Rembrant

Megahunter, I hope that you have better success with your elk and deer hunts in the future. Mike

Got a nifty little spot in 23 that I like to sit on. Just gotta find the time! Mike

Heck Greenie, we're WESTERN whitetail hunters here. There may be a few of us with experiece on rattling, grunting and sitting in trees. Personally, I think this is how and where the monster Coues bucks of the future will come from. Mostly on this forum we debate if sitting in trees can be better than spot and stalk. Not too often do we get into the nuts and bolts details about the finer points that the Eastern whitetail hunters have been fine tuning for decades, I'm sure there are some guys here that know some good stuff - if you can squeeze it out of em. I think reading Eastern whitetail tecniques in magazines and testing them out is not as crazy as it sounds. If I knew more about rattling I'd tell you. But I don't. I've experimented with no results. Maybe I'm scaring them away? Don't know. But I'd bet there is a whole world of things to learn about exploiting this animal behavior. Good question. Mike

Cousi1, Obviously this poor little deer had to endure growing up in life without a father figure. Maybe he had two mommies, or perhaps his father was KILLED BY YOU!!! Mike

Way to be Ernesto!! You guys know how to have fun. Congratulations to your brother on his first Coues deer!! Mike

Hey J McGehee (Bronco), How are you???? Yep, it's just a color phase thing that shows up in the genetics, like the variences in face gray and distinction of eye and nose rings, or white "socks" on the feet. Sometimes it can help to identify particular deer. One time my brother was guessing that the doe and fawn we were looking at was the same as the ones we saw the day before, but I was able to tell him that the deer from the day before was a doe with a black tail and a fawn with a cinnimon tail, and todays deer were the exact opposite. New deer. I have always thought that the deer from the Northern end of their range have longer hair and tend to be darker with more distinct eye and nose rings. I still think the hair is longer, but I'm not so sure about the coloration. Fun subject. Mike

I agree! Big deer! I like the 108-110" estimation. That'll keep you smiling for a while. Mike

Couestracker, Nice job on killing a fine NM Buck. Ain't life grand? Mike

That is a beautiful buck!!! Mike

Way to be travis. Nice buck! Mike

RR, South of Baboquivari Peak is a long way for a Flagstaff guy to go huntin. I like the pics too. Mike

Aren't those regular freaking toads for blacktails??! Way cool! Mike

muledeerarea33, Wrong question for this forum. Mike

Allow me to echo the Veteran's day recognition for your service to our great country. Thank you. Mike

Desertsheep, That's a great muzzleloader buck. Heck, that's a great buck! Don't you just love that moment after you shoot, and you know there's something you gotta do next, and then you realize that what you need to do is reload, and it'll take at least a few minutes to get 'er done?! Gets me every time. I had the muzzle carp hunt in NM in Sept. Me and a buddy saw a big 28" deer running off as we drove from one spot to another. We bailed, cleared the road and I shot as the deer was getting away at about 150 yds. My bullet must of hit a tree right in front of him and turned him 90 degrees. My buddy Jim shoots as he's running broadside and clearly misses. Jim excitedly says, "Re-load, Mike, re-load"! So I hoof it back to the truck, climb in, and start the re-loading process. Jim jumps in the truck, wanting to advance the truck to keep an eye on where the deer is getting off to. He orders, "Get your stuff and get out of the truck"! I'm right in the middle of pouring my 'speed loader' into the barrel, and say, "Jim... I... CANT!!" All pumped full of adrenaline, Jim bounces out of the truck with his binos and sprints up the road about 70 yds and glues his binos into his eye sockets. I'm sitting in the truck realizing how rediculous we must look and laughing out loud. I finally finish the loading job, exit the truck, and run 70 yds as fast I can up to Jim and say, "OK JIM, I'M ALL LOADED UP! WHERE"S HE AT??!! We about busted a gut laughing at ourselves. Practically harmless. We followed up on that track just in case I hit him. I didn't. We finally did get a note worthy buck on the ground on the last day. Maybe I'll mail Amanda and have her post a carp pic. Mike

Sal soda and/or borax. AND THEN HIT IT WITH A POWER WASHER!! No kidding. Mike

The difference now is that we will have to plan and budget for our tags. If I start budgeting now, I may not be able to afford all the apps I want to put in for this fall. In the past, I still had to put together a plan, but could somehow get 'er done in a matter of a few months. If some of you guys weren't so darn defensive, you'd understand what a non-serious hunter is. A non-serious hunter is a follower who decides to hunt, not because he really wants to, but because someone else is going. Or, a beer party where one guy is putting in on line and everyone else decides to do the same thing because its fun and too easy to get a liscense on line and there's no money up front - just an app fee. Or, a bleeding heart that can't stand the thought of a deer being killed, so it's worth the $23.50 to save a deer's life and they apply. There are lots of hunters that don't even go, because of the company Christmas party or an important football game on TV, or the porch really does need painting. I would venture to say that everyone on this site is a SERIOUS hunter! I didn't get a single tag this year, yet I know from experience that there are lots of tag holders that couldn't care any less if they go or not. Then there will be a lot more that are too lazy to get out of their truck or off their quad and make any effort to get a deer. My point is that if these non-serious and lazy hunters put the same effort into budgeting for their tags as they do on their hunts, then IF I CAN BUDGET SOME MONEY THIS YEAR - I might get drawn next year!! There is hope in this. I agree that it really sucks that the poorest of us hunters will get hurt. Another thing that really bothers me about my coueswhitetail.com brothers is the blatent mistrust for our Game Dept. The Az. Game and Fish is a state agency, not a political entity. Other people take things to the state legislature like "Ranching for Wildlife" and the non-resident cap and lobby for the law makers to dictate to the Dept what to do. The Dept. does not have a political stance. I am thankful that the Dept biologists determine the amount of tags and not some of the people on this forum. Why are there so few tags? Where have you been? You haven't noticed the drought?!! If the Dept was all about money, don't you think they would simply increase the tags? The decrease in tags is responsible wildlife management and has hurt the Dept's income. It ain't helping me financially to have to pay more money. I don't really like it either. Haven't we been gettin a smokin deal to be able to hunt deer for the last three decades for $23.50 and less? And Yeah, we gotta take care of the non-game too. I say we 'cause we're payin for it. If we don't do it, who will? You really want to take any kind of management away from the Game Dept and give it to the Sierra Club or the Feds? We love our Game Dept. It's just that some of us don't see enough of the big picture to realize it yet. Gotta go save some money! Mike

To each his own. Big Coues bucks are not stupid. They will hunker down and shun the light of day when there is a lot of human activity in the area. Also a lot of older bucks will have places of solitude where they go when the pressure is on. I prefer to hunt deer that are relaxed and living their normal undisturbed lives. I need every advantage I can get. Highways are not bad - they are a normal part of a lot of deers lives. I believe there are a lot of 'sleeper' areas next to highways. It's all the other human activity that big bucks and I like to stay away from. Mike

Ridgerunner makes a good point. Busting my butt by backpacking has forced me to be a trophy hunter. A full pack AND a deer is way too much for a 2-point. If you have a Dec hunt (or Nov hunt with cool weather) and have a partner who also has a tag, the meat will keep just fine for as many days as needed. Mike

Mr Stealth, I have good bags that I re-use for this purpose, but any breathable bag will work. When I backpack I always dress the deer the no-gut method and end up with a semi-boned animal that will fit in one or two bags. Hang the bags high in a tree. In the shade. Never had a predator/scavanger raid my camp. Coyotes won't bother you. It's the bears that concern me, though it hasn't happened yet. I sometimes hang the meat where, if disturbed, will be a comfortable distance from my tent, and in line with the opening of my tent just in case a problem developes and I need to shoot from my tent in self defense. But like I said, that ain't happened yet. Back packing is a royal pain, BUT, If you wanna get back in where the masses don't go, the only other alternative is to hike in every morning and out every evening. It is actually easier to bust your butt - once - and then sleep in every morning and just mosey out to your glassing spot at first light, or take a short, or longer walk from base camp to a different spot. The biggest thing I have learned over the years, is when you know where you will be backpacking, pre-hike a ton of water up there pre-season. Hang the water in trees for the same reasons. I have had bears get my precious water! The solitude and quality that a backpack trek will offer a hunt is priceless. Mike

If you're gonna gut out the deer, cut the skin all the way around the anus, and cut the skin all the way around the pizzle and reproductive organs. When you go to deal with the pelvis (H-bone), use a bone saw. I carry a Wyoming saw. Saw through the H-bone down the middle. Then put pressure on both rounds to spread the pelvis open. Often on a smaller animal like a Coues deer the pelvis will break and offer a nice gap for pulling the bladder out. Since you took the time to separate the pee and poop tubes from the hide, when you pull out all the internal organs, the exit tubes will come along with the rest of it. This sounds easy, and it is. Except it requires a few more minutes to separate as mentioned above and also a little extra carving around the colon as it passes through the h-bone. But it's worth it when you don't spill urine and feces on your deer burger! Mike

Robert, Having been a Kansas whitetail hunter, we could possibly learn a few things about the whitetail nature from you! Any of those big bucks archery kills? Mike

Recurveman, You are on the right track - in my opinion. You will be adding quality to your experience if you can get away from the crowd. I usually cross a canyon or top off a mountain and then hunt. This separates the men from the boys. To get the most milage out of this, do it with a backpack so you don't have to be walking in and out during prime time or in the dark. This will increase your glassing time, and if you kill, your task is getting the animal back to base camp, and not all the way back to your vehicle just yet. I have spent many a Nov. or Dec. morning at O'dark thirty climbing up and away from my base camp with a flashlight, and stopping to watch the headlights of the quad squad moving about the available roads like ants. Realizing that these guys, if they are able to get off their quads, won't even reach my base camp before a lot of daylight is burnt and they gotta think about gettin their butts back out. I'm not a big M.C. Hammer fan, bit in this situation I usually start hummin, "You Can't Touch This." I thank God for my health and will continue to hunt this way as long as I am able. For you guys that don't backpack because you hunt with your aging dads, may God bless you, and I hope y'all kill bigger deer than I do. Mike

I'm a Clay Goldman fan. He is a trustworthy, responsible, got his act together kind of guy. He is mounting a mule deer for me that I killed in New Mexico. This buck couldn't be in better hands. He was also the most inexpensive at the moment. When I stand in his shop and admire his work, I start wondering what the animals are thinking. If you ever examine a mounted animal and start wondering what he's thinking... the taxidermist is a creator of fine art. Yep, Goldman rocks. Mike

Knifeboy, Great job! That deer will score 91". I like the field photo. I especially like the way your body is placed in front of the deer instead of way behind the deer in an effort to make the deer look bigger than he is. You did this because you wanted the photo of the deer where he dropped, and it wasn't practical to get behind him on that slope. Most guys would have drug the deer out to get the photo-illusion effect. Your deer still looks big in the photo - because he is a mature Coues Deer buck. Congratulations, and thanks for sharing. Mike