Coach

Back to the typical coues WR, it will definately be broken in the next 3 -5 year IMO. I've seen deer coming out of sevaral units in the past few years that are really getting up there (but people are staying tight lipped about them - certainly not posting pix on the web) and I've heard from Sheep Guides in NM about some of the monsters they've seen from helicopters. Coues are changing their habits, spreading higher into the moutain country every year. With more water, higher quality feed, more cover and less predation, we're going to start seeing coues grow much bigger than we have in the past. Not to mention these deer live where they can't really be glassed. The guys who hunt high, timber/transition areas can probably already attest to the size increase they've seen there. Just look at the archery coues bucks that get posted here - more and more the congo bucks are in the pines with snow on the ground. 7 years ago who was hunting coues in January in the pines??? My guess is the next WR will be taken with a bow. So guys, what's the skinny on the 1 & 2 nontyp?

At 14 I got a Javelina - didn't get my first deer until I was in my 20's. I didn't hunt a lot in my teens - that's why I'm getting my sons started early. Hopefully they'll avoid some of the, er, "questionable situations", that occupied my time back then. Let's just say I thought I was Tommy Lee.

Welcome to the site, and great job on the first pig! I have some sons close to your age, some pix of them in the youth forum. Ya'll probably have a lot in common. This is a great place to share information and meet good folks. I hope you enjoy it.

With my Knight LRH, I like to go simple. 2 50 grain 777 pellets with 250 grain TC shockwave sabots shoot like a center fire out to 350 yards. 3 pellets grow the groups and waste powder. Good luck.

Wise words from Tuco!!! Great buck - good luck finding him bigger and cagier than ever this year!

Great looking bull - I'd put him over 350, but that's just me. Sorry about the camera - I think a guy could make a killin' (pun intended) making exploding trail cameras.

Here's my biggest... And here's my prettiest - not a very good pic though - back before digital cameras.

Not sure if this ranch had anything to do with Spidey. I kind of doubt it, or there probably would have been pictures of him there.

Ever scratch a huge bull behind the ears like a dog? Check out these farm bulls from Springdale up by Zion, Utah.

Dangit!!! I feel your pain. Skunked again - 0 fer 3 in the Jones house. Yeah, I put the boys and me all in for good tags, but figured somebody would draw a tag - NADA, skunk soup!!! Time for leftovers!

Wow what a week! My middle son, Nick, just got his first turkey last Tuesday on a quick, after school trip (here's Nick's story). My oldest son, Matt wasn't able to be there so I was anxious to get him out as soon as possible. Friday we played hooky and headed into the same area that Nick had scored in. We ended up getting out there about 1/2 hour later than I had hoped and the birds were already gobbling while we got our gear together. You know those mornings where everything just goes wrong? Well, the first set was exactly like that. It was already too light to be setting up and the blind was giving me fits. So we ended up sitting against a juniper with our stuff spread out all over the hill and gobblers coming out of their roosts. A few light calls and immediately either a huge hawk or immature eagle came in and landed right above the decoys. Needless to say, nothing else came in. After being skunked, we did a little cruising around looking for tracks around the tanks in the area hoping to come up with a late-morning plan. The wind picked up quite a bit around 9:00 am. I wasn't really sure what to do next but had a feeling we should head back toward where the gobblers were talking at first light and find a little indention out of the wind. We were able to find a small cut in the back of the burn that was mostly blocked from the wind and had good visibility for the decoys, and quite a few tracks in the soft dirt leading in, so we set up. We started calling and within about 10 minutes, Matt told me he had heard a gobble. His ears are better than mine, but he also tends to get a bit exited, and since I hadn't heard it, I sort of discounted it. The first calling sequence lasted about 15 minutes and I was trying to be as loud as possible to beat the wind. I sat back in the blind thinking about the afternoon hunt and taking a break from calling - and I have to admit was just about to doze off. All of a sudden, Matt whispered, "Dad, there's a turkey coming!" Sure enough, right down the hill comes this silent tom sneaking in toward the decoys. It didn't take long for him to get in range, and Matt had opted to borrow my 12 guage shooting 3.5" mags instead of his and his brothers' 20 guage so I wasn't too worried about him coming all the way into the decoys. At about 35 yards, Matt let him have it. It was hilarious! That gun practically blew him backward out of the blind. He looked at me like he wasn't sure if he had shot the turkey or the turkey had shot him! The gobbler piled immediately and it was time for photos!

Cut yerself shavin'?

I met a couple nice guys on course 1 Saturday after my buddy accidentally dry fired his bow. Sunday I think I saw the same two guys getting into a maroon dodge with a CWT sticker near the walking courses - just wanted to say "Howdy".

Shoot me a PM. Been in there a little and might have some good info for you. Gotta check my older maps.

Nice! Reminds me of old-school Scouting in the Fred Darby age! 2nd Class Scout, Eastern Oklahoma!!! Hill country boys could shoot, by God! My brother went full on Eagle Scout. Great job getting those kids out of the 'burbs and into the "Real World". Kudos brother!

Nice find, thanks for sharing!

+1 for the Slick Tricks. Very solid head, and they always fly well. I've never seen one that doesn't fly true, and if you look at the steel construction and razor sharp blades, you'll see that they are built extremely well. I haven't shot the Wac'Ems, but I have shot the knock-offs, (G5 Stingers and other Bass-Pro and Cabela's Copperhead look-a-likes) and there is a reason they are copied so often. They, too are a great head. I've shot a TON of broadheads and the ones that all seem to group together for me are G5 Montecs (too soft in my opinion and hard to get razor sharp), Slick Tricks (my favorite), Magnus Stingers, and G5 Strikers (a wac'em clone). All good heads, but when I get ready to hunt, I fill my quiver with the Slick Tricks. They have a solid steel ferrule and the Solingen blades come razor sharp and do thier job. That said, any of the BH's above plus the Shuttle T's (no first hand experience but I know guys who have had great success with them) will do the job. Just tune your bow well, and practice with the heads you'll hunt with and they will slice and dice. Get one that you can resharpen or replace the blades easily and forget about field points for the last 4 - 6 weeks before your hunt. Shoot only those broadheads, and you'll see which ones maintain accuracy out of your setup.

Sorry about your loss. This really brings to light the mentality of "hunters" in AZ who think they can claim an entire area. I'm not surprised though. I won't even put a camera out without fully expecting it to be gone the next time I check it. Very sad, but *especially* in the more remote places, you're gonna find these cats who are overly protective of "their" spot. It sure ain't right, but it's reality.

Yep - that was us! Wow, I guess my attention to detail on the truck was a little off (Red Chevy ... Maroon Dodge ... same thing). Thankfully (luckily) the bow was OK, which I'm really glad about, since he's just getting started and really liking it. A ruined brand new bow would not have been a good way start out. Anyway - nice meeting you and Jamey - I hope you guys had a good time at the shoot.

Prayers sent - May God be with him and his family.

I saw this on another forum and thought it was pretty funny.

You're in luck. First of all, welcome to the White Mountains. It's a great place to live for outdoor enthusiasts. There is a really good archery shop up here. Jed Larson runs a Bowtech shop in the Verizon Wireless store on the edge of Show Low as you are heading toward Lakeside. It's up on the hill and if you didn't know it was an archery shop, you might miss it. I can tell you from years of experience that you won't find a more knowledgable archery technichian or all-around bowhunting/archery fanatic than Jed. I'm sure others on here will echo that. Guys who have been around the bowhunting community in AZ know his reputation. He's a great guy, honest and really knows his bows. I bought my first new bow from him long ago when he worked at Bear Mesa in the valley, and he's really on top of the industry, the technology and bowhunting in general. PM me if you need directions to his shop, but if you are heading from Lakeside into Show Low, once you pass the light at the Winchester and make the bend into Show Low, look to the left for a verizon wireless store with some bowtech banners at the top of the hill before you get to the new bank (Wells Fargo?). If you're more of a Mathew's fan, there is also Timber Mesa. They run a good shop from what I've seen and heard, but my business goes to Jed, just based on my own personal experience with him over the years.

No problem Scott, I have two JR hunters chomping at the bit for the chance at a bear this fall. We'd be happy to come rid your tank of that pesky camera-eating skunk.

+1 for the Garmin Etrex. You can get the Legend HCx (high sensitivity, color display) for under $200 right now, plus another $109 for all 1:24000 maps of AZ, CO, NM and UT. http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=6015173 http://www.gpsnow.com/Garmin_010-11315-00.htm I have an older Etrex Vista that has been a very good unit for 12+ years, but I'll probably replace it with the Legend HCx soon. The legend is the same unit without the digital compass and barometric altimiter, neither of which I found particularly useful.

That's awesome - way to go guys.