CouesWhitetail

Thanks for the app suggestion....

Thanks for all the literature Coues Pursuit! And Big Browns.....LOL! on catching the disease!

You and your wife were obviously blessed to have him in your life. Thanks for sharing your tribute to him.

Just an fyi, you can use radios for safety on a hunt and still enter a buck in the recordbooks. You just can't use the radio to guide the hunter to the trophy.

No, like I said in my post, I made that one myself a few years ago and I hope to make a matching one with my Gould's.

Many of you have already seen photos and video from my hunt last spring with my friend Peg Joiner. But I thought I would share more details about the hunt since it’s getting close to turkey hunting time. If you have ever wondered if you should go hunt turkeys in Mexico, let me tell you the answer is YES! I had the pleasure of going down with site sponsors Colburn and Scott Outfitters (http://www.colburnandscottoutfitters.com/) and my friends Peg and TJ. Peg had won a free hunt last year and invited me along. Thanks Peg!! I had always wanted to go hunt Gould’s turkeys in Mexico and now had the perfect opportunity. Our trip was a fairly short one, but very productive thanks to our expert guides Jay Scott and Darr Colburn. Our border crossing was very easy, especially since they already had guns at the ranch that we could use. Jay and Darr have been guiding hunters in Mexico for turkey and Coues deer for many years and they know how to make sure everything goes smoothly. They handle all the paperwork and make it an easy experience. Here is a pic of Peg and TJ at the border with Jay in the background handling some paperwork for us. Jay and Darr had lined up a great ranch for us to hunt. It was located in an unbelievably beautiful riparian corridor with lots of tall cottonwood trees and fish swimming in the creek. The ranch was very nice and we all had our own rooms. We arrived in the afternoon and after briefly getting unpacked at the ranch, we headed out to scout and hunt. I went out with Darr to some farther away locations to see if we could find a hotspot, but we didn’t find a lot going on where we went. Peggy, TJ and Jay, however, got into some birds that afternoon and almost had one down, but it didn’t quite come together. Darr calling and listening near sunset during the first afternoon of the hunt. Jay and Darr had another friend (Joe Bittner) who had come down to help us on the hunt. That afternoon he had scouted out a different part of the creek and excitedly reported to us that he roosted some birds for us. Perfect! So the plan was Darr, Joe, and I would go there in the morning while Peggy, Jay and TJ went back where they had luck the evening before. We were excited for the hunt in the morning. We hiked along the creek in the dark to roughly where one of the gobblers had been roosted the night before. We set up some decoys and waited for daylight. We could hear a few turkeys gobbling in the trees in the predawn. However, despite some expert calling by Darr, the gobbler didn’t come our way that morning. So we decided to hike down the creek and hope to get into another group that we had heard further away. We did get into those birds and it all looked like it was going to work out perfectly as we watched some hens work toward us with a gobbler calling and strutting behind them. However, just about the time they were going to reach us, there were a bunch of cattle that came in from the opposite direction and they seemed to spook the turkeys away from us and we sadly watched them run up a ridge away from us. So the morning was a bust for us, but full of excitement. When we got back to camp we found out that Peg had shot her first Gould’s turkey!! It was awesome! Here are some photos and here is a link to her story (http://www.coueswhitetail.com/forums/topic/49098-i-won-a-goulds-turkey-hunt/): Peg's bird is almost taller than her!!! We rested up at the comfortable ranch in preparation for the afternoon hunt. The plan was that Jay, Darr and I would go back where we had the gobblers in the morning and hope that they came in that way to roost in the evening. We set out a great looking full strut decoy and some hen decoys (made by Dave Smith). Jay did all the calling and Darr was filming. My job, of course, was to make the shot count when the opportunity presented itself. Well, I can tell you that it was a tension-filled afternoon for me as the turkeys kept coming in silently and our setup meant the birds would be within shooting range almost as soon as I could see them, so I had to be ready with the gun up almost the entire afternoon until dark. Being on high alert for hours on end got very tiring, but it’s a good problem to have for sure! Shortly after we got set up, we had some hens come through with a jake. Later we had a coyote come through and attempt to eat the decoy! It was quite amusing to watch. And then a jake and a two year old gobbler came through. I decided not to shoot that gobbler since I wanted a bigger one. Then just before dark another group of hens came in with a big gobbler waddling in at full strut behind them. The big gobbler came in silently and attacked the full strut decoy and I was able to take a shot and get my first Gould’s in Mexico! You can watch it all on video from two different angles. The first angle is the view Darr had which allowed him to see the bird longer than the view Jay and I had. It is so cool to have my first Gould’s hunt filmed! here is a link to the video: and some photos of my bird my bird in full strut next to the full strut decoy that he attacks I loved the old farm equipment at the ranch and so set up some pics with the turkey and TJ snapped them for us (thanks TJ!) Peg cooked up some turkey for dinner that night and we enjoyed some Bacanora (a special liquor made from agaves in the town of Bacanora, Mexico) with the ranch owner….what a way to celebrate a successful hunt in Mexico! The turkey was tender and flavorful…what a treat! sharing bacanora with peg and the ranch owner: Oh, and check out the crop from my gobbler….it was FULL of grasshoppers! Being a biologist, I almost always cut open the crop of turkeys I harvest to see what they are eating. And this was impressive to say the least! WOW! Thank you to Jay and Darr for sharing their expert turkey hunting skills and giving me a great experience Gould’s hunting in Mexico!! If you are thinking of going to Mexico for a Gould’s hunt, give Jay and Darr a call! They know turkey hunting, are a pleasure to be around and they have great ranches in Mexico! And what a treat to share this hunt with my friends TJ and Peg. Thanks for inviting me along, it couldn’t have been any better! For more information about turkey hunts in Mexico with Colburn and Scott, please visit: http://www.colburnandscottoutfitters.com/search/label/Goulds%20Turkey%20Hunts

Jay wanted to share this latest podcast with you. http://jayscottoutdoors.podbean.com/ here is what it covers: Join Western Big Game Hunting Guide Jay Scott as he talks with Buffalo Outfitter Russ Jacoby of Flagstaff, Arizona. Listen as they discuss: How to Hunt the Buffalo on the Kaibab Plateau Specific stories of different Buffalo hunts over the years History of the Buffalo herd in the House Rock Valley and Kaibab Plateau The challenges of managing the Buffalo herd The benefits of having a hunt for Buffalo The National Park Service, US Forest Service and Arizona Game and Fish managing history and practices on the Kaibab Plateau Russ talks about his monitoring methods year around of the Buffalo herd and their movements The Jacoby family tradition of hunting A bonus story about Russ and his daughter on her early rifle elk hunt on the San Francsico Peaks in Unit 7 and the packout in the middle of a lightning storm

Border crossing was easy both ways. Jay and Darr know all the rules down there and make it very simple. Apparently you can't bring the meat back (I think it's due to USDA rules), which is why we ate much of it there and gave the rest to the cowboys. We took the wings, tails and beards back across the border, but you could take the entire skin for a lifesize if you wanted. When we got to the border the agents inspected the birds and all our paperwork. It takes time, but isn't very difficult. You have to take the turkeys directly to a certified taxidermist who then treats the feathers for whatever it is they get treated for to meet USDA requirements. We used site sponsor Jim Hartsock of Southwest Wildlife taxidermy to treat the feathers (thanks Jim!). http://www.swwildlife.com/index.php I am planning to do a turkey fan and wing mount for my bird. It's still in TJ's freezer. I am hoping to do a mount that matches one I did for a Merriams turkey I shot in NM. Here is a pic of that mount....I love it!

I emailed you some edited pics....let me know what you think.

Boone and crockett considers the use of radios or other electronic communications devices to be a violation of fair chase. So using them to guide a hunter to his trophy would disqualify the kill from being entered in the recordbook. But it's legal in AZ to use radios. For the purpose of entry into the Boone and Crockett Club’s® records, North American big game harvested by the use of the following methods or under the following conditions are ineligible: I. Spotting or herding game from the air, followed by landing in its vicinity for the purpose of pursuit and shooting; II. Herding or chasing with the aid of any motorized equipment; III. Use of electronic communication devices to guide hunters to game, artificial lighting, electronic light intensifying devices (night vision optics), sights with built-in electronic range-finding capabilities, thermal imaging equipment, electronic game calls or cameras/timers/motion tracking devices that transmit images and other information to the hunter; IV. Confined by artificial barriers, including escape-proof fenced enclosures; V. Transplanted for the purpose of commercial shooting; VI. By the use of traps or pharmaceuticals; VII. While swimming, helpless in deep snow, or helpless in any other natural or artificial medium; VIII. On another hunter’s license; IX. Not in full compliance with the game laws or regulations of the federal government or of any state, province, territory, or tribal council on reservations or tribal lands;

I can do it for you. email the pic to me (my email in my signature)

I got this email from one of the students today and thought I would add it to this thread. What a wonderful program! I just can't thank you enough. You put together such a fine group of experienced hunters with rookies like myself-- I just had a blast. I learned so much! I understand so much more about the strategy involved now. The people you brought together for camp were just amazing. The javelina lecture and sausage demo were excellent --I bought the sausage book Bill recommended and will put it to good use, with a little luck. My mentors, Mark and Gerry, did so much to help me. Their experience, expertise, and good humor helped me nail that javelina-- it was awesome fun. Thank you very much for this amazing opportunity. Alix Heath

2015 Women’s Javelina Camp Well, another great camp is in the books! We held the 5th annual Women’s Javelina Hunting Camp from Feb 12-15, 2015 and we camped at our same location on the Buenos Aires Wildlife Refuge. The refuge personnel have been very accommodating for this event and it’s a beautiful location that works very well for us. The location allows us easy access to three hunt units (36A, B and C). We had about 70 people in camp this year so we need a place with a lot of room for everyone to camp. As most of you know, the whole point of this camp is to recruit women into the hunting community by creating a safe environment where adult women can learn to hunt. We try to pair up each student with an experienced mentor and let me tell you, we have some very highly skilled mentors that assist with this camp! We couldn’t have such a successful camp without our mentors generously giving of their time and talents. The weather was wonderful although a bit on the warm side. But it was nowhere near as hot as last year! Thursday afternoon there were some heavy winds but that died down by late afternoon. Saturday night and Sunday we had some rain but nothing heavy enough to interfere with the camp or hunting. It actually made for some very pleasant days with cloud cover keeping the temperatures down. This year we had 29 student hunters (one student didn’t have a tag but wanted to come learn). We lined up 27 mentors to take these ladies out hunting for javelina. We have some amazing mentors with lots of hunting experience. We have several that are retired AGFD or are currently working for AGFD. And we also have many passionate, long-time hunters who are happy to share their knowledge with novice hunters. It really amazes when I think about the high-quality mentors we have for this camp! Unit managers Karen Klima and Mark Frieberg provided info on javelina herd locations. And Karen came out to help glass on Saturday too. We had 10 ladies that had ZERO experience hunting and 14 ladies with one to three years hunting experience (which often meant they had hunted quail or doves once or twice). We also had 5 students with more than five years hunting experience. We ended up harvesting 6 javelina as well as many jackrabbits. Several other ladies had opportunities at javelina but didn’t manage to get one. In addition to the hunting during the day we had several events in the evenings. One night we had Tice Supplee (retired AGFD big game branch chief) give a powerpoint presentation all about javelina and how to hunt them. We also had Bill Deshaw give a demonstration of how to make sausage. We had a special free raffle for the ladies where they got to choose some great prizes. And of course we had a wonderful campfire every night for everyone to enjoy. This camp has numerous sponsors that help make it such a big success! Our food, portojohns and insurance are paid for by a grant from the Arizona Game and Fish Department as part of their hunter recruitment and retention program. The Arizona Safari Club International lets us use their trailer which is full of all the cooking gear we need as well as things like the awnings, tables, chairs and lights. AZ SCI also arranged for the portojohns for the camp, thank you Bobby! Team Younggunz also provided extra tables and chairs. Flagstaff Archers provided money as well to be use for whatever we needed for the camp (thank you Ilene for arranging this extra funding!). The southern AZ chapter of the NWTF helped by providing mentors. CouesWhitetail.com donates money for the camp for food and prizes, as well as coordinating the entire event. And many of our mentors are longtime CouesWhitetail.com members! Eileen Cooper, one of our students, provided homemade apple dump cake. Michelle Crabb made some wonderful javelina-shaped cookies! As usual, I made some pistachio/cranberry dark and white chocolate bark for desert as well as some peppermint dark and white chocolate bark. Mark and Kathi Nixon generously donated prizes for all the students and mentors! And Kathi coordinated the raffle for those items. This was a huge help! Roger and Ilene, Peg and TJ, Mike Anderson and Kathi Nixon slaved away in the kitchen providing great food for our attendees! We received all kinds of compliments from students and mentors about the excellent food. Mike Miller of Miller’s Southwest Processing (a sponsor here on CouesWhitetail.com) donated smoked pork/beef, hamburgers and breakfast sausage! Kathy Greene of Arizona Outdoor Women helped us with shopping and managed to get discounts on food and donations through the restaurant where she works (KG’s restaurant located East of I-10 on Grant Road). Ilene and Roger also spent countless hours planning and shopping for this event. In addition Mike Christensen of Pass it On Outdoor Mentors.org helped us secure insurance for the camp at about a third the rate it normally costs us by allowing onto his policy. Here is a list of our outstanding mentors that make this camp such a success: Gerald Perry Mark Kuhn Kelly and Diane Neal Jerry Gollubier Jack Wheat Deb Wesch Eric Podoll Ted simpson Mark Nixon Chris and Kori Mosley Michelle Crabb John Dollar Linda Dightmon Jeremiah Rackoci Tice Supplee Ken Stirn Christina Boggs-Krupinski Chris McCotter Mark Hullinger Bill Deshaw Darrell J Berno Mike Pierce Don Farmer Amanda Moors Tom Joiner

I actually wanted to do it with a bow but opted to use a shotgun instead. I think archery would be a great way to hunt down there. It saves on the gun permit cost and since the turkeys are generally lightly hunted you can get close for a good shot with a bow. Darr Colburn (one of the outfitters) often hunts turkeys with a bow and knows how to get it done. For this hunt we just used shotguns that they already had brought down to the ranch.

Usually around $2500. You can save a little money sometimes by using guns at the ranch. You can often add a second turkey to your hunt for a few hundred dollars if you like.

My dog Julie LOVES sheds of all kinds!

Wow! That's amazing that decoy works so well!

Congratulations on the increased fitness and Happy Birthday!!

Thanks for posting this....I am glad to be able to help out Mike and his family.

Neat "fisherman in the fog" pic! I am looking forward to seeing some more fishing pics!

It's always tough to eat healthy while on the road. I find it helps to pack some of my own food. Nuts, apples, oranges, granola bars will travel well and keep you filled up with good nutrients. Most hotels now seem to have workout rooms, so you will likely be OK there. And it seems most places have a refridgerator and microwave so you can bring your own food and make meals you like. That will generally save you money compared to eating out and save you a lot of extra calories. Sometimes those in the room fridges are small, so you might want to bring a cooler with you so you can have more food with you that will help you meet your goals. You can also use trip advisor or yelp or google to search ahead of time for restaurants that serve healthier options. You can also google something like "eating healthy while traveling" and find advice. here is one page with some tips: http://www.builtlean.com/2012/02/14/eat-healthy-while-traveling/

Cool stuff! I am looking forward to listening to these the next time I have a long drive somewhere!

Wow! I missed this post....thanks for sharing your pics!

Thanks to everyone who takes the time to pick up trash on our public lands. We do it all the time too.

I hadn't thought about driving with the window down! We didn't have A/C in our jeep for probably the first 10 years we lived in AZ.