Jeff Welker

Super photos John. While I'm not qualified to say if your photos are of the same ram Mark kyboshed, at the least it looks like it's cousin - if not it's brother

I've made all the case dimension comparisons and now need to get comments from the real world. I want to build a Winchester Mod 70 for my deer, antelope, and sheep hunting work. Without wasting a bunch of time trying to explain my personal quirks, I'd prefer to shoot a Winchester cartridge in a Winchester rifle - there I said it. I'd prefer to go the 264 Win Mag route; however, I am also a Lapua brass addict from my competitive benchrest experiences. I can't find any Lapua or Norma brass for the 264 and don't have good vibes for the Winchester brass. That brings me to the 6.5x284 cartridge. I can get the beloved Lapua in that round and need to get comments on performance between the 264 and 6.5x284. While the 6.5x284 is not a pure Winchester cartridge, it is based upon the Winchester 284 case so I can somewhat keep my Winchester round for Winchester rifle twitch going. Your help is sincerely appreciated. Many thanks.

I'm looking for a fixed power (6.0) scope for a rifle I'm putting together. I've been looking at the Leupold FX-3 6x42; however, I don't want to make a purchase decision until I've evaluated other options. Any recommendations or comments are sincerely appreciated. Thanks.

All I can say is WOW! What a tremendous hunt. Your report and photos are outstanding. Thanks for sharing and congrats on your billy.

Congrats on your upcoming sheep hunt; I hope you have a wonderful experience and harvest a wonderful ram. According to one of Arizona's most veteran sheep guides, the Eagle Creek drainage is one of the main routes the Rocky Mountain Big Horn sheep originally migrated from New Mexico to Arizona. I'm not familiar with that area; however, I hear good things. Best of luck.

Yesterday I picked up a copy of this wonderful book. If you enjoy sheep hunting at any level, this is a "must have" for your library. This is a hardbound book that is printed to the highest quality. The photography (historic and recent) is as good as any I've seen. IMHO, this book is the equal of any limited edition hunting book you can purchase anywhere. To be clear, this is not an anthology of sheep hunting stories or a "how to" tome on equipment, technique, etc. It is a book that wonderfully documents the history of desert bighorn sheep hunting in Arizona - from its inception in 1953 to 2010. If you enjoy large rams (who doesn't) this book is for you - especially if you dream of what many consider to be the hardest of the North American Grand Slam for which to draw a tag. Obligatory statement: I have no relationship with Mr. Saad (business or otherwise). I have not recieved any remuneration or compensation from Mr. Saad for recommending his book. That being said, I was lucky to pick-up the book from Mr. Saad in person and thoroughly enjoyed talking hunting with him for a short period of time. His humble trophy room is a "Valhalla" of bighorn sheep. Tom is a very nice person and his book is definately a fine reflection of the author and his lifelong dedication to desert bighorns.

Thank you bro. I checked the Nosler website and you are correct - they offer their custom brass in .264. You are also correct that they are most proud of their brass in any caliber. That being said, high quality brass is usually worth the extra pesos in the long run - at least that has been my experience.

I'm getting back into big game hunting after a hiatus of many years. Now that I've got my priorities appropriately organized , I'm budgeting funds for all things associated with hunting and that includes taxidermy. While I'm not trying to be cocky, I anticipate eventually having a nice Coues buck that would look great mounted in my home. Accordingly, how much (in general $$$$) should I be budgeting for a nice shoulder mount? Full size or pedestal mounts are not my thing, so I would be looking for a classy/high-end shoulder mount and want to make sure I've set aside enough funds to make it happen. Any comments, thoughts or suggestions would be sincerely appreciated. PS - I'm not asking anyone to tell me precisely what they paid for their shoulder mount. I'm just looking for a good ballpark figure. Thanks again.

Great comments. Funny you mention Berger bullets. I've been shooting competition benchrest with Walt Berger (founder) and Eric Stecker (president) for several years. Eric tells me he will help me correctly match the barrel twist to the particular bullet I choose and communicate it to Krieger so I get exactly what I need. But you are right that I'll be fairly stuck with the bullet and twist combination going forward. While I love Berger's pills, I also have been shooting Nosler BT's for many years and had good accuracy/success with them. Several decades ago, I had a .264; however, I was young and stupid. I did not have the patience to wring the gun out correctly and sold it within a year of purchase. Knowing what I know know about tuning rifles, I'd love another chance at the .264. My only issue is finding quality brass. I know most will argue it does not matter for hunting purposes; however, I'm addicted to good brass and can absolutely demonstrate how is will shoot better and facilitate been load development than the cheap stuff. Don't get me wrong, making this decision is a good dilemma to have.

I sincerely appreciate all the great comments and suggestions - they are most helpful. I will plan on budgeting $1,000 for the mount and begin my search for the right professional. Many Thanks; Jeff

Wonderful buck and tremendous shot - well done.

What a tremendous buck - even better that you got to do this with your son. Thanks for the report and photos.

Super buck, excellent story and very nice photo - congrats all the way around Taylor.

Tremendous buck Devin - congrats. Contrary to your thoughts on the matter, we definitely need a detailed story and some more photos - come on man!

Congrats Matt on a successful hunt and two wonderful bucks. I especially like the mass of your Coues' rack. If you wouldn't mind sharing some specifics on your equipment (i.e. rifle caliber, scope, binos, etc) it would be sincerely appreciated.

For many years, I walked the area north of Roosevelt Lake chasing quail, duck and javalina. On occasion, we would hike up on the benches of Armer Mountain in the hopes of jumping some Mearns' or Scaled quail. On more than one occasion, we would catch a glimpse of a coues deer that we had distrubed. On one particular trip, we were glassing the area for pigs and found two nice Coues bucks bedded on the side of a small draw. At the time, these were nothing more than curiousities. We wanted big mule deer and elk and these little guys just didn't get our blood moving. Well, I'm older and (hopefully) wiser now and have a new interest in the "ghosts" of the desert. I'm going to spend most of the next year getting in shape, having a custom rifle built and otherwise preparing for a coues deer hunt. I am wondering if this area north of Roosevelt Lake (Unit 23) would be worth pursuing - assuming I get drawn. In my initial research, it appears that southern AZ and the San Carlos reservation get alot of notice - for good reason; however, I'm wondering if this part of central AZ has good coues deer population. Any help or comments would be sincerely appreciated. Thanks;

I spent over 20 years chasing quail in the area north of Roosevelt between Salome Creek and the Young road. I've never had a dog to hunt over; however, I've gotten many limits simply busting up coveys and chasing down the trailers - learning to use a quail call made a big difference in our rate of success. Great country for Gamble - also great country for rattle snakes. Unfortunately, much of the quail season is prime snake season. You've really got to watch where you put your foot. I've got a rattle with 16 buttons on it from a fat old diamond back that I nearly put my foot in the middle while looking for a downed bird. I hunt primarily with a Model 12 16 gauge handed down to me from my father. One season we were chasing a nice big covey north of the Round Mountain tank and came upon a couple of Mearns' on the slope of the Armer Mountain bench. We made a mental note and on a follow-up hunt we spent two full days working the upper reaches of that bench. We worked our butts off in that terrain; however, we finally got a couple of quail trifectas (Gamble, Mearns' & Scaled). If we had dogs, it might have been easier. That being said, it is rough country and you could injure a dog if your not carefull. I've spoken with some G&F folks since then and they believe it is very rare to find all three species that far north. If you like jumping ponds/tanks for duck, there are some great places in the same area. You will do a lot of driving, walking, and stalking; however, when you come over the dam and see a bunch of green heads, it can get exciting real quick. Sometimes, you get surprised with a flock of geese resting in the shade on some of the ponds. Many times, you will get nothing after alot of work - it just goes with the territory. As I've gotten older and don't get out as much as I used to, I often think back on those Coues deer we found on south slope of Armer Mountain. If I can get this old body in shape again and be lucky enough to get drawn, I just might revisit some of my old haunts and see what I can find.

Thanks to all for the comments. When the temps cool off in the fall, I'm going to go tromping around some of my old haunts and see what I find.