Coues 'n' Sheep

Thanks everyone.... I will keep you all posted if it turns up.

This top left rack is the one that my buddy lost yesterday.......

I had a few of my hunting buddies over to help work on my new house this weekend..... then we BBQ'ed and and "fondled" our horns from this past season... As we had them all piled on the bed of the pickup it dawned on us that AZ "ain't so bad". In the pic are: a 111" typical gross, an 84" typical gross, a 107" non-typical gross, a 106 typical gross, and a set of sheds (one side is kinda chewed) that could gross about 128"+ with a 12" spread! All from central AZ. I would LOVE to go hunt in Mexico.....but until I can, I will make the best of what we have right here. We may not have as many big bucks as Mexico , but AZ does have some Great coues deer and Great coues deer hunting!

I almost forgot to mention that there is a Pic of those horns in my post, "Who Needs Mexico??". It is the set sitting in the back left corner of the picture. It has very long main beams out infront of the G-3's and that is hard to see in the pic.

We picked up six Brownies on Friday.... 2 match sets.... 2 singles. The one single, is one side to a 360+, 7x7 and we are pretty sure some one eles found the other side. .... Had fun though....

That thread disapeared?? What happened?

Does anyone know what aprox. date they will release the '06 hunting Regs??? And are they going to have the application dead line in June? At one of the G&F meetings I went to, they were talking about going to a "split" dead line.... an earlier one for elk and antelope....and a later one for the rest of the hunts. It did not make much sense to me...... and I didn't understand if they were going to make those changes or not?? IF IT AIN'T BROKE DON'T FIX IT!!!!

OK....

Not tryin' to pick on ya, Bret...... but didn't Ben miss that TOAD in the Oct. hunt??

Half the reason for having the "one per Calendar year" rule is that it gives us the choice. To harvest or not to harvest. Just cuz you hunt in Jan. doesn't mean that you have to shoot one.... We each pass up about 10-20 bucks in December & January with a bow. If we see a shooter we take him. If you can kill a great big SOB with a bow in Jan. who cares if you have to sit the whole rest of the year out??? I think that if everyone (except juniors) was focused on only taking mature bucks in all seasons the success rate would already be down. Then they would not have to take good tags away and put more hunters into the woods at crappy times of the year. But you are right ....... it is all about the money. They have to keep gas in those G&F trucks and you know that can't be cheap!

Unless they close the forests early, all the easy spots will have been picked over pretty well by June.... I don't know 27 that well but if you send me a PM I will tell you my $.02 worth of info. I would like to personally Thank You and all the men & women over there with you. We owe you all a debt that we can never repay, but by telling you "Thanks" and letting you know that we Are thinking of you here at home. Thanks.

Are we going to do this? Or are we just gonna play for braggin' rights???

I took it.

Yeah..... the way to do it is a deep pit. Cook them all day... take the pig out, throw it away..... and eat the PIT!!!! They do make good "slim jims" though.....

LMFAO!!!!

I have spent time talking to several different AZGF employees and have more mixed feelings than ever about it all..... First.... in a perfect world we could all hunt when we want to. As hunting practices become more and more successful in the Dec. & Jan. hunts, we are harvesting a greater number of deer. At one time they couldn't hardly give away coues deer tags.... so they moved most of the tags from Oct. to Dec. to improve the success of the hunters and promote coues hunting. Now.... EVERYONE hunts coues deer. If we don't get a late tag we pick up our bows and kill one anyway. The Oct. and Nov. hunts require a different game plan, but all the really good coues hunters and guides that I know are switching to these hunts and having great success. Good hunters will always harvest deer....and the recreationalists will most likly not. I have never hunted an early hunt and I LOVE my long archery season and the long Dec. rifle season. But..... there are more guys wanting tags and a TON of future hunters that are not getting opportunies to hunt at all. AZGF is concerned that these "Future Hunters" may not keep the sport alive as voters in the decades to come if they are not in the field as young adults. PLEASE, understand that I DO NOT want these changes.... but they may have a few good points. And this is hunting.... not "killing" as was seem to expect when we draw a tag or buy one over the counter.... I seem to be fortunate enough to harvest solid P & Y bucks each year and am not afraid of the time constraints......I will adapt. If it were my way I would Raise the prices so that only real hunting "Junkies" would put in..... but the "rich" would still be able to as well.... I just want all the "camper/partiers" to go to the lake instead of the woods....and take their road hunting ways with them.... But we do need the VOTERS..... I wish I had a better plan.........

I'm in.... not that I have much time, but what the heck. I have a couple of buddies that would be down with it too.... Need to have a best pick-up head catagories too... Kinda sucks....how dry it is, might not get much horn huntin' in before the forests close.

Man, that is great!!! There is only one thing better than a dead kitty cat ......and that is TWO DEAD Kitty Cats!!!!!! Awesome story....thanks for sharing. BTW..... I think I could have missed that cat..... I missed mine twice at 225 yds cuz I was sooo excited to have glassed one up in shooting range! LOL!! Good Job!!

Dude..... that would make me Sick!!!! That is why they invented bungies & ratchet staps!!!!!

LOL.....I heard that they got him right behind the shoulder... ..... and that the found him "by the rock, by the bush, by the tree".

The Auction/ Govenor tag was brought in by someone else....they tried to get him before the rifle hunt and could not connect. A local guide who also new of the buck took his client in there and nailed him. A very old deer... very small body.... I heard the buck looked like he would score much higher on the hoof.... body size accounted for some ground shrinkage....I don't think the words "ground shrinkage" can really be applied .....but who gives a rip what he scores, that is a wicked cool buck!

yea you can see that from his truck load congrats man that is a awesome find !!! CM LOL! That is Josh's truck....

It was a guided hunt. The auction hunter tried to get him, but couldn't locate him. The guide new where to find the buck and they connected on the first couple of days of the general rifle hunt. The sheds off of the buck are much bigger last year. All the guys that have held those horns say that the pics do no justice.... that he is way better in real life.

Yup..... Awesome pick-up! I had that head in my hands last week and it is everything that you see in the pics and then some.... Got to put in a lot of time to get good ones like that..... and Justin puts in the time. There are heads like that in every unit that has lions in it.... Lions get a lot of big/solitary bucks.

Well, since you have the pics post them..... I have not taken the pics yet....we have been too busy. It is too cool of a buck not to get it on here.