Becker

That BIG OL BUCK is a slippery one. I am pretty sure he is the one in my avatar picture deal. We can't kill him either!!! HAHAHAHAHA

I was fortunate enough to take this gnarly buck opening morning. Not a whole lot of story behind it since we shot him so early. Here he is, 114 !!!! Good luck to those still hunting!!!

I grew up in St. Johns. Those units used to have some really good deer. The Ellsworth buck came out of there a 260 non-typical!!! Over the last 5 or more years the elk have really moved in and displaced a lot of the deer.

HAHAHAHA Thats Awesome!!!

Looks like you guys had a BLAST!!! Great Job!!

Well we had been scouting this area pretty good looking for a buck that we had found last year. We never saw that buck unfortunately . This buck that I shot was the next biggest buck that we had seen in there on our scouting trips. I was planning on holding out for a few days to see if we could turn up that other buck from last year. When the sun started lighting up the horizon we could see what we had dreaded. Guys were lining up and proceeding to walk across the valley we were overlooking. Every year this happens but I was hoping maybe the masses would hold off a day or two on this out of the way spot but nope. Looking back into the little bowl there was number 2 and I decided it was time. I am glad that I decided to pull the trigger. My father also had a tag but over the next few days the deer drivers only got more desperate. They walked here to there, randomly shot off their rifles, it was bad. They would see us perched on the hill and still stroll right through whatever we were glassing less than 200 yards away. The batteries in my camera allowed us to take only a couple pics of the buck, man I was bummed. The buck has 18 inch main meams, 14 and 6/8 inside spread, and those extra cheaters. I honestly did not think he was as big as he is. I was thinking 105 to 106 but those cheaters bumped him up there!!! Special thanks to Johnny, my father, Tim, and Diane. It sure was a blast guys!!!

Just because there are left over tags does not in my opinion mean that the deer quality is any different than any other unit. Those are some of my favorite units to hunt for trophy monster bucks!!!! I personally get "frustrated" seeing guys pick up the tags and shoot a hand full of bucks that would be two or three years down the road the generation of good bucks possibly turning into the class of monster bucks most of us on this site are looking for. They however do not get the chance!!! Those deer in other units would not even be considered simply do to the unit or the fact that there are not leftover tags there. There are so many other reasons besides the deer why left over tags occur. Most of us know those reasons. None the less I am a trophy hunter though......and hold no grief with anyone hunting. Hunting is hunting and success makes it all that much better. I love seeing the smiles on successful hunters no matter what. Just remember when that two or three year old buck gets shot because the old 5+ year old was not found the cycle will continue down the same road. Most likely that age class of deer we look for wont ever show. My end point simply being, if you want to shoot older age class bigger bucks show some discretion in what you are harvesting and you might find, though a few years down the road, that those other wise "LITTLE" deer will turn into the ones you are looking for!

Or the G5 montecs!!! Toughest I have seen!

Jody was fornunate enough to draw another bull tag this year. After Seven fun filled days of chasing screaming elk, four spent after this one, she managed to connect!!! Ended up glassing him up across a drainage, after about 400 yards and four hours later, Jody managed to slip an arrow in him at 45 yards. Gross measured 372!!! Hope you all enjoy and good luck to those still hunting!

Kelco, Basically the whole unit burned!!!

Hey all just wanted to give some reminder tips for you this year that might help in preserving your trophy of a life time.... #1 Keep your hide cool and DRY!!! repeat DRY....Moister causes bacteria and therefore hair slip. This is one of the number one problem most people have in losing their capes. Keep it cool and DRY!!!! #2 Take your time skinning no matter what. How well your mount looks is determined by how the taxidermist receives it. We are generally good at repairs and fixes BUT the less damage the better. (we always hear, "oh the taxidermist can fix that" NOT ALWAYS) If you fully cape it out put extreme caution around the eyes, nose, and lips. Especially the eyes. Eyes can really make or break the appearance. These are where 99% of unnecessary holes occur. #3 Leave plenty of cape, especially in the arm pits for shoulder mounts. A rule of thumb, cut a circle around the middle of the body and around each knee. Follow the hair pattern along the back of the leg to the center body cut and bring it all in. Forms these days have a lot more of the shoulders and brisket areas. It is really hard to repair cuts in the armpits (short thin hair). Stay out of there. #4 You can always talk to your taxidermist for their preferred skinning methods. Most will have no hesitation in taking a few minutes to explain procedures and get you on the right path. Hope these little tips help, now some mounts to look at. Hope you all enjoy!!!

cohofishing, the best advice I can give is don't touch that velvet. I know its hard but if you look at the two velvet bucks that I posted, you can for sure tell a difference. That difference is one was REALLY handled and the other was hardly touched. Every time you touch that velvet the fine hairs get smashed down a little at a time. Once they have been smashed down there is no getting it back. As already mentioned there are lots of tips posted already. The main thing is keep them as cool as possible, and get them to your freezer or taxidermist as fast as possible. just whatever you do try your hardest not to touch them. (If you remember the buck that my wife Jody shot, I actually put the entire deer "minus the internals" inside the cab truck so it would be in the AC and rushed it back into town to my shop hahahaha)

Willhuntforcoues...........DANG!!!!!!!!!

Bears are always tricky. I dont recommend ever salting anything. When you salt capes the salt pulls out the moister and makes a nasty mess. We have racks and stands that let all that drain off. If you salt it and bunch it up your gonna have a super big mess. Your best odds on bears is to pull it off the body. Lay it out open in the shade for awhile (maybe 20 minutes) to let that heat escape. then using methods mentioned above when you get back to the truck. Make sure you leave prepared for anything. You always want to plan ahead incase you do harvest that trophy!!! AZBOB We preserve real ocotillo's. I'd tell you how but its a trade secret

No Prob Shortpants. Best and easiest way I have found is to triple even quadruple bag the ice itself in trash bags (heavy duty ones). In your case with an antelope it would most likely fit in a large cooler or even one of those cheap plastic tub/containers. With the ice bagged up tight and layered you can surround the head with multiple bags thus keeping it cool and dry! If it is something bigger obviously improvising is key. however with the bags of ice self contained you can place them anywhere you would like inside the cape, underneath, and on top. If you are really worried about it as a safety precaution leave the plug unplugged in the cooler or poke holes in the bottom of the plastic container and you wont risk floating your cape. I have some customers that have used those rubberized drybags to keep their capes dry. Of course with those they have to pull the cape off the head. I myself have never had a problem using the first mentioned technique. Anyone else have any tips??? And yes goats can slip easy but with some caution it is more than easily avoided!!!

WOW B E A Utiful

I agree and why can't they pick a specific date like every other state! This guessing game has got to go. Just straight up tell us when they are going to come out and get it done.

Me too!!! Keep us posted on what you find out!

I am still shooting the omen but those EVO's are sweet bows. Good luck and welcome to the PSE team!!!

Here is Jody's bull when she shot him and after I just finished him last week!!! Hope you all enjoy Also another BIG Coues to look at!!!!!

257 I altered that form to what it is. Cant buy it unfortunately!!! Need to make my own eventually so I don't have to chop and change every time to make a good sneak

Yep there are only a couple Coues forms out there. Anything other than a regular pose is gonna have to be altered like everyone else has already mentioned. If its a big enough cape sometimes you can get away with an eastern or texas but you still have to alter the heads to get the right proportions to match a Coues!

We have some big projects coming up. Can't wait to show you all. In the mean time hope you all enjoy these ones!!!

Very Nice Cole!!! For all you hunters out there, Cole is the best I have used. I send him all my Europeans and I am constantly impressed!!! Give him a try you won't be disappointed.

I have found that looking harder is better than hiking farther!!! Concentrate on an area and cover every square foot. It has been more productive for me. I had a buck I wanted the sheds from that always stayed in a specific location. We spent two days on the same hill side within a four hundred yard square and found sheds both days. depending on which way we were doing transects seemed to give different angles and found sheds were we had not before. especially with coues sheds it seems that you almost have to be right on top of them. Sure you see a few from a distance but most times I don't see them until almost standing on them!!!