coueshunter84

"nad" is what happens when a bass ackwards country boy who is a self taught typist, trys to type "and" to fast and dosent proof read things before hitting the add reply button. LOL.. AS for Barbary sheep, I have never hunted them, and this is the first time I have seen one up close and personal. Shane

My little .223 Win Model 7 youth, has taken 7-8 deer in its time. CLosest was 50 yards, farthest (guestimated) 650 yards. Of which only 3 were coues. I shoot a handloaded 55gr BTSP I dont know exactly which one as a family member reloads them for me. I know its pushing max on the powder charge, and have been told its clipping along about 3600-3800 fp. I have never had a bullet or gun caused problem. The guestimated shot was probably farther then we guessed. I have never been back out there to range it. But he was just a little dot at 8 power. Dropped him in his tracks. 150lb mulie 3x3. ( yes things a teenager will do on the last day of the hunt several miles from the truck.) That was way back before my brain started working. ANyway, if your very familiar with the gun and loads your using, and know where to put it. I have never had any problems, that I was not at fault for. Its still my caliber of choice for everything smaller then elk. I have no problems taking it out for mulies or whities again any day of the week. But again I've put enough rounds through it to know exactly how it shoots in about any imaginable circumstance. Practice,, practice and then make the shot count. Shane

If there are some trick questions in this thing can anyone give us a heads up as to how they want them answered? I'm guessing most of the folks on here are of the same mind frame. It would be helpful to us to know what they are looking for to forward our opinions, instead of being tricked into answering what they can interpret however they want it to read for the results. This sounds a little worrysome. I hope what we want them to hear gets through. Also that there is no way they can turn it on us. Politicos seem to find ways.. Shane

I hate computers, Seems my computer is having a spat with my camera. I was not able to dowload anything off of it. So I took the card and had them developed and then scanned the pics. They are still to big. Anyo of you who are computer literate and good at whitteling pics want to give this a try? I will be more then happy to mail them to you, and would be thankful if you could get them on here. SHane

I dont have the pics yet. But my 11 y/o nephew filled his very first big game tag yesterday. Not exactly sure what happened but he drew his second choice from the left over tags. A week later there were still tags left for the JR. hunt I had him put in for first choice. Go figure??? No matter. He drew a HAM tag in unit 32. After a long walk with his dad on Friday without seeing anything but deer. He was a little put out about not seeing any pigs. He has the normal attention span of an 11 y/o boy. And started the day off yesterday in somewhat of a sour mood. We glassed all day and put about 5 miles of rough terrain under our boots. Of course with no pigs sighted. I kept him occupied by showing him every animal I was able to pick off the mountain. Most of the time he picked them up right away in the binos. He was also the first one to pick out a buck, after I showed him a bedded doe I had glassed. He looked a little longer and picked out a nice little ( 95ish) whitetail buck lying under her about 20 yards. ( yep he bumped the binos LOL). Anyway, hour after hour of lots of deer, and no piggies finally got to him. And we decided to come down off the mountain and head home. He was more then a little bummed about not seeing any pigs. No matter how many deer I showed him. Plus 3 yotes and a badger, he wanted something to chase. Needless to say he was real quiet on the way down the mountain. And as luck would have it. On the way out I found some fresh tracks crossing the road. We pulled up the road a little and parked, with the thought of following the tracks. My nephew was having none of it. He had already decided that he wasent going to even see any pigs much less get a shot. We spent several minutes trying to motivate him. The tracks were about as fresh as they come. I guessed they were no more the 1/2 hour old. After telling him this several times, and coaxing and coaxing. He finally agreed to give it a shot. At this point we only had maybe 30 minutes of shooting time left. As we started to get out of the truck, my Brother-in-law said he thought he seen something moving on the opposite side of where the tracks were going. We waited another 30 seconds or so, and out comes a pig, from behind a mesquite. He was about 50 yards off the road. I dont know if any of you have ever seen an 11 year old escape the back seat of a Nissan extended cab before but its quite the wreck. My nephew about ran over my brother-in-law, smashed his head into the door post about 4 times, twisted himself into a pretzel, and finally made it out of the truck. I had no idea there was an ejection seat in my truck. LOL. The Javy saw all of this going on, but didnt seem to mind all that much. He stood there with his hair all puffed out, but never clacked his teeth. It took us a few moments but we finally got my nephew under control, and started hatching a plan to get a little closer. The pig now had about had enough and was starting to move off in the direction he had come from. I put my nephew in tow and placed a couple of little mesquite trees and a clump of crecote between us and the javy, and started the stalk. The javy was not real decided as to what he was going to do. He wanted to trail the herd and did not like us following him. He zig-zagged until we were about 250 yards from the truck. My nephew was about as quiet as a herd of elephants on a 7 day caffine high. I had trouble getting him to stop when the pig stopped, so the javy would bust us about everytime he stopped and looked back. We finally got within 50 yards, and I set my nephew up on a mesuqite tree as a rest. Took several attempts but he finally got the .357 set up and readied for a shot. The javy busted us again and started off one more time. I pulled out my call and started squealing. The javy turned around, hesitated a moment and gradually started coming back. Then my nephew, in his loudest of excited whispers, asked me if he could shoot. This stopped the javy at about 50 yards. As the Javy started to turn away, I gave my nephew the go ahead and told him to hold right on. I was watching the javy through the tree as he touched off the round. One shot dumped the javy in his tracks. He spined him right above the shoulder. quatering away. Then, in what really impressed me. He reholstered the pistol and set the snap before he went off on a victory type dance. Was as high a moment for me as I can remember. My Brother-in-law had been following about 100 yards or so behind us. He came up and congrats were handed out all around. When we made it up to the pig it had moved about 10 feet, and required a second round. My nephew handled it like a champ. The second round went right in behind the shoulder. I will leave the cleaning part out, as it was his first time. He did ok with his 2 fingers. and took us nearly till dark. But we got it done without any epigastric problems or cut fingers from our newest hunter. As its his frist My brother-in-law told him he could get it mounted. At the taxidermists, we started trying to figure an age, and came up with dirt+ He had no teeth left on the bottom front they were so worn, and the top ones were just nubs and had several that were missing completely. His tusks were razors and worn down to about 1 1/2" He was all skin and bones. No fat at all. We figured him about 6-7years old, maybe older and probably would not have lasted much longer. Hanging weight was 38lbs, and the skull will get measured as soon as he gets it boiled. I dont know if it will make book, not that it matters. But wow what a pig. older then any I have ever taken. We guessed he had been run off from the herd by another boar and was just tailing them trying to get back in. I would have liked to see him in his prime. Man what a day. After my daughter not getting a shot during the archery season I was hoping to get one of the youngsters tags filled. Then to have my nephew make a 50 yard shot with open sights, with a pistol he has fired less then 1000 rounds through. I was way impressed. And to have him be safety minded in the heat of the moment. cudos to the Hunters safety instructors who taught his class. Now all I have to live with is my oldest rubbing it in that I was able to get her cousin on a pig and not her. Which makes her more then ever determined to get a deer with her recurve in Aug. What a perdickerment to be in. LOL. Me being the forgetful type forgot the camera at home, so we dont have any real field photos. But I will post what we took at the house as soon as I get things figured out on here. Shane

Small world. LOL.. I went to school with Jason and Devon. Donnie is a little younger. And it was Stacys son in law who tagged the sheep. It was about the same size. . They were just over there week before last or so. Shane

Actually.. I'm a Merrill, but no relation. Figure that one out. I grew up in Benson. Which Goodmans are you related to? I new Tom, nad know Tammy. I went to school with the Fenn boys. Shane

Az Guide, I am a Bensonite.. LOL. Then I take it you know the taxidermist I use. LOL Stacy is a good fellow. I enjoy taking the youngsters out there to see what all hes got lying around. And of course he's done real well on everything I have taken to him. Shane

AZGUIDE, You dont happen to have any realitives in St. David do you?? I seen a similar sheep at the taxidemists last night. It was also taken this month over in NM somewhere. Shane

Ther is/was a place down by Cascabel that used to have pheasant hunts. I dont know if they are still in operation or not. But might be something to look into. If I remember the name of it I will post it. Shane

Way cool,,, and I bet that kid is definately hooked. What a way to start a hunting career... I wish'em luck for getting a bigger one next year. LOL

NICE!!!! And a non typical at that. Sweet

No grip at all. I shoot openhanded with a wrist sling. If your going to be punching paper or anything else past about 30 yards or so, your form has to be immaculate every shot. When I shoot, the only part of me touching the bow is the width of the bow handle across my palm. exactly the same every time.. exactly. And as someone else alreay pointed out Welcome to archery. Practice,,, practice,,, practice.... and then some more practice. Yes even in the wind, rain, snow, 110 degrees. I shoot about 2000 arrows a week, in the 3-4 months leading up to the early hunts and 250-1000 a week the rest of the year. I would go with not moving anything until you get out and shoot again in the calm. wait for a calm day and make sure your sight hasent been knocked off. As posted above , being off a little up close, compounds when you get out farther. Also a good idea to mark your sight every where it can move. I use white-out. just to make sure things stay where I put them. I mark both sides of every moving part on the sight. INcluding the pins. Good luck and hang in there. every time you watch fletchings hit a thorax... LOL.. it makes it worth it.

Somewhere out there is an archer whos not a happy camper. From all appearences thats all but a real good shot. unless its a cross-bow bolt, it should have penetrated at least one lung more likely both, and maybe even the top of the heart. With the angle it looks like it should have wedged in the far shoulder. I wonder if someone grabbed the wrong arrow and got a field point. Anything with blades even dull ones should have taken this one down, I think. again unless its a very short arrow/bolt and stuck into a rib on this side without passing through into the thorax. I agree that should be a dead bull. Man I bet whoever owns that arrow is bummed. and only they know the true story. Shane

A fork with all the cheaters.? Maybe hes declining a little. Any idea on the age? Either way hes still a shooter. Cant disagree with that one. Shane

let me add this one to this whole thought process. There is a Barber over here in Benson, who has a rather large whitetail in his back room (140-150" range and maybe bigger). One day I asked him about it thinking it was an eastern. He told me that he killed it in the Santa Ritas. And went on to explain that at some point "way back when " that the Game and Fish had transplanted several eastern/ texas whitetails into several areas in AZ as a "restocking program". That was the first and last time I have ever heard anyone make a statement like that. I never followed up on it. But either way its significantly large, and definately a whitetail of some sort. Bill Q any perspective on that statement? Or anyone else for that matter. Now I'm curious. Shane

I still occasionally get letters from NASA about sending stuff up into space. Ive lost somewhere in the neighborhood of 2 dozen over the last 5 years. You think one of these times I will remember that a coues is about haof the body size of a mulie and quit using the wrong pins. The fisrt ever shot a coues was a spike at 22 steps and I used my 40 yard pin. Go figure. Seems I never have time to use the range finder... LOL.. only good thing about all of those lost arrows is I'm 100% positive that none of them were hits. I was able to replay every one of the shots and "see" one of the longer range pins hovering around the kill zone, and then step it off or use the range finder and start kicking myself.... LOL. So dont feel bad. And if you happen to find any Carbon Impact 6500 superfast shafts with 2 blade sonoran heads on them.. Let me know. I could use them I'm running out and they dont make them anymore. . Shane

Only one shot so far and goofed it. The oldest now has her hunters safety card so the game is on. Hopefully this weekend we will tag 3. Shane

I think, last evening, a little more light, and that little guy would have replaced the tag soup.. LOL If you have any good reciepies for tag soup let me know as I now have a usless lion, bear, and archery deer tag 2005. figure with 3 of them I might get a little flavore out of it. LOL... Shane

Makes me happy the kids are still within the JR. hunt structure. Man this is going to kill me come June. SHane

Very nice, And to think you didnt get the "big one" in those game cam pics. LOL.. It dosent look like she minds a bit LOL.. Very nice NICE...!!!!! Congrats to both of you. My Captain's Daughter missed one shot at the big one, then several more at some carp. So her tag went unfilled. But she had fun. We were seeing loads and loads of pigs. and quite a few deer. Was a good hunt. She has the Jr javy tag in 33 so her hunting will continue. Shane

The Fellow teaching my wife and daughters safety class, was telling the class that the cotai werent found in southern AZ. Again are not found in southern AZ. I enquired several times and she is sure of what was herd. I think someone has it backwards. But who knows. I have seen them as far up as the salt river canyon. And like everything else they have feet and territorial ranges. sounds like they be on the move. LOL Shane

Congrats, We tried several times and the youth hunter I was assisting got some shots, but to no avail. Hopefully next year. Now I just have to try and get my oldest a piggie. LOL Keep it up folks. The youth movement needs to continue. LOL Shane

Bowsniper, Lets take an educated look at your arguments. Yes its a fact that overgrazing did and does still occasionally happen. No hiding that one. But now with the Savory system that most ranchers use. thats mostly a thing of the past. Everybody rotates their herds. Just makes more sence, and the range benefits. Anyhow back to the overgrazing causing the depleation of the grasslands. What about Smoky The Bear?? Lets take a look at the San Pedro Valley. Way back in the 1800's The San Pedro ran year round, and was a raparian area. Natural grassland. No hiding that one either. No add several hundred years of scrub and mesquite growth, unchecked by fire, to this valley and you can see what happened. Not much water left running. Every year ( documented fact) just about the whole valley would burn. This in turn controlled the mesquites aand most of the other scrub . Amazing how much water those things can suck up. If my memory serves me correctly ( and it my not) somewhere in the neighborhood of 3-6 gallons a day ( mesquite). Now would the ranchers like to see mesquites or grass? And giving this one to you. yes cattle have an affinity for mesquite beans. And thats part of the reason mesquites have proliferated. However, lots of other animals like beans also, like javies, quail, deer, just to name a few. So cattle just helped accelerate the process. Its was going to happen anyway. When man started fighting fires this whole process started. So was it overgrazing or fire prevention? Shane

Patrick. I lived in Timber Camp back when it was an actual State camp, and I know the rancher who had the lease. That would be Norris of the 5/ . Ya know. I will not hesitate to say he has forgot more about range management then you will ever know ( dont matter how much school you have had) hes well educated and been out there for lots of years. Must be 80 or so by now. He survived a long time up there. I have rode that place, and hunted about everything on it. Used to be lots of game. Then the Forest Service started putting the screws to him. They refuse lots of improvements he had planned. It was an every day thing for him to be fighting with them. Finally they got his lease pulled. Thats the only reason there are no cows in there right now. I havent talked to him in a couple of years. Last I heard he was running horses instead of cattle on what little private he had . Ya know hes probably better off. With being hamstrung by the forest service. He was not able to take care of the land the way he wanted to. ANd if hes still alive I would tell you to go talk to him. He should be at the ranch house ( make the turn to the West at the rest area) Go in with an open mind and I bet you will learn alot about what actually goes on. I think you would be way suprised. Good luck, Shane