Huge Bucks

[slopoke36]

Nothing against the huge bucks taken but I would guess scoring is more liberal. I must know 15 people that can "score" deer. Let's see the offical results. Also access and eqiupment help us get those smart old bucks nowadays.

[slopoke36]

They were there, they were being killed, you didn't hear about them. Also blown up gross scores get exagerrated as well. I would bet if looking at actual net Boone and Crockett entries from Arizona the amount entered every year has not shot up as much as you think from say the 1980's until now. Any sort of increase in entries from Arizona could probably be attributed to the fact that a select few seriously hunted Coues deer 20 years ago, and even less people seriously hunted them 30 years and so on.

 

Bret

 

 

+1

[Outdoor Writer]

So, I'm wondering, are there really more huge bucks being taken in recent years, or is it just because the internet makes it so accessible to see all these deer, have they always been here? Or is there some kind of trend of "super bucks" that we're seeing right now?

 

 

Nah, it's the fault of the AZ G&FD for giving out too many tags and scheduling too many hunts, especially all those early seasons where no one ever kills a decent buck.

[mcelkhunter]

I believe it has more to do with better equipment, i.e. binos, rifles, scopes, etc... and hunters becoming better educated. At least in the group of friends I hunt with it has more to do with becoming better hunters through education and much better equipment than we had 15-20 years ago. Last year a friend of mine and his teenage daughter killed deer at 600+ yards. These weren't monster bucks but this never would have occured if they didn't have the set up to make that happen. Almost everyone I hunt with (except me and I am working on it) have the ability to shoot longe range shots like that.

 

I agree with pretty much all the other comments on here as well except for the one about Bush!! Dick Cheney maybe but not Bush!!

[standman]

It is due to all them high fences people are putting out now!! Actually it is because of all the trail cams that are out. They want to be movie stars so the bigger the antlers the bigger the star!!!

[Hunter X]

I also agree with the guys that said big bucks have always been killed but now with the enet we get to see a lot more of them. I wouldn't know of one buck that was killed this year over 100 if it wasn't for the enet and text messaging. If there was anything out there helping hunters kill bigger bucks I would have to say the long range shooting capability we have now days is the #1 contributing factor of bigger bucks getting killed. All the other stuff might help a bit but without the long range shooting a lot but not all of these bucks probably wouldn't be getting killed. Don't know if it is true or not but I heard that 158 buck was shot at around 100 yards so there is at least 1 that might have not been shot I long range. I know if I was able to shoot out to 800 yards I would have killed a lot more big ol bucks in my time. As far as optics go there has been great glass available for years. I just think more people are using them and using the right way now days.

[bobbyo]

The reason. FIRE. All we have to do is burn down all the dark timber on every mountain. Then suddenly every unit would be a coues hunting paradise.

Bob

[billrquimby]

I know a bunch of "ol timers" who killed big bucks. No one knows about them. One guy in particular, told me he walked ridges and killed bucks, never really glassed and he has over 30 mounts on the wall and a bunch of 100+ antlers piled around. Some high 120's and quite a few teen bucks. One of the most impressive group of Coues I've ever seen. He was one of the few that hunted them 50 years ago. I believe because of the more popularity and the internet has made it seem like more big bucks than normal get killed every year. Like has been said they always have been there, just more talked about now.

 

I've been hunting Coues deer off and on since I moved from Yuma to Tucson to attend the UA in September 1954 -- more than 56 years ago. That makes me an ol' timer, of course, and I can tell you that there were a heck of a lot more people hunting these little deer then than are hunting them now.

 

Heck, nearly as many Coues deer were killed year after year in those days as our permit-only system allows to go hunting today.

 

There was only one season, a long one, and an unlimited number of tags were sold every year. We could hunt Rocky Mountain mule deer up north and, if unsuccessful, hunt the next couple of weeks down south for whitetails or desert mule deer with the same tag.

 

Just as now, there were some really big Coues whitetail bucks killed by the "ol' timers." The difference is today's dumb emphasis on antler size and the way photos of really big bucks are so quickly broadcast around via the internet.

 

I remember a time when my father-in-law and I helped a couple of guys whose truck had broken down in the Galliuros. We gave them and their two deer a ride to Willcox, where they lived. I knew Ed Stockwell and saw the mount of his record buck many times, and one of those bucks we transported to Willcox seemed to me as big as Stockwell's. As far as I know, that head from the Galliuros was never recorded anywhere.

 

In those days, before I outgrew my "trophy" phase, I saw dozens of record-class Coues whitetail racks hanging on barns and in carports that were never recorded. The average hunter had never heard of the Boone & Crockett Club or its record books.

 

As for the SCI and B&C measurement systems, the only difference is that SCI has a lower minimum and does not deduct points for non-symmetry. An SCI net score is a B&C gross score.

 

Bill Quimby

[Coach]

Thanks to all the posters here responding. Tons of great information. One day I'll see one of these 120+ bucks, I think lots of units have them walking around, if you know where to go and how to hunt them. Keep the posts coming!

[Pine Donkey]

Bill Quimby has a very good point about monster bucks hanging in a carport. I grew up with Ed stockwells son. He told me that for several years after the world record was harvested, the horns hung on the side of the shed under a little poarch at his home in Arivaca. It wasn't measured until about 10 years later when Mr. Jensen saw it and convinced Ed to let him take it to his store in Tucson.

 

Ed stockwell was a hard working family man who scratched out a living raising bees, guiding some hunts, and doing whatever work was available. I bet there were many just like him.

[Outdoor Writer]

Just as now, there were some really big Coues whitetail bucks killed by the "ol' timers." The difference is today's dumb emphasis on antler size and the way photos of really big bucks are so quickly broadcast around via the internet.

 

Taadaaa. The reason for the perversion of hunting.

 

[joeybari]

+1

[Guest super jumbo]

In my opinion the single most powerful weapon that has added to so many giants being harvested is the use of cameras.The second reason is that coues deer hunting has become so popular in recent years ,and more "carp" deer hunters are switching to coues deer cause of the draw odds for mule deer.Hard core coues deer hunters have been killing giant deer for years ,but now there are more really good hunters chasing the little guys.All heck has been unleashed on coues deer recently,and the result is more jumbos being harvested.By the way i am not bagging on the cameras as i use them myself.I also think that reducing the amount of rut tags in all the units has helped the age class of deer overall.Overall there are mostly 1-3 year old deer being harvested on the early hunts.The big deer actualy have a chance to go nocternal on the early hunts instead of being wacked on the late hunts with to many tags in the past.My 2 cents.

[Westy]

So, I'm wondering, are there really more huge bucks being taken in recent years, or is it just because the internet makes it so accessible to see all these deer, have they always been here? Or is there some kind of trend of "super bucks" that we're seeing right now?

 

 

Nah, it's the fault of the AZ G&FD for giving out too many tags and scheduling too many hunts, especially all those early seasons where no one ever kills a decent buck.

 

How many total hunt days with the recent restructuring of the seasons compared to past years? I have not done the math, but more opportunity = more bucks killed. Also, hasn't much of the restructuring created seasons where bachelor herds are more likely to be seen?

[Chef]

I think its all the good luck the cw.com shirts are giving hunters.

 

308 hit the nail on the head.