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I was fortunate enough to take my biggest coues buck to date this last Saturday along side two of my very good buddies Patrick and Trey. I wanted to hunt a new area that I have always thought would hold a good buck or two. I’ve just been very hesitant to go up in there because the country is so rugged. Saturday started off early. Our alarms went off at 3:15 am and it was finally game time. I was very excited as this was my first coues Hunt since my last one in 2016. We started hiking at 4:30am and finally arrived to our glassing spot just before 6:15am. 45 minutes into glassing I found what looked like a deer. Sure enough it was a little buck. I was excited to see this deer cause up till then all we had seen is one doe. As I was looking at this little guy I noticed a deer in a shadow underneath him. I zoned in on this deer and he finally picked his head up and right away I knew he was a good buck. I quickly called Patrick and trey to head over to where I was at. Patrick and trey finally got to me and we busted out our big glass and started examine this buck. After about 10 minutes of looking I knew I wanted to kill this deer. He and his two buddies ended up bedding at about 8am. After coming up with a game plan, Patrick and I bailed off the mountain as trey stayed back to keep eyes on the deer. An hour or so later Patrick and I finally got to the spot where we thought we could get a shot. 5 minutes into glassing Patrick finds him bedded 515 yards away. We quickly set up the 28 nosler on a rock and I settle in. Boom! My first shot goes off. Patrick says “you hit high shoot again”. I rack another round on and try to find the buck again. I finally found him still laying there in the same spot. I settle in again.... BOOM! Patrick again says “dude you hit high again aim lower!” At this time the buck is standing and is aware something is not right. I’m startled because the scope is dialed into exactly what the dope sheet says and I’m laying prone as steady as can be. BOOM! I shoot again this time hitting low. At this point the buck is terrified and knows something is not right. He runs down the mountain 30 yards and I find him again. BOOM! WHACK!!! I could hear the billet finally connect. Patrick is telling me “you hit him you hit him!” Finally a sign of relief on my end. The buck runs down the mountain 200 yards where he finally expired in a patch of oak trees. Patrick and I load up our gear and call trey on the radio to tell him to head on over that we had got the buck. It took Patrick and I about 45 minutes to get across the canyon to my deer. I finally got to him and I was in disbelief that i had just killed this beautiful coues buck. Trey finally got to us about an hour or so later and we quickly took pics and then started on cutting the deer up to get off the mountain. We finally got back to camp where we met up with my dad. He was nice enough to drive all the way out to camp to bring up some steaks to celebrate my best coues yet. Special thanks to Patrick and Trey. I couldn’t have done it without you guys!!! Special thanks to my dad Steve for coming out and bringing us food! 🤣🤣. Hope you all enjoy the pics. Steven

A buddy and I decided to go out last Friday to look for bears. The wind made glassing tough... as I'm sure it was for a lot of deer hunters out this past weekend. As luck would have it, we glassed up a nice looking bear feeding away. We worked our way into position a couple of times in the morning, but couldn't get a clear shot. He would casually feed over a small ridge or into some thick cover and we'd re-position. I also wanted to cut the distance a bit more than usual considering the wind. I worked my way into a better position and found him feeding again right around noon. Worked a little closer and had a great rest at 223 yards. I couldn't be happier with this bear... he has battle scars and a big blocky head with character and a beautiful jet black coat.

My Girlfriend Ashley got it done in a big way this past Friday and knocked down a monster first Coues Deer! It was our only full day to get out and hunt together so we decided to roll the dice on a special buck that i've had 3 years of history with. It all happened so fast and was/is surreal because everyone knows that 99.9% of the time the stars just don't line up for you. I still can't believe that we got him and I am very proud of the effort Ashley put into harvesting this beautiful creature. DAN

The Buenos Aires wildlife Refuge (BANWR) in units 36a,36b,36c is doing what they call a scoping survey.they are talking about potentially opening up the hunting and take of Bobcat,Mountain Lion,Badger and Coati.currently and in the past this refuge allowed the take of coyote,skunk,fox but not for cats or coati.At this time they are asking for comments and opinions for or against.In my opinion the place is over run with all predators,especially cats big or small.with the thousands they have spent trying to get a population of masked bobwhite quail only to watch their numbers go to zero every time they have realeased birds,I thought they ought to hear from us.The gentlemen I talked to said they are proposing that the refuge expand their hunting laws to make them congruent with state hunting law: as in allowing the take of All predators.They are also assuming most of the response on this will be from the usuals; the anti hunting population.I would like to say they are wrong.Send comments and opinions for or against to:Stan_Culling@FWS.Gov

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So the first two days we spotted no elk. We started off way high in aspen/ pines but to no avail. Finally decided to hit areas of success from the past. I was dropped off first and spotted a bull within 30 min of slow stalking. Found the cows within half hour later. Put on a stalk and got within one range. Later than evening my buddy got one in a thicker area near the Nordic center. 2/4 success; great week hunting!!!

Back when grandpa asked you to do something, was wise not to argue or dottle.

This refuge is entertaining the notion of allowing the hunting and take of lion,bobcat and Coati.this has all been closed in the past though you could take coyotes and fox etc.personel at BANWR admittedley know there are a huge population of these predators.they also admittedly believe most of the response they are soliciting will come from antis.what they are proposing is the expansion of refuge hunting laws to be in line with AZ hunting regulation, as in the hunting of lion and Bobcat.they are currently looking for public input.i am hoping we can unleash a tsunami of of hunters opinions on this matter. Send comments and/opinions to the assistant manager. stan_Culling@FWS.Gov

Was able to fill my cow elk tag in unit 27 this past weekend and wanted to share this little clip of how we loaded my elk up on the trailer with the help of some loggers clearing up the burn from the Wallow Fire that happened 8 yrs ago. tipped the scales at 320 lbs completely skinned. They think it weighed 420 total. IMG_0181.mov

My wife has tagged out on 3 nice bucks on opening day the last 3 years since she decided to start hunting. The deer were holding tight at first light due to the wind. When I changed glassing seats I used the chest binos to scan closeby hills and found this fella and another buck at 700 yards. We boogied over there and got nice and close when he was bedded down. The shot was 140 yards.

Kids Horse! Pack Horse! Grade Mare. 14 years old. Best for young beginner/intermediate rider. She is short, maybe 13 hands? Would make great goat or beginner rodeo horse if someone spent the time with her. Doesn’t have the best neck reign, needs a little more training. Well mannered and easy to be around. Don't have to worry about getting into a wreck with this one!! Easy keeper as well! She is a little off in one shoulder from time to time, not an issue as long as you don’t hammer her all day. I’ve had her packing loads in the mountains for 5-6 hours straight and she does fine. As long as you take it easy. She's been on several backcountry multi day hunts, not the biggest back horse but she can still carry a 150-200 pounds of dead weight. She's packed a mid size man in the mountains as well and loved it! Priced to sell!! $1,000 OBO Call or Text Jason 602-292-9264

This morning I bought my plane tickets to arrive in Phoenix on January 4th and depart on the 8th. Up until now I was kind of in the planning stages but it’s really set in that I’m going coues hunting!! I tried to take everybody's advice about going on a hunt before burning my points. Well it worked out that way because I struck out on drawing a late December rifle tag that I had great odds to draw. I figured that was a sign that I better go bow hunt, figure out the unit for a few days, and go back next year. Luckily I’ve got a buddy that lives in Colorado who wanted to go down and give it a try too. He’ll drive down and pick me up while I fly from Wyoming. It’s going to be a great adventure and hopefully a nice break from the northern winter!

Thank you for the congratulations everyone, still can't believe it really happened. Well it started off as a very chilly morning, we hiked in and got to our spot just as it was light enough to see and set up. A target clearing straight out in front of us and two smaller clearings to either side. We both picked a side to watch and the chill set in. Wind wasn't too bad but started to act up as the first hour went by. I suppose we picked up some luck with low creeping smoke from surrounding prescribed burns slowly filling the area. Another hour gone and after a little stretching and shuffling to stay warm and comfy, i feel a tap on my shoulder and Ashley has a buck coming in to our right. I can see he's at least a mature 3pt and take a closer look, 90" buck with decent length but spindly. I let her know he's a mature 3pt but not the big guy we're after and ask if she wants to take him. She hesitates for a few moments and then perhaps due to the cold chill she says "yea i'll take him". So we start getting set up in his direction as he's feeding in, then out of the corner of my eye i catch movement to our left. I notice it's another mature buck in the clearing straight out in front of us but he puts his head down just as i focus in. His head comes back up and what do you know it's the Big Guy!!! I immediately go into panic mode and start to set Ashley up in his direction shushing at her while i'm the one making all the noise LOL. We ( i ) calm down and the buck starts to feed again to his left giving her a perfect broadside shot. She makes a great shot right behind the front leg and he goes into the classic diving run, hitting the ground several yards away as we both jump up in excitement. After a finishing shot, Ashley has her first coues deer and i close the book on a beautiful buck that i've had the pleasure to watch for the last few years. Here's a few pictures of him from 2017 when he was a typical 5x4, 2018 when he was almost a typical 5x5, and from this year. He's always had a 4x4 frame but this year he definitely put on the mass, 33"s to be exact. Rough tape of 120 7/8". DAN

I can't help you in terms of camp grounds but I struck out on all my draws this year and am just waiting for archery to open again. I live on the northern border or 34A so I'm not far away from there. If you would like an extra set of eyes I'd be more than happy to help you glass up some deer in an unfamiliar unit. No worries if not but feel free to PM me if you're interested. Good luck.

Cheater! We had to man handle two cows into the back of my Ranger.

Thats a beautiful buck! He looks completely different at every angle, very cool.

The Costanza Wallet returns. 😳

That is nice, but where would I fit all this?

^^^^^ This! Kind of like taking young ones on their first fishing trip. It's all about them. The 1st few hunts should not be a marathon. Still fairly warm, watch for snakes. Also, IMO, don't shoot at birds the dog does not point & hold. Have fun!

I would recommend taking your dog out solo on his first hunt. Too many distractions and he can forget his training. I would tag him out alone and consider it extended education.

Still a bunch cheaper than going to Sonora.

Didnt know ford started making SXS lol jk.

i just drive a sxs that nobody wants.

this is an excellent post krp. said what a lot of folks have thought but couldn't put in words. posse hunting, i like that. good term. last year the same players in this fiasco had a big blow up in nevada because they had a big bull spotted and figured that because they had a guy with a lot of money that it was their elk and everyone else had to leave it alone. i guess another outfitter took a guy on the hunt and he shot it. there was a lot of mudslingin' over that deal. for some reason some folks think that whoever forks out the most money is the guy that should have dibs on things. a few years ago an old guy that can't even carry his own rifle bought an Az. pronghorn tag and shot a buck that was eventually recognized as the world record. only problem was that a college kid killed a buck the same year, with no guide and barely enough cash to make the hunt, that tied it. a guy i know said there was a lotta mad folks over that deal because this ol' dude had spent so much on the hunt and some kid from nowhere got one just as big. personally, i think all these extra curricullar tags should be raffle only. let everyone have a shot at them and maybe cut out some of this market hunting. if a guy wants to buy a tag for a huge bull, he can always hunt san carlos. Lark.

this is big bull. whether it is a free ranging bull or a high fence plant, remains to be decided. and whether it's ok to use an army of guys to find it, well that's a matter of opinion too. after all the junk that went on in the unit where this took place, well it really gives a lot of folks a black eye, and really gives hunting in general a kick in the groin. there were knifed tires, death threats, and all kindsa other presumed sabotage associated with this deal. there are gonna be hard feelings all over the place, forever, over this deal. no matter how it turns out, there will always be a controversy surrounding it. if folks have the money, time, and don't care about what really are negative things involved in this type of pursuit, then have at it, i guess. this reminds me a lot of the guy in Az. last year who waited until the last few days of a year long season and shot a bull in the subdivision. who's to say he was wrong? he was convicted of something, seems like pretty minor, but if he's ok with it, then i guess it's ok. but there were so many other ways to accomplish his goal that wouldn't have caused any problems, i don't see why they allowed things to go the way they did. and it did some real harm to the perception of hunting. and i know this, if you're going to be so close to the law that it takes a tape measure to determine if you're legal or not you oughta think about it awhile longer. same here. not that any laws were broken, but there has been a lot of damage done to the perception of hunting. it is going to give a lot of ammo to anti's and it is going to cause a lot of animosity within the hunting community because of folks being for it and against it. personally, i don't see where the amount of money that goes into hunting budgets from these type of tags is enough to cover the cost of the negative perception. but that's my opinion. a big ol' bull that deserves to be remembered better, is always going to have a controversy around it. same with the shipsey bull. monster bull. deserves to be in b&c for sure, but isn't. i mean at least the elk oughta be recognized. if the guys in the club don't like shipsey, at least recognize the elk. it wasn't poached. from what i remember it wasn't allowed because either his mother or wife or girlfriend, some female, gave him the tag as a gift and their name was on it and not his. the rez didn't care and it was legal per them. that's how i remember it went down. could be wrong, but i remember reading something about that. the b&c was not about to let him enter it for other reasons, but i'm pretty sure that was the excuse they used. what we all need to think about is what we wouild do in the same situation. i guess i'm a little different, but if i had a tag like that, last thing i'd want was a buncha folks with me. me and my boys are enough for me and i think between us we could come up with a decent animal to shoot. o' 'course it would be nice to have a buncha guys to help pack it to the road. but then, again, i have a mule. Lark. p.s. does anyone know how much $$$ was brought in by the raffle tags, as compared to the auction tags? maybe they oughta just raffle all these kinda tags and not have an auction. the auction automatically excludes anyone who isn't extemely wealthy, and i think this is where most of the hard feelings come from.