couesdiehard

Hey Guys Here's some attempts at cleaning up the photos of the Coues buck in my earlier posts. Lee

yeah guys that blurry photo is a big old Coues! Now you know the other reason I couldn't get a decent photo. Here I am with my binos turned to left as far as I possibly could without repositioning the tripod and there he was! heck my son must have thought I had lost my mind. I am telling him to get over there and look at this buck, trying to line up a camera shot and trying not to lose sight of the buck and doe before they get into the creekbed! I was lucky to get a shot of the correct hillside! I am still trying some editing on this photo and the 2 others I took before he disappeared. Hope to post them soon. Lee

Here's another shot from my son's Dec hunt. Forkie at the top chasing doe at the bottom and another doe out of the frame. They were about 650 yards away. couesdiehard

Here is a shot thru my Leica Duovids this past Dec on my son's hunt. The buck was about 3/4 mile away and the angle of the sun and the binos was wreaking havoc with the shot. We tried for three more days to find the buck without any luck. I wil try to send more photos. Considering I shoot these freehanded most of them come out pretty well. This is the best buck but the worst photos. couesdiehard

AzOnecam, Great photos. What part of the state were you guys in?

Amanda, Thanks for the update. With all the turmoil AZG&F is stirring up with fee hikes and hunt structure changes it is nice to get some good news! Lee

I will be taking the wife to unit 31 for her rifle hunt Friday to Monday. Have been scouting there several times and I am a little concerned that I haven't seen any shooter bucks yet, but to be honest I haven't glassed and walked as much as I would have liked. This is the first time we have ever hunted the unit and it is so big that I have spent most of my time learning the country. I would appreciate it if any of you Safford guys could clue me in to what kind of terrain I should start out hunting. Are the bucks up high, in the oaks, in the lower desert stuff? Not looking for anybody's secret spots, just an idea of where to start. I have heard from some locals that they have seen some signs of rutting activity. Anyway, it's the wife's and son's first deer tags so I would really like to get them some shots. I appreciate any help you guys can offer. Lee

audsley, The way I read the proposed changes, several of the Units will see a net increase in tags for whitetail as they are adding more tags to the earlier hunts and taking less or none away from the Dec. hunts in those units. That's the way I read it anyway. Lee

Mason, I couldn't see the previously posted photos so these field photos are the first I've seen. I don't know what was wrong with the originally posted shots but the field photos say it all. UNFREAKIN' BELEIVABLE! I have no problem believing 134"+. My wife and son start their hunts on the 16th and I am going nuts with anticipation after seeing some of the bucks taken in the area this season. Kudos to you and that tremendous animal! Please e-mail the story to Amanda so we can all drool over the details. Lee

Hey diablo, Where did you find this memo? I have been all over the G & F web-site and I can't find anything relating to it. I would like to learn more about it. Lee

When does PETA season open again? I didn't get a deer this year and I think a big platter of PETA vegan and trout would be a fine Christmas feast! These people are so ridiculous. I can't believe how many people give their hard-earned money to PETA so they can produce this crap! Lee

Hey Coueselk, My wife and son have Dec. tags in 31 and I notice you're in Safford. Seen a couple of monsters have come out of there in Oct and Nov this year and posted on this site. This 136-inch buck that was shot 20 miles from your house wouldn't by any chance have come from the same unit? I am really stoked about the wife and son getting their first deer tags and of all things they got these super tags! I was in Safford over the long weekend and did a couple of mornings of scouting and I think I have some good places to start. I was already seeing does and small bucks down between 3500 and 4000 feet. Hope the big boys will come join the does by Dec. 16th! Lee

azyoung, Darn right it was a good time! Honestly though I am not heart-set on returning there next year. I think the weather plays too much of a role in your success there. I will be learning 31 over the next month to see if I might prefer to hunt there next year. creed, We were never bothered by the fire except that it never made enough smoke to block out that big old moon that had the deer feeding all night. We were about as far away from the fire as we could be. There is lots of open country in the mid-elevations but the deer were very rarely there during daylight. Most of the sign seemed to indicate they were holding tight in the thick stuff at the bottoms of the canyons. Not being an eastern whitetail hunter, I never figured a way to get a look at them in that thick stuff. Lee

Just an update. Our group of six hunters got skunked in 29. A couple of guys missed shots but all-in-all a tough hunt. I think the warm, clear weather and the full moonlight nights really hurt our odds of success. Anyway, it was a great hunt and camp with some of my favorite people. Now it's time to concentrate on getting my wife and son tagged out on their December unit 31 tags. Hopefully we will have better luck in 31. I will update on my scouting and hunting in 31. couesdiehard

Dude, This is the kind of spam you get on e-mail? You don't who sent it? That thing is awesome! I would love to hear more about that elk. Lee

gnoto, I get it. Hey, in Tony Mandile and Duwayne Adams book, "How to Hunt Coues Deer" there are informational pieces about all the main Coues deer areas in Az. As I remember it there is a part that describes all the access roads into the unit off the Sasabe Road with the names of the Ranch Roads and even the mile markers. Sounds like a pretty good way to get to know the area. Lee

gnoto, Aren't the Baboquavaris in 36C and Cerro Colorados and Sierritas in 36A? Maybe I am just confused. Lee

lfootmatt, I think I do understand what you mean by 90 pounds of worthless crap. I just wanted to point out I was making a joke about how much gear somehow seems to end up in my daypack whenever I go hunting. I hope everyone understands that my post was a joke. We have a serious problem at our borders, and I appreciate the folks who are serving their country, officially holding the line. I don't think the Minute Men are helping the situation at all though. Lee

azyoung, Who the heck told you about my new daypack! This isn't funny anymore. I spent a weeks salary on this daypack because it will hold 90 pounds of worthless crap and it's waterproof. It even has bright yellow plastic drawstring handles at the top that you can use to tie the top shut. I guess I will have to go back and find that guy in Arivaca and threaten him with brushing his tooth so I can get my money back for the jugs and daypack! Lee

azyoung, I just bought 2 new-fangled water carrying systems, they are called Camelhands. Thought I got a great price on them at $20 dollars a piece or $50 for two. But now that you mention it they do kind of look like 1 gallon water jugs and you can just make out the word "Arrowhead" on them if you look real close. I really like them and carrying them by the handles (included) frees up my back to carry 90 pounds of worthless crap while I climb the nastiest hills I can find. Are you suggesting that I shouldn't carry these new fangled wonders of science when we are hunting this November? Ha Ha I couldn't resist. Lee

It was 12-4-309 and I think it was removed for the 2003-2004 hunt season but that's the only regs hard-copy I don't have handy. 12-4-318 says that if you are participating in an "archery only" hunt you can only possess bow and arrow. But if you are not participating in the archery only deer hunt I don't see anything that would prevent the general season bear tag holder from hunting a unit while the archers are hunting deer. An interesting subject, I wonder if anybody else sees something that I am missing. Lee

BASS, I believe you can still hunt bear during other seasons in the same unit. A couple of years ago I remember G&F removing the regulation that prevented you from hunting some big-game during the time that overlapped with another big-game hunt. Maybe another member remembers this old regulation and when it was rescinded. Lee

Desertbull, I already burned these 2 videos (Western Whitetails 1 & 2) from VCR to DVD on my computer and now they go and re-master them! I found out the hard way that burning video from a VCR leaves a lot to be desired so I might buy this new DVD if Amanda decides to offer it. They both have great footage and a couple of tremendous shots! Lee

Just wanted to throw my 2-cents in here. Take it or leave it. At the last ADA meeting the G & F rep. stated that there was only a few thousand less Big-Game applicants this year as compared to last year's computerized draw. They feared it would be far worse. A lot of us didn't get drawn because of the relaxation of the non-resident quotas. This coming year I expect quotas to be back in force. This should increase our odds on primo hunts vs. non-residents again. However it could mean an increase in "weekend warrior" applicants. Then again, they rarely kill anything anyway. More critters will survive for me to hunt the next year. As long as they don't poach or cheat like USO I can live with some resident "weekend warriors" getting drawn on occasion. If they bring back the computer draw and get rid of upfront fees I won't be happy but I will draw better than most weekend warriors. Because I do my homework and I will keep on doing it. Lee

My hunting buddies have hunted 36b for at least 15 years and I have hunted it about 10 yrs. We have definitely seen a worsening of the problems during that time. I would recommend you be safe but not paranoid. In all these years we have had one vehicle broken into. As I recall a knife and some chips and water were stolen. The footprints indicated that it was illegals. We have always camped in 36b for all of these hunts and never had much problem. Keep in mind most of the illegals want to keep a low-profile and are unarmed. They will run and hide from you most of the time. The scary ones are the drug-runners and the human-smugglers. They don't want to draw attention either but they can be well-armed. I don't know that I would be comfortable camping down there by myself like I have in the recent past but I wouldn't hesitate to camp with my buddies there. Just my 2 cents. Lee