azcouesandelk

I actually had more water than Shorty did .......he had 22 pounds of Dr.Peppers hidden in his! I wish I had seen the suggestions about adding rocks to his pack before we left....I would have done it We did only have enough water for about 3 days and hiked back to one of the trucks. JIM> Now that is just cruel there. When I first started guiding in Alaska it was about my third day. I had to pack in about 2 miles to where we were fishing that day and hiked all the way in the mile up and down stream and then when I got back to the lodge all the guides were laughing since they had put about 15 to 20 pounds of rocks in my pack. I thought it felt heavy but I thought I was just still getting in shape.

From my scouting I have noticed that on a full moon bucks tend to bed down earlier (around 7:15 to 7:30) but they do tend to get up and stretch several times through the day. On a half moon the bucks tend to bed down around the same time if there is a full moon. Now on a quarter moon or no moon I tend to see bucks bed down closer to 8:30 and still get up every now and then to stretch. This is not gonna be written in any book it is just what I have seen in the scouting I have done this year.

I see still a beauty of a pickup none the less. Sorry to hear about your terrible happenings with the 8 legged creatures that haunt me in my dreams. And also the forked tounged rattling demon. At least you didn't get bit by either of em.

My dad a 28 year Arizona resident went on his 10th coues hunt this weekend. He was finally successful. I would like to say that scouting really is the key to being successful. We woke up Friday morning at 3:45 and made breakfast and packed our lunches. We left camp at 4:10 and drove to our parking spot and arrived there about 4:45 and got up on our perch by 5:15 (the fastest we have ever made it there by 10 minutes). So now we get setup and wait for the sun to start to come up. I start to glass at 6:05 and my dad locates 2 does on a hill at 6:20. I continue to pick apart the small fingers and locate a small spike at 6:25. I continue to pick apart the same finger thinking there will be more buck and locate 2 other buck at 6:30. My dad said he would shoot anything that was a fork or larger. Both of these bucks were forks. He made the stalk from 500 yards down to 200 yards. He made the 200 yard shot with is 25-06 shooting 100 nosler ballistic tips. The buck ran 10 yards before dropping. This is his first coues buck and he is thrilled about it. This buck is entered in the big buck contest and gross scores at 53 3/8. Not a monster by any means but we are both very proud of this buck. Here is a picture of the spot where the bucks were spotted. Here is a picture of my dad laying next to his buck replaying the whole thing in his mind. Here is a picture of my dad and his buck Here is a picture my dad and I with his buck I also would like to thank everybody for there help. I couldn't have done it without everybody on the forum.

The pickup has some very similar characteristics to the buck you shot Jim. Great pick up.

Sounds like a fun hunt. And you were able to hunt the whole hunt with your dad which makes it even better. Thanks for the pics and the great story.

Man what a story. What is the deal with shorpants smelling his foot in the first pic Also those are some fantastic sunset shots there. Now onto that massive ol' buck all I can say is nice. Great job on what sounds like a blast of a hunt. I can't wait to hear about more of your hunts.

Here are the pics of Casey's cousins buck. What unit was were cousin hunting in?

Very nice bucks there Red Rabbit. How would you rate the Sitka Blacktail hunt compared to a Coues hunt?

I hope you are since you will be in my camp.

azpackhorse that is a great photo. Doesn't look like a bad buck either. I think you hit it on the head that the bucks will bed down and not get up.

Gourgous buck there man. Lots of character and long g2's on it. I would say he goes around 105.

I will tell you if I get a deer in November

Mule Deer?

very nice and unique buck I really like how he grows out. Congrats on a very nice trophy.

I thought that was the worlds largest spike. That might have been a big fine for me Anyways awesome pics there man. And nice job getting up close.

Kevin that is one of the nicest things anybody has ever said to me and it really means alot to me. Everybody thank you for your replies. You guys are the inspiration to me so you know. This forum has made me an avid coues hunter. It has taught me the importance of using a tripod and high powered optics. It has also taught me the need to know your rifle even better than you think you need to. I would like to thank each one of you guys in person but I cannot sadly so this will have to due. YOU GUYS ROCK!!!

Also Scott you think your family has enough meet to make it through the winter?

Man what a story and experience there Scott. congrats on the nice buck with a muzzleloader to boot. I must say that you and your buddy must be pretty rugid just to sleep under a juniper with now sleeping bag or cover for anything to cover up with. Very impressive.

Nice looking buck there redman and great picture I love the background showing the big canyon.

Very nice and unique buck. Good job locating him before the hunt and finding him again.

Yeah my hunt is for unit 36b and that gun scabbard makes hiking in in the dark very nice and packing a deer out even nicer without it bouncing around on your shoulder

Man last year he gets a great coues and this year a great muley. This kid must be one great hunter. Congrats to the boy he is hooked for life it looks like.

Sounds like a day to remember. Good father/daughter bonding time. Great job getting the kids out even if they aren't hunting they will still remember the time spent together.

Nicely done. 3 great bucks and a hunt to remember how could it get any better