COOSEFAN

That's a great buck, very nice! Congrats! JIM>

Thanks for the great write-up Kurt and for the kind words! I've gotta say, Grant seriously impressed me while on this hunt! I've helped youngsters in the past and have been fortunate they were all good while in the feild with a rifle, but Grant could seriously teach some older more experienced folks a thing or two!!! Be watching for many more critters to fall in the future with Grant behind the rifle! My plan for this hunt was to avoid the mobs of hunters and try hard to help Grant get the full experience of the hunt. I've been on these hunts before where you have people racing you to the elk, road hunting from dawn to dusk, or worse, shooting over your head!! I didn't want Grant to see any of those things on this hunt so we decided to hunt the hardest elk in the unit and earn our trophy the hard way! Grant was a trooper and seriously never complained once! We had countless amazing experiences, got to "catch and release" one cow with a clean miss, and then Grant took his trophy with a perfect shot on a tough target! It was a breath of fresh air and a pleasure to hunt with Grant on this hunt... he never once asked me what the cow would score or if it'll make the record book! It was all about the experience and the hunt Congrats again buddy, you did an amazing job and we were all impressed with your skill, talent and character! JIM>

Awesome job and awesome pics!!! Congrats on a great hunt! JIM>

Great job and great write up! I've had the pleasure of working on a bull absolutely covered in mud and that's not even close to being fun! Congrats on a nice bull! JIM>

Way to go, huge congrats to him and your family for helping him achieve the success! Awesome! JIM>

I've had no problem making my elk cams work for me but I've come to realize that I have no clue how to successfully use cams for coues!!! It's embarrassing to admit but I figured it was time to ask for help. I've tried twice before in different southern units, both times including this last time I used 4 or 5 cams and let them soak for at least 3 weeks. I've used salt, trophy rock, or apple/persimmon buck lickers and/or jam. I've never put them on water but I always had them on existing trails to water or in saddles between canyons. My goal has only been to see what the trophy potential is in certain areas and it's been one of the more frustrating things I've tried! Recently I had 3 cams located in a small 1 square mile area. This area has several water sources and I had a camera 1/4 mile from each source on the heaviest trails. I hunted this area last year and between 2 hunts saw several 100" class or better bucks and multiple bucks ranging from 70-100"class. Those 2 hunts last year were the 1st and 2nd hunt so I had high hopes that these same bucks spent their summers in this spot. After letting those 3 cams soak for 3 weeks I had thousands of pics.....skunks, pigs, illegals, BPatrol, cows and a handful of does with only 1 spike buck!!! WHAT THE HECK! I initially thought the bucks just werent there but later I glassed the area at first light and found one of the 100"+ bucks and several smaller bucks very close to my cam locations! Why am I not getting the bucks? Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated! Here's pics of the setups I had recently in that area I described....... And here is the only buck pic I've gotten after 3 weeks!

Sorry for not postin anything, been a busy season as usual! I haven't been home much in the past several months and I'm actually in the elk woods right now! Sittin on top of a glassin knob sweatin my tail off but it's a great place to be! Helping my friends Kurt and Grant with Grant's Jr. Cow tag and we've had a blast so far. Seen tons of elk, been successful in avoiding the crowds and even called in a nice bull to 21 yards this AM! Grant got to experience his first "stare-down" with that bull for over a minute! I'll post a video clip when I get home but I have back to back hunts till November sometime so bear with me! Ha, I just glassed up 2 whitetail does, c'mon cows! JIM.

Fantastic buck Doug!!! I loved the pics and the story, great job! JIM>

Great job Butters!!! I love the pic with you and Heidy, you'll have that picture for a LONG time I'm sure! That's a hunt of a lifetime bro, having your family there to share in the experience is awesome! Congrats, great job workin' that bull and gettin em' killed and thanks for the write-up! JIM>

Great job on the great bulls!!! JIM>

Wow, thanks a ton for all the great advice!!!! I've only had the salt/minerals out for 3 weeks on the last set. I fully expected a slow start but figured by placing the cams on the trails I would get the bucks as they went to water. I seriously glassed up a great buck not 200 yards from one of my cameras and didn't have a single picture of him, or any others for that matter! That camera is situated in a saddle between 2 north facing bedding areas and on a trail to the closest water! I thought for sure it would produce even if they didn't want the salt because I'd still get them traveling. Everything you've all said so far makes perfect sense, even the culverts Mike! LOL! Thanks and keep it coming, this is all great info! JIM>

+1 I've got that glorified sock also on my 80mm and have put it thru some serious abuse. It's tough and durable and has held up nicely. I also have a padded case from Crooked Horn that holds a tripod as well. It's bulky but I'm sure it's considerably less expensive and it doubles as a nice butt-pad too. JIM>

My 36a experience is limited, but like has been said before, find a spot to gain as much elevation as possible and glass. Probably the best advice is to have patience! I would try my best to position myself so that I'm facing South looking into North facing slopes, even if its small drainages in the flats, anywhere that is shaded most of the day is a great spot to find a buck! Have patience and stay confident, there are bucks there even if you don't see em' at first. The patience part comes in handy when you've sat there all day and the other hunters that weren't patient enough start moving around. Those hunters will push deer, knowingly and unknowingly, around and possibly in front of you. Best of luck and welcome to the site, make sure to post the story of your hunt! JIM>

That's a crazy story man! Great job keeping your cool and even better job finishing the deal with your buck! Congrats, JIM>

92 lbs. JIM>

Great job Tracy! I think I just missed ya at Bret's shop, he said you were dropping a bear off that night. Congrats! JIM>

Great bucks and great video! Thanks for posting! JIM>

I would be happier shooting a smaller bull on the last day of a tough and exciting hunt rather than a bigger bull on opening morning! The memories, experience and overall satisfaction is that much better if you stay on for the full ride! Huge congrats to you on a great bull and great hunt! I love the polished lines and tips on that rack, Awesome! JIM>

Wow, my first full day back home with my wife, just got home from church and this is the first story I read on here, talk about icing on top of a great day! That is a great bull, especially from that unit and a great story about the hunt with your wife! Congrats on the bull and the experience you both had! I'm glad you got to meet my friends Brian and Scott on your hunt, I know they were excited to help you because that's what they love doing! It's refreshing to read a positive story, thanks very much for sharing the experience with us and congrats again on a great bull!!! JIM>

Howdy folks, I'm finally back from spending 3 weeks in some of the best coues country I've ever hunted! I've got hundreds of pics and countless stories from my experiences these past few weeks, I'll try to keep it brief and illustrate my favorite events! I didn't have the money to hunt for myself this year but i knew that if I found a giant i could use my guide wages to pay for the tag and my rifle was with me everywhere i went! My client was to show up during the 2nd week so the first week was used to scout and learn new ranches. It was during this time that I made the biggest mistake I've ever made in my coues hunting career. While on a new ranch and with my mexican partner and the non-english speaking ranch owner, we were driving when all of a sudden the biggest and heaviest 3 point coues I've ever seen alive runs across the trail in front of us! I screamed "Grande!" repeatedly as I slammed the truck into park while it was still rolling, and all in the same motion I jumped out with my rifle and ran up the hill 20 yards to get a clear lane. I made a noise to stop the buck broadside, my crosshair was resting solid on his shoulder and I started applying pressure on the trigger! It was at this moment that I had second thoughts on what I was doing, I for some reason thought I needed the ranchers permission to take this deer! I let off, looked at my partner and the ranch owner who were leaning out the window of the truck watching the buck. I tried to call my partner but he couldn't hear me so I got back on the buck who is still broadside at 120 yards. I started to pull the trigger again and just felt like I needed to hear one of my friends give me the OK to take em! I now yelled at my friend and said "I'm gonna take em'" and this time he looked at me and said "WHY YOU NO SHOOT JEEM"??? By now I'm losing my composure but I get back on the buck just as he turns and trots straight away. I almost let it fly at this point but thought he would turn and he never did has he completely dissappeared in a small cut. I was extremely sick to my stomach especially after looking at the ranchers face and hearing that he thought I was crazy for not shooting! I set up above the cut and had my friends do a push which did push the buck out but he never stopped for a shot and the distance was too far for a moving shot so I passed. I marked the trail he went up and found the water source he had come from which was a small pool in the ravine below where this all took place. I set a camera and a blind and returned the next day with my bow and rifle. The next day I crawled in the blind before light and only had a doe come in so before dark I took off with my rifle to see if I could locate em. I was walking down the ravine and found another small hidden pool of water with huge fresh buck tracks and kicked myself for not checking that spot out earlier. I walked up out of the ravine to the exact spot where the event happened the day before and a giant buck jumped out of his bed and trotted up the ridge. I noticed this was a different buck with very light colored antlers and extra points with one kicker off the right side. I ran around trying to find a rest for my gun because the brush was too tall to take a knee and being surrounded by occotillo I was left with freehanding the gun. The problem was that even though I stopped him less than 100 yards uphill from me, the sun was blazing right over his back and through my scope! I tried to shade the gun but couldn't hold still enough so I found his rack in the orange blur, dropped my crosshair to where I believed center mass would be and touched it off.......CRACK! I could hear the rock explode above him and instantly knew I missed. Dropping the rifle, I used my binoculars with my hat blocking the sun, to make certain he wasn't hit and watched as he sneaked his way up the same exact trail that the giant dark horned buck took the day before. After he dissappeared I got on his trail, followed it out to make sure he wasn't hit and then went back and put another camera on the new water I found. I let the area rest for the 3rd day and came back with a vengeance on the 4th day! I was going to kill one of these bucks no matter how many days it took and the embarrassment from the first two days was eating me alive! I had my buddy Travis and my other friend Santos do a push from below and I sat across with my "Coues Cannon" ready to go. Right away I found the dark horned buck sneaking up the insanely thick mountain. I could tell the frame was big and he's on the same trail as before so this is it, I'm not gonna mess up again! While yelling to get the buck to stop I was ranging and adjusting my turret but he would never stop. Soon the distance was getting too far and he wasn't stopping and my frustrations were mounting big time! I watched as he neared the top of the mountain and then turned broadside and stopped. I ranged em' repeatedly at 756 yards, spun my turret up, deducted a few clicks for the angle, noticed the wind was non-existent, held firm with the crosshairs well within his body and squeezed....BOOM.......................................................WHOP! The gun came off the rest but as soon as I heard that WHOP I spun my 15's on the spot and could see his back leg kicking at the sky!!! WHOOOOHOOOOO!!!! I couldn't believe it, I just possibly killed the largest buck I've ever seen! I had tears in my eyes and called my friends over to witness the view I had and make our mental markers on where the buck was laying. It was too late to hike up there that night so we went to the ranch and returned the next day. Here's the veiw from where I shot from. The buck was just down from the top on the right side of the skyline. So, the next day, full of excitement, we crawled our way to the top and the first thing I could see was the back half of my buck laying there and It was then that my heart sank! What I was looking at was the smallest coues body I'd ever seen in person! I walked around to see the head and sure enough he was half the size I thought he was and to make it worse he didn't even have a G3 on one side! I was embarrassed and upset that it wasn't the buck I thought it was, but hey, it's still a nice buck and was my best shot ever so I was happy. I just can't believe how small his body was and how much that body made his rack look so much bigger. I picked that buck up, ungutted, with one hand easily and I would bet he wasn't much more than 50 pounds on the hoof! Here he is, the mistake buck. On our way out I checked that camera and here's a pic of a buck that I didn't recognize at the time. Remember this pic as you will later find out why. I would have sworn this is a good buck but never would have guessed based off this pic how good of a buck he actually was...especially prior to breaking! So, now my client shows up and I'm excited because I've got 2 jumbo coues bucks that I know are at least mid 120's that I want him to kill. On his first day out, in the same place I killed my buck and messed up on the 2 giants, I immediately glassed up the giant dark horned buck that I didn't shoot. My heart again sank as I immediately recognized him and saw he was broken bad and was missing 2 points! The broken buck on my trailcam was indeed the monster and he had lost two tines only a day or two after I passed him. My client and I sat there and watched this buck that is now named the "Heartbreaker" for obvious reasons, for 7 hours before finally deciding that even broke he'll still score high and he can be fixed. That buck had a single hot doe and we watched him do anything and everything a big coues buck does in his daily life during the rut and that was awesome! My client made a single shot at 380 yards with my "Coues Cannon" putting him down quick and words cannot describe what it was like to hold that rack for the first time! Here's Troy with the Heartbreaker buck which still scores 117" even after missing 16-18" of tines! OK, so now you all know I'm stupid and I was informed I probably shouldn't tell what I did, but oh well, I still got to put my hands on em' and my client was ecstatic to have em' so it's all good. I guarantee I'll make sure I know what type of buck I'm shooting at next time! Now that Troy was done on the first day we decided to try for a second buck on a different ranch that we had heard about. The first day there we got rained out so we were at our glassing knob early on the second day. It was raining again and just as we were getting packed up to head out I saw a giant buck trailing a doe directly across from as at just over 200 yards. This buck was a straight up 4 point, incredible length, mass, width and his beams looked like they almost touched! I freaked out, told Troy "shoot, shoot", but Troy couldn't see through my scope because of the rain and fog on the lenses! I stopped the buck repeatedly from 230 yards on out to 340 yards before he finally dissappeared and no shot was fired! Troy was upset as was I at our lost opportunity, but we weren't done! We took off, climbed a huge mountain to get a good vantage and shortly there after I glassed up a different great framed buck! I studied em' hard and knew he was considerably smaller than the buck we were trying to relocate, but this was a stallion of a buck and the decision was made that he was good enough! I ranged em' at 385 yards, Troy laid prone with the Coues Cannon and smacked em' high above the spine. The buck stumbled into the trees and bedded. I finally relocated him at 351 yards and with a small hole to shoot through Troy laid the smackdown on em' and he was down! This buck scores just over 112" regardless of smaller G3's!!! Here's Troy with his 2nd great buck in 4 days! Troy is one lucky feller and I'm jealous as heck of his Coues collection now but he's worked hard and deserves the success for sure! We hunted for Muleys for a few days and never seen a buck worthy so that was the end of my 2nd week. Next up, my brother Matt and good friend Wayne were headed down with there bows for a few days to try and whack their first archery bucks! I'm out of space here so I'll have to continue this in another post.....thanks for following along!

Hey folks, I was asked about my "impromptu" rifle rest on my bear thread and figured I'd show this video as it illustrates me using the same setup. It's not the best setup but it works on closer shots and is a good thing to keep in mind while hiking around. You never know when you will need to drop and shoot as fast as you can! Having your tripod pre-adjusted for a sitting, kneeling, or even standing shot will shave valuable seconds or even minutes off your setup and could make the difference between killin' and missin'! I usually hike around with my 15's or my EL's attached to the tripod so it's easy to set up and glass, but with those binos attached and the arm of the tripod adjusted right it can create a solid cradle for the rifle and still has some movement available from the head for positioning. This isn't anything fancy and you already have this available to you. It's just utilizing your tools better and being better at anticipating, being ready and increasing your odds when an unexpected opportunity arises! For longer shots I won't take a fast shot off this setup, I'll take more time to setup with a smaller tripod I use and something to support the rear of the gun. I also like to get as close to the ground as I can for longer shots to increase stability which is imperative and most important. Thinking ahead, anticipating and being ready for a shot can be a huge part in your success, just wanted to share this little tip with ya all and plus, the video is cool and I'm sure will get some of ya exicted for your upcoming hunts! Enjoy. JIM>

HA!! Pat my man glad to see your still kickin'! You remember exactly which trip that was huh! That was A LONG time ago! And yes, I still haven't been back! Fun trip, amazing one of a kind lake though, but I think you need to have some serious trout fishin' skills there or hit it on the right day....probably both! JIM>

Very possible, I grew up right there, actually back in the day when we'd shoot coyotes with deer rifles laid over the ditch along deer valley just west of 83rd! Use to be nothing but fields and orange groves around there and actually a deer or two in the hills just north of that! My parents still live at 88th and Deer Valley. Dad drives a new silver GMC that's lifted with a winch, I lately have been driving a white toyota with CWT.com sticker or a grey F-150 4dr.

What's up with all this "horse" talk man? You need a well broke Mule, nothing better for huntin'!

Me too, and he says he's eatin' all the other turkeys up there! I too was thinking the winter took out a bunch of birds. Last spring on my dad's hunt in 7w I was shocked at the lack of birds in my usual areas, no tracks, no sign of use on traditional roost sites, etc.. We moved long distances that we normally don't have to do in order to find birds. Maybe the birds are doing the same thing as the elk, there is feed everywhere so maybe they are just scattered and utilizing country they normally aren't in? Just my thoughts, JIM>