This heavy-horned eight-point was exactly what I spent 15 years trying to find!
February 19, 2024
By Jim Willems
This was my second trip to the ranch. On the first trip, we set up six ground blinds, two treestands, and numerous trail cameras on tanks that we suspected held big bucks. We did this in hopes that the deer would get used to the blinds and come in close enough to ensure a high-percentage shot when we came back in January, which was now.
In spite of that, here I was sitting in a blind that we popped up just yesterday afternoon, right after we arrived on the ranch for an eight-day hunt. That’s the beauty of trail cameras. Even though we thought this tank was too large to hunt effectively, we found that some big bucks were drinking on one end of the tank, and I was going to sit there for the day to see if I could get a shot. Little did I know how soon that would happen…
The Quest My quest to find a world-class Coues buck began 15 years ago, and now I was on my sixth different Sonoran ranch, hoping this one would be the ticket. When my friend, Mike Lutt, called me seven months ago and said he had found a ranch that he thought was worth hunting, I jumped at the chance.
Supposedly, this ranch had not been hunted for eight years, which sounded too good to be true. My last two ranches had not panned out, so this place seemed as good as any for me to try once again to achieve my goal of taking a top-shelf Coues buck. I accept that committing to a ranch, sight unseen, is no more than a crapshoot, but I was willing to keep trying, knowing that eventually I would find THE spot. After all, resilience is the precursor to luck, and I have been blessed with plenty of both over the years. You also have to accept that you are dealing with people who intend to profit from you and your fellow hunters. Sometimes you get what was promised; sometimes, not so much.
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The good news was that this ranch was easier to get to than any other ranch I had hunted. In the past, I relied on other people’s intel and showed up on the scheduled hunt dates. That only worked well when I was returning to a ranch that I had hunted before. Based on past experience, I was determined to make the best of this property, and the only way to do that was to take the time and expense to scout the property ahead of time.
It always helps to be afield during the rut — for obvious reasons. I hunt a lot, but I also spend considerable amounts of time looking for good hunts. I’ve been blessed to find some great spots — both private and public — that have resulted in many once-in-a-lifetime experiences. I’m not sure how many said experiences one person is allowed, but I hope to have a few more during my lifetime.
If this ranch had top-quality bucks on it, the only way to make the best of it was for me to invest the time to make it pay off, which is why Mike and I planned a one-week scouting trip for mid-December. I live about 800 miles from the ranch, so I planned to drive from home, pick up Mike at the airport in Phoenix, Arizona, and then cross the border the next day — loaded with blinds, stands, and supplies.
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Scouting Mike and I had several goals we hoped to accomplish in December. The first was to get a good look at the ranch to determine what was there. We also wanted to prepare for our January hunt by setting up blinds and stands on what looked like the best spots. Without trail-camera intel, we had to rely on tracks and gut instinct. Mostly, we set our ambush sites on the smaller tanks, with the primary focus on those spots that had fewer cattle.
Once we had our blinds, treestands, and cameras set up, we decided to hunt our last two days of this trip.
On the first day, Mike shot a 5x6 that was over 100 inches, and I missed a big eight-point that bolted as I shot. Did I mention that these spooky little deer are not easy to kill? Aside from my miss, we were off to a great start.
The ranch was large enough to facilitate up to four hunters, so we convinced fellow Pope and Young Club members John Borlang and Bob Ameen to join us for eight full days of hunting, starting mid-January. Once again, I would drive, bringing two ATVs as well as more blinds and stands, and the rest of the group would fly.
Mike arrived a day before everyone else, but unfortunately, the bag containing his bow wasn’t there when he landed. Since Mike couldn’t hunt until his bow arrived, he spent a full day checking cameras and scouting more spots. John and I arrived just after noon, and we spent the rest of the day putting up more blinds and a tripod stand based on new information. We had pictures of some really good bucks — at least one at every tank — and we were ready to get serious about the hunt.
… So, there I was, sitting in one of the aforementioned blinds from earlier in my story. We had brushed it in well, but even that doesn’t mean the deer won’t be leery of something new in their environment and drink as far away from the “new thing” as they can. If that proved to be the case, I was looking at a 50-yard shot and one that I wouldn’t take with my trusty old Bighorn recurve.
One waterhole-hunting tidbit that I’ve learned over the years is when a dirt tank is drying up and getting low, most of the surrounding area is still muddy. Deer and antelope don’t like this one bit, and they will try to find a place with firmer footing from which to drink. So, I covered the farthest hard-packed spot with cut branches and was hoping that the closer ones, one at 38 yards and one at 26, would be where they chose to drink.
When you find the right spot and have good conditions, you can pass up bucks like this one. My first morning in the blind yielded decent activity. I saw a few small bucks, multiple does and fawns, and two bucks that would probably measure in the mid to high 80s — P&Y minimum for Coues deer is 70 inches.
Bucks in that 85 to 90-inch range are hard to pass up. But I knew this was going to be a great hunt, so I vowed to hold out for something really special. Sure enough, about 11:30 a.m., a big buck headed toward the tank right in front of me. A quick look through my binos told me which buck it was based on scouting intel, and that he was most likely going to drink at the 38-yard spot.
That’s a long shot for me, especially on deer that tend to no longer be where you want them to be by the time your arrow gets there. With that in mind, I aimed low behind the buck’s shoulder. The shot felt good, and my first thought was maybe a little low. But as the buck turned to run, I could see blood gushing out both of his sides, and I soon watched the heavy, Boone and Crockett -class eight-pointer drop within 30 yards.
When I didn’t get a shot at this buck on the first hunt, I vowed to return. Persistence is often more important than luck. Licensing in Mexico is different than in the states. A ranch owner applies for and purchases tags depending on the size of the ranch and available habitat. This ranch had five Coues tags and there were four of us hunting, so there was an extra tag.
It rained most of the next day, so hunting was a bit slow for a while. Once the rain stopped and the warm temps dried things out, the hunting returned to normal. John shot a great eight-point, Mike killed a solid muley buck, and Bob shot his own good eight-pointer.
Toward the end of our eight-day hunt, I was still hoping to fill that last tag.
On that final day, I saw a big 10-point buck, but didn’t get a shot. Mike had already left, and Bob and John were scheduled to leave early the next day. I was their transportation, which meant I had to leave as well.
As I was driving back to Phoenix to drop John off, something in my gut told me I needed to go back for one more try at the big 10-pointer. I knew my wife wouldn’t be happy with my change in plans, but I figured by now she was hopefully used to my obsession — or maybe she just wanted a few more days of peace and quiet. She told me to get back down there and get the job done, so I could come home happy if things worked out the way I hoped they would. Never one to argue with my wife, I found myself back on the ranch two days later.
I was going to give it another four days, with my focus solely on that 10-point.
Ground blinds are essential, but it’s hard to beat a treestand for Coues deer, which aren’t normally used to danger from above. Sure enough, he came to water at 9:30 a.m. the next day. This time, he watered broadside at 26 yards, and I concentrated on the shot.
The buck whirled at the shot, but my arrow centered his spine — dropping him where he stood. I had taken two B&C-class Coues bucks on the same hunt, and I was ecstatic!
Sometimes, we make things look easier than they truly are. All told, it took me a total of 23 days, including travel, three border crossings, 4,200 miles of driving, and lots of planning and scheming for me to accomplish what I did.
Remember what I said about resilience?
The author, a former president of the Pope and Young Club, is an avowed traditional bowhunter who lives in New Mexico.
Author’s Note On this hunt, I used my trusty old 56-inch, 52-pound Bighorn takedown recurve, Thunderhorn quiver, and handmade cedar arrows tipped with old Bear Razorhead broadheads. My optics were Leica’s 10x42 rangefinding binos. My blind was the Barronett Big Mike, because its height is perfect for recurve shooters like me. My clothing consisted of Denim-style pants and cotton shirts.
