wr coues 2018A panel of Pope & Young Club measurers recently scored a non-typical Coues deer at 139 2/8, which ties the existing P&Y record for that category. (The rack’s velvet was stripped prior to the official measurement.) The magnificent deer was shot by Wesley Ely of Wilcox, Arizona in August 2017. Here is Wesley’s story in his words:

It all began on a summer scouting trip in 2013 when I noticed a young buck with massive antlers. I continued to scout and occasionally hunt the area while the buck kept getting bigger each year.

In 2017 I decided to devote all of my time off to find the buck’s summer habits. Sixteen days before opening day, I began to pattern this elusive animal. On opening day in the middle of public land, I couldn’t help but hope that I was the only person chasing this big Coues deer.

I watched the buck through my binoculars for 4 hours that morning and waited until he bedded down for the day. After an hour hike into the canyon, I was looking at the biggest Coues buck I had ever seen. In a stalk that seemed like an eternity, I crept and crawled closer to this small-bodied giant. I took my time, carefully applying all the things I had learned for years on how to make a successful stalk.

As I released the arrow, my heart filled with hope and anticipation! Shaking with excitement, I watched through binoculars as the buck, with a complete pass through, slowly disappeared over the hill. When I discovered the Coues buck I had been hunting for 4 years lying motionless, I was in complete awe. I sat silently for a few minutes, admiring this intelligent animal and reflecting on what a humbling challenge it had been to take such an incredible buck.