couesdiehard

Photos?

Absolute stud of a buck! Great job. Love that you got him on your own and that you didn't take the 750 yard shot. I have always felt like the best part of glassing these deer is that it gives you the challenge/opportunity to sneak in closer without them knowing you are there. Classic coues hunt. Lee

Those Weller's mounts might be a weeeeeeee bit more than the $1000 your planning but WOW!

Looks like he has a really big noggin to me also. Congrats.

I don't like that kind of performance either. You only get about 45 lbs of prime venison out of these coues. I dont want to waste any if I can help it. I like a .30 caliber entry & if there's an exit, I want it to be about .60 caliber. If it doesn't exit, I hope its because it's lodged inside bone and not prime shoulder meat.

I went bear hunting with a cousin in 27 on October 9th. At that time folks from Safford, Clifton/Morenci, etc. were killing bears all over 27. Heck that weekend they killed one in someone's backyard in Morenci. The bears had all moved down the mountains and were being seen in real high numbers in areas where you usually see very few. Hard to believe they killed 11 sows already but if it was going to ever happen this was the year for it. heck we were considering setting up a blind on by the mercantile in Morenci! Lee

Went through some trials and tribulations when I got divorced many years ago and I did sell some items to pay bills. What was worse was that I actually gave up hunting for a season. Then I decided I didn't care if I had to hunt with a home-made spear, I was never going to let economic hard times, stress, whatever, keep me from hunting again as long as I was physically able. Times will improve for you and you will buy more gear than you will need again. We all do. In the meantime, you pay some bills and hunt cheaper. But never stop supporting your family or hunting. Good luck with the job hunting. Lee

This in my experience, is one of those areas where you really do seem to get what you paid for. A good taxidermist is worth paying for his skills. So budget accordingly. One note, look at a taxidermist's previous coues mounts. These deer are built different than eastern or even Texas whitetail and a good taxidermist knows that and works accordingly. The location of the ears on the head is usually the most obvious mistake that I see. I believe it is because they try to use forms that don't fit these little deer correctly. Lee

Happy Belated Birthday Neighbor, I wasn't on the site all weekend so I just saw your birthday passed. Here's to a great year. Lee

Thanks Amanda

Maybe because I am getting really old, I read that original post and thought deserthntr was referring to Senior like Social Security, Medicare, etc. Senior. Read responses and realized that he was talking about Senior year of high school. Duh.

Hey Thanks Cramerhunts! Good luck to you this season. Lee

Update on my quest for a new backpack... As I stated before it was down to the Eberlestock J34 and the Horn Hunter Full Curl System. On Saturday the 8th I stopped in to Cabela's to take a look at the Horn Hunter Full Curl frame more closely. I wanted to be sure it would adjust adequately to fit me. Of course, none left in the store! More than a little discouraged I walked into the bargain cave and see a guy fooling with a Horn Hunter full curl combo which is the frame and the daypack (2000 c.i.together) minus the (3000 c.i.)large bag. When the guy set it down I picked it up and went through it with a fine-toothed comb. It was used but in very good shape. It was marked at $130!! Well this combo sells new for $249, so I tried it on, made all the adjustments needed and bought the darn thing. I carried for it one day in unit 27 looking for bear and like the way it carries thus far, but will need to carry more weight on it for a better test. I decided since I wasn't backpack hunting anytime soon, it made more sense to order the canvas meat sack for $20 rather than the large full curl bag at this time. Both of these mount right on the frame and the daypack mounts on either of them. I hope to put the system through its paces this season and write a review about it. Thanks for the input guys. Lee

+1 for gutless method and boning out the meat. I have tried this several different ways and for the life of me I can't think of any good reason to carry a deer or elk, even in quarters with the bones in and hide on. I spend extra time at the kill site (in the shade of a tree if possible) taking all the meat off the bones and then just pack out a meat sack full of pure tasty venison and a head and cape. As a bonus, there is no better way to cool that venison down than lay it as flat as possible on top of ice in your ice chest. I don't do any sawing anymore if I can help it, because I learned that bone chips and marrow spoil faster than the meat and create more potential for spoilage of the meat(gamey flavor). The biggest challenges I have found with this method are keeping leaves, grass and dirt off the venison,(using the hide or a small tarp help but you still get some on there) but you can always wash off the venison back at camp. Secondly, getting the tenderloins out of the body cavity without gutting, but you get better at it with practice. P.S. I am not a professional meat cutter either so I keep the butchering simple. I cut mostly roasts and stew/jerky meat. Roasts can be thawed and cooked whole or sliced into steaks easily just before they finish thawing. I use a lot of stew meat for green chile, and other slow-cooked dishes. Lee

As BigBrowns was stating, I would suggest picking a couple of glassing points and sitting more, travelling less. When you do travel do it slow and stop often to glass any country that looks promising and maybe even some that doesn't. We hunted 36B for many years and we found bucks in some crazy places. Definitely glass those bald looking ocotillo covered hills at first light. Lee

Eric, Thanks, like I said lots of info on the j34 is available. I've checked them out on your website actually. There are pluses an minuses for both for the way that I would use them. For example, love the six handy pockets on the hip belt of the full curl(nice to have access to small essentials without removing your pack), but I also like the built in scabbard on the j34 (I probably would only use it when packing out though, I like having my rifle in my hands while I'm hunting)because it seems like it would protect the rifle very well. I will make my decision this week. I need to get one of them so I can start breaking it in soon.

No problem. Just make sure you get 6V golf cart-type batteries. I don't know about them being cheaper. Bought a pair in July at Sam's and paid nearly $200 for the pair after taxes and deposits. It is money well spent though.

This is one of the many reasons I love my Leica Duovids 10+15 x 50. When I first sit down get set up I will glass for quite a while on 10 power as close as I can see to about 600 yards with them. If I don't pick up anything of interest with the 10 power I will crank the Leicas up to 15 power and start glassing again from as close as I can see out to as much as 1.5 miles. Periodically, I will use my bare eyes and crank the Leicas back down to 10 power and go back over the areas closer to me again. More times than I can remember I've been glassing deer at over a mile that I did want to go after only to look right below me and see deer that were sneaking off or passing through. I know guys who do the same thing with separate 10 and 15 power binos. Lee

bmf, The 2200 wasn't what I was looking for. I did check out the sacrifice & the 4500. Also it seems everyone who has owned a Badlands has at some point broken a zipper, a buckle or something. I know their warranty service is tops but I figure why not just design and build them better in the first place. Things that are going to break do it when you need them to work. I am therefore no longer considering Badlands products. Thx for the suggestion though. Lee

Grew up with a pair of twin cousins that were just like this guy. Amazing we are all still alive. My aunt used to like me to hang out with them because I "kept them out of trouble"! Like that was ever possible. Thank God Almighty nobody ever gave them a bow and arrows! Lee

Bump Anybody?

You never heard of, "Do as I say, not as I do"?

A horrible tragedy. Prayers sent for the family. I was thinking where did I just read something about Steve Favour and it hit me. Jim Hartsock just made a post yesterday about the Phoenix Chapter of SCI raffling off a lion hunt and full body mount or rug. Steve had donated the taxidermy services. Here's a link to the raffle page http://www.phxsci.org/. He will be missed by many. Lee

Now that's funny! I don't care who you are.

Hey Lark, I think the pig got a bad rap on this one. I heard he was just trying to poke a pecker in his eye! Ain't the pig's fault he's shorter than this guy. Lee