AntlerObsession

Here is one you sent me, Lark. I'll see if I got anymore. What a handsome animal! The ram is pretty good as well!

I can appreciate both versions of the story. Too bad about the bull. I appreciate Craig and his guide's style. Hunters everywhere, camps and trucks parked on every turn seems like, and nobody knows Craig is putting the stalk on a monster bull!! Not enough credit is given to the true silent hunter, and too much visibility is given to road hunters.

You are right to consider options to concentrate the flow. It is always difficult to do, but the more you can concentrate the flow, maximizing water in and minimizing water lost(seepage, runoff, evaporation, etc.), the more reliable the water source will be. How to do that is always site specific. You just have to get creative sometimes.

It all depends on how much time and effort you want to put into it. You can just dig a hole where the water can pool up, or you can go all out! If it were me, and I had a sWeeT spot like that, I would want to do it right. Hike a small foldup shovel and a 60-80 lb bag of lime in, dig down to expose as much water as the "bedrock" would allow, and then build a retaining wall, using the lime with the available rocks, "sand" and water. You could also get into using the available rocks and gravel to filter the water as it comes in to minimize the silt that builds up in the bottom of your spring. I can provide drawings, evaporation charts, and water flow measurements if you really want to get technical. Finding a seep like yours and developing it into a reliable water source is just a small part of my Antler Obsession! You know what would also be cool? Put a trail camera on it now, take notes on what/how many animals hit it as is, then do your improvements, and record if there is a marked difference. What a cool science experiment! BTW, I envy you! The Good Book says not to covet, but even He might take exception to the sweet spot you have there!

What a memorable Labor Day Weekend! Packed up and ready to go, we left the Friday afternoon heat in SE Arizona for the long drive to our cabin near Silverton, CO. After sleeping in, we woke up to a beautifully crisp and clear morning full of excitement and anticipation. I had processed our one remaining archery voucher, and was hoping the bucks we have been watching the last few seasons would be in their usual areas. With some luck, and providence, perhaps I would be able to close the distance on a decent buck, and maintain my composure enough to get a clean shot! I hiked to a nearby trail camera I had setup a month prior to see what kind of activity we might have had in the area. A lot of bucks and does, and some bucks with real potential if they finished strong the last 3-4 weeks of growth. If this was indicative of the kind of action I was going to have, it was going to be a great weekend! I hurried to the trail head and verified that my Badlands 4500 held everything that I was going to need, and that my PSE Bruin was the instrument of precision I had tuned it to be during the long summer. As I shouldered my pack, my mind went to the 13,500' peaks rising up above me, and the ordeals, and opportunities they would present to me. As I rose in elevation through the dense, hardwood forest, the oxygen, as well as the trees, began to thin, opening up into treeless bowls and gulches, well above timberline. I retrieved my Kaibabs from my pack, and set up for some serious glassing. I spot several does, many with fawns, as I scan through the mountain meadows. I finally come across several gray-bodied bucks, bedded high against a rocky cascade: the biggest being a large 3-point buck, around 155-160, a smaller 4-point buck, and a yearling. They begin to feed across the basin, single file on a steep game trail. As I continue to look, I find a solitary bachelor group bedded up on a granite promontory, below a long, rocky ledge. 3 bucks, consisting of 2 Tall 3-pointers, and a brute 4-point: great mass, width at least a few inches outside his ears, tall and very symmetrical! He was well worth the hike if I could get to him! As the afternoon began to turn into evening, I found myself within about 250 yards of my quarry. They had milled about all afternoon, making it hard to read how, or if, they would move off the top of the mountain. However, about 5:00pm, they committed to a game trail that would take them just above where I was at. I dropped my pack, untethered my bow, and quickly moved into position. With them moving towards me at about 120 yds, I had to cover a 10 yd exposed hillside to really optimize my shooting position. I had on my Mossy Oak 3-D Leaf Suit on, but I was not taking any chances. The bucks would move a bit, and I would inch my bow further down the slope. Then they would look as though they were looking right at me. I held very awkward positions several times so as not to move while they were looking my direction. I finally got into position on a small, rocky promontory just above them and was able to take one last picture before we reached the point of no return. As the Bucks passed below me, it was a matter of stepping from behind my rocky cover, and placing my pre-ranged 50 yard pin on his vitals and easing my shoulder blades together, releasing the arrow. The arrow, green fletched rose, arcing subtly, as it dropped directly into the upper ribs of the buck's right side and into its far lung. I watched as the buck exploded away down the mountain, slowing to cross a shallow stream bed, and stopping 150 yds away. He looked around for about 12 seconds, before he started to lose his feet and lay down there, where he perished. I made my way to him, filled with increasing excitement, and humility, at the sight of this buck growing before my eyes. I cleaned him, and made my way back to the cabin. I would return early the next morning with my dad to cape and quarter him, and finish what was an unforgettable day in the San Juan Mts. of Colorado. I could not be happier with my experience, my beautiful buck and the beautiful mountains I had the privilege of seeing.

What cool character! No other buck like it, and enough antler to please any respectable hunter! Thanks for sharing!

That is funny! I check this thread multiple times daily to see how this all turns out! Please, Bowtech Guy, do not dissappoint! Enough people have chipped in their $.02, Amanda could live off the interest! Here are some highlights of more thoughtful posts: "... sad story to hear a big bull like that getting away." "hope you have better luck the rest of the season and hope these other fellers butts grow shut." "ain't pursuing big game with a vehicle sorta against the law? and why does this guy need a team o' folks to corral this bull for him?" "It's funny to me how you still have only heard one side of the story." "when it's all done and over somebody always ends up bein' millyvanilly and hasta go underground. c'mon other guys. i wanna hear the re-butt-all." "I always wonder why wounded bulls always measure 400" "This is a chance for us as hunters to police our own. If we don't stand up and say what we, as an American culture, think is appropriate and not appropriate who will? There are laws that govern how we are expected to act in the field according to the law but there are no laws that say how we should act as a culture. We set our own standard." " I do NOT think guides are the problem here guys." "We need to stop basing our personal value on what other think of us, and start basing it on what we think of ourselves and teach our kids that same value!" "Mark my words, if we do not police our own, the government will do it for us!" " I do not understand why it is wrong to have this type of issue discussed in this format. Why should we want to condone a sweeping under the rug of such an incident." "In order to avoid unsavory situations such as this, I specifically target small, undersized, antler challenged representatives of the species I am hunting. It saves me so much trouble." "4 Steps to Properly Eat Crow" "I believe an ethical guide should say he has no interest in being part of such unethical conduct. Now some will say the client is always right and that he has paid the guide to do as he asks, but to that I say bs! A guide or outfitter should not check his ethical standards out the door simply because his client has none. " "This is a discussion forum and this is a very important topic that absolutely needs to be discussed." "Your friend sounds like someone I'd like to know is in the same woods as me." If this is what's being said on the forum, what is being said by PM? My imagination is running wild! Good stuff! Hopefully the second side of the story is catching up on what he's missed and is getting ready to post!

It must be something you do with the arrows! I shot my CO buck with those gold tips you sold me! Congratulations on a beast!

Yes, MountainGoat! Yes you can!

We have sold all but a few rifle tags. Hunts still available for the end of Oct., the beginning of Nov., and the rut hunt starting Nov. 16. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me.

The picture Amanda has on the homepage of the buck and doe standing together is hard to beat for quality and class. 1 Vote for Amanda's picture!

One heckuva buck! So what beautiful state were you hunting to have that opportunity?

Pm sent.

$551 non-residents + voucher if not OTC or already included in the package.

Saw pics of you and your ram. That dude is a stud! The ram was pretty cool too.

This question plagues me as I determine the quality, and maturity of the bucks I am seeing. Is the 95" buck I see indicative of a mature buck at it's peak? Is he indicative of a buck who is just starting to come into his own, and will get bigger, smarter by next season? The 100" mark is the magic number for a true "trophy", but is that really indicative of what truly mature bucks are out there, too smart to be harvested? I wanted to keep this poll specific to Coues north of the border, but would love to hear in replies what people consider to be average mature buck size south as well. Thanks for your input!

17-309. Violations; classification A. Unless otherwise prescribed by this title, it is unlawful for a person to: 4. Discharge a "firearm" while taking wildlife within one-fourth mile of an occupied farmhouse or other residence, cabin, lodge or building without permission of the owner or resident. *Is it just me or are there a lot of ways to get around this statute? I personally wouldn't want to risk it, but . . . That is a nice buck . . .

These trail cam pictures were forwarded to me. It is a sequence covering about 12 minutes of action, and then 2 follow-up pics. If you zoom in, you can see what is keeping that sheep from getting to shore. Pic 7 shows it finally get on shore. Unfortunately it was dragged out. It took a month before any sheep from that herd showed up again.

Last week, I sketched a picture of my dream buck and he matches your buck almost exactly! Your buck is even better, and not only because he's the actual flesh and blood. He's got everything you could ever dream of.

We took a trip up to Colorado for a family reunion over the weekend of the 24th, and I got a chance to break away for a little scouting. We saw plenty of deer and elk, and got pics of a few. With 4 more weeks to grow, these bucks could be good ones! Decent width on the one, and good tine length so far on the others. We will keep our fingers crossed! By October, this secluded basin has about 40 deer just living it up in Colorado's Garden of Eden! This is a pic of a fallen tree about 200 yds from the cabin that we put some salt on to see if we could get some local traffic and it looks as though its working. 25 ft of the 24" tree is completely gone, and you can see what they have done to the area under it! Couldn't hold back some of the spectacular views from the jeep trails we explored.

Welcome to the site! Looks like a great spot!

Congrats on the tag! Welcome to the site, and the best of luck to you! PM sent!

My brothers and I got drawn for the Nov. WT hunt in 24A. Bring it on!

Soon! Never soon enough, but soon!

I'm totally interested but ... do you have a payment program?