AZcoues_addict

I'm guessing he'll go 118 gross. Amazing buck, thanks for posting. Let us know what you get if your buddy rough scores the rack.

I thought that looked like 22. Beautiful bird, congratulations and thanks for sharing!

Ha, I might have to aggree! Expanding on mattys comment, do you plan on a pot luck style if it gets too large, or just show up with your own extra food and drinks? I should be able to make it, since I'll probably already be up there scouting for an archery hunt. I think this is a great idea by the way. Jason

FLMAO! This thread is hilarious!!!!! I usually don't post often, but wow some of you really are Junkies, huh? Anyway, I love it, keep posting!

Awesome shed, thanks for posting!

Check the FOC, arrow flight, and ultimately go with what performs better and it tuned for your setup. Usually you already have your arrows chosen based on their stiffness for your bow and poundage, where the FOC for the arrow will then determine your tip weight. Remember this should all be secondary to arrow flight! Go with what performs the best. For reference I shoot 360 grains and have NO problem with penetration at long range, but I also have a high kinetic energy.

You can go to the main G&F office in Phoenix and ask to view the draw results data base. They will also sell you a full copy of these results for every species, that way you take it home and study the units before you apply. I purchased one this year.

It looks like I drew archery antelope again for the second year in a row! Maybe I'll also get some video of my long range groups this summer, of course after I start practicing everyday.

I shot my best mule deer this past weekend with my bow! I spotted a few sets of does and a couple bucks feeding below me up a thick wash, one buck was heavy and very respectable so I quickly moved out of sight and into position. I stalked down into the wash, heading toward them down the wash while they were heading up it. I had the wind in my favor, and was moving along very slowly, when I soon spotted does coming my way. Within minutes a few of the deer were within range, but the buck stayed out of sight. After a starring contest with one of the does within 8 yards, I took a few slow steps to get something started. The does headed up the hill and the large buck suddenly came busting out of the brush to meet them, stopping of course to look and see what the scare was about. I ranged him at 70 yards, knocked an arrow, drew my bow, and side stepped out from behind the bush I was hiding while drawn. I held my pin on him and applied pressure to my release, watching the arrow head straight toward his vitals. He bucked and kicked, and ran as quickly as he could over the small hill away from the does. I knew I hit him, but wasn’t sure how well so I tracked him to the top of the hill. As I reached the crest, I could see his antlers sticking up about 80 yards down the next side. I had my best mule deer buck down! I never did see his rack too good before the shot but I knew he was a respectable buck and told myself I’d take the shot if he gave one to me. I had to make a quick decision and am very happy with him but I did think he was a bit larger before the shot (ground shrinkage, believe it or not). He's no coues so I might get harped a bit on this site, but I'm a native to AZ and I've focused the last 6 or more years ONLY on coues and decided to try something different for a change this year and love it, so go easy on me! The whole story with additional pics is here: http://www.azodchat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13451

I just couldn't resist to comment about the 100 yard, 3 inch group. All of the nonbelievers won't believe it till they see it, because they can't come anywhere near it and they'll just criticize in the meantime. With that said I DO believe it because I've done it myself, and more than once or twice, and yes AT LEAST 3 arrows constitutes a group. I shoot groups at 70 yards equivalent or better than most people's 30 yard groups! Granted, once I did want to be in the Olympics for archery, but those days have passed and hunting is my passion now. If you don't believe it oh well, keep practicing! It takes more dedication and practice than 99% of the people out there are willing to put in (and maybe a bit of natural born skill, which all of us are not even capable of, but that's another discussion)! Check out my buck I shot this past January at 70 yards and made a near perfect shot, you can see the hole, no accident. I don't usually shoot over 70 yards because of all the other factors since its not a stationary target and hunting ethics is involved, although I know I easily can. Yes it is a bit of bragging, but it is possible. All of this with a HOYT, no Mathews here! http://forums.coueswhitetail.com/forums/in...amp;#entry54721

Awesome bucks, super quality! Great pictures, stories, the whole thing. Congrats on a special and memorable trip with your clients and dad, and thanks for sharing/posting all your success. Your posts are always great to see, I can't wait to see what you find next season Jim! Jason

Wow, that is an amazing buck with any equipment, let alone the hard way! I'm envious of you bare bow shooters, and your buck! That truly is a trophy of a lifetime, congratulations!

Nice buck, great archery kill, congrats! Way to stay with a wounded animal and finish what you started, I like to hear storing like that.

Nice buck, great archery kill, congrats! Talk about spending saved money for mounts, my recent buck and lifesize lion added up to one expensive hobby this year!

SS - He had small eyeguards that were broken off but they didn't look like they'd go much more than an inch anyway, if that. He could have broken them off anytime this fall, but I found a few other nice bucks with broken off tines so it could have happened recently, it was that time of year.

As far as using any bow on the market I know of with only one pin up to 45 yards, I respectfully disagree with anyone trying this unless you fully understand that you will need to adjust your aim high/low for varying distances and practice this way. I've shot the new Mathews, new Bowtechs, new Hoyts, many, many others, and I currently shoot a Hoyt Supertec at 305 fps actual chrono speed and I can't achieve this flat of shooting in ANY bow on the market I've seen today, so I would not recommend this type of shooting to anybody unfamilar with it. As for sites, look at as many different types as you can and hold them up to an actual target or decoy, since everyone has their preference and it varies. Go with what looks the best to you, without too much clutter in the window. If you can't shoot accurately to far distances, then I'd go with a 5 pin that will last you a long time, else I might consider one I could add pins onto later. I'd also check out the new sliding sights since they are great and on the rise, but still go with what you like. I'm currently shoot a dusk devil 2 and love it. Most people I know don't care much for it, but I love it and its great for me. I started with 5 pins, and added more when I became a better shot. I took care of the recognizing the pin problem since there are 2 pin sizes available for this model, normal and micro. I have 3 normal size pins at 30, 40, 50 for more light gathering, and micro pins for further distances. This way if I'm shooting far distance my eye automatically picks up the 60 yard micro pin first, and counts down from there, easy to recognize. There isn't much clutter in my sight window due to the thin pin supports, I love the way it looks, and it works for me. I went with my instinct and have no regrets.

That is truly sad to see. I've heard of it, but personally never found them still alive. Arizona Guide, that is one of the best stories I've heard in a long time, thanks! I'd love to see a pic if you have one of the buck or the rack (sorry if not since he was your father's old friend, I understand). Its always amazing to see and think of how a monster buck manages to get around with all that weight on one side of his head?

This is a bowhunters nightmare! Sounds like the guy is just plain selfish and doesn't deserve to call himself any type of true hunter or outdoorsman in my book. I wouldn't recommend tresspassing on legally posted land, but I don't know if I could have seriously left a buck of that caliber alone overnight. I think I'd have called G&F and been searching with a headlamp!

Very good tips here, so I'll add a new one. Bring the smallest size, trout colored (with spots) super-duper you can find. Bring two, you can find them at Walmart usually. Work it upstream against the current slowly, with small twiching motions while reeling it in so it bouces up and down and turns with the current. I've had some fantastic trips with this lure up higher on the Black river, catching more native Apache trout than you'd believe, and eradic movement seems to work better sometimes. Don't forget to come back and let us know how you do, and post pics!

I was sent the same original pic in an email about a year ago as well. I saw it posted on another site last year, I can't remember which one, but I remember the picture so well because I see it everyday on my screensaver at work!

Neo is right on the money. I've judged and scored quite a few whitetails through the years, and if its scoring you're after through a spotting scope, I've always used features on the face to judge score since this is where you're already looking. I use the distance from the eye to the tip of the nose of approx. 6-7 inches to judge the length of the points. If his G2 or tallest point is noticeably longer than this distance, he's probably a shooter. I estimate the inside spread of the rack anwhere from 13-15 inches if he's as wide as his ears, and he's probably a shooter then too. Next, I look for mass, judging the diameter of the bases by the width of his eye or the black region surrounding the eye. This seems to work well for me.

Wow, that is a beast! Thanks for posting, and thank the shooter for sharing!

Awesome buck, congratulations! Thanks for sharing the pics, I really like that first one where you're admiring your buck, good stuff! It's better when it happens so fast, I know I've blown way too many chances where I've had too much time!

Awesome buck, and with a bow, I'm totally jealous! I've hunted that unit a few times, and the hills in the background look very familar? Anyway, congrats again on an awesome trophy buck!

I think its a bad idea to have an elected commissioner, it would have to be voted on by ONLY hunters and outdoorsmen, and then its still a debate if all of those who call themselves by this name really are or not! Hawkeye, how many BPs do you have for antelope? You got me thinking, I should have 10 for Elk, maybe we can work something out? Anyone else interested?