couesobsession

Well sometimes it's hard to talk about but all of us hunters eventually miss our game or mess up our chances in some other way. So come on and share your hunting mistakes and misses for all species of game. These experiences are hard at first, but if we can't kaugh at ourselves then who cdn we laugh at? I remember one year I was hunting elk on the Migollon Rim. I only had two hours left in my hunt when a small bull stepped out. I shot him for meat, and darned if thatsound didn't scare up a huge 7x7 bull not 50 yards away, right where I was planning to walk. I'll tell ya, elk meat never tasted so bitter sweet as that small bull did when I gutted him. I shared one, so let's keep the ball rolling.

Nice Buck and congrats to your uncle! I liked the old avatar better, though.

fire was put out before it even had a chance . thankyou firefighters for getting on this one so quick. http://www.inciweb.org/incident/2918/

Awesome!!! I just got back from the San juan myself, joined the 20/20 club and caught many awesome fish. Still jealous, though.

Stay safe guys. Thankyou firefighters . For up to the date info: http://www.inciweb.org/state/3/ http://www.inciweb.org/incident/2911/

Still waiting on the @#%&$ draw website to get back up!

I was told by my super secret contact that the verification of draw results this year has been changed,they wont be posted due to server problems. You will have to await your tag to see if you were drawn!

At the end of this message, you are asked a question. Answer it immediately. Don't stop and think about it. Just say the first thing that pops into your mind. This is a fun 'test'... AND kind of spooky at the same time! Now - just follow the instructions as quickly as possible. Do not scoll down to the answer or go to the next calculation before you have finished the previous one. You do not ever need to write or remember the answers, just do it using your mind. You'll be surprised. Start: How much is: 15 + 6 21 3 + 56 59 89 + 2 91 12 + 53 65 75 + 26 101 25 + 52 77 63 + 32 95 I know! Calculations are hard work, but it's nearly over.. Come on, one more! ... 123 + 5 128 QUICK! THINK ABOUT A COLOR AND A TOOL! Scroll further to the bottom......... A bit more... You just thought about a red hammer, didn't you? If this is not your answer, you are among the select few people who have a different, if not abnormal, mind. Excerpted from an email I recieved.

Could be the same buck.... but I'm not convinced. Look at his rump (I winced just writing that). There is a dark spot on top of the white. On the first buck it appears to come down to a point, sort of like a diamond. On the second one it is more of a blob. Not saying that his hair couldn't change, but there are a couple diferences like that.

I dont like you . JK

Good to see the hunter is wearing blaze orange. The deer are a bit more tricky to spot, but they are there .

Anybody else got one?

Can't really say that this happened to me but I was a contributing factor in it. Me and my buddy were glassing a broad gulley in 32. Well, I guess the long day's hike coupled with the warm sun on our back and the soft sand under us (yes, for some reason this spot had some sand) was too much for him. It wasnt five minutes later I looked over and he was stone cold out. Let's just say this was awhile ago and, having seen no deer, I was bored. I took a feather that I had found early in the day and started tickling his nose with it. Seeing him bat at his unknown tormentor in his sleep was just too mcuh... I don't know I guess you had to be there. Anyways I was laughing REALLY hard when I tickled his nose again. At that exact instant I heard a distinctly audible grunt. I'm thinking wtf? I didn't know humans could a noise like that (and seriously considering leaving him on the hillside because I was certain he had rabies). Anyways a thought suddenly crosse my mind and I turn around. Yep. A nice 3x3 coues was staring at me about 100 yards away atop the ridge above the valley. I slowly grab my rifle (A custom .300 win mag) and prop it up on the bipod. meanwhile, the deer is also thinking wtf and looking at me like I'm an alien. I got lined up on him, quietly put one in the chamber, and pulled the trigger. The deer crumpled up and I am ecstatic. Suddenly I hear yowling that sounds like a dying animal. I look around and my budy is GONE. I have no idea what happens and then it hits me. I guess having a hot load from a .300 win mag go off six inches from your face in a gun with a serious muzzlebrake will startle a sleeping person. When I say startle I mean he took off screaming like a little girl down the gulley (unbeknownst to me, who was still half deaf from the muzzle blast). He evidently had tripped part ways down, and, lets just say, landed into a little cholla. He was covered in it and all I could do was laugh. I realized that a nice sized piece had went into his *private* regions. He was screaming and cursing at me and beggin me to get the cholla off all at the same time. Fat chance, I'm not putting my hand near that. Eventually he got all the thorns out and we patched him up ok. I felt a little guilty for not waking him up but what could I do? When it comes to your friend's well-being or having a chance at an awesome buck, You know what I'll pick every time . Let me tell you, that was one interesting night at hunting camp!

NOOOOOOOOOO!!! DONT....EAT....QUAIL!!!! They are poison! If by some unfortunate accident you kill some, send them to me. I know LOTS of people who want...erg...I mean need to be posioned! Don't worry, I got your back.

Priorites man, you got to have priorities! Looks like you got the hunting bug BAD!

I shot a Coues buck at 542 yards with a custom handload shooting 150 grain Barnes TSX and the recovered bullet (only stopped by the opposite shoulder) exhibited textbook expansion. At that range I believ the load I was shooting would be down to 1800 +/- 100fps due to variances in temp, atmosphere, load, etc... I have also used Barnes (168 TTSX) on an Elk at 312 yards and they, again, demonstrated textbook penetration and controlled mushrooming. Devestating wound chanel, though not a huge waste of meat.

Couesfan, out of all the threads so far, yours is the most unbelievable. If it werent for the pictures, I would probably called BS (at least in my head). Anyways, thanks for sharing! It was a fantastic read and very interesting. All these other stories have also been great. Keep them coming!

With a 300 winchester magnum just about any choice is good on elk . However, in my experience, the ballistic tip does not perform as well as the accubond on elk and moose sized game. The accubond has a more solid copper shank and jacket which aids in penetration. The ballistic tip will expand faster than the accubond. However, either would be a sound choice as long as you only take ethical shots, as with ANY caliber and ANY game. IMO if there is a chance you will shoot past 250 yards (which you should only do if you have a LOT of prectice and confidence in your rifle and yourself) do yourself a favor and go with an accubopnd.

I actually have a friend who hunts all his big game with a .338 lapua magnum. It's a custom Weatherby Mark V, as long as he sticks to a solid copper bullet not purposed for expansion it doesnt do too bad. Of course, there arent differing levels of deadness, but if there were, the coues he kills with that would be classified 'extra dead.' On topic, frangible bullets are no-nos for big game (and coues too ) Stick with a TSX, it will get the job done @ 200 yards and closer (watch the wind, in my experience those little 50-55 grain bullets moce around a LOT even with a 5mph cross breeze.Enough to mean the differnece between a trophy and a wounded animal, that's for sure.)

Wow, your brother killed a dandy! Congratulations to him that's a trophy in anyone's book!

I agree that the questions have nothing to do with the outcome. The questions are there to distract you from the upcoming question mentioned at the start of the excercise. They are just there so the answer you give isnt influenced by thinking about something else.

All I can say is congratulations, those are some beautiful deer. I do have one SERIOUS correction to make to you online article, 103" IS in fact a giant!

Quite frankly I have no idea how it works. The original email I got from a firend claimed that 98% of people would say red hammer. I did the test and I said red hammer (before I read that statistic). It weirded me out, but it was a good, incredulous wierd. I'd figure I would post it herre and let those who actually think that be amazed. However, I do not believe at all that 98% of people say it (normal people). Then again, we all are hunters, and who else looks forward so much to a time each year where we physically exert ourselves, curse like a sailor (at the very least you are thinking it ) at everything from the mountain to 'those little evasive b@$turd deer', to that dumb cactus that forced itself on me? JK but still... This test works its best if you say the very first thing that comes to mind, you can't think about what you want to say just say what you think. You have to think it very fast, too .

+1 on that, don't give up! I have seen entire populations of Coues Deer up and move from one of a series of valleys and basins to the next one over (usually harder to get to ) in a period of weeks, even days. Dont know what causes it, sometimes those deer just know.

http://azgfd.net/artman/publish/NewsMedia/Injured-Mexican-wolf-dies-on-way-to-veterinarian.shtml A young mexican grey wolf died on the way to the vet after being captured. Seems like a lot of this has been happening recently (wolves dying). I may be a big softy, but I find it a little sad it was a young male. Usually I rejoice when Mexican Grey Wolf numbers go down. What's wrong with me? Anyway, just thought I'd let y'all know.