stg52165

My dad and I have hunted 24A for the past few years and luckily have both been able to harvest some very nice deer and in three different ways too! In 2007 my dad connected on a little 3x2 with his T/C .58 big bore muzzleloader at just over 100 yds, in 2008 I got a my biggest coues buck with my .308 Savage and in 2009 I managed to tag out on the last day of an October hunt with my .44 Taurus revolver. All of those deer were taken on the slopes of the Pinals and all of them were equally difficult in packing out! We always have gone in to the unit by taking HWY 77 south for a few miles and then turning right about 6 miles in. There are only a handful of decent camp spots that we could get into with the truck and trailer and all of the deer we have taken we had to pack out back to camp because there really aren't any good access roads that go far enough up for us to use. That being said, we ended up drawing a mule deer tag this year in 37B so if you would like a little better idea of where we have had success I would be happy to help you out with some precise directions and suggestions for that particular area. I wouldn't mind sharing the info with a fellow member via PM and seeing how we aren't going to be in there this year I wouldn't mind sharing a little knowledge to help a brother out

I dont know how many of you would be interested in this for primitive hunting, but I no longer shoot black powder competitively and therefore want to find a new home for my old caplock. It is a Lyman; Great Plains Rifle in .50 Cal and has a 1 and 60" twist, buckhorn sights, double set triggers, and an upgraded steel ramrod for hunting. My primary target load was 70 GRS of FFF and a .490 roundball with a prelubed .015 patch that would consistently cut ragged holes at 50 yds. The hunting load was a might stiffer: 120 GRS of FFF and the same profectile :_) Shot quite a bit flatter and hit like a semi truck lol, anyhow if any of you ghost hunters are interested, shoot me a PM and ill work out the details. It sells new for around 550 for a kit, if any member on this forum wants it, ill take 350 unless you live in CA then you dont have enough money to buy it If it doesnt sell to a known hunter, then ill list it on gunbroker for 400 OBO and see what happens, hopefully i can find it a good home, i have had it for almost 18 years and im only 30. it was the first gun i bought with my own money and i just feel bad not shooting it anymore thanks for considering just the same BTW if any cousewhitetail member buys it, ill ship it to where ever they need me to for free and overnight via UPS

I dont know how many of you would be interested in this for primitive hunting, but I no longer shoot black powder competitively and therefore want to find a new home for my old caplock. It is a Lyman; Great Plains Rifle in .50 Cal and has a 1 and 60" twist, buckhorn sights, double set triggers, and an upgraded steel ramrod for hunting. My primary target load was 70 GRS of FFF and a .490 roundball with a prelubed .015 patch that would consistently cut ragged holes at 50 yds. The hunting load was a might stiffer: 120 GRS of FFF and the same profectile :_) Shot quite a bit flatter and hit like a semi truck lol, anyhow if any of you ghost hunters are interested, shoot me a PM and ill work out the details. It sells new for around 550 for a kit, if any member on this forum wants it, ill take 350 unless you live in CA then you dont have enough money to buy it If it doesnt sell to a known hunter, then ill list it on gunbroker for 400 OBO and see what happens, hopefully i can find it a good home, i have had it for almost 18 years and im only 30. it was the first gun i bought with my own money and i just feel bad not shooting it anymore thanks for considering just the same BTW if any cousewhitetail member buys it, ill ship it to where ever they need me to for free and overnight via UPS

I dont know how many of you would be interested in this for primitive hunting, but I no longer shoot black powder competitively and therefore want to find a new home for my old caplock. It is a Lyman; Great Plains Rifle in .50 Cal and has a 1 and 60" twist, buckhorn sights, double set triggers, and an upgraded steel ramrod for hunting. My primary target load was 70 GRS of FFF and a .490 roundball with a prelubed .015 patch that would consistently cut ragged holes at 50 yds. The hunting load was a might stiffer: 120 GRS of FFF and the same profectile :_) Shot quite a bit flatter and hit like a semi truck lol, anyhow if any of you ghost hunters are interested, shoot me a PM and ill work out the details. It sells new for around 550 for a kit, if any member on this forum wants it, ill take 350 unless you live in CA then you dont have enough money to buy it If it doesnt sell to a known hunter, then ill list it on gunbroker for 400 OBO and see what happens, hopefully i can find it a good home, i have had it for almost 18 years and im only 30. it was the first gun i bought with my own money and i just feel bad not shooting it anymore thanks for considering just the same BTW if any cousewhitetail member buys it, ill ship it to where ever they need me to for free and overnight via UPS, if youre in AZ i live in the east valley and we can co ordinate something im sure

That buck looks chubby but I wouldnt call him a cow...

+1 on the deer moving later in the morning, seems that way to me as well. If it's a super high pressure area the deer become more nocturnal IMO

I wish I had 1 small artistic bone in my body so I could carve a pumpkin like that. Mine would come out llike a bad rendition of the Rudolph cartoon

A big congrats to your brother in law, and I know just what you mean on the steep pack out. WELL DONE!

I would definately arrow the first shot presented as well, either way it goes down it will be a trophy just the same, a tasty tasty trophy!

My dad and I have hunted together since before I could walk and he has always been the best hunting partner a man could have. When he said he wanted to put in for the early Oct. hunt in 24A again, I said "steep hills, manzanita, devils thorn, cat claw, potential huge coues-what more could I ask for?!" We did a little scouting early Sept. and although we didnt see any bucks during those couple trips, we saw plenty of sign, lots of does, and were convinced the little pocket we were going to be hunting had some bucks roaming. We made plans to set up camp the 22nd and get settled in instead a day early. Around 2pm we pulled in on the eastern side of the Pinal Mtns got camp situated and then spent the next several hours discussing strategies and glassing the hills from camp in anticipation. Finally its opening morning and we are heading out to the low rolls in the dark to set up on a nice slope to glass from for the next couple hours. We set up against this little scrub oak and wait to see what happens. A few does walk across the hillside, a herd of pigs go through the wash below us, then the hills were alive with hunters for the rest of the day! There was 2 guys on the top of the ridge above us about half a mile a way, another between them and us, and another pair glassing ahead of us. What is a hunter to do except sit and let them work for us we kept at it, moving a bit here and there and just hoping one of the others guys would push one out to us. After 3 miles in and nothing but does, we had lunch and started to work slowy back to camp waiting for the bucks to come introduce themselves. This process repeated itself for 4 days straight, only we kept tearing ourselves up in the brush trying different tactics and areas to get away from the other hunters. On Mon. night, my dad (67 yrs old smokes a pack and a half a day) says "well this year the deer win, im beat." Which really means "a lil whiskey and early bed time, my mind will change in the morning." Tues. morning rolls around and dad is still tired and ready to call it a season. I convince him to have some coffee and a little breakfast while I break camp, then after we are all packed up we will try heading to the hills north of us and focusing on the brush choked draws for a late morning hunt and if we dont tag out, ill admit defeat. He agrees so I finish packing the trailer, hook up the truck and lock everything down. We had been looking at the area to the northwest the day before and noting that we hadnt seen anyone else go in there. Around 9:30 we started making our way toward some interesting looking slopes and because the wind was picking up we knew we would have to just about step on a buck to get him out of his bed. About 2 miles in we were taking a break on the side of this densely covered hill when my dad spotted this doe in the bottom of the draw at about 300 yds. He starts on again about how I must be crazy to be packing my Taurus Raging Bull in .44 mag to hunt coues deer because we were seeing deer at 200+ all week. I might be a little crazy, just wanted to try to connect on one with a pistol. About 15 mins later we make a game plan that my dad would stay just below the crest of the ridge on the west side, and I would go in the bottom picking my way through the brush hoping one of us would get lucky. 100 yds after we separate, yet another doe pops up in the brush to my left and casually walks off to bed again out of the building wind. Maybe a half mile later I stop on the side of the draw I had been working for a break and see my dad above me playing the over-watch position to perfection and waiting to for a big ole wiley buck to break out of the cover so he can put him down with his .280 Rem. We are only 200 yds or so apart and sit for about 20 mins before moving again. There is a little cut up the side of the hill we were working and the brush is so thick I dont know how either one of us was gonna see any deer that came out but it was the last day for us so we kept on working the draw slow and easy and keeping our eyes peeled. As I start up the cut, BAM! there is a couple of deer walking around the back of this oak 120 yds infront of me. They arent spooked so now I need to get into position on the hill opposite to see if I can find horns on either one as I only saw there back ends at first. For what seemed like forever (15mins) I am waiting for the deer to come out to one of the 2 openings on the side of this hill to check for horns when all of the sudden 150 yds away, I see the sun on fur above the brush. I throw the glass up and ITS A BUCK!!! Finally all the hard work we have been putting in is gonna pay off! At 150 yds that is on the edge on my range with my iron sighted revolver, and now Im thinking that my dad was right, I shouldve packed the .243 and this would be venison in the fridge. All I can see is neck and head so I need to wait for an opening, so I get ready and wait for him to work back down the trail towards me. Right then, my dad appears on the top of the ridge the buck and the other mystery deer is on. I get his attention, tell him there is a buck and a ? on the hill side under him, and to make his way to the west which would put him in the game trail going through the brush and one of us would get a shot. 5 of the longest minutes of my life passed then as he worked slowly down that ridge. I had lost sight of the buck in the brush, and I hadnt spotted the other deer yet so my mind is thinking the worst. Then like these deer so often do, the buck I was looking at appears on the edge of the cat claw at 82yds!!!! I take a breath and set the front sight of my .44 right on his shoulder and start squeezing the trigger. BLAMMMMM the Taurus roared and all I saw was muzzle flash at first, then I see the buck drop like a ton of bricks!! The handloaded 240 XTP did its job to perfection, and double shouldered. Dad is yelling "Did ya get em" and I answer him. Right when I do, the other mystery deer trots out of the brush and starts making his way to edge of the ridge; and ITS A TOAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Im yelling at Dad to get him to move his butt west in a hurry, but the brush he is in is so thick it makes speed an impossibility. He gets to the edge after a few minutes, and like these deer often do, POOF, the big fella disappeared. I was sad for about 2.4 seconds that my Dad didnt get a shot, then I remembered I just made an 82 yd ace with my revolver and I had some celebrating/work to do. This is not my best deer, and the one I tagged last year was better; that being said this deer I am the proudest of because we worked our butts off to find him, and I got him my own way. My Dad is my best friend and @ 67 is the toughest and most kind man I know. I can never remember me tagging out when he didnt and him ever being upset, and wether it was my first rabbit, my first dove on the wing, my first deer, or my first handgun deer, he's always been there to give me a high five; a pat on the back; and "I knew he was down when I heard the gun go off" comments. I hope you all enjoy the story and pics, I dont post a lot, but Im on the site almost everyday seeing whats new!(pictures are not the greatest, Dad and digital cameras dont mix well)

I got ambitous and took a picture of the stock I ordered from Richards microfit, definately not what i use for coues but its a dynamite silhouette gun....

I have recently restocked my .308 for highpower silhouettes and got it through richards microfit gunstocks. A google search will pull up the website. Fantastic quality, cut was spot on, and I only paid a lil over $220. I did a ton of research of stocks focusing more on stock options and different cuts than on price. Give it a look and see what you think, they definately get my vote! p.s. The stock I chose was a wildcat thumbhole in black/grey laminate, I can post pics if youd like to get an idea of how it turned out

So after 6 very hard days of hunting the high eastern slopes of the pinals with my dad and nephew, I got my first coues. I spotted a big deer feeding with its head in the scrub, and couldnt make out what it was at first. Just when I see a fork move and go to take a perfect broadside shot at 180 yds, he dips into a cut and I lose sight of him for about a half hour. Ofcourse being my first coues hunt, I get impatient and decide to go to the backside of the ridge he was on, and see if I could drop in above him. Just when Im thinking I rushed the stalk, out steps the buck at 120+- at a fast trot. One shot from the .308 and it was all over except for the 5 mile pack back to camp!!! I am absolutely hooked on these lil gray ghosts and cant wait for next year!!!!!!!!!! Not the greatest of pics, so ill try to get a better one posted of the rack. He is a 3x3 with a missing point and dual eyeguards

I did some scouting with my dad recently, and found three good bucks hanging tight to cover. I only hope they will still be in the area when its my turn to hunt em' in a couple weeks

tks for all the help guys. this will be my second coues hunt, usually we hunt mulies in 22 or 37b, but we've been hunting here for 20 years. love the diversity in AZ. second to none in my opinion in reguards to terrain difference wethere that be a good or bad thing is still yet to be determined but it sure is fun. i have found access to the skeleton canyon area by way of a friend who is from douglas, and knows the ranch owner right outside that area, so ill go a scoutin' this week and see how it turns out. ill let ya'll know what i find. thanks for the welcome and good luck to anyone on there upcoming hunts!