COOSEFAN

LOL! Naw, I roll with a "little" more class than Chrissy, he's all about the "Chef Boyardee", I splurged on some high class hot dogs, the ones with cheeze built in!!! I also gotta say, I wouldn't have gotten this bear if it wasn't for my buddies Bryan and Scott, they were gracious enough to put me on the right spot! Thanks guys! JIM>

That's a gorgeous bear!!! Shiny and black with a bowlin' ball for a head, freakin' awesome, great job! JIM>

That would be a rush no doubt! Congrats to him!!! JIM>

Hey Wheels, you mis-read the story, you can see the rifle in the pic and he used the wrong crosshair not remembering he was using his rifle and not the AR that he had used earlier on coyotes.

Thanks a ton for the great reply's and for taking the time to read my story! I've been anxious to get on here and share the experience with you all, glad you enjoyed it. Doing it alone like that is great but it's still much better to share the experience with friends or family. Usually, the first thing I do when I whack a critter and my dad isn't there, I'll call him, but where I was at there's absolutely no service for miles and miles! It was tough not being able to even call everyone and also made it a little more scary in case something went wrong! I'll most likely never bear hunt alone again, I've scratched that itch and don't really know what I'd do with a 3rd bear? My archery bear is lifesized and this one will be rugged so I'm content! I haven't put a tape on the skull yet and it's still got all the meat on it, but using my reach with my fingers he looks to be around 18" on the skull measurement, give or take a little. I would've guessed he was around 200lbs maybe and like i mentioned in my story, I was very glad he wasn't a bigger bear!!!! This one was perfect size, not to big, not to small and was still manageable on my own! We've killed some giant bears in the past and there is nothing fun about that, even with somebody helping! Thanks again everyone! JIM>

I like that Doug and If I had that I wouldn't have forgotten it at home like I did with my inclinometer! I've got a tool to do the same thing, my rifle builder got it for me and has taught me how to use it along with a cheat sheet he made. Most folks don't realize how much angle can affect your shot, especially at long ranges!! Just practicing angled shots and having this tool in the past has helped me a ton already because I have a better understanding of what to do, but you need tools such as these to be accurate with it! This one I've got is a Suunto Inclinometer, my buddy wears his on his rangefinder strap and he's deadly with that combo hangin' around his neck!! BTW.......that's my coues unit in the background from a couple weeks ago, look how crazy green it is down there!!!

Alright, kept getting distracted but I finally got my "book" written....Here's a link to the story. http://forums.coueswhitetail.com/forums/in...showtopic=20594

Lesson Learned: NOBODY should EVER hunt bears in August, in NASTY country ALL BY THEMSELF! Unless you're a stoopid huntin' NUT like me! More details later......

But then I wouldn't have gotten some much needed exercise! I'll check the cams this week, I'll stop and pick you up so you can be my bodygaurd!

Great story Mr. Jonathan, the country I was in wasn't near as nasty as the stuff you were in!!! TJ and Kidso, I'm glad I'm not the only crazy nut out there! JIM>

Sorry for the delay, the wife DID come home early and it wasn't pretty, I had to disinfect and scrub the entire kitchen! The best part happened after the meat was all cut, bagged and in the fridge, I was in the garage caping the head and her bible study group showed up!!!! LMAO! Wasn't my fault at all so I can laugh about it, she knew I was out there with the garage open and knew they were coming over, I didn't! One of the girls came in to check it out and was cool, the others gave me that expected look so I held the half skinned head up and smiled I'll work on the story now, the pics are loaded already. JIM>

"You better sleep with one eye open tonight!" "Hangin' with the boys!" "Stoopid range maggots makin' it hard to breathe around here!" "Now make sure to wash behind your ears!" "Hurry up dude, it's my turn!" "Bob and Larry are at it again!" "I wonder why nobody will come drink with me, I hope Fred's eye is ok, I didn't mean to poke it out!" "Maybe one day I'll be big enough to actually pee on Jim's salt lick!" ....to be continued .....continued, "Yep, it's everything I hoped it would be!" "Dangit Bob and Larry, knock it off, yer stirrin' up dust again!" "Wow, that's a purdy sunset" "Yeah, I'm a Super Star!"

Contact either Eddie Corona or Chris Denham via their emails listed below. Both are with OE4A and would be a great place to donate it! Eddy Corona: eddy@oe4a.org Chris Denham: cdenham@cox.net

Yeah I was already thinking of donating it. I am going to see who I can donate it to. If anyone knows who I can contact about it please send me some info. Thanks. Brian Eddie Corona with Outdoor Experiences 4 All is who I would contact. I'll see if I can get his contact info for ya. Which unit is your tag for? If it's a unit I know, I'd be willing to donate some time to help the lucky recipient of your tag as well! Thanks Jim. It is a unit 23 tag. Brian WOW, that was a hard tag to burn, I see your point now! LOL! Still a very worthy buck to burn a tag on regardless!

You know me, I intend to satisfy! LOL! I've got meat scattered all over my kitchen table right now that i've gotta get cleaned up before the wife gets back from church!

Yeah I was already thinking of donating it. I am going to see who I can donate it to. If anyone knows who I can contact about it please send me some info. Thanks. Brian Eddie Corona with Outdoor Experiences 4 All is who I would contact. I'll see if I can get his contact info for ya. Which unit is your tag for? If it's a unit I know, I'd be willing to donate some time to help the lucky recipient of your tag as well!

That's a fantastic buck, well worth burnin' a late rifle tag anyday! Congrats and definitely donate your unused tag, there's gotta be a kid out there willing to use it! JIM>

AWESOME JOB!!! Yeah, the more scouting and preparation you do means the less amount of luck you have to rely on.......you didn't rely on much luck man! My favorite trophy is a spot n stalk archery bear, mine required a lot more luck (and a rez tag) but the exhileration and adrenaline you get when 10 yards from a bear with only a bow in hand is second to none! Great job and congrats! JIM>

"So please, don't espouse your own personal ethics to impinge on the personal choices and freedom of others. And don't expect every hunter to share the same goals and dreams. And yes, I take no offense and enjoy all the opinions stated on this community forum" Well said Kidso and thanks for maintaining a positive attitude here despite the negative comments by others! JIM>

A good friend of ours, AZSagebrush, saw this bull in person first and named him "Dennis Rodman". I haven't seen him this year yet.

I think i got a pic of his daddy last year! They both definitely have 3 pedicles and 3 antlers! I love the freaks! JIM>

Awesome! I would shoot that freak bull anytime, that's a gnarly collectors item right there!!!! JIM>

PM sent back Ryan! You definitely can utilize your glassin' skills in that unit during mid-day! Glassing has no impact on the bulls and gives you a better idea where to intercept or sneak into the herd later in the day when they get up to move again and haven't been bothered. Also, if the rut is slow and there are no bugles, the glassability of that country is a huge help. If you find a really big bull and you can glass him, I would try spot n' stalking him instead of trying to call him in. Those bulls can get call shy in a hurry in that unit, especially to cow calls. Trick Treein', or raking trees with an antler or branch, is usually very effective after you've snuck into the comfort zone of a bull with cows, it usually makes him run in to chase you off, but you have to be in his comfort zone so he feels threatened! If you aren't close enough he may just grab his cows and move off. We've killed 4 bulls that were over 400" on regular season hunts such as yours, and we tried calling all of them in, but only 1 was actually called in when killed and it was mainly because he had no cows and the timing was just right. Any of those older herd bulls, 350"+ class or better, are more likely to move off with their cows rather than move in if you try calling them, especially in your unit, but you'll know after the first try what he's gonna do. The trick is to stop trying it if you know he's packing up his cows and moving off! A lot of people (i've learned this the hard way myself) usually continue chasing and calling and before you know it you've just pushed that bull miles out of his normal routine and made him very call shy. This sometimes happens by other hunters to a bull you've been working but it's just part of the game and is why plan B, C, and D are all great things to have! So, if you are on a big herd bull that keeps packin' up his cows and movin' off when called to, try gettin ahead of him quietly or sneakin in on em and rub an antler or a branch on a tree. You can even throw in a small sounding bugle with the trick treein' as well and sometimes gets the bull runnin' in to put himself between you and his cows, but you have to be in his comfort zone first before making any noises. If he still continues to move off, I would continue getting less pushy and definitely would stop calling or only throw out soft cow calls very sparingly just to cover up my foot steps (only if my steps are audible), or I would back out and try later. Sorry for the long winded rant, I just get all worked up thinking about chasing bugling bulls! Hope my experiences or thoughts help ya out! JIM>

There is an RV park in Arivaca or just on the outskirts of it, Christian has camped there several times and would be a good person for info about it.

Congrats on the tag! I love hunting the pinyon and juniper country for bulls! Hunting mid-day is usually when the bulls are in their bedding area or have shut down and stopped bugling. I always try to avoid bumping any elk if at all possible so I tend to not hunt through bedding areas during mid-day. I basically will hunt them for as long as they are talking or for as long as I can see them. If they shut up then I'll get to a high point and try to glass and spot n' stalk them. One thing to keep in mind is that during the full moon, while everyone else is in their camps taking a nap in the middle of the day, make sure to be close to their bedding area and try a bugle or two or at least listen. I've had some awesome calling experiences in the middle of the day during the full moon cycle and can sometimes be the best rut action you'll have that day, especially if you get some cloud cover and it cools down! There are tons of scenarios that will dictate what I do on any given day during the archery elk hunts, but the basics for me are as I've already mentioned, hunt them for as long as you can hear or see them, back out if you can't do either and get on em' later! Best of luck to ya, keep us posted! JIM> BTW...if ya don't mind sharin', PM me the unit you drew and I may be able to help you with more detailed info.