Coach

Way to go! Congrats on an outstanding trophy! You did the work and made it happen - great job. Take pride in a fantastic hunt, and thank you for sharing it with us!

NIIIIIICE! What a great buck! Congrats to your brother! That is one great looking buck. I love those tall, wide symetrical coues. Wow, just cherish the moment - bucks that BIG and that gorgeous don't come along very often. Those G3's are unreal! Keep that spot close to the belt! Great genetics in there for sure.

Wow, I've been trying to keep up with all the great stories and pictures you guys are posting here - and quite frankly, I'm sure some threads have gone by without a big "Yahoo to YOU". Great job to all of you coues die-hards putting the work and getting it done this season. For all of you who have already scored, congratulations! And those who still have upcoming tags, good luck. I wish you all the best! Get'r done, and post 'em up!!!

Congratulations, Scott! Great looking deer!

I drew a NM unit 27 muzzle-loader hunt this year. Through some strange twist, I had put in on my friends' application and I was drawn but he wasn't - we assume it had to do with his changing credit cards around the time of the draw - no matter. He is willing to take me in to an area he has done well in on previous hunts as a pre-season scouting trip. On the actual hunt, I'll be going solo. I'm not exactly sure where the area is yet, but my assumption is that it is in the extreme SW corner of NM. I know there are great coues in there, he killed a 97 inch buck last year at 8 AM opening morning and has seen many much bigger bucks in there. But with all the threads about border security and gangs of heavily armed drug runners along the Southern border, I'm getting cold feet. On the one hand, I've had a great year so far taking a nice coues and a nice mule deer with a bow. Wrapping up the season with a solid coues buck with my muzzle-loader would make this by far my best season ever. This hunt is no slam dunk but has the potential to complete what I consider a "dream season". On the other hand, backpacking solo into an unfamiliar area that close to the border really gives me pause. I'm not afraid of lions, bears or even the chance I could get injured in the back-country due to a fall or other "normal" accident. I'm more concerned about having a serious run-in with drug smugglers. Just looking for input here. I don't want to let the bad elements tell me where I can go and what I can do, but I also have a responsibility to my family not to get myself killed just to pursue my hunting goals. My other hunting buddies have hunts coming up of their own, so unfortunately, it's either go solo, or stay home. What would you do?

Yep, that's what I'm thinking! I'm 99% sure I'm going - all this talk about roaming gangs with m16s just got me a little spooked.

He's a great looking buck. A solid wide and tall 3x3 prolly in the 105-110 class. I don't think that buck in the 3rd picture is the same as the one in the first pic. He's not as wide or heavy from what I can see in the pix. Any updates or newer pix? Is he still in the area? And yeah, I agree, that's one of those scent dispensers hanging from the tree.

Nice looking rifle - I've always loved the 7MM STW. Too bad I'm not in the market for another rifle. The safe is packed now as it is. I'm sure you'll find a good home for that one.

I agree with most here - go with your "Plan A" on this one as if there were no trail/flagging. There's no way to tell if he's even going to hunt that spot opening day of your hunt. If he does, I'm sure you guys can work something out. You might even make a new friend in the process.

That rocks! Great job. Thanks for sharing an unbelievable hunt. Those kids look like they had the time of their lives. Good work on the dads' part getting it all to come together like that.

Way to get those Jr. hunters out there! IMO, nothing beats seing the young'ens out there getting exited about hunting.

Thanks for killing another deer-eating machine. Congrats. Let's all kill a lion this year!!!

Anyone have any experience with extreme SW New Mexico? I'm planning a bivy hunt in there in two weeks solo - now I'm starting to wonder if that's such a swell plan.

NIIICEEE!

Sheesh, why did you mount that lil ol thing? What a toad of a buck - and yes, looks like they did a heck of a job on the taxidermy. Congrats!

Unfortunately, these hunts don't go like clockwork. Any given year the rut might be early, late or totally non-existent. I've seen hard-core ruts at the beginning of December - I've seen late December and early January with crickets. I am NO expert, but your chance of filling your tag has less to do with what week you take off, than what you do with the time you are in the field. To clarify that statement, I've seen the "full rut" activity of coues, and generally, that means hound-dog small bucks acting like the outside world doesn't matter - young, smaller bucks will avail themselves all day. The older, wiser bucks who have managed to stay alive through numerous seasons won't follow the standard rut patterns. That's why they are studs now. The same applies to big elk or big mule deer. A rut tag does not mean you are going to go out and grocery shop 100" coues all day picking and choosing as you go. It's still a VERY hard hunt and you have to get your head into what is happening in whatever area you hunt. The mature bucks are NOT going to trot around chasing tail the way rutting bull elk do. They are still secretive, alert and mindful of their surroundings, wind, moon, barometer and cover. Big bucks don't have to leave their hideouts, even late in the season despite what the magazine writers say. They move very little, in my experience, chase a little, bed...feed a little, bed... stretch a little, bed... you get the point. Glass, glass glass, and then glass more. Counting on the rut is like looking past a good (insert your sport) team. If you count on big bucks to start prancing around the hillsides giving you easy shots, you will likely miss the quiet hidden dance that's going on right under your nose. Again, I'm no expert, but that's what I've seen. Hope this helps. Jason .

I would get the Savage 114 Classic. JMO. I love the accutrigger and have yet to shoot a Savage that wasn't accurate out of the box. Plus I love the look of guns with wooden stocks. Actually about $100 higher than what you are looking to pay, but a very nice rifle. http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=142615072

Happy Birthday - Have a great one!

Bummer for me - I'll be in Round Valley for my son's football game. Sounds like a good time! Enjoy and let us know how the pig roast turns out.

I tried posting this in the "Gear" forum, but something about my registration wouldn't allow me to. So, here goes. I'm in the market for a new packable ground pad. My last one was a Kelty self-inflating pad that worked well for me but was very succeptible to getting punctured. Anyone out there have experience good bad or otherwise with backpack/bivy ground pads?

Ok, one more question on this. Most of the light, compact pads like the Thermarest prolite are only 1.5 inch thick inflated, and weigh in well under two pounds. There are some thicker ones, as thick as 2.5 inches inflated, that are in the 4-5 pound range. Here's my dilemma. I'm a little over 6' and right around 200 lbs. Is a 1.5 inch pad enough? If so, great. If not, I'll deal with the extra couple of pounds for a more comfortable night's sleep. I don't expect to be hiking in more than 3-5 miles generally, so I'm not AS concerned with trimming every extra ounce as I am being able to sleep well enough to keep up my and energy stay out longer. Thanks again for all of the input.

Thanks for all the input so far - I really like that Thermarest tough-skin. I hadn't seen that before. Anyone try the Cabela's Alaskan Guide self-inflatables? TAM - I'm looking primarily for something comfortable and reasonably light and compact. R-Value is not quite as important to me, I don't bivy a lot in REALLY cold stuff - been years since I did a Dec bivy hunt 24A and my 1.5" self inflatable was plenty of insulation, but only marginally comfortable from a padding perspective.

Thanks Johnny, but I'm talking about the pad you use under your sleeping bag.

Great buck - congrats! Looking forward to reading the story.

Wow - great job! Sounds like a really tough hunt and you just kept pushing and got the job done in a big way - huge congrats to you!