firstcoueswas80 Report post Posted February 27, 2007 Once again, Jim has some good things to say. especially down talking the trophy. i hate when some one calls a buck a "dink" shows disrespect to the animal. im happy with all the small bucks i have taken. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
COOSEFAN Report post Posted February 27, 2007 Once again, Jim has some good things to say. especially down talking the trophy. i hate when some one calls a buck a "dink" shows disrespect to the animal. im happy with all the small bucks i have taken. We're all happy makin' fun of ya for killin' smaller critters........but you know we're proud of ya! It's all about the experience, your "trigger-happy" finger will eventually not be so "Happy" and you will then look for tougher challenges and hold out........but by then, you'll have a whole wall full of experience under your belt! JIM> Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coues 'n' Sheep Report post Posted February 27, 2007 " 4. Don`t get hungup on antler/horn size. Some of the best hunts I have ever had are from years that I did the best I could and worked really hard to find a really big animal, but I either couldn`t get it done or just missed my opportunity. Or maybe even ,just missed the shot! It happens, to everyone, we are only human! If you have done the best you can and a forked horn or some other type deer is available and it gets you really excited, then I don`t see anything wrong with that. Only you will know if it`s right for you , not what someone else tells you to shoot! Big deer and nice horns will probably come with the more time and the more work you put into your hunting! 5. Have fun! That sounds really easy , but some guys I know are so hung up on filling their tag and getting a boone and crockett type deer that they are miserable.They are missing the whole point. hunting and camping should be a lot of fun if you work hard and hunt ethically! A true trophy is in the eyes of the beholder. 6. Last but not least! Check you gun every year. Take a backup that you trust! Sounds simple, but I neglected to do that last season , and it cost me two opportunities on two different animals. You would have thought by now (30+ hunting seasons)I would have figured that one ot a long time ago! I even had a backup but I thought my gun was shooting right on and that I was at fault. Trust your backup! thats why you brought it you dummy! " ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hey Rich....these are great points! Especially #6.......I usually have a backup but not all the time. I have gone alot of years never needing one on any hunt and got lazy about it. But as Casey pointed out.....I had several incidents last year where a backup was necessary and thank goodness Casey was around to save my butt! I will always have one from now on! My favorite sentence in your post is "A true trophy is in the eyes of the beholder." I can't stand it when someone down talks a critter that someone took because it's small! I have killed a ton of little critters and am proud of each one......I know they're small, but each one taught me alot about the entire aspect of hunting, especially the "after the kill" stuff that I wouldn't have learned if I hadn't tagged out! I feel that a young person, or a person just starting out in hunting should grab all the experience they can and there is nothing wrong with taking a smaller animal, as long it gets your blood pumpin' and your proud of it. Who cares what other people think.........it's YOUR tag, not theirs! Along these same lines.......nothing gets me more upset than to see someone kill a critter and then get upset that they did because it was smaller than what they hoped for and THEY down talk the critter.......thats a bunch of B.S.! Don't kill it unless your gonna be proud of it and give it the respect any/all animals deserve! My $.02, i'll stop ramblin' on, JIM> Well put Jim.... and Rich as well! I also think that the guys that talk about holding out for the big one and Never filling a tag are lying to themselves..... If you have never put a small buck down on the ground, then how do you know that you will be able close the deal when a real Monster steps out?? We all have too start somewhere..... I have taken some pretty small critters myself and was Very proud to have been that fortunate! And now that I have also been lucky enough to have taken some bigger critters, I appreciate them even more. And then once you do harvest a Monster..... what then.... quit??? ..... heck NO!! Got to keep your eye on the ball...... Memories.... they are just as good on the small critters as they are with the Big ones!!! I want a 120" coues so bad I can taste it!!!! Heck, I'd like to get a 115!!! But, I bet you I shoot some more 95-110 inchers along the way!!! I want to KNOW that the day I see that 120" that I am ready and able to close the deal! So that means that I need to ground check as many as I can from now till that day.... so...... that is what I plan to do!!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
coues addict Report post Posted February 27, 2007 Casey I am not sure you completely understood my point about a backup rifle. First of all I have always had one in camp for over thirty years. I am very confident in both my old faithful .270 and my backup rifle.I am extremely fortunate to have a rifle range at my place here at home . I shoot all the time, I hand load and have worked up loads for all my guns. Confidence is not a problem for me. I am not the best shot that I know , but, I feel I can make fairly difficult shots when needed. I cannot however seem to hunt deer, especially Coues deer without falling down several times during a hunt. Last season we were in so far that we never got back to camp during daylight hours.I really did not think that my scope had moved during my first three falls in four days. So, I never checked the dang thing and on my first shot attempt on day four I got a huge surprise! I should have just taken out my backup rifle after I fell the third or fourth time and I believe the outcome would have been different. If in doubt use the Backup!That was my lesson learned last season. I know Doug and I know he is very knowledgable about guns and loads. I feel he can only be a good influence on any one that he hunts and camps with.My biggest problem is that the older I get the more stubborn I get and I just hate to change things that have worked for many years. lesson no 7. Don`t be so stubborn, Rich Good luck Casey , and I hope this clears things up Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
firstcoueswas80 Report post Posted February 27, 2007 I know exactly what you mean when ya say bring a back up rifle.... ya mean bring a rifle incase your first goes sour... got that... and thats why my 270 goes on every hunt. i used the lion and pig example cause my 270 goes as back up on every hunt and i used it... but not as a back up. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SunDevil Report post Posted February 27, 2007 oh, also, when another hunter you know calls you in the middle of your hunt. CALL THEM BACK. they may have tagged out and know where a 97 incher is that has your name on it. happened this year - no lie. Chris. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SunDevil Report post Posted February 27, 2007 oh, one more, when it is twilight, dial the magnification down on your rifle scope, the image might not be as big but it is going to be a lot brighter and may actually help you distinguish between the big buck you are trying to shoot and the little one that is with him! Chris. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shortpants Report post Posted February 27, 2007 I learned that next time Jim puts a stalk on a buck and asks me if I want to go I'll do it. We could have pulled a double on film and I blew it! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
COOSEFAN Report post Posted February 28, 2007 Shorty.......I don't remember giving you much of a window to respond to that offer as I was runnin' off! I'll take the hit for that one Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
firstcoueswas80 Report post Posted February 28, 2007 i learned if you wanna kill a 100" coues buck in southern arizona, ya gotta drive the low stuff with the windows down.. thats a sure fire method of killing a big ole buck! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ultramag Report post Posted February 28, 2007 i learned if you wanna kill a 100" coues buck in southern arizona, ya gotta drive the low stuff with the windows down.. thats a sure fire method of killing a big ole buck! and don't run out of beer. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
peloncillo Report post Posted February 28, 2007 Good replies all. My biggest things this past season are being in shape, scouting, and trophys really are in the eye of the beholder. Being in better shape would of had me to the top of the hill set up on an unsuspecting 105" + buck instead of half way sucking wind and spooking the buck out of there. Scouting would have helped for my New Mexico tag. I drew a unit I had never hunted before, planned on making some scouting trips but always put it off. Went hunting and had a good time but never saw a legal buck. As far as trophys go, I always considered myself a trophy hunter but on my hunt in Arizona I had my 6 year old son along with me and we took a small buck ( smallest deer winner in the contest ) and I am sure proud of it. Keven Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
.270 Report post Posted March 1, 2007 i learned there ain't no talkin' javelinas. Lark. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SunDevil Report post Posted March 9, 2007 you guys are killin me. first of all I would never disrespect someone else by calling their buck little or a dink. secondly, as some of you are aware, I accidentally shot a small deer last fall. I refered to it as a dink. I do not feel I was disrespecting the animal in using this term to describe it. the fact is that it was an accident and I felt and feel bad about it. it also was a little deer. I was using the term dink to replace the word little. I looked the word dinky up in the dictionary and found that it means small OR unimportant. trust me I was using the term to mean small and NOT unimportant. also, I am a firm believer in the saying 'you cant shoot big bucks if you are always shooting little ones'. I believe that if you know you are in an area that holds big bucks (scouting, prior years hunting, etc) you should be holding out for a big one. let the little ones grow up. there is a chance though that your tag will go unfilled and you have to be comfortable with that being a possibility. just my 2 cents. later. chris. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mulie hunter Report post Posted March 9, 2007 i learned there ain't no talkin' javelinas. Lark. I learned I gotta meet this Lark fellow, I could use some good laughs around the campfire, and if he hunts as good as he tells stories I might learn a thing or two about coues deer. of course I already learned there ain't no talkin' javelinas. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
