First Bull of the 2011 Archery Season!

So with the elk hunts finally here, our anticipation and excitement is boiling over! The bulls were screaming and the rut seemed like it would be good prior to the hunt but that would not be the case! The rain storms started rolling in and kept rolling in one right after the other and the rut seemed to wind down more and more with each storm!

I was in our main camp in Unit 9 with 3 hunters and even though the rut was slow and the pressure was heavy we still made it happen!

First up was John. John's expectations matched ours and we were wanting to kill a huge bull! We had several picked out and hunted them hard but we soon realized the competition for those bulls was too much so we went to find a bull of our own. After relocating to the other side of the unit we found what we were after! We had big bulls all to ourselves and they were talking enough to locate them. We knew cow calling was not productive so we changed up tactics.

We had a bull bugle in the treeline shortly after light. We grabbed our gear and ran to get ahead of him. After about a mile of getting into position, Jeff ran back as I took John ahead and set up. The bull bugled once more and that reaffirmed we had set up correctly. I ranged the shooting lanes and told John that this is gonna happen fast! Jeff let out a perfect bugle and the bull was interested in checking him out! We saw his legs first and just before he stepped into our shooting lane he stopped and put his head down. As he swung his head up I got a good enough look to know this was a shooter class bull and it was about to get western! Jeff's perfect subtle calling had this bulls curiosity and he wanted to check out this new bull in his area. The bull then started into our lane, 35 yards was the mark as the bull veered broadside and just as I stopped him John's arrow was on it's way and smacked him perfectly! We sat and listened as the bull ran and crashed within 100 yards!

We were all excited for John and his incredible archery bull! John kept his composure through the tense moments and made a perfect shot at the perfect time to claim this huge bull as his own! It was one of those moments that I live for. We took a tough hunt, adapted, relocated and smacked a whopper of a bull in the end! Congratulations John on a bull of a lifetime! Mullins.

P.S. Thanks to our packers, Vance, Matt, Glen, Dad, and especially my nephews, you all made it easy! Thanks!

.

Dad's Long Awaited Muzzleloader Antelope Hunt!

Switching gears from Bears to Goats! We had just got done with the Bear hunt and headed up for Dad's Antelope hunt! Dad has waited a long time for this hunt and even though it's a trophy unit, the trophy bucks were hard to find! Dad only wanted to kill his biggest buck to date so any 80" class buck would fit the bill and with what we were finding we felt we had a good chance at that!

Bryan came down from elk scouting and Gary came up to help Dad and I. On opening morning we scattered to find a buck that Bryan had found the night before but with no luck so we then ran over to relocate our initial Plan A buck. Once there we found several hunters flingin' lead at a smaller buck and working him and his harem around in circles. We looked past the circus and relocated our buck several miles out so Dad and I loaded our packs, grabbed the Zebu decoy and headed out. It was 100 degrees and we knew we were on a death march across the prairie! We had gone about 1 mile when we noticed the buck those other hunters had been shooting at was headed our way. We stopped and got a better look at him and then noticed we had underscored him! Dad and I dropped behind the decoy and waited to get a better look at him. Eventually the does appeared at 150 yards and following behind them was the buck! At 112 yards we realized this wasn't a buck to pass up with a smokepole! Dad leveled his canon and BOOOM!!! The buck humped up and stood there while his does just stood looking around confused. Dad excitedly reloaded and hadn't packed the powder tight enough but after several missfires we realized what happened, packed the powder tighter and BOOM! The gun finally fires and the buck dropped dead at 112 yards!

We called Bryan and Gary to let them know that we didn't feel like hiking the extra miles so we decided to shoot this buck instead! We knew once they saw this buck they would realize it had nothing to do with the hike we had ahead of us, this buck was an absolute stud! The mass is insane and he's absolutely gorgeous! He didn't seem that impressive to us at a distance but up close it was appearant that he wasn't a buck to pass up and most likely scores better than the buck we were originally after.

It was awesome to see Dad get all worked up and excited and it was even better to see him tag such a great Antelope! Thanks to Bryan and Gary for being there to help out and share in the experience! Congrats again Dad! Mullins.

Auction Bear Tag Hunt 2011

Howdy folks, sorry for the long delay between updates! I've got a ton of cool hunts and giant critters to share with ya, stay tuned!

First we have a phenomenal bear hunt to share with ya! It all started with a phone call from Phil Townsend from Yuma, AZ. He purchased the auction bear tag and was interested in a spot and stalk hunt! We love hunting bears with optics and have some great country to hunt so the hunt was on!

Mullins guide, Bryan Waitman, started the scouting early and found several handfulls of bears with several being great trophies. As anyone that's done it knows, stateland bear hunting can be one of the toughest hunts you can do, and looking for a trophy adds a huge element of difficulty to it. With dogs you can shop around and pass on bears at close distance, but spot and stalk hunting is much more challenging and much more rewarding for the hunter as far as we are concerned. With tons of experience behind him and tons of scouting done, Bryan was ready for the hunt!

Myself and friend Steve showed up several days in advance to get our bearings and Phil, along with his son Matthew and friend Ernesto showed up later for the hunt. It was on the first day that Steve found a huge bear and Matthew and Ernesto helped him pin down the location. Later that evening, after a grueling climb up one of the biggest mountains, we settled into position and relocated the giant bear in a small canyon. The rain started pouring down on us but with tripods in position and Phil on a steady rest, we waited for the bear to present a shot!

Finally, after a short wait the bear stood up and turned broadside..BOOM! Phil sent a bullet towards the bear but unfortunately instead of a solid hit he gave the bear a haircut instead! The bear then ran down the canyon and we sat and watched as the bear ran a full mile in a circle below us in the flats and then dissappeared unhurt! We hunted that bear exclusively for the next couple days without success and then decided to move on to hunt different bears. We looked over several other good bears in the next few days and had a great time!

Finally, after sorting through numerous different bears, we finally found the one that Phil liked and he said that was the bear he wanted! Here's some pics of the bear as he fed below my glassing position.

After a quick lunch and reveiw of my pics of the bear from that morning, we headed out early to set up on the bear. I had watched the bear go into a thick draw to bed so we had high hopes we would get back on him. With Ben and myself up high and Bryan and Phil coming in from the bottom, our plan was set but as soon as I got set up I looked down and the bear was out! It was hot and way to early for him to be out but he was and our plan shifted into high gear! Bryan and Phil had to hike the mile in faster than expected and in just a matter of minutes the bear got hot and went back into the thick draw to bed again.

Bryan and Phil finally got into position and after only a short wait the bear finally came back out! The bear walked up the same ridge that they were set up on and then skirted around the side just below them! Because of the slope and close proximity of the bear they had to sneak in close! Ben and I were on pins and needles freaking out at how close they were! I think it was 40 yards when Phil could finally see the bears head and neck above a prickly pear. Phil, not wanting to take any chances, decides to take the shot he had...BOOOM! The gun went off and the bear piled up in a heap! It was exciting just to watch such a hunt, I couldn't imagine the excitement they had up close and personal with the bear like that!

It was great making new friends with Phil, Matthew and Ernesto and I definitely look forward to hunting with them in the future! I wish Matthew and Ernesto could've stayed longer but I'm glad they got to share in Phil's hunt as much as they did at least! Bryan did an amazing job and put us in great bear country with tons of bears found, actually, I think last count was over 20 bears sighted which is amazing for stateland bear hunting! Thanks to everyone that helped out, Glen, Ben, John and Pam, and Steve! The hunt couldn't have happened as well as it did without you all! Congrats again Phil on a beautiful stateland, spot and stalk trophy bear! Mullins.

6 Weeks In Mexico!

Howdy folks, I'm back from the last trip for this season in old Mexico! It was tough hunting most of the time with different extremes in the weather conditions and battling a full moon smack dab in the middle of the rut! We returned home safe and with some great trophies and memories in the end which all adds up to a successful season! Here are some links to stories I've written on CWT.com of different events and there's also a slideshow which sums up the adventure through pictures! Thanks for visiting us here and enjoy!

http://forums.coueswhitetail.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=23771

http://forums.coueswhitetail.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=23240

http://forums.coueswhitetail.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=23720


.

Coyotes Kill A Big Coues On Trail Camera!!!

While walking up to a hidden spring in a rock crevice last week in Mexico I noticed a Coues deer tail and some guts floating in the pool of water! I crawled down into the rocky canyon and then noticed a freshly eaten back leg with a worn down buck hoof. With a stick I pulled the remains out of the water and figured it was the ranch owner who killed a deer and threw these parts in there. I had a trail camera pointed almost directly at this spot and hadn't checked it in almost a week so I figured I had pics of the rancher with this deer.


I went back to the ranch house and loaded the pics on my laptop only to be completely amazed at what I saw! At first I noticed there were more Coyote pics than usual and then there was a pic that clearly explained everything! Instead of the rancher with a deer, I had a picture of 3 Coyotes killing a great Coues buck! Looking at the time frames of the pics you can tell that the unfortunate deer put up a fight for at least an hour and a half! For several days after this incident I would get pics of Coyotes traveling in and out of this canyon and leaving with chunks of deer meat in their mouths!


I had to be home that next day after checking the camera so I couldn't go back and search for the rest of the carcass. My partners Scott and Santos went back and dug around in the pool of water but only pulled out a turtle. They also search the nearby area and still hadn't found the head yet but I'm sure we'll find it soon and I'll add the pics of it when I return.


It's an amazing thing to catch this on camera and it really sucks to see it happen. I never thought much about the impact Coyotes have on older age class bucks but appearantly they are fair game just the same. Lions don't deserve all the credit people give them, these pics clearly show that Coyotes are just as efficient at killin' the trophy bucks!


It's hard to see but this is actually a great buck, if you look closely you can see the long tined 4 point left side. These pics are in order as they happened, it's crazy how long the fight lasted, who knows how long it lasted off camera! It seems unfortunate but it's a rare glimpse of reality in the wild!

Sonoran Surprise!

Howdy all, here's some pics of an amazing critter that I found while hunting in Sonora, Mexico recently! I've only heard rumors about these Boa's existing in the same areas that we hunt Coues deer in and have only heard of two others that were found by other hunters. As I sat glassing with a friend of mine on a rocky hill I kept hearing something move near me. Continually looking for the noise It wasn't until I looked down and seen this Boa looking up at me with his dark shiny body extending way around a boulder from where he came! I couldn't believe I was fortunate enough to see one of these beautiful critters in the wild and it'll definitely always be one of the highlights of my hunting career! This snake was one of the most docil snakes I've ever caught and it was hard to let him go. I took him to the ranch house that night so everyone could see him and then let him go in the exact spot the next day. After leaving my backpack that next morning, he dissappeared and then came back that evening and coiled up below me to catch the last hour of sunlight! He dissappeared one last time and I didn't see him again over the course of the following 2 days I spent sitting there. An amazing encounter and gorgeous critter, just another reason why I love spending time in the woods! Take care and hope everyone had great holidays!