Hooked_on_Coues

Try scirrocco, accubond, ttsx and interbond. Use what shoots the best. I am going back to shooting a Hornady Interlock BTSP. They work great. I have been caught up in the fancy tip trend and realized my old bullets never failed and shoot just as well for half the cost...

Has anyone looked through the switch power Leupold yet?

Might think about less rifle and more scope...

Your odds will be excellent as a NR. NM requires all money up front this year and the cost of NR tags will drop alot of folks out of contention. 22% set-aside...

Just got this... New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Media contact: Dan Williams, (505) 476-8004 Public contact: (505) 476-8000 dan.williams@state.nm.us FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, JAN. 12, 2009: HUNTING 'LEGEND' GETS $10,000 IN FINES, 4,500 HOURS COMMUNITY SERVICE GRANTS -- Kirt Darner, a former outfitter and owner of a private northwestern New Mexico elk hunting park, was sentenced to $10,000 in fines and 4,500 hours of community service Monday for illegally transporting elk and receiving stolen bighorn sheep heads. Cibola County District Judge Camille Martinez-Olguin also ordered Darner to pay an undetermined amount of restitution to the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, the Colorado Division of Wildlife, and a taxidermy business in Montrose, Colo., where the sheep heads were stolen. Olguin ordered Darner to serve 25 weeks of community service a year for 4 ½ years -- 4,500 hours -- in Colorado and New Mexico. "Mr. Darner has learned that we will not tolerate people trying to profit by stealing wildlife that belongs to the citizens of New Mexico," Cibola County District Attorney Lemuel Martinez said. "We will continue to aggressively prosecute these types of crimes." Darner, 69, pleaded guilty to the charges in June 2008. He faced a maximum penalty of 4 ½ years in jail and a minimum of $10,000 in fines and restitution. In a plea agreement accepted by Judge Martinez-Olguin, Darner also agreed never to hunt, fish or possess a firearm in his lifetime. The investigation involved close cooperation among the 13th Judicial District Attorney's Office, the Colorado Division of Wildlife and the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish. Kirt Darner, a nationally known big-game hunter and guide, and his wife, Paula Darner, were co-owners of a 40-acre game park on the Lobo Canyon Ranch north of Grants. They were indicted on multiple charges related to the possession of two trophy bighorn sheep heads and the illegal transport of stolen live elk. The Darners were accused of illegally moving three state-owned elk from the Lobo Canyon Ranch to the Pancho Peaks ranch and game park in southeastern New Mexico in 2005. Kirt Darner was paid $5,000 for each elk. Department of Game and Fish officers who executed a search warrant at the Darner property in 2005 discovered a desert bighorn sheep head and a Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep head inside a vehicle. Further examination of the heads determined that they were stolen from a Montrose, Colo., taxidermy shop in 2000. The Colorado Division of Wildlife had offered a $5,500 reward for information about the sheep-head thefts. At the time they were stolen, the sheep heads were estimated to be worth more than $20,000 each. At Monday's sentencing hearing, a Colorado Division of Wildlife investigator testified that a former employee of Darner's admitted to being paid to steal the sheep heads. Previously, in Colorado, Darner was convicted of illegal possession of wildlife in 1994. In 1999 he was convicted of second degree tampering with evidence and careless driving in an incident in which he was serving as an outfitter. Division of Wildlife officers observed Darner's client shoot at an elk decoy in a game management unit for which the client didn't have a license. In 2008, Darner pleaded guilty to making a false statement in order to purchase a license. He had applied for landowner vouchers with the Department of Wildlife, but did not own enough property to be eligible for the program. The Darners currently live in Crawford, Colo. If you have information about a wildlife crime, please call Operation Game Thief toll-free, (800) 432-4263. You can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward in information leads to charges being filed. ### Pretty sad given what this guy has done to hunting....

Lark, I think it is a done deal because they stipulated restitution to the taxidermy shop in Colorado.

Congrats ! Let us know when you get out of the academy and get promoted from sub-human to NUG. Just remember, your instructors really don't hate you. They don't know you yet. Don't drop your weapon, never call a magazine a clip and never puke on the PT Instructor. Have a big time.

I would hazard to say there are alot of people shooting big guns that would be much better off with a 260. It is a great round. +1 on RR comment.

I always find that the little bastages like to roost under my feet when I am walking along in a daze.

When you leave for your hunt the day before Thanksgiving and leave your Wife with your family, knowing that you are going to PAY......

Does anyone know what the process is going to be for Non-Residents?

I don't know how it went for all of you guys, but when I started this obsession I could have had FirstCoues, Grong, Amanda, Doug and the rest of the Couesatics lead me by the hand into a great spot and still not see the deer. I had a couple of great guys with alot of patience line me out. It took me awhile to kinda figure this stuff out. Now I have developed some of my hot spots that I can take those guys into. Help a newbie. I have passed general info about areas I have hunted to some folks in PM's and guess what, I have invitations to hunt in Alaska, Colorado, around Flagstaff and NW New Mexico. Hunters are like a big family. Problem is too much of it is dysfunctional. We will become our own demise if we are not careful.

Most people don't have a problem helping you with general info on where to start looking, but come on. That is ridiculous. There is a feature on the website to have a private converstion if you wish to share that kind of specific info. Sorry, had to vent. So I take it etiquette allows to ask "Where do I get a nice Buck? Where do I send the check?" Dunno, maybe it just hit me funny but that bothers me worse than just asking. Commercialization of hunting is going to ruin it in the long run. Look at what happened when they started land-owner tags....

pm sent...

6.5x284, you will never look back... Use a long action so you can long throat it. 3000 fps with a 140 gr bullet and .6 BC. No recoil.

Its bullchit...

nice shot. Shite!

Now that was funny...

Got an E-mail from Dan Picket at Cooper arms in response to mine. He said the Board of Directors fired Dan Cooper today... Must suck gettin kicked out of your own company.

Dontcha hate it when lark is right? Guess that stuff will happen now and again...

well shite. I guess the secondary market for Cooper rifles is ok. None of that money going back to Cooper. I am sad. Now I have to decide on my first post...

Disregard last. I may forgive him. Looks like poor judgement on the initial donation. Pasted from Cooper's website... Regarding the USA Today Article. Cooper Firearms of Montana, Inc. did not contribute and does not support in any fashion the campaign of Senator Obama. Nine months ago Dan Cooper (personally) made an online donation to the campaign in an effort to help defeat Hillary Clinton and in protest of American plant closures and the shipping of jobs overseas. Three months ago he made yet another donation to the McCain campaign and the RNC totaling over twice that given to Obama campaign. There is no doubt that the article in USA Today has caused a considerable response. To this end we are encouraged and stand with our fellow NRA members and supporters of the Second Amendment and against those who oppose it.

For Sale: Cooper Model 21 in 6.5x284. Couple of scratches. Shoots almost anything into an inch. Pet load consistently a half inch. Used to be one of my favorite rifles. I'm keeping the Leupold 6.5x20, I still like it.

Entirely depends on your rifle. When I load bergers its not max COAL but max magazine length.