Couestracker

I volunteered to help Amanda with last seasons deer contest. We are trying to wrap this up soon and get prizes awarded. PM's were sent out to those of you who posted a hunt story within the original February 15th 2014 deadline for entries. I am trying to finalize the entries, so if you received a PM about entering yours or a close relative's buck and still want to be entered, please send me via PM the following information: 1. The hunters name (and age if a youth hunt), relation to CWT member. 2. The link to the original posting. 3. The gross score of the buck and if it was a typical or non-typical. 4. Where the buck was taken - (Mexico, New Mexico or Arizona) We have several entries for most of the categories, but there still isn't one for smallest spike or youth archery, so get your kids involved in this contest if they were successful, as there are prizes involved for winners, not to mention that it's fun! Thank you, Tommy

Congratulations to Mark, Kathi, TJ, Mike and all the other winners! Great job by all.

I put mine on top of my gun safe after I sign them. One year I went to tag my turkey and it wasn't signed and I didn't have a pen. I dipped a twig in turkey blood and signed it. I kept that tag!

That totally rocks!! Are those Merriams or Goulds? Great longbeards either way. Thanks for sharing that with the site.

This is a great oportunity for anyone interested in learning predator hunting. FREE weekend seminar up in the cool country. Wanting to get as many youth hunters involved as possible. Adult novice hunters welcome as well. Registration required, 70 novice hunter limit. Put on by Phoenix Varmint Callers Inc., with lots of help from Youth Outdoors Unlimited (Y.O.U.), Arizona Elk Society, Arizona Game a Fish just to name a few. This camp will be the largest organized camp ever! Everyone in attendance will be fed Friday night and all Saturday meals plus Sunday breakfast. PVCI is raffling a gun, a Rossi break - open action with 20 Guage and .22 long rifle barrels, to anyone joining the Club for the first time at the event. Mentors needed to help take out novice hunters Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning. All mentors and camp staff will be entered for a raffle of a custom combo kife set made and donated by John Toner of Continental Divide Knives. Way too much info to be listed here. See PVCI Home page http://pvci.org/PVCI_Home_Page.html for more info and link to registration, map and directions on Y.O.U. website.

Looks awesome! Congratulations on getting your son's archery bear on the wall.

Congratulations on your bear! Enjoyed the good recap of your hunt. Sounds like fun but a ton of work I know.

That's pretty cool! Great idea for sure.

Great cinnamon bear! Huge congratulations on an awesome hunt. Had to have been scary walking in there in the dark looking for a possibility wounded bear. Glad you nailed him good and that you were able to find him right away. Cool you had friends come to help get him out. What mount are you going to do?

Thank you Keith for an excellent presentation, very informative and interesting. Everyone really enjoyed it and PVCI is grateful to you for your time. A CWT member won the Savage Axis .308 scoped rifle in our monthly gun raffle! I'll let him identify himself if he so choses.

Awesome trip and pics! Surf and turf dinner coming up! One of these days........Thanks for sharing your vacation with us.

The knives are made by PVCI Life Member John Toner, who owns Continental Divide Knives (http://www.cdknives.com/). John is an awesome guy and he is very generous not only to PVCI, but to other hunting organizations. He makes PVCI 20 knives each hunting season, then the Club awards them to the top hunters/callers/shooters (12 categories) at the end of the season. The remainder of the knives go to Club members who participated in the Club hunts, and are determined by drawing raffle tickets. One raffle ticket for each registered hunter per hunt (1 each month), plus each team (or hunter) gets extra tickets if they made one of the 3 places (1st, 2nd or 3rd place) for that hunt, based on score of animals harvested. I have won 2 knives so far. One at our Annual Campout & Bar-B-Que, and one as a participant in the season hunts. John also makes the Club knives for several Annual Club events, then we sell $1 raffle tickets and draw the winning ticket at the event. Also John usually make one for our Christmas fund raising auction, so that one is either sold by live or silent auction. So, how can you get a John Tonner knife you ask? Well, you can buy one direct (check out his website), or join PVCI and come hunting with us to have a good chance at one by raffle, or come up to the George Knox Memorial Predator Hunting Boot Camp, either as a mentor or camp help, because a set of Johns knives will be awarded to one lucky person at the camp by raffle. The boot camp is a lot of fun, we need mentors, kids want to learn hunting skills, everyone gets fed all weekend......it's a win-win situation! Thanks for reading! Tommy.

Hey, don't miss the bear calling seminar featuring Kidso tonight at PVCI meeting.

F O P Lodge #2 on 19th Ave just north of Cactus, 7pm.

No RV required. Meeting from 7 to 10. Keith will be about 7:30 till ?

Our August 5th Club meeting will feature Keith Idso, Kidso on CWT, giving a seminar on bear calling and hunting. Keith has called in over 2 dozen bears in 24+ years using only hand calls, and has graciously agreed to share his knowledge and experience with us. Plus PVCI will be raffling a Savage Axis in .308 Win, camo synthetic stock and 3x9x40 scope. Tickets are $5 each or 5 for $20. You do not need to be a Club member (or join) to attend the meeting or participate in the raffle. The winning ticket will be drawn near the end of the meeting. Meeting is at the F.O.P.Lodge #2, on 19th Ave just north of Cactus Rd at 7pm. See http://www.pvci.org/#2687 for details.

Hey, don't miss Kidso's bear calling seminar tonight at PVCI's meeting!

On my 2012 New Mexico turkey hunt the birds were quiet-if there were any there to begin with-just couldn't locate any in the usual areas. I decided to go down a narrow canyon that had an intermittent flowing creek, as I've had luck there in the past. I hiked in well before first light and I setup about a mile and a half down the canyon, where a couple of side creeks joined up. As the sky got lighter, yelping with various calls into the otherwise silent woods, I realized I was less than 100 yds from where I took my first New Mexico turkey. Then I thought I heard something. I returned a yelp and heard it again. Couldn't tell what it was, but it was up on the Mesa above me and a long ways away. I kept calling, and then the sound got distinguishable.....it was a gobbler! Slowly but surely, he got louder and closer - he's coming in! The canyon bottom was narrow, and climbed steeply up to where the bird was coming from, but I picked this spot because it rolled off the Mesa down to the creek at a small drainage. As the turkey gets louder and closer, I'm looking up at the ridge line through the thin foliage and tree branches. And then I see him! As I watch him following the descending ridge, he walks behind a fallen log, so I better positioned myself to where I figure he's going to hit the creek bottom, get my shotgun up on a knee, then......nothing! I can't see him, I'm quiet, he's quiet, I wait longer than I thought it would take him to get down. I'm figuring that he's behind that log, so as I watch up there, I pickup a striker next to me and scratch out a yelp on my slate call. GOBBLE GOBBLE GOBBLE. Oh no, I see him, directly in front and above me and he's headed back up the hill - he saw my movement for sure. I was kicking myself, but thinking he's NOT getting away. I watch him through the brush as he's climbing the hill, then I look ahead of him and see a small opening in the brush. While he approached that opening, I spun around and got my shotgun aimed up there, it was about a 45 degree angle and 50 yards. He made the clearing and I made the shot....TOM DOWN! He actually rolled/flapped his way down the steep hillside to the creek bottom in front of me. He was a nice tom, weighed 17 pounds, had a 10 inch beard and only 1 spur.

Great collection of trophys and memories. Congratulations on your successes and your mind set.

Does anyone have a projector they would be willing to loan? It's for Phoenix Varmint Callers Inc, for our bear calling and hunting seminar, featuring Keith Idso (Kidso). Here's a link to the seminar details http://www.coueswhitetail.com/forums/user/736-couestracker/ We need one for our Tuesday night meeting. PM me if you can help. Thanks, Tommy.

Would've liked to been able to go. Have fun Ammon!

Nice pictures, thank you. Where do you go up north (approximately)?

Compare ballistics, you'll go with a .270WSM.

Thanks, but no, it's a Merriam's turkey. Ha ha, just kidding. It's a Browning Gold Hunter 12 Guage.

So glad to hear he's doing better. More prayers for a fast and full recovery.