JasCald02

I guess that you could always retreat to the wilderness.....but you shouldn't have too! On a realted note, have any of you ever had someone come into your camp? During the day or night?

That is a nice deer, I guess Congrats!

I likey! He ain’t thin up top!

Sweet buck!

Bring back some good pics of dead critters!

Sweet buck man, you earned it!

Your morning was better than mine! I was in the office!

Jim, what kind of camera is that? Does it take stills? Sweet rig by the by!

Jeez! I am sure there has to be a way to make my NM Elk tag vaild in AZ, right?

Those are amazing bucks! I really hope your buddies are sucessfull, be sure to post the trophy photos when they come in!

Finally made it out to scout this weekend for next month's Elk hunt. It was a long hike in, but well worth it. Saw a decent sized herd (counted up to 50 by the time the all came out to feed) but no herd bulls were with them.....maybe they are still in bachelor groups? I have attached a couple pics of the trip (the elk pics are a little blurry as I tried taking them through my binoculars).

H4L - Good eye! It is Unit 53. I was up there last year for deer and saw more elk than deer. I agree, it is amazing country.....but can be taxing on the body if you are not in the greatest of shape. Do you spend much time (hunting or backpacking) in the area?

Mine came in the mail about four days ago......I knew that I had drawn; just something nice about seeing it on paper!

Hey everyone, it’s been a while since I have posted but I figured that this was the best place to come for a bit of advice. I will be bow hunting in Northern New Mexico this Sep and am trying to decide about which area of the unit to focus my efforts – backpack into the wilderness or hunt the general national forest from a truck camp. I am pretty familiar with the area (16 years of camping and I hunted deer there last year) and have seen a lot of elk sign both in the wilderness and the general national forest area. I will be making three separate trips throughout the duration of the hunt, so I guess I could do a little of both but don’t want to waste time. The long and short of it is this: I have never killed an anmial; and between this bow hunt for Elk and my rifle hunt for Coues (NM unit 23…woo hoo ) my 2007 goal is to put an animal on the ground. (Even though I still love the pursuit and experience of being out there) I have two more scouting trips lined up before Sep 1st. Should I focus on scouting / glassing the wilderness? Should I buy and set up a trail camera on a secluded wallow I ran into (not in the wilderness)? Any advice for a 5th year novice? Thanks for the help guys!

I guess that I will use this thread as my first attempt of posting pictures. The first 2006 pic shows some of northern New Mexico's beautiful high country......I was chasing timberline bucks (bow in hand) and could never close the deal. Elevation was roughly 12,300 feet (heavy pack and thin air!). The second 2006 pic is of my October muzzleloader Elk hunt in southern New Mexico, unsuccessful......again. - Jason

First of all let me start by letting everyone know that this is my first post here, or anywhere for that matter….that’s right, I am a newbie. Since deciding to start hunting Coues, this site has become an invaluable source of information in planning for my first attempt at whitetail this fall. After reading a couple of posts and the book How to Hunt Coues Deer, I have come to this potentially expensive realization: I must put all non-optic spending to a halt and save my money for the most important purchase: good glass! Knowing this, my questions to all of you are: 1. Should I save $1500 for a pair of Swaro 10x42 SLC, then purchase the Jim White Trippler to “pop” on the glass when it comes time to evaluate bucks? 2. Should I continue to use my Bushnell Trophy 10x42 (I know they suck) as my “around my neck” glass and purchase the Swaro 15x56 SCL for all tripod glassing? (I am assuming that I would not need to purchase the Jim White Trippler or a spotting scope as I will be able evaluate the bucks and decide if I want to give chase by already having enough glass to make that decision) 3. Should I drop $2500 on Leica Duovid 10 + 15 x 50 and have both options in one pair of binoculars. (My hesitation with this option is that the binoculars might be a bit heavy to carry around my neck during a stalking situation). I know that these are loaded questions, but this will be a lot of money for me and I want to make sure that I am making the right decision. Any help on the questions above or other suggestions would be much appreciated! Thanks. - Jason

Thank you all for the great advice. Everyone’s feedback is honest and candid, which I appreciate. These conversations are more valuable than any magazine article or book I have read, thanks again! My logical side says to wait for the Swaro 15x56 (I could have enough $ for them by year end), but the instant gratification side of me is saying “get the 10x56 Nikon Monarchs for now” and then go out and get a Kifaru pack, new boots, etc. Just so you know, I’m pulling for my logical side……we will see which half wins… I just bought the Silk Pro tripod and Velbon head a couple of weeks ago. I am sure that if / when I get some nice glass this system will also be upgraded. Any more feed back on the Tripler? I tend to back pack hunt more often than not and I am thinking that I could get by with out a spotter by having this in my pack. - Jason