Speedy

Make Osso Bucco out of the shanks and you'll never grind them again. It's really easy - https://www.themeateater.com/cook/recipes/braised-shanks-osso-bucco-recipe

Did some research on these critters and like everything online there's conflicting info. In the past I've been in rental cars and the chewing noises drove me nuts, but never had any damage. This year I'll be driving my new truck out. I'm bringing rat traps, but are there any real solutions other than keeping the hood open (which hadn't worked before)? Lights under the engine bay? How about the Rid-A-Rat blinking light thing? http://www.rid-a-rat.com/index.html

Thanks, that's the recommendation I've been looking for! Of all the things I've read the Rid-A-Rat seems to be the way to go. Although there are some who swear it doesn't work, as well as moth balls, lights, etc. If not there are the rat traps but I have to think I'll be up all night with those going off!

Dang these deer require nothing short of perfection. Hate to be a broken record, but another year same result. This year I hunted exclusively from tree stands to improve the odds of taking one with a recurve. After passing up a tiny 2x2 (6 pt my count) chasing a doe the first day (1/9) I experienced another ducked arrow again, when will I learn! I’ve been telling myself if a deer is not looking at me aim normal, if they look at me aim low. So on day 2 a better buck comes by the same stand and I’m planning to shoot while he’s moving (18 yds) rather than stop him, but as I hit full draw he stops and looks at me. By this time I’m locked on and skimmed his back right over the vitals. I almost tossed my bow out of the tree. I saw another deer the next day that went by right at dark, then I never saw another deer again. Due to the winter storm back home and a sick dog I headed back early (1/16) which was fine as I was completely bored after sitting for 3 days w/o seeing anything. BUT, to make it even more frustrating a herd of Javis went by one of my stands the last day! First time I’ve seen them in this area, and it would have been a perfect 10 yard shot from a tree stand but I was in the other one. I wonder how many guys have ever shot one of these out of a tree? I could’ve been the first? In the end I only saw 4 deer from the stand which isn’t as many deer as I have past years, not sure if a cat moved in and cleaned them out or what. There was a full moon but I never put too much into that. Every year it always seems the deer action dies down mid-week which I’ve been attributing to me stinking up the place, but I’m having doubts since I hunt the same time period every year (the week leading up to MLK day) and this year I’ve been extra careful not to disturb things. When I arrived on 1/9 bucks were chasing does but then that stopped, then on last day heading to my stand I saw a buck chasing does again, but mid hunt whenever I saw bucks after dark driving around they were with does either keeping a slight distance or laying with them. We call this lockdown back home, when a buck senses a doe is about to come into estrus and stay with them. It lasts a few days and is the worst part of the rut as the only thing moving are buck fawns. I wonder if that’s happening here as even my trail cams went quiet. Maybe I’d be better off hunting earlier, or later? I was really hoping to fill my deer tag and venture around exploring other areas and that is what really PO-ed me the most about missing again. Next year hopefully I’ll have more time since I’ll be able to drive, but that’s IF there’s a next year. I’m pretty suborn so will likely come around to this hunt again by next year but how many years can I endure this frustration? Got to enjoy a Sonoran dog and hang with a bar full of senior Packer fans again, this time we beat those dang Seahawks!

Thanks. I have been perfecting a trick when deer look up, yelp like a turkey. It works about 80% of the time with many of them completely relaxing never to look at me again. Nevermind the fact that's a 5'6" 145# turkey in the tree above them! Not sure it's going to work out there but I might have to give it a try. Otherwise if they do see me for what I am I think that stand is burned for the week I'll be there. I'll be on final approach in PHX by this time tomorrow! I can taste the sonoran dogs already.

The wait is over, I'll be back in the desert in 2 days! Another chance to build on my past experiences but I think I have a sure fire plan this time . Still looking for javi intel in 34 a/b if I fill my deer tag. Have to say I bowhunted deer in IA, MN and WI this past fall, even had a close encounter with a 170" class buck but never got as excited as I am right now.

I've been holding out for a 3x3 (eastern count) for my first coues buck but maybe I should "lower" standards to a 2x2 LOL.

Not that surprising it's been there since the 1960s and is a slow progressing disease. In the CWD core area of WI the infection rate in adult bucks is now over 50% (older the buck the higher the rate too). Whitetails are more susceptible to CWD than mule deer though. And despite all the evidence the morons in control of the legislature still allow baiting and feeding. And game farms. https://madison.com/wsj/sports/recreation/outdoors/patrick-durkin-cwd-continues-to-spread-in-wisconsin/article_4a3f1d61-7f15-5b6e-8b2b-5dbc1ada6baa.html

That is a great buck! But unless they count Coues differently than other whitetails it's not a forky (IMO forkys don't have brow tines). My buddy from WY who is a whitetail fanatic would call it a 3x3. From what I know you count whitetail brow tines but not mule deer. But as 3x3 that buck is still huge!

I've been having a lot of fun with deer decoys for Midwestern whitetails, check out these short video clips: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4j_HnUPsHvZRldUNHI5TTBUcTA https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4j_HnUPsHvZbkxrRGZnUUo1U1k To me the biggest advantage with decoys is they completely occupy their attention, I could do jumping jacks in my stand and they wouldn't care. Since I hunt with a recurve bow I plan to do a lot of sitting so anything that bring deer closer and keeps them there for a shot would be helpful. I was thinking of a Montana decoy but it might look too big to a Coues? I'll be hunting in mid January.

I haven't been reading this forum for awhile but it appears Oneshot was deleted as a member on 1/11/18. Anyone know where he is or what happened? He got rid of his cell phone a few years ago too so I have no way to contact him.

X2 on the lone wolf alpha, bought my first one last year and was amazed how quiet it was to hang and use. Even dragging your feet across it was quiet, something many don't realize until you spook a really buck one time...

Well, getting closer but still no Coues. I managed to get a 20 yard shot at a 3x3 that was trying hard to be a 4x4 but shot too far forward resulting in a non-fatal flesh wound. Traditional bows have advantages and disadvantages over wheelie bows. An advantage is I can execute a shot sequence in under 2 seconds, but a disadvantage is not being able to hold full draw so timing of when to draw is critical. I waited till his near leg started forward but he only took ½ step and then pivoted towards me so I had to hold tight to the shoulder. Letting down would have resulted in a bust. Still I thought I had a good shot, but was 4" left. Centered in the kill zone on a broadside Coues that would have worked. I felt really bad but the deer looked fine when I jumped him later. He never bedded and was heading up hill. Not making excuses but I know what some might be thinking (as I would) but I’ve killed 3 deer this season with my recurve, all died in under 60 yards. This one was caused in part by my new shooting method. Not using the arrow for a sight means I can’t be sure my anchor is aligned properly. The method works, I just should have practiced with my face mask on. Bummed to the extreme again. I passed up a spork (1x2) that took interest in my decoy but wouldn’t get closer than 10 yards to it. Had a doe walk right by it like nothing was there. Another 3x3 saw it but then spooked right before entering the kill zone. Jury is still out on the deek, I’d like to see what an older buck thinks of it. For some reason there were a lot of smaller bucks this year, not sure if there was a bad kill or what but most were barely 3x3s and lots of forkys. Despite all that happened I think I learned more about coues deer than that last 3 years combined. For one it’s really easy to burn out a stand. I brought a trail cam which confirmed this. Deer sightings went down every day to zero by day 3 (even after dark). It’s not always the deer you see either, as I caught a few glimpses of deer sneaking away that winded me. Swirling winds and ground blinds don’t work well together, so based on the above it’s better to go somewhere else rather than risk burning a good blind. That’s not always easy to do. I thought going higher in elevation to use tree stands might be the answer to scent control but there were no trees big enough to get more than 12 feet off the ground which isn't nearly high enough. I also thought no way a coues deer won’t spot me in one but guess what, they don’t look up! That was a surprise coming from the Midwest where they all do. My reduced profile likely helps a lot. The deer I hit was out of a tree stand, which lead to - Coues deer are nervous wrecks to the max. I cut off a few small cedar branches for shooting lanes and left one little branch laying off the side of the trail. The buck I shot at came down the trail, saw the branch 10 feet away spun around and took off. A minute later he came back, cautiously approached and nibbled on it for a few seconds before walking past. Talk about acute awareness of your surroundings! I ran into 2 bowhunters one day just sneaking around, they were locals in their 20s. It was fun talking to them but I mentioned the low deer density in AZ and how I typically see 8-10 deer per sit in WI and sometimes 25 or more in a big field and their eyes lit up. That made me chuckle as they likely thought I was an idiot coming out here where if you see 2 deer a day it’s a success! The Sonoran dogs were as good as I remember. It's going to be a long wait till next year...

Fixed crawl is a compromise. It makes more noise, is harder to tune and results in a loss of arrow velocity. Also some trad shoots specify one finger touching the nock, which makes it illegal. One solution is using stiffer arrows so they can be as long as possible to reduce or eliminate the crawl. My trouble is coues deer are so small and pretty much featureless it was hard to pick a spot, especially since my arrow point was wider than the kill zone at 20 yards. I can shoot elk all day at 30 yards and deer at home at 25 but I have a hard time picking a spot on a coues. The SRF sight can be seen as cheating but really it's just another sight reference like an arrow tip. I added a sight pin in the middle too, but that's just a much finer arrow tip. I aim and gap it the same as an arrow tip, but it doesn't cover up the target like my standard sized GT traditionals. Proof will be in 3 days thru next week if/when I have a shot opportunity.

Awesome. Truth be told a 98% of all trad archers are gap shooting whether we consciously know we are doing it or not. That's a good point on range, I had to crawl 3/4" down the string to get it to 25 yards, but it really improved my shooting at all ranges. My anchor is my thumb knuckle in the dent under my earlobe behind the jawbone. Feathers touch my nose when I shoot no crawl 3 under.

It's that time of the year again to fly south to try and match wits with the wariest of all game species in the most hostile of all terrain. Those of us from the great white north like me are easy to spot, we are usually red faced and complaining about the constant sunshine after 3 days. I'll be there this Friday for another round of Coues deer vs. idiot with a recurve. They won the past 3 rounds but I'm not one to give up that easy. I've been preparing for 2 months so I'm ready, I even setup a special bow just for this hunt. I'll keep you guys posted. There no Packer games to distract me this time either. I also have another 34 a/b javi tag if anyone has some intel down that way they'd be willing to share that would be great. I'll be happy to share some of the meat ;). Actually I'd share some deer with anyone so I don't have to pay an excessive baggage fee. And yum I can't wait for a sonoran dog at Ruiz's food truck in Tucson. Truth be told they alone are worth the trip.

According to the book Deer of the Southwest Coues deer are 32” high at the shoulder (they don't specify sex or age). Measuring pictures their legs are as long as the chest is deep, so that would be 16”. They don’t give height measurements for mule deer. Interestingly average dressed weights for 3.5-5.5 year old Coues bucks is 85#, Mule deer bucks 185#. New Mexico Game and Fish says this: An average Coues' white-tailed buck weighs only 80 to 100 pounds and stands only 30 to 32 inches high at the shoulder. In contrast, a Maine white-tailed buck stands 40 inches at the shoulder, while in Texas a buck is about 36 inches at the shoulder. A Coues' white-tailed doe weighs approximately 60 to 80 pounds and stands 24 to 26 inches at the shoulder. That's downright tiny and explains my issues with range estimation.

BTW - I shoot a fixed crawl so my point on is 25 yards, but this year I'm using an SRF sight to force myself into doing a better job picking a spot as I tend to shoot high when I don't.

So is your point on range beyond your effective range? Gap depends on what distance you are shooting at, and accurately guessing it. My first miss (of many) was due to judging midwest sized deer so I thought the 3x3 coues buck was farther away than he was. Then you have to worry about those little buggers ducking the arrow. Or not. That's been my story hunting them with a recurve the last 3 years!

I never cut backstrap into steaks, always grill/roast whole then slice. You don't lose as much moisture that way. I also do my own version of a roulade - roasted red peppers, feta cheese, fresh basil and oregano leaves and a touch of garlic. Roll it up and tie with string. Penzeys greek seasoning and olive oil on the outside. Grill to 125F and let rest for 10 minutes (will rise to 130).

The meat is finished! It's perfectly medium rare just the way I like it. Made excellent sandwiches the next day too. BTW - Cooked a prime rib to 137 and it was about the same doneness. Med-rare is 130 for venison, 140 for beef. Go figure.

Got one for myself for X-Mas. My first try with a midwest whitetail backstrap. Seared it, then cooked it whole at 130F for 7 hours, then seared it again.

Wait what, it snows in Arizona? I'm headed there a week from tomorrow hoping to escape from it ;). Seriously nice buck. I'm still looking to get my first Coues, this will be my 4th attempt!

This place has a ton of heated socks. If you can believe it I bought a pair of Volt 3V socks specifically for AZ as you only really need big boots for maybe 2 hours in the morning. Haven't really used them much but they seem to work. I only plan to turn them on when my feet get cold then turn them off so they should last a week. They are very thin so should fit inside any boot with your regular socks. https://www.thewarmingstore.com/electric-socks.html If you want serious pack boots made for hiking these are way better than the LL Bean boots. I use them for elk hunting. https://kenetrek.com/collections/pac-boots/products/10-grizzly

Can you cook an 11 lb rib roast in only 6 hours? That seems too short. The beauty of SV is you can't overcook anything, but you also can't tell when it's done? I used a venison roast recipe form the Meateater's website so it was bagged with shallots, garlic and rosemary after a quick initial sear. This resulted in an odd taste that my wife thought was gamey (it wasn't, I think the rosemary and shallots were too much for an extended cooking time). However it made for excellent french dip sandwiches the next day.