COOSEFAN

Hey Jason, that would be awesome! I re-measured Pops buck doing as Amanda said: "measure from the g-2 to the end of the main beam and cut that in half. Then you take the circumference measurement at the halfway point. You use that same measurement twice." I came up with 2/8" less, so Pop's buck scores 109 5/8" doing it that way! We have never worried much about score on our personal hunts, score is usually used more for identifying and classification than anything else. We have never entered a critter in the books, it's always been about the experience and memories made with friends and family and to us that is more important! If it's big....it's big, no matter what the tape says, but it is interesting learning how to score these different style bucks! Thanks for your info on that Amanda! JIM>

I have run into Jay and Shane several times over the years and I have always been impressed with them, they are serious about what they do and oviously are good at it! Those bucks are INCREDIBLE.....and to take 3 in one hunt is absolutely AMAZING.....I'm jealous as heck, way to go boys, congrats! JIM>

Hey Andy, that is one of the most impressive Coues kills I've ever seen! To harvest such a great buck with traditional equipment, spot n' stalk, has got to be one of the hardest things to do.........you definitely deserve that trophy! A huge congrats to you on your accomplishment, JIM>

That buck is definitely "raffle tag" worthy! What a great buck, congrats! JIM>

I'd go to bed if someone would stop PM'n me

Hey Shorty......What a trophy! She's beautiful, can't wait to see her! A big congrats to you two, thats without a doubt, what it's all about She's gonna be callin' in Bulls and smokin' Coues bucks with us before you know it.......can't wait! JIM>

This buck is actually somewhat palmated below the G2 and G3 on both sides because of all the mass, and if you took a circumference measurement at the base of each eyegaurd, it's almost as big as the bases of the beams.....he actually looks like a young bull moose when you look at it top-down......wish I had pics of it, but you get the idea. JIM>

Alright, I got a couple more pics of the other deer that was taken about 10 minutes before Pops shot his on the first day, two canyons over. This is Dustin from CO. and he was helped by Perry from Flagstaff. These boys stalked and waited this buck out for 3 hours before finally getting a 450 yrd shot! Dustin made a perfect shot and then had to cross the big canyon and hike to the top to get his trophy! These pics don't do this buck any justice, he is short tined but has incredible mass and wicked eyegaurds along with a huge body!. His gross score was right around 106". I killed my buck behind and down the backside of the hill where this picture was taken and had witnessed this buck and my buck fighting last year less than 200 yrds from both kill sites! I actually got this buck on video last year walking down the hill less than 100 yrds from where this picture was taken as well! It's no wonder it's one of my favorite spots! Thanks, JIM>

This is direct from BC scoring and I believe is not written very clearly. It is easy to see why there is confusion over this. What would you do if you had a buck with a brow tine and a main beam only. Oh by the way. Congratulations on some great bucks. As always the pictures are professional quality. Congratulations again. Bob Thanks for checking on that, I think I was on the right track. If you only had a brow tine and a beam....your H1 would be between the browtine and the burr, measure the distance from the browtine to the tip of the beam, break it into quarters, and at each dividing line between each quarter, you get your 3 other mass measurements. Sounds good to me JIM>

You get 4 mass measurements per side no matter what.........I'm about 99.9% sure of this On Pop's buck for example, you get the H1 at the smallest point below the G1 and above the burr, the H2 is the smallest between the G1 and G2. He doesn't have a defined G3 so I believe you measure the distance from the G2 out to the tip of the beam, break it into thirds so you have 2 dividing points between the thirds and that is where you get the H3 and H4 measurement. If you have a typical 4 point buck, you get the H4 between the G3 and G4 and NO mass measurement between the G4 and the tip. Basically, if you don't have enough tines to determine where the mass measurements fall, you score it similar to how an Antelope is measured. I hope a more knowledgeable person adds to this......I would love to know for sure, but this is what I believe. Thanks again to all. JIM>

Thanks again to all, you are all too kind! Yeah....."Goose" is a blast to hunt with, we've had alot of good times! I honestly don't know about splitting the shared base and measuring from the beam, if it's true, than Pop's buck grosses over 110", but I don't believe that is the case with his. It is fairly visible to see it's a 2 point frame with an extra point branching off the G2, so....that's how I scored it. I would love to know what is correct.......I think most cases are decided by several official measurers who agree on what is a fair way to score it. I had 7 guys around me when I scored both these bucks and we all agreed on scoring Pop's buck this way.

Thanks all for your replies! Hey Chris, I considered Pops' buck a 3x2 with an abnormal point off the G2 and scored it that way. I then broke the beam in front of that G2 down into 3rds and took the H3 and H4 measurements at those two points along the beam. I felt that was the most fair way to score it, does anyone know if that is wrong? On my buck I measured the extra point along the top...it seemed more fair, didn't give it too much or take away too much either, just semed like the fair way to score it, I would like to know the correct way to score an "inside the spread" point like that though! Anybody know? Thanks again to all you guys and gals.......I'ts always awesome to come home from a hunt and be able to share the experience with you all, thanks, JIM>

Well.......like many others, my name is fairly self-explanatory. I KNOW the CORRECT way to pronounce it is "COWS whitetail", but it just gets under my skin when I hear someone say "COWS whitetail"! So.....that explains the COOSE part and as many have already figured out over the last couple of years.....I am a "FAN" of the "COOSE"! JIM>

Here's a couple more of my buck. Both bucks are the type you need to have in your hand to fully appreciate how cool they are! Pops buck has 4 inch bases and 5 inch mass above the G1! Both bucks have 17 inch beams and mine has bladed beams out to the tips with a very cool extra point! Thanks again for readin' this, JIM>

Alright....I'm back. I was actually at a horse show.........no suspense mumbo-jumbo goin' on....I promise! My mother-in-law was competing in a Dressage show down the road and I had to go watch. ANYWAYS....... The day that Pops killed, actually 10 minutes before Pops killed, another client from CO. took a super heavy 106" 3x3 just a couple canyons away. I don't have any good pic's of that buck yet, but it is super massive and wide with incredible eyeguards! Pops and I spent the rest of the day takin' pics and doing a little glassing. The next day I went out with Gary and his client and tried to video tape him killing a 105"+ 4x4. The buck was hit but not good enough and those boys covered close to a mile in 2 days, mostly on hands and knees tracking that buck and it unfortunately got away. The 2nd to last day when they were looking for that buck, my dad and I headed out with what would have been my one and only day to hunt for myself. The day started out OK but when the sun tried to come up, the weather took a turn for the worse. It was very windy and would snow hard then it would rain off and on. We started hiking up a long slope hoping to find some glassing windows through the thick pine trees to the opposite side of the canyon, but later realized we would end up plowing snow uphill for probably 1/2 mile or better before finding a decent window. On the way up, in more than a foot of snow, we ran into a huge flock of Goulds gobblers! We had at least 5 gobblers in full strut at less than 60 yrds at one time and had probably 10 or more gobble all at the same time! It was incredible and only made the day that this would turn out to be, that much better! Shortly after the Turkey run-in, we found our glassing spot. There was one small depression on the opposite side that wasn't gettin' pounded by the wind or snow, and I concentrated on it. Soon after, while munchin' on lunch, I caught movement. I saw the rack on the buck but quickly saw it had an extra point on the inside of the frame and instantly told Pops, "it's got an extra.......i'm killing it!" My window was small, the shot would be 360 yrds and the buck was trailing a doe. I slid down, waist deep in the snow, and set up my tripod and shooting sticks. Pops was over my shoulder to watch the shot and I leveled my 300 yrd line just over his back just as he stopped for a second and....."BOOM"! At the second I got my scope back on em' I heard the "whop" of the impact and saw him fall out of sight! The doe just stood there watching where he fell and I waited. About a minute later i found him trying to get up, I held the same and fired and nothing changed, I re-ranged him and realized he was about 30 yrds closer and I then compensated and dropped em'! I didn't think much about how big he was, I just knew he was big enough for my one day hunt and that he had an extra point on heavy beams! Dad and I plowed our way down the mountain and up to him, and when I lifted his head up out of the snow I was overwhelmed! This was a dream buck for me and to have Pops there to share the experience made it that much better! We both harvested our best bucks on this trip and with a gross score of 109 3/8", our bucks were only 1/2" apart, and just as I believe it should be........Pops buck was bigger! The last day was spent trying to at least hunt! The weather got even worse, actually it was a downright blizzard most of the time and when it wasn't.....it was so clouded up, you couldn't even glass! We tried as hard as we could to fill our remaining 2 tags but it was miserable! The two guys left to kill were, Gary and Barry, and they will be back next year. They got to see some great bucks and will kill big next year! It was a blast and we all can't wait to go back. If anyone is interested in a hunt with us, contact Jim at "Mullins Outfitters" or Gary at "Howell Wildlife Outfitters" and we'll get you set up. Just remember the best dates go fast. Thanks, JIM>

I think I'm gonna blow up my Photobucket account with all these pics ............ OK.....The first clients made it safely back to the U.S. finally and the next crew arrived. The next crew consisted of my Dad (Pops) and his buddies Gary, Barry, and was supposed to include Manny who had an unfortunate family emergency but he will make it next year. We all headed back into Mexico and tried to make it up to our new ranch which is on top of the highest mountain around. We made it 1/4 of the way when we soon realized after I slid downhill 20 yrds backwards with a trialer, that we couldn't safely make it! We were then stuck in town for 2 days of their hunt, making chains for my truck and reorganizing our gear. On the evening of the 2nd day of their hunt we finally made it to the ranch. The guides all took off on quads and me on the Rhino to cut roads in the 1-2ft of snow so we would know at first light on the 3rd day where exactly we could hunt. I had a spot in mind from last year and was able to make it there in the Rhino so the next day, my dad and I would start there. I got to choose to guide my dad, which was an easy decision, but to tell you the truth, it's not guiding when it's the person who has taught you all you know! I just knew the area more and with both of our knowledge about hunting Coues.........this was gonna be good! The 3rd day, which was actually our first, was to be our best weather day of the whole hunt and we made the most of it! We had several smaller bucks in the draw and several does, the rut was on and our excitement was high! Soon we had a 105"class 4x4 trailing a doe and dad passed mainly because of no great shot opportunity. This buck dissapeared over the ridge and I then located a huge bobcat that we watched for a while and as I decided to try and get pic's dad noticed some deer to our right. I glanced over with the binos and saw a big framed deer go behind a tree and up the ridge. We never saw him go over, but the vegetation was really thick, so we pounded the area with the optics. Soon we found the 105"class buck making his way back over the ridge right to where we last saw the big buck. Dad was getting set up to possibly take this 4x4 when all of a sudden I saw the rack of the big buck stand up out of the brush! I told dad to follow the 4x4 but DON"T SHOOT IT! I told him he's gonna kill this new buck! I also told dad that when he shoots this buck, hand me the rifle and I will shoot the smaller buck, because once dad fills his tag, I get to hunt! After about 15 minutes of the two bucks posturing and showing off, the bigger buck finally came out of the brush and "BOOM! Dad hit him and then with one more shot, put him down for good. The smaller buck grabbed up the doe that was with dads buck and started trailing her. I got the rifle and had the crosshairs on the buck at 330 yrds and applied pressure to send the bullet on it's way and nothing happened! I pulled away to see if the safety was on and it wasn't! I got back on the buck that was now head low and moving fast after the doe. Dad was yelling at him to stop him, but he never gave me another solid shot and he dissapeared over the ridge again! I now believe it was devine intervention as the reason for the gun not firing, because I ended up later sharing another amazing day with Pops! Oh well.......it would have been cool to get a double but I didn't care, dad had just killed his biggest buck and it grossed 109 7/8"! I have to go to a horse show.......will finish later...........Thanks, JIM>

OK.......Now with Steve done and one day left to hunt, Gary Howell and his client, Norm, went with me to see if we could find the buck that Steve and I had been looking for. This 6th day was clear but very windy and cold. We made the familiar hike back up into the same bowl Steve had killed and where the big buck lived. We glassed and called but to no avail, so we packed up and snuck up through the bedding area to glass the opposite side. I was in the lead with Norm in the middle as we crested a small rise and I noticed a big frame in the grass staring at me at around 50 yrds! I leaned over to the side and covered my ears whispering to shoot....shoot..... Norm acquired the buck in his scope just as it stood up staring at us. The safety was on and buck fever was appearant as the trigger was being bent back! Finally, just as the buck bolted the gun went off and with an amazing shot, the buck fell! I didn't realize this was the same buck I had been trying to kill with Steve until we picked it up out of the grass. This was a fantastic deer, again, especially due to the circumstances we had been dealing with during this hunt! Norms buck grossed right around 104" and Steve was delighted later to actually put his hands on this buck, thinking about all the hours we both had put into trying to harvest it, but without a doubt, he was still proud of his! The night of the 6th day, the snow started to fall and didn't let up for several days. We were stranded in town for 2 days waiting for the roads to open back up to get our clients back to the states and pick up the next crew. to be continued.........

Sorry...I stooped as low as some other person I won't say his name...but......the first letter in his name is...."Shortpants" but....I gotcha....I gotcha.... (sorry to fool around) I missed ya' all. I will post how my Mexico hunts went and a whole buncha pics as soon as I can!

Just wonderin' who all still has hope of killing a toad in Mexico this season? I am leaving this Sunday and heading to Chihuahua to guide two hunts and hunt for myself during the first week of February! I cannot wait to see how stupid them big bucks will be during February, and to be chasing them with a bow.....it's gonna be awesome! I know last year the last few days of January, the rut was starting to rev up big time, so hopefully it does the same. Best of luck to you guys, JIM>

I am picking up my computer tomorrow so I won't have to use this darn laptop thingymajig anymore and I will be able to post pics agian. I started this topic to pull a joke on Shortypants like he did to me about a month ago.........but this time I actually aint makin' it up like he was! I did get a hog and so did my Pops, i will post pics tomorrow, JIM>

I'm back! WHAT AN ADVENTURE! I guided 2 hunts and out of 12 days of hunting combined....we had 2 days on each hunt that were decent weather! If it wasn't raining........it was snowing....if it wasn't windy...it was all fogged up! We endured the toughest weather conditions i've ever seen! I needed a snow plow on my Rhino for the second hunt and we couldn't even make it to one of the ranches because of the weather for 2 days! Oh well.......enough complaining, we still killed some great bucks during the good days. We killed one 97" buck, two 105" class bucks, and two 110" class bucks! I decided I wasn't able to stay for another hunt and try to kill a buck with my bow, so after my dad killed his 109 7/8" buck on the first day.........I borrowed his rifle and he and I went out and he watched over my shoulder as I took my dream buck on the only day I had to hunt for myself.........and it was only 1/2" smaller than his at 109 3/8"! It couldn't have happened any more perfect! I have a ton of pic's of our bucks but I need to get to a different computer to post em', I should have the story up tomorrow. Thanks, JIM>

Way to go, great buck! I had the good fortune to meet Jason and he's a great guy and obviously knows his stuff! I know all about that wind you were talking about, it sucked! Congrats! JIM>

Way to go Ernesto! I too have been dreaming of taking a buck over 100" for a long time and it finally came true for me also a few days ago, I now know the feeling! Grande Venado! Congratulations, JIM>

I've got another to submit from Mexico last week, I'll get the pic's up tomorrow! JIM>

Hey Shorty....contrary to popular belief, I am broke! I will be working for my tag this year and I have nothing left to trade....well...i didn't think about my wife... ....there's an idea...! I will get tons of pic's and video! JIM>