COOSEFAN

This is a subject that i've got some experience with. After the research I've done I came to the conclusion it's just a form of dwarfism. Dwarfism is very rare but it occurs and there are many different causes of it. As far as I know, nobody knows exactly what causes it in nature but it's probably similar reasons why it occurs in humans. My experience happened last year. The crazy part was that the ranch owner told me earlier that "Little" deer live in the high country on his ranch! I ignored the comment but later wished I had paid attention to him! I shot a buck that appeared to have a huge frame when comparing it to his body size. I had to judge him thru my rifle scope at long range and felt confident that he was a huge framed buck in the very least and worthy of shooting. It was the next morning when I was finally able to hike up to my buck (which was on the top of the mountain, in the "high" country!) and the ranch owner was with me. I'll never forget hearing him laugh out loud as I easily picked up the un-gutted buck with 1 hand!! He reminded me that he had forewarned me of the "Little" deer up high, and he was right! I've killed Javalina that were heavier than this buck! His body was very tiny yet this buck was an older buck with well worn teeth. In the pics I was sitting back a little bit but if you notice how big my hand is it'll give you some perspective. I doubt this buck was heavier than 50lbs, on the hoof!!! We've killed several other deer from this same area, none were from the higher country but all the others were normal sized deer. I'm still very curious how that rancher knew there were "Little" deer up there, must've been more than this one! JIM>

Howdy folks, I'm back from the last trip for this season in old Mexico! It was tough hunting most of the time with different extremes in the weather conditions and battling a full moon smack dab in the middle of the rut! We returned home safe and with some great trophies and memories in the end which all adds up to a successful season! Here are some links to stories I've written on CWT.com of different events and there's also a slideshow which sums up the adventure through pictures! Thanks for visiting us here and enjoy! http://forums.coueswhitetail.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=23771 http://forums.coueswhitetail.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=23240 http://forums.coueswhitetail.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=23720 . View the full article

Thanks for the reply's everyone! It is hard to relay all the cool things you get to experience while spending that much time in such an amazing place! I have had some bad luck recently when it comes to killing a big buck for myself, but I've had a blast in the process! One of these days I hope to tag a really big buck, but it's OK with me if in the end I just have a huge pile of little bucks! LOL! As long as I get to at least help kill big critters I'm satisfied COUESWT....I was only about 1 hour south of the border and I'm guessing in the northern part of the Mexican Boa's range. Thanks again everyone for taking the time to read thru my posts! JIM>

WOW!!! Absolute PIGS!!! Thanks to Dan for sharing those with us!!! JIM>

Now that's amazing!! I was cheering for the fawn, he landed some good kicks in there even tho it didn't matter.

Awesome job to the whole gang!!! I wish I could've spent a few days up there with ya'll, especially when Jason got his buck, I know how excited he gets and it's awesome to see!!! That Bobcat looks gorgeous Gino, congrats on that! That's still on my bucket list as well with a bow! I missed an easy shot at one a few weeks ago, it still haunts me! Congrats again to all! JIM>

Unfortunately I could never find the skull of this buck. Between 3 of us we had probably 10 hours total invested in scouring the countryside looking for the skull! This camera location is where a spring comes out of the ground and forms a small but deep pool of water in a rocky crevice. That deep pool is just out of the screen, right where the coyotes chase the deer into. I hadn't checked this camera until several days after this incident unfortunately. The only evidence that something took place was a completely cleaned back leg, intestines floating in the water and the tail! I never found another piece of this deer! I even rigged up a hook on the end of a long pole to fish around in the deep pool but the only thing we pulled out was a single turtle. It's hard to see on these pics but it's actually a big buck and possibly a certain buck I had several encounters with last year, I just needed to see the skull to verify. Very unfortunate, especially with how long it took the coyotes to kill it, but it's mother nature at her finest i guess! JIM>

Hey Blake, I'm a coues hunter "wannabe", and very far from being an expert at all! I just spent over 6 weeks in Coues heaven and I feel more clueless now about these dang critters than I did before I went! LOL! The ranch owner told me he saw a big buck watering in this mine shaft last year so I gave it a shot with the camera. The ground was all rock so you couldn't see any tracks so it was always interesting checking the pics! I've got some amazing bobcat pics and coatimundi pics as well from this spot that i'll post later. The camera is a Moultrie I-40 which has an audible click when it takes a picture and always get's the critters attention but doesn't spook em'.

Pic's added in original post at top... Thanks for the reply's!

Hey Travis, you appearantly didn't hear about the part where he drove through the Deer Farm's fence first! Ha Craiger, you know that's funny stuff right there dude and I don't feel bad because your brother started it! Congrats again on a great buck brotha!!! JIM>

Thanks a bunch guys for reading thru the whole story, I just started typing and didn't realize how long it got. I've killed a handfull of Muley bucks with my bow but stickin' an arrow in a Coues has been my hardest goal up until now! Now my goal is to go for the "holy grail".......spot n' stalk archery Coues!!! We'll see how long this one takes! LOL! Thanks again everyone, I appreciate it! JIM>

Hey Chef, I'm with you man, this pic is awesome! And not because it's mine, but I seriously think it's one of the best trailcam pics i've ever seen of a Coues buck! Mature Coues bucks are absolutely amazing and beautiful and I think this pic illustrates exactly just that! Makes a great screen saver too

OK, now that my hunt was done I had to go back to helping the other guys. My brother, Matt, and a good friend of ours, Wayne, came down with only a couple days to hunt. Matt decided to sit another tank the first day while Wayne and i went out looking for Mr. Muy Grande. Matt had a bunch of action but no arrows were flung. The second day rolls around and Matt decides my new tank had enough time to rest after all the "hootin' and hollerin'" I did when I killed my buck. Matt sits there all day and has an amazing time! He had tons of does and small bucks come in, a huge Coati that didn't give him a shot, a Bobcat that he misjudged the yardage on and missed, and some Javi's that he video taped himself stickin' arrows in! The same 3 point that I had passed up came in 9 times throughout the day teasing Matt. He had killed a high 90's buck with his bow last year in this same area and wanted a bigger buck but he only had a day left to hunt! He held off and passed up multiple bucks that day. On his last day to hunt that same buck came in a couple times again and Matt decided if he came in one more time then he'll whack em'! Well, that buck came in one last time and Matt threaded an arrow thru em' putting down his 2nd archery buck! It was an awesome time spent with my friends and family as usual. It was especially neat to put so much time and effort into developing a hunting area and have it pay off like that! I can only imagine what that spot will be like next season after more and more deer find that water and utilize it more. Just in the short time that I watched the area, it was obvious more and more deer were utilizing it. Congrats Mateo on your second buck bro, it was a blast hunting with you guys in Mexico! Next time you guys need to come down for more than just a couple days! JIM>

I'm still working on pics and trying to catch up but I couldn't wait to let ya'll know I have finally checked off one of the top items on my bucket list! Up until now I've only dreamed of following a short blood trail and walking up to a nice buck with my arrow stickin' out of it!!!! WHOOOHOOO! Story and more pics to follow when I get caught up, thanks! JIM> Click on this link to take you to the story! http://forums.coueswhitetail.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=23720

I'm still in shock by this tragedy and simply hope and pray his family and friends find peace in knowing Mike is in a better place now. I'm sure heaven is exactly as I picture it and Mike is sittin' high in his stand with his bow drawn and pin settled on a buck of his dreams. "TREESTANDMAN" was a big part of our family here and his passion and desire was always evident and respected, he will be dearly missed for sure. My prayers are for his family and I pray the lord keeps Mike's quiver full of arrows and an endless supply of giant coues bucks in his path. JIM>

Thanks for the reply's everyone! I've got most of the pics done just need to get them on photobucket. I think I had at least 6 weeks total in Mexico this season and even tho the weather usually sucked with one extreme or the other I still had a blast! We did more scouting and developement than actual hunting so we didn't whack n' stack much but we did manage to kill 1 giant Coues and 1 giant muley and educated a few others in the process! LOL! I'll try to add some pics as I get them done, thanks and take care, JIM>

Howdy all, I'm home finally but I'm heading right back down in a couple days to finish out the season! I'm extremely short on time and i've got a ton of experiences and photos I want to share so I'll try to get something on here when I can. The rut for the Muley's and the Coues started out with a bang at the end of Dec and first week of Jan but as soon as the temps started approaching the high 80's it shut down for the most part I couldn't beleive the rutting action with the Coues that early on, it was awesome! It was primarily the younger bucks going crazy but the older bucks were starting to show up as well. The heat definitely had a negative affect on the rut and primarily the activity of the deer after that first week. It's still not looking good for the next 10 days and we've had our work cut out for us! I did have a day to hunt for myself on my birthday and after a crazy rodeo in the middle of nowhere I killed a decent buck. It wasn't the one I wanted but I had a blast hunting by myself and chasing a giant in the process! I'll try to whack that giant with my bow before the season is over I've got a couple pics that you guys won't beleive! Here is one that I've got loaded already, story to follow when I can! How many folks can say that a Boa Constrictor slithered up to them and helped them glass for Coues deer???!!! It happened to me!

Hey all, It's been hard to spend time with the wife and still get all my emails, pics and calls done, I'm still working on it! I did just put some more pics on my website, you won't believe some of them, check em' out when you get the chance. BTW.....I've had a passion for snakes ever since I was a kid, I just can't mess around with the rattling kind anymore and need to avoid those if possible This is where the new pics are and more to come if I find the time.... http://recenthuntsatmullins.blogspot.com/

Gorgeous buck Peloncillo!! Congrats man, hope I get to read more about the rest of the hunts before I leave again! Thanks for posting it up! JIM>

Howdy all, here's some pics of an amazing critter that I found while hunting in Sonora, Mexico recently! I've only heard rumors about these Boa's existing in the same areas that we hunt Coues deer in and have only heard of two others that were found by other hunters. As I sat glassing with a friend of mine on a rocky hill I kept hearing something move near me. Continually looking for the noise It wasn't until I looked down and seen this Boa looking up at me with his dark shiny body extending way around a boulder from where he came! I couldn't believe I was fortunate enough to see one of these beautiful critters in the wild and it'll definitely always be one of the highlights of my hunting career! This snake was one of the most docil snakes I've ever caught and it was hard to let him go. I took him to the ranch house that night so everyone could see him and then let him go in the exact spot the next day. After leaving my backpack that next morning, he dissappeared and then came back that evening and coiled up below me to catch the last hour of sunlight! He dissappeared one last time and I didn't see him again over the course of the following 2 days I spent sitting there. An amazing encounter and gorgeous critter, just another reason why I love spending time in the woods! Take care and hope everyone had great holidays! View the full article

While walking up to a hidden spring in a rock crevice last week in Mexico I noticed a Coues deer tail and some guts floating in the pool of water! I crawled down into the rocky canyon and then noticed a freshly eaten back leg with a worn down buck hoof. With a stick I pulled the remains out of the water and figured it was the ranch owner who killed a deer and threw these parts in there. I had a trail camera pointed almost directly at this spot and hadn't checked it in almost a week so I figured I had pics of the rancher with this deer. I went back to the ranch house and loaded the pics on my laptop only to be completely amazed at what I saw! At first I noticed there were more Coyote pics than usual and then there was a pic that clearly explained everything! Instead of the rancher with a deer, I had a picture of 3 Coyotes killing a great Coues buck! Looking at the time frames of the pics you can tell that the unfortunate deer put up a fight for at least an hour and a half! For several days after this incident I would get pics of Coyotes traveling in and out of this canyon and leaving with chunks of deer meat in their mouths! I had to be home that next day after checking the camera so I couldn't go back and search for the rest of the carcass. My partners Scott and Santos went back and dug around in the pool of water but only pulled out a turtle. They also search the nearby area and still hadn't found the head yet but I'm sure we'll find it soon and I'll add the pics of it when I return. It's an amazing thing to catch this on camera and it really sucks to see it happen. I never thought much about the impact Coyotes have on older age class bucks but appearantly they are fair game just the same. Lions don't deserve all the credit people give them, these pics clearly show that Coyotes are just as efficient at killin' the trophy bucks! It's hard to see but this is actually a great buck, if you look closely you can see the long tined 4 point left side. These pics are in order as they happened, it's crazy how long the fight lasted, who knows how long it lasted off camera! It seems unfortunate but it's a rare glimpse of reality in the wild! View the full article

Hey guys, I was curious to see who's all going to Mexico this season? How many of you usually go but have decided not to go this year or anymore because of the problems down there? I'm headin' down for my first trip tomorrow and I'm so excited I can't sleep at night! I've been getting scouting reports from my ranchers and the buck I missed last Jan., named "Amigo" which is close to or just over 130", has been seen several times very recently as well as 2 others that have been said to be similar in size!!! I've got some serious issues deep inside me about that missed shot and we are gonna work hard to make sure I at least get to put my hands on that buck! I doubt I'll be the one to kill it because I'm only carrying my bow but we'll see what happens, my rifle will be there and I've been known to get excited and throw lead when I shouldn't....and known to NOT throw lead when I SHOULD! My story from last Jan. explains all that Here's a couple bucks most of you have already seen, but this is the reason for my lack of sleep recently AND.... I hope this never happens again, but he's a cool buck regardless, you should've seen what this Javalina sized midget looked like on the hoof! Lastly, this is where I'll be sitting on Friday morning and if this dude walks out he's gettin' shafted! (date is wrong, and was actually late Jan '10)

I was looking at those pics and thought both those guys looked very familiar and just figured it out! I met Hunter in San Carlos, MX last summer and just met Dave 2 weeks ago! Great guys and no surprise they put down such a great buck! Congrats to you Hunter on a fantastic archery buck!!! JIM>

It is true that now the hides have to be thawed out for inspection at the border. Another fact is that to be considered an "official certificate", you have to have a paper with the ranch name and info on the letterhead! That paper has to have it stated and signed by you and the ranch owner, that the cape had been frozen for 24 hours and found to be free of ticks. Also, make sure your tag has the same ranch name on it as your letterhead, sounds silly but check just to make sure We had a bunch of forms printed up with the ranch name and info in the letterhead just for this reason and so we have them on hand to be signed by the hunters and ranch owner. I'm one of the many who lost a cape at the border last year because they didn't have a clue about the law changes or how to enforce em! It's smart to call the border regularly and especially before crossing with a cape to verify you meet the current requirements and to make sure no changes were made to the laws while you were down there! I wish I had called last year, it's been hard to find a "Dwarf" Coues cape to replace the one they trashed! Be safe and smart and good luck! JIM>

I'm never in the outdoors without my 8.5x42 El's hangin' off my neck! My thinking is there isn't a big enough difference between the 10x and 15x to justify carrying the weight of both. There is however a big difference between the 8.5x and 15x to justify wearing the smaller, easier to use 8's and carrying the 15's in the pack. When I first sit down to glass I start with my 8.5's, regardless of how far I'm glassing, because I can see more country faster and better in low light conditions. I then use the 15's to pick it apart. On days where I'm feeling ambitious or if I have a buddy willing to carry it, I'll back up the 15's with the 80mm spotter to really pick it apart....especially on early season coues hunts. Like Chef said, the smaller 8's better for neck wear because they are quicker to use, easier to stay on the subject and will have the least amount of visible movement. If you don't carry 2 pairs of binos, then either the 10x or the 12x is fine, but definitely have a tripod system for them to use when you are sitting.