c-ne-elk Report post Posted February 2, 2011 Hello, am new to the forum after going on my 1st Coues hunt. All I can say is ...WOW! What fun!!! I see why people get hooked on the Grey Ghost! All I can say about those folks that are scared to go to Mexico is, that is fine, don't go, stay home, more room for me!! I live in El Paso, right across from Bagdad on the Border. While none of the killing has spilled over into El Paso (we are actually one of the safest cities in the US with a population of over 500,000 people) Juarez is a mess. And for that reason, Antonio (our outfitters name), takes people across at Columbus, NM at Palomas, Mx. He meets you in Columbus where he has a secure area to leave your vehicle and takes you in his truck from the US side from there. The border crossing was VERY smooth with Antonio having all the required paperwork to make an easy entry to Mexico. 3 1/2 hours later we were at our camp near Colonia Juarez (not to be confused with Cidudad Juarez, i.e. Bagdad on the Border). Camp facilities were great, we stayed in a small old house, VERY clean, no electricity but running hot water and a hard roof over our heads. This camp is very remote, 1 hour by dirt roads from the the closest town and then a brutal one hour ride on a quad from camp to the gate at the ranch that we hunted on every morning and evening. There is no "road" from the camp house to the hunting area, you ride up a rocky creek bottom to the hunting area. The only access to the ranch is via horseback or quad. My friend Charlie from Idaho and myself had the place to ourselves, Antinio is a small operator with a little over 100,000 acres to hunt on 6 different ranches. We hunted a ranch that had 35,000 acres on it. He takes a maximum of 3 hunters per hunt, 12 hunters per year on all his ranches. This year, Charlie and I were the only hunters that made it for any of his hunts. He had 6 other hunters scheduled and they all backed out fearing violence in Mexico. One thing Antinio pointed out was that not only would he not put his clients into any danger HE did not want to get into trouble either. I would not fear for my safety in any of the towns that we traveled through but you have to be somewhat cautious as in any city, there are certainly places that you don't want to be in after dark. There was no shortage of deer on the ranch. I saw several shooter bucks but for one reason or another did not close the deal on the bucks, as I am sure you guys know, there is a lot of spotting and stalking on Coues and it does not always work out. My buddy Charlie was up to his armpits with shooter bucks from the 1st hour out. He had a 100" deer that haunted him every day. He would see him EVERY day but they could never close the deal on him. I ended up taking a buck that scored 95" on the 5th day of our 6 day hunt. I just could not stand it any longer! Charlie also shot a 85" buck on day 3 not being able to stand the sight of all the deer and wanting to be sure he at least got a Coues for his collection. Getting back into the US was a breeze. Antonio had removed all the ticks from our capes (one of the best caping jobs I have ever seen by the way) and had frozen them solid. When we hit the US we handed the officials a stack of paperwork that Antonio had prepared with all the necessary forms and while the officials looked hard at our capes and paperwork within 5 minutes they let us cross in with no issues. Being prepared and having all the paper work filled out was the key! Needless to say, we are going back next year! This time we will hold out for a Grande. Great time, great food, great people, lots of deer what's not to like??? Shoot me a PM if you want any information on Antoinio's operation or his e-mail address. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ScottAdams Report post Posted February 2, 2011 Welcome to the site CNE. That's a very fine buck and defiinitely one to be proud of. Welcome also to the growing ranks of Coues hunting fanatics. You'll find on this site that there are still plenty of those willing to cross the border and pursue Coues deer with our neighbors down south in spite of the violence. There is also plenty of excellent hunting on this side of the border as well. Glad to have you and congratulations on your buck! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bonecollector Report post Posted February 3, 2011 Welcome to the site and thanks for sharing your mexico hunting experience with us. Congrats on a nice buck! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cramerhunts Report post Posted February 3, 2011 Welcome to the best site on the ole' www. Congratulations on a very nice buck and yes Mexico is a great place to chase the grey ghost! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ernesto C Report post Posted February 3, 2011 Welcomo to the coolest hunting site Sir and congratulations on a good looking buck! How inexpensive are those hunts if you dont mind me asking? Ernesto C Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
markhunts Report post Posted February 3, 2011 Congratulations on a great hunt. Glad you had a good time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tjhunt2 Report post Posted February 3, 2011 Thanks for sharing your experience and it certainly sounded like a great hunt down there. I don't think I will ever make south of the border but I sure enjoy reading stories like your own and dream what it might be like. TJ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chef Report post Posted February 3, 2011 Welcome to the site and congrats on your success! I look forward to hearing more about your adventures past and in the future. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coues Archer Report post Posted February 3, 2011 What a nice buck great job on your success. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
