Flatlander

Indeed. December tags should prove fruitful this year.

Amazing

What a stud buck. That red hat from last year was ugly anyway, it was a good move to switch .

Great find.

You do great work Clay.

This has been coming. Mann just hasn't been dominant over the last 2 years.

Went up towards Clint's Well yesterday. Didn't end up shooting any squirrels but the boys shot the .22 for the first time and saw some elk. We weren't in the best valley for squirrels as there wasn't a lot of tall pines but the boys were anxious so we made the most of it. Weather was beautiful, too beautiful. The elk are still way up in the pines.

With temps as warm as they are does anybody know if the squirrels are still out and about? I was thinking about taking my boys out this weekend.

Sweet buck. Looks like a good mature deer. Love those heavy horned bucks.

I have seen flies or worms in the nasal passage of most of my coues. I ate them all, I am a little over weight because of all the mashed taters and gravy I had with them but other than thatthe doc says I am alive and well.

we used to hoof track them on soft ground adjacent to farm pivots that is about as fun as it gets right there

For me it started when I was 16-17 and drew two really good Dec. tags and didnt ever kill a big buck. Coues deer were the challenge that never came easy. During those hunts I learned to glass, saw all kinds of other wildlife and saw some remote country that I swear no one else had ever looked at. The remote country these deer live in, the solitude of crossing canyon after canyon and climbing ridge after ridge, and the way they seem to appear out of nowhere. Its just different than hunting other animals. I have lived up and down the mountain west and hunted all sorts of stuff, these were the little buggers I could never get off my mind.

Very nice late bull. It really just depends on where you hit the bull and what bullets you were using. If you hit bone and the bullet doesn't hold together real well then the bullet doesn't have a lot of KE when it pushes up against the hide on the other side. This happened on my bear this year with my .300 Win Mag. Also if the bull was quartering to him and the bullet traveled the length of the body there are a lot of places for the slug to go. I saw this on a poached cow years ago. I searched through the carcass for hours with game and fish, and even with a metal detector we couldnt find it.

Willy I know you only intended to help someone out and give a plug for a place you know and like but saying things like that and not naming names paints with a broad brush and since Miller's was already mentioned it kind of seems like you are implying that is who you are talking about. I am sure that's not your intent, it just sort of sounds that way. This I will say having worked in Miller's shop and seen their operations first hand, when you take them meat, you get your meat back. Because of the other work they do they have a USDA inspector in-house everyday. They run a great operation and Mike takes first class care of your animal. There is no one I trust more to process the meat I put on my children's plate (myself included). I have never used Von Hansons but if Jeff says they are good they must be. Only trouble is with all the stuff he has been killing they may not have time to cut anyone else's meat.

Sweet. Any tips on where to go?

Auburn is way too smart to fall for his smoke and mirrors. If he cant beat ASU, the Ohio State, or even Pitt how is he ever supposed to beat Alabama?

I can't tell you how many times I have looked at my old hunting albums and thought wow, if I had only cut that tongue off or got him on the skyline etc. Most people have caught on to this by now, but take your pictures before you field dress the animal. You don't want to look like the Son of Sam in the photos.

Those Kansas bucks all seem to have a similar look about them. They remind me of AZ desert bucks.

Steep terrain sounds like the under-statement of the year. That must have been a chore getting him off that face. We killed a WT buck on a slope like that this year and it made things pretty tricky.

Please tell me that photo of tht chaulk antler is "as it lay" the idea of a bull standing on that skyline is awesome.

Stud bull. Story and more pics please.

Blasphemy!

You are right. I don't know why they bother paying WM's. What we ought to do is just have you and your buddies get together at the Red Onion eat some monster burgers and just tell the rest of us ignorant city slickers how many tags there should be. Then everything would be fixed, 400" bulls would abound, everyone could draw a tag, your arteries would be clogged, the elk would be saved from extinction, and there would be peace in the middle east. Problem solved. Packer - You better start looking for a new gig.

I have a bear hide from this year that I will be having made into a rug. What I can't decide on is open mouth vs closed and what color felt to use. Anyone have any opinions, or even better pics they could share?

Great info Packer. Thanks for being willing to clue us in to what goes through a WM's mind as they make recommendations. Good luck on your hunts.