunting. One of the most important lessons I've learned in my evolution as a western hunter is that good glass (TOP quality) on a solid tripod is a MUST. Yesterday, as I was leaving to take Sydney to soccer practice, I saw the FedEx truck stop at our house. Fortunately, my wife was home because it was a signature required delivery. In anticipation of them getting here, I'd already ordered the tripod adapter stud that goes on the front. I went home for lunch today and got them all squared up and ready to use!








My buddy that lives in Syd's deer unit called me earlier this week and was telling me about seeing 14 different bucks moving around his honey hole and we're getting excited to hunt there. Syd's eyes lit up pretty good, too. Even my wife is getting excited for her hunt! Because of our schedules here, I won't be doing as much scouting down there as I'd like and my buddy may not be available to hunt with us on opening day (Friday, Oct. 7). Our current plan is to head down on Sunday, October 2nd to spend the day with my buddy learning my way around that part of the unit so that I'm not totally stupid and blind (totally, I said) on opening morning. Then we'll head down after school on Oct 6th and get ready to find a buck!

On another note, my wife and I will be back in Newton on Saturday, Sept 24th to start clearing out my mom's house as it goes on the market. We're having an estate sale on Sunday, Sept 25th from 9am-4pm. After that, whatever isn't sold is getting donated to a local shelter, Good Will, Salvation Army, etc. before we leave to drive back in my mom's truck on Sept 28th or 29th. If any of you are around and want to come shop, I'll make you a helluva deal if you remind me who you are and that you're from IW! You can PM me for directions Seriously. Not even joking. There are "Estate Sale" ads under "Household Items" on Craigslist for Des Moines and Ames.
 
Well, we made it back from Iowa safely, after 24-hours of driving (one night in Emporia, KS and one night in Grants, NM). We are working through sorting stuff and making room for stuff, but I'm also getting ramped up to start deer hunting with Syd this coming weekend. While we were back in Iowa, my buddy that his helping us called me up to tell me about some scouting he'd been doing. In his honey hole, he saw a handful of 3x3 muleys, a couple of decent whitetail (Coues whitetail), and a big 5x6 muley with kickers! I told Syd about it when I got the chance and she's excited! I took a break from sorting stuff yesterday and started organizing gear and making a list of what all I need to get and what needs packed. We're staying in my buddy's trailer, so I don't need to worry about pulling my camper for once. My buddy is just as excited as we are!

We spoke yesterday afternoon about her expectations. She has it right. She knows that holding out for that 5x6 may cause her to eat a tag, but if we find it right away, she wants it. There are plenty of decent 3x3s and 4x4s (muleys) in there and she is going in with the mindset of any legal buck bigger than a fork. We talked about this being her first buck tag and to just enjoy the hunt and shoot a buck that makes her happy. Down the road, she can start holding out for the giants, but I don't want her chasing antlers as trophies yet. We're leaving as soon as she's out of school Thursday. We're going to head down, run out and scout, and try to bed some bucks for Friday morning. \

I'm hoping Syd will put her thoughts together before the hunt because I know she's excited. At the same time, she's swamped with school, cross country, and soccer, so she may not get to it. Stay tuned, though!
 
Sounds like a promising hunt lies ahead. Good luck to both of you and. After everything you guys have been through that big mulie would be awesome, but any legal buck will be a trophy. Thanks for sharing.
 
My deer hunt

Life has been pretty tough, and thank you guys for all the support. Luckily, this week I have my very first buck hunt! As I said earlier, it was the four unit youth hunt starting with 19a. We were looking at some pictures earlier, and we saw some nice 4 by 4's and 4 by 3's. I am super excited! We heard it has a low draw rate, but a high success rate. Dad and I are leaving this Thursday to go scout the area and are leaving bright and early Friday morning to hopefully fill a tag. As well as a Buck hunt, it is also a general javelina hunt combo. I decided to use my 7 mm .08 for javelina instead of dad's AR. Even though he offered, it just seems lot more efficient to bring one gun instead of multiple. I am also somewhat excited for my elk hunt, for I am not expecting it to be very successful. Because it is the 4th hunt up on the peaks, the elk will probably be pushed up very high. Hopefully, with all the snow that is supposed to come along, the elk will come down the mountain a bit which will make it easier for us. Cross country and soccer is also going very well, and even tough I missed ODP tryouts I still might be able to be scouted out for it. :)

I'll be posting sometime after my deer hunt, wish me luck!
 
First Weekend Chasing Bucks: LONG Post

Our first weekend of deer hunting in Arizona was an absolute blast. This was a completely new style of hunting for Syd and one that takes patience. You find a good vantage point and you put your binoculars on a good tripod and you start picking apart every little nook and cranny that deer can hide in. It takes patience and a keen eye to sit in one spot for 2-3 hours (or more) and just look through binoculars. Often, you have to get up move around, tell stories, laugh, and even nap to break the monotony, but you learn to snap to quickly when you hear someone say “I’ve got deer!” Syd did great and contributed so much to this hunt! She will update the journal with her perspective when she gets a chance, but she’s swamped at school, trying to get caught up after missing last Friday.

We got to my buddy’s house around 5:30 Thursday night and he gave us a quick tour of the area in his Rhino with what sunlight we had. Fortunately, his wife was thinking because youth under 17 have to have a helmet on/in when riding an ATV or UTV. We grabbed her helmet and were off. We didn’t see any deer, but got a feel for the land and the area, which was good. We saw one lone javelina, which was odd because they usually travel in herds. We noted the area in case Syd felt like filling her javelina tag before her deer tag.

Heading out to scout!


On the ride out Friday morning, we stopped at an area that Mike likes to stop and let light creep in because he usually sees deer moving on hillsides there as he’s driving. As we were standing there, I glanced up the hill behind to barely see two white rumps standing about 300 yards up. I put my binos up and, sure enough, we had two muley bucks standing there. We confirmed what appeared to be a 3x2 and a 3x4 with the light we had. At 6am, Syd grabbed her rifle and tag/license and she and I took off on a loop to get around them and close in from above/parallel. We worked our way to within about 250 yards and something caught their attention, but not really spooking them. They sauntered over the ridge, heading west. We made it up to the ridge and I told Syd to be ready because they should be right below us. We crested the ridge and peeked over, but saw nothing. Mike had driven to the other side, but saw nothing, either. We glassed that area for another couple of hours, but those bucks never showed back up. I’m starting to wonder if they have a cave on that slope!

Opening morning muleys ended up on this slope somewhere (below saddle)


Still smiling after first stalk


Syd slipped in behind my 15s when I took a break and didn't want to give them back!


Mid-day nap!


More glassing


We found a few does moving here and there on neighboring ridges, including below another group of hunters glassing another area. With about an hour of sunlight left, we moved to another area and found a group of does feeding up a hillside. We decided that was our spot for the morning because Mike had seen bucks moving with groups of does in that area before. Saturday morning found us there, but not those does. As we were glassing, Mike hollers out “I’ve got deer.” We looked the group of four over and found that one was a decent sized spike. Going into this, I told Syd it was her choice on what to shoot and she originally said “fork or bigger”, but seeing that spike got into her head and she decided she just wanted to fill a tag. No problem on my part for her first buck! We took off and put the stalk on. As we were closing in on the direction they headed, I told her we needed to look at the slope above us. Sure enough, there were the deer and the spike was singling itself out at 205 yards. We got Syd set up and she waited for the buck to give her a good shot. I wasn’t quite ready for her to shoot but, she shot and missed. The deer took off and we headed back to Mike. As we got there, he told us that the deer circled back the opposite direction that they ran and were calmly feeding closer to us. We took off again. Long story short, we got busted this time because the brush was so thick, but we ended up about 50 yards from them. As we were walking back, Mike texted me that they circled back yet again, even closer! We marched right back at and ended up about 25-30 yards from them before they busted us and were gone for good. Syd has a really good reason for her miss, but I’ll let her tell that one! Importantly, she didn’t get discouraged because of the miss. She was ready to get back at it.

A couple of hours later, while glassing another hillside, Syd excitedly says “I”ve got deer!” It turned out to be a lone doe, but she glassed up her first deer at about 600 yards away all by herself. I was so stinking proud of her! It was getting time for Mike to get back home for family obligations, so we started heading that way when we saw a deer running up the hillside above us. I quickly glassed it and confirmed it was a buck. The Rhino had barely stopped and Syd was jumping out, grabbing her rifle! We took off up there and found two bucks, a spike and a 2x3, but they busted us. We crested the ridge to see if we could find them and Syd spotted one of the does 200 yards away. We sat there ready, but the bucks never showed up. It started raining like crazy on us as we got back to Mike, so we all headed in to Mike’s place for a warm lunch and a nap. About 2:30, the weather cleared and it was time to head back out if we were going to go. Originally, Syd said she was tired and wanted to stay in and rest. No problem; it’s her hunt, after all. Then Mike said his family plans had changed and he could go out with us for the evening. Syd reluctantly agreed to go, so we loaded up and took off. Within 10 minutes of arriving at the spot Syd picked out, she shouted “I’ve got deer. I think it’s a buck! It’s a buck!!” Mike and I put our binos up there, after she guided us in (expertly, I might add) and, sure enough, she glassed up a 3x4 over 800 yards across the drainage on the far hillside! As we looked closer, we found two more bucks, a fork and what appeared to be a smaller 2x3 or 3x4, along with 3 does. We formed a plan and Syd and I took off. We got to within about 250 yards and I saw the bigger buck bedded across from us through some trees. We ducked out of sight so that we could creep another 40-50 yards and get Syd set up. That’s when all of the deer just exploded out of their beds and were gone, over the hill. Syd was definitely bummed, but I could tell she was having fun. 12 years old and she glassed up her own buck over 800 yards away! As we were hiking back to Mike, he let us know he saw another spike with a group of does on a hillside two ridges over (less than a half-mile, though). I could see that Syd was worn out, so we called it a night early.

Her buck


Taking a breather before supper


Sunday morning was just me and Syd since it was Mike’s and his wife’s anniversary. We went back to the same spot as Saturday night, hoping to catch the bucks moving back in. I glassed a group of does on the hillside west of us and, eventually a young button buck 286 yards away. Syd asked if we could go after it, but I had to call a friend (retired WM) to confirm the legality. Good thing I did. Antlers have to be erupted from the pedicels for it to be a legal buck in Arizona. The rest of the morning was fairly quiet and as we were getting ready to head out, I glassed the east hillside one more time. Something caught my attention real quick and, after a double take, I realized I was staring at a cow elk. I kept watching and, eventually glassed up four more elk, including one that appeared to be a bull hiding behind the tree.

I took this after she wandered off to glass on her own


Panorama view of part of our glassing area


Button buck


Elk in muley country




Deer hunters!


I told her she could drive most of the way back to Mike's after I got through the rough stuff


We’re at a crossroads now. Sydney has this Thursday and Friday off school for a fall break and she really wants to go back chasing deer. My wife is ok with it and my boss is ok with me taking another day off, but Syd’s elk hunt starts this Friday. She made it clear that she’d rather go back after bucks than spend the one day she’s likely going to get (soccer Saturday) chasing elk in a low-probability area. Its hard for me to argue that logic and my wife is being very supportive. We are currently planning to go back and hunt this Thursday and Friday to see if she can connect on her first buck! No matter the outcome, I am so proud of her persistence and patience. I'm proud of her being able to confidently glass up deer on her own from 600+ yards away. Stay tuned!!
 
I would call this last hunt a very successful hunt. I spotted two nice bucks, got on 11 stalks, and had a ton of fun. I just wanted to say thank you to the Martins for their hospitality for letting us stay in their camper. For us, "Hotel Martin" was pure luxury! We saw a lot of deer; does and bucks. The first day, we stayed out the whole day glassing. That is a HUGE milestone for me, because I have never stayed out the whole day. Its was really tiring, but totally worth it. One of the things that kept me coming out into the school week was that we were in deer almost all the time, every day. I just knew that at some time, things were gonna go our way. In one of our first stalks, we glassed up a spike. At that time, I honestly didn't care what kind of trophy it was... as long as it was a buck and I could put meat in the freezer. Sadly, I missed the spike because I accidentally pulled the trigger before I was ready. Looks like buck fever hit me hard! I was honestly think this was my favorite hunt yet!!!
 
Glad to hear that you had a good hunt. Sometimes we get caught up in measuring a hunt in inches of antler or deer taken but you obviously had a great time on your hunt. It also sounds like you did very well spotting deer which can take people a long time time to get good at. So hats off to you.
 
Great stuff...whether you bag an animal or not you are both getting to spend time together that you will remember forever. Congrats!!
 
Its been a month now since the hunt first started and all we want to do is go back to it. Seeing a group of muley bucks in town last night didn't help. In the time since her hunt ended, I've been working on upgrading Syd's rifle. We had an issue with moisture and the matte finish on her rifle. I dried it off and set it in the sun to dry, but the stippling on the matte finish held moisture and caused rust spotting all up and down the barrel, action, scope bases, and scope rings. After talking to my wife, I decided to have everything fixed with Cerakote. At the same time, I decided it was time to upgrade her scope now that she's definitely hooked on this western style of deer hunting. I used my Cabela's points and bought her a Vortex Viper HS LR 4-16x50 30mm scope with the BDC reticle and target-style turrets. Of course, I'm new to the whole 30mm scope concept, so I ordered the wrong rings. I have the new, correct rings and just need to get them. cerakoted to match everything and then I can put it all back together for her. She's excited. Syd picked "Blue Titanium" because "...its a pretty blue, but not too shiny so it won't scare things off." Hard to argue that logic! As soon as I get the scope rings taken care of and the rifle put back together properly, I will post up pictures. If you are on the fence about weather affecting your rifle, I highly recommend Cerakote!

At the same time, I was able to order our son's rifle. I'm in the process of taking the 1-inch rings off Syd's rifle and mounting them, along with Syd's old scope onto Jacob's rifle so we can give it to him for his 9th birthday in December. It also has the matte finish, so it will get a trip to the Cerakote shop in the future, too. To say I'm excited to have another hunting buddy is an understatement!

We also found out last Friday that my credit card has been charged for the spring hunts. Syd has another youth javelina tag and I likely have my usual archery javelina tag. I'm still holding hope that a charge for my Goulds turkey tag will show up, especially since I have 19 bonus points, but that hope is fading. I'm more than likely going to skip the left-over tags in AZ and head to Kansas in late April with a buddy that lives in Pratt.

In less good news, prayers and well wishes would be extremely appreciated right now. Two weeks ago yesterday (Oct 24th), Sydney injured her shoulder during her keeper training at soccer practice. She landed on her elbow and jammed her shoulder up into her joint. I took her into the orthopedic place the next day and the good news is that there is no ligament damage and no bones are broken. She was to take a couple of weeks off soccer and start physical therapy right away, with a follow-up on Friday, Nov 4th. PT has been great and her strength and stability is improving, but her pain levels are still there. At her follow-up, we met with the orthopedic doc who fixed my shoulder. He's not sure if she has a bad bone bruise on her growth plate or is she actually suffered a grade 2 dislocation. He's also worried that she might have torn her labrum. She's now out of soccer until after Thanksgiving, which means missing last Saturday's game, and the upcoming games on Nov 12 and 19. She's not happy, but taking it in stride since she's been made aware of the long-term damage that could occur. She is definitely worried that her season is over if there is a labrum tear, but she's accepted the fact that she won't be in the Olympic Development Program this year (that was tough pill to swallow). She's so competitive and driven that keeping her out of soccer is like caging a hungry lion! I have no idea where she gets that attitude from! o_O :rolleyes:
 
We finally got the draw results for next spring's hunts. Syd has her youth javelina tag for the last two weekends in January and I have my archery javelina tag during the first three weeks in January. Even with 19 bonus points, I still didn't get my Goulds tag. I know someone who got drawn for my unit with 19 and someone who got drawn for that unit with less. Frustrtation doesn't even do it justice. As an insult to injury, my wife informed me that our son's confirmation in the Catholic church is April 29, which is the weekend I was going to head to Pratt. I know I need to be there for his confirmation, but that still stings. At the same time, I'm looking into a quick trip over to KS, leaving on the 30th, hunting a couple of days, and heading back before I have to get on a plane to Iowa for my niece's wedding.

Syd's shoulder is still very painful and she's not progressing/healing like we (especially she) wants, but she's made it clear that she's going javelina hunting in January. I may be carrying her pack for her or just doubling up on my pack to cover her, but if she can make it, we'll darn sure try! She also told me that there is no way on Earth she is missing her turkey hunt in April, shoulder injury or not. "I'm going, no matter what, dad. You'll back me up, right?" Its so hard to watch her not do what she wants, but I love her determination. I remember being out of sports for injuries and its hard. I was 17. I can't imagine it happening at 12. We go back to the orthopedic doc next Friday, Dec 2nd to check progress and make plans for the next step. Its likely going to be an MRI. When you have a moment, please say a prayer for her speedy recovery and the best possible results. She's accepted that she may be done playing soccer for the season, but we both believe in the power of prayer.

On another note, last weekend, I took my son to the shooting range for some much needed guy time. He asked if we could take my scoped .22, my S&W model 19 .357, and my AR. Its hard to argue those choices! He continues to amaze and impress me with his form, his willingness to learn, his eagerness to try new things, and (most importantly) his commitment to safety. He did great with my .22 and then we switched over to the revolver, shooting .38 spcl. He absolutely loves that thing. In the middle of it all, I convinced him to try one .357 mag round. I told him it had more recoil, but forgot to tell him to hold the pistol a little tighter. At the shot, it rocked way back, but he didn't drop it and it didn't hit him in the head. He giggled, admitted it was fun, but said one was enough! I wish I'd gotten a pic and video of that. After that, we moved down a few tables and shot the AR. He ended up shooting a mag and a half before deciding it was enough. I kept emphasizing to him that the recoil he was feeling was going to be very similar to what his future elk/deer rifle will be like, since he's getting the same caliber as his sister, also with a muzzle brake (7mm-08). He really enjoyed the AR and now can't wait to get his hunting rifle.

Day at the range




I'm giggling in the video, because the brass kept hitting me in the face



To and from the shooting range, we talked safety, hunter ed, and his upcoming class this winter. Because he was so good at the range today and because we are going to be gone for his birthday and Christmas (Cozumel), we decided to give him his big birthday present a month early. He got his first elk/deer rifle and he was so excited. We got his scope set to his particular eye relief and then he helped me boresight it. I have ammo on order, so as soon it gets here, we'll be out zeroing it and getting him used to a bigger rifle! I'm starting him out with Hornady Custom Lite (reduced recoil) 120 gr rounds to help ease him into the recoil even more. I did this with Syd and I'm sure it will work great with him!



I'm working on plans to get out archery deer hunting Dec 9-11 since Syd can't play in her soccer tournament. My buddy where Syd deer hunted has been sending me pics of bucks that survived the general season! Stay tuned!!
 

Attachments

  • JW_Shooting_IW.jpg
    JW_Shooting_IW.jpg
    424.7 KB · Views: 2
  • JW_7mm08_IW.jpg
    JW_7mm08_IW.jpg
    480.9 KB · Views: 1
  • JW_ShootingAR_IW.jpg
    JW_ShootingAR_IW.jpg
    428.9 KB · Views: 1
Last edited:
Wonderful news!! The MRI revealed no soft tissue damage! All ligaments, rotator cuff, and labrum are 100% intact!! The fall likely irritated the rotator cuff and bursa and, not knowing that, PT probably irritated it more, especially for almost 6 weeks. She should have been resting and icing instead. Now it's aggressive icing and ibuprofen as needed, but she can return to normal activities as soon as the pain is gone! Soccer, hunting, and ski season aren't lost this season!! You should have seen the excitement in her eyes when the doc gave us the news. And, yes, I will freely own the happy tears that were welling up. Now to get her rifle ready to go after the rebuild and off for her javelina hunt in late January!

For all of you who said prayers, we greatly appreciate it!
 
Great write up,good luck to you both in the upcoming season.Know what that shoulder stuff is,my daughter tore her labreum and capsule playing softball.She ended up switching to left handed bow.In fact she is at ESU in Emporia where you stopped.We have some some great turkeys in Kansas so i bet you have a good spring hunt.
 
I thought I’d get one last journal entry of the year in, especially because its been a fairly exciting couple of weeks. Sydney’s MRI was two weeks ago tomorrow and her last physical therapy session was two weeks ago today. In that time, she’s shown significant improvement with her range of motion and her pain levels. We’re really starting to think that she’ll be back at it on the soccer field and ski slopes after the holidays! She’s excited to get out on her javelina hunt starting at the end of January. She got lucky this year and only has one soccer game scheduled for the first Saturday of her hunt and it’s a two-weekend hunt. I predict a javelina hitting the dirt this year. During our down time, I finally got her rifle put back together after getting it Cerakoted and the scope mounted and sighted back in. I have to admit that I like this choice of color and some of the guys at the range were impressed, too.

Cerakoted rifle and new Vortex Scope









Jacob was excited to get out and shoot his new rifle on December 10th. I wasn’t sure how he was going to handle the recoil, but after his first shot, he turned and looked at me and yelled “AWESOME!”. I have him starting with Hornady Custom Lite (reduced recoil) 7mm-08 rounds with 120 gr SSTs. He put 9 rounds down range, working on getting the scope sighted in and starting to break in the barrel. You can see in the video that, with the muzzle brake, the recoil really is minimal. This is going to be fun getting him going. He’ll be taking his Hunter Ed class in February with me as the lead instructor. I’ve been grilling him and quizzing him already so he is prepared. We’re both excited.

Settling in to new rifle


The shot



Tomorrow, we’re stepping on a plane and heading to Cozumel for our Christmas this year. A couple of months ago, my wife convinced me this is what we need as a family after all of my family matters and some family matters of her own. It’s time to go off grid for a while and reconnect with the world. I told my wife its very appropriate to go to Cozumel for the first Christmas without my mom because I went there in 8th grade with my parents. My mom always loved that place and she simply loved the beach. We arrive in Cozumel tomorrow afternoon and Wednesday morning, we will be fishing the flats for bonefish, tarpon, permit, snook, and (hopefully) barracuda! I have my Orvis 9-wt fly rod packed and Sydney has made it clear that she will be trying to fly fish first and foremost because she doesn’t need her left arm to cast a fly rod!

Fly Fishing!



I'm still going to see if I can get out for at least one day of archery deer hunting when we get back, but I have almost every weekend planned to chase javelina and deer with my bow in January, when I'm not helping Sydney bag her first javelina.

Merry Christmas to all of you from all of us! Here's to closing out 2016 on the upswing and starting 2017 on a great note!
 
We had a great time in Cozumel and I need to get some pics up, especially of Syd, Jacob, and my wife with the barracuda they caught! Since we've been back, I've had to get caught up at work and I've been sick all this week.

For now, I have some exciting news. I received a call about 90 minutes ago from our NWTF Regional Director letting me know that Sydney was selected as the NWTF JAKES Hunt of a Lifetime 2017 turkey hunter in Kansas! She submitted an essay in December on her hunting heritage and now I get to accompany her on an all-expenses paid turkey hunting in El Dorado, KS! She'll be home from school in about 20 minutes and I'll get to tell her!
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom