CouesWhitetail

Great job!!

Congratulations!

You did it right Knifeboy! I didn't realize the comment area on the donation asked what kind of sticker you wanted. Maybe I will go edit that. But the way you did it is fine and thank you for your generosity!

Nice!! Congratulations! Looking forward to the story...have fun with the quail...

a great sleeping bag and sleeping pad are essential. I use a Montbell down sleeping bag that keeps me toasty. It packs small and is lightweight but rated to 0 degrees. If it's extra cold out, I have a sleeping bag liner that I can put inside the bag for 10 more degrees warmth or so. I use a small thermarest sleeping pad. I suggest a small titanium pot for heating water and a small plastic cup for putting coffee,tea or hot chocolate in. It's a real treat to drink something warm when you are out in the cold. I love my backpacking stove, it's super lightweight and heats fast. I have a big agnes backpack tent, but I usually just take my bivy sack, it's lightweight and great protection from wind/rain while in your sleeping bag. Even if you have a warm sleeping bag, if it's not windproof (most are not) and you have wind blowing all night, you can get cold, so I like the extra layer of the bivy sack. I have a rather old water filter, that works great, but I bet they make smaller ones now. +1 on wilderness athlete products. They provide high-quality energy. Instead of taking a pillow, take a stuff sack with extra clothes to use as a pillow. That way it serves two purposes. remember to take chapstick and sunscreen....that much time outside and your lips and skin will suffer without some protection. +1 on the vasoline cotton balls +1 on extra light source and fire starters some of my gear: my tent on left......sleeping bag and therma rest on right side of the 12 inch ruler showing size

If some of you are on facebook, post the link to this thread and maybe we can reach more people to raise more money.....

I just received the first donation on this fundraising drive....thanks Remo! Let's keep them coming and do some good for kids in AZ!

Congratulations!!

Hello All, Please welcome three new sponsors of CouesWhitetail.com. CMC SkullWorks is owned by Cole Van Winkle (aka cvw789). Cole has been a member of this site for years and his business is cleaning skulls using beetles. Cole has had this business for 6 years now and averages about 90-100 skulls a year. He does a lot of work for taxidermists and guides. He can make your trophy skull look great! Check out his website to see some samples of his work. And if you are looking for full taxidermy services, you can contact Arizona Wildlife Designs. Arizona Wildlife Designs is owned by coues fanatic Devin Beck (aka Becker). Most of you guys know him from his many posts with monster Coues deer. Devin has been working with Chris Harlow for years and is now buying out that shop and creating his own business. Devin is working on getting his new website up with photos of his work. He will be adding more photos when he can, but you can check out his site now. And I am also please to announce Flatline Maps as a sponsor. Jimmy Hoffman and his wife Rynda have set up a business that creates some great waterproof maps that have many of the features of a USFS map, but yet have the topographic information also. These maps will be a great resource and you can view a sample map on his website. They have unit 6A done now, but will be making maps for all the AZ hunt units. Please remember to support those who support your passion and this website!

Great pics! That coati looks like a big male!

link not working...try cutting and pasting it again...

In honor of your granddaughter, I think we should run a donation drive for Phx Children's Hospital. I will start it off by saying that CouesWhitetail.com will donate 10 cents for every post made in the forum from Dec 1 to Dec 25. Last year in that timeframe we had about 4,000 posts, but I bet we can do a lot more than that this year. And anyone who feels motivated to donate above and beyond that can make a donation using the Donate button found on the main site under the menu on the left hand side of the main page ( http://www.coueswhitetail.com ). Make a note when you do the payment that you want the donation to go to the Phx Children's Hospital Charity Drive.

Awesome!

Love the mass on that buck!! Thanks for the write-up and congratulations!!

+1 on donating to Phx Children's Hospital!! They do a LOT of great things for kids. I was helping on a hunt last weekend for kids with the Outdoor Experience 4 All program and most of them had received many treatments there and are now cancer free! It's very sad when a child has to go through such rough stuff. Thanks for the report Lark.

A friend of mine (Bonnie) has a daughter named Annie who is really into hunting. She is a squirrel and jackrabbit hunter extraordinaire but this time she had deer and javelina tags. AGFD and SCI put on a great youth camp down in 36 and I can't say enough about Gabe Paz and Bobby Boido and all the work they did for that camp. The first morning we went to a spot a friend sent me to (thanks Eddy!) and spotted a group of mule deer almost immediately. No bucks in that group. Later we saw three whitetail bucks come across the same slope as if they were running from something. We followed and tried to relocate but never did. We drove to another location and heard a bunch of javelina fighting somewhere below us. We tried to sneak up on them, but somehow they eluded us. It was an exciting day even though we didn't get a shot. The next day was really windy and we didn't see much at all. But in the evening we found a little spike buck and tried to make a move on it. It was a perfect setup, except the daylight was fading too fast! We got 238 yards across the canyon from the buck, but it was just too dark to shoot by then. But it sure was exciting making her first stalk on a deer! She said later that sneaking on that buck was her favorite part of the hunt. So the next morning we go into that same spot hoping to find that buck again. As we get to our spot we see two giant jackrabbits hoping around the jeep. It's too dark to shoot, but I ask Annie if she wants to take one as soon as it gets light and she says "YES!". So we start getting her .22 ready while we wait for first light. She eases out of the car and one of the jackrabbits stays nearby and she stalks it and gets a shot. After a couple more shots, the rabbit is done and it's almost as big as she is! Later that morning, we see about 10 whitetail in that little canyon, but no bucks! It was crazy windy and cold, but Annie stuck it out and kept hunting. Back at camp in the evenings, we enjoyed some great meals provided by Gabe and the crew. One night they had so many dutch oven deserts it was hard to choose!! Everyone of them was great! Apple crisp, s'mores cake, blackberry/peach cobbler, pumpkin desert, and more. We also enjoyed our time around the campfire at night. Annie is one tough little kid!! She endured all the getting up early, going out in the cold, hiking around, getting stabbed by cactus, and everything else that goes along with hunting. She is a real treat to spend time with. here are some pics from our adventure: Annie spent the entire weekend in her Grong-orange CouesWhitetail.com tshirt, she even slept in it!! Looks good, don't u think? The longhorn grill in amado, az...it was all lit-up the night we went into town to get gas. Didn't get a chance to eat there, but hope to someday. Bonnie glassing.... One of the whitetail does we found had a cholla ball stuck to her nose. I felt really bad for her, but couldn't help her. here is a "find the deer" pic. There is one doe in this photo...where is it? some more digiscoped deer pics: And lastly, check out these GIANT barrel cactus we saw!! I can't believe how big these were! Wonder how old they are? Thanks to Annie and Bonnie for a very fun weekend!! I hope we get you a deer next year!

Quite the adventure....sorry you didn't get your bucks, but anytime in the woods is valuable time!

I bought this one like 15 years ago, so I don't remember the model, but I think it's the HB-25s. It extends up fairly tall so you can kneel or sit up behind it like I am in the photo. and it has the swivel which I really find useful to keep the gun level.

I have a Harris bipod and it has worked great for me! It's a bit heavy, but I don't mind, I like having the extra security of a bipod when I need it. Here is a pic of my setup when I shot a nice nontypical at about 400 yards. Extra steady with the tripod under the butt of the gun.

Come on Allen.....fess up!

Wow, busy day for you!

Wow! That is an awesome buck!

+1 Sponsor Outdoorsmans sells lots of great products, including their new backpack. http://www.outdoorsmans.com/ You can also get some great packs from another sponsor....Payson Outfitters (now Santana Outdoors). http://www.paysonoutfitters.com/servlet/St...affiliate_no=10 You can call and talk to some very knowledgeable staff at either of those two businesses. They can help you narrow down your search and get a great price.

Oh and as a reminder, if you want to be included in the Coues buck contest, make sure you send a link to your hunt story post to Doug (aka RedRabbit). His email is dkoepsel@aol.com

smoking it sounds good! My husband is great with smoking stuff on the grill, so we will definitely do some that way. I am also going to try this Duck Ramaki recipe that my friend Linda Dightmon makes at the BOW camps. I have had it before (although I think it was with dove rather than duck) and it was awesome! So if anyone is interested, I have attached the recipe. Works well with duck or dove and probably quail too! thanks for the suggestions and keep them coming! Duck_Ramaki.doc