lancetkenyon

Here is my take on Coues. I rarely hunt them, but here is what I have found in my limited experience. Coues deer are small compared to mulies. Both in body size and antlers when comparing mature animals. If a Coues looks big, SHOOT IT! 100" is a great mature Coues, while for a muley, that is maybe a 1.5-2.5 year old buck. Touching your thumbs together and making a basket with your fingers, would be a normal Coues, maybe 70+"? Body size, Coues tend to be anywhere from the size of a large German Shepard to 150# for a toad. Mulies start at 150# to 250# for a brute, sometimes even bigger. Look at the home page, on the right hand column under the tabs titled "90-100" "100-110", "110-120", etc. for some great Coues. A range finder is a must for Coues in my opinion. They look so small to me, I almost always over estimate the yardage on them. And good glass is imperative. Without those, it is very hard to judge a Coues. Good luck in 2015. Post up results and scouting reports.

I do not think 12-14 months is outrageous to wait for an animal to return from a taxidermist. I think 3-5 months is amazing, but I wonder if the original cape was used? Not saying it wasn't, just questioning how it was tanned so fast. Awesome if it was. But, 18+ months, and having the work farmed out to another taxidermist is ridiculous. I have only had one bad experience with a taxidermist, and this is not the one. My current taxidermist, Krueger's Creations, is close to my house, reasonably priced, and does fantastic work. He is one of the 12 month wait guys though for a shoulder mount, but worth the wait. He has exhibits at Sportsman's, several museums, and even the Smithsonian. Plus he is a P&Y, B&C & SCI official scorer.

Ahh. Well, then I am sure you know a ton about pronghorn. Thanks again for the info.

Dang....I hope they don't all put in for the unit I want.....

How many with 23 points?

Awesome info, keep it coming! Eli, any relation to Tony Grimmett?

Same here if any sz small pants left after your meeting I may try for my dughter cuz I usually hand her camo she swims in. :] You guys are more than welcome to them. I don't remember how big your daughter is, but if they will fit, they are all yours. Or I could split them up and do half and half. Your guys' call.

Get as low to the ground as possible. Sit on the ground, lower the tripod with legs spread as far as possible, and try not to put up the main shaft extension. Maybe even try to get in behind a tree to help get out of the wind. I was up north this weekend, and it was pretty cold and windy up there too. Even got some snow flurries as we were packing up to leave. We packed for cold weather though, so the only thing cold on me was nose and cheeks.

So my brother and I went up north to start the scouting for antelope this year, as I think I have a legitimate chance of drawing a tag this year. We got a late start, but with antelope not being a nocturnal animal like deer and elk, I didn't see that as too much of a problem. Plus I got to sleep in a bit. So we get up to the northern unit, and were seeing a few antelope, but nothing to put on the hit list. We were glassing close to the truck, and looking across a lot of real estate. We had seen a ton of ravens (or crows, whatever), and they were all around. We had been glassing in one spot for a couple hours, and decided to move to a different location. We parked near a small power line and got out and set up the tripods, as we had seen some goats in the distance. We had been there about 15 minutes, and were about 100 yards away from the truck parked by the pole. We were glassing intently when we heard what sounded like a firecracker go off, and then a thud, back near the truck. Scared the crap out of me, as I thought someone snuck up behind us with a .22LR. We looked at each other like "WTF was THAT???" I think that was even said. We walked back to the truck to see what it was, and this is what we found..... It appears the raven landed on the lines above to feast on a small bird (unknown if the small bird had had the same fate, or was caught by the raven). When the raven landed on the wire, he apparently landed with feet on separate lines, either two phases, or a hot and neutral, or hot and ground. Well, it did not end well for the raven. He still had a small bird leg firmly in his beak at time of death. When he made the circuit connection, it blew off both of his legs. You can see the burns on the foot. The other foot. He was "throwing me the double bird". Hard to see, but there is a smaller bird carcass still in the lines. It looks like it blew up too. Still flexible I did find a nice antelope to put as #2 on my hit list for the year later in the day. Now all I have to do is get a tag.....

I agree with glassing into the wind. Look into the deeper canyons and the lee side of hills.

So in doing some research, I have found some general answers to my questions. But I am still wondering what AZ hunter's observations are. 1. Yes. In northern US< they have been known to travel 160 miles. 2. Late October-early December 3. 3-4 miles. 4. 5.

Fantastic hunting season! Beauties.

Boy, I hope so! Because I saw a beauty already.

Still, no one has stepped up and asked for the camo I offered. Maybe I am just in a grumpy mood this morning, but it irks me to see people state that they beg for items to donate to a kids hunt/organization, yet they do not respond to pick up said items. Even a PM or post with "I'll take it" would get me motivated to meet up and get the items to that person.

Must've been a crow then....

Up to 500 yards is easily doable with a 9X, but even better with a 12X max magnification. We were recently shooting steel to 850 yards with the .223s, and 12X was plenty to get there. Any of those scopes would suit you well. I would go with a 2.5-10 or even a 3-12 if it were me. But I know how I like to shoot LR, so I might be a little biased. 3X is plenty low for shooting close or fast moving targets.

What is your price range? Looks like around $500? How far do you plan to shoot it?

Nice. Work with seating depth too. I bet you can shrink those groups further. Plus, if seat them long, you can get more powder for more velocity with no more pressure.

Bump

My new build is getting a Remington Varmint/Sendero contour at 27". My .25-06 Ackley has a 28" Shilen #5 contour. It is very accurate, once I got my ladder test done to see what load shot best at the top of the barrel whip, meaning the bullet leaves at the top of the barrel flex. I had 3 loads in a 1 grain range that all grouped with 1/8" elevation-wise at 400 yards. That gives me a bit of play with velocity and pressure to remain in the accuracy node. I had a 12" vertical dispersion between 14 different loads, just due to barrel whip. I had a slower node at the bottom of the whip 12" lower on 3 separate powder loads too. They were all 1/2" vertical dispersion. The loads between all climbed up to the top, but were not consistently in order. I think a heavier barrel limits this flex, and is inherently more forgiving. My .223 didn't have a lot of vertical dispersion with the heavier varmint contour. But once you get a load worked up, I think a hunting rifle does just fine with a medium sporter contour barrel. I think barrel quality makes more of a difference than contour. But I would not want a light contour pencil barrel in a heavier caliber. Heavy barrels also help weight the rifle to reduce felt recoil. My son-in-law has a .308 super lightweight mountain rifle with a 20" pencil barrel, crazy light stock, and minimal weight scope, and it kicks like a freaking mule. I would say it honestly weighs in at under 7# loaded, but it kicks more than my .270 Win did without a muzzle brake. It is far from accurate too. But heck if I will work up a load for it. I like my shoulders to work properly.

This.

Buckmaster21....see the post right above yours......I would think about a .2% chance for you. But again, I met a youth and a lady who drew a tag with very few points.

12B?