COOSEFAN

These pics are off my cell phone so aren't that good, plus, my wall isn't this yellow! Weird! This is an archery buck I killed and wanted something special done with em'. My buddy Bret at Game Trail Taxidermy got very creative and did his magic for me. He took the biggest muley shed I've ever found and inserted threaded rods into the tines then into the table and secured them. The mount is then secured to the antler and is free standing off of it! At my old house I had this mount in front of an interior window so you could see it was freestanding on the antler and he added painted fake rock material on the back of the mount so it looks finished from behind as well. I've had tons of people that have seen it in person amazed at how it appears the antler is magically standing on the table! Bret was very careful in making it so the supporting rods aren't visible and with 3 points actually bolted to the table it is very sturdy.

Awesome! Congrats LarDog on the call in and to Jeremy for sticking em' with an arrow!!! JIM>

+1000!!! Very sad and infuriating to hear about this! Thoughts and prayers go out to your son! JIM>

It's really cool to see my picture pop up like this! I did sell it to Cabelas and it was supposed to be on the cover of one of their catalogs, but so far I've only seen it in a bunch of ads and on a calendar. They did send me a huge wall calendar that I've heard they sent out to all the stores and it features my picture across the top and was signed by Dick Cabela. Too bad my friends weren't wearing CWT.com shirts in the pic! JIM>

Best of luck to ya and congrats on finishing what I'm sure was a tough school, all while whacking a bunch of nice critters!!! JIM>

While folks are "waiting for the dust to settle", there are projects happening and in need of volunteers! The Arizona Elk Society is a great organization to be a part of and there's a project this weekend for those willing to "blow through the dust" and get involved! There are more projects coming up as well and volunteers are always needed and appreciated. Here's a link to more info on this weekend's project: http://forums.coueswhitetail.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32566 Here's a link to AES website: http://arizonaelksociety.org/

My hunt last week was a grind! From 4:00 AM till dang near midnight, hiking, driving and calling all day, with dang near zero action can start to wear on ya! I covered both sides of my unit, back and forth, checking for tracks and callin with very little to show for my efforts. The tracks were scarce and the gobbles were almost non-existent! I only heard 2 toms gobble during the whole hunt! 1 was on the first morning and he would only gobble once every 15-20 minutes and seemed like he was running as fast as I was! I accidentally ended up right on top of that bird and bumped him out of there. The second gobble I heard was yet again, another bird that I didn't know was there until he shock gobbled at me, basically just lettin' me know the game's over! I finally found a tank that had a few tracks on it and decided I would just set up there and call very sparingly with my decoy out and hope for the best. After about an hour I could hear cluckin' and puttin' from down in the canyon behind the dam of the tank. I hit the box call a few times and could hear them coming faster. Finally I see three birds top out and come in to my decoy! I knew right away that none of them were the long beard gobbler I had dreamed about, but at that point, being burned out and not wanting to spend another night in back of my truck, all I needed was a visible beard and lead was gonna fly! The birds came in and started pecking and posturing around my decoy which was very cool to watch and the biggest one actually did a semi-strut as he was coming in so that got me a little more excited. After getting bored with the decoy, the birds lined out broadside in front of me at 12 yards. The one in the middle had the longest beard, which isn't sayin' much, but it was plenty long enough for me at that point, so, I decided he was going home with me! I had the GoPro camera mounted on the barrel and it slightly obstructs the sights making it difficult to be pin point accurate. I didn't think I'd be shooting this close so didn't worry about it, but now, with a 12 yard moving shot and an extra full choke, I learned very quick that this bird might not be going home with me after all! I missed the first two shots before realizing what was going on so I made the last round count and pounded him on the run. So, all in all i had a blast as usual. It's always a thrill hearing gobbles, even if it's just a couple, and having any turkey up close is always exciting as well. I found some sheds and also snuck up to a bear and got some great video of him on my big camera but I ended up breaking that camera and can't upload the video yet, I'll post it up when I can! Thanks if you read through this, if not, then enjoy the video! JIM> Check out the short video I put together, still trying to figure out the GoPro cam! [media=] [/media]

I've been so busy lately I haven't had time to pick em' up but I'll have em' on the wall tomorrow! It's been a long time since I killed the buck I named "Sticks" and because I loved being able to hold the skull I've waited to have him mounted. Recently, while at my buddy Bret's shop, we decided it was time to get em' on the wall! Here's the link to the story of my hunt: http://forums.coueswhitetail.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=11348&hl=sticks I was wanting something cool done with him so we decided on a pedestal form with a wall mounted base (so that my wife's cat can't get to it!) It was hard staying away while he worked on the mount, but I managed to stop by and bug him a couple times! Because Sticks had a huge cape and the fact I wanted his head a certain way, Bret had to make a bunch of alterations to the form but in the end he nailed it as usual! Bret did an amazing job and spent a ton of time on all the fine details that you can only see up close in person! The base turned out incredible and the pictures don't do it justice at all! He even built the base material up into the back of the deer to tie it all in and made the deer movable on the base so he swivels and is removable! I'm very excited to finally get him on the wall and can't thank Bret enough for doing such a great job! Here's some pics from the start.... This is before most of the time consuming form alterations took place... This is right after he finished sewing up the hide and is fine tuning the positioning.. Now test fitting him on the unfinished base and working the hide.. Finishing the base.. Finished product!

Last I checked there's no Coues in Minnesota You say "So I have a girl", and that doesn't sound too serious and definitely not serious enough to move away from Arizona and our beloved Coues! Best of luck to ya tho! JIM>

THAT IS AWESOME!!!! Thanks for sharing the incredible pics and congrats!!! JIM>

No reason for it to keep going in any negative fashion. Although I've never met the individual guide, I'm friends with the owner of the other outfit and I was actually hunting with him in 9 at the time this went down. What happened in 10 was unfortunate and he felt the same. I'm going to believe it was a misunderstanding and not hold it against anybody involved. They are a respectful and respected outfit and their hunter (doublelung) is a good guy! My point in posting was to show the bull never suffered and was ultimately taken in an ethical and humane fashion. I do feel bad for Craig, but having a bull like that at 20 yards will get under anyone's skin and messing up the shot is easier than some "over-confident" hunters will admit. So, it's all good, it's a beautiful, extremely long beamed bull and a lot of folks had the great pleasure of seeing him in person doing what elk do best, ruttin' and bugling! JIM>

Thanks for sharing the pics with those of us that couldn't make it Amanda! Looks like an antler-lover's paradise! JIM>

Man, I heard about this thread but hadn't read thru it till now. At the time I was buried in the elk woods and as for moderating, I had multiple folks keeping an eye on the site and told them to let me know as soon as names started being mentioned or slandered and moderation will then happen. From what I've read, it's a bunch of opinions and for the most part names were never mentioned or slandered. Also, the folks that were named never came to me and asked for it to be nuked. I figured some of you would still like to know a few FACTS about the bull that was shot. Craig did shoot the bull high, and high enough that the arrow was above the spine harmlessly in the top of the backstrap. The bull was back to chasing cows soon after the incident and his arrow wound was well on it's way to healing up! My guide did an amazing job scouting and patterning these bulls, he got Craig up close and personal with a huge bull, and even after all the emotions, misunderstandings or whatever, he still made it a point to help out the other hunter when our clients were done! I'm very picky when it comes to my guides and every one of them works hard, is very ethical and respectful of the game as well as other hunters. In this situation, I know my guide came off very upset at first but he firmly believed he was cut off and firmly believed the other guides or their spotters watched Craig put an arrow in the bull and still went after him, regardless if it was a fatal hit or not, and I'm pretty sure I would've equally misunderstood and would've been just as upset. Misunderstanding or not, it happened, it's over, and fortunately Craig's shot was a minor flesh wound and not a gut hit. Unfortunately for that particular bull, my same guide relocated him and helped me sneak our early rifle hunter in on him and finished the deal 2 weeks later. This bull appeared as healthy as normal and I watched him chasing and herding a huge group of cows the night before we killed him. The next morning, with help from my guide, I got the bull to bugle and my hunter and I snuck in and filled his tag. This all happened in the exact same spot where Craig shot him on the archery hunt. No posse, no spotters, just a bugling bull and a guy with a rifle, it's not very hard at that point Not 400", but 390" straight up 6 ain't too shabby! The arrow hole was healed up with no infection!

Ball dragging Yeti minnows? HA! LOL!

I gotta be a little honest here, I'm a little scared goin' up against some of you boys! I'm just a weekend warrior bowfisher and you guys have been out honing your already honed skills! LOL! Plus, I have yet to get anybody on my team, so I may be out there by myself gettin' spanked by all you guys and watching you take my money! Oh well, it'll be fun and nothing wrong with a little spanking every now and then I guess! LOL! JIM>

Elkaddict, I LOVE the "Coues Tree"!!! I've got a pile of skulls that are needing to be put somewhere, that looks awesome! The wind chime is something I haven't see before and very cool as well! JIM>

Those turned out amazingly good! Where did you initially see this idea? Thanks for sharing the info with us and great job on those! JIM>

With the amount of time you spend in the woods or on the water I would definitely tell you to get one!!! All of us here at CWT.com will benefit from it! Also, you'd have to ask your dad and Peg if it's alright because if you are wearing it on your head, they would be the stars of most your videos! I'd love to see videos of you catching all those fish, maybe I could learn what the tricks are! JIM>

Hey Blake, we got swamped this year with Elk and Antelope clients so I highly doubt I will get much bear hunting in unfortunately. I do hope to squeeze in at least a few days, would be a blast to get a camp together with friends and see how many bears we can pile up! I know Ernesto is due for a bear and I fully expect to be sittin' next to him when he pulls the trigger this year! I will keep ya posted on plans. JIM>

I remember reading about your dad's buck and thinking it had similar characteristics! Narrow and straight up with great tine length that not only is very eye catching but sure stretches the tape for those interested in score! I'm sure there may be some shared genetics there, congrats to your dad again on a great buck! JIM> Yes very eye catching. The more i look at yours the more i see the similarities. Take a look at those eye guards too. both very small considering the rest of his antlers. I just love looking at those big kaibab bucks!! I just hope someday I can draw that tag. Even though I was just there to help my dad, it was definitely the most amazing hunt I have been on. I clicked on that link to the story of your hunt and read your story again. It was like I was there it was written so well. Those pictures with your deer look a lot like the country we were in also. I bet they are from the same genes. I too have noticed more of the similarities! I'm sure there is some relation between them! The Kaibab is absolutely an amazing place, there's just something about it, and it's even better when you get to share the experience with family for sure!

Your buck is famous! When you posted your story a long time ago, I was telling my brother about this guide on a hunting forum that I frequent...yada..yada,,yada..killed a huge buck and called it Sticks! Well you have a family member that teaches because my nephew was telling us that his teacher had told the story about Sticks. All the kids that hunt were talking about it and gocking over a cell phone pic! Maybe one day I will have a famous buck! Ha! It's a fairly small world out there for sure! My wife, my sister and all my brother's wives are teachers so it could've been any one of them! I would guess it was my sister tho, she's a bigger hunter than the others and I could picture her sharing the pic with the kids! Thanks! JIM>

Sorry Casey, but it's spring time bro, and this is the time of year I try REALLY hard to be out of cell phone service as much as possible while trying to catch, find or kill somethin'! and BTW...thanks, but I think my video proves that im NOT that good of a Turkey killer! LOL! I'm an antlered animal killer that likes pretending he knows how to hunt Turkeys!

Great video! Congrats on your bird. I was wondering why they looked so far away.... Have you tried one of those on a bow yet? Thanks Ilene, I used the head strap and video'd myself shooting carp and tilapia and it worked pretty good, haven't mounted it to the bow but I bet it would make for some cool footage!

I remember reading about your dad's buck and thinking it had similar characteristics! Narrow and straight up with great tine length that not only is very eye catching but sure stretches the tape for those interested in score! I'm sure there may be some shared genetics there, congrats to your dad again on a great buck! JIM>

"Now your just showing off......my buck is bigger that your buck . Just kidding! That buck is a lot like hot chick! I didn't notice anything but the RACK! Huge congrats on that buck again and the mount looks great!" Thanks trophyhntr! I definitely wasn't trying to compare, just am so amazed at the sheer size of the body on those Kaibab bucks and that pic really illustrates that! Sorry to the guy who's buck is pictured in that photo, wasn't tryin' to compare racks! LOL!