CouesWhitetail

Congratulations!! And how great to hear that Christian was such a big help! I love to see forum members helping other hunters be successful! Amanda

Nice! Don't forget, if you guys want photos posted in the main photogallery, email the pics and hunter info to me. That way they get in the photogallery too and not just the forum. amanda@coueswhitetail.com Amanda

I am not sure but I think perhaps it's because your photos are BMP's rather than jpegs. Can you save them as jpg and retry? Amanda

The Dec hunt is a bit early to hit peak of the rut, but you do usually see at least some rutting activity. In my opinion, that Dec hunt is so popular because of the cooler weather, longer hunt, lower hunt density and bucks are generally more visible because they are usually searching for does. Amanda

I also put that buck in the 2nd annual coues deer celebration video. For those of you that haven't seen the video yet, it's the second one listed on the video clip page. http://www.coueswhitetail.com/video_clips/video_clips.htm Amanda

Nice buck Sam, congratulations! Amanda

Nice finds! Amanda

Great story! Congrats Danny and Alex!! Wow, nice job. Thanks for all the pics and hopefully your daughter forgives you for your greediness...... Amanda

Wow, great pics! Thanks for taking us along with you! Amanda

Beetles are best of course. I have boiled several and javelina tend to turn real greasy when boiled. it's like there is fat in their jawbones that leaks out over time and soils the bone with grease. I usually think they look fine when I have boiled them, but over time you will see the grease show discoloration on the jaw bone. So I have been shying away from boiling javi skulls. The last one I did I just put in a 5 gallon bucket with enough water to cover it and let it sit for months. I forget the exact term for this type of skull cleaning, but it works really well, it just takes a long time and smells. But if you have a shed or up on the roof or somewhere you can put it so you don't have to think about it or smell then it's a great method. Takes almost no effort and your skull comes out perfect. www.taxidermy.net is where I learned about doing them this way. Amanda

Nice job Neo! I think javelina meat is good eating. Just don't contaminate the meat with the scent gland. The gland comes off with the hide when you skin it, you don't have to do anything special with it. one of my favorites recipes was just marinated javelina backstrap cooked over the grill. It was wonderful. I think we marinated it with Lawry's Citrus grill marinade. It was perfect for it. Javelina is also good barbequed or in the crockpot or lots of people use it for tamale meat. I have made some excellent jerky with it also. Amanda

Happy New Year everyone! Amanda

I remember seeing that mount with the cactus, that's a cool one....very elegant! Dan Bishop is also one of our sponsors here. He advertises his outfitting business (Cola Blanca Outfitters), but you can find info on his taxidermy work on that website also. Amanda

You can check out the work of one of our sponsors, Mogollon Taxidermy. He has some very nice fullsize coues mounts on his website as well as shoulder mount photos. here is the link. http://www.mogollontaxidermy.com/index.html And here is a photo of a really nice one that was recently mounted by a Mexican taxidermist for one of the sponsors on this site (Rancho Durangueno). I think it's excellent.

Awesome! Nice teamwork guys! Amanda

Nice job Josh!! And man, can you get a new avatar? I hate looking at that one! When was that pic taken????? Amanda

We got a little snow in 24a too and the following day (12/29) I went out glassing to see if bucks were harassing does yet. I watched three groups of does and two of them had bucks pushing them around. One was a nice wide buck, but the pics I took of him don't show much detail. he was a mile and a half away. Anyway, the deer were pretty active and showing some good signs of the rut. here are a few scenic pics to show the snow and one digiscoped pic of a doe.

Coues bucks were with does and chasing them a little this morning in 24a. So the rut is picking up a little. Amanda

You can buy the panning attachment here at the CW.com store. It really is a great addition to a pistol grip head. It makes for smooth panning and reduces the amount of fatigue from the pistol grip since you won't have to grip to make it pan. Amanda

I find the pistol grip can get fatiguing when you use it for awhile. But many people don't. I use Jim White's tripod head and really like it. It's fairly lightweight, small and stable. You can check out that tripod head and others in the CW.com store. here is the link: http://www.coueswhitetail.com/bookstore/tripods_adaptor.htm Amanda

Ron, I am an official measurer, but I live in Globe. You might do better to get someone closer to you. As to how much lead time you need to get it scored, it depends on each measurer's schedule. You might get lucky and find someone is available or you might have to wait awhile. I get into PHX area occassionally and might be able to score it, but it's harder to get an appt with me since I don't live there. Amanda

Antler point restrictions are just a way to reduce hunter success and thereby allow the same number of hunters out in the field while reducing harvest. So I think the real question is do hunters really want the opportunity to get out there and have less success? I personally do not like instituting more complicated regulations just to reduce hunter success. I also think that there are several pitfalls to antler point restrictions including an increase in illegal harvest (people shoot something that doesn't meet the regulations so they leave it in the field) and an increase in harvest pressure on older bucks. Antler point restrictions reduce harvest of young bucks, but increase harvest pressure on older age bucks because now all the hunters out there are being forced to try and harvest an older buck. Someone from the forum posted a PDF from NM a while back about the antler point restriction debate there. I have copied a portion of that article into this post. They give some data from other western states that had antler point restrictions. To read the entired PDF, click on the link later in this post. Option # 1 – The Current Bag Limit - APRD Antler Point Restricted Deer (APRD)—at least 3 visible points on one side; established in New Mexico beginning with the 2004-05 season. This restriction was put in place in the 2004 season and was expected to: • Allow for a relatively high number of permits to be issued assuming the 3-point restriction would reduce the overall number of deer harvested. • Allow younger bucks (spikes and forked-horns) to survive the hunting season resulting in more mature bucks and improving hunting in subsequent years. New Mexico has not completed any research to determine what impact this point restriction has had over the last 2 years, but other western states have. Based on their experiences, it is expected that, over time, the following will occur in New Mexico as well: • An increase in the number of “Illegal” bucks killed and left in the field. o California found an illegal harvest ranging from 100-120 percent of the legal harvest. After the restriction was abandoned in 1990, the number of bucks with more than 3 points increased by 25%. • An increase in the number of “Mature” bucks killed, which will have the opposite effect with fewer, not more, mature bucks surviving the hunting season. o Oregon (with a 4-point restriction) found the average antler spread of legal bucks was reduced from 24” to 17”. o Montana (with a 4-point restriction) found that all the older, mature bucks were completely shot out. No bucks survive once they reach a 4x4 antler. • An increased harvest of bucks showing more desirable genetic traits. o In New Mexico many yearling bucks are fork-antlered or even have 3 points, so a “3 points or better” restriction may actually encourage the removal of the best bucks, or the bucks with the most potential, from the population. • A prolonged breeding season because more inexperienced males were left to breed. Prolonged breeding seasons result in fawns being born later in the year. Fawns born later in the year have a much harder time gaining weight and growing big enough to survive the winter. As more fawns die, deer populations drop. • A reduction in overall hunter success with fewer legal deer to harvest. The entire PDF can be read here: http://www.wildlife.state.nm.us/documents/...estionnaire.pdf

Wow, that's quite a group of coues killers having a birthday on the same day! Hope you each enjoy your bday! Amanda

Love that successful snowman hunter with the CouesWhitetail.com sticker in the back! Good one Bass! Excellent use for your tag! Amanda

Merry Christmas everyone! Amanda