Prohunt

I don't know about the ones in unit 32 but I know there were two 120" class bucks killed in 24B in 2003. Travis

Hey everyone! I think Amanda posted this topic some time back. I have taken my lab and tried to have her hunt for sheds with no luck. The only "shed hunting" training I have given her is playing fetch with sheds. I was surfing the web and found a great article on shed hunting dogs at: www.northamericanwhitetail.com The article is called "A Nose For Shed Antlers." Has anyone had any experience with this? I think it is a great idea since dogs have such great noses and can cover much more country than thier masters. Travis

I have been training my dog this past week and she is doing great. I have been hiding sheds and saying "find the bone" and she is sniffing them out! Thanks for the advice. Good luck with your Lab Josh. Travis

Bruce, That sounds great. When I was teaching my dog to retrieve ducks it really helped her to go with a dog that already knew how. I will let you know how the training goes. Travis

First of all,I do not have a short magnum. From what I have read they don't reach their full potential unless they have a 28" barrel. Most production hunting rifles are in the range of 22' to 26". With these barrel lengths the 300 WSM actually is slower than a regular 300 Win Mag. From what I understand the fastest short mags out today are the Lazzeroni's. Just my 2 cents. Travis

Bruce, Thanks for all of the tips. I am willing to take time training my dog as long as she is learning even a little. I know what Josh means this is getting me fired up too. Josh, I am one step ahead of you in training. My dog will fetch sheds, bones, even rocks. The trick for me is going to be teaching her to sniff them out. Good luck! Thanks again Bruce. Travis

Dennis, If I get to do any archery hunting in 23 I will let you know if I see any pigs. Believe it or not I have seen some huge Javalinas around Pleasant Valley. Travis

Awesome bucks! I would like to hear the long version of this hunt, it was probably a once in a lifetime hunt. Congrats! Travis

I have yet to kill a Coues with my pistol but I have killed a Javalina and a Coyote with my Thompson Center Encore in the .22-250 caliber. Like Galiuro Mtn Man said it is not as difficult as archery but just as fun. It seems like I read an article that Dan King killed a monster Coues with a pistol a few years back.. Good luck, Travis

rimhunter & galiuro mountain man, Thanks for the advice. I am going to try to train my 3 year old lab, hopefully she is not too old. It may work because she is really smart and acts like she listens to my commands. Thanks again, Travis

galiuro mtn man, I know what you mean, a couple of years ago my neighbors dog packed off and chewed a 100" class Coues shed, a non-typical carp shed and a couple of cow skulls from my yard. Now I only leave out the ones that are already chewed on. Josh, My yellow lab (actually blonde) is about 3 years old also, so I am not too sure about training her too much more but she loves to fetch sheds and ducks! I agree it would be awesome to see her bring in some big old sheds. rimhunter, Do you have any tips for training our dogs to find sheds? It is cool to actually hear from someone that has a dog that has found sheds! Thanks, Travis

Baiting is illegal in Az. but I don't believe salt is considered baiting. Travis

I have to agree with Allen that glassing is the key. Glass until your eyes hurt and then glass some more. One of the main problems with most people glassing is they give up too soon so be patient. I haven't killed any monsters in 22 but I have seen some. Several years ago I killed a 95 inch buck out of the Mazatzal's. Like Josh said it is rocky. Look for a steep, rocky/brushy spot (I just described most of the Mazatzal Mountains) and thats where the big Coues will be. On another note (since you are from Utah) it has cooled down in Az. and has been raining. Hopefully it will be even cooler in Dec. Good luck! Travis

I agree with the others, IMO there is not such a thing as overkill, especially on Coues because the shots are usually long range. Some people think I am crazy because I am building up a Sako in the Lazzeroni .308 Warbird Caliber just for Coues. Whoever told you to glass, glass, and glass some more was right. The Leica spotter you mention will be fine for finding Coues. Like Allen, I like to use my 15 power Swaro's for all day glassing because they eliminate eyestrain unlike a spotter. Even if you don't have 15 power binos I would try to tripod mount whatever binos you have. Good luck! Travis

Amanda, Have you ever thought about having some CouesWT shirts,stickers,etc. made up?I would sure buy some.I have some more pics I need to send to you, hopefully this week.Keep up the great work. Travis

Amanda, I think it is a great bumper sticker, I would buy a couple. Travis

PW, I am sure Kirk knows his stuff. If you get the info from the Lazzeroni site (such as ballistic coefficient and f.p.s.) you can go to: www.norma.cc/htm.files/javapagee.htm You can change the zero and bullet weights and more to see where the trajectory will be. Hope this helps some. Travis

I got my book a couple of days ago and read it the same day. It's great that someone finally made a book about Coues. It's cool to see pictures of people from this forum and others I know. Great book. Thanks Duane, Tony, and Amanda! Travis

I agree these are some of the best Coues pics I have seen. Travis

I can't wait to get the book. It sounds like it was worth the wait. Travis

Jason, I have always wanted to try and rattle in Coues. I think it should work from late December to mid January. I think you are on the right track with a decoy. Have you tried using scents? I think that it might work better if you had someone about 100 yards behind you rattling. I know this seems to work when cow calling for bull elk. When archery hunting they hang up at about 100 yards. If you have someone behind you doing the calling you can usually get a better shot. Also, have you ever used a grunt call for Coues? I bought one but have never tried it out. Coues are definately hard to fool but in the right circumstance I think you could do it. Travis

Sorry to hear about your stand being stolen, thats really jacked up! I was hunting near water on opening day. At about 8:00 a.m. some Javalina came in and rolled around in the mud. At around 9:45 I spotted two Coues bucks working toward my stand. It seemed like it took forever but the smaller 2 point finally came to water. He was at 25 yards but too small to harvest. The bigger buck came in after the other buck had drank but did not present a shot. He was only a 2 point but was about 12 inches tall and probably 14 inches wide. If I coulld have gotten a clear shot, I would have definately took it. You know how bowhunting these little buggers can be! Maybe I will get another chance this weekend. Travis

gino, I have to agree with More D that it depends on your rifles "sweet spot." That being said, in my custom Ruger M77 the 165 and 168 boattails shoot the best . The same thing goes for my dads old Sako 7mm mag. 2 years ago I dropped a 3 by 4 Coues in his tracks at over 500 yards with the 168 Sierra Boattails. The thing I don't agree with More D on is the ballistic tips. They were designed for varmint hunting and these little buggers are extremely tough. I know if you hit them perfectly they will go down with a .22 , but with Coues you rarely get a close shot and they won't usually stand still like a carp deer. A few years ago, a buddy of mine shot a B & C bear at about 100 yards and knocked it down. Then the bear got up and walked away. They flew the area a few days later and they saw the bear limping but very alive. You guessed it he was shooting a 7mm mag with 150 grain ballistic tips. Just my 2 cents. Good luck Travis

Dean, I agreee with you the 7 mag is not a good caliber to campare with the Lazz. Warbird, it is just the closest gun I own. I am really liking the new Lazz. 150 grain Lazerhead, they have some good info on it in the Lazzeroni Website. I may just have to give them a call. They were very helpful when it came to scope advice before. Thanks, Travis

Bret, I live in Globe and there is plenty of gas here. Regular unleaded is about $1.79 a gallon all around town. Good luck with the bear hunt. Travis