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COOSEFAN

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Posts posted by COOSEFAN

  2. Posted · Report reply

    If I had more time I would do a 2013 "Hit List" but just crazy busy right now, hopefully in the next week or so I'll get something put together. I will say I could just re-post my "2012 Hit List" because it's all the same bulls as none of them have been killed, came very close on a couple of em' tho! The 390" we killed last year wasn't on the list and just found him last minute before the archery hunt. Most of our "Hit List" bulls are bigger this year and I'm crazy jealous of those with tags!!! Best of luck, JIM>

    • Like 1

  3. Posted · Report reply

    Hey bbd1234, not sure if it's too late for my opinion here or not?

     

    I've got the Loc Jaw/ Rifle Railz system on several rifles and a TON of critters have met their demise because of it!

     

    The biggest reason why I love it is because I'm usually helping others on their hunts and more times than not they are using one of my rifles. Having the ability to lock the rifle down for a "first timer" or a kid that otherwise would have a hard time holding the gun steady is a huge advantage and greatly increases their accuracy. For the experienced guys it does the same thing and increases the effective range on my rifles when locked down.

     

    The Loc Jaw is better than the other products on the market because it's not just another bulky piece of equipment that you have to mess with or carry around in your pack or worry about it falling off. Aside from that, the technical reasons why it's better is because it doesn't apply un-neccessary pressure to your stock and it's constantly in the exact same place. Those are big reasons to consider if you've got a long range rifle.

     

    As for the "Con" about it not being easily removed for use on another rifle... That's why I like it! I don't have to worry about it falling off, not sitting in the exact place it was when I sighted the rifle in, or if a clamp is going to crack my stock. I consider the system as part of the gun and not something removable. Sight the rifle in with it installed and practice setting up and shooting with it a bunch before the hunt and you'll greatly increase your chances of success! Best of luck, JIM>

  4. Posted · Report reply

    it does NOT taste like chicken! ;)

     

    We've made summer sausage and slim jims outta them and it's good. Some of my family have had fresh back straps on the fire and said it was awesome, I'll just take their word for it. JIM>

  6. Posted · Report reply

    I'm ready!!!! So COOSEFAN, what is your opinion on which unit to hunt??? 35B or 36B???? I have experience in 35B and have a taken a couple bucks down there. Is 36B worth changing units??

    I love both those units and not sure which would be better. I've probably seen bigger bucks on average in 36B tho. Both will have tons of hunters but both have tons of areas that get overlooked. I actually see less trash and illegal traffic in 35B than 36B, but that could just be the areas I hunt. I've always felt safer in the 35's for some reason but have no facts for why that is, I've had my share of experiences with illegals there too.

     

    My only advice would be to avoid leftover tags in 36A. That's been the hardest unit for me to figure out and I've since given up on it and swore I would never go back! Ha! I know there are some "honey holes" in there somewhere but I've never found em' and more times than not folks have a hard hunt there. It's easy to find deer, there's a TON of does, but finding a branch antlered buck can be a huge challenge! They are there tho but from what I've found, they are on top of the biggest mountains or way out in the flat Muley country where it's pure luck jumping one and getting a shot off!

     

    Them's my honest opinions for what it's worth ;)

    • Like 1

  7. Posted · Report reply

    Here's an old video of a buck I shot using the same tactics I'd mentioned above. I can't remember if this was a leftover tag or not but it is an Oct. hunt in my favorite leftover unit.

     

    The country was low lying rollers surrounded by bigger mountains or ridges. These rollers ran lengthwise East to West and the North sides of the fingers were thick and shady all day. A lot of the other hunters would focus on the big ridges and mountains surrounding this area but nobody was hunting these low pockets or glassing close enough into them to really pick it apart. Sitting back at a distance it was clear that bucks from the high pressured surrounding hills could find safety in these low pockets so the plan was set.

     

    We hiked around to the farthest North finger and started slowly working South, cutting each finger in half and only glassing the North, North-East facing slopes. Each time we would near the crest of a finger we would crawl over and glass the opposite shady slope a little at a time as it came into view. Once we had it decently covered and settled into position we would then set up the tripods and pick it apart. It was as I was on my belly glassing the opposite side of a ravine that I first glassed the rump of my buck in his bed. Eventually I noticed his rack as he flopped his head and he had no clue we were laying across the ravine from him. He being unaware allowed me to get setup and thoroughly glass the surrounding area for any additional bucks which there were none. The shot was easy and the whole hunt went exactly as planned which was really cool.

     

    Bucks being in bachelor groups during the first hunts is another reason why I love early hunts. Find 1 buck and there's a good chance he has a friend or two nearby and you then get to take your pick! Always, if you have time, check the surrounding area of a buck to make sure his older brother isn't close by!

     

    This thread has me all worked up to hunt Coues in Oct!!!!

     

    Here's the video, it's not the greatest quality but cool none the less and is one of my favorite bucks!

     

     

    http://s31.photobucket.com/user/jkmullins/media/Coues/Jimbos07Coues.mp4.html

    • Like 2

  10. Posted · Report reply

    It's looking like I'll be taking advantage of a leftover tag this year and I'm just as excited about that as I would've been had I drawn my first choice! Leftover hunts are what you make of them. You can either treat it as just a "bottom of the barrel" tag or you can treat it as though it was your first choice. Whichever way you decide will dictate what you get out of the hunt in the end.

     

    I always treat the leftover tags as though they were my first choice. I spend the money scouting and preparing, I take the whole hunt off and I invite all my friends and family. The more you put into it, the better the experience and outcome will be.

     

    Life's short, you never know when it'll be your last hunt or the last time you'll get to sit on a hill and glass with a friend or loved one. Take advantage of it and make the most of it! JIM>

    • Like 5

  12. Posted · Report reply

    Leftovers are awesome! We've killed a pile of decent bucks on leftover tags and have a blast doing it! The main thing is to keep your expectations in check. Expect to have a lot of hunting pressure, expect it to be hot, expect having to take extra precautions for safety when near the border and keep your trophy standards reasonable. If you do all this you'll not be disappointed and you'll have an enjoyable hunt!

     

    The #1 tip i'd give for most early season hunts is to pay close attention to areas that are easily overlooked by the masses. Hard to get to and/or overlooked areas will typically hold the bucks and especially the older, smarter bucks. Sometimes these spots may be right next to a main road and everybody just drives past thinking they need to get their vehicles as far in as they can, or these spots may be the highest and hardest to get to basins or canyons. It's not hard, especially after the first couple days of the hunt to notice where other hunters are pressuring and where they aren't.

     

    The #2 tip would be always glass with the sun in your face! By doing this you'll be spending more time glassing likely areas increasing your chances of spotting a buck. On the early hunts, with pressure and heat, lots of these bucks will be bedded at first light and usually in a spot that will stay shady for most of the day. It's very rare that I'll glass a sunny hillside on an early hunt! One thing that has worked for me many times is after identifying a low pressure spot or a spot that is surrounded by pressure, I'll sneak in as quietly and undetected as possible, low crawl over ridges, staying in the shadows, keeping brush between you and the area you'll be glassing and constantly tell yourself there is a bedded buck watching your direction. Even if it's only 100 yards across or 1000 yards across your glassing area, stay undetected and use high power optics to glass through and under the vegetation. Look for white rings, horizontal lines, white or black spots etc. The main thing is approach these areas undetected and stalk in as though you know for sure a buck is watching.

     

    A lot of folks skyline themselves when approaching a glassing spot. If there is a buck bedded across from you he most likely will have seen you and will never get up until after you leave. At that point you'd have to hope parts of him are visible and you can still glass him up. By always treating it as though there IS a buck watching your direction, you'll increase the chances that hidden bucks may stand and stretch mid day allowing you to pick them out. This is also why on early hunts, mid day can be the best time to be glassing!

     

    In short, glass into the sun, focus on shady, un-pressured pockets, glass close with high power optics and treat every situation as though there IS a buck watching your direction! If you do this, and stay out all day, you'll be surprised how many bucks you start diggin' up!

     

    Best of luck, JIM>

    • Like 4

  14. Posted · Report reply

    And if it were real, what would a realistic price be?

     

    I remember an episode of American Digger where they found and sold a grinding stone, or mano, for a crazy high price. I would think an axe head would be worth more than a mano, especially when the metate wasn't with it, but I never thought axe heads were worth much? JIM>

  17. Posted · Report reply

    Hey all, I just wanted to share with you info about the Extreme Huntress Competition that is coming to a close soon. A friend of ours is very close in the running to win and I was hoping to help get the word out about the contest in hopes of helping her win!

     

    Our friend is Mindy Arthurs and I have hunted with her before and can attest to her abilities as a great bowhunter! In just a short amount of time since her first bear hunt she has become addicted to the sport and can't get enough! Since that first hunt she has been extremely successful in harvesting a bunch of great animals and has successfully introduced many new folks into archery and bowhunting. The best thing about Mindy is her drive to share the sport with others and we feel if she wins this competition it will definitely give her a boost and additional opportunity to share her passion with many more people.

     

    If you get a chance, check out the links below and if you click on Mindy Arthurs' picture you'll get to see her bio and see for yourself why she is a great candidate to vote for! I believe you can vote twice by voting on Facebook as well as the main site. Thanks if you take the time to check it out and vote for Mindy! JIM>

     

     

    http://www.extremehuntress.com/vote/

     

    https://www.facebook.com/extremehuntress

     

    Here's an article that written about Mindy...

     

    http://www.yourwestvalley.com/peoria/article_02b47e1e-d511-11e2-9b7c-0019bb2963f4.html#.UbtKazXvoac.facebook

     

     

  20. Posted · Report reply

    Howdy all, tis the season for Turkeys! I was just day dreaming about my upcoming hunt and re-watched my video from last year. Even tho it wasn't a text book Turkey hunt it still gets me excited re-living it and figured I'd share it here again.

     

    I was by myself and video taped the whole hunt with a GoPro cam so it's not very good. I had the second hunt last year which was very tough and the birds were quiet or non responsive most of the time but it was still a blast! The bird at the end appears to be WAY out there when in actuality he was less than 15 yards! The very wide angle lens on the GoPro makes it deceiving but it's really cool none the less. Also, I didn't realize how tight the choke was on the borrowed gun, hence the first 2 missed head shots, but thankfully that Benelli shoots fast!

     

    Good luck to all the tag holders this season, I look forward to the posts and pics! JIM>

     

  21. Posted · Report reply

    I wish I had the first hunt! I've got the second and will be picking up the scraps like last year. I've been up there a bit recently and even drove a ton of roads looking for elk tracks and never saw a bird or even a track! They've got the count wrong in that unit and should let the population build up. I know, just like they do elsewhere with different species, they counted the same birds multiple times over and then with some mathematical equation came up with an imaginary population total! Oh well, there are a few birds there and if I don't use the tag somebody else will, I'll give it my best shot! It's always a great excuse to be in the woods anyways!

     

    Best of luck Doug, look forward to the pics and story! JIM>

  25. Posted · Report reply

    Way to go Mark, loved the write up and what a beautiful specimen for the trophy room! I love the quick "one and done" hunts, but to get to drag it on with multiple opportunities, many more experiences and to finally seal the deal, I think is much better and will stick in your memory for much longer! Congrats on an awesome trophy! JIM>

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