Coues 'n' Sheep

This is the part I have been struggling with too. If you know who or think you know who. Deal with it with the person. Nothing against what was done because in the heat of the moment it sounds like something I might do.But I didnt. I personally would not have put a cam near a blind I thought might be being used but then I dont have a cam...One of these days someone is going to get shot doing something stupid like this and the antis are going to revel in it... You Assume that just cuz I have a “hunch”... a possible first name and a truck description from one of the guys I was with that I am able to find this guy... I assure you that if I do find him we will discuss it...hopefully in a civil manner. As a matter of fact, this forum has a large enough following that I am hoping that my “Advertising” of this event in the area it happened and on here will help me to talk to the fellow. Those of you jumping on the band wagon to trash my “maturity” and/or my decision to send a loud message… I respect you opinion. But you have not walked a mile in these shoes, I can tell from your tone… if you have never been tripped, then you really don't know if you will fall or catch yourself. I have no more right than the next guy, that is fact… but I have just as much right as the next guy. Putting up a blind, camera, treestand, sign, or whatever, on a water source in AZ… does NOT “call it” as yours, or satisfy “first come first serve”… A butt in a seat does. Unit 9 is a great example of this…. 5 cams on each drinker in the unit… AZGF and the “Hunter Opportunity” concept has spawned greater numbers vying for the same critters. I have come to terms with this change and am used to seeing multiple cams, blinds, or treestands on waters… most of them never get hunted… so why should I avoid a spot because someone placed equipment there??? The answer is I shouldn’t. I place my equipment… I leave theirs alone and expect them to do the same… seems pretty simple to me. A motto all sportsman should adopt. That is the purpose of this thread… the message… not to cry, or whine… to contribute and inform. Kinda like the purpose for this forum all together… Again I thank all the input on this topic. I will continue to stand with my actions as just, and have NO remorse for them. I however do very much have remorse that it has come to this due to people's lack of decency. As I mentioned if flash was the issue you can temporarily disable a flash just as easily as he permanently disabled my cam… and I would not have faulted him for that at all had he removed it when he left… Cheers.

I have often wondered how pups that start out so cute can turn out to be so stupid... just something about them labs..... I am looking for a heeler pup though! Sorry Butters!! Just couldn't help me self!

Nice Job Guys!

Well Mike and others. I have come to know the Man Gino is top notch and respectful of others. I Only respect one other Payson resident as much and I should add most everyone here is quality folks. I have heard first hand about these guys in the past and the BS that G has put up with is way beyond what most would tolerate. I have know him since 03 and have seen him mature so in those years. Was what he did right? yes after 3 years of their BS I feel it was justified and no real harm done. They are on this site and he used this post to say I have had enough. No names were given and I won't post them either. Message sent and lets hope the Hatfields and MaCoys can carry on in peace. Hope thats OK Buddy. I would like to have my blinds dry Mike & Mike, I respect both of you very much and your opinions. Rembrant... You are a man of religion and you hold by "Do un to others..." and I have always treated others as I wish to be treated... In this case... Enough was enough... I did not damage anything... only sent a message. A message that will be thought of in the future... hopefull adding some other hunter who might find his camera on this guy's personal water hole. GH.... You are a true Friend. However,I think you are putting all my frustrations on one group of people and that is not the case... we have lots of hunters out there that do not respect the time and efforts of other hunters.... I have made reference to 3 different groups of "hunters" and apparently a 4th due to the Pm's I have gotten... repenting. I spend a TON of time in the woods (expensive time) and only ask that when I show up to check a camera or hunt a spot that I don't find that someone has crapped on my efforts.... or worse stollen from me. Thank You for vouching for my integrity it means a lot. Threads like this are important to us all as hunters... to see the the reactions of our actions, to realize the perspective of others.... to see the frustration of our piers.... Thanks to you all for taking part.

I saw that bull myself online and in text... WOW... but not public land for sure....

Well said Tines... I had a buddy ask me the same question yesterday about his up coming CO hunt. When on an outfitted hunt there are many aspects in tipping.... not just the hunt quality and trophy quality in respects to the guide but also tipping of the camp staff as well. I think if a guys works his tail off for you and you know it you should tip him good... if he also manages to get you opportunity at a great trophy class animal then you tip him better,IMO... Here is what I told my Buddy should apply to hunts under $5K ... "Take 20% of the hunt in cash for all the tips you may need.... tip accordingly(as you see fit) and if you have some left based on the quality of the hunt then put it in the back in the bank when you are done." Hunts over $5K jump you into a different tip bracket... in Africa on a $100K hunt we were expected to tip about 5% or 6% of the total hunt cost.

Oh... I forgot to say... Holy Frickin' G1's, Batman!!

Congrats to all!

Whooooo Hooooo! Congrats to Jody! Great bull... Great shot! Congrats to you as well Devin!

I'm sure you would Cupcake... ... Once again I stand with clear conscience before all the www. and God as my witness.... I don't hide in the shadows and throw sucker punches.... I stand right here with Nothing to hide. I took a high road and sent a message that incourages respect for others. I am proud to share this story with the good guys of this website who suffer from the same BS in the woods by Pecker heads like this. One of these days you will meet me in person and you might even get to witness how much respect I have for those with good ethics and how little I have for those who don't.

Now Casey.... ... those of us that know you, know that you are a Big Man.... but that you have often stuggled to be a Bigger Man.... and that you of all people would surely not have been as "Nice" as I was by "placing the blind in an upright possition" in the water for future hunting. You would'a been a Hot Mother... and so was I... these guys must learn that every action has an equal and opposite reaction.... and that is natures law. I will continue to respect others equipment until the momment they do not grant me the same respect... and then I will show them where they were wrong. It is simple, treat me and my stuff how you would like to be treated.... and I will oblige you. These guys keep pushing when you take the high road... I've been taking it long enough to know... so this is my proclamation to all who read is that I will no longer be willing to ignore the stupidity and arrogance of other hunters... beat me staight up and it is all yours.... sucker punch me and I might just kick you in the twig & berries...

Way to Go, Jarred! Great Bull!

With all due respect to the "flash" issue.... if indeed they had witnessed the flash "scare away" elk then a piece of tape over my flash while they hunted would have solved that problem... and considering that I have several pics in a row of the same elk in the dark not just on this hole but on others as well, I'm not so sure I would agree with their reasoning... not to metion had they been in the blind while my cam was in opperation they would have shot the best bull that was rutting in that basin at the time, because I have him on camera! I have not accused anyone, although I am pretty sure I know the guy's first name and what he drives and that his Dad had the tag... that was why they were sitting water and by placing the camera, I was actually doing them a favor by not working these elk... We had looked at all the bulls there but one, and knew he had to be watering at night due to his "grey light" behavior... we knew he was a 7x7 but were not convinced he was the kind of bull we were looking for, so a cam was far less invasive than us running circles around them as they sat. Thanks for the Support and the Humor.... cw4192..... as always, it must suck to the Rightious 1% that you are....

Well, I bought a RX-III about 1 1/2 years ago and honestly was not too impressed with it... could not get it to aquire over 500yds consistantly... then a month or two back it just plain quit! So i call Leuplod and they tell me send it in, with a note of description on the problem. I do that and last week they Fex-Ex'ed me a Brand new one, unopened... I am impressed!! Thank You, Leupold for Great Customer Service!!!!

Thanks... Don't like messing with others stuff but in this case a message was sent.

Oh! .....And for got to mention that the new one seems to Aquire Yardage much better than the last!!

The “Hard Way” part of this buck started clear back on Halloween night when my Niece, Savannah, her boy friend and another friend were mugged… beaten and robbed by 7 thugs on the Light Rail in Tempe… (Don’t get me started on this part) Now, with a badly broken collar bone, Savannah’s late coues hunt was in jeopardy. She missed classes and work further complicating her plan to hunt about 10-12 days … if she could even shoot a gun. She now had a pin, a plate, and 7 screws holding her collarbone in place. As opening day rolled around she had just gotten her sling off, and had managed light duty at work for a few shifts, but had no chance to really prepare for the hunt. On the Second day of the hunt (Saturday) Colton and her Dad took her out to an area were Colton had seen a whopper buck a few weeks earlier… they passed a couple of bucks over 90”… by mid-day she was hurting and the plate was cold.. adding to the pain. They called it a day and that night it was determined that the “pain” was infection… it had set into the incision over her plate…. time to go back to the Doc… hunt postponed. After a regiment of antibiotics and some more rest Savannah now had more movement and less pain… and was ready to hunt. She managed to juggle her work to get off Monday thru Wednesday and it was Game On! The Troops were rallied… Uncle Larry, her Dad (Dallas), Colton, and I would assist Savannah on this very short opportunity to ground check a 100”er or better if we could…. Monday: Cold and WINDY…. We didn’t see but one buck and he was on the move to find better cover. I was impatient…. And rallied everyone to make a move to the other side of the unit where I knew there was more deer…. That cost half day of hunting. Tuesday: We are in one of my favorite pieces of country….. Glassing…. Larry, Dallas, and myself are looking at a huge piece of country that Colton and Savannah are in and hunting. We find deer about 16 or so in a few hours… and they find a few others in pockets we can’t see. Pretty soon Colton lets me know that they have a buck rutting a doe way low and are on the move… “How big?” I ask….. “100…. Maybe better…” he whispers, breathing heavy as he is trotting down the back side of the ridge. Pic of Zip lookin’ for deer… We keep glassing…. Waiting…. (This is where I would like to tell you that we hear one shot and “Whooo Hoo, she smoked him!” however, some hunts don’t always go as planned….then we have work twice as hard for the desired ending. When the going gets tough we owe it to the animal to do our very best to recover that animal regardless of how tough it may be) …..back to the story: What seemed like an hour later we are jarred from our glasses from a distant, “BOOM”! Silence……….. BOOM…….. Silence……. BOOM….. not sounding good……. Silence….. BOOM……silence…… then Colton’s voice, “She got him the first shot, he’s hurt bad, and in a bush, I see him he has bedded and stood like 5 times in the last 5 minutes… he’s bedded now…. And he can’t slip outta there.” I tell him we are packing and will be to them in 2 hours…. just wait and watch. Two hours later I radio him, and he updates me, so we move to a support position above the bedded buck…. We can’t see him, they can’t see him, so it was decided I’d go down and either find him dead (which we believed) or push him out for a finishing shot. Ever wonder what it sounds like to hear a bullet hit before you hear the gun go off? … like a .22 short going off right next to you… (but I was behind a ridge and safe) ...The buck came to his feet just less than 20 yards from me and stared me down, then two shots… and the buck was on the move, again…. And bad hurt…. We watched the buck waiting for an opportunity to stalk him again, but lost him in a thick cut with lots of escape routes & hiding spots. With less than hour of light left we backed out knowing time was on our side if we just waited him out he had nowhere to go (we thought). Wednesday: At dawn we were back on point we now had one more body, my good lucky charm & buddy (Erin Bittner)… So Colton and Erin dive to the bottom of the canyon with Savannah (who is hurting pretty good)…. They plan to maneuver just across the canyon from the cut the buck went into and glass for him while we add support glass form the top… an hour later nothing… except howling coyotes above where we think the buck is… The call is made for Larry, Dallas and I come from the top and Erin form the bottom to find the deer while Colton And Savannah watch the hill, just in case… no luck. Now we are gridding…. 6 people on one hill… nothing…. Colton finds a track that appears flared on the right hoof and too deep in the soft dirt…. he follows till it drops into a lower canyon then side hills to a bluff with a good view of the area…. As he glasses he sees nothing… then a white patch up under a bush.. then the whole deer…. Dead. We all converge on the buck excited, to find that a lion had beat us to the buck but only long enough to drag it from the bed where it died in the open, to up under a tree 50 yards away the back of its neck still wet with lion saliva… no puncture wounds in the hide. The Lion almost hid the buck completely from us… we got there just in time! Savannah now held her “hard way buck” that a lion tried to steal! …The almost not getting to hunt, postponing the hunt, short time, and no prep…. And then an almost less than perfect ending… that netted her the buck that she has been wanting for a really long time. A mature Coues buck! Congrats to my niece, Savannah! You done good Girl… even with the odds against you! Bittner was behind the cam and only made it ito a few pics that I don't have yet, but here is the rest of the Crew! Then there was the 1 ½ mile pack out or um... up… I share this long winded story with you because even the best laid plans go south… we all hold these animals in high regard and it makes us sick to have to leave one out all night, while we are losing sleep about it… We can only put on our lucky hat and a good attitude and work hard to win. In this case patients, manpower, and hard work by a very good group of knowledgeable hunters made this “almost loss”, a Success! May we all have lots of one shot kills in our future… and on the days where just one does not get it done…. May we have the strength, patients and aptitude to win against the odds. Happy New Year!

I got two words...... Jack Wagon!

Love my Range Snap as well! Great product!

Alight... here is what I have... and I guessed in my mind (Was very close) then sat and put a pencil to it.... And I am known for being conservative..... Here is what I've got: Typ right side............44 2/8" Typ left side..............46" Extra Beam+points....17 4/8" Spread.....................13 2/8 ___________________________ Total........................121"........as he is in the video. Probably be with in an inch after he is hard horned, cuz of the balled up points should grow enough to off set the velvet...IMO. This buck is Not less than a High One-Teens buck with all the Extra... Extas of that proportion add up quick on Coues...Really quick! Awesome Buck! Steven, I hope you guys Ground Check him!!! Lets find out!!!!

Congrats on a Fantastic buck! Donate that tag to HOAL or something!

Congrats on a First and Great buck. Priceless that were able to share that with your son. Huge Congrats!

Great bucks thanks for sharing. Pics 1 and 3 are No Brainers... pushing 110 class deer, IMO. but pics are soo deciving.... Pic 2... let him go a year and that buck will make all your dreams come true! That is a mid- high 90's deer that is gunna be an amazing buck if he is allowed to grow up.... IMO. Again... pics are WAY deciving... I may be way off and some one will certainly point it out if I am...LOL!

Way to go my friend! Great work! Way to set an example of how to work your arse off to save the cape AND MEAT!! Great example of to sacrafice to prevail!! Thanks for sharing it!!

Man that Freaks me Out!! Hate those lil' buggars!