COOSEFAN

Josh would be the person to fill us in on the subject of sheds and scores.

I was wondering the same thing about the WR shed score. I know someone found the set off of the bull that Pete Davis' client killed in unit 8 and it gross scored higher than these I think, and I believe Josh found the set from Nick Franklins WR non-typ from unit 8 as well. My brothers buddy was supposed to go see these sheds and maybe he got pic's and an OK to show them, I'll try to find out. JIM

Bill, I haven't the slightest clue! Mexico was the first out-of-state hunt I have gone on and I gave my deer meat to the rancher and some residents of a nearby town. I hope to bring some home but that will be one of my 100 questions for my outfitter when he calls. He is supposed to be contacting me this week, I'll let you know what they say. DEERSLAM, We leave on the 5th of Sept. 06' and will be home on the 17th. I don't yet know how long it takes to get there and I don't yet know exactly how many days I'll be out. I wasn't planning on doing this. My dad was booking a fishing trip with this outfitter when he mentioned he had two cancellations for the 06' Moose/Caribou hunt. I inquired about the price and about ripped my pocket trying to get my wallet out when he told me! I have always thought a hunt like this would be at least $10,000.00 but it actually all said and done will be less than I spent on my Mexico hunt, even if I had stopped at one deer! It is un-guided and that was why it's so much cheaper. I would rather learn it and do it on my own anyways and my buddy bought the second opening so we'll be going together. Losing a couple of days to packing meat would be OK with me because that would mean there's probably a huge set of horns to be packed out as well! We are just hoping to have a hunt of a lifetime and return safe regardless of what we kill, coming home with a few racks would be icing on the cake! JIM

Those are professional quality photos you got there! That first one is one to put in a frame, great job and thanks for sharing! Is that Marshall Lake in the foreground? JIM

That's awesome Coues'n'Sheep! I was supposed to head out on Sat. but decided against it with the snow. I'm heading out this Fri. for the weekend and hopefully can make it back in to where I hunt. The roads are going to be bad! Has anyone heard about the 460" set a game warden found? I know two different guys that know two different neighbors of this game warden and he has shown them to these guys. I heard he was checking a trick tank in, I think, unit 27 and found them on the tank. They said it was around a 456" 8 x 9 set!!!! I couldn't imagine finding a set of sheds like that, especially right after they hit the ground!!! Coues'n'Sheep, I hope your buddy finds his buck, that would be a nightmare for sure! JIM

AZP&Y, I hope I have a pic like that but with me in it! That is an awesome bull! firstcoueswas80, I don't have any freezer space left so if I'm successful, I will need to give some away and I will contact you for sure. Thanks again for the info Bill, I appearantly have alot of research to do in all aspects of this upcoming hunt. I'm going to get working on both my .270 and my .300 and see which one i am more accurate and comfortable with and decide then, it's good to know the .270 is sufficient though. DesertBull, that is a good point about the bears, I don't yet know if that will be a major concern where I'm going or not, but I would bet there is bears there! I would rather shoot a bear, if I had too, with the .300 than the .270! The country I saw in all the kill photos they had was very bare and flat for the most part, so I would guess shots can be long at least on the Caribou and some of the Moose pic's were in the same bare, flat tundra stuff? They did tell me that most of the Moose are killed within a couple hundred yards of the lake, so maybe its thicker stuff around the water? They are sending me all the info I need and a video that the Game and Fish people up there have that we are supposed to watch? I guess it is like an orientation video about hunting in Alaska?! Thanks for the info, I'll let you know when I hear more about the details of the area/hunt etc. JIM

Thats great advice Bill. I'm not as bad as I say at bullet placement and I place alot of emphasis on accuracy. Being a guide, there is nothing worse than putting all the effort into a hunt only to have it end with a miss or worse a wounded animal! I put alot of time and money into my .270 last year and was rewarded with three beautiful coues bucks. I still need to have the trigger lightened up but I feel very confident with it and more so when the trigger is finished. That would save me alot of time and $ if I took the .270. Would you definitely stay clear of the shoulder on a Moose with a .270? Even with a larger caliber? What range would you say is the max distance for a shot on a Moose with a .270? What type of bullet would you choose in the .270 caliber for Moose? Sorry for all the questions, I just have no clue on Moose! Thanks, JIM

Thanks for all the valuable info thus far! I will look for that book Doug and I'm taking along some fishing tackle because they said I can fish the lake right next to camp and catch big fish. I saw alot of pic's of hunters fishing there and they were catching fish that looked like the one you are holding but not as big. That looks like a big silver salmon you caught there! My parents booked a guided Halibut/Silver Salmon trip with the same outfitter for the month before I go. So I figured I'll get a heads up on what to expect. BillQ I actually was surprised to see you mentioned the .270 as being good for moose? That is my favorite gun and would love to take it but I thought it would be too light for the moose? I have a .300 Win and a 7mm RM I can take as well and was going to spend my time and $ on one of those guns instead. Like you said bullet placement is everything but I am not that good at bullet placement so I would feel better with some more punch just in case. I was thinking my .300 Win with a 180 gr. bullet of some sort? The Grizzly's are definitely going to add some spice to the experience, I hope to see one but, just not too close! Wetmule, thats good advice, I do alot of scouting in July and August and I will have a big heavy packframe on while I'm out there! Thanks guys! JIM

Those are the BEST pic's I've seen in a LOOOONG time! Great to see it!!! JIM

I finally got news! Buddies of ours found 3 sets from 360" to 290". There were a bunch of camps out in the woods last weekend which hasn't been the case the previous weekends. They saw quite a few bulls with both sides and a few with only one, and even seen some bruisers still sporting their headgear! Now's the time to be out there. Just a heads up, JIM

I don't know how I missed this topic, I kept reading about a cat you killed in other topics and went searching and found it. Great job! That bothered me a little about the spotted kitten comment. It's obvious those aint kittens and I've killed two cats and have had my hands on several others that were mature sized cats and still had darker spots or lines on the inside of the forearms/chest area. Sounds like a hunt of a lifetime, congratulations!!!! JIM

They need to be controlled just like the deer and elk. Checks and balances. We have already disturbed the natural order of things so it will never be like it was thousands of years or even 20 years ago. Any given area can only support so many cats just like it can support only so many deer and/or elk. Every critter out there has its purpose and it would be a tragedy to wipe out the lions! I don't know a single person who hates lions or wants to eradicate them. JIM

Imagine what the deer/elk population would be like in some areas if lion hunting was no longer allowed! They need to be controlled and I definitely think taking what we do every year has a positive impact on the deer/elk herds. my $0.02 JIM

Thanks younghunter, we actually all filled our bear tags as well. Out of all the bear tags we've had, we've only had 1 go unfilled, that was last year my dad was holding out for a biggun and ran out of time. Just a testament to that place! JIM

You guys got some great bucks there! Great job to you all! JIM

That's AWESOME! You guys sure know what you are doing and obviously have great dogs! Most of the other guides are having a tough time killing cats this year but looks like you guys are having no problem! I was very glad to see it was taken from unit 9! Thanks Josh, hopefully you kill some more, there's a bunch there! Congrats to Jerry and you! JIM

Great pic's! Makes me wish I was there. JIM

There's something about that place! On three separate occasions I've seen 3 lions runnin together, and all were adult size! Almost every other time it was a pair runnin together. I saw 9 lions in just a couple of trips bear hunting and duck hunting in just a few months time! Out of a group of 5 bear hunters we killed 3 lions in one hunt and the year after killed 2, one that was watching us pack out a bear not 15 yrds off the trail we were walking out on! That place is amazing, everything there is huge, plentiful, can eat you, bite you or sting you! You have a great shot at tagging a cat but watch out for the 6 foot rattlesnakes that should be coming out soon! Good luck David! JIM

Thanks Ernesto C, I checked the records last year and if I remember correctly, I think my pig would be one of the largest archery pigs entered from unit 21. The skull green was a hair over 15"inches and I was hoping with the beetles it wouldn't shrink TOO much, still my biggest though and would be cool to enter it. BowhuntCoues, I think that Collene lady is the one that wouldn't return our calls, but all we were wanting to know was if they were still taking skulls in at that place and at what time. So thats good to know they are still doing it. I have always intended to weigh one of my pigs but have never done it. I don't know exact weight but I've killed more than I can count on my hands and helped kill twice that many and had never seen a bigger one. I'm 6' 2" and weigh 210 so that gives a little more idea of this pigs size. Thanks for the info! JIM

THAT'S WHEN YOU RUN EM' DOWN UNTIL THEY SNAG ON SOMETHING AND KNOCK EM' OFF!... ........I am just kidding! That is good to know and makes me feel better that I'm not behind the game.....yet! Thanks, JIM

I've always thought "undressed" meant not gutted or anything, just as is on the hoof? 73 pounds would be a freak of a hog but I have heard of pigs close to that coming in to weigh-ins at contests down by Wilcox and Benson area. Those pigs were always taken from the farm areas where they got all fattened up. My largest pig was last year and had a 15"inch skull and I guessed it weighed close to 50 pounds on the hoof, it felt like 100 pounds by the time I got it to the truck! 25 pounds of meat does sound like not enough, but it all depends on how much was blood shot from the rifle or deemed inedible by the butcher I guess? I just want to see some pic's posted Thanks, JIM

Hope you have had a happy B-day! I think you can get a free dinner at Denny's also! Hoooray! JIM

Thanks alot for the info, I wrote it down and will check out skulls unlimited. My buddy is a taxidermist and needs a place that does the beetle stuff so I'm sure that will work out great for him as well. Thanks again! JIM

I have the VX-III with the B+C reticle and love it. I also have it on a 270 and the B+C reticle works perfectly with that caliber. I have the 4.5-14 but with my load I have to use it on 14X to use the extra reticles. You definitely need a good rangfinder to make it work, but it's deadly! JIM

I had that exact scope and sold it. It was good but had eyestrain when using it. The front objective seemed too small and fuzzy around the edges. I know they have problems with the collapsable scope in humid weather. When you expand it, it sucks in air (and moisture) and that cuases problems. I always worried about that when it was rainy out. I bought the new STS80 with the 20x60 and love it! Good luck, JIM