|
|||||||||||||
|
|||||
| Winds: CALM | |||||
| Hunting Articles 2007 Kaibab Archery Success For Mark Brooks!
It all started Thursday night with a 6 hour drive after work with my father and myself trying to locate my childhood best friend, his dad and 3 brothers camped somewhere in the Kaibab forest. At about 11 p.m. we finally crawled into our sleeping bags to get a few hours of much needed sleep. The next morning was beautiful with a nice chill in the air. We all talked and decided which direction we were to travel and we set out. The first morning brought plenty of sightings but to no avail. As the sun went down my dad and I set out again, this time to sit and see what comes to us. Not more than 15 minutes later a nice tall velvet clad 2 point appeared and gave me no opportunity to knock an arrow before he entered my shooting lane. With careful movements I was able to get one off at about 60 yards but the arrow hit the dirt behind him. I retrieved my arrow and we headed back to camp about an hour later. The next day was rainy and cold so we spent the day driving and went to the west side in search of a friend whom I knew was there, somewhere. We located what I thought was their camp, but no one was there. We then headed back to camp in hopes the rain would let up and I could get out for a few hours before 'sunset' even though we didn't see the sun at all that day. My father decided to stay at camp since he's not an archery hunter anyway, he was there for support and a second set of eyes. Sunday was the day set to head back to the hot desert of Phoenix. Today had to count. We strapped on our gear and headed out in a different direction this time. We took it slow and easy counting each ridge or small hill we climbed over. Up and down up and down, sit and rest for a few, have a snack and continue on. Up until this point my best friend and his family had been seeing lots of good bucks even with a couple of shots taken and missed. For my dad and I, we were on ourown.
After our snack break, I threw my pack on and grabbed my bow and got only about 10 steps and my dad whispered 'DEER' just as I saw them out of the corner of my eye. My heart raced. I counted 7 bucks, all but 2 being big 4 points and larger and they were walking right to me. I carefully knocked an arrow and watched as 3 lead bucks were nice 4 points rubbed out of velvet and stopped to feed. Right at that point, a beautiful, full velvet, 4x4 with perfectly symmetrical kickers went passed the 3 lead bucks and took over. At 20 yards he ducked behind a tree giving me the perfect opportunity to draw my bow and as he protruded from behind the tree my 20 yard pin found him. I released and he heard my shot so he jumped. With extreme luck, I caught a major artery in his hind quarters and he only ran about 30 yards before the pain and dizziness made him want to lay down. I was lucky, I had a chance for a second shot. This time he wasn't gonna 'jump the string'. I put another one in his heart/lung area and waited it out. My father and I don't have this kind of success so to see the look on his face was very gratifying. Did I mention this was my first time ever hunting with a bow and arrow. I had started shooting in a league about a year prior. What a hunt this was! I don't want to hunt with a rifle anymore. In January I tagged a javelina with my Bowtech and can't wait for the '08 deer season to start. Thanks for your great story and pictures mark - truly a beautiful Kaibab archery buck! Gives us all something to daydream about for the fast approaching 2008 season. SHARE YOUR COMMENTS ON THIS STORY DO YOU HAVE A KAIBAB HUNTING STORY TO SHARE? If you have any pictures and/or stories about some of your hunting experiences on the Kaibab, we'd love to hear from you! Shoot us an email at bigbucks@keytothekaibab.com with your pictures/stories so we can post them for all to see! Hunting Articles [back to top] |
|
|
Copyright © 2010 KeyToTheKaibab.com Cart by osCommerce |
Friday 30 July, 2010 |