CouesWhitetail

AZ Guide, If you have some suggestions for the site send me an email. And anyone else who has suggestions can always email me. Or you can make a post here. I don't have anyone moderating other than myself and haven't found it to be a real problem. I have considered adding some moderators though and I might do that in the future. I would hate to do it, but perhaps it will be necessary. Remember, you can report posts to me if you find them offensive. There is a button to do that. Several users have done that and it's very helpful to me. You can also do as many members suggested and set the forum software to ignore a user. But I will reiterate if anyone has some suggestions for the site, let me know. I am always seeking input but rarely receive any (other than lots and lots of people saying they love the site - which is, of course, nice feedback to get ) Amanda

Well, there is some of each of the habitat types you mentioned. There are some rolling hills, but much of that is covered with thick shrubs. Then there are very steep and deep canyons which can be ocotillo/agave/mesquite sometimes mixed with juniper and oak and even pinon pine, or some of it can be thicker scrub oak and manzanita. It is quite variable. Drive the highway south from Globe to Winkelman and you will see the variability in the habitat types. Drive the highway north out of Globe toward Salt River canyon to look over the northern part of the unit. Amanda

Please remember Weller's Wildlife is a sponsor of this website. They do some excellent work. Check out their website and see what they can do for you. Here is the link to their site: Weller's Wildlilfe Amanda

Dan, I have hunted both areas of 24A and you really can't go wrong with either. There are big bucks in both the north and the south and lots of deer. You might base your decision on what kind of country you want to hunt in, desert vs. woodland. And if it's bad weather, the lower country tends to be more pleasant to hunt in. I always have a hard time figuring which part of the unit I am going to hunt in, too many good places to go. And I drew this unit for Dec, so I will have to make a decision! Amanda

I got a Dec 24A Coues tag!! Yippeee!!! No elk or sheep or anything else, but that's ok, I am happy to have my tag! Amanda

Our meetings start at 6:30. The SFW item was added to the agenda at the last minute. Not sure exactly what time that would be presented. Amanda

Great pics Mark! Amanda

Sorry guys. I have been out in the field doing owl surveys on Mt lemmon for the last several days. Luckily Ernesto called me and left and message on my cell phone. Then I was able to get up to the observatory and borrow an internet connect to get this stuff deleted. Thanks Allen for the pm on it too. Sorry it took so long. I was backpacked into a beautiful spot last night and haven't been home in days. Amanda

That is one gorgeous pup!! I like Kanaan best of the two choices of names. It sounds studlier than Virgil and more pleasing to the ear. That pup looks like he knows he is from good bloodlines! Have fun with him. Amanda

It is an ADA hat, I noticed that too! And a fine deer too! Amanda

I posted the pics on page 9 of trail camera section. Sorry it took so long, but this is my field season and I am home very little. So you will have to be more patient this time of year. I may only be home one day a week and if I don't get it posted then, it can take another week before I get it up. Nice pics! I like the quality of the new digital cam you got. Amanda

Here is a link to a discussion thread we had here before. It has lots of info on taxidermists. taxidermist thread I would suggest you look into one of our sponsors, Weller's Wildlife Studio They do some nice work. I posted some pics of their work in that thread linked above. Amanda

Just got back from a memorial day ceremony here in Globe. It was great to be able to thank so many veterans that were there. It's so emotional for me to think of all the sacrifices made over the centuries of war. I really wish more people attended the service. Thanks to all the veterans and those serving currently! Amanda

I am not sure which pics Treestandman is talking about but I posted some more of that shed in shed page 10. Here is a link: shed page 10 Amanda

We toured the winter range off the west side of the plateau. You can read where we went at that link I gave earlier to the ADA site. We went through the Bridger fire area and to a few tanks. Horse Springs, Slide and Table Rock if I remember right. I believe the cost on that water development was $30,000. I think it compares favorably to other catchments and has less maintenance cost. I attached a picture of the catchment. The sheet metal catches water and it flows down to the water tank at the far end of the picture. Then a trough is located so that the height of it is the same height as the tank. That way when the tank has water, the pressure equalizes by the water flowing up to the trough. It's a bit hard to see the slope and angles in the photo, but trough is about 1/2 way between the metal and the tank. It's fenced with metal pipe fencing to exclude cattle. Couesdiehard, yes the meeting had a very positive tone. The day started out a bit contentious but by the afternoon and following morning it had become more productive and positive. It really helped to have some high ranking AGFD people there who could offer real help in terms of money and manpower to get things moving. Amanda

The ADA would like to see the Kaibab deer herd grow and provide more hunting opportunities. We lobbied the commission to reduce the number of doe tags in unit 12 back at the April commission meeting. You can read more about that in the article that discusses the history of the kaibab issue on the ADA website. The ADA feels the Kaibab can support a larger deer herd. The AGFD is concerned about the cliff rose being hit too hard by the wintering deer herd. So AGFD is managing the herd with the idea of limiting it's growth (although they said this year they expect a 7% increase in the population, even with the doe harvest). AGFD is concerned about protecting the long-term viability of the winter range. It seems likely that the deer congregate on a certain part of the winter range due to climatic factors and reliable water sources. They walk right through some great deer habitat to reach the area where they spend the winter. Some of that area is probably not able to be utilized due to snowfall in most years. However, there is some hope that we can expand the winter range used by adding more water sources. There is a large scale habitat improvement plan that aims to provide water sources (reliable ones that don't malfunction or dry up) ever 1.5 miles. There is a design of water catchment that uses gravity to feed the water from an above ground tank to a underground wildlife water with a small trough for them to access. Those water catchments don't have the problem of malfunctioning float valves that causes a lot of headaches with maintenance. There are some of these newly designed catchments out there and we got to look at one on the trip. Neat design and well used by wildlife. Amanda

The Kaibab meeting was very productive. There were attendees from the ADA, the AGFD, the AGFD commission, and the USFS. We toured the winter range of the deer herd and discussed the concerns AGFD has with overbrowsing of cliff rose by the deer on their winter range. The deer seem to be constricted to one area and are heavily using portions of the winter range while other areas are hardly browsed. Some ideas to solve this problem and spread the deer out were to create more water sources in surrounding areas that are reliable. And to do a series of habitat improvement projects including reseeding some native grasses and browse species. It was a good meeting and AGFD has demonstrated absolute committment to improving the habitat and deer herd on the Kaibab. They will be implementing a research project as well as an ambitious habitat improvement plan (along with the USFS). The ADA will be providing assistance throughout this process. AGFD is going to set up a working group which will include interested parties to provide input on how to move forward. AGFD is committed to making sure the ADA plays a prominent role in this process. To read more details about the trip, please visit the ADA website. You can also read more background about this issue on the ADA site and find out what the ADA has done to help. Amanda

Terry Lambeth, aka 25-06, asked me to post this photo for him. It's in the Shed gallery page 9 if you can't see it here. Said he found them only 7 feet apart! How often does that happen? Josh is going to be jealous..... Amanda

Here is a link to the page with the pics: http://www.coueswhitetail.com/Trail_camera...il_camera_8.htm Amanda

There will be food at the meeting tonight, so if you are crunched for time and can't eat before you come, don't worry. I don't know how good the food will be, might just be smaller snacks, but they promised there will be plenty and it should keep you fueled up for the meeting. Usually someone brings some beer or soda too. We will be focusing on setting our short and long-term goals for the AZ Deer Association at this meeting. The more people who come, the better the input. See you tonight. Amanda

Research in the Santa Ritas and other locations in AZ found that does had a home ranges from about 0.73 sq miles to 2 sq miles. Bucks used 1.7 to 4.0 sq miles. The smaller numbers represent the core areas they use, and the larger being areas travelled to infrequently. Bucks use that larger home range to find females during the rut. They travel from one doe area to another searching for receptive does. Interesting info Benbrown on your research. Thanks for sharing it. I saw a doe on a "trip" once. She was way up in some rocks in bighorn sheep country. I watched her for quite awhile that morning and she would go up and down in the rocks searching for something. I couldn't believe where she went, seemed very dangerous in terms of lion attack and accidental falling. Usually when I watch deer they seem to know exactly where they are and where they want to be. This deer seemed to be exploring and searching (I believe for water pockets in the rocks). There was a very dependable spring not far from her which would have been easier and safer for her to go to. But she seemed totally focused on searching out new areas. Amanda

To be a legal point it has to be at least 1 inch long and longer than it is wide at 1 inch or more in length. It looks to me to be just barely a legal point. Circumferences would be between the burr and 1st pt, btwn the 1st and 2nd, btwn the 2nd and 3rd, and btwn the 3rd and 4th. If the antler doesn't have a 4th tine then the 4th circumference measurement is taken halfway down the main between the 3rd point and the end of the main beam. For more info on scoring, check out the scoring section on this website: (or post more questions in the forum for me) How to Score Coues Deer I think a 14 or 15 inch spread on those is probably too much. They look like they would be more like 12-13, but again, it's hard to say from a photo. Josh, what do you think? Amanda

That's great!! You will have to send me the pics to post! Thanks for letting us know Treestandman. Josh is a very generous guy and a pleasure to be in the field with. He has excellent eyes for spotting wildlife and antlers or skulls or whatever else is out there. Josh, thanks for helping out Treestandman. Amanda

I was sent some pics of these elk from a forum member. He can give you the details of these pics. These elk apparently live out on the flats in the desert around Picacho Peak. Amanda

Great, glad to hear you are coming. I hope others do too. Also, I wanted to add that if some of you would like to learn more about the Kaibab issue, wish to offer some opinions about it or just listen to discussions, or see the ground for yourself, then you might want to come to a meeting up there the weekend of May 21-22. The highest ranking administrators and biologists from AGFD will be there along with some of the USFS and probably some BLM people and of course several board members from the ADA. We will be touring the habitat up there and talking about the issues that affect management of that herd. This is a very exciting meeting. It has taken a long time and lots of work by sportsmen/women and management agencies to make this happen. If there are some of you that want to attend the field trip, please let me know ASAP. The ADA is providing food and we have a central camping area where we will be meeting. I will be there along with several other board members. Amanda