CouesWhitetail

I hope everyone has family joining them for Thanksgiving and that you all have a safe and enjoyable holiday!! We have lots of family coming and are smoking the turkeys at Boyce Thompson Arboretum on Thurs. So if any of you are looking for a place to get some exercise on Thanksgiving and take the family for a nice hike, the Arboretum is a great place to go. Lots of beautiful scenery and hiking trails. If you go, we will likely be in the picnic area enjoying a fine meal. Stop by and say Hi! We are doing two turkeys, one will be my bird from New Mexico this past spring. What a great hunt that was! Happy Thanksgiving!! Amanda

+1 Always a pleasure Scott. Amanda

Hope you all have a great day tomorrow! Amanda

We hung it with 20# test fishing line. and it's hung so that the fishing line enters the ceiling up near the wall and then angles out to the antler so it sort of pulls it in toward the wall. And the very tip of the 5th tine is wedged ever so precariously in the millimeter of lip in the flagstone there. Originally we talked about drilling into the mortar between the flagstone and using metal brackets, but we were too scared of cracking the stone. Amanda

Guess you better think again since he is way behind me again.... That time at the academy did him in. Amanda

Hey All, Well, this might ruin my reputation as a trophy hunter, but at times I become a meat hunter and since I came home empty-handed from my AZ hunt, I was in the mood to take a buck home. This year I had a NM tag and my buddy Scott said he would help me out. Day 1 - we went to a neat little spot where we saw some bucks but couldn't get them relocated after they went into thick cover. But at least we enjoyed the gorgeous sunrise that morning. That afternoon we took a chance and hiked a mile or so into a really neat looking basin where Scott thought we might find some WT bucks. The thing about NM seems to be that the WT are in little pockets and it seems there is some good WT country that doesn't have WT but mulies. Anyway, we weren't sure if this area would have WT or mulies and it just looked great on the topo map. It was a hot day and we finally arrived at the Basin around 2:30 pm. In a few mins we had located several mulies up feeding. As the afternoon wore on we found even more mule deer and one bull elk. Unfortunately even though the deer were out feeding all afternoon, we never saw a WT. So we decided this was just one of those spots that didn't hold whitetail. Day 2 - another nice sunrise. This day there was a lot of smoke in the air from a fire somewhere. Scott couldn't hunt the morning with me, so I went back into the area where we had some bucks the morning before. I found one just at sunrise, but it was small and it was in such thick stuff that I only saw it for about 2 seconds. So despite the low odds of seeing any bucks in that thick pinyon/juniper I decided to hike over there and try for a different angle. I set up and glassed hard for over 3 hrs and found NOTHING!! Ugh.... No afternoon hunt this day as we went to church together instead. Day 3 - Went to a neat big canyon that was very glassable. Found a few deer including some bucks and we decided to get over there and get a better look. We relocated the bucks and one looks good, but we are 480 yards out, so we back out and get higher up the ridge. Finally get to where it's a 390 yard shot. One buck is bedded and we search for the larger buck. Scott eventually spots the buck with his 30's through the juniper tree the smaller buck is bedded in front of. So I get set up with my bipod in the front and tripod under the butt of the gun so I have a nice rest for the shot. I have the bedded buck in my sights for about 2 hrs, but we are waiting for the other buck to come out from behind the juniper. Pic of the buck we didn't shoot: It's a great morning. Hardly any wind to speak of and just a beautiful area. Scott says "it just doesn't get any better than this" referring to the classic coues whitetail setup we are in. It was classic for sure. Spot a buck from far away, close the distance, relocate the buck, wait him out for hours until you can get a shot. here is my gun setup. I used the new Jim White V-shaped rifle rest on my tripod to hold up the butt end of the gun. this was a very stable way to shoot. This 390 yard shot would be the longest shot I have ever taken on a deer. Scott set up with his 30s behind me so he could be the spotter. Note the nice CouesWhitetail.com sticker on his 30s For those interested in the Jim White rifle rest, you can buy it from the CouesWhitetail.com store. Look at the bottom of this page: http://www.coueswhitetail.com/bookstore/adaptors.htm As the sun gets higher and starts hitting the bedded deer, the little buck gets up and starts feeding away from the area. Still waiting for the other deer to get up. I can see a little movement. Scott can actually see more of the deer behind the tree with his 30s. He says the deer is preening itself and stretching. We both know it will only be a short time before he steps out from behind the juniper. My heart starts beating faster and I try and stay calm and concentrate on what I need to do to make a good shot. The buck comes out and stands with his body showing but his antlers sort of in the branches of the tree. I take the shot and Scott says "you shot low" and I am thinking I missed but eventually he says he can see the bucks heart hanging out of his chest and that the buck is "dead on his feet". I have put another round in and watch him stumbling in my scope. Then he falls and rolls a little, he is done. WOO-HOOO!!! Scott and I do some high-fives. Awesome, all the waiting paid off and the buck is down. We pack up and head over there. Immediately we realize it's not the same buck we thought it was! Apparently there were three bucks in the area and we assumed there were only two. Oh well, the original buck would have been a 90s type buck, but this one is much smaller. Anyway, I wasn't trophy hunting this time anyway, so I didn't care. The really funny thing is that the buck we watched bedded and which presented a zillion shot opportunities (which I purposely didn't take while waiting for the "bigger" buck) was probably bigger than the one I shot and we waited out forever! Anyway, it was another really fun hunt with Scott and I was very happy to have this buck. One 390 yard shot from my trusty .270 and hit through the heart. It actually hit lower than I wanted, took out the sternum and just clipped the bottom of his heart, but killed him very quickly. As we processed the deer we noticed he had a deformed right ear and right front foot. If you look at his ear in this pic you can see how it's kind of kinked. Here are some pics of his deformed foot It was a great day and many thanks again to Scott for his company and help on the hunt. We sure have spent a lot of nice days in the field together. Hopefully we will have many more! Scott packing out my buck:

Are you planning to be out there opening day Doug? Amanda

I can feel your frustration...it's not really fun getting your SD card loaded up with cow pics. I usually take my cams down if they have moved cows into an area with my cam. If that's not an option, you can lower the sensitivity of the camera trigger and increase the time delay between triggers. Amanda

Well, on the small pouch, the measurements are about 6 inches across, 6 inches deep (plus extra space provided by the cover flap), and 3 inches wide. Maybe that will help you decide. I would think a small would work for you, but measure your binos and see what you think. I know the pouch is larger than my 10x40s. Amanda

Many of you have asked me to let you know as soon as I get these in. The newly redesigned Alaska Guide Creations Bino Pack is now available. He took feedback from many hunters and made the packs quieter and is now offering a large version for us Arizona hunters who hunt with big 15x56 glass. This bino pack will let you carry your big glass on your chest without neck strain since the straps go over the shoulder. Other added features are three side pockets that hold stuff like a knives, lights, and a small range finder or GPS or camera. I will have them at the ISE show for you to look at. He is now having these produced in the USA, which is good, but also raises the price quite a bit. So they cost more than the old version. To purchase online, visit this link: http://www.coueswhitetail.com/bookstore/binocular_pouch.htm Amanda

Wow, that's quite a day!! Don't have any better pics of that bear? Amanda

Congratulations!! That's awesome. A great time and a first pig!! Greta even looks more excited than Nick!! Amanda

Hope your bday is a great one this year! Amanda

I also added the new blunt tip replacement blades to the havalon knife page. These should be excellent for avoiding poking through anything you didn't want to poke through while you are skinning. Amanda

Wow, great looking buck!! Nice pics! Amanda

I like the idea of forceps/pliers to hold the blade when changing! That last thing I need to do is slash my wrists miles from any help! Amanda

Cooling down is always a good idea, but if you need help posting pics, or even help deciding if you want to post them, email them to me and I can help you out. amanda@coueswhitetail.com

Nice! I love European mounts! Amanda

I am actually pretty scared to change the blade on one of these, but they say once you do it you get the hang of it and it's not that tricky. But when I watch people change them, it makes me nervous! You could slice a finger off pretty quick with one of these, so please be careful with these! Amanda

Congratulations!!! Now, when are you going to post the video!!! We want to see it! Thanks for sharing your adventure. Those little javelina are the cutest little things, nice you got to have one stand on your foot for awhile! Amanda

Very nice!! Amanda

Southwest Meat processing in Queen Creek. Google them to find contact info. They usually have pickups for elk in many of the units. So call and ask them where their pick up points will be. Mike Miller owns that and he donates meat to the youth camps throughout the state and to conservation group banquets. He is an avid hunter and a great guy. They make an excellent bunch of sausage too! Amanda

Good luck on your hunt and Happy Birthday Jeremy! Amanda

Congratulations on a successful hunt!! Enjoy the very fine eating!! Amanda

Congratulations!! Sounds like a fun adventure! Amanda