Chef

Very cool! Looks like a fun hunt and the scenery looks awesome. Congrats on getting that cat!

Dumped him!!!

+1

This trip began at the start of quail season. As you know, Scottyboy LOVES to hunt quail, especially Mearns. We kept trying to find an opening in our schedules for a hunt and it finally happened this past weekend. We were planning on heading down to Southern AZ to give me a taste of chasing Mearns. This would be my first time out on two experiences. First time for Mearns, and first time hunting with dogs. Scott has two great hunting dogs, Penny and Virgil, which you all know already from pics. From what was to transpire next, I come to find they LOVE to hunt, more than Scottyboy even! The night before, we contemplated our game plan. We were now going to try at the AZ quail slam! We would start with Gambels, then Scaled, and finish with Mearns. This would also be my first experience at even seeing a scaled quail, let alone hunt them. The Gambels won. (this time) Scott told me these would be the hardest to find and I thought he was crazy. We left with our frozen and frosted boots to find scalies. (20 minute drive) Scott got us on two coveys at the first ridge we went to. This guy knows his stuff! Now it's time to haul down to the Mexico border to find Mearns. Scott asks me if it's okay if we try a new area he had never been to. I was game, and we hunt some virgin territory. Full of high faced ridges and wonderful views of the surrounding mountain ranges. This was some tough hiking though. His dogs were having a blast and the running never even phased them. They probably ran five times the miles we hiked, easily. It's cool to watch them work too. They comb the area back and forth back and forth. Their stature changes as soon as they get "birdy" and it's showtime. Virgil is the coolest to watch since his tail stands straight up when he's on birds. It was an awesome experience. Did I mention these birds sit until you practically step on them?! Unbelievable. Makes me wonder how many birds I walk by while deer hunting. Penny even pointed at several birds that were two inches off her face! Thanks Scott for the invite. As soon as my legs recover, we'll go again!

Nothing keeps you guys from quail season huh guys?! Nice pic.

Ernesto... 10point@gmail.com ...

Nice pics of the Jesus birds Amanda. Soon you will have a store like that full of CW.com stuff!

Really, really, really, really COOL STORY!! Congrats!

The economy is in the dumps,... Jobs are scarce,... Arpario is cracking down... No one wants to come here...you're good.

Two nice bucks...CONGRATS!!

Wow! Getting some good response. I KNOW Amanda appreciates all the donations thus far. Way to step up to the plate guys and gals! This is a fantastic group of people.

Ladies and Gentlemen, (long winded but please read) I had the pleasure of enjoying Amanda's company today at lunch. We spoke of things we always do...our hunts, Mexico, friends from the forums, and, of course, the website. I mentioned to her how great of a job she has done thus far in not only keeping us informed, networked, and entertained, but in establishing a culture. A "family" if you will, of dedicated sportsmen and women from all walks of life, that enjoy the outdoors and more specifically, love hunting coues deer. The website has grown substantially in the past few years and membership of the forums has expanded tremendously along with it! Amanda and the mods have done a stellar job in keeping up with the fantastic growth. We can all agree, this forum is like no other. The camaraderie and friendships found are second to none. The tips and information have helped us all in one way or another at least a time or two. The stories and pictures posted add much to the quality of our everyday lives. Why else would we log in so often? All this growth and substance comes at a price. Most of it in time, but some of it in money. Amanda has just had to purchase more computer gadgetry to hold more memory and awesomness and whatever else these computers need to keep up with the website. She has always taken these costs up on her own and would never ask for monetary donations straight up. That's why she tries to design and sell our t-shirts, sell advertising space, so on and so forth. Unfortunately, the revenue generated from these ventures has NEVER surpassed the costs of keeping the website running. So that's where we come in. With all of the members here, I'm sure we could give a very Merry Christmas present to CouesWhitetail.com and her founder. I'm talking about cash money donations to help keep this website running cool and strong. It's the least we could do right? So I'm asking you...to step up to the plate. Give back to those who have given so much. A cup of coffee at your fancy shop is what?...almost five bucks? I know this economy is tough on all of us. That just tells you how much more your website would appreciate your generosity. I'll be first with a donation of $20. Amanda, please post up how people can use Paypal? send snail mail? (like mine) Please, let's keep this going. I'm a watchin' you!

Schmalts...that's a cool vid! I imagine them guys are pretty temperamental at close range. Like Casey said, this one was a bit farther than that! I think Casey is close with guessing he was 13-15 pounds. It was "tough" to hold up for the pictures so that definitely says something. We would have gotten better pics of him but the shot "gutted" him pretty good. He should still make a good rug though. He did have a very strong smokey/muskey odor to him though. Hard to describe but it made me gag a bit when I inhaled his aromatic gift downwind at close proximity. The coyote, well "somebody" blasted its freaking head almost completely off! That's why the head is hidden behind the badger in the pic. That yote was indeed a team effort. Casey was calling and I had a coyote coming at a good pace from right to left at twenty yards. I had a small window in front of me where it would pass. It did at TEN feet! I let it pass towards Casey since he had the shotgun. Well, it must of winded him cause it stopped and headed over the ridge between us. Meanwhile there was another yote coming in towards Jake. Needless to say, He blasted him but hit her too far back. Casey went to finish her with the 12 ga and unloaded all four shells but missed pretty bad because she was gaining distance. That's when I put the bead on her and dropped her. Devastating shot with the exit wound at the face. Fun times...fun times. Thanks again Casey for the invite. We'll do it again soon.

That's a very nice mule deer! Congrats and thanks for sharing!

Good bull buddy! About time you posted up! Glad you took the time to write a detailed post too. Congratulations again!

Cool! Will his wife be there?

This is such a sad deal for everyone involved. This is embarrasing to us hunters as well and definitely gives a black eye to sportsmen here in AZ. Not to mention Gov tag holders, guides, etc.

Wow. You DID find the perfect spot to set up!

Sad story to hear. Sounds like he was a great person.

ALRIGHT! Happy to see this post is getting views and more importantly daily donations! *bump for the lunchtime crew*

Wow! That lion kill IS fresh! You guys will get em in Jan!

Way to go guys! I was happy to hear Mark got a nice bull.

Looks like you did real good! Must have been kind of chilly too...and wet. Nice rifle!