It's Game Time!

[Ernesto C]

Best of luck to you on the hunt, sure wish I had an opportunity like that!

 

And may you have even more luck getting across the border. My Dad hunts Mexico for Coues every year and there's always a new story of him nearly going to jail trying to get his rifle and ammunition across the line...

 

Your dad must be doing something wrong or his outfitter? There should be no problems crossing the border with your properly fill out gun transportation permits.

I have help lots of people cross the border with their guns for several years now and absolutly no problems at all, 5 minutes is all it takes.

 

I completly agree with Tim and Amanda.

 

Send me a PM let me know what's going on and maybe I can help your dad or make some sugestions to him.

 

Ernesto C

 

[daryl_s]

I'm excited for you guys that are going. One of these years I'll make it down there to hunt. Good luck and have fun.

[TAM]

Phil should be reporting back on the 18th or 19th. Hopefully they have some good stories and pictures. I'm leaving now to meet up with Josh, Gail, and Mike. We should be able to report back on the 22nd or 23rd.

 

Adios!!!

[joeybari]

good luck have fun but dont drink the water

[cramerhunts]

Well I made it back from the first actual hunting trip down to the ranch on Friday night. My hunting partner Jim (RUT) and other buddy Mike spent seven gorgeous days looking for big bucks. We had wonderful weather with cold nights and mornings with warm days.

 

 

 

 

We averaged 20 to 30 deer per day with 5 to 7 being bucks. I couldn't have asked for a better first trip with maybe the exception of a big buck hitting the dirt. We didn't see any rutting activity but I don't think it's too far off as some of the bucks were beating up trees and hanging around some of the does.

 

Tall Buck with Does

 

I didn't find anything that I wanted to end my hunt on yet but with Mike not being able to go back down he took a real nice 3x3 on the next to the last day.

 

 

 

Josh, Tim, Gail, and Mike all got down on Thursday and boy was it hard to watch them load up to hunt on Friday morning but I'll be heading back the day after Christmas to give it another go. I hope that they have a good as trip as I did but come home with some big bucks! I can't wait to hear from them as soon as they cross the border!

 

On a side note we had no trouble getting our guns across the border both ways just like always.

 

[Red Rabbit]

Looks like some great country. Hope y'all pull some nice bucks out of there as the rut nears.

 

Doug~RR

[Ernesto C]

Cool looking buck! Congratulations to Mike and hope the rest do really good down there.

 

Ernesto C

[ultra300mag]

We entered Mexico on December 12 and came back out on Dec 17. I can say that it took us much longer to get back out than it did to get in. The Military check in took about 1/2 hour and went very well. Coming back out the line took us 2 hours to get to the check point and one hour after we got there. Our capes had thawed slightly and it took four guys to make the decision that they needed to go to a registered taxidermist. We would have had no problems if Nasser would have stayed inside. We had this same guy last year and it seems the main thing he has heartburn with is the UMA number to be on the Fish and Wildlife form. When the US Fish and Wildlife guy checked them and the forms he said they looked ok but Nasser kept telling him they were not filled out correctly. We were also some of the first to come out with the new tags that were put in place this year and that seemed to cause a little confusion. All in all is was not that bad to deal with for the great hunt and experience we had. I guess I need to get back onto my Rosetta Stone and learn the language a little better for next year. Worth the time it took for sure.

[Ernesto C]

Going in to Mexico is never been a problem (at least in my experience) Coming back to the U.S. is where sometimes we have delays but not because of the hunters or because of their paper work; is because the guys from the USFWS and the Dept. of Agriculture dont know what to look for or what to do with the paper work.

I think the USFWS and the USDA need to have more and better communication with the SEMARNAT and PROFEPA and get familiar with tags and documents hunters will bring across the border.

I a couple of occasions I had to show them ( the USFWS and USDA) how to fill out the forms and told them which copies I need to keep and which ones they need to keep. For this reason and since that day, I always make sure I have (and the hunters that are with me) all the paperwork ready with extra copies for them; to make their job easier and the process faster.

 

There are two ways to bring your cape back in to the U.S.: One is frozen (cape must be in a freezer for at least 24 hrs.) And the other is by a certified and approved VET. from SEMARNAT, this method is sometimes faster and easier specially if you kill your buck at the end of your hunt or if you cant wait 24 hrs to freeze the cape. Some outiftters include this service in the cost of the gun permit.

 

Ernesto C

[soazarcher]

NASSER is a Nightmare!!!

 

I feel your pain.

[Antlerdog]

Going in to Mexico is never been a problem (at least in my experience) Coming back to the U.S. is where sometimes we have delays but not because of the hunters or because of their paper work; is because the guys from the USFWS and the Dept. of Agriculture dont know what to look for or what to do with the paper work.

I think the USFWS and the USDA need to have more and better communication with the SEMARNAT and PROFEPA and get familiar with tags and documents hunters will bring across the border.

I a couple of occasions I had to show them ( the USFWS and USDA) how to fill out the forms and told them which copies I need to keep and which ones they need to keep. For this reason and since that day, I always make sure I have (and the hunters that are with me) all the paperwork ready with extra copies for them; to make their job easier and the process faster.

 

There are two ways to bring your cape back in to the U.S.: One is frozen (cape must be in a freezer for at least 24 hrs.) And the other is by a certified and approved VET. from SEMARNAT, this method is sometimes faster and easier specially if you kill your buck at the end of your hunt or if you cant wait 24 hrs to freeze the cape. Some outiftters include this service in the cost of the gun permit.

 

Ernesto C

Ernesto,

even if the cape has been frozen for more than 24 hours. By the time you get to the border from down south in Sonora you have a thawed cape, which is a problem!! I've been running a generator in the back of my truck with a small freezer because of this. The PROFEPA inspection is always a good idea as well. I've also had problems with Nasser. That is why I do what I do!!!

 

Jim

[mason a]

I'm heading to mexico for my first Mexico coues hunt , and I will be going through the sonoyita border(the one that goes to rocky pt.) I'll be hunting about halfway between the border and caborca , Is there anything I should know in advance about that border crossing, with my gun permit or the cape. I do understand that i must check in on the mexico side going in and going out, and that the cape must be frozen, I will be hunting with some friends from Mexico, and this is a self- guided hunt. Any extra info or help on procedures would be helpful thanks. Mason

[TAM]

Well we made it back from our first round of hunts. Josh, Gail, Mike, and myself hunted for four days and had a great time! There were a few minor set backs, but nothing we couldn't work out. Mike and Gail both shot nice bucks on the first night.... I'll let them post up their own pictures and stories. Josh and I both held off shooting anything this trip and will be heading back after Christmas. In my opinion the weather was pretty warm and there was zero rut activity. The deer didn't move much and while we were seeing deer things seemed slower than we would have hoped for. But I don't think it's anything that a little drop in temps and rut action won't cure.

 

 

 

Back in August on one of our scouting trips Mike asked one of the ranch cowboys if he would start picking up the shed antlers and lion kills he finds while tending the cattle. Mike and I nearly choked when the cowboy brought these out!!! The skull in my right hand would go 122 or so if unbroke, and the shed if doubled would go 135 or so.

 

 

On the third morning of the hunt Mike and I had one of the greatest hunting experiences of my life. We made a short but steep hike up this ridge to glass some country that neither of us had looked at before. As soon as we got set up to glass I scanned a ridge top some 675 yards away and immediatley found a lone javelina feeding away. No big deal... that is until Mike asked where it was and as I looked back to give Mike directions I noticed something moving below the javelina heading directly towards the unsuspecting pig. LION!!! Over a period of several minutes the cat stalked to within several yards. The javelina had no idea the lion was there and continued to feed. Finally the lion stalked to the point where the distance between the pigs butt and the lions nose was LESS than the body length of the pig. I'd guess it was only about two feet and the pig was clueless! Finally after several heart pounding moments the lion pounced, the pig whipped it's head backwards throwing the lion off its back and then chased the lion down the hill. The lion after 50 yards or so jumped in a large mesquite tree. The pig woofed at the lion for a few minutes before strolling off. Once the pig moved off the lion came down from the tree and continued to follow the pig, keeping a distance of 20 yards or so, untill the pig went into some thick brush under a rocky outcropping. At that point the lion went another 20 yards or so to the top of the ridge and sat down. Seconds after the lion sat down Mike and I were shocked when another lion suddenly appeared and came over to the first lion. As if two lions wasn't shocking enough, imagine our surprise when a third lion shows up! I guess at this point the lions were done playing games because now the three of them went over to brush where the pig had holed up and proceeded to tag team the poor javelina untill he became breakfast. Once the pig was dead the lions fed for a few minutes before one of them picked up what was left of the pig and carried it over the ridge top to the shady side of the mountain. I was able to get a couple of digiscope pictures and about 18 minutes of video of the lions. This was without a doubt one of the wildest displays of Mother Nature I've ever witnessed and a memory that will last a lifetime! I would guess the entire episode lasted 45 minutes or so and needless to say we didn't get much hunting in that morning.

 

 

 

 

The clock is already ticking for the next trip.... Stay tuned!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[TREESTANDMAN]

That was also by far the coolest hunting experience of my life!! I am now so glad I did not sell my Mexico coues tag after all!!! Due to finances I did not think it would be wise to schedule another trip and so I decided to break my original goal of taking a 100" buck and took a young 90" buck on the night of the 2nd day of our hunt. It is a very young buck we believe due to a lack of mass however he had a lot of potential of becoming a GIANT as you will see in the pictures I will post soon.

 

What an incredible hunt that was!! Congrats to Gail on a really good buck and a big thank you to Gail as well for cooking up some of the best camp food I've ever had!!!! Josh knows how to pick his hunting partners!!

 

Mike

[TREESTANDMAN]

Here is my little 90" buck