NewlyMinted

Wow! great buck!

Amazing post and write-ups! Thank you for sharing!!

Does the Stoeger have choked barrels or replaceable tubes? any come with?

Nice!

What is the expected success rate for free roaming bison? Is 2/25 close?

Hi everyone, I'm scouting for my first ever Coues hunt in early October. I'll be hunting solo in a remote-ish area and have been using my 12x50s on a tripod and felt really comfortable. They are Vortex Diamondbacks which was in my budget. I know they aren't on the high end, but I'm spotting deer and they are working for me until my hunting-savings account fills back up to consider something else. My question is about the spotting scope. I'm borrowing a 27-60x85 Razor HD spotter for the next 2 months and I took it for a spin yesterday and am confused if I'm an idiot or just need to adapt. I do have the ocular twisted out so it's sitting at the right distance for my eye. The eye piece is huge, my 12x50s fit snug into my eye socket and I have a clear wall to wall image. the spotting scope eye piece is too big to get up close and I seem to be dancing around to get the full FOV. It's also a lot dimmer and almost washed out. Now I know it's going to be collecting less light so the images are going to be less intense, but going from diamondback binos to razor spotter I figured the increase in quality would make them more comparable. I'm learning that my own expectation on anything related to hunting is usually the causes of my first and largest mistakes, but I'm hoping for some simple pointers here. Should there be an eye cup I didn't get for the eye piece? How can you put a 2" eye piece up against my eye without it being hit or miss? It's a angular scope so if I'm sitting with the bino's in my tripod and trying to switch to glass up the same deer with the spotter it's a nightmare to deal with. Should I not be sitting? Do I bring a second tripod? I'm hiking about a mile from the truck across rugged ground and the spotter is effing heavy. Any insight would be phenomenal. Thank you!

Awesome!

Belly hooks were killers vs. nose hooks for us on the yellowfin. We didn't use #1 hooks, just #2. Have chewable Dramamine. Take 2-4L of your own water. We had water on board, but I was grateful I had 1L nalgenes in my bag. 100SPF kids swimming spray sunscreen gets you back in action faster. Have a ton of fun, and take lots of pictures. I thought I took more, but I didn't.

I love the outdoors, but my family (and my friends as I got older) just weren't hunters. My in-laws started showing me how to shoot a while ago, but they didn't hunt, and although really fun it never convinced me I should look at researching my first firearm. Fast forward about 10 years and my new girlfriend introduced me to her dad for the first time out in the field hunting quail.. and after bagging half a dozen that morning, went home and cooked them up - I was addicted. An 870, and a 10/22 later... About 4 years ago my co-worker started talking about his muzzleloader elk and javelina adventures and how his kids preferred his peccary sausage to anything else. He shared some mule deer steak with me a couple of years ago. He grew up hunting, and the outdoors is second nature to him, so our chats were enthralling, it was so different to how I grew up. Last fall, on a black friday deal, I bought a muzzleloader and started reading avidly, and heading to the range to figure out loads and get to know my front end stuffer. Here's the list in almost exact order: The Complete Blackpowder Handbook - Sam Fadal - pretty good general info on inlines that gets repeated over and over again in most muzzleloader books, and quite a bit on roundball (which I don't shoot) The Smoking Gun - Dan Allan - amazing. this was hands down the best get to know your muzzleloader, write clearly and explain reasoning, muzzleloader book I read. It's an eBook on my kindle, and I 100% recommend. DIY Elk Hunting Guide - Dan Allan - I bought because the one above was so great. Equally well written, and although I haven't seen an Elk yet have no idea how the infomation stacks up, it was great to see him break down public land, and areas within public land and offer advice on approaches and things to consider on a DIY hunt. I knew I was going to go after Coues as my first big game animal.. but it was cool to read. Diary of a Muzzleloader Hunter - Dave Sabrowsky - literally the best book that I read on my journey so far. It tipped me over any doubt I had (a) picking a muzzleloader as my first big game firearm and (b) picking deer as my quarry. He hunts whitetail in Michigan which is not a Coues and not Arizona, but the book is literally 10 years of diary entries on his hunt. It's like you are there. The disappointment, the wins, the in jokes, the struggles, the changing of regs, etc. It's a humbling insight into another hunter's mind and I'm grateful he published it. Beyond Fair Chase - Jim Posewitz - ok so in January 2019 I started to get serious. My hunter ed class was February and I had to make sure I wasn't just bumbling into hunting without understanding more about myself and the sport. Fortunately this book really just emphasized being ethical and moral in the way I'd expected. I learned great reasoning, and it reinforced why I wanted to hunt, and how I wanted to do it. A Sand County Almanac - Aldo Leopold - I was told point blank that Ii had to read this, and I'm about 1/2 way through. It's a great book, and tribute to the history of modern conservationism. Do what's right, even if what's wrong is legal. Muzzleloading for Deer and Turkey – Dave Ehrig – great read and again good perspective on finding sign, stalking, and shooting deer. Coues White-tailed Deer - Annotated bibliography - Richard Ockenfels - I'm a scientist by training, and having this book was awesome. I could literally flick to a few pages, read the highlights and add to my growing lists of things to know or wonder about. How to Hunt Coues Deer – Duwane Adams & Tony Mandile – I was so excited this book even existed. I’d been listening to Dwayne on Jay’s podcasts and he just floored me with how much he knew and the depth of his experience. I am hopefully getting a glassing lesson from Duwane before my Oct. 11th hunt, but either way. Happy to have this in my library Hunting Butchering and cooking wild game vol. 2 – Steve Rinella – I really liked this hunting reference and explanation on how to do certain things even though dozens of you tube videos have shown me on repeat what to do The Perfect Shot North America – Craig Boddington – Also great info, and fascinating stuff. My legs when numb a few times as I kept this hand in the WC. Deer of the Southwest – Jim Heffelfinger – Oh man, this one was awesome. Between this book, tony & Duwane’s book, the bibliography and just getting out there I feel pretty good about my academic knowledge at this point on the coues. Now I just have to find the dang things right? Next to my bed that I have started or barely started are the 3 below: The still hunter – Theodore Van Dyke – written in the late 1800s amazing stuff Desert Solitaire – Edward Abbey – recommended haven’t started really. Restoring America’s Wildlife – US Dept. of Interior F&W – History and official reasoning behind the current model that makes our model the best in the world. Long list, but I’ve been reading the archive here. Threads from 2005, 6, and 7 to more recently in the last few years, and there is just a wealth of info. I want to thank everyone who’s shared their thoughts and opinions, and asked questions that have been recorded here. For a new hunter this forum has been amazingly helpful, and shows the importance of me exposing my highschoolers to the outdoors like I’ve been doing, but also taking them with me as I scout and look specifically for deer.

Awesome! That's a monster! good eating!

This is awesome! Thanks for posting!

It's my first big game hunt this October too, in a different unit. I first drove all the roads and 4x4 trails I could find to get an idea of the landscape and build a map with my favorite GPS app. I marked all the water and noted any hills (near and far) that would give me good views in a lot of directions. I poured over the USGS maps of the area and came up with specific hikes to take on the weekends to this hills noting proximity to roads and trails beyond my approach I'm still making mistakes but am finally (after months) seeing bucks and no evidence of people. It's a lot of fun out there! Enjoy it and post updates of the stuff you find!! Ed

20x $284ea covered the charter boat, a hefty general tip for the crew and captain $12 for the Mexican fishing license $25 tip for the G&G of my 5 yellowfin $60 or so for beer, 2 meals, and snacks was my galley tab but depends on how much you drink/ eat $40 for the jackpot (winner walked away with $840) The rentals were $35 for pole, reel, and hooks.. the crew on the boat added the fluoro leaders onto the mono topshot and rigged them up.

would love them!

A buddy has chartered a boat and filled it with 21 of his most available friends (and friends of friends) for the last 3 years. Total cost (including general tip for the crew) is just under $300 each for the 1.5 dayer. We have to buy our own food, and tip the guys for gutting the fish. First two years have been awesome, the 3rd year leaves port in a couple of weeks from San Diego.. I'm excited. It's a great trip and the poke bowls are amazing afterwards Your fish looks like a monster! Congrats and happy eating!

So I have a fairly basic questions for scouting and rain. Basically to understand if I should just pack up and head back to the truck, or stay put and wait. I've got a great glassing point picked out. It's about a 1.5mi hike up from the end of a rough looking double track (so might be a lot further). I was planning on using this hill to look at an almost 360 degree for as long as I can. My question is, if it starts to rain while I'm up there and it looks like it'll be 20-40 minutes, do I just wait it out and continue when it stops, or does a long drizzle/ rain generally mean the deer will be done for the day? What is their behavior after the rain stops?

Thanks! That was exactly the info I was after!

Thanks! Those sound like excellent additions!

Thanks! I recognized your picture on other threads! It's been a great resource! Feel free to release a 2019 second edition . Figuring out sign is my current quest... Found plenty of poop, but not sure if Coues rub, and if they do I'm not sure if what I think a rub is, is a rub!

What did you end up deciding? I have used Gaia on my phone and on the computer for the last 6 months, and with the fees being lower and the offline content syncing and working across all devices it's been great! They just added some hunting icons to the waypoints too.. so deer, tracks, trail camera (shh), etc. all more visual. I was using the dog for seeing live deer and the heart for sign.

Jim Heffelfinger sent me a copy of his "Tail of Two Deer" article that filled in all my other questions in figuring out Coues and Mule deer too! Really appreciate the help!

Thanks! That is super clear!

So no room for asking questions about something you're learning about? I'm just starting out and get my questions are basic, but to mix up me asking basic questions with me being safe in the field seems like a very exclusionary clique-like behavior. I get it. I'm Stoopid. But can you please explain the b&w features on the tail that make it a muley? And how is that right antler a 3 point versus a main beam with times and a nyguard? How are they different from this guy:

What about the right antler? Doesn't that show a beam with 2 tines coming off? Looks very different to the left one that's more fork and fork

One of the things that I can't seem to find desert specific info on yet is closing the gap when stalking up to a buck. I'm imagining I glass one up from fairly far away and get within 200-300yds if I'm lucky, but what are the main things to think about not doing (or just doing) when I'm trying to get close enough to a shot. At the range I'm really happy with my groups at 100yds (Accura V2 LR 112g Pyrodex RS and 300g SST), so I'm guessing with nerves, excitement and wind I'm really looking at 50-75yds as my longest shot. That's pretty close! Most desert hunts seem to be around juniper and open ground that I read or watch, but what about desert scrub mesquite. There can be so dense and so loud. If there's anything you think I can practice while I'm scouting this summer I'd appreciate it! Thanks, Ed