creed_az_88

I assumed it was the front feet. That confirms I was wrong. Either way, lions make em where they live.

Absolutely. They are the equivalent to a deers scrape during the rut. A tom will stretch his two front paws out and drag dirt/leaves towards himself and make a little mound, and then spray it with urine. Its his way of marking his territory.

Look for lion scratches along trails and canyon bottoms. I went years without even knowing that there was such a thing. I befriended a person that hunts lions with dogs and he taught me a lot. Lion scratches are the most abundant lion sign there is. I don't have any pictures to show you but maybe somebody else on here does and would be willing to show it.

Mule deer decline isn't just a problem in Arizona. Its a nationwide issue and in my opinion, is largely due to the growth of population from other species. Elk and whitetail in particular. Whitetail now thrive from coast to coast. Their populations are constantly on the rise. Even our little coues deer thrive in areas here in az that we never even considered them living ten years ago. Take central az for example. Have whitetail always been so abundant around Roosevelt? Now stories of elk occasionally drinking from the lake float around. Mule deer numbers dwindle and elk and coues/whitetail rise. Its visible nationwide. The problem isn't that they compete for food or that the state mismanaged them, its the fact that theyre the weaker prey animal. When a lion or coyote or wolf gets hungry it searches for prey. Because in many areas the predator now has more than one option, its going to hunt what's easiest, the mule deer. It will keep hunting mule deer and occasionally whatever else it comes across like elk or coues. The elk and whitetail serve as a second option on the menu to keep the predator nourished until it comes across another easy mule deer. Eventually when the predator has killed most of the mule deer in the area, it can then swap to the other species. Predators thrive in areas with multiple species. Now look at areas in the country where only mule deer live. The strip for example. The population is fine. Predators can only eat mule deer and if they run out of mule deer then they either die themselves or leave. When they die or leave the mule deer can then again start to thrive again. Populations will cycle because of predators in areas where only mule deer live but will not be decimated like they do in other areas like central az where predators can remain In one spot because of the food variety. I do not believe that state agencies giving out too many tags is the problem otherwise coues populations would be minimal in units 33 and 34a. Humans target bucks. Lions and coyotes target anything with a heartbeat, and it just so happens that mule deer and antelope are the easiest for them.

Nice buck. Nice gun. Good times.

Looks like a monster to me. Good job.

What an experience! Did you get your deer?

She got whacked. Got pictures from a friend of the guy that shot her but I can't post without permission and seeing as how I don't know the guy personally, I probably won't get permission. I can say that the lucky shooter was from Willcox and it was during the Oct rifle hunt.

Doubling up with your daughter is about as sweet as it gets. Congrats to you both.

I was surprised by the white muzzle too. I believe that this is the only buck that I've ever seen that had zero black around his muzzle and so much white. Black might have shown up with some age but still very cool.

Having the opportunity to take multiple kids hunting the last three years from ages10-13, I say let them decide. Ive been fortunate enough to be part of 12 bucks being shot out of 15 hunts. Before every hunt I would ask the kid, what are you wanting to shoot on this hunt? Most of them said anything. A lot of them said anything but a spike. On every single occasion, the first buck we laid eyes on, including spikes, every single kid opened their eyes wide and said ill take him. I say let them shoot anything that they want to shoot. They will know when they're ready to hold out for a big one. As long as they're eyes light up and sparkle when they get to see that particular deer, then they are still loving the hunt for what it is worth. And that's the experience of a shooting a Buck, not trophy hunting. And every one of the kids that I take out are not cheated into believing that shooting at a buck at 700 yards is OK just because the gun is capable and they are capable. They know that they owe it to the deer to get as close to it as possible and still make it a hunt, and not just a long distance shooting drill. That last statement is off topic, sorry for that. good luck to you and your kids. Enjoy it while it lasts because they won't be kids for long!

Awesome job. In tough country even. Hunting with a kid is magical. I'm glad you guys were able to connect.

I've seen a lot of big coues bucks run and not flag. Saw one yesterday hauling butt after my little brother in law scattered bullets all around him and he never lifted his tail once. So a buck not flagging doesn't mean he isn't 100% coues. Might just mean he's wise to the game.

I'm posting this for some relatives. My two young cousins had the youth hunt down south at the beginning of the month. My 13 year old cousin pulled a bone head move and left his rifle on the side of the road in unit 30a. They said that they had seen a jeep Cherokee with a diesel motor in the area that they were hunting and they assumed that the Cherokee might have came across it. The 30-06 is a winchester model 70 with a wood stock. If anybody happens to know somebody that found a rifle in unit 30a, it would be greatly appreciated if you could pass it along that the rifle belongs to a cwt.com members family member. The family that lost the gun just recently had they're home damaged by flood water so buying a newrifle is out of the question and reward money from them would probably be out of the question also but I would be willing to come up with a little reward money if needed. Thank you for reading and I can be reached at 520-578-0263 if anybody has any info. -creed

Best site for sure.

What a class act. Hunting4... (not sure if he wants his real name announced online) found the rifle. I am getting the rifle tomorrow from him. My aunt and uncle will be extremely relieved when I surprise them tomorrow with the rifle. This world has some good people left in it after all. Good karma will come to you Mr. Hunting4...

Hybrid! Sweet buck.

Where are you located

I've been wondering when this post was gonna show up. Congratulations on a sweet first coues buck. It doesn't get any better than that. The wind was nasty that day. When the conditions get tough only the truly tough prevail. Good job jaycie. Those memories will never fade, and if for some reason they do, you can always look down at your sweet scar for a little help remembering.

Hunting javelina with a rifle is like fishing with live bait in an artificial only pond...jk theyre fun no matter what weapon you choose just remembe that if you do get a rifle tag you can still use your bow if you want to.

Sweet bucks! One more week!

I started when I was 16 and shot my first at 19. now I can't stop! My life basically revolves around archery coues deer hunting. I would have to go through years of rehab to quit.

Any of zen rays stuff. Impressive glass for the price. You are probably going to get a lot of people suggesting vortex. Zen rays warranty isn't as good as vortex but they do have a decent warranty. All zen ray models have better glass than any vortex model in the same class in my opinion. The only downfall to zen ray is that they are China made.

Most strip their fuzz during the first week of October where I'm at. Whitetail and mule deer.

I'm hoping somebody can tell me what kind of caterpillar this is? I should have taken more pictures but I was packing my deer out when I saw him. Will he turn into a butterfly? He doesn't look as cool in a picture as he did in real life.