Tines

You've gotten good advice here. Try hanging something at the top third of your target on a string. Start with your first pin and aim at the top of the string/rope. Proceed to move back in 10yrd incriments out to 40 or 50yds, aiming with your first pin on the same spot (top of the string). So basically, even at 40 yds, you're still aiming with your first pin. Obviously you'll hit low, but the straight line gives you a good reference if there's actually windage issues. I think they called it plum-bobbing. It'll give you an idea whether or not it's you that's needs the adjustment. Sounds like you may have it figured out though. It's a pretty simple machine and there isn't much that can't be figured out.... good luck!

This is a good thread. If you think about it, why are so many animals lost? Inexperience! It starts from the shot, all of the way to the recovery of the animal. So many experiences are gained through just "doing it" out in the field. And what better reason to share YOUR experience if it helps in the recovery of someone elses animal. It's obvious that most scenerios are so different that there can't be a given distance/time/weapon that's just the "perfect" answer for all. That's where common sense comes in. If we're honest with ourselves and consider all of the circumstances, you should have no reservations about tracking a wounded animal, regardless of the outcome. Couple quick stories: I LITERALLY chased a pig down for 2.5 miles one time because I sent a poorly placed arrow on it's way through the hocks of a javelina. It was about to rain, I was in the flats, the pig couldn't move too fast (at least jogging speed for myself) and there was NO blood. All things considered, I decided to actually run after this pig. I'd almost NEVER recommend this to anyone. BUT, it was excactly what needed to happen for me to finish this pig off. Finally I tired the pig out and as it stopped to turn back and look at me, I was already at full draw and finished her off. My only complaint was the fact that I was now 2.5 miles FURTHER than where I first hit her! It's all a bunch of fun memories now.. Now for the bad story. I helped a buddy on his rifle WT hunt last year. We put the stalk on the buck while my dad stayed back and watched through the binos. We got set up at 350yds and he just pile-drived the buck. I knew he hit the buck high but he dropped hard and his legs straight up in the air. We watched him for another 10-15 minutes and he never moved. It took us another 20-30 minutes to get over to the buck. My dad let us know that everything was fine until about 20 yds from the buck he say's "he's up, he's up!!!!!" I look up and the buck's staring at us. Before my buddy could get another shot in him, he stumbled over the little ridge. We took off over to the top, knowing that we'd see him, and nothing! He was gone!!! It was open, SoAz terrain so I just knew he couldn't make it out without us seeing him. Anyway, long story short, he did! I couldn't believe it! Still can't! We searched for a long time and nothing came of it...... The part where I kick myself was I KNEW it was a high hit. But I thought 45 minutes, motionless, was enough to determine that he was dead. Here's my suggestion- Regardless of shot placement, always error on the side of the animal. You'll always come across more stories of people NOT waiting long enough, as opposed to those who wait TOO long.......

Lance and his boys made it into town late Thursday night. We went over the game plan for opening morning and hit the sack as early as possible. Our alarm set for 3am came faster than we expected....literally. Weston, his youngest boy, and a first year big-game hunter, was in pretty bad shape hacking up everything he had in the bathroom toilet and trash can. I went in to let Lance know and he mentioned that he wasn't feeling well either. For the next 30 minutes or so, Lance and Weston fought over the toilet and trash can to get rid of whatever nasty bug it was that they got! The morning wasn't starting off as anticipated. This was almost deja' vu, since 2 weeks earlier when Lance and his wife Carrie had their hunt, she was doing the same thing opening morning. These Northern Arizonans haven't learned to adjust to the altitude I guess So, his oldest boy, Ty, and myself, hit the road for a day full of adventure and no dad OR little brother. Thank goodness for todays technology because it allowed Lance and Weston to be right there "with" us. Ty and I got up to our vantage point before light. Nothing seemed to be working in our favor that monring as the wind was blowing about 20mph! We glassed for just shy of 2 hrs finding NOTHING when the next canyon over looked to be much more inviting. I decided that based on the conditions, we'd move to the next canyon. This was hard because it was still great time to be glassing. We went with our gut and hi-tailed it over there. On the way there, we found this little guy. We made it over to the next point where within 5 minutes I find a deer a few hundred yards away. It's a small buck and with the boys only having 2 days to hunt, we decided their was no holding back. We waited for this buck to bed but he never did and eventually worked his way out of sight. Oh well, it was a great start to our next point. I immediately pan down and to the right to some closer stuff and find another deer in the shade. Buck! Good buck! The range was 375yds and based on our position and his, this was our opportunity! We waited for him to turn away so we could get set up and he did. We got the rifle set up and the clicks were dialed in. The buck eventually turned broadside and Ty said "..here I go." Ty shoots and I watch the bullet hit a little to the right. the bucks hit hard and not going anywhere but I knew we were going to have to shoot him again. The buck moves behind a tree but doesn't come out. We gather our things and shave off some distance to 300 yards. We get set up and the bucks shoulder is just behind a small tree branch. I dial the scope back down and tell Ty to aim just to the left of the branch. We had to reposition ourselves a couple of times as the terrain was pretty uneven. Finally we get everything set up and Ty's ready. This is Ty's "finishing off" set up. I watch as the bullet hits just to the left of the branch and blows through the heart of the buck. What a great shot shot! We walk/slide our way to the buck and Ty's got a smile from ear to ear! The entire time we were able to keep Lance and Weston back at my house in the loop via text messaging. Cool stuff. I wish he could have been there to watch his son make it happen but I'm sure glad I was able to have the time off to help him out. We took some pictures and deboned the buck and prepared ourselves for a pretty tough pack out. Ty was a trooper and did a phenomenal job at pushing through. I know he made me want to push harder when I wanted a break. Here's Ty's buck and a few pack out pictures. It took us 2 hrs to get back to the truck. Just before the final push, we stopped for a quick break and a smile for the camera. By the time we got back to the truck, Lance and Weston were on their way with their spirits high for an afternoon hunt and a cooler full of gatorade for Ty and myself. I don't know about you guys but I have a bad habit at pushing my body to it's limits. I failed to eat adequately during the day and found myself almost passed out in the middle of the road on the way back. Take time during your hunt to nourish the only thing that's giving you the opportunity to hunt these critters. In the end, my pack weighed approximately 80lbs. Thank you Ty for the great memory and straight shooting. Thank you Lance for the Gatorade and summer sausage! Ty's buck scored 86". BTW, this is the 3rd coues deer I've watched get shot with my 25-06 this year at ranges of 368, 430 and 375. I'm shooting the 110gr Accubonds and I'm blown away at their performance and accuracy.

Finally I have a chance to post my hunt. In a nutshell, it was everything I imagined it would be. I had the opportunity to chase around coues deer in December with my rifle. Something we all hope for but very few actually have the opportunity to do so. I hunted with friends and family and had a fantastic time. By the way, thanks to some of you on this site who offered your help during my hunt. Those of you know that I've got a pretty screwed up schedule right now and it was difficult to coordinate with others'. Thanks again and I hope to get out someday with you... In all, I saw 55 bucks during this hunt. I'm usually not a "counter" but for the last few years while hunting with Lance, I've become a little accustomed to it. To me, anyway, it's just cool to actually see how productive a hunt is, even when things seem slow... Up until the few days before Christmas, my days hunting consisted of getting off of work that morning and going out on my days off (in between shifts). I was soooo tired on some of those days but the tag in my pocket kept me awake during the day. Not to mention the bucks I'd see throughout the day as well.... Some of you remember my brothers buck we took a few days prior. This was his 2nd coues deer (and hunt) and if anything, I was so glad that he had the opportunity to see these deer during the rut. It made it worth it. He's hooked just like the rest of us. Here's his buck again.. Now that Dave was finished, a buddy of mine who took a couple of days off from work to hunt with me and myself headed out for a few days. My brother, TJ and myself glassed up quite a few bucks that day but nothing that I wanted to put my tag on. That night a pretty nasty storm blew in. We woke up to high winds and pretty cold/soggy conditions. We headed out as if it were a perfect day for hunting.... When we got to our parking spot, the rain blew sideways and the wind rocked the truck back and forth. Finally the wind let up a little and although the rain continued to fall down, we high tailed it to our glassing point. Right away I find a herd of pigs. Now, I figured if pigs were out in this stormy weather, deer have GOT to be out.... Sure enough, we start finding the deer. Keep in mind that my pants have wicked all of the rain from the waste high grass. So from about my waste, down through my boots, I'm completely soaked! Not fun when you're sitting still glassing.... In less than 30 minutes of glassing we had 24 does and 3 bucks. Unfortunately the fog rolled in and wouldn't let up. After about 45 minutes of waiting it out, we were forced back to the truck to get warm and dry. Deciding that we needed to get dry clothes from camp, we'd stop at a few places on the way out and glass... At our second spot, my buddy TJ finds a buck rutting a doe less than 200yds away. I couldn't beleive how close we were already to this buck. He says he looks nice and I get a quick glance at him through the binos and I see mass and a big G2. I knew I wouldn't have much time to pick this buck apart so I got my rifle out and set up. He looked good so just as he came to a stop from chasing, I let him have it! I look up and see he starts moving again. My buddy says hes hit but I shoot again. He rears back and falls over! We high five and head over to the buck. Sort of surreal how it all took place. Just when we thought the hunt was over for the morning, we find this buck. Thanks again to all those who helped, offered their help, and kept my spirits high during this hunt. I wanted a great buck and found one with some cool features. And a huge thanks to the wife who managed to take care of 2 kids (a 2 and 4yrd old I might add) and get through finals week while rarely seeing me for a couple of weeks. You're a keeper!!! Wait, maybe that's how she did it- I wasn't around to throw a wrench in her organization! ha ha

In reference to lion hunting with dogs, "caught" is appropriate. Congratulations on your lion. Someday I'll get out and make it happen..

Funny. This was probably the worst hunt I've ad as far as taking time for more pictures. Honestly I think it was because it was non-stop action so often that I couldn't bring myself to picking up anything but the binos. As far as the field photos of my buck- A lot of the pictures turned out bad because it was raining on us. We kept having to dry off the lens!!!

Way to go! What an amazing few days of hunting out there, huh? Congratulations!

Interesting topic. Not sure what good calling people "swearing rednecks", "morman preacher.....or peddle porno online" will do to help us come to some consensus but who knows... BTW, its Mormon, not morm"A"n. That was a joke, Scotty. It's easy to come to our own conclusions on what peoples intentions are when they post. With that being said, a lot of the time it's taken the wrong way- whether or not someone has the proper way in expressing themselves or not. I will say that I've hunted with both Scotty and Lance. Their intentions were and are always the best as far as I'm concerned. I'm sure both of you, if a little more time other than on this site was spent, would see that your ideals aren't so much different as they are the same. However, we all have different standards on what we feel is MORE right and MORE wrong. You want to see Lance get worked up, put some meat bees in his pants!!!! Ha ha!! Fun times... You want to see me get upset? Leave the cupboard door open and after the corner strikes my head, better plug your kids' ears for about 5 minutes! It's no longer black and white as it used to be.... Here are some things I've never understood. Why do people get so worked up if others want their children "raised in a 'bubble' "? Is being protective of your children a bad thing? Is monitoring what they watch a bad thing? Then there's always those critics who say "..you're being OVER-protective...". Guys, unless you literally have your children in a bubble for their entire lives, they WILL figure things out! This is an easy one to get off subject, isn't it? I'll try to stick with it. I will say this, the people I've most admired in my life are those who were able to control their tongue, their anger and set an example for good in their home. I've tried to emulate that, and fall short quite often, but I haven't given up. Guys, none of us are perfect. But those of us who are NOT willing to compromise our standards, however different they may be, will always be a better and stronger person the next time we're presented with a challenge. Practice makes ______? You fill in the blank.. I grew up in a Mormon home and went to school and was friends with MANY who were not. To this day, many of the friends I had then, are still friends that I have now. Although I didn't always set the best example, my friends ALWAYS respected who I was and NEVER gave me a hard time about the standards being taught in my home. Nor did they ever want me to compromise them. They joked around with me sometimes but let's face it, if all of us Mormons were to take personally the jokes that are out there, we're in for a miserable life! Those are true friends, if you ask me. That's why I'm still friends with them to this day. They showed me that I didn't have to be like them in order to be liked. If you think I'm stepping on some of you to build myself up, get over yourselves! I've made it quite clear that I'm far from perfect. We all must be responsible for our words and actions and the repercussions they bring, whatever they may be... Lets face it, the world isn't getting any easier. Especially for our kids! The more we let "slide", the worse it's going to get. Even if we're called fanatical, over-protective or anal, it's better than the alternative.....

1450

Him and I drew the same tag this year. We got lucky, there's no question about that. That's an entirely different story......on to this one. Due to work constraints, we didn't have much time to hunt together. He had several days to hunt and so do I, but rarely on the same days. Opening day started out great, seeing multiple bucks and even some good chasing going on. Everything was going great and the excitement almost never let up throughout the day. About 1pm in the afternoon, my friend Mark glassed up a good buck. Rewind back to last year on his first hunt. He broke his ankle a week or so before the hunt so with a cast on 1 foot, and a CHAMP permit in hand, Dave managed to shoot a 2x3 on the 2nd day of hunting. He loves to get out, understands the magnitude of a late permit, but is also practical in his thinking of what he wanted to hold out for given his circumstances. He wanted to shoot a nice respectable buck. Okay, back to the hunt. Dave and I made our way down the mountain to get a closer shot at the buck. It was very difficult to get set up because of the grass, shooting from a downward slope, UPHILL! This buck was MOVING! Obviously searching for some pretty little female, the buck just wouldn't hold still. Finally the buck stopped and Dave fired, hitting just to the left. The buck didn't give us much of a 2nd shot either..... Later that day, Dave ended up glassing up another good buck way up high and off we went. After getting to our point, we were unable to locate the buck again. After seeing and passing on a few other bucks that evening, we chalked up day 1 for the books... Dave went out again the next day with my dad and fought 30mph winds while seeing lots of does and 1 buck. Finally work gave me the chance to go out again with Dave and off we went. After glassing up and passing several bucks that morning, we moved to the next point. As soon as I got there, I set my tripod down and noticed several deer running down in the bottom. It was great! I found 4 bucks and several does chasing, rutting and making all sorts of racket down in the bottom. After watching them for a bit, we decided to make an effort at one of the bucks. Then another buck appears that's a little bigger. Great, another buck! What a problem to have!!! Finally, after watching them for a bit and waiting for the right chance at getting closer, a 6th buck appears. We have 6 bucks within 100 yards of eachother, ready for action! We decided this would be our target buck. After about 30 minutes of watching and contemplating our move, we decided to shoot from there. To spare you an even longer story (or an explanation on WHY we chose to take this shot) I'll cut to the chase. Be assured that I spent enough time at the range with my rifle and my brother to feel confident that we could do it. We were just about to shoot the buck in his bed when he stood and gave us a full broadside shot. Dave sent that 110gr Accubond 620yds and nailed the buck! It was awesome! The buck went down and we never saw him again so I worked my way over from a different angle to find him again. He was 10yds from where he stood when he was hit, PILED UP!! The great thing about it is the other deer were rutting all around this buck as he lay on the ground. This is my brothers 2nd coues deer and we're all (including Dave) tickled to death about his hunt. Some cool things about his buck- 4" bases and 16 1/2" main beams. We're pretty sure it's the same buck he missed opening morning. He scores 95 3/8". Me on the other hand, still waiting for a buck wanting to wear my tag..... Good luck to all those still hunting

He was shooting my Tikka T-3 Lite in 25-06

I love it! Wish I could have been there this year, Lance.....

Wow! Awesome!!!!

"..interested"?? That's an understatement.......

There he is...

And how would you know what a 360 bull looks like, Lance?

That's a GIANT coues for 37B......

????????

....i still think it's a coues.....

Very Cool! nice job Scotty

Great job on the pics and hunt. Those late hunts can be a bear! Congratulations. Lance may be a while getting back to you. He's in the process of packing out a STUD of a bull as we speak!! I'll wait for him to share the pictures and stories. May be a few days though

Congrats Scott, great buck!

Awesome story and buck, Jim! Congratulations!

It'll never come fast enough!

Awesome buck no doubt. Wow! Hopefully this lucky hunter got some better field photos. You've got to love the "tongue-hanging-out" pose under the carport. Could have been in the back of the truck, I guess. Hey Redrabbit, maybe you can add that one to your field photo post!