Opening Day on The Strip

By: Blake Chapman

After applying for as long as I can remember, it is finally my turn to tell a story of an amazing Arizona Strip hunt. Although I have always been hopeful to draw a Strip tag, I am enough of a realist, that I have kept my expectations to a minimum. But for some reason, I just had an unexplainable gut feeling that it was going to happen. When it did, I found myself really happy and almost disappointed all at the same time. You see, 2007 had already started out, as one of the driest years in history and it was disappointing to think about the affect it was going to have on antler growth. Still, it was a Strip tag and I had no plans to give it back. So I’ll quit whining and get on with the good stuff.

I have been friends with Chad Smith and Bryon Goswick since we were kids. Chad owns and operates Vaquero Outfitters and Bryon is one of Chad’s top guides. In addition to these two, over the past few years, I have become friends with Matt Shimberg—another one of Chad’s top guides. With the committed help of these guys, I knew that no matter what, I was going to have as good of an opportunity as a guy could possibly ask for. The truth be told, I felt a little bad for my buddies because I knew they were not going to get paid very well hunting with me…but that’s what they get for having a friend with a tag.

Another good friend of ours that played a role in my success story is Pax Prentiss. Pax has purchased the Arizona auction deer tag for the last two years and he took an awesome 41-inch wide giant in 2006. Although the bar was set quite high, Pax would be back in 2007 to try and find another awesome buck from the Arizona strip.

Early summer found Vaquero Outfitters back at it again. I started my scouting during the first of July and except for a couple of weeks during elk season, I made the five-hour trip back and forth from my home in Kingman to the Strip every weekend between July and November. (I lost track of how many combined days we all had in before the hunt, but it was more than I care to admit.) it did not take long to figure out that the drought conditions would be a major factor. Nearly all of the dirt tanks that usually hold water were bone-dry, and had been that way for a long time. About the only water to be found were the ones that the ranchers were taking care of and a few game waters that were still working. I had to keep telling myself that there was bound to be some of those old smart bucks out there that knew how to make a living when the going got tough.

As time went on, our scouting efforts were proving to be very tough. However, that all changed around the end of August when Bryon found a great buck that was super heavy and looked to be around 230 inches. Then, only a week later, I spotted a buck that also looked big. I couldn’t tell for sure what he was, but I knew he was probably the best I had seen so far.

The following weekend I had my nephew, Cole, and Bryon and his son, Clancy, all out looking for the buck. We found him bedded down late on Saturday morning. He turned out to be a really neat nine by seven that was about twenty-nine inches wide and that would score about 230. Chad got a hold of Pax but he was not interested in either of the big bucks we had found…but I sure was!

With a week until opening day, I went up to stay until my hunt was over. Unfortunately, it was looking very grim and as opening day grew closer, we were not having any luck finding the bucks we had targeted. We did not know it at the time, but the buck that Bryon had found had already been killed by a lion only a few days after Bryon last saw him. His skull was found by some lucky shed hunters some time after then hunting season was over. The amazing buck had mass that was pushing 50 inches and he grossed right at 230 B&C!

The day before the season, I headed to where Vaquero’s camp was set up. Shortly after I arrived, I learned that Chad had found a big typical that was probably over 200 and Bryon had spotted another big buck. I asked if Pax wanted me to go hunt the biggest buck we knew about. I did not argue at all but I surely hoped that his generosity and patience would pay off for him. Chad continued on, describing the better of the two bucks to be extremely tall and heavy. He was in an area that could be really tough to catch a break so I tried to prepare myself for a long hunt.

At 3:30 am we were ready. Matt was going to go up on a high point were he could glass and Chad and I would get right in close. Not long after light, Matt glassed up some deer about a mile away and after making a hard push to get closer, Chad and I glassed up some does through some thick trees. We closed the distance and came right out on top of the buck as he was standing 360 yards out. I quickly got set up for a shot and after a few tense minutes, I was ready. However, the buck wasn’t showing us everything we needed to be confident for a clean shot, so a short waiting game ensued. All the while I was thinking just why my guide buddies weren’t telling me to shoot a giant buck at 8:30 on the opening morning of a Strip hunt! I had a lot of confidence in what Bryon had told me about the buck, and I knew that we were just making sure he was the right one. Finally, the buck turned his head and it was a green light! In an instant, I pulled the trigger and the buck went down hard! We made sure the buck was down for good, and after a few moments the silence was broken with some deserving high five’s. That’s when the party got started!

I don’t know how my hunt could have been any better—it just doesn’t get any better! My buck is a six by six with a 27-inch wide frame and a gross score was 228 2/8! His frame tapes out at 212 and he has some giant G4’s, measuring at 16 inches! I could not be happier and have never regretted shooting my buck on the first day. I’ve got to give thanks to my buddies—Chad Smith, Bryon Goswick, Matt Shimburg, and Pax Prentiss—for all that they did for me. If you get a chance, you should check out Chad’s website at vaquerooutfitters.com.