5yearcoueshunter

Well, I was able to get my second Coues deer this past week. Not only was it my second Coues, but it was my 2nd with a muzzleloader and it was the 2nd Coues I've taken on my birthday! That definitely must be my lucky day! lol He's not the biggest buck but I was sure happy to get him. Hunting was tough with the heat, full moon, increased hunting pressure and it seemed like a lower population in the area we hunted. I spotted a group of deer with 3 small bucks in the group around 550 yards across the canyon about 10 minutes before sundown. I was able to make a stalk on the deer and got within 162 yards. When I got over there I was only able to see a doe and one of the bucks, a small 3X4. He gave me a good broadside shot so I decided to take him. At the shot, the buck jumped and he immediately disappeared behind a small tree only about 10 yards from where he was standing. I quickly reloaded and headed up there. It turned out the shot was a little far back in the liver. The deer was definitely hurting but still had his head up. I decided to put another one in him to finish him off. All I could see was the top of his neck and head in the tall grass. I pulled for the neck and was able to finish him off. When I walked up to him, I was a little bummed because my finishing off shot was too high and I got him in the head, which completely busted off one antler. Oh well. At least is wasn't a big buck or else I would have been really mad at myself. haha I didn't get any field photos that night as I hurried to get him field dressed and back to camp in the dark, but I did take a few pics the next day. I couldn't have asked for a better birthday! Went back the next day and was able to find the missing antler. It busted off probably about 2 inches and the bottom and took off the brow-tine. Also saw about 3 covey's of Mearn's and Gambel quail. Took this picture at probably 5 yards. There is about 7 Mearn's hiding in those rocks. Amazing how they can hide! Thanks guys! Travis

Awesome buck Tommy! Congrats! Travis

Hey everyone, Finally got time to post my bird I got two Saturday's ago. Here is the story: Until Thursday I hadn't even decided if I was going to go hunting or not. Work had been super busy and gas is expensive. Well, after looking at the weather report I couldn't resist. It was calling for perfect blue bird weather with high's in the 70's and no wind. A turkey hunter's dream weekend. So I went and picked up my license and a box of shells and my Dad and I took off for the mountains mid-day on Friday. My uncle and good friend Jim decided to come up late that night and stay the weekend as well. Nobody bought a license but me. Everyone else wanted to stay in bed and just do a little fishing. haha After doing a little fishing in the creek and setting up camp, we headed out trying to roost a bird. It didn't take long and we had a Tom roosted for the morning hunt. I persuaded Jim to get up with me. Alarm went off about 5:00. We got ready in a hurry and headed off to the place where we roosted him. It was chilly up here at 9000 feet, so we dressed warmly. The sunlight was barely coming up when he Gobbled. It was still early, so we had plenty of time to set up in the best position. We moved in to about 300 yards from him. We set up at the bottom of the hill that he was roosted, which was an old logging road that was greening up. A perfect place for turkeys to come. I took my rangefinder out and made sure I knew what landmarks were in range. One particular landmark was a snowbank. It was 50 yards away. Rangefinding that turned out to be a good decision. As the sun continued to rise, he continued to gobble. I wouldn't say he was very vocal though. He probably only gobbled about 5-7 times in about 30 minutes. Finally around shooting time, I figured I better give a soft hen yelp on the box call so he knew I was there. He gobbled 2 two times in a row right away. Definitely a good sign that he was hot. However after I called, I also heard some hen's yelping. In that case, might be tough to get him to leave his hens and come close. Well for the next 20 minutes, he never made another sound! I called one more time and got no response. Very weird. I was starting to think that they flew off and left me. In my experience, they usually gobble more when it starts getting lighter, not less. Well, I gave one more call and he gobbled again, still in the roost. Then, the hens called, but they were on the ground. I put the call down and waited. Another 10 minutes went by with no noise. I turned to Jim and asked him to give a call. I thought maybe something different would get an answer. Jim hadn't even got the rubber band off his box call when I heard the unmistakeable sound of turkeys perking. I signaled to Jim not to call. It wasn't 30 seconds when I saw 3 hens coming right for me, perking and looking for the hen I was suppose to be. Of course they came from the direction I wasn't expecting, so my gun was pointed completely the wrong way. lol They got as close as 9 yards and then just stood there perking and cocking there heads from side to side. In the meantime, I caught a glipse of the strutting Tom about 70 yards away in the clearing. Fortunately for me and Jim, we were well camo'd and hidden in the underbrush. The hens stayed there, going back and forth on the logging road for at least 10 minutes, trying to locate me, all the time I could see the gobbler strutting in the background. It was very cool. Finally the hens gave up on me and decided to feed up the logging road out of sight. This was my chance to point my gun in the right direction. I knew the gobbler would follow the hens. It didn't take long and the gobbler was quickly on the hens trail. He passed right in front of the familiar snow bank, so I knew he was in range. After the shot, the gobbler started flopping immediately and I knew I made a good head shot. Jim and I jumped up and started celebrating an awesome morning! I thanked the Lord as I couldn't think of a better place to be. There is nothing like a cold Spring morning in the NM high country where the beautiful Merriam's Turkey Gobble shake the mountain down in the thin air! After tagging and snapping a couple pictures, we headed back to camp to wake up the sleepy heads and make a pot a coffee. The rest of the weekend was one of the most relaxing times I've had for a while. Just as the weatherman had predicted, the weather was absolutely gorgeous. The rest of the weekend we did a little fishing, BBQ'd some Barbary burgers and hiked a little. We tried roosting another Turkey just to hear another one, but no dice. It was an absolutely perfect weekend. I'm so glad I didn't stay home! Where I shot him. See the snowbank! Back at camp in the warm sun So glad my best Bud got up and shared it with me. Thanks guys, Travis

Got unit 27 Muzzle Coues and Barbary. I'm happy. Travis

My Dad and I just got back yesterday from our last chance to go Barbary hunting this season. This was both our 2nd tag we've ever had. The first year we saw 2 sheep between us (Ewe and lamb) after 7 days of hunting. Needless to say we didn't fill our tags. Last year, we didn't draw. This year we drew out and the hunt definitely started out better. We went for the first 4 days of the season. We both saw sheep and I got in range of a nice Ram but wasn't able to seal the deal. I missed a 330 yard shot that I should have made. I made a perfect 1 mile stalk and slipped in without the Ram knowing I was there. I had a steady rest off the tripod and he gave me a perfect broadside shot. Well, for whatever reason I missed. Ever since then, I been chomping at the bit to go back down and see if I could get another chance. I took off Thursday, Friday and Monday so that I would have a good 4-5 days to hunt. We didn't leave too early on Thursday, but got camp set up by about 2:00 pm. We knew we didn't have much time to hunt that afternoon, but thought we would give it a try anyway. I dropped my Dad off at one location, and I went further down the road and parked to start hiking to another location. I knew I wouldn't be able to get to the place where I missed the Ram because it was a little over 2 miles away. But I thought I would just go in that general direction and glass some other hills and canyons. I really didn't have a lot of hope because from my limited experience and from what other Barbary hunters always told me, you really need to get off the beaten track to find these critters. Well, to my surprise I wasn't even 1/2 mile from the truck when I spotted a lone sheep feeding on some cholla cactus. I could tell it was a Ram, but really didn't try to judge how big. I was just looking to get my first Barbary. I quickly ranged him and he was 293 yards. I got set up and really took my time, making sure I was aiming at the correct spot and doing all the shooting fundamentals correctly. When I pulled the trigger, the sheep dropped in his tracks! I was so excited! I felt like a kid again getting my first big game animal. I quickly got to my sheep to find out it was a very nice Ram! He measured a little over 26 inches on each side with around 11 1/2 inch bases. I couldn't believe I just got my first sheep and a good Ram to boot. I KNOW I got extremely lucky on this guy and feel so fortunate to get him, especially that close to the truck. I was acutally able to get him back to the truck whole. Which was cool, because we got to hang him up in camp and weigh him. He field dressed 115 pounds. I was a little surprised he didn't weigh more for being a good Ram. I'm thinking he's actually still relatively young. My Dad hunted the rest of the trip, but wasn't able to get one. He was able to spot a small group feeding about an hour before dark, but wasn't able to get close enough. We couldn't locate them the next morning either. He still had a great time and was just really happy that I got my first Barbary and really the first sheep anybody in our family or hunting party has gotten. Here are the pics! A couple Muleys through the Binos. Thanks guys!

Thanks everyone! I love this gun. It was my first rifle. My great uncle gave it to me before he passed. It's actually a JC Higgins Model 50 .270. You don't see many of them around anymore. Travis

Hey man, Congrats on giving it a good hard week of hunting and enjoying the outdoors. You are definitely not alone in not finding any sheep. Those suckers are difficult. Two years ago after 6 hard days and 35+ miles with no sheep spotted, I was conviced they didn't exist. haha Travis

Congrats Bill! That's awesome! I really want to try for "Regular" whitetail in NM one of these days. Travis

Congrats on the tag Bill! I'm really interested to know how your hunt turns out. I want to get a Texas Whitetail in NM someday. I got a Unit 32 muley tag 3rd choice and a Barbary tag. Really hope to get my first sheep. Congrats again! Travis

Despite a windy, cold and snowy weekend, my Dad was able to get it done with this nice Tom. This guy was very shy to come in, but finally couldn't resist my Dad's old time box call. My Dad actually called him away from me. I was about 200 yards away working him with a mouth call, but wasn't having no success. The old man beat me on this one! haha Congrats Dad! Thanks, Travis

Congrats Chef on a magnificent trophy! That's a beautiful ram and a very tough hunt. I hunted them for the first time last season. I covered probably 20+ miles and finally saw 2 sheep. I passed as it was a ewe and a lamb. But ever since then, I've been hooked. They are awesome animals. Didn't draw this season, but hoping to this year. Congrats again! Travis

Thanks for posting this Coach! That's exactly how I fix Javelina and just about everything else for that matter! Me and my family have always joked about making a TV show about cooking any wild game around the world with the exact same recipe you just posted. Anything from deer to Kangaroo! haha I haven't hunted Javelina in quite a while but I've always enjoyed the meat, especially from a younger animals. Thanks again, Travis

Hey everyone, I just got back from my once and a lifetime muzzleloader bull hunt in the Valle Vidal. It was an unbelievable experience with tons of bugling, good weather and geourgeous scenery. The first morning was unbelievable with non-stop bugling and constant action. I saw at least 15 to 20 bulls, however most of them were young so I passed on most of them. I had never passed an elk before so this was somewhat difficult. Especially since most of them were bigger than the one bull I've shot. lol I only saw one really good bull that probably went between 330 and 350, but one of his 20+ cows busted me as I was moving in and they took off. Around 11:00 the constant bugling from 5 am finally ceased so we went back to camp for a short lunch break. At 2:00 we went back to the area where we saw the big bull and set up on a small clear cut. The wind was blowing pretty good so we really didn't expect to hear or see anything till close to dark. Well around 5:00 me and my hunting parnter Jim were caught totally surprised when my bull came into the clear cut and walked right up to about 50 yards from us. He looked like a good bull with long tines so I decided to take him. My aim was true and the muzzleloader did it's job. He ran about 50 yards and expired. When I got to him, I realized he wasn't quite as big as I thought he was but I was still very happy with him. It ended by far the best day of elk hunting I've ever had and I was very happy but also somewhat sad that my once and a lifetime hunt was over. It was an experience and a day I'll never forget. After getting him skinned, quartered and hung up, we got back to the truck and met up with my uncle and Dad around 9 pm. The next day we were lucky to find a good path for the mile back in to take him out on the deer carrier. We got him back to camp and in the ice box, so we decided to stay a couple extra days to just camp, fish and enjoy the place. Here is some pics. Hope you enjoy. Scenery Nice muley that just lost his velvet My Trophy Packing out Ride home Thanks, Travis

Good luck Tommy! Those pictures are starting to get me pumped up! My party will be 4 this year. We'll see you there! Travis

Thanks everyone! Tommy, that hunt was a blast. Non stop action. I felt very very fortunate to draw the tag and fortunate to hit it just right with the rutting action. It will be a hunt I'll never forget. We are definitely going to make the beer thing happen this year! Less than 3 weeks to go! Travis

Very cool topic! Some dang nice bucks shown for sure. I've been fortunate enough to draw 4 public pronghorn hunts in NM in about 17 years of applying. Here are my 2 biggest. First buck ever. It's my biggest buck as far as score. Scores right at 80. Here is my biggest buck. It was also my last buck I took back in 03 taken on White Sand Missle Range. If he didn't have the prong broken off on one side he would have probably gone somewhere between 81 - 83. He was running when I shot him and all I saw was the good side. haha I want another pronghorn tag. Travis

Hello, I wanted to share my first ever Gila gobbler I got this past Saturday. It was a cool hunt. It turned out to be not the typical or most desirable scenerio of calling in that big Tom, but more of hearing a gobbler, moving in closer and stalking within range. After chasing one Tom for an hour in the morning, with him being very unresponsive and gobbling very little until he finally he shut up, I was heading back to the truck when I heard 2 gobblers way across a big canyon. I decided to head their direction and see if I could get them to come in. After getting about halfway there, they shut up. I tried to go to the last place I thought I heard them and do a little calling, but had no responses. I had decided to give it up and head back to the truck. As I made my way up the hill, I looked into an open meadow and saw a turkey fan! I wasn't far from the road, so my first thought was that it was a decoy as there were some other hunters in the area. But then I saw the gobbler move, and then another strutting one behind him. They were about 100 yards away. I looked around for hens, but those were the only 2 turkeys I saw. I slowly set up and started to call. Nothing! They never made a sound or even looked my direction. I couldn't figure it out. Well not 30 seconds after I called I realized why I had been ignored. The 2 Toms proceeded to jump on a couple of hens backs and start to mate! I couldn't believe it! I didn't even know those hens were there. They were laying there flat and I hadn't even noticed them. Both gobblers had their backs to me and were preoccupied, so I figured I should try to make a stalk on them. They were in a big meadow, but there was a couple of small bushes between us. So I slowly crawled forward. After about 5 minutes, I had reached the farthest bush. There was nothing between me and the mating turkeys but open space. I forgot my rangefinder that day, but I figured they were about 50 yards. I knew my shotgun and the load I was using was capable of that. All I had to do now was wait. There was no way I was going to shoot either one of those Toms while they were getting busy. That would be just wrong. haha So I sat there and got to witness something that I doubt I'll ever see again. Finally after about another 5 minutes, both gobblers jumped off and the bigger one gave me a good shot. I had my first Gila gobbler! He has a 9 1/2 inch beard, but very stubby spurs. I thanked the Lord for the morning and headed back to the truck. My Dad couldn't believe it when I told him the story. The next day, my Dad and I went back to the meadow. I took the range finder this time and found out I shot the turkey at 63 yards! That was way too far, and I felt bad about taking that shot. I could have crippled and lost him at that range. That taught me a lesson to always take my range finder as those flat meadows always fool me. Here he is! I'll never forget this hunt! Even though I charged my camera battery before I left, it was dead when going to take pictures, so I had to use my phone. Not the best pics, but they will do. Thanks, Travis

Wahoo! Valle Vidal Muzzy Bull! Oct 2 -6 They only send emails to those who drew. But keep up hope. I got my deer one first and then my elk an hour later. Travis

Larry, NM has lots of Abert's squirrels in good years. With all the moisture we've had this winter, I think it's going to be one of those years. Unit 17 and 13 has Abert's squirrels. Unit 34 does not. Only red or chicory squirrels. I agree with Amanda. The Gila has probably the most flat ponderosa pine country, which is the squirrels preferred habitat. All the country around Reserve, Apache Creek has squirrels. One of my favorite drives is from Apache creek to snow lake. Very pretty and you'll probably see lots of squirrels. Good luck, Travis

Thanks everyone! Tommy, you know all that Gila country looks the same. Travis

Thanks guys for your replys! Really appreciate it. Just to clarify, this isn't my first Gobbler, just my first Gila Gobbler. This is actually Tom number 6 for me. I love hunting Spring Turkeys! Bill, you're right about that self defense thing. Three of my Tom's were shot at 7, 12 and 22 yards! lol Thanks, Travis

Thanks guys! Jeff, yeah that's what we figured too about the spurs. The country around there is very rocky, so I'm sure that's why they are short and somewhat rounded off. PM me if you want with your guess on location and I'll let you know if your right. haha Travis

Congrats to you and your Dad Jim! That's really cool. I had the same type of experience when my dad got his first Coues last year. Those moments are special. Congrats again, Travis

Congrats to your wife Kevin! I drew a broken horn hunt on the Stallion range along with my cousin. This will be her first Oryx hunt, so should be really fun. Travis

Much congrats to you and your son! That's a wonderful trophy. Offrange oryx hunting isn't an easy hunt. Travis