CouesWhitetail

Neat buck! Congratulations! Great that you have pics of him from years before. Make sure you email me the pics and info if you want it posted in the gallery. amanda@coueswhitetail.com Amanda

Wow, great looking buck and lion! Glad you and your dad got some time together in the field. Amanda

Wow, that looks like fun hunt! And I was hungry before seeing those pics, now I am starving! Some great looking meals there! Glad the beer finally got there! Amanda

Awesome pic!! Thanks for posting it and buying the shirts! They look great! Amanda

Hi Guys, The long sleeve shirts have arrived!! They look great and I will try and send as many out today as I can. Only about 1/2 of you that preordered have paid up. I sent invoices by email to everyone, so if you didn't get an invoice and you preordered, email or PM me. amanda@coueswhitetail.com I will wait another day or so for payment from everyone, then I will open sales up to general public. So if you want the color and size you preordered, please pay your invoice asap. Thanks to those that paid so quickly! Also, if after receiving the shirts you find that the size isn't right for you, let me know and I will see what we can do. If you think you might return it due to size issues, please don't get them dirty or remove the tags. Amanda

Awesome Lance! Thanks so much for the pic and info. I always did like Coosefan says and ended up with little stringers of meat, this looks much easier! Amanda

Thanks Jim, I always enjoy your creations!! Amanda

Ok, I posted everyone's guesses and the actual score and all the measurements on this buck on the following page: http://www.coueswhitetail.com/guess_the_score_oct_2008.htm Thanks to everyone for playing! Those of you in the top 15, make sure you email me your info so I can send you a prize. And thanks to RH Bryant for letting us use this magnificient buck in this contest! Amanda

I will be there also! Amanda

Best Wishes Phil!! Amanda

I have used the program for years and love it. It does have roads on it, but not the USFS road numbers or land ownership boundaries. Best to also have a USFS map around to sort out stuff like that. But you can print as much or as little of a topo map as you want. And if you want, you can also buy tearproof, waterproof paper to print on so if you are printing a map of an area you expect to hunt again, the map will last and be around for years. Or, just use regular paper and print a new one whenever you need it. With my inkjet though, if you get the paper wet, the map ink smears, so something to keep in mind. I fold up my maps and put them in ziplock bags to keep them dry. Another advantage of the program is that you can print extras of the same map that you can give out to friends who are hunting with you in case you split up. Amanda

Ok, here are the top 15 guessers. I will post more details on the score when I get back from checking a trail cam ---- gotta go now before dark! Top 2 get tshirts, the rest get $10 off coupons from Sportsman's warehouse. And if the top 2 already have all the CW.com shirts they need, they can pick a DVD instead. So if you see your name listed here, send me an email at amanda@coueswhitetail.com with your name, forum name, and mailing address so I can get a prize out to you. If I don't hear from you tonight or early tomorrow, then it will be a week before I can get stuff in the mail to you. Congratulations to the winners! Amanda ajohunter coues sniper standman treestandman elpeppe25 hopesof100 skeeter1 bowhunter4life couesarcher atrain dertrax chuckd flash colita blanca devinv

hehehehe, well, he is nowhere near dead

Only 1 more hour to go!!!! Can you make it Casey???

Eric attended the same university where I did my graduate work. I didn't really know him well, but I remember last year at a wildlife biologist conference I spoke to one of my professors that knew him well. It's really too bad. Sounds like he was a dedicated biologist. I am always checking out dead stuff...so don't be too surprised if I keel over from some terrible disease after checking out some dead thing! I was at the airport in Boston this morning and saw some guy reading the paper with a headline about the plague and the Grand canyon. But did someone else get infected other than Eric? He was killed last year I thought....is there something new to the story that it has resurfaced? Amanda

poor casey.......at least it looked like it was a quick end! Amanda

WOW! Congratulations to you and your wife!!! Nice shirt!

This month we turn the spotlight on Rio Sonora Outfitters (RSO), owned and operated by Brad Fulk. Brad started his outfitting business in 1999 and his clients have consistently taken some huge animals. Brad has 7 other guides that work for him and they provide some excellent service. Most of you guys have seen this photo already in the forum. This shows team RSO with a giant Coues buck (151 4/8 non-typical) taken by Kevin Kearney (aka Coues Sniper) in the 06/07 season in Mexico. If this doesn't make your jaw drop, I don't know what will! RSO guides exclusively in Mexico and they provide completely outfitted hunts for Coues Whitetail, Desert Mule Deer, Buffalo, and Gould’s Turkey. They guide about 24-34 deer hunters, 30-40 turkey hunters, and 3-5 Buffalo hunters annually. "RSO provides transportation from Tucson, AZ or Hereford, AZ in and out of Mexico in suburbans. Transportation on the ranches include, 4x4 trucks and suburbans, ATV’s, and horses, all food and drinks (except alcohol) include; steak, chicken, pork lion, hamburgers, chili Colorado, carne asada, eggs, bacon, sausage, chorizo, ham, cereal, beans, fried potatoes/French fries, tortillas, Dutch oven cobbler, fruit pies, ice cream, snacks, fruit, bottled water, soda, Gatorade, and burritos for the lunches, all prepared by our camp cooks. We provide all the legal hunting documentation for the hunts including; Firearms Transportation Permits, Hunting License, Tags, USFWS-Declaration and USDA-Notice of Arrival forms, and completed all the required check-point entering and exiting Mexico. The lodging accommodations are provided and consist of a modern ranch house with running water, electricity (either solar or generator), hot showers, kitchens and a ranch cook prepares all the meals and lunches and cleans the house daily." RSO is dedicated to finding the buck you are looking for. They serve hardcore trophy hunters as well as a hunter just looking for a good animal to harvest. According to Brad, "We have taken our fair share of 110’+ bucks, but we put a lot of effort into finding them. A large percentage of our hunters are dedicated to taking only 110” or better bucks. This of course helps us as an Outfitter take larger deer, if you shoot a small buck you can’t get take a big one is a good rule to follow. Each year we take 3-5 bucks that exceed 110” gross, and usually one or more in the 120” plus range. Each year can be different due to rainfall and habitat conditions which affect nutrition availability. One year we average 110.5” gross score average on 15 deer taken, but I don’t expect to break that anytime soon Most of our hunters are not concerned about entering their buck in the books, and are not hung up on the fact that their hunt was a bust just because they didn’t take a BC buck, realistic trophy hunters realize it’s not easy and enjoy the hunt regardless. We respect hunters that have the personal discipline to pass good bucks while in search of a 120” buck, it helps the age class of the deer population and allows bucks to develop antlers to their maximum potential during good conditions." Success rates are high for RSO clients. According to Brad, "Gould’s Turkey Hunts are in excess of 100% as some hunters shoot a second bird and that is for either Shotgun or Archery hunters, so every hunter for the past several years has taken a turkey. The Coues Deer Hunts are running around 80-90% on average as we have several dedicated trophy hunters that are looking for high scoring deer and pass good deer. We put a lot of effort into scouting ranches, so we often target and hunt for specific bucks. The Buffalo hunts are 100%, as well as our High Desert Mule Deer Hunts. This is our first year hunting Mule Deer in the Sonoran Desert, so I do not have any information on those hunts at this time." Let's take a look at some more of their client's trophies. How about this 121 from Kyle Welker..... Or this 116 by Kevin K again... and a few more very nice Coues And you can't get buffalo with most outfitters, but you can with RSO. And RSO also has some excellent Gould's turkey hunting. This photo was from this past year. Hunting in Mexico is rather daunting for some prospective hunters, so Brad has some advice on choosing an outfitter: "There are many great Outfitters in the business. I notice new names each year entering the hunting scene in Mexico. It’s a very difficult business to enter in, maintain, and succeed in, due to the fact we are in a foreign country, so many Outfitters fade over a short time due to this. There are other issues to consider, safety and how the Outfitter is liked or accepted in Mexico, many hunters never consider this when booking hunts, they mainly consider the size of deer and the price of the hunts. These are major things to be concerned with obviously, but I think the other factors are very important as well such as, how much experience is behind the Outfitter, is he in good standings with the locals in Mexico, has he had any legal issues in Mexico or the US, or do they over hunt ranches by maximizing the number of hunters they hunt annually, do they move to new ranches frequently because of this, what type of guides do they use, and do they speak English or Spanish only, how much time have they put in on the ranch, and are there representative antlers from the ranch, how much planning is given to the hunts; rut or pre-rut, dark of the moon, etc., what is the average age of the bucks taken on the ranch, ratios, etc. These are legitimate questions that you should get answers to." RSO works hard to make sure each hunt is tailored to the needs of the client. They provide advice on equipment, permits, taxidermists and more. "We take the troubles out of traveling into a foreign country to hunt and pay special attention to your needs and requests. Your success is our success!" For more information call Brad or visit his website. Brad has been supporting CouesWhitetail.com for years and is dedicated to making sure his clients have an excellent hunt. Rio Sonora Outfitters, LLC. - P. O. Box 1030 Hereford, Arizona 85615 - (520)-803-9210 Website: http://www.riosonoraoutfitters.com/index.html

FROM AGFD: Hello all, Some of you may already be aware of the AZGFD Research Branch's Highway 93 sheep project that is about to hit the ground. We wanted to bring everyone up to date on the capture we have planned to deploy 30 collars for the first phase of that study. We have a helicopter, fixed-wing, net-gunner, plane observer, and a core ground crew set to go for November 7th - 9th (Friday - Sunday). We are in contact with B of R and NPS in an attempt to determine a better staging location than the Boulder City airport. We are also awaiting a permit/permission from BLM for the capture which we should have soon. With 30 collars to deploy, it may take several teams searching the study area from the ground in order to finish on schedule. Some of our team will likely arrive on site on Thursday the 6th in order to generate some sheep locations so we can get captures going first thing Friday morning. We are enlisting Bighorn Sheep Society volunteers to help scout out sheep. We are planning on camping out in the vicinity of Kingman Wash, but the specifics are not yet set. We'll provide those details to our recruits as we get them (likely next week). In the field we'll need to be in touch with each ground crew to relay sheep locations so if any folks have any of the following items that they could bring, it would be helpful: Walkie-talkies (preferably something compatible with Motorola Two-Way or Talkabout radios) GPS units Optics: binos and/or spotting scopes You'll probably also need to supply your own firewood if you're interested in having a fire at the camp site. If you have any questions or concerns, or if you're interested in participating please contact me at your convenience. If you let me know if you can provide any or all of your own GPS, walkie-talkie, and / or optics, that will help me figure out what I need to try and scrounge up. The best way to reach me is by e-mail: ssprague@azgfd.gov. You can also try my cell at 623-826-7362 or leave a voice-mail for me at AZGFD HQ: 623-236-7252. You can also e-mail the lead biologist for the project: jeff_gagnon@yahoo.com Thanks and we look forward to working with you, Scott Sprague Wildlife Specialist Research Branch, Arizona Game and Fish Department ssprague@azgfd.gov 623-236-7252

Thanks everyone! I had a very pleasant birthday!! Amanda

Hope you guys can make it out there to see what Ross has to offer. Ross Outdoors donated two $50 gift certificates to our Coues Buck Contest! Thanks much to Ross Outdoors!! Amanda

Thanks guys! I am out in Maine and NH visiting family. We had a big lobster feast last night and tonight we have a big seafood feast planned as well!! Amanda

hehehe, very funny Chef.... People are going to think that was my real quote!! Amanda

Wow, this is very generous of you all, I sure appreciate it. But I don't know if I can do the hunt since I had planned to help Matthewp on his R100 hunt. I plan to try and film at least part of it to help the San Carlos with promotion. I also have two other people to help on their Coues hunts, which I was hoping to do some filming on. But I need approval from the tribe first and although the director of the dept is all for it, he has to get commission approval before I can do it. So it's not definite yet. I think those hunts run until Jan 11, so perhaps it conflicts with this hunt? Ernesto, what are the dates? And besides, I still am not sure I am comfortable with you guys buying me a tag....I mean that's generous and all, but it seems a bit much, don't you think? Amanda

Hey Terry, Glad the camp went well! When you get an article written up, send it to me for the ADA website along with labelled pics. Thanks! Amanda