COOSEFAN Report post Posted October 20, 2007 Well, the hunt started around 10:30 and it was dark. I hiked up to a small knob, took off my pack and set up my tripod and glasses. The faint light started filtering down through the many drainages that were filled with mesquite and ocotillo. The air was cool and the wind was non-existent as I took my first look through my EL's. I could now see well enough to pick apart the shadows and horizontal lines with my EL's and I soon had a small buck spotted. I immediately slapped on the 15's and focused on the 70" class buck that stood motionless beside an ocotillo. This is the early hunt so I know there may be other bucks with this critter. I scan slowly through all the likely hiding places around this buck. My adrenaline is already pumpin', I can feel the tag in my pocket and I just know there has to be another buck close by! There.....I see something flicker through the ocotillo.........I strain harder and again it flickers. I know it could be just a bird, but it's just gotta be........OH YEAH.....There he is, I just saw tines swing through the small vertical openings in the ocotillo! They looked long but I don't know for sure.....I strain harder and again I see the same tines swing through the opening and I can now make out the buck is bedded and looking around, but he's almost completely hidden. I scan back to my 70" class buck and notice he is still motionless and staring in the same direction as before.......I wonder.....what has his attention.......I scan over further............LION! I see it lying in the grass not 80 yrds from the small buck, tail low and slightly curled up and flipping side to side.......his body low and ears and head focused intently through the grass looking at the small buck! I quickly remembered the Lion tag folded neatly beside my Coues tag in my wallet and my adrenaline hits overdrive! I quickly scan back to the mystery buck and he is now up and staring in the direction of the Lion.......HE'S HUGE! In no less than a fraction of a second I know this buck is well over 100" and with the matching droptines that I can now see.....I know he's a buck of a lifetime! In another fraction of a second, while slamming my 15's off the tripod and reaching for my rifle I notice the distance is no more than 250 yrds! As the rifle slowly falls down onto the tripod head I jack a 130gr .270 round into the chamber and settle in behind my scope with the crosshairs resting on the slowly advancing Lion........BOOM! THUMP! Regaining from the recoil, I slam another round in the chamber, scan back to the right.....There he is, running fast in and out of the ocotillo.....he's slowing.....he stops looking for his smaller companion.....BOOM! THUMP! He drops and rolls once coming to rest with all fours in the air and not a twitch! I load again and swing back to the left and there in the grass is the white underside of the "other" predator that was on this hill today....and he lays motionless........and all is quiet......except for my pounding heart and heavy breathing........ BEEP BEEP BEEP "What the heck is that?" BEEP BEEP BEEP "I hear it again......." BEEP BE... "GET YER BUTT UP.......YER LATE FOR WORK!" As I jumped out of bed this morning, I yelled back at my wife....."Don't ever wake me up in the middle of a hunt!!!!" I get all looney this time of year.......It's less than a week away and I'm going insane......I eat, sleep, drink, and breathe Coues hunting and it can't get here soon enough!!! I hope my dream got your adrenaline pumping and hope all you guys tag dream bucks yourselves next week! Best of luck to ya all! JIM> Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GameHauler Report post Posted October 20, 2007 Thanks Jim for the great story But you have to work on the endings Next week OK Mike Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
elpepe25 Report post Posted October 20, 2007 what a tease Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
azryan Report post Posted October 20, 2007 what the heck!! thanks for that...got me going... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
YOUNGGUNZ Report post Posted October 20, 2007 Puh Huh! i was holding my breath the whole time. Thanks for that, got me all amp'd up for next Friday baby. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coues Sniper Report post Posted October 20, 2007 LOL, you had me going Jim! I was missing words and had to keep going back I was reading so fast! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
azpackhorse Report post Posted October 20, 2007 Dude, with double droppers the buck would've gotten the first round from me!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hunterdan Report post Posted October 20, 2007 That got my adrenaline going!! I know of a couple of folks that have had hunts happen real close to that dream. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
out2hunt Report post Posted October 20, 2007 Wheeeeeee!Now that was a ride!!!I was right there with you the whole way,till you woke up! Please god, let me see a lion on the nov hunt! That is my next sought after trophy,and that bigg buck my buddy ,missed last year Jim you are as crazy as i am!!!!! I need company in couzyville,I mean,crazyville! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
COOSEFAN Report post Posted October 20, 2007 Glad you guys enjoyed that! I have read back through my story several times and i get excited each time! It's kinda wierd how you start reading faster as the excitement builds! I seriously have a problem. This problem is exactly why every year I apply for an October Coues hunt first choice! I HAVE to hunt Coues every year so doing that I'm almost guaranteed a tag.....at least for now. It doesn't matter if it's Oct. or Dec..........It's Coues hunting all the same and I can't get enough! To add to my excitement, I went out today and put up my best 300 yrd. group EVER! My 'ol .270 punched a 3 shot group at 300 yrds that was just less than 2 inches! That's really good for me and that was also off my huntin' set-up! I use a custom built fork that adapts to my Outdoorsman tripod and I use shooting sticks under the butt of the gun. You guys need to try this set-up.....like shootin' off a bench! I took pic's but they are on my phone, so I don't know how to post em'. Anyways.......them Couesies better hide, 'cause Jimbo's on his way and he's got a tag in his pocket!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Huntn coues Report post Posted October 21, 2007 Jim- I take it you can shoot better than Casey Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GameHauler Report post Posted October 21, 2007 Geeze Jim It's only a Grayhond sized furry animal that has some boney growths coming out of it head Why can't you controll yourself Glad to hear you got the little plinker dialed in. Would like to see your shooting set up. All you have to do is email them to yourself and then you could post the pics IF YOU COULD FIX THE D^"+ POSTING PROBLEM Mike Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
longshooter Report post Posted October 21, 2007 You had me all excited. I was also trying to figure out why would you shoot a lion before you shot a big coues with droppers cool story though Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
azryan Report post Posted October 21, 2007 Glad you guys enjoyed that! I have read back through my story several times and i get excited each time! It's kinda wierd how you start reading faster as the excitement builds! I seriously have a problem. This problem is exactly why every year I apply for an October Coues hunt first choice! I HAVE to hunt Coues every year so doing that I'm almost guaranteed a tag.....at least for now. It doesn't matter if it's Oct. or Dec..........It's Coues hunting all the same and I can't get enough! To add to my excitement, I went out today and put up my best 300 yrd. group EVER! My 'ol .270 punched a 3 shot group at 300 yrds that was just less than 2 inches! That's really good for me and that was also off my huntin' set-up! I use a custom built fork that adapts to my Outdoorsman tripod and I use shooting sticks under the butt of the gun. You guys need to try this set-up.....like shootin' off a bench! I took pic's but they are on my phone, so I don't know how to post em'. Anyways.......them Couesies better hide, 'cause Jimbo's on his way and he's got a tag in his pocket!!! if you got picture messaging you can send your pictures to your email...just type your email address into the slot of who you are going to send it too.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
COOSEFAN Report post Posted October 21, 2007 Well I am ready to shoot my computer........ I figured out how to send the pix to my email, I did that, but I can't figure out how to change the file so I can get photobucket to load it. It keeps telling me it's the wrong file format? Oh well. Here are the only pic's I have right now showing my shooting set-up. Nothing fancy, just apply shooting sticks to the rear of your gun while supported on the front by a more stable tripod. If I have time, I pull out the center tube with my tripod head, and replace it with my shooting fork tube.......if not, I just loosen and drop the tripod head so the binos are facing up and down and my rifle sits nicely in the cradle between the binos and the arm on the pan-head. This creates a very solid rest in normal hunting situations. Both the tripod adapted forks and my shooting sticks were custom made by a friend. The forks have a short tube so with the Outdoorsmans tripod legs spread out, you can lay prone, and the shooting sticks have break down points every 3 inches so they can be more finely adjusted for shooting prone or if you are on a sidehill. I'm surprised not many people have tried this but I bet it will catch on. I'll get better pic's next week with my monster "double-dropper" Coues in the background! JIM> Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
