COOSEFAN

Awesome pics and story....and one heck of a beautiful bird! Congrats to you guys! JIM>

I'll send you a PM. JIM>

G+F called my buddy less than two weeks ago but it was for different reasons..........they asked him if he wanted a 7W Archery Bull tag!!!! They said he was next on the list and someone couldn't pay for their tag.....so they gave it to him! Lucky sob!!! I couldn't believe they were still working on the elk draw stuff! I guess that means there is STILL hope!!! JIM>

Now now boys.....it's all in fun Casey....I hope you put in for Muleys.......it will free up a chance for me to draw my Coues tag! I think more people should put in for Muleys JIM>

HOLEY CRAPP!!!! That's pretty much the "Holy Grail" your buddy just found! I couldn't imagine walking up on those! Thanks for posting, JIM>

I have seen a ton of the border crossers and have had a few run-ins as well. My thoughts are the closer to the border you are.....the less desperate the illegals are! Where I hunt, the illegals are fresh on the start of their journey into MY country, and usually have water and food, so they are more apt to avoid any contact. Several miles North and into some different units, I hear about alot more confrontations and I really beleive it's because they have run out of water, worn out, and alot more desperate! Shorty and I had an illegal walk right up shoulder to shoulder with us at a creek and fill his water bottles on our Oct. hunt last year! He was pretty desperate and seemed to be giving up, I'm pretty sure he wanted to go for a ride in the Rhino and eat our lunches! I also watched Bret (GTT) jump out of a trailer in his "whitey-tightey's" one morning with his pistol drawn because there was an illegal in camp! That time we were very close to the border and he was still stocked up for the trip and looked like he just started out. He just thought we were his "Coyote" and was waiting for us to throw him in the trailer and go! The trash is my biggest complaint overall, they've destroyed alot of country down there....but you can avoid the bad areas and still have a good hunt. I will not let them change my way of life and I will not give up hunting the country I love! You just have to be more alert and always take people with you.......I also never leave home or camp without my Glock on my side! JIM>

Well, I went out hiking again today after work. Hiked way in to the mountains and climbed up on a small rock knob to sit and glass for a while. I got up and just happened to glance down at the route I had taken to get up there, and instantly knew something was there that wasn't there before! Do you see it?

Hey W.T.K., THAT is a classy Turkey mount right there!!!! Beautiful! If you don't mind, who did that mount for you? Thanks, JIM>

Awesome story and Awesome bird! Congrats on a great hunt! Hey........by the way, where can I get one o' them "beanies"? That's a BADA$$$ BEANIE! "Seth, the bird, and me (gotta represent the local hommies )" Right on Bass! The beanie looks good on ya! JIM>

Casey, you won't regret buying the Leicas.....I know I said that, but I'm just a diehard Swaro fan.....the difference's in clarity and warranties are minor, but if you get a good deal on either one.....jump on it! Good luck to ya, JIM>

No.....the mountains I'm usually in don't have Sheep.......I believe there were Sheep back when the Indians lived there.....that's the main critter that they carved on the rocks...along with snakes and lizards! I'll get pictures one of these days of the rock carvings.

Hey Scotty.....check out the 8.5X42 EL's before you buy! Those along with the 15's is one deadly combo The clarity and detail in the 8.5's is AWESOME! JIM>

That was true, but at least with Swaro's I was told that they were doing away with the Outfitter deal. Don't know for sure, just what I was told. JIM>

I know they are somewhere close but I don't know really which mountains the Sheep are in. I have held the horns from a successful archery kill last year that came from somewhere close to my house.......that would be really cool to find an easy to get to spot to just run out and glass for Sheep, but I'm guessing there isn't anything "easy to get to"!!! JIM>

You are 100% correct.....most bites are to those idiots out there pokin' em and gettin' close for pic's! I'm proof of that and have a funny lookin' finger to show for it! I guarantee...if you guys saw the pic's before I cropped them and before I zoomed in with the camera you would see that I am actually at a safe distance when takin' pic's! Picking the suckers up is where they get ya......and I definitely DON'T do that anymore!!!

Hey DTB17....you are gettin' pretty darn good at your sales tactics.........this would have sold me! Casey.......it sounds as though you want us to say "go fer the Leicas"...........If YOU want the Leicas....go get em'! They would work just fine for ya...........but they aren't as good as the Swaro's I guarantee you will never regret owning a pair of Swaro 15X56's...........but you may regret NOT owning a pair JIM>

The snakes suck! There are so many places I want to hike to, but I'm afraid to because of the snakes. I've been going out trying to find the deer to see if they've dropped yet and the glassing I've been doing is mainly for sheds. I'm not able to get high enough in the hills to have a good chance at finding anything anyways, but it's better than sittin' at home.........plus I can be in the hills 10 minutes from my house, so it's cheap and easy. JIM> Jim- You live west side don't you? I live 10 minutes from those same snake infested hills. Yeah I live on the south side of the mountains west of the city. I have not seen any Sheep, but I know they are in the mountains just west of me.....I've been out a couple times trying to find em', but no luck. That will be my next endeavor because those mountains are only about 25 minutes from the house!

That is not fair Jim the closest I can go from my house to glass for deer and shed hunt is a 45 to 60 minute drive depending on traffice You know what, I have hunted a bunch by the house over the years, I've killed two bucks and a Javi out of there and I know where there are a bunch of sheds out there, but I have never had a desire to get very serious about it....even though it's so close. I don't get that excited finding Muley sheds ( unless they're huge ) the terrain sucks to say the least....it's better suited for Sheep and the main reason..........THERE ISN'T ANY COUES DEER! What you complainin' for Christian....YOU'VE got COUES DEER less than 1 hour from YOUR house! I used to know where there were some nice coues an hour away from my house before the fire went through but now I can only find the floppy eared deer in there and some javelina. I am sure they will move back into the area and are probably in there now but I just can't find them right now! Those aren't the Coues I was talkin' about.....head East! They are a little easier to find over there.

That was awesome! Thanks for sharing that with us!!! Congrats, JIM>

That is not fair Jim the closest I can go from my house to glass for deer and shed hunt is a 45 to 60 minute drive depending on traffice You know what, I have hunted a bunch by the house over the years, I've killed two bucks and a Javi out of there and I know where there are a bunch of sheds out there, but I have never had a desire to get very serious about it....even though it's so close. I don't get that excited finding Muley sheds ( unless they're huge ) the terrain sucks to say the least....it's better suited for Sheep and the main reason..........THERE ISN'T ANY COUES DEER! What you complainin' for Christian....YOU'VE got COUES DEER less than 1 hour from YOUR house!

I agree....If they try to get away from me or offer a fair warning....I'll let em' go....BUT, if they come after me ( sidewinders are notorious for that ) or don't give me a warning.....the lead will be flyin'!

The snakes suck! There are so many places I want to hike to, but I'm afraid to because of the snakes. I've been going out trying to find the deer to see if they've dropped yet and the glassing I've been doing is mainly for sheds. I'm not able to get high enough in the hills to have a good chance at finding anything anyways, but it's better than sittin' at home.........plus I can be in the hills 10 minutes from my house, so it's cheap and easy. JIM>

I had walked up through there only 20 minutes earlier, beating the bushes and rocks with my walkin' stick as I went, so I don't think he was there at that time. He probably saw me and decided he better come over and say HI before I left! Here are some zoomed in pic's and we'll call these the "As It Lay" pic's..... I actually hesitated going down there to take "Pisssssed" pic's of him because it was so steep with lots of brush and stuff.......but...It was the only way down! It got kinda scary when he started flopping around and striking because we were in such close quarters, but I snapped the pic's anyways and got the heck outta there! This is a Western Diamondback and had some cool characteristics in his patterns close to his head and had a pretty pinkish color....but, in the end....it's still a dang Rattler! And this is where I left him... And as I headed out I took a quick pic of the sunset, thought it looked pretty cool. Thanks, JIM>

I'm jealous as heck! As much as I hate to say it..........I can now "kinda" see why you love Texas better than Arizona Awesome pics and birds...congrats! JIM> P.S. Isn't there ton of Rattlers out there? Is that an issue to worry about with all that ground cover this time of year? Thanks, JIM>

Way to go Troy! Thank you for sharing your experience with us and the awesome pictures! A huge congratulations to you and your father! JIM>