COOSEFAN

I was trying to find coues sheds and skulls on ebay and cant find them. What category are they in? Maybe i just don't know what im doing. Whaat do they go for. I have a matching set of sheds that score 122 without spread Its a typical 4x4 with a lot of mass. What would they be worth. I want your sheds! Talk to me before putting them on ebay or let me know when you put them up for sale! Are they fresh....what condition are they in? I think the problem with ebay is people all over the world look on there and most poeple don't understand our little Coues deer. They just see a little rack when compared to a 170" Eastern. So with that in mind, the Coues antlers tend to not go for as much as I would think they should. You need to find the right buyer and I just might be that guy for you! Lets see them sheds! JIM> Hey Dan H, if you are talking about that skull, some people will stain them but I personally don't like adding anything artificial to any antlers, I like them as natural as possible. This skull is going to stay just like it is, but I am incorperating it into a base for one of my pedestal mounted Coues bucks. I won the auction for $107.00 for that skull and would have paid more for it. JIM>

Thanks alot for checking it out Christian! I have had alot of trouble with the web designer not updating the site lately but he just finished yesterday. I also help promote Howell Wildlife Outfitters and have a page on my site for him. He is a supporter of CouesWhitetail.com and we highly reccomend his service for Mexico Coues hunts, check it out. Thanks again Christian! JIM>

It's funny you mentioned about me sreamin' like a school girl.....my wife just yelled at me to find out what the cats were going so crazy for by the kithen table......it was a damned SCORPION.......guess what I did. My wife is still laughing at me for screaming.......and for making HER catch it and kill it. It probably didn't help that I showed her Shortypants' reply either. JIM>

dang......i didn't need to hear that right before i go to bed. I had the same thing happen to me Antelope hunting in 10 a few years ago. It was a smaller 8-legged hairy freak that climbed into my lap though....he's no longer with us. I remember that day everytime I see one or even when I hear the name, now I will dream about it. THANKS, jim. OH, and Shortypants...don't get any ideas now that my phobia's are out in the open. You find one of them "bugs" and mess with me......I'll tell everyone how you REALLY got your name

My opinion is that the lower, easier country tends to have more deer numbers and smaller bucks on the early hunts, and the bachelor herds of older bucks stay up in the thick, rough, and remote stuff, but are in lesser numbers. I also killed a nice "forkie" last year on the Oct. hunt and you probably heard my shot on opening day if you were where you spoke of! I started off way low and speed hiked past all the does' and small bucks and gazillion other hunters to try and get way into the remote country and that is where I found the bigger bucks by themselves, and fewer deer numbers in comparison to the lower country. This is not always the case but seems to be fairly common in my experiences. There are big bucks down low but are usually runnin' scared from the chaos of all the other hunters, I'd rather glass em' up bedded or feeding unaware they about to become dinner! JIM>

That's hilarious Mike! I was reading through the reply's still twitchin' from the shock of horror I received when I scrolled through Christian's pic's ending with that dreadful sight! I really don't like critters with more than four legs.....less than four are OK....but more....stay away from me! JIM>

Welcome to the site, I sent you a PM. Awesome tag! JIM>

I think I have met your uncle before.....long time ago though, but one of his dogs made friends with me and I found the guy and returned him. He was taking the dogs out for a jog (behind the truck) and they struck a fresh track and took off. The dogs caught and killed the cat( young one ) before he could get to them, but one dog ended up at my truck and was tore up and wore out pretty bad. May be the same guy? It was north of Dugas. I agree with Redbeard, your odds are lower in 21 than in some other units, BUT if you live close to the unit you can narrow it down where the bucks frequent and increase your odds. There are lower canyons that have "pockets" of Coues in 21, find one of these and scout it thoroughly......It can pay off big! Best of luck, JIM>

It's actually refreshing to finally see someone tipped over a stateland bear! I actually was thinking you were on the Res. with how many bears you were seeing, and all them antlers......dang....what a hunt! Thanks for the story and pic's, beautiful color phase bear, it'll look good no matter what you do with em'! Congrats, JIM>

Didn't CHD headline some of his posts here with the same " SLAP MY GRANDMA" stuff? That seemed really familiar to me! I really think it's him.......and I'm glad, he's over there and not here! JIM>

I wouldn't be surprised one bit if that is the same guy. I believe he's lying about his name and where he lives on MM. He's actually a fart smeller, OOPS....I mean...Smart Feller and is fully capable of coming up with a long drawn out scheme to attract all the attention he wants and needs.......negative or positive. I think both guys ( if they are different ) are so "off the wall" that the only friends they can hang on to is their dogs, and to have human interaction, aside from "paying off" their wife, is to go on the web and stir things up. I do believe there was some misdirection intended with his first post talking about road numbers, and I believe he knew that buck was intended, and being watched, for the Gov. tag holder. There is alot more to that story. JIM>

There had to be bullets flying past the guy rollin' down the hill! He's one lucky S.O.B.! Thanks for the video! JIM>

I have the 20-60 X80 HD Swaro and, because I own it, I think it's the best. If i owned the Leica, I would think it's the best, same with Zeiss and Nikon. They are all great optics. My thoughts are, What about if you drop it? Which one will hold up and is more dependable? I'm not going to drop mine, but construction of the entire package should be taken into account. See if you can compare the construction features of each as well as the clarity. I've owned Swarovski's for years, and have dropped several bino's very hard, and have never had to send one back, that's one reason why I'll always stick with the Swaro's. I have the straight scope and wish I had the angled scope. With the angled scope you can keep your tripod at a lower more stable position which is really handy if you use a light tripod and/or it's a windy day. My #1 reccomendation is think about how much you plan on using a scope, this should be your main consideration in deciding which scope to buy. I know that I did NOT need to buy the Swarovski cause I only use it maybe 20% of the time! Hope my $.02 helps, JIM>

Those are kicka$$ pic's Justin! I at first was thinkin that was a fawn because of how thin the legs are, but I have a question,( feel stupid not knowing) does a Doe have scent glands on the inside of the back legs like a Buck? Looks like there's glands on that deer and I can't make out the head to tell what it is? Kind of weird seeing a fawn with a Buck alone in the pic? What ya think? Also, I don't think I've ever seen a skunk with a tail as tall as that one! ( not that I really want to) Thanks, JIM>

HOLY CRAP! That's a TOAD. Field judging 'lopers is VERY hard to do and saying a buck will go 90" is an even harder call to make, BUT....that's a hog.......I would say that buck is VERY close to the 90" mark Those are GREAT photo's and like has been said before, keep him a secret as much as you can, otherwise everyone and their brother will be lookin for him (myself included ) Thanks, JIM>

That's incredible! Out of all the years we've hunted there( this is the first year we haven't) we are lucky to have maybe one record book bear out of usually 4 or 6 bears killed annually. Usually isn't a problem to get 18"-19" type bears, but the 20"+ bears were always harder to acquire. That would be amazing to have 4 book bears in one camp! What unit if you don't mind me asking? Will you be able to get pics for us? Thanks, JIM>

dang, both of those bucks are AWESOME! Thanks, JIM>

Hey Justin, cool pic's! I wonder what had their attention off to the left in the first pic's? I think that's the first Coati I've seen on a trail cam pic! Thanks, JIM>

I had never thought about supporting the rear of a gun either, until a guy showed me last year. He is a long range shooter and practices with the tripod and shooting sticks for hunting situations. It is amazing how steady you can get using the shooting sticks under the rear of the gun. I actually place the sticks over my lap in the sitting position, and just behind the grip part of the stock. My rifle will actually sit there by itself like a bench rest. My buddy also makes his own shooting sticks which can be shortened to any length on either leg so if you are on uneven ground the stock will sit evenly on the sticks. This isn't the fastest set-up but for me it's the most solid. Try it, you'll be surprised, JIM>

Dang, I looked for that bull in your first pic's and didn't see him, but now that you pointed it out, he's plain as day in the last photo. He's cool looking, looks just like his antler was made out of clay when it was bent over! He was all cleaned off last Wed. There was another bull who has quite a bit of trash, mainly split tips on several tines, and still had velvet hanging, have you guys seen him before? I hadn't seen him till last week, he's big and a ton of character. I have a question, what is growing in the ditch along the road that those bulls love so much? The grass doesn't look any different than out of the ditch, but they tend to stay around it more than anywhere else. JIM>

Hey Christian, just from what we've seen thus far.......you have acquired a lifetime of pictures and memories in just a few short months! Every one of those fish are incredible in their own way and the pic's of each one are AWESOME! A BIG congrats to you and thanks for bringing it all back for us to enjoy! Glad to see you made it back with all your limbs still attached also! Thanks, JIM>

Shortypants.......that was supposed to stay between us Now that my "rifle-toe-rest" tachnique is out in the open for all to read, I DO offer this service to my clients at no extra charge, it greatly increases accuracy and self confidence with all my hunters, and the bond that is created, will last forever and will have you returning year after year! I am in the process of teaching Shortpants this technique but the fact that he never wears pants, has most clients a little leary! I haven't read through all the posts yet, for fear of seeing whatever else S.P. has posted about me, but my preference for steady shooting is my tripod AND shooting sticks. I have had too many encounters with fumbling too long with a bipod that I wont use them unless I'm on an Antelope hunt. Shooting sidehill or any uneven terrain requires time consuming adjusting. A bipod is probably the steadiest way to support the front half of the rifle but the back half is still up to you. I use my tripod/or backpack for the front half of the rifle, and use my shooting sticks under the butt of the gun. It can be adjusted up or down fast by spreading the legs on the rear and will work on any level of ground. This is incredibly steady because you are stabilizing the rear of the gun as well. My .02, JIM> I have an attachment for my tripod but haven't used it yet. I usually just turn the head over on the tripod to create a flat spot and this can be done fast even if the tripod isn't pefectly level. If I have time, I would always rather shoot off my backpack with the rifle fully supported front to back.

Hey elkhunter, thats awesome! It does look very similar! I had glassed up my buck opening morning a long ways off and he was with another buck bedded under a mesquite. The other buck was a smaller 3 point and my buck was laying facing away and all I could see was his frame. I thought he had to be a 3X and score high with that frame so I made a long tough stalk. When I topped out at my pre-determined shooting spot, I checked him out again and couldn't believe he was only a 2X2! Didn't matter though, it made him special and thats all I was after so I hammered em'. Here's a pic through the glasses before I set up for the shot, he's the one on the right, little 3x on the left. Hard to see the racks, but you can make out the frame on mine and understand why I shot him! Thanks and that's great find! JIM>

In my experiences, that unit is hard to find a tall buck. My suggestion would be to pay close attention to any buck, even if he is short, and look for mass and prongs. Antelope are, in my opinion, the hardest to field judge and have learned some shorter bucks that get passed up by most hunters, may score better than a taller, bigger looking, buck. Mass is everything when scoring antelope, check out Tony Grimmet's video, it's repetitive and fairly boring to watch, but is very informative for field judging 'lopes, he is probably the best I've ever met at field scoring 'lopes. If I had your tag, I would be out looking for a buck with character rather than a high score, I love the "one-of-a-kind" bucks and it would be alot easier to do than looking for a 80"plus buck in that unit. Just my .02 here, but I hope you are successful at finding the buck you want! JIM>

Hey there Desertsheep, in my mind, they are pets while in town, if they decide to go looking for girlyfriends in about a month.....and they come into a call........they better watch out! I was just playing with them over the past couple days and the 7x7 in the second pic, ( actually an 8x8, he's got devilhorns on both bases), really likes pepparoni pizza! Shortpants tried to feed him sausage pizza and he got upset and left! ( i'm not joking!) Same with the big 6 with the kicker on the right G4, he really likes the bacon cheeseburger pizza from "We Cook", it's his favorite He wasn't there the last couple of days but there is a bull that has some trash up top that isn't in your pics, he is the only one that has velvet still hangin, the other ones were all clean. There is also a 6X that has a bent over G4, anyone seen him yet? I cannot believe how fat those town bulls are, and almost all the bulls we found otuside of town are fat and healthy too. It is very noticeable the difference in the tops on all these bulls compared to last year, hard to find big tops! Some buglin' goin on also, hopefully a good sign! Does anyone have a trailer up there with a "got arrows" sticker on the back? We left a trailer right next to that camp, just curious if it was one of you guys, we will be moving it to a different spot before the hunt though. Thanks, JIM>