Shiras

It looks like pretty nice buck to me Scott! Very nice pictures also. Good luck in December. -Shiras

Holy 2 point! Very impressive toad...-Shiras

I'm very anxious to read about your hunt there. I have been interested in 22 also. Good luck to you!!!! P.S. Don't pass on a giant muley as I think I recall it being any antlered deer

I was actually thinking of starting a topic on this very thing. October 1 was opening day of archery here, and I took a friend from work from Phoenix that had never hunted eastern WT's. We went the night before to set up my stand for him, 30 FREAKING minutes before dark. 11 1/2 short hours later and it's gone. My new Summit headhunter that I had never even used. We were on Private land and some a-hole thought "gee that looks like a nice-un ....think I'll take it" I Went out this morning to same place. It is still archery season (oh man I'm getting more angry by the second) I see 2 lights from about 800 yards away, coming my way. They cross 2 fences to get onto my property. Daylight comes and 1 of the idiots fires 5 times with a rifle!!! Poaching, tresspassing and I could almost GUARANTEE that they were the same scumbags who stole my stand. What is wrong with people??????? Good thing I didn't have a cam out there, as I'm sure it would gone. -Shiras

E-mail crazyaboutcoues. Tommy knows more about it than anyone. He owns Gila Wilderness Hunting. I suggest doing a search under his name and you will find a lot of unit23/Burro Mnts. threads -Shiras

Congratulations ds. There doesn't seem to be too many smoke pole hunters in this forum, so good to see you had success with yours. -Shiras

Robert, Do a search under my name and you will see the research I did on just that. It's called something like "Eastern vs. Coues" equivalency. -Shiras

You guys have had 1 banner year. Was the .223 WSSM plenty of power for your buck? That's impressive to me! Congratulations. -Shiras

huntswnm, Are you using Tommy on your 22 hunt? I was going to put in for that unit but I messed up my application and only put in for Burro's. Tommy told me that there is a good mix in 22. Do you have your heart set on either, or just a good representative of either species? Hopefully, I am able to put in for 22 next year the RIGHT way and use Tommy. -Shiras Congratulations on the lads buck Tommy. AWESOME!!!! Nothing like watching a kid take their first deer.

Very nice. Congratulations on the bucks. -Shiras

I think that buck is looking into a mirror. Great picture!

Congratulations Tommy. How many years have you put in for that hunt? I've read that on range can be a slam dunk, but off range can be fairly tough. Is that a fair assesment or was it different for you? Regardless, awesome oryx!

This is in Arizona RR? Fantastic photos. Josh would be impressed. -Shiras

I echo their sentiments. A deer at all is quite an accomplishment with a bow. Congrats to you guys. -Shiras

Josh, Is that the location where your treestand is right behind him up in the pine? Poor little guy doesn't have a chance. -Shiras P.S. Caballero rules

I believe it because they had zero fear... I might just have to take across country expedition with with a Thompson pistola tucked neatly under my jacket waiting for the poor trusting 5x5 to emerge... jk -Shiras

Let's keep in mind that in 1974 the US WT population was at 20 million. It's only grown from there. Texas alone has 4+million. I'm not sure of Mule deer population in the US, but I bet it's not 1/4 of the WT. (although that is a total guess) The reason so many are hit by cars is simple. They live in urban areas, -not endless national forests. Heck, I live in a town of 80,000 people, 2 miles from the main hub, and I see WT a couple times a week. They just survive in very small pockets of wooded areas. I'm still stickin' with MENSA -Shiras

That carp is unbelievable.....anyone know how they score animals still in velvet? Surely they would have to strip the velvet to get a true score, at least I would think. -Shiras

That could be true about the deer in RR, but it still doesn't explain why those others in 23 and a few others on the trip just didn't seem to alarmed when seeing me or my buddy. From what I've experienced, they are not too brilliant.....maybe the short bus riders if the deer family. While I do believe WT are in the MENSA group.-Shiras

This is just my experience with Mule deer, and Whitetail (although not Coues, but easterns,-Whitetails nontheless) 2 years ago I went skiing in Red River NM which is in the Carson NF. I went hiking outside of town in search of sheds. I walked up on 4 mule deer. 3 does and 1 forked buck. These things were either the dumbest animals on the planet OR they were born retarted. I followed them for probably 45 minutes and I was within 15 yards the entire time. I was hitting them with small rocks just to see if they even freaking alive. When hit they would run 30 yards-stop-look around- and start milling around again. This past November in unit 23 (NM) I had 5 MD does walk about 20 yards from me when I was glassing. I was putting my jacket on and not being quiet at all. They all looked and bobbed their heads, but after 30 seconds of examining, just walked off as relaxed as when they walked up. Now if we are comparing appples to apples, which in this case would be Eastern does to Mule deer does, an Eastern wouldn't have given a second look. She's stomp maybe once and blow out of there warning every WT in the county that YOU are there. -Shiras

I TOTALLY agree with AG. IT IS A LIGER! Littlebear, ever get any wolverines on that cam? -Shiras

Very nice. I believe putting a score on the animal before you shoot diminishes the intrinsic value of the hunt and animal (unless you are Bill Jordan). Would YOU shoot him if you had 20 seconds to decide? That's all that matters. -Shiras

Wklman, Where in Minnesota are you going? I have a friend that goes to Buffalo county, Wi. every year. He sees incredible bucks every year. He shoots a recurve and usually harvests a doe only, since Wisconsin has the "earn-a-buck" rule in effect., where you have to shoot a doe before you can think of taking a buck.

What a find! Those are some monsters. Did he find any liger prints while he was down there? I'm only asking 'cause it's pretty much my favorite animal.....-Shiras

Just curious to see if anyone has ever taken the North American "deer slam"... Whitetail Coues WT Columbian blacktail Sitka blacktail Rocky mountain mule deer Desert mule deer (I think thats all of them) What a feat that would be! Not to mention $ amount!!! It seems I read something of Chuck Adams completing this accomplishment several years back with bow, but I have a sneaking suspicion that that guy just MIGHT have access to the most premier hunting leases/land on the continent. I do believe above the elk slam (Tule, Roosevelt, Rocky mountain), Sheep (Desert, Rocky Mountain, Stone, and Dall) and Moose (Shiras, Canadian, and Alaskan/Yukon) and any others I may have forgotten.......the deer slam would be the one I would want the most. ----Just FYI, my aunt and uncle used to live in Wyoming.They took my sister and I on a road trip to who knows where, I was only 6). As my uncle stopped his Pontiac Bonneville (I believe it was), my uncle told me that that animal was a Shiras bull moose in the field beside us. It was the first big game animal that I ever layed eyes on (in '76). I have never forgotten that moment and how unbelievably big he was. For some reason I will always claim him as my favorite big game animal due to the memory I have attached to him. -Shiras