CouesPursuit

Or keep an eye on the classifieds here on the site, lots of guys selling used quality shotguns for less than $450. IMO a pellet gun for actual hunting purposes is a waste.

Gotcha, my bad. If you're shedding that much maybe you don't need a base layer to begin with, or I'd take off the base layer and put the tougher outer layer back on before I walked in brush with it exposed. Hope you find a solution.

Sounds to me like you need a more appropriate outer pant layer, base layers shouldn't be getting trashed from vegetation.

He has a nice website but dang that's expensive!

One day I would like to have that tag and backpack into the wilderness area. Wish you the best of luck!!

I'm seeing that in addition to the Basic Service Plan it also requires the Unlimited Tracking upgrade for the rebate, which is an additional $49.99. $199.98 for the year to: 1) Check in with your loved ones as often as you like 2) Send a custom message to your buddies to bring their frame pack to xx.xxx yy.yyy once you tag out 3) Track everywhere you go for later review, and 4) Have an SOS backup at all times Sounds like a smart deal to me. Thanks, James. I'm not putting it off any longer.

As usual, I put some detail in the write ups of my hunts, this one's no different, a warning that it's a little bit of a read. Just over a month before this hunt, my brother and our good buddy took a couple spike coues bucks in the first hour of opening morning. For both of them, it was their first big game animal. It was a great experience and to say the least, 2 new hunters were born. http://www.coueswhitetail.com/forums/topic/61340-in-camp-drinking-beer-right-now/ Again, new to hunting, and with just the 1 purchased point, my brother also drew for late rifle bull. After a great Thanksgiving day and feast with the family, we headed up to camp and got in the right mindset for the hunt. I had prepared 4 maps for 4 days of hunting. Each hunting area offered something unique to one another, 2 were areas I was very familiar with from my previous late archery hunts, and 2 were new areas more situated for rifle hunting that we scouted the week before. Day 1, we elected to still hunt our way down a narrow ridge and into a joining of 3 gentle drainages. At first light, we began our decent and immediately spotted a dozen mule deer. Within a half hour and quarter mile down the ridge, we had a decent bull and cows feeding at about a mile away. On our way to get a closer look, more cows appeared in a drainage to the west. Smelling elk everywhere around us, we held tight in the thicker timber, eventually getting into a spike and raghorn at 200 yards. We passed as we agreed we wouldn't be shooting spikes on opening day again, and worked our way back out of the area, checking both sides of the ridge to no avail in finding a shooter. It was a little too thick for what we were looking for down where the elk were and there was also a hound dog in one of the drainages howling for an hour or two. The spot was worth checking out but we needed to move on. Day 2, I told my brother I knew where elk were abundant and hunters were usually absent, and that it wasn't easy to get in and out, but it should be worth it. It didn't take much to convince him, and there we went. The first 10 minutes proved the not easy to get in part. We had to find a way to cross flowing water from the snowmelt. We stacked up logs and rocks, and watched them freeze during the build. It was frustrating for sure, wasting over an hour to finally get across, and not being in our glassing spot at first light. Aside from sweating far more than we wanted to, no real harm was done, and we ended up laughing about it as we climbed the mountain. The area looked great just as I remembered it, the mule deer started popping up immediately. After an hour of skirting the mountain and glassing the hillsides, I was amazed we hadn't seen elk yet. I kept reassuring, "there are elk here, we'll find 'em!" A few minutes later, the smell was back, and we found ourselves standing in fresh turds on the hillside. A few more later, and cows were spotted at 200 yards working slowly away. 3 cows turned into 10, 10 more farther up the hill made 20, more appeared from another direction, and 20 minutes later, we were somewhat pegged as the elk fed from our hillside straight across to the next. Eventually, we watched 30 or so cows, without a single spike, feed their way into their bedding area. We held tight and watched. Within an hour, from a mile away comes 3 bulls, a spike, raghorn, and good looking 6x. They bounced in and out of sight, I kept wanting them to bed but they just kept coming, and going, farther up the ridge and potentially over, then back down towards us, a total roller coaster. Finally, after watching them wake up several elk out of their beds on their journey, they made their way into the same bedding area as the 30 elk we were already watching. There had to be 50 elk now, half feeding, half bedded, and taking turns. There were 5 small bulls and the lone 6x. Luckily, we finally watched him bed down, at the outmost left side of the herd. 800 yards away clear across the canyon, we made our plan, the stalk was on. Being that the elk could clearly see us across the mountain in open terrain, My brother and I walked straight back the way we came in, away from the herd to show them no sign of danger. Our best hunting buddy, Frank, along with his dad, stayed on the hillside to not further booger up the herd. As he watched through the binos, he told us that the elk were staring at us walking away, thankfully they just stared and did not leave, part one of the plan is working. Once we got out of sight, we immediately got down into the canyon, ran back up the creek bed, and maneuvered our way quietly up a draw with some post-burn jack pines in between. Knowing the bull we wanted was on the far left made for a perfect stalk on the way up, keeping the pines in the way of the herd and we frequently checked on the bull as we closed the distance to 259 yards. Bull still there, within easy shooting distance, part 2 of the plan was complete. We put the small pines on both sides of the bull. Only 1 cow out of 40+ was visible. The bull remained bedded behind a down pine, so we waited him out for almost an hour. Finally, he stood, my brother was immediately ready and bang. The bull moved 10 feet over, another bang, the bull fell straight over sideways with his legs locked out. The 168gr Nosler ABLR performed flawlessly out of the 7mm RM, bull down! The real work began, 3 trips up and down, 2 miles each way, 4 guys. The math equals 250 pounds of fantastic boned out elk meat. This was by far the most demanding pack out I've experienced. Also the most processing I've endured. It's amazing the meals this fantastic bull will provide for our family and friends. Everything went to plan, going down as a Thanksgiving week to remember and a tough one to top. We are very thankful and blessed. Thanks for reading!

Awesome on many levels, congratulations on the lion and 1 year, neither is easy!!

One of my best friends from high school had always talked about how his dad helped some guys invest in a pheasant preserve back in South Dakota. Even though there is not an ounce of hunter in my good buddy, I remember asking him to take me out there dozens of times. Finally, after 12 years of being good friends with the whole family, and basically forgetting about the farm, one of his younger brothers asked if I was interested in going back to SD with him in early October. I called him every day for 4 days straight, asking him to check availability for November 6-9, and I would pay for and schedule our Allegiant flights immediately. After 5 days and a short convincing to the wife about the opportunity at hand, tickets were booked and I was going on my first quest for roosters. Fast forward to Friday, November 6th, getting picked up from the airport in Rapid City. Sadie was the most loving and pleasantly annoying GSP I've ever encountered. She was relentless in proving it for our hour and a half commute to the farm. I finally managed to pin her against my side and snapped a photo of the country driving in. Fences, and wide open spaces. Once arriving at the farm, there wasn't a minute wasted. "Get your blaze orange on there, grab a box of those there shells, here is an ol' pump here see," said ol' Jim, "think you can handle that?" I've owned a Remington 870 since I was 15, this thing felt like gold in my hand. We head out of one gate, enter another, and it's out of the truck, we're hunting. My buddy and our other host headed in a different direction. At this first spot, we would work two far ends of an often-dry slough and we would all eventually meet in the middle. Jim, his buddy Doc, and myself set out. The hunt was on. Jim's 4 year old GSP couldn't have been more excited to get out of the truck and get to business. She would leap through or over anything in her way, tules and all. After not more than 2 minutes, she was on point 20 yards ahead. I had chills of excitement running through my body as soon as it hit me; loaded gun, working dogs, and a brisk right to left wind blocked by the carhartt but howling around my head and hands. This was awesome! As we approached the dog on the point, a rooster shot up and took to the wind immediately. As soon as I shouldered the Wingmaster, the bird was up and over Doc's head and I retreated the draw. That rooster got lucky! Not 2 minutes later and the dog was again on point. This time, Doc was far off looking for the escaped rooster, and this rooster was mine. He took to the air, I raised the gun, and fired straight into him. Dead bird. As the dog retrieved my first pheasant in a planted stand of small pines, another rooster jumped up and was immediately put to the ground. I quickly reloaded my 2 missing shells and before I could get the second one in, the sound of pheasants exploded out of trees. 3rd shot, 3rd pheasant. Unreal. I limited out on my first pheasant hunt in less than 10 minutes! I spent the rest of the day taking pictures and video, as well as enjoy a cool IPA (or 6). Find the rooster! South porch view. West. East. North. Roosters wanted back in the pen after their hens! Deer Everywhere! Day 2 started off just as strong, but with my hunters safety card on hand, I elected to mentor a young fellow who was on his quest for his first pheasant. Being done with shooting for the day in 10 minutes again wouldn't have been near as much fun. It took a little work, but we made our way through several well designed drives and literally had a blast. Little man got his first rooster. Coons and porcupines are pheasants killers and were trapped and exterminated, or found pointing by the dogs and exterminated. Had an awesome time chasing these guys. I'm pretty sure I would be addicted if we had them natively in Arizona. Day 2. Ended the trip with a round of golf at the country club and few shoes of blackjack in Deadwood. Caught some bighorn on the side of the highway to boot. A trip that is strongly recommended. Thanks for looking!

Yes, the mother land of South Dakota was good to me. Except the few shoes of blackjack in Deadwood, I lied as I actually didn't even make it through a full shoe. I watched a few though! GO! I've shot a lot of ducks, geese, quail, and dove here in Arizona over the last 15 years, over dogs and without. I knew I was going to enjoy dogs pointing and flushing big roosters but it exceeded all my expectations. And wow they're tasty. I do enjoy talking and sharing experiences about hunting and fishing with like minded individuals, but I'm no writer! Some people like short and sweet, others elaboration. If that was a compliment, thank you. Thanks again all. I'm very fortunate.

Thanks! I thought long and hard about it, elected to wait, and immediately regretted it once I got home and back to reality. If I would have had my own vehicle there I would have 100%, part of me didn't want to interfere with the hosts.

were talking about real deer in this thread, not them little baby deer Crap. I didn't even think to look at which forum, my bad I would have kept to myself then! Don't know much about mulies other than this guy was cruisin' solo last week.

Not much that hasn't been shared but adding support to it. I watched a few coues bucks on this past October hunt down south get into it 2 mornings in a row. The second morning when I was getting to my glassing spot they were about 200 yards away bashing away before the sun came up. An hour later, I watched a 100"+ 4x4 wake up a fork from his bed, give him a couple of pokes with his antlers, and keep feeding on past the fork just because he could. I almost felt bad for the fork. After being waken from his bed, he was just standing there with his eyes closed almost as if he had been getting beat up so bad and often that he was exhausted. He almost looked sick. I couldn't imagine that fork hanging around much longer before he has enough and goes solo. If it wasn't rut activity, it was very close. I have seen smaller bucks full on molest does in 24B starting early December.

Happy Birthday!

100%. Good dudes are great to have. It's amazing how far the average coues shot opportunity is. And how much fun working so hard can be. 2/4 isn't bad at all. Ok I'll leave your thread alone now, last congratulations you're milkin' it! Lol

Hey man you said it on more than one occasion! Seriously nice buck and sounds like you worked for and deserved it!!

Nice buck for sure. Congrats, maybe you're not such a bad hunter after all..

Great bird and mount! Congratulations again Jaycie and dad. I wouldn't bring a bird to anybody but Sven.

Plenty of room for growth I can assure a quality worker would be compensated accordingly.

Thanks for looking. This is an ad my brother has been running on craigslist that I've tailored a bit for CWT. If a member here is interested in the position, or has any questions, please send me a pm. I've seen this can be great place to find a reliable worker and thought I'd give it a shot. Thanks again, hope your fall hunts are going great. My brother owns a handyman service company and is seeking an employee skilled in painting, drywall, basic handyman work, and most importantly, the ability to learn. The company has been established in the Valley for 11 years and is in need of help to support growth of business. This position would require between 20-30 hours a week on average, depending on seasonality. Rate of pay varies depending on experience, the average starting being $12-$14. In order to be an ideal candidate, the applicant must: - Own a basic tool bag with appropriate tools, including drill, saw, etc. Paint sprayer a plus, not necessary - Be a clean and tidy worker, have tools to clean up after jobs - Have reliable transportation for varying hours during the day (typical day is 6-7am to 2-4pm, depending on the season). - Possess 1-4 years experience in either painting, drywall, or basic handyman experience - Show strong ability in taking direction and completing tasks on time - Be reliable and dependable to ensure client satisfaction for timeliness This is a position that is looking to be filled immediately.

Congratulations on a very nice buck! And and even bigger congratulations on what must be the most understanding wife on the planet. That head on my stove top would be papers served!! I hope she can celebrate with you soon. Great buck and it is well deserved.

I understand how the process works, thanks Str8Shot. It's not him specifically that makes me so excited for next year already.

Went out and took a closer look yesterday at the sparring bucks we were relocating for opening morning. We heard them again yesterday bashing on the hillside before light. Ended up sneaking into 187 yards on this guy, a fork, and what looked like a much wider buck who wasn't as photogenic and kept out of sight once the sun and camera came out. Watched him for 2 hours at that distance and into bed before we headed home. Can't wait for next year.

Thank you for the nice words antlers1972 and everyone else again too. It looks to me like the one spike was going to be a knife and fork and he may have damaged it in velvet.

Had 2 deer to bone out, needed to find immediate shade, DB! Tags and knives came out immediately after a quick 80 yard carry. Thanks everyone, got heads caped for the trophy euro mounts and we have since helped in finding a safe home for the buds displaced from the meat cooler.