COOSEFAN

Here's another cool buck, this one is actually from "North of the River"! My buddy Craig's wife "Corky" drew the early tag and did a great job holding out! She passed up a bunch of smaller bucks in hopes of getting a chance at a nice one....and it looks like she accomplished her goal! She used my trusty ol' .270 and while out practicing she did great with it and we knew she'd get the job done if a shot presented itself and she made a one shot kill! Great job and congrats to Corky on a great buck.......check out those eyeguards!!!

Here's the biggest one I've had my hands on. I seriously thought this one was in the 20+ pound range but never weighed it so who knows, it sure felt every bit of 20+ pounds! I think bobcats are just like bears and lions, you really need a prickly pear cactus, a barrel cactus or something else of consistent, predictable size near them to have a better chance at evaluating size.....they all look big and big ones look even bigger, especially on the hoof.......er...Paw!

Great job, hunting hard and doing all you can do to make an ethical one shot kill on a great buck, my hat's off to you!!!! JIM>

Howdy all, I've been hoping to see more success pics and stories from the 35's but there really hasn't been much. Who all hunted down there and what was your thoughts about the water, grass, heat and pressure where you hunted? With the scouting I have done so far, I am concerned with the obsticles that i can foresee for this next hunt....definitely have my work cut out for me it seems! The grass in the area I plan to hunt is unbelievably tall and thick, there is water in dang near every canyon and very little is hitting the numerous water sources in the area. Not interested in locations, just general info on success and thoughts from those who have hunted there this year! Thanks, JIM>

I think it's funny to read your post, 'cause I just read a different post that illustrated very well why I'd rather see guys "sighting in" their rifles at the range, rather than in the feild at an animal! Again, at least they were at the range and it's probably not a bad thing that they were "really" making sure it was sighted in! Sorry to hear it ruined your time though, incidents like that are why I take my "nut-giggler" out to my own private range out in the desert! JIM> That is hilarious.....I think I just finally found the name of my new gun!

ditto

Quote: Didn't see any deer, and no tracks at any of the springs and tanks I saw. This surprised me as the country I was in looked excellent for deer. I didn't do a lot of hard glassing, but thought I would have bumped into something in the course of the day. WELCOME TO ARIZONA We definitely have more country than deer here in AZ, you got your first taste of that! Great job on your first outting! JIM>

Congrats to you guys, thats wild that one is still in full velvet, especially being as big as he is! Definitely looks like the start of a successful "Cast N' Blast" operation right there, save those pic's for the brochure Great job. JIM>

Hey all, I had to bring this thread back up, I've got 19 days before my hunt and i'm losing more and more sleep with each passing day! I've got one coues hunt starting next week and as soon as the backing is peeled off that tag, I'll be headin' north.........so I can start doing my "Snow Dance"! Anybody know if the indians have a "snow" version of their "Rain Dance"? I might need them to start doing it Anyways, here's another addition to the Muley pics. I got to help my buddy Travis on a muley hunt last week. It's a tough, mid-state unit with lots of hunters for both deer and elk at the same time. Travis and my bro n' law had gotten this buck on trailcam in the velvet and we all had hopes he was still in the area. On the evening of the 3rd day I was lucky enough to be looking in the right spot as this buck's rack came into veiw at about 3/4 mile away. He and two smaller bucks had been hunkered down in a small cut but made the mistake of coming out 45 min. before dark to feed. Jimmy (bro n' law) and Travis hauled over 2 ridges to finally get within 220 yards and Travis hammered his largest muley to date! The buck was aged to be around 9 1/2 yrs old by G&F and had awesome character and mass, his body was huge and dwarfed the other bucks by quite a bit! Great practice for my hunt for sure, i can't freakin' wait! JIM>

I hate going down there alone, matter of fact, I was supposed to go this week to check cams and I chickened out! I was supposed to go to the 35's and an area that is known for the drug traffic.....even had a shootout near us last year! When I do have to go alone I take an enclosed utility trailer and I keep all my gear in it and sleep in it also. My trailer has no windows and is fully enclosed, I use ratcheting tie-downs attached to the inside of the back door and lock myself inside it at night. The side door I keep padlocked. Several years ago a buddy and I had an illegal knocking on the door.....that was not cool at all!!! It's always best to have company with ya and pack a side arm, I camp on top of ridges and not in the washes, I also look for an area that is wide open with no thick vegetation close to camp if possible. We have never had a problem, some encounters, but never any problems, never anything messed with or stolen, I think those incidents are rare but I also feel that it depends on how far you are from the border. I have always thought that the farther you are from the border, the more desperate the illegals are and the more drastic the measures they'll take.....BUT, probably higher chances of drug smugglers closer to the border?!?!Best of luck to ya. JIM>

Congrats on a great buck! I was planning on using my Prowler or Rhino to haul in a camp for next weeks coues hunt, and I guarantee my machines would take 2 or 3 trips to haul as much gear as you have in one trip in your Ranger.......just shows how tough those Rangers are! Great job, JIM>

Heck yeah, the Kauffman boys are whackin' some bucks this year! Great job Braden and way to go Richie, congrats to both of ya! JIM>

Gorgeous buck, great job on what sounds like a great hunt! I know what ya mean about the Lions, I witnessed a similar thing last year. I watched a big female carry one cub in her mouth while the other cub tried to follow mamma as she jumped boulder to boulder down a mountain! The little cub in her mouth was swingin' like crazy each time she jumped down and the one following could never quite make the jumps, he would put all he had into the jumps but would dissappear between the boulders when he didn't make it! Very few individuals get to witness stuff like that and definitely something you won't forget! JIM>

Heck, I think yer smokin' somethin', that buck aint any bigger than 55"..... If ya zoom in on the pic you can see there's still milk drippin' from his lower lip, actually, now that i see it better, I think I see spots on the little dude! That oughtta light the fire under ya......gettem' killed so we can see what he really is.......I'd shoot em' JIM>

For reference I've been looking at my "big duece" and since I couldn't remember exactly, I just scored him again and came up with 76 6/8". For comparison here it is....mine is 11 6/8" wide inside and 14" on the total outside, which i got from just below the tips of the G2's.

Whoo hooo! That's what I need right there.....a big ol' muley success story! (Sorry guys, this Kaibab tag is doing funny things to me, all I think about is muleys.....and I have a coues hunt to get through first.......DANGIT! ) Way to go Jason, you earned that one and what a gorgeous buck it is! Congrats, JIM>

dang TJ, that is a HOG of a buck! That is awesome that you got to share those experiences with your pappy....and the whole time he was whisperin in your ear, that is just cool! Great job on two awesome trophies! JIM>

Great job! How was it glassing in that freakin' tall grass? I'll be down there a bunch here in a few days and I'm not looking forward to playing in the grass, last time I was down there it was up to 5 feet tall in some areas!!! Congrats to you both! JIM>

Very sorry to hear about that Scotty, my prayers and thoughts are for you and Jacob's family.

Chef, my mind is making out a good buck at 2 o'clock from your circle and about 3-5 yards?. The size of the ocotillos gives a little bit of reference to the size of the critter we are looking for. I still don't know if what I'm seeing is antlers or not, but it sure looks like it! JIM>

What I see is a deer's head looking to the right.....does appear to be a buck and a big buck at that! Could just be branches though, but what my eyes make out is enough to get the heart pumpin! Am I gettin' excited over a bush with a well placed branch?

I just got a pic emailed to me and just knew I'd seen the buck before.......now I know where! Hey Buckoff, the "in the feild" pic really shows how good this buck really is, see if your buddy would post it up for the rest of the "coues-nuts" here to admire!?! I can post it too if that's easier but need his permission first. Outstanding buck, I wouldn't mind not seeing anything else...as long as a buck like this showed up!!! Congrats to your buddy! JIM>

The other ranges in the areas are severely lacking in water. Ditto lot of springs in the WTanks

Heck yeah! Way to go Garrett, awesome job getting close and making a perfect shot.....you'd be surprised how hard it is for most of us adults to do what you did, I'm definitely proud of ya! Same to you Joe, outstanding job gettin' the kids out and sharing a once in a lifetime experience with your son, freakin' awesome!!! JIM>

Yeah, i've killed a few smaller bucks up there with a rifle, one was up towards the towers but that was when Caterpillar owned the area where Verrado is now, I had permission to hunt it with a rifle at that time and was too trigger happy...should have held out Several buddy's have killed nice bucks with archery up there but it's a very tough hunt. I've always said you'll find less spooky deer in any of the surrounding units, those mountains see more pressure than any desert unit I've ever seen! You would think there would be less pressure, but even in the nastiest, farthest place you can find up there, there is always somebody walking, riding, or hunting through it! Hundreds of folks pound that single mountain range every season and a lot of them are hiking fools, and they do kill a few good bucks. The Lion was with dogs and was not killed.......she almost took an arrow though This was killed up close to the top.........dang, I forgot how sexy I use to be And this one was killed in the flats..... Here's one of the hardest earned piggies I've killed.....way up on top.....almost not worth it