Another Exciting Fall - 2023 Hunts Recap

[huntandfly]

As it seems to be every year now, 2023 was a very busy fall and was one of the most rewarding hunting seasons yet for my family and I. My only 2 tags this year were both in New Mexico and were for hard to draw hunts. I spent the rest of the fall helping out on family hunts which turned out pretty awesome.

 

[huntandfly]

I started out the year spotting for my Uncle on his archery mule deer hunt. We had the pleasure once again of working with Taylor Price as our outfitter and also spent a ton of time with Mike Wood who is a big buck spotting machine. The 3:30 AM wakeups were rough, but we spent every morning and evening out glassing big country.

On morning 1, Taylor spotted our target buck. We spent the rest of the day trying to get my uncle close for a shot, through a massive thunderstorm in the most inhospitable deer country I have ever seen.

After a close call with an arrow sailing within an inch of the huge buck and a trip to the local clinic for a split open knuckle, we came up empty handed that first day. We spent the next couple of days attempting to relocate the buck but he had melted into the rocks after being pressured out of his core area.

 

[huntandfly]

My next opportunity to get back out in the woods was to help on my dad’s rifle mule deer hunt. My dad has always loved hunting mule deer and this was going to be his first good opportunity to chase bucks in that upper age class, although this was a low deer density area.

The first couple of days were very slow with 0 deer seen (not even does). By day 3 we finally got into a pocket of deer including some nice bucks, a couple of which would have been my dad’s biggest buck ever. It was a tough sell, but my dad elected to pass on those bucks, I think because he knew I was having so much fun (I think he mostly hunts just to spend time with me these days) and he knew what potential this unit has.

 

[huntandfly]

The next couple of days after that were also very slow with only a couple does and small bucks spotted. On day 6 we went to a different area where Mike had scouted a good buck that they knew was super old. We spent the first hour and a half of daylight glassing without seeing any deer. Finally, Mike picked up a big buck on the hill about a mile away right before the buck bedded down. 2 minutes later and we never would have seen him.

Mike and my dad went up the hill while I stayed back to watch. They crested a hill at 550 yards and got set up to wait for the buck to stand up. As the sun hit the bucks back, he stood and my dad hit him hard with his first shot. The buck went 10 yards and bedded behind a shrub. After I got up to their position, Mike and my dad went in to 150 yards and finished the buck with one more shot.

 

[huntandfly]

This was a pretty emotional moment for us as we had worked pretty hard and dad knew it meant a lot to me to get to be there when he killed what will probably be his best buck ever. We didn’t have the buck aged, but Mike knew he would be at least 7 as he had been a similar antler structure for the past 4 years. He goes 195” gross non typical and his mass is understated by pictures.

 

[duckhunt]

Great stuff

 

[huntandfly]

Next up was a date with destiny. I drew this deer tag last year, and this year my dad and I drew it again as a group (very long odds). The previous year was a good one and I passed quite a few 4 point bucks and hunted a giant old 3 point (pictured below), but I never punched my tag.

This year was bound to be much more difficult than last year. No snow and warm temps significantly reduced the number of bucks in the unit this time. I missed a decent 4 point on opening day (by a wide margin) but other than that, we didn’t see anything bigger than a forked horn until the last day of the hunt, despite seeing upwards of 120 deer a day.

 

[huntandfly]

On the last day, we made one last trek into the most promising portion of the unit and immediately spotted a 3 point buck that we would have shot if we weren’t so far back in there. About 15 minutes later I spotted a good buck right in the bottom at 850 yards. I left my dad up top and took off down the steep canyon wall, got out of sight and closed the distance to 200 yards. I crept over a small ridge and found him broadside, giving me a relatively easy shot off of my knee. He dropped in place and I had finally settled the score with this unit.

 

[huntandfly]

The pack out was pretty rough, especially when I led my dad up the single steepest incline I have ever attempted with a full pack. We made it out in time for a nap and one more hunt.

We hunted the last evening and actually found another slightly smaller 4 point buck in another drainage down the mountain. We moved into position and dad was able to get a shot at 300. Unfortunately he missed, and we determined he was having trouble seeing the reticle due to the scope relief not being good (he was using my new rifle that we thought was good for him). We ended up filling 1 of 2 tags with my buck being the second biggest that we had heard of being killed on that hunt.

 

[elkhuntinfool78]

Nice write up , really enjoyed it. Congrats on a great year!

 

[huntandfly]

The last hunt of the year finally rolled around in December. I managed to draw a good Oryx tag down near Alamogordo. We went down in time to scout the day prior. We saw about 15 animals on scouting day including a couple of nice bulls.

 

[huntandfly]

Opening morning found us driving into the same area as scouting day along with a few of our closest friends. We opted to climb a small knoll just off the road, and that slight gain in elevation allowed us to see a group of 6-8 oryx feeding about 600 yards out in the scrub. We determined that at least one of them was a very nice fully mature animal, so we started our stalk.

After chasing them through the brush and only seeing glimpses of their faces at 4-600 yards for about 40 minutes, we broke off the stalk and headed for the only real mound in that area. We set up on top and started glassing, hearing a few shots ringing out and seeing some animals moving around trying to avoid to number of hunters that had picked this area for opening morning. We spotted our original group, and after watching them bed an hour later, we decided we could cut the distance to 500 and likely get a shot. We headed for the mound we had picked out, and as we arrived I began crawling up into position for a shot, freezing every time the animals looked my way. Right as I got set up, the biggest in the group stood up broadside and my friend Chris said “that’s the one, shoot it.” I settled the crosshairs and one 212 grain ELD-X dropped her in her tracks.

 

[huntandfly]

Chris and I couldn’t believe how big she was as we walked up on her, much bigger than I had even hoped for. Edit for clarification: I did put one more behind the ear when I walked up to end it quickly, I am not a “Right in the fuggin’ head” HUNTTALKMAN prodigy or anything.

Her horns measured 39.5” and she was huge. It was a cool experience to be able to bring my wife along for her first hunt so she can start to understand why I put so much time and effort into this addiction. Soon she will be taking her first animal as well. I had heard people say how good oryx meat is and I’m here to tell you: they aren’t lying. Best big game meat I have ever tasted.

 

[huntandfly]

Overall it was another year for the memory books and I can’t wait to see what’s in the cards for 2024.

Good luck to everyone in the draws and on your next hunts!