CouesPursuit

Awesome how speechless and in shock you seemed after shot. Congratulations, bonecollector and team. Great bull and video.

Intent wasn't to stir up a climate change debate but to share an amazing response of bears to a surplus of a food source. Political agendas don't change the fact that these polar bears are capitalizing on the snow goose habitat dilemma.

Here is a post from the past. http://www.coueswhitetail.com/forums/topic/45990-parasite/

I'm diggin the custom cut on the barrel! Good job and congrats on all the wins the last few days!

I show my wife posts from time to time and this was one of very few that she actually took my phone from my hands to take a closer look. Thanks for sharing this wonderful little adventure. We don't have a little hunter or huntress of our own yet, but I couldn't imagine life with them to be much different than this!

Just replied with a text and pm buddy, and yes a couple of Walt Gabbard's songs will make your senses go if you're hooked on quack!

Take those quizzes, that is a dang good resource! http://www.deltawaterfowl.org/quizzes.html

Didn't notice and hence your joke in the duck dummy thread this week, that's funny. I looked relatively close too as this is the first year you do not need a State waterfowl stamp.

That's a good source of useful information, thanks for sharing. We as hunters are lucky to have a great, organic meat source. If we paid attention to our sources for grains, fruit and veggies we would be in great shape!

Thanks, Adam, but you don't have to be. Since we last talked I convinced myself I'm hunting opening weekend, send me a note if you want to join, leave Thursday night to go get blinded in!

With 2 weeks to the mountain opener, it's time to put that duck depression behind us and get ready to put our eyes to the sky. Good luck to those of you getting out! Hope you scratch a limit or two! Last year's opener-

The fact that you care is what matters. Its public land, get out there, learn what you can when you can and enjoy it! The main thing is, only shoot at birds within killing range and hide well. If you do those 2 things, you will be successful in bagging birds and you will meet people in the field that want to hunt with you, that will invite you into their group, guaranteed.

Yup, there is a reason this thread went an entire day today with only one kind reply from Heat and yours has several replies. http://www.coueswhitetail.com/forums/topic/52185-looking-for-some-new-duckgoose-hunting-buddies-and-spots/ It's taken at a minimum, several thousand dollars in fuel and hundreds of days in the field the last few years to know my what and where about ducks in this state. I really enjoy helping educate people, and it's the best thing I can do for both waterfowl and waterfowlers, just can't afford to on the "where." You made the impression you could find that on your own, that's awesome and best of luck.

+1, my calls never leave my truck. Turning the call around backwards and blowing the same notes can help you understand your own air control as well, it's a good way to practice when volume is a factor.

Just about everywhere gets pressure whether it's posted on the AZGFD website or not. Water is easily scouted on Google Earth, but to find out where the ducks actually want to be, you have to get out and see for yourself close in timing to your hunting efforts. Scouting is extremely effective. If you can watch undisturbed birds feeding or loafing, you can get an exact idea of how to set up your spread at that spot the next day. They will typically hold their patterns until people start shooting at them. A new push of fresh migrators could do the exact same thing or something entirely different so it makes it interesting. If you find birds and want to keep them around, never, never shoot a roost site! If they don't feel safe somewhere nearby at night they are going to vacate the area immediately.

I'll add this as I re-read my post, there is more often than not a "boss hen" in larger groups of ducks. She is in the lead of the flock and she is the decision maker. In this case, more drakes in a spread could change her decision as to where she takes the flock. But this is extremely variable, depending on early/late season, pressure from hunters, hunting a feeding or loafing area, etc. Variables that are tough to have in your favor in central AZ which is why I stated my hens ratio opinion. Good luck and avoid shooting the brown birds if you have a choice.

Heat gave you excellent advice. I'll add my opinion on decoying birds, I don't have much experience jump shooting and hiking tanks. I don't necessarily agree with the adding more drakes to the spread but to each their own and their experience. I love shooting decoying drakes right in the face, and they like decoying to hens, especially later in the season if they haven't paired up yet. More hens, and an odd number as stated by Heat, help with this IMO. Tons of guys take their dozen decoys they bought, typically 8 drakes and 4 hens, and drop them in the water. Be different! Calling is way overrated in Arizona, it takes an experienced caller to bring in the pressured ducks we most often see. Learn single quacks before you blow strings of calls and only call, if at all, when the birds are in decision making mode. If you see a flutter of the wing, a quick drop in elevation, a bird changing direction, that's when to hit the call. Never when they are decoying straight towards you with the rare exception that the birds on a given day like some quiet feeding chatter to "finish" them down into range. Ducks see everything, just when you think you are going to be hidden enough, hide some more and definitely cover your face.

Going along with many others, absolutely on hunting alone, including putting in for tags and camping alone. Only 1 of my 6 AZ big game harvests involved the help of a partner. And in my first several years of hunting, I hunted with a partner nearly always. I now save buddy hunting for duck blinds, and if I cared about the 7 bird limit, in comparing that aspect of "success," I'd hunt that solo too.

^ +1, and family!

Same boat as you! can't wait!

Sorry to hear of such a tough loss, good luck on this hunt of yours this weekend. You'll have a lot of spirit with you I'm sure!

The deal on the Pronghorn's right now is top notch! Listed at $75, add the promo code "breaker10" for an additional $10 off. $65 for a dang good boot.

Give your loved ones an extra hug and kiss tomorrow, and God Bless the U.S.A..

Has its benefits! Sorry to those with flooding issues and other complications, but it's not very often I have acres of clean water 2 minutes from the house for water retriever training! Hope some others got out and did something beneficial with the water surplus! Needless to say he approves.

If you're talking about the wilderness 5guys is correct. The actual boundary of the mountain range is a different story.