Chambered For The Wild

Sonora, Mexico is recognized the world over for their wide-racked mule deer. Thirty inches or wider is not uncommon on these monster bucks.

2007

 In January, I journeyed south to Rancho El Puerto Outfitters in Sonora to see for myself if the stories were true. The rut was on and the bucks were up and active. I saw several bucks hot on the heels of helpless does.

 When hunting in Mexico, be prepared for wide temperature changes. There was frost on the cactus as I headed out before dawn but by noon, I was stripping off layers of clothing in 85° heat.

 The deer are mobile, feeding, and rutting in the morning, but bed down by 10am to avoid the midday heat. It is critical to get set up before dawn in a good location to scope a wide area. With only mesquite trees and choya cactus for cover, the deer are visible from great distances as they move through the many draws and rolling hills.

 Good optics are the key to a successful Mexico hunt. You might spot a buck 1,200 yards away but without a high powered spotting scope and a steady tripod you’ll never know if it’s worth the arduous hour-long hike to get within shooting distance. Thanks to the keen eyes of guide Brian Marshall, few bucks escaped our attention.

 Brian and I used extreme stealth as we stalked our buck for the kill. The seven by five we chose to harvest was surrounded by a harem of twenty does. “That’s a lot of eyes!” Brian joked. However we got to within 240 yards before we broke cover. The does were frozen in surprise at first then spooked, taking the buck with them up hill. Nevertheless the buck stopped to check us out and it was his undoing. My heart pounding with excitement, I leveled my Thompson Center Encore 300 Win Mag. That buck did not stand a chance.

 As I approached the buck, I could see this was a trophy of a lifetime. It scored out officially at 198 5/8" SCI!

2005

 The hills of northern Mexico hold large numbers of elusive coues deer. These smaller whitetail cousins are known as the ‘grey ghost of the desert’ for their uncanny ability to disappear into the background.

 Although the techniques for hunting coues deer are similar to those for hunting mule deer, coues deer prefer lower elevations where there’s more cover. With their smaller size, dull grey coat, and love of cover, coues deer can challenge even the most experienced hunter. The scope could be directly on them but they would be invisible until they moved.

 After several days of painstaking search, we spotted a buck traveling up a draw about 600 yards from us. By the time we maneuvered into position for a shot, that buck had moved past where we had expected it to be. However the wind and cover was in our favor. We found the buck before it found us and I was able to take the shot. Anything over 100 inches is considered a good coues deer: mine scored in at 110. Despite their small size, the coues deer proved to be among the most challenging animals I’ve hunted.