The June 2019 Huntin’ Fool Magazine emphasized that “The biggest change to mule deer hunting this year in Arizona was the condition the deer were in because most of the state was well above normal for precipitation.” They also mentioned that even if I didn’t have enough non-resident bonus points to secure a high-end quality mule deer tag it was still important that I apply as I could possibly secure one of the random permits that would be issued by the Arizona Fish and Game Department.
I went ahead and applied for the most difficult and sought-after mule deer rifle tag available, 13B on the Arizona Strip, knowing that the draw odds in Arizona without maximum non-resident bonus points were nearly impossible. Some of my hunting enthusiast friends suggested that it was possible that I could apply for the rest of the years that I have left as a non-resident and never draw.
As Huntin’ Fool always recommends “Apply, Apply, Apply!” because someone somewhere will actually secure one of these random tags. This was considered a once-in-a- lifetime tag because at 75 years old and with relatively few non-resident bonus points I would never be able to catch up to secure one of these high-end tags.
Thanks to Huntin’ Fool’s advice and against all odds, I acquired the random 13B rifle tag! I was told that the odds for securing this particular non-resident tag were 1 in 4,341. Wow! It felt like I had just won the state lottery tag. I immediately phoned Huntin’ Fool’s Garth Jenson, and he congratulated me and confirmed that I had actually secured the random buck tag for unit 13B on the Arizona Strip. With this tag in my possession, Garth highly recommended that I hire the best guide service available for this particular unit, which would be A3 Trophy Hunts, and to do it A.S.A.P. I immediately phoned Matt Schimberg with A3 Trophy Hunts, and after congratulating me a number of times, he emailed me the contract information.
Over the next few months, Matt took time out of his very busy schedule to keep me updated on to what to expect. Leading up to the actual hunt date, Matt continually gave me very positive information regarding the upcoming adventure that was scheduled for November 8-17. He also put me in touch with my hunting guide, Woody Johnson, who turned out to be a guy who knew the Arizona Strip like it was his backyard.
I arrived in St. George, Utah on Wednesday, November 6, 2019 and immediately contacted Woody to schedule a time for some possible pre-hunt scouting. Our November 7th scouting trip turned out to be a lot of fun with some very scenic country but very few deer with a couple of forked horns and a few does. The hunt started the next day with help from Woody’s brother, Allen Johnson, and close friend, Landon Sherwood, both very capable and hardcore scouts with unbelievable hunting skills.
We hunted hard, scouted hard, and checked trail cameras daily until Thursday, November 14th when Allen and Landon spotted a “Big Buck” from across a valley closely following a number of does. Woody spotted the does and then Big Buck appeared, trailing his harem up a small hill. I could only see small glimpses of him as he occasionally showed himself as he weaved through the pinyon and juniper trees at 300+ yards. We anticipated the next small clearing where he would expose himself by watching the does move up the hillside and through the trees. Woody set me up on a tripod pointed at an anticipated travel route that the Random Tag Buck would proceed through. Sure enough, he appeared as a moving target in a very small opening at 325 yards.
Woody whispered, “That’s him. Take him.”
The .300 Remington Ultra Mag with a Barnes 180 grain VOR-TX Bullet was on its way. With the recoil and the small opening in the juniper trees, I didn’t see the buck go down. Woody said, “Let’s go check him out.”
I answered, “Would it be wise to give him time to expire?”
Woody exclaimed that he had witnessed the whole event through his spotting scope and the Random Tag Buck was absolutely down for the count. He turned out to be truly the giant buck-of-a-lifetime.
Thank you so much to Huntin’ Fool for encouraging me to “Apply, Apply, Apply!” regardless of the odds and setting me up with A3 Trophy Hunts. Thanks to my guide, Woody Johnson, his brother, Allen Johnson, and Landon Sherwood for their spotting skills. This very successful hunt would not have happened without their awesome skill set.
Above all, I want to thank our Creator for His goodness and kindness towards me, for giving me the physical health to take part in harvesting one of His beautiful creations. Again, thank you so much!
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