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msgbarney

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About msgbarney

  • Rank
    Advanced Member
  • Birthday 07/05/1968

Profile Information

  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    Hereford, AZ
  1. msgbarney

    Sick of the Arrogance

    Very well put coach! Since I got stationed here in 2007 I have been addicted to Coues hunting. I had no clue what the heck to do or where to find them. True some people on this site are more secretive than the deer themselves, but it didnt stop me from wanting to learn. The first two years were tag soup. My one and only Coues was in 2009, a small spike. It definitely hurts when the the hunt is over, because the enjoyment had to end. I had fun, I was in the woods, didnt have to worry about work, and I learned more about Glassing, stalking, and Coues than most non SE hunters will ever know. Best of all, I made some new friends, some on this site that have offered to put me on a good Coues when I got back from Afghanistan, unfortunately I will be in El Paso this season. The friendship and camaraderie lost here will be forever, which is sad. The years you two/three spent hunting together is all lost, memories, beers by the campfire all gone. I do wish you all great success in your quest(s). There is three good stories here, and Im sure the truth is in the middle somewhere. My DIY hunts are to gain experience, and time with my son teaching him the fieldcraft. Great to know that I know what to call a hooved animal, and one with several chambered stomachs. Good luck to all this season.
  2. msgbarney

    Win a Havalon Knife

    Maybe once the site is up, offer a weekly or monthly give away to registered users, this might increase your sales and spread your products by word of mouth. Also offering Military discounts is always a hit. Looks great though.
  3. msgbarney

    You Decide...

    Well as far as the deers behavior at long range, they know that the shooter couldn't hit the broad side of a barn, so why not stay and graze. Shorter range, the blast of the rifle coupled with breaking bushes and flying rocks most likely made them run off.
  4. msgbarney

    New Guess the Score contest

    104 7/8 Nice Deer
  5. I found this quite humorous and thought I would share. Why we shoot deer in the wild (A letter from someone who wants to remain anonymous, who farms, writes well and actually tried this) I had this idea that I could rope a deer, put it in a stall, feed it up on corn for a couple of weeks, then kill it and eat it. The first step in this adventure was getting a deer. I figured that, since they congregate at my cattle feeder and do not seem to have much fear of me when we are there (a bold one will sometimes come right up and sniff at the bags of feed while I am in the back of the truck not 4 feet away), it should not be difficult to rope one, get up to it and toss a bag over its head (to calm it down) then hog tie it and transport it home. I filled the cattle feeder then hid down at the end with my rope. The cattle, having seen the roping thing before, stayed well back. They were not having any of it. After about 20 minutes, my deer showed up-- 3 of them. I picked out a likely looking one, stepped out from the end of the feeder, and threw my rope. The deer just stood there and stared at me. I wrapped the rope around my waist and twisted the end so I would have a good hold.. The deer still just stood and stared at me, but you could tell it was mildly concerned about the whole rope situation. I took a step towards it, it took a step away. I put a little tension on the rope .., and then received an education. The first thing that I learned is that, while a deer may just stand there looking at you funny while you rope it, they are spurred to action when you start pulling on that rope. That deer EXPLODED. The second thing I learned is that pound for pound, a deer is a LOT stronger than a cow or a colt. A cow or a colt in that weight range I could fight down with a rope and with some dignity. A deer-- no Chance. That thing ran and bucked and twisted and pulled. There was no controlling it and certainly no getting close to it. As it jerked me off my feet and started dragging me across the ground, it occurred to me that having a deer on a rope was not nearly as good an idea as I had originally imagined.. The only upside is that they do not have as much stamina as many other animals. A brief 10 minutes later, it was tired and not nearly as quick to jerk me off my feet and drag me when I managed to get up. It took me a few minutes to realize this, since I was mostly blinded by the blood flowing out of the big gash in my head. At that point, I had lost my taste for corn-fed venison. I just wanted to get that devil creature off the end of that rope. I figured if I just let it go with the rope hanging around its neck, it would likely die slow and painfully somewhere. At the time, there was no love at all between me and that deer. At that moment, I hated the thing, and I would venture a guess that the feeling was mutual. Despite the gash in my head and the several large knots where I had cleverly arrested the deer's momentum by bracing my head against various large rocks as it dragged me across the ground, I could still think clearly enough to recognize that there was a small chance that I shared some tiny amount of responsibility for the situation we were in. I didn't want the deer to have to suffer a slow death, so I managed to get it lined back up in between my truck and the feeder - a little trap I had set before hand...kind of like a squeeze chute. I got it to back in there and I started moving up so I could get my rope back. Did you know that deer bite? They do! I never in a million years would have thought that a deer would bite somebody, so I was very surprised when ..... I reached up there to grab that rope and the deer grabbed hold of my wrist. Now, when a deer bites you, it is not like being bit by a horse where they just bite you and slide off to then let go. A deer bites you and shakes its head--almost like a pit bull. They bite HARD and it hurts. The proper thing to do when a deer bites you is probably to freeze and draw back slowly. I tried screaming and shaking instead. My method was ineffective. It seems like the deer was biting and shaking for several minutes, but it was likely only several seconds. I, being smarter than a deer (though you may be questioning that claim by now), tricked it. While I kept it busy tearing the tendons out of my right arm, I reached up with my left hand and pulled that rope loose. That was when I got my final lesson in deer behavior for the day. Deer will strike at you with their front feet. They rear right up on their back feet and strike right about head and shoulder level, and their hooves are surprisingly sharp... I learned a long time ago that, when an animal -like a horse --strikes at you with their hooves and you can't get away easily, the best thing to do is try to make a loud noise and make an aggressive move towards the animal. This will usually cause them to back down a bit so you can escape. This was not a horse. This was a deer, so obviously, such trickery would not work. In the course of a millisecond, I devised a different strategy. I screamed like a woman and tried to turn and run. The reason I had always been told NOT to try to turn and run from a horse that paws at you is that there is a good chance that it will hit you in the back of the head. Deer may not be so different from horses after all, besides being twice as strong and 3 times as evil, because the second I turned to run, it hit me right in the back of the head and knocked me down. Now, when a deer paws at you and knocks you down, it does not immediately leave. I suspect it does not recognize that the danger has passed. What they do instead is paw your back and jump up and down on you while you are laying there crying like a little girl and covering your head. I finally managed to crawl under the truck and the deer went away. So now I know why when people go deer hunting they bring a rifle with a scope......to sort of even the odds!! All these events are true so help me God... An Educated Farmer
  6. msgbarney

    Sadie Anderson got a nice one!

    very nice buck Sadie, great job
  7. msgbarney

    Wild Justice

    Good show, going to catch the next episode tonight, but I do agree, Arizona needs to get on board, I have only been hunting here 3 years and yet to see a G&F warden.
  8. msgbarney

    Is this a wolf or hybrid?

    Looks like one of those Mexiacan Wolfs they tried to re-introduce to AZ. I had seen one up by Big Lake in the White Mtns.
  9. msgbarney

    First Coues

    Thanks to all for your support. Here are a couple more pics, my camp set up, drinking hot coffee out of a cut 1 liter pepsi bottle (yes I forgot the most important thing-a coffee cup), I knew the little giant ladder would come in handy for something. Good luck to all in the Archery season.
  10. msgbarney

    First Coues

    What a tough hunt. I got here to Arizona in 2007, and since then I have not harvested a coues. My luck changed today, not the Monster I was hoping, but for my first coues it will be rememberable. I left out Thanksgiving Day to make camp on the west side of the Huachuca's. I got to a spot to camp close to where a friend of mine told me there were good deer. I set up camp and waited until the next day. Opening day I took off on the quad to my spot to glass. Glassed for several hours and saw only doe's. I relocated to the flats in hopes I could catch a buck crossing draws. Nothing. This went on for 2 more days, and about 8 Doe, 200 or so BP, some quail, and a couple illegals. I decided to change camp locations before the nasty weather, not to mention I only heard about 2 shots the entire time over there. I left Monday and got to my new camp (the house). I figured I would just hunt the Canyons close to the house on the eastern side of the Huachucas. Monday night again nothing but Doe. Tuesday came and I was out early again and spotted a spike. Instead of passing and waiting for a larger buck I decided to take a shot. He was about 75yards away and I took aim, wouldnt you know I missed. He bounded about 10 feet and I shot again. Missed again, and he ran off into the woods. Scratching my head I figured out that my scope was knocked out of whack from riding on the front of the 4 wheeler. So I go and get another box of .270, head out to the quarry to verify my shot group. 14 shots later and Im back in the middle of the target. I head back out to the canyon about 3pm and get set up. I glass and see nothing. the night ended with no deer, and a full moon. Wednesday morning I was set up in a new spot by 6am. I glass the ridgeline for about an hour and see nothing. Then suddenly 3 deer come from behind a tree down in a small wash and are heading up right towards me. The first was a doe, then followed by a spike and another doe. The first doe came up out of the wash and I repositioned myself ready for the spike. She busted me. I sat motionless for what seemed to be an hour while she stomped trying to get me to move. Nothing doing, finally she started off on her merry business. Then the spike came up out of the wash and I shot, down he went. So finally got my first coues. I wasnt going to get skunked again, seeing that I will be in Afghanistan next year during hunting season.
  11. msgbarney

    Guess the Score Contest - Nov 09

    Nice Buck, Ill go with 111 5/8
  12. msgbarney

    They are UP online!!!

    Finnaly success. Drew 27 Nov-3 Dec 35A. Good news after 2 straight years of unsuccessful draws of deer and elk. Good Luck to all.
  13. msgbarney

    What rifle is better!!!

    If your willing to raise your budget, Kimber makes an awesome .308, just a tack-driver with factory ammo. Now if you win the lottery I would suggest the Christenarms .300 Ultra WSM. It makes 500 yd shots easily.
  14. msgbarney

    These games are FUN! Lets sweeten it up!

    Right-Left-Center 1036 3/4
  15. msgbarney

    More letters from Iraq...

    Congrats to a tour well served and that he is coming home safe. I know how he's feeling, getting ready to go on my 4th tour in December. Glad to have him back safe.
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