This past January 2024, I spent 14 days bowhunting one of my favorite animals on the planet, the coues deer. It’s a spot and stalk hunt that I look forward to every single year and this past January was no exception to that. The exception was the number of days I stayed in the field though. The hunt was rough with lots of ups and downs. In the end, I was able to come out with a great buck, and now a great film that I’m super proud of.
The film is called Fourteen – An Archery Coues Deer Story. It follows me throughout my January 2024 season from the backcountry to living out of my truck. It explores the deep connection I have to my brother that was made through hunting long ago. And then there is the overall message to NEVER GIVE UP. There are snowstorms, failed stalks, laughs, frustrations, and all. Looking back it was perfect and I really hope you enjoy this film. If you do, please subscribe to the channel and share it with your friends. Thanks!
Right now, I’m sitting under a blanket downstairs in front of a Christmas tree. It’s my favorite time of year. Not only do I cherish these times spent at home with family, but right after the fact, I’ll be heading into the field with my bow. Bowhunting coues deer during the month of January is like a second Christmas to me.
It’s the end of December right now at the time of typing this. We’ve been soaking up the holiday season together in our home and enjoying every second of it with our 3 year old. I love the month of December dearly, but I also lust for January. It’s archery deer season in Arizona at that time. The bucks are rutting and it’s one of my favorite times of year backpack hunting for coues deer.
Given our unique environment, and an odd time of year, knowing what backcountry gear to bring along is a question that I get asked on a regular basis. So, I’m going to break down here what I am bringing along on a 7 day backpack hunt during the month of January for Coues deer in Arizona.
I recently scratched down a post titled My Biggest Archery Issues, so it’s only natural to write another that reflects bowhunting specifically. Bowhunting is a never-ending journey for me and I don’t think I’ll ever master it. There is no shortage of ways to screw up an archery hunt, and I’ve been fortunate to be on more than a few of those receiving ends. Sometimes they make me feel downright helpless. The only way to improve in these areas, though, is to acknowledge them and act. So, down below I’m going to dive into a pool of reflection filled with My Biggest Bowhunting. At the end of this personal therapy session, I hope it drives you to tackle your own shortcomings and inevitably get better from doing so.
We’re sitting less than a month out from the 2023 Fall hunting season at the time of writing this. Along with my uncontrollable excitement, e-scouting, and focus on fitness, there is one other thing heavy on my mind. That thing is accuracy. To me, it doesn’t matter how fancy your bow is, it doesn’t matter how good the hunting spot is, and it doesn’t matter how in shape you are. If you aren’t accurate behind your bow, none of that other stuff matters.
This Fall has sure been an eventful one and I couldn’t be more grateful. I just returned from a wicked trip hunting mule deer in the Idaho backcountry. While the trip was rather short, it was a great hunt that ended with a great surprise(hint hint…). And the best part, all of it is on film.
I’m a big fan of the euro mount, especially for deer/elk. They’ve got a rustic look and I just love the color contrast between skull and antler. Early on, I would go through the whole process of creating these on my own. Boil, pressure washer, boil, pressure washer, etc. I enjoyed the process, but man it always took me forever to finish. With the time crunch that is now my reality going through that process is something I haven’t been able to revisit. Well, not entirely at least. After getting a hot tip from a buddy, the lazy man’s euro mount sounded like it was a perfect alternative. Now, a few years later, I’m happy to say it was.
We were young. For the entirety of our friendship, my buddy John and I have shared the wild hills and waters of Arizona together. In our early 20’s John was suddenly captivated by bowhunting and soon after I caught the bug as well. When we first started trying our hands at archery hunting during our OTC deer hunts here, we swore off hunting coues whitetail deer. They were too hard, too jumpy, and way out of our reach given our limited bowhunting skills. Fast forward to present day and I have become obsessed with them. From their cagey nature to their beautiful coats, unique antlers, and second to none tasting meat. Hunting coues deer with a bow and arrow is the ultimate test for a bowhunter. While they are arguably the hardest animal to spot and stalk with a bow in North America, they are not impossible. Here’s a few proven tidbits of info I’ve gathered bowhunting the gray ghost through the years.
If you’re anything like me, you spent quite a bit of time as a youngster, and even an adult, consuming hunting media. Watching others embark on adventures around the world, doing something that we love is just downright inspiring. It pushes us to chase our dreams out in the mountains. As I got older, documenting such adventures became more and more appealing to me. Not so that I could be like the TV personalities I’d watched as a kid, but to simply have something to look back on. Something that I could share with my future kids and grand kids. “See? Your Dad used to do some pretty cool stuff.”
Carrying a DSLR or mirrorless camera around is hard work though. It just is. They are cumbersome and can be a distraction from the whole hunt, especially if you’re filming alone. GoPros revolutionized this and made it simple for us to strap a camera on our head or bow and go. All the while, we are capturing quality footage with just a push of a button. What if I told you that there was a camera specifically made for this? A GoPro made for hunting. Something made by folks who are like minded. The company is TACTACAM and their 5.0 camera is built for us hunters.
Here is a continuation of the coues deer hunt I was on with my Dad and Brother. In the last episode you saw how my brother was fortunate enough to tag his first coues deer ever. What a special day that was. Kid has been working at that for years now and getting to see it all come together for him was pretty special to say the least. Now, that my brother is all tagged out, my Dad is up on deck. Each morning we were seeing bucks and big ones at that. Today was our last day, and as you’ll see in the video, we made the most of it. Just in time too. The weather was calling for 50 mph winds, and while we’d stick it out if we had to, it was a relief to wrap this up before that. Heavy winds are no bueno for coues deer, or any game for that matter.
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