CouesWhitetail

Those are some nice elk you guys got!! Congratulations! And thanks for posting the pics. Amanda

Mike, I sent you a couple private messages through the forum. When you log on with your treestandmanonvacation account, look in the upper right part of the forum screen. There should be a place that you check for new messages. Let me know if you get them. Amanda

Funny you guys started this topic since I almost stepped on a small rattler in a canyon on my elk hunt. I was coming home in the dark and kinda stumbled over a rock when I heard that familiar buzzing sound. I looked down and he was there about 12 inches from my leg. Eeeeeekkk... I wasn't even thinking about rattlesnakes as a danger in that area. Anyway, the next morning or maybe it was two mornings later it was the best rutting activity of my elk hunt. I got into a lust-crazed herd of cows and about 8 bulls. They were fighting and screaming and trotting around all over the place. I passed on three of them, hoping to get to the herd bull. One was a 6 point at 30 yards, one a 6 point at 10 yards and one was a 5 point at 5 yards. And I was in the open when that 5 point trotted right by me and bugled. Pretty awesome to be so close to a bugling elk. He was so supercharged he didn't even notice me. Anyway, maybe it was the rattlesnake that kicked in the rut Amanda

That is where I sent it. Send me another private email from the account you want me to mail you at and I will use the reply feature. Amanda

Sorry to be slow getting back to you. I was out elk hunting the last two weeks. I just got back an hour or so ago and sent you an email today. Amanda

Thanks for the link, that is a good article. Amanda

Congrats on all your success Recurveman! What unit were you in? I definitely think hunting the elk in the rain gives the hunter the advantage. The only problem is with your equipment (like stanley's peep sight plugging up, and my range finder fogging up, or Lark's glasses ). But I love how quiet you can walk in the wet woods. Amanda

Hi all, I was out archery hunting yesterday. Went with a friend and we glassed in the morning and saw several does and fawns. Didn't see twin faws, but several singles and they were very playful, kicking their heels up and running all over. Cute little things. I have seen at least one set of WT twin fawns and also one set of MD twins on another trip. I am wondering what you guys are seeing for fawns? Looks like a good year for deer reproduction to me. In the late morning we went and sat some water. My buddy took a shot at a 2 point at 45 yards but missed. The only deer I had come in to my area snorted and took off before I even saw it . I was hoping to have a lion come in to the water but no luck. I am leaving today for my elk hunt in 6A north. Can't wait!!! Good luck to all the archery deer and elk hunters! Amanda

Congrats Stanley on your cow! Sounds like you did some great tracking and sneaking to get it. Doug--Glad to hear it has cooled off in Flag. I sure hope they crank it up some by the time I get back. Amanda

I was up in 6A north for the last week. When I got up there, the bulls were calling all night around my tent. However, that was about three days before the season opened. Then over the next couple days they felt a little pressure from people out scouting and just shut up. It was hotter than heck during the first few days of the season, must have at least been 95 degrees and only cooling to the 60's or high 50's at night. Not great hunting weather. But then that mega-rainstorm came through and the bulls started to get more vocal again. It rained for over 24 hrs (with only minor breaks) where I was. Had an exciting hike back to camp in the dark with rain howling sideways at me and lightning flashing so bright the whole area light up like it was daytime for a few seconds. The bulls still don't seem to be quite worked up yet. I got within 50-100 yards of a herd bull a few times but still haven't seen how big he is due to the thickness of the trees. Most days the bulls stopped bugling by 7 am and didn't start in the evening until 5 pm or even later. The small bulls aren't calling yet. I did get to watch two spikes have a sparring match at a tank one evening. Pretty funny to watch. I am back home now and figure I will give it a few days for the rut to pick up again. Just before the season I sat some tanks in the afternoon hoping to get a whitetail buck. However, only a doe and her two fawns came in. The fawns were tiny. In fact at first when I saw them out of the corner of my eye I thought that they were jackrabbits. Here are the pics. Amanda

Great bull Bret!! Congratulations and thanks for posting the pic and the hunt details. Amanda

Hope you had a great bday! Amanda

Anyone get a WT this past weekend? I didn't get to go out since I was in San Diego, but I am dying to hear some stories. Thanks TSM for posting his. Amanda

Great photo. I hope you get him (or whichever other one you are targeting)! Amanda

Congrats Treestandman!!!! Amanda

From AZGFD. Visit www.azgfd.com for more info. Wildlife News Aug. 16, 2004 Public meetings set on selected alternatives to 10-percent rule The Arizona Game and Fish Commission on Aug. 14 analyzed a list of more than 20 ideas to protect resident hunting opportunities. The action came in response to a federal court ruling declaring unconstitutional Arizona's 10-percent cap on nonresident applicants for certain big game species. The commission has directed the Game and Fish Department to begin drafting rule language and collecting public comment on nine of the 20 alternatives. Rule making for the changes is now on a fast-track so the department can implement the changes by April of next year, when the commission adopts big game hunt orders for the 2005-06 hunting season. As part of that rule process, the department will conduct pubic meetings starting this week to collect input on the nine alternatives selected. The meetings all start at 6 p.m. Here are the dates and locations: Aug. 18, Pinetop, Region I office, 2878 E. White Mountain Blvd. Aug. 20, Flagstaff, Region II office, 3500 S. Lake Mary Road. Aug. 23, Mesa, Region VI office, 7200 E. University Drive. Aug. 24, Tucson, Region V office, 555 N. Greasewood Road. Aug. 25, Yuma, Region IV office, 9140 E. 28 St. Aug. 26, Phoenix, La Quinta Inn, Greenway Road and I-17. Aug. 27, Kingman, 5325 N. Stockton Hill Road. The alternatives before the public and the commission are: Award additional bonus points for continuous support. Also referred to as "loyalty points," these points would be awarded to people who have been applying for big game hunts or buying licenses consecutively for a designated period of time, for example, for five years. Award a conservation bonus point to individuals who participate in wildlife work projects. There are several variations of this proposal and the department has been directed to consolidate and refine a final proposal for public input. Charge up front for applications over the Internet, using electronic funds transfers instead of credit cards, or do away with the online application process altogether. Increase license and permit fees, which would require legislation. Require all big game drawing applicants to purchase a hunting license. Increase the draw application fees. This would require legislation. Increase the bonus point pass percentage from 10 percent to 20 percent, which would mean setting aside 20 percent of big game permits for individuals with the most bonus points. Create a nonresident set-aside based on capped percentages and conduct a separate nonresident draw for these tags. Create commercial and noncommercial big game tags, with 90 percent of the tags designated as noncommercial, available only to residents, and ten percent as commercial, available equally to residents and nonresidents. Another version of this proposal would change the law to completely eliminate commercialization of wildlife to permit reinstatement of the 10 percent nonresident cap. The department is also accepting public comment on the alternatives via its Web site, azgfd.com. To access the submission form, look under "What's New." At the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Game and Fish Commission, Sept. 17-18 in Safford, commission members will be poised to approve the rule making needed to implement some or all of the alternatives and is also expected to give the department direction on pursuing legislation for the same purpose.

Yes, I know this has nothing to do with Coues deer, but it's the season to be harvesting prickly pear fruits and there is a HUGE crop this year. My husand and I have been harvesting and juicing ppears for several years now. The juice is a beautiful magenta color. The flavor is light and unique. It's most similar to watermelon, but is not really the same. It's not real sweet, but it mixes great with other juices and drinks like orange juice, ice tea, gatorade. Or you can drink it straight over ice for a refreshing drink. But we also use it for Margaritas!! Which makes a fun and beautiful drink. You just add as much ppear juice as you want to your usual margarita mix. I will be making a bunch of margaritas this weekend for the ladies that are attending the Becoming an Outdoorswoman workshop in Prescott. I teach some classes there and we have a social on Friday night where I started a tradition of making them ppear margaritas a few years ago. Anyway, just wanted to let you guys know that the pears are ripe for the picking. Anyone else ever do this? Take the kids out and have some fun. I use a five gallon bucket and some metal tongs. To help remove spines once I get home, I roll them around on the driveway with a rake and then rinse them in a bucket. Then I use a regular mechanical juicer to separate the juice. Then take the juice that comes out and put it in a large container of some kind and let it sit overnight. The next day you can scoop off the pulpy stuff that didn't strain from the juicer. What is left is perfect juice ready to drink! If you don't have a juicer, use a blender and strain it through some kind of cloth or tight colander. It's pretty pulpy, so you don't want too fine a strainer or it plugs up too much. Maybe some of you guys have your own trips and tricks for this. Amanda

The AZ Deer Association is holding it's annual deer hunter's clinic in Phx on Aug 19. Anyone going? Should be a great event. Duwane Adams and Jim White (CW.com sponsors) and Jay Gates will be speaking. Coueshunter (Allen Taylor)will be the moderator too! Anyone planning to go? I will be there and it should be a really good event. For info on when and where, visit www.azdeer.org Amanda

The clinic is $10 or free with the purchase of an ADA membership. Here is the link to the ADA site info: Deer Clinic Info It will be a good one. Amanda

So......Is anyone else going? Amanda

Newbie, The Arizona Deer Association is holding a clinic for deer hunter's next week in Phx. There will be several excellent speakers talking all about how to hunt deer in AZ. They will go over techniques and optics and such. Should be a great clinic. And several of the speakers are CW.com sponsors. Duwane Adams and Jim White will be speaking. Everyone should consider going!! For more info go to www.azdeer.org Amanda

You might contact your local game warden. I have heard of them allowing salvage of a deer even if you didn't hit it as long as they know when and where and generally if they have checked out the animal to make sure it wasn't poached. I too think it's a shame that people can't use the road kill. Amanda

I just received the fall Cabela's catalog and there are tons of different models of game cams in there. Many are digital, which is what I really want. There is one that has an infrared flash so the animals are not spooked if they are photographed at night. Sounds like a great feature to have. It also stamps the temperature at the time the animal is seen. Might be good info to have too. But it's several hundred dollars... Amanda

For those of you that haven't checked out his work, here is the link to see the paintings: Mike Fabritz artwork Glad you like the painting Allen. Sounds like a great idea on the frame! And don't forget if you guys have a picture that you like, maybe of you and a trophy from a hunt, Mike can paint a replica of it so you can have a larger version to hang on your wall. Amanda

Glad you are going. I won't be there, but I wanted to post the meeting schedule for those who might not have seen it. Basically AZGFD is holding a few meetings to gather input on how to solve the NR tag issue. Here is the meeting sched: Meeting Dates Time Location 8/3/04 6 pm ? 8 pm Region I Office ? 2878 E. White Mountain Blvd., 8/5/04 6 pm ? 8 pm Region II Office ? 3500 S. Lake Mary Road, Flagstaff 8/3/04 6 pm ? 8 pm Region III Office ? 5325 N. Stockton Hill Rd., Kingman 8/6/04 6 pm ? 8 pm Region IV Office ? 9140 E. 28th St., Yuma 8/3/04 6 pm ? 8 pm Region V Office ? 555 N. Greasewood, Tucson 8/3/04 6 pm ? 8 pm Region VI Office ? 7200 E. University, Mesa You can also submit your input online at the AGFD website. here is the link to page where you can leave comments. AGFD - NR comments Also, if you go to that link you can read a history of this court case. Amanda