Benbrown

Thanks, Amanda! Living in New Mexico on the New Mexico-Arizona border, I am well acquainted with the different approach of each to Daylight Savings Time--I hate the time changes more with each year that goes by! Ben

I have a couple of older Burris scopes on light rifles (a 7mm-08 "youth rifle" and .280 Remington Mountain rifle) and they have held up well under lots of ammo testing and hunting. They are primarily used by my step-son and my grandchildren and therefore are not babied, as it were. I also had a Burris spotting scope that I used hard for about ten years before giving it to my brother while hunting antelope last year. I have no experience with the Fullfield II, but my brother put one on his Browning .270 WSM last year and has used it on one antelope hunt and to cull quite a few Texas whitetails, as well as putting down a number of feral goats. He says that it has held its zero through five or six boxes of shells. He really likes the ballistic plex reticle. Every brand has a lemon once in a while, but I have heard of only one problem with a Burris scope and they replaced it free of charge without a whimper.

The Barnes Manual No. 2 does not list loads for the coated (XLC) bullets. When I bought some a couple of years ago, I was given an insert with some suggested loads: IMR 4350: Min. 54.0 gr. Velocity 2998 fps Max. 58.0 gr. Velocity 3220 fps RL 19: Min. 57.0 gr. Velocity 3042 fps Max. 61.0 gr. Velocity 3255 fps For the uncoated bullets, the manual lists the comparable powders at about 2.5 gr. (RL 19) or 3.0 (IMR 4350) less. It also lists AA 4350 loads from 52.0 gr. to a maximum of 56.0 gr. and AA 3100 from 54.0 gr. to 58.0 gr. Be sure and follow Barnes' advice relative to seating: .050 inches from the lands--any closer is likely to cause pressures to jump drastically. If your rifle shoots them accurately, they are dynamite on game!

Desertbull's comments are right on, but there are a couple of other things to consider. First, it is unusual for factory barrels to produce the same velocity as the test barrels that are used by the ammunition companies to obtain pressure and velocity figures for the ammunition that they load. I have seen velocity decreases of as much as 200 ft/sec (fps) in 24-inch factory barrels and even more in 22-inch barrels. The only way to know for sure is to find someone with a chronograph and verify the velocity that is produced by the factory load in your barrel. Second, if you are fortunate enough to be near the factory velocity, altitude radically changes the ballistic coefficient of the bullet you are using--the higher the altitude, the higher the effective ballistic coefficient. Factory data are adjusted for sea-level, and if you are hunting at 6,000 ft, there is a considerable improvement in the effective b.c. and you may well have shot over the animal, even if there was no significant angle involved. The other thing is that trajectories are often calculated from a formula that primarily considers the b.c. of the bullet and the muzzle velocity corrected to sea level. I have found both factory data and those in some of the handloading manuals to be considerably different from what you find when you actually shoot the rifle, especially at long range. The only way to be sure is to find a range or a safe area where you can shoot out to at least 300 yards from a solid rest and confirm the trajectory of your load in your rifle.

Back in the Pleistocene, when I was doing graduate work on the King Ranch in Texas, there was an extensive die-off in the nilgai antelope that I was studying. I spent almost a month walking the brush rows (most of these animals died on the lee side of a motte or line of trees) and conducting post-mortems on dead animals that I encountered (a total of 407--hard work!). At any rate, one day I saw a large whitetail buck stretched out and looking just as dead as the animals that I had been posting. Since we had supposed that we were dealing with a disease outbreak, I had been wondering why I wasn't finding whitetails, axis deer, feral hogs or javelina that were sick or dead. When I saw this buck stretched out, I thought "Aha--at last I have found a dead deer to post". I walked up and grabbbed one of his antlers to pull his body out straight and found myself hanging on to a large buck that was very much alive. He nearly janked my arm out it its socket as he exploded from the ground and began dragging me in the general direction of Raymondville, since I was too surprised to let go right away! Since then, I have occasionally seen both whitetails and mule deer asleep in various positions, some of them looking just as dead as the first one I encountered. Now, if I am wondering, I just throw rocks or sticks at them...

If you are cheap, you can't afford a Savage Model 99 in a flat shooting caliber--they run more than comparable bolt actions. If you really want a 99, I would suggest looking at one of the internet sites such as gunsamerica.com and scroll through the Savage rifles for sale. The best would be a .284, but they are pretty scarce and tend to be pricey when you find one. Next best is a .308--with the Hornaday light magnum ammunition, they will shoot as flat as a .270 in the lighter bullet weights and the 180 gr. loads are more than adequate for elk. This time of year there are some real bargains to be had at Wal-mart. A couple of years ago I picked up a Weatherby Vanguard in .300 Weatherby for right at $300. Since then I have replaced the Vanguard stock with a Rimrock, but the factory target that came with the rifle (with the original stock) was well under 1 inch for a three shot group at 100 yards. I used the rifle on my Colorado elk hunt this year and harvested a 6x6 bull using 180 grain Scirrocos. Worked like a charm! I wish you luck--there are some bargains out there, but it takes some looking to fine them!

Congratulations--but you really don't know how hard you are hooked! Hope your next one is a muy grande! Ben

First, I would not rule out a hunt with dogs. If you have a good outfitter and good dogs, it is some of the hardest and most exciting hunting that you will experience. If you are determined to do it without dogs, I would look for areas near population centers where hunting pressure is light and lions are accustomed to being around people. Lions in these areas are used to finding meals (domestic pets, suburban deer, etc.) around humans and are both easier to see and easier to call up. When I lived in the Boulder, Colorado, area ten years or so ago, it was possible to see lions coming and going from the green belts around town. They hunted the mule deer that hung out in the green belts and took the occasional poodle or cocker spaniel when offered the opportunity. The alternative is to hunt true wilderness where lions just don't see many people and where there is an abundance of prey. I have spent a lot of time on a large ranch here in southwestern New Mexico that is essentially a private wilderness of over 500 square miles. I see lions in the wild several times a year. but you still have to spend a lot of time out in the country and it's basically a crap shoot. Good luck!

Mr. Snure has put his ranch(es) on the market. Prior to listing his ranches, a couple of prospective buyers shied away from these properties because of the lack of control over public access. I suppose that his broker has met with some of the same reluctance and suggested that Mr. Snure exercise his right to lock the gates across his private land. The Skeleton Canyon Road is a private road that has been maintained by Cochise County for a number of years with the permission of the landowner. (This is usually done to facilitate access by the school bus so that the rural kids can get to school regularly.) Mr. Snure is within his rights under the law, as I understand it. Several sportsmen's groups and recreational hikers have complained to the Cochise County Commission and I believe that they are going to discuss this issue at the next commission meeting. I understand that the commission would like to avoid having this end up in the courts and that they are seeking some sort of compromise.

I have shot more Coues deer (and more deer of all kinds) with a .270 than with anything else. I have five of them. However, I have hunted for a couple of years with a Weatherby .280 in the light weight rifle and it does everything my .270s do and weighs about 1 1/2 pounds less with scope, sling and a magazine full of ammunition. I actually tried to order this rilfe in .270 when it came out, but the .280 was all the jobber had and I decided to try it. The .270 and .280 are ballistic twins, but if you handload, there are a lot more .28 caliber bullets availabe than there are .27 (although the gap is closing). My new favorite for Coues is a light weight custom rilfe built on a Mexican Mauser action with a Rimrock stock, chambered in .257 Ackley Improved. It will do everything that a .25-06 will do, with less powder and less recoil. It is an accurate, light rifle that has accounted for two antelope, two Coues and one mulie in the last three seasons. I hope the day never comes that I have to hunt with just one rifle...

Unit 27 had decent rains this year, but not quite as good as last year (last year, the southern part of the unit was the only place it rained in this part of the world). The few bucks that I have seen are showing good antler growth and good body condition. Surface water is still scarce throughout much of the unit, though.

You are correct. According to the laws and regulations, all parts of game animals that die in the field (except for those harvested with the appropriate license in the appropriate season) are the property of the state of New Mexico and it is illegal to possess them. That said, I have visited ranches managed by retired employees of NM Game and Fish that sported pick-up heads and sheds as wall decorations or barn ornaments. Most rural residents have heads of bucks that were picked up in the field either lying around or stuck up somewhere. I am sure that someone somewhere has been filed on, and perhaps even prosecuted, but I have never heard of it. I live adjacent to a cienega that is frequented by both mule deer and white-tails most of the year. The lions know that the deer are there and kill one with a fair degree of regularity. My bird dogs bring in legs, heads, antlers, you name it...I just take them away from the dogs and (in the case of antlers or heads) put them up in a tree where the dogs can't get at them. Since I don't trade in them, no one has ever bothered me about it. Conservation officers usually drop by several times a year to tag lion hides, ask directions or respond to complaints. I do make it a point to keep the tags on heads that are legally harvested (but not mounted or otherwise displayed) just in case.

I carry a handgun just about every day and my favorite for carrying and general use is Smith Model 66. It's a little lighter than the 686 and mine is extremely accurate even though the barrel is only 4 inches. For years, I carried a 6-inch Model 19 Smith that had been accurized and never minded the extra barrel length until I went to work on a big ranch where I am either in a pickup or on a horse. Now the extra two inches is a pain in the rear. I have also carried semi-autos and still do if I am carrying primarily for defensive purposes. My old reliable is a 1911-style semi-custom made years ago by Michigan Arms, although I also carry a Colt Officers ACP when I want better concealment. Another favorite is a Browning Hi-Power in .40 S&W. I have used it to finish off a couple of antelope that were hit by cars and to admnister last rites to mule deer that my hunters had not quite put down and out. It is light and handy and accurate, and goes bang when you pull the trigger even after bathing in the dust that accumulates after a day in an open jeep or on the back of a horse working cattle. I have nothing against the Taurus line--it's just that every offering imitates either an S&W or a Colt and they don't look quite right... I would advise you to invest in the best handgun that you can afford. If you take care of them, they don't lose much of their value over the years and my experience with the cheaper lines has not been as good as with S&W, Colt and Browning. Invest in good leather, as well. I have had some of the nylon and plastic holsters come apart after only a few months of hard use, although the synthetics by the really good makers are probably as durable as anything (and usually cost about the same as leather anyway).

Like most mountain animals, Coues deer are altitudinal migrants in resposne to weather extremes. Here on the Mexican border, our Coues stay high in the winter--as high as they can depending on snow depth. They move more in response to forage conditions and precipitation that anything. I live in the bottom of a valley at approximately 5,100 ft elevation and we have had three whitetail does that have fawned in the cienega in front of our house for the last several years. This summer, we have three of the fawns from previous years (one a small buck) living there and foraging in our lawns (which are irrigated and providing the only green feed in this terrible drought). We often see Coues deer in the lower elevations in early October when we are gathering our cattle, but they are all back up high by the time the November and December seasons roll around. A few years ago we had a helicopter out here in September for other business and I took advantage of it to fly some transects to get buck/doe and fawn at heel ratios. I saw several good Coues bucks and quite a few does down off the mountains on the bajadas, but they all seemed to be back up higher in the mountains by the first week of November. As a result of these observations, I wait to do my serious scouting until the last 2-3 weeks before the seasons open (but then I am not a bow hunter). One rule that pretty much holds true is that if you find Coues using an area this year, there will almost always be Coues there next year at the same time, barring major changes in habitat or weather conditions.

As many contributors have noted, there is not much antler growth in general yet. However, here in SW NM adjacent to 30A, I have seen three whitetail bucks that are out past their ears and beginning to fork. Most of the mule deer and just getting started. I have one little whitetail buck that comes into my yard to eat the irrigated weeds and he is just getting started on his antlers. If the monsoons finally develop, it should be a great antler year in SE AZ and SW NM. The rains we got in late March and early April kicked off enough forb growth and new browse to put the deer in very good body condition for this time in a drought year.