Coach

Nice! Good luck on that 3C hunt!

I'm gonna hold off a year to see how this thing shakes down. If Bowtech come out with a Destroyer in a 35" ATA, I'll probably go that route. I like a little taller bow. Otherwise, we'll see what Hoyt changes on their Maxxis for 2011, or if Mathews can put out a "new and improved" Switchback - not sure if the Z7 is their best concept yet. It still seem like '05 was a great year for bows with the Allegiance from Bowtech and the Switchback from Mathews. Both companies have put out a lot of bows in the past few years, but have yet to improve on those two. Gotta look closer at the Maxxis also. When Gino and Coosefan jump ship, it's something to consider anyway.

Awesome trip - how big were those flatheads?

Great article. I had no idea that elk were extinct in AZ. Pretty amazing given the number of animals we have now. I have often wondered why we don't do more pronghorn transplants in Eastern AZ. It always seemed odd to me how we could have so few, while, just across the border in New Mexico they are flourishing. I've heard many stories about pronghorn here, and why our herds are struggling. One was that many winters ago, we had a lot of snow and G&F dumped hay bales out to keep them from starving to death, but somehow they were unable to digest the hay and died. The few remaining had such heavy predation that fawn recruitment from year-to-year was only enough to sustain the numbers. Another explanation I heard from a biologist was that our Eastern pronghorn country has too many Junipers, giving predators more cover to stalk them - whereas the open ranches of New Mexico removed most or all of the junipers in favor or vast stretches of grass-only land that gives them a much higher fawn recruitment rate. I sure would like to see the pronghorn herds in AZ grow to what it seems to me we could easily support. Imagine the additional hunting opportunity we could enjoy if pronghorn tags were plentiful, instead of being nearly impossible to draw. This is one thing I would like to see AZGFD address, and get a little more agressive with. It just seems odd to drive through huge expanses of grasslands and see so few pronhorn compared to similar country in neighboring states.

That's awseome - very creative FDay present!

I'd pay 40-50 bucks for the bare bow. It would make a nice bowfishing rig.

Sorry, those things are getting harder and harder to sell. I took a beating on mine on Ebay a while back. The general consensus is, well, let's go with "not all that useful" to keep it G-rated.

I'm looking for some good P-Dog towns in the Eastern part of the state. Looks like there are lots NE of St. Johns around Zion Well, but it's hard to tell what's public or private out there. Shoot me a PM if you know where to find good populations and don't mind sharing. I'll tell you about the ones I know, but most of them are pretty small - almost too small to hunt. I used to go N. of Vernon, but that's all turning into housing developments. I'd love to hear about some colonies around Snow Flake, St. Johns, Vernon or Concho.

I agree with the previous posters - With a good bullet, and perfect shot placement, should be no problem. On the other hand, if the shot is just a little off, you could be looking at a bad situation. Personally, I like the .223 for Javelina and smaller sized game. For deer, I would recommend a 25-06 or larger. My coues rifle of choice is a .270 WSM or .300 WSM, so a .223 seems like a little too light. Coues tend to be longer shots and you need a bullet that can buck the wind and maintain kenetic energy. A typical .223 bullet is around 55-75 grains. That's not much downrange energy compared to a 25-06 shooting 117 grains or more with a lot more powder (30-06 casing necked down to .25) I guess if you were shooting from a treestand or blind where you knew your shot would be under 200 yds with perfect conditions, I could endorse a .223 as the "bare minimum" - again assuming you are using premium, bonded bullets with a heavy charge. If you are talking about glassing and taking cross-canyon shots, I think the .223 is way too underpowered. A 25-06, 7mm-08, 30-06, plain old .270 is going to be a far better choice, and all of those listed can be loaded down to low recoil, while still achieving good downrange energy. Bottom line, I think there are a lot better choices out there than a .223 for coues.

Bump - c'mon, somebody knows where to find some dogs. PM me if you don't want to make it public.

+1 for "Don't Go". I used to love Rocky Point and San Carlos, and would dream about bass fishing, coues and goulds hunting the Mexican ranches down there. I wouldn't dream of taking my family down there right now, and wouldn't even do a solo trip for fear of not returning - or worse yet, being held for ransom - then killed after my entire family was destitute. The Mexican gov't or the drug cartels that own it won't see a penny from me. There's plenty of fun to be had right here in AZ.

Wow! Some awesome bucks on this thread for sure!

Good seeing you the other day Gino. I'm sure we'll be in touch soon about the driveway after the roofing debacle is out of the way. I'll be up there for sure. Always have a big camp out there with some good folks for a few days shooting, cooking "Mexican Barbeque", trail riding, BS'ing by the fire with a beer and cigar. Good times. When you know where you'll be camped, let me know. We'll probably be camped at the S. end of Pole Knoll assuming we get to our "regular spot" early enough, right in your neighborhood.

That really does suck, and I feel for you. I won't put anything out where I know other hunters are active that I will get too mad if it's stolen. I have come across numerous $200+ cameras attached to a skinny tree with nothing but a nylon strap - I just hang my hat over them while I'm in the area, because WHEN they do get taken, I don't want my pictures on them. When I put out my cheaper cameras, they are chained to the tree, but that is only a deterrent. When I put my Covert out, it's in a steel box lag bolted to a large oak or pine. They might be able to take it, but they're gonna have to cut down the tree and haul out a good chunk of it with them. So far, all the people pix on my Covert spot have been cowboys, and they always come up closer for a look then move along. I still think a little C4 triggered via cell-phone embedded in a camera would make people a little more civil when they came across someone else's property. As for not feeling bad because it's "abondoned property" - I don't agree. That's almost like saying when you leave your truck parked in the woods while out hunting, it's fair game to theives. IMO.

If you are near the White Mountains, Jed Larson builds AMAZING strings. He's located in Show Low. When I bought my Bowtech Allegiance from him years ago, he installed one of his strings. I've shot literally thousands of arrows since then on the same string and the peep has always turned exactly right - no rubber tubing - just lines up right. I'm sure I'm due for a new string as much as I've shot this one - but year after year, I can pull my bow out in early Spring, knock an arrow and draw back knowing my peep will line up perfectly. All bow strings stretch over time with use. A quality string has to be pre-stretched prior to installation, and it takes a serious piece of equipment and a LOT of knowledge to produce a string that from the first arrow to the n-thousandth, returns to the same spot every time. Jed has a string-building jig that is huge - and does exactly that - by simulating years of use through pressure and stretching - before it is installed. If you really want a quality, pre-stretched string, I highly recommend you get in touch with him. I would be happy to provide contact info if you like.

Great ram! Congrats.

Maybe it's just bad reporting, but it sounds like most of his injuries came from sliding under the truck. I haven't been up-close and personal with a cougar, but I've taken on 2 inch scratches from a nasty batch of inert scrub-oak and manzanita. The few "Wild America" episodes I've seen of Mt. Lions taking down prey, I'd say the claws were digging in 2-3 inches deep and curling under the flesh. I think it's the shock created by that level of trauma that makes the prey go limp and fall. I bet we've all shot a buck with a few branches buried beneath the flesh, deer can bust through all kinds of bad stuff taking the brunt of it and going on about their business like nothing happened. But get 2 fistfulls of cougar claws in them and they all of a sudden go limp...I just don't see how this guy could get seriously attacked by a cougar and have a couple of scratches. My wife's flu-flu-inbred Himalayan house cats used to do that to me all the time and they weighed in around 4 pounds. It's a little hard for me to swallow a 100-200 pound cat pouncing on ANYTHING and leaving a couple 2 inch scratches. Just call me Mr. Skeptical, but I think joe schmuck is looking for some sympathy medical leave.

I'd call that pretty darn impressive at 1000 yards...That's over 1/2 mile.

Shhhhhh! Don't give away the secret! BTW, anyone want to lay down a Benji that I draw my first choice???

Heard about this today - I'm hoping more details come to light soon.

Ok, admit it, you said, "Hey, if I post a bunch of pix of me in heaven catching huge Marlin and drinkin' Tecate's in Mexico, everyone will be SOOOO jealous..." Well...... YOU WERE RIGHT...Awesome story, great pix, congrats. You've earned it 100 times over by putting guys in hunting situations they probably would never have been in without your help. Enjoy the gloating, , I'm still green with envy.

Ya know, we're sandwiched right in here between Mother's Day, Father's Day, not sure when her Birthday is...but for whatever reason, this part of the year is flat-out crazy. I've got an anniversary in 3 days too. Not sure if it's 14 or 15...life gets in the way. Find a way to do something REALLY special for her...pampering, gifts, attention...then she'll hope you forget every year 'cause if you ask my wife, a little pampering is way better than any on-time gift.

On the San Carlos side, your permits are for 24 hour periods. On the Ft. Apache side, they are for individual calendar days, meaning you'll have to have a permit for each day regardless of how late you arrive or how early you leave. I've heard the water level is still quite high, and it's still murky. Haven't heard any specific fishing reports yet though. Have a good time.

Congrats on the weight loss! Hey, she still looks better than you do. I've lost a good 20 - 25 lbs this year too. It's a good year for trimming the spare tire, I guess. I'm thinking my 45 pound pack *should* feel more like 25 when elk season rolls around. Kinda nice to have everthing fit baggy, but my kids have already commented on my new "gangbanger style" with my shorts low and underwear sticking out. Hit 184 and change this morning. This time last year I was prolly 208-210. At 6' that's a place I haven't been since I got married about 150 years ago - lol.

For the first time in my life, I'm applying for a bonus point! C'mon 12AW - NEXT year. No time this year given my Unit 1 Bull Muzzle Loader tag (just had to rub that in one more time). And my two oldest have cow hunts in 3A/C. Anybody need some elk meat??? Archery coues and leftovers will be the only thing on the plate for me. For the boys, 3C youth muleys if the we luck out in the draw.