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It was a tough year to be a coues hunter... managed to scrape out a decent buck, thought I would share.

I was in a situation where I had 36 points. I knew we were moving out of State and wanted a bison. I also wanted the whole family to participate. Raymond Ranch was perfect for that. I also had the pressure of a Commissioner and two higher-level G$F Supervisors as spectators for my hunt. I had to shoot a steel target at 100 yds and then onto the hunt. Shot a nice cow at 100 yds. in the magic triangle. Heart shot to be exact!

If you apply on the same app, you will both fall under the non-resident cap. You would be handicapping him severely by putting in on the same application.

Had a good December hunt! After a couple years of tag soup we were overdue. Between work, travel, and family schedules our time was pretty limited to get out. Had a few good days with some good bucks spotted that didn’t present any shot opportunities and the warm weather didn’t help. These two had read the script and showed up at first light exactly where we had hoped to find deer. After we figured out our play and were moving closer, the herd of at least 12-15 topped out and moved onto the next ridge. Sneaking to the top to begin searching for the bucks, the herd had really spread out and all we could find were does everywhere. Finally spotted one of the bucks way down low and started setting up for the 260yd shot. My buddy spotted the other buck and we decided which one looked better and presented the best shot. Boom…dropped right there. The second buck didn’t even move after the shot and gave us time to get set up for another shot. Boom…dropped right there within about 25 yards of each other. Radioed our friends who had been helping spot for us to bring the packs and knives! They even brought a couple of cold brews from the truck to help celebrate. Nice having a youngster in the group with a strong back to help pack out too! The two of us have been hunting together for over 10 years and have had some great times and quite a few misses and servings of tag soup. First time we’ve ever even had a chance for a double together so it was really special.

Ya,this was back in 1989,I didn't realize they would let people go out on their own now

My daughter had the tag a couple years ago, and that's what we did. After checking in we left on foot from the ranch house. I took most of the day to make a good stock and use terrain to sneak in. My daughter being young, 14 at the time had no idea it was a "canned high fence hunt". Fun experience.

you can make it as easy or hard as you want. Most hunters are successful quickly and most hunters want it that way, but if you want to find and stalk them all by yourself thats allowed now. I'm assuming this was back when you had to be "guided"/accompanied by GFD employees.

Guess what, if you hunt long enough, in enough places, you’re gonna make a mistake. And when you do, you’ll realize we are all human. All you guys care about is crucifying anyone you can.

Looks better than decent to me!

Put in on seperate apps same draw numbers for the off chance you both draw.

did i said cheating or legal cheating, where is the satisfaction of hunting whren you have that amount of people looking for that specific elk and they call you , show up and shoot, give me a break, were you one of those guys looking for the elk? if not how can you even defend the argument.

Water them really heavily for a couple of weeks. Then back of to once a week a very deep soak.

That's a nice one, congrats.

Very nice! Congratulations!

congrats, nice buck

Thanks Russ! Got mine in the ground last night! We’ll see if I can keep them alive!

dang! That sucks! I am at the point with buffalo that I only care about the meat. One of these years I will draw Raymond ranch and let one of my kids do the executing.

Anyone that is out hunting and especially guides who have clients following their lead need to know the law and hold themselves and clients to a high standards. The thing I see time and again is when people try to twist the law in their favor and know they are wrong then try to make excuses and blame others for their own actions.

I drew it again last year on accident (scrolled down when buying points to see what hunts were offered and must have accidentally clicked the July bull hunt) and ended up donating the tag an eating a $5k tag over it 🤦🏻‍♂️. I’d rather that then sit in a blind for two weeks again 😂

I'd rather shove bamboo shoots under my fingernails. That "hunt" is such cluster.

Agree, a tasty tasty petting zoo.

This was the place that got me started with western big game hunting and online hunting forums. I had dropped off of CWT for awhile as AZ became a 'build points and wait' state for me as I spent more time in CO/WY, which were also a bit more accessible to me for where I was living. I'm aching to get back and hunt AZ again and I've always enjoyed reading along with hunts and successes that other members have had. I fully believe that CWT is still one of, if not the best forum in terms of practical knowledge, helpful folks and general camaraderie. Lots has happened in the last 10 almost 11 years since I became a member-- moved three times, had three kids, left active duty for the guard, spent 8 wild years in LE, changed careers again, broke my back, hunted TX, OK, CO, WY, UT, AK, and finally we have settled in western PA on 25 acres of our own and have been able to harvest a buck and turkey here in our first year of owning it! Just wanted to drop by and say hello again to the team here at CWT!

Turkey, buck, backyard!

Coues tag started Dec 15 on Ft. Huachuca and I hadn’t had much time to hunt, so I broke away on 30th for a quick day trip. Hit the road at 3:30 AM, buck down by 8:30, and back home by noon. Glassed all morning, only picking up does and no sign of bucks. I was just about ready to pack up and move when I gave it one last look. Caught a flick of movement that gave him away. He was tucked in perfectly—never saw his head or antlers—but his body size told me he was a buck. He was about 400 yards out with no shot, so I ditched my gear and closed the distance to 225. At first I couldn’t find him and thought he might’ve slipped out, but after slowing down I picked up his legs in the same spot—standing now, still no shot. If he dipped, I was done. Instead, he turned in place and bedded back down, opening up a small 12-inch window through the brush. That was all I needed. He never made it out of his bed. Shout out to all the guys on here that gave me some knowledge and pointers! Thanks a ton! Tried adding more pics, but wouldn’t let me got some reason.

One of my pest control customers had a remodel going on and this mount fell off the wall and jacked its ears up, and a gash on the backside that can be seen. I saw it in his garage and didn't see it there before and asked what was up. He was gonna take it to the dump. I said heck no I'll take it! Dude killed it in Nevada 40 years ago, treed with dogs and got it with a bow. Dude has probably 100k worth of mounts already and apparently felt it was worth letting go. After some super glue and stain pens this dude is gonna go above the TV in the living room! Gotta repair some of the habitat too. It was a 130 lb Tom. Hopefully when I actually finally kill a lion I can reuse the form and base... Hopefully.