Posts
Video – Coues whitetail fawns at 5 yards!
Forum member mattys281 posted this in the forum:
Didn’t really have much time to hunt this summer, but I made it out for a couple days. Never even got to draw back, but I got some decent pics & this video clip. These little guys acted like they were about to climb under that juniper with me until my camera batteries died & the thing started beeping & making all kinds of noise. they jumped a little, but I sat real still & they calmed down again. Their mama had other ideas, however, & blew out of there a minute or so later, taking them with her. This was the closest I’ve been to live deer that had no idea I was there, at least from the ground. Pretty cool experience. They closed in to about 10-12 feet before my camera gave it’s death moan & scared them away.
HD Trophy Hunts joins as new sponsor! Bear and Lion hunts!
Hey Everyone!
Please help me welcome HD Trophy Hunts as a new sponsor of CouesWhitetail.com! Mike Harris and his partners Daniel and Rodney Crook provide hunters with some great lion and bear hunts with dogs. Mike has been a forum member here for quite awhile and has been guiding since he was 18. He started HD Trophy Hunts 3 years ago and in that time they have had some great success! Last year they harvested 5 bears over 20 inches! Wow! Last year they harvested bears in nine different units, so they definitely know some great spots. Most of the lion hunts are done in Southern Arizona, but of course they will go wherever needed.
They offer fully outfitted or just guided hunts, whichever the clients want.
“Our camps usually consist of wall tents and or camp trailers depending on the location of the hunt. All meals are provided on fully outfitted hunts, we provide a “meal survey” for the hunter prior to the hunt, we realize not everyone likes to eat the same food, this seems to make the hunts go smoother. Preparation eliminates surprises.” Mike said.
When I asked what their success rate has been for clients, here is what Mike said, “We have a VERY high success rate for bear, we do not guarantee a kill, but last season we were 12 for 12 on bear with quite a few clients taking their bear on the first day of the hunt. In the last 3 years we have a 90% success rate on bear hunts.
Lion hunts are much more difficult, our lion hunts take place primarily on dry ground, this is one of the toughest hunts out there. The only guarantee we can make is that we will hunt our tails off for each and every hunter.
We take pride in the fact that we harvest mostly mature males. Last year we were able to harvest 5 boars over 20”. This is not typical, it was a fantastic year. We sorted through lots of animals and were very picky about what bears we wanted. We did harvest 20” bears in 2010 and 2009 as well. We strive to take large mature males. As you know our bear hunts are ran on quotas and it does not benefit us as outfitters to take sows. We would rather pass on a sow and go try to find a boar for this reason.
In my experience Arizona is not the land of the 200lb mountain lion. If you are looking for a 200lb snow cat, you should not book with us. You should contact an outfitter further North.
Mature toms here average 100-140lbs. Females are usually 60-80lbs, occasionally bigger. We do get some good skull growth in Arizona and occasionally a 15” tom will be taken but they are few and far between.”
On average, HD Trophy Hunts has between 12-20 clients each year. Last year they had 18. Right now they only guide in Arizona, but are looking to expand into New Mexico. When I called and spoke with several past clients, I heard raving reviews of HD Trophy Hunts and their service. Comments like “very knowledgeable”, “lots of bear”, “great houndsman”, “great dogs”, “lots of fun” came up with just about everyone I talked to. And without exception they all planned to come back as soon as they had the money and time. In fact some of his clients got all excited over the phone just remembering the hunt and realized that they needed to come back sooner rather than later to hunt with Mike.
Here is what Mike said when I asked him why someone should hire him rather than another outfitter: “There are lots of good outfitters in Arizona, in my opinion what separates us from the field is the amount of time we dedicate to pursuing lion and bear. We truly LOVE to hunt these species. We are 100% committed and all our efforts are focused on hound hunting. Athletes do not play multiple sports professionally they focus on football, baseball or basketball, we focus on hound hunting.
We like to think we put on a good camp, and we realize that there is more to hunting than a “kill.” It is our goal to make the WHOLE hunt enjoyable not just the taking of an animal. Harvesting an animal is just the icing on the cake, the real joy should be in the experience itself. “
So check out what HD Trophy Hunts has to offer….here is the link to their website: http://www.hdtrophyhunts.com
and here are a few pics of some bears and lions:
Attached Thumbnails
Turkey hunting unit 4A,4B any suggestions on where to hunt?
I will be hunting October 8th and 9th 2012.
New Mexico Elk
I wasn’t one of the lucky ones in the draw for Az,but I did draw a tag for New Mexico.I went over 3 weeks prior to the opener,and built blinds on a couple waters.Opening morning found me chasing bugling bulls,and having a great time.I passed on a couple bulls,a 4 point,and a spike.I went to a water that I had faith in about 1 o’clock in the afternoon.I had sat there abut 6 hours when I heard a rock roll behind me.The back of the blind was open,so I didn’t move to look around.After looking for about 3-4 minutes the bull decided to come in.He passed by the blind at 3 yds on my right side and went down to the water at 25 yds.I had drawn my bow,and he was quartering away,with his left side exposed.The arrow hit halfway back angling forward,through the top of the heart,and out the base of the neck.He took off like a racehorse,and only made it 60yds,going down within sight.I love these trailing jobs when you see them go down!!!!
3rd Annual Trail Camera Photo and Video Contest
CouesWhitetail.com will be holding its 3rd annual trail camera photo and video contest! New this year is the video category for video clips from your trail camera.
There will be 5 categories and each person can submit up to 2 entries per category.
The plan is to narrow down the submissions to the top 5 for each category and then set up a poll so everyone can vote for your favorite in each category. This contest was very popular the last two years and this year we added a new category (trail camera video).
Categories:
1. Best Coues Deer Photo
2. Best Non-Coues Deer Photo (includes all wildlife except Coues)
3. Funniest Trail Camera Photo
4. Best Wildlife Series (a series can be 2 or more photos taken in succession)
5. Best Trail Camera Video (these are unedited video clips from your trail camera, please keep videos less than 1 minute long)
TO ENTER THE CONTEST, please go to the following link for more information and for posting your photos. DO NOT post them here….entries must be in the following thread in the forum:
You have until Nov 3rd at 5 pm to enter the contest.
Enjoy!
Mike Way 105 coues
Mike Way shot this buck on Mt Turnbull on the San Carlos in 2008. The buck scores 105 and he donated it to Red’s Convenience Store out by Bylas and so if you want to see it, you can visit the store.
2012 Elk Contest – Don’t forget to enter!
Aaron Hartzell got this GIANT bull this year on an archery hunt….shot it at 20 yards, what a beast!! Congratulations Aaron! (read his hunt story here: http://www.coueswhitetail.com/forums/topic/35370-beyond-my-wildest-dreams/)
I want to remind everyone that if you are a member of the CouesWhitetail.com forum before your elk hunt starts, then you are eligible to enter our Bull Elk Contest. here is a link to more info about the contest and how to enter:
http://www.coueswhitetail.com/2012/09/2012-13-elk-contest/
Congratulations to all you successful elk hunters!
Some sheds from my 2010 buck
Thought you all might enjoy seeing the sheds from my 2010 buck. I finally got around to mounting them on the wall under the euro mount of my buck. My friend Scott and I found these sheds over the course of several years and it wasn’t until after we killed my buck that we realized these sheds were from him. So I thought that was very cool.
How to use CouesWhitetail.com
The new CouesWhitetail.com uses WordPress as a content management system. WordPress is software that makes it easy to publish content on the Internet. The new site allows users to login and upload their own content, including photos, hunt stories, and more, as well as to comment on the articles, photos, and stories of fellow CW.com community users.
If you’re already a member of the discussion forum, you already have a user account set up at cw.com. To access it, first log in to the forum. Next, navigate to www.coueswhitetail.com, and select the “Log in” link in the main navigation bar. Simply sign in using the same user name and password you use to access the forum.
The CW.com Log In and Register links.
If you’re not currently a member of the forum, register for an account by navigating to the same “Log in” link in the menu navigation. Once registered, you will also have a user account for the forum, and can add to the discussions there as well.
the Log In prompt. Use your forum log in credentials.
We tried to keep the design recognizable from the old CouesWhitetail.com, with the major differences being how content on the site is organized and presented.
You’ll notice the navigation is now a horizontal bar beneath the header image. The site sponsor badges are now located along the left sidebar. And the right sidebar is full of smaller information chunks, links, and navigation pathways.
There’s a large featured content slider at the top of the page giving you an introduction to the most important current posts. Beneath the current posts is a two-column list of the most recent posts added to the main site, followed by a brief overview of the website. Beneath the overview, you’ll find the latest posts organized by category.
Navigating, Searching, and Browsing by tag
Perhaps the biggest advantage of the new website is how much easier it is to find and navigate to specific content. In addition to the main navigation bar, content can also be accessed through the site’s search function, or even more powerfully, through browsing content tags. Tags are words authors use to quickly describe, or summarize what can be found in what they’ve written. We’ve tagged most of the current posts primarily with information about the units, score of the deer, or the person hunting.
For example, if you drew a unit 33 tag and want to find all of the posts about deer in unit 33, all you have to do is click the 33 tag. Note that this only pulls information from the main WordPress site, and not from the forum. Content on the forum remains quite separate, so should be searched there as well.
Another neat feature of the new website is the ability to randomly pull and display images from the website. Many of these were uploaded years ago, and may have gone unnoticed by many of you.
random images from the new CW.com website
The Image Galleries
You’ll remember the old photo galleries were quite cumbersome and difficult to navigate. On the new CW.com, the image galleries are organized by type, and displayed slightly differently. You can now click on the plus sign in the middle of the first image (it shows up when you hover your mouse over the picture), and cycle through the rest of them without having navigate to new pages. Further, many of these images contain information or stories about the animal and the hunt. To learn more about any particular image, or to see more images of the same deer, click through to the image’s post by clicking on either the arrow in the center of the image, or the title below the picture.
Select the “+” option to enlarge the photo and navigate between other pictures on the page, or the -> to visit the photo’s post to learn more about it.
To leave a comment about any story or photo, simply enter your text in the space below the post and click submit. Comments are nested, meaning that they work similar to “quoting” in the discussion forum by showing up indented and beneath the comment they are replying to.
Leave a comment by typing your response, and selecting the “Post Comment” button. Your comments will enter a moderation queue to ensure they are appropriate for the site.
Creating New Posts
As mentioned earlier, every member now has the ability to write articles or stories to be posted on the new CouesWhitetail.com. WordPress refers to these articles/stories as posts. To write a new post, simply navigate to the top of your browser window and select the ‘+ New’ link in the menu.
Unless you’re a CW.com editor, “New Post” will be your only option, and WordPress will open a new page with a text editor in the center of the page. The first thing to do is give your post a title. Then in the editor below, type your article or story. You have the option to use the editor as a word processor (visual), or as an HTML editor for those who wish to write in HTML.
Add a title, then type away.
We recommend you write any long posts in software like Microsoft Word, or a basic text editor, and copy and paste into the window.
To add pictures to your posts, ensure the cursor is where you want the photo to appear inline with the text, and select the “Add Media” button icon from the top of the editor. A smaller window will pop up and ask you to upload your media. Simply navigate to the photos you wish to add, and select upload.
To add photos, select the icon to the right of Upload/Insert
Once they’re loaded to the site, you’ll have the option to give them a new title, add alternative text (this is what Google reads when it indexes the site, and also gives a description of the image to anyone visiting the site with a screen reader, so choose these wisely, and please give back to Amanda by at minimum entering “Coues deer”). Next you can add a caption. Captions show up in the posts directly below the image, and should be used to explain what the photo is or is about. You can add to the description box if you’d like, but it’s not really necessary.
Next, select how you’d like the image to display inline with the text. We recommend you use the center option. And ensure that if your photo is larger than 600px wide, you use the Large size option.
Before you select insert into text, decide which image you’d like to show up as a thumbnail for your post, and select the “Use as Featured Image” option below. Then go ahead and select Insert.
If you’re done typing your post, choose from the available categories so the site knows your post should belong. Posts can have more than one category. Next add tags about what’s contained within the post. The site already has a list of many current tags, and they will pop up for you to choose if you being typing them.
select an appropriate category, then summarize what can be found in your posts using Tags. Select publish when done.
Once you’ve categorized and tagged your post appropriately, click the publish button. Your post will go into a moderation queue, where a CW.com editor will review your post and publish it to the website.
We thank you for your participation and addition to the CW.com website. It’s the users and the community that make CouesWhitetail.com one of the best hunting communities on the Internet today.
New Mexico unit 19A buck – big 2 point!
Unit 19A, New Mexico Nov. 1998
This buck nets 105 6/8 as a big 2-point! It has a 15 inch inside spread and its main beams are 19 3/8 and 18 7/8.
You can’t win if you don’t play!
From forum user Hiawatha….
“I call it “YOU CAN’T WIN IF YOU DON’T PLAY.” You notice the tree stand in the background. “
Welcome/Im Back
I broke both my legs on July 15th driving home from another weekend in the woods. Freak accident I tripped and fell @ the In & Out burger off Carefree Highway…It was a successful trip (minus the fall)… My main man/hunting buddy was drawn for deer with me and elk in 6A (sensitive subject LOL). First time checking the game trail and man was it worth it, nothing but Bulls!! Its been a rough couple months in a wheelchair, crutches and multiple casts but……. I’M BACK!!! It will be 10 weeks this weekend and the first time I will be able to lace up the boots! I was drawn for Mule deer in 6B and I’m ready to go venture out back into the woods!!! Got a tee time @ Pinewood CC on Saturday, it’s going to be a great weekend and I cant wait to hear those bulls screaming!
Palmated Coues Shed
This shed is a nice palmated shed it was white with cracks and I fixed it up some. Enjoy!
New CouesWhitetail.com Mobile App!! Try it out!
If you can’t scan the QR code you can get the app emailed to you by visiting this page: http://coueswhitetail.conduitapps.com/
Scan the code above with your phone to download the new CouesWhitetail.com Mobile App. The mobile app allows you to quickly view recent posts to the main home page, or visit the forum, or browse the CW.com store or go to the CW.com facebook and youtube accounts. This is brand new and might change later, but for now it seems to be working pretty good. Post up some feedback on how it looks on your phone using the comments section below this post. Let me know what you think!
Luis Tapia Double Droptine Coues Dec 2011
December 11 2011, Double drop tine buck form 36B, Taken with a Marlin 30/30 Win
Luis has shared the details of his hunting story with me. He says this is the buck that got away from him last year. He went scouting since early September but didn’t see him until mid November. The first day of his hunt he spotted the two does that he had seen with this buck. 10 minutes after a border patrol came down the canyon and spooked them away. After that he didn’t see anything all day. The next day he didn’t see anything, not even the does. December 11th early morning he’s walking up to his spot, when all of a sudden he turns around and the Buck is standing about 200 yards from him with two other bucks. He was so excited his knees started shaking and began getting buck fever. He couldn’t decide whether to shoot standing up, kneeling down, or laying down. He ended up taking off his back pack, laid it on the ground, and leaned his rifle on top of it. As his hands were shaking he took one deep breath and fired one shot. The buck immediately feel to his side. Luis jumped up in excitement yelling and as he turned to tell someone, he remembered he was alone and gave himself a high five.
Derek Case Archery Coues Dec 2011
First archery deer. December 2011 unit 24b opening day. Shot while he was herding 4 doe around him. He was in rut earlier then the rest.
Joel Presmyk palmated coues shed
Joel found this nice palmated shed while looking for elk antlers. Pictures dont do its mass justice! And the eye guard is about 5.5 inches
Phillip Giarraputo Oct 2010 coues
Phillip’s first Coues deer!!
It was a December hunt and I shot this buck a 1/2 before dark on December 18,2010 in unit 35a. I used a 300 win mag and shot at 349 yards! This buck was laid up under thick grass and all I could see was his antlers and watched him for 1/2 an hour and he was not getting up and it was about to get dark so I estimated were his body was and shot and got him on the first shot! He was glassed up by using Swarovski 15×56 binos. Coues hunter for life!
Jason Hall Coues Oct 2011
Jason Hall October 2011
unit 22, Arizona
This coues gross score is 90. Taken with a 30-06 at 225 yards. It has 3 on the right and 4 on the left. This buck was taken at the same time as Bryan Fischer’s buck :http://www.coueswhitetail.com/?p=8120
Bryan Fischer Oct 2011
Bryan Fischer October 2011
Unit 22, Arizona
This coues gross score is 104 2/8. Taken with 7mm Remington Mag at 230 yards. it has 3 on right and 5 on the left.
Hunter4Life09 CW.com Sticker in Safford Sept 2012
I spotted this sticker in Safford recently. I think the guy shouted out that his handle on the site is Hunt4Life (later found out it was Hunter4Life09). Nice looking sticker!! This is the new orange/yellow gradient sticker design.
Shed in Flowers – Sept 2012
My husband and I were working on Mt Graham and he spotted this nice coues shed.
Zach Langston 120 inch sheds
Zach Langston found these awesome sheds and says Josh scored the deer’s left side at 57 inches! That means the deer would roughly be a 120-class buck with both sides and a spread. AWESOME!
2012-13 Elk Contest
Josh Epperson with his GIANT bull from last year’s contest.
Bull Elk Contest 2012-13
CouesWhitetail.com will be sponsoring the 3rd annual Bull Elk Contest! We know a lot of you have elk tags this year and you can win some great prizes in this contest.
We are currently accepting donations for additional prizes. This can be hunting equipment, books, or money to help pay for shipping the prizes to winners. If you have something you would like to donate, please email Amanda (amanda@coueswhitetail.com).
View current list of prizes and donations.
Eligibility: This contest is open to registered members of CouesWhitetail.com and their immediate families living in the same home (i.e.- husband, wife, son, daughter, sister, brother). If your family members who are not living with you in the same home, or your hunting buddies, are not forum members, please have them register for the forums. You must be a registered forum member before your hunt starts in order to enter your elk in the contest. Elk must be taken legally between August 1, 2012 and January 15, 2013 from any of the Western States. If you have multiple tags, i.e. from different states, you may enter the elk from each hunt. Guided hunts and elk taken on Indian Reservations are allowed in this contest (if we get enough prizes and entries, we may separate these out into their own category later).
Contest Categories:
Youth (ages 10-17) – largest bull elk
Youth (ages 10-17) – smallest bull elk
Archery Typical– Highest P&Y gross Typical frame bull elk
Archery Non-typical- Highest P&Y gross Non-typical bull elk
Rifle/Muzzleloader – Typical – highest gross B&C Typical frame bull elk
Rifle/Muzzleloader- Non-typical – highest gross B&C Non-typical bull elk
Best Field Photo of Harvested Elk(aka “Hero/Trophy” Photo) – Based on composition
& quality of photograph, not antler size.This post may help with the taking of your photo:
Best Spirit-of-the-Hunt Photograph– Captures the spirit and moment of the hunt. These
may include photos of packing, hiking, glassing, camp, scenery with hunters, etc.
(Field photos of harvested elk excluded). This category means you can possibly win something even if you do not harvest an elk.
(Note: An elk may be entered in only one scoring
category, ie. not in both typical and non-typical)
Entry Fees & Prize Donations. There is no fee required to enter the contest. You may wish to donate a piece of hunting equipment to the prize packages. Prize donations are not required, but are appreciated. You may also send a financial donation to help with shipping or purchasing of the prizes. To donate monetarily, please send the money through PayPal on the CWT.com home page and note it is for the contest. You may contact Amanda regarding your donation. Prize packages, and the number of places, will depend upon the number of prizes donated.
1. You must have registered in the CouesWhitetail.com forum before your hunt started.
2. Post your picture and hunt story in the CouesWhitetail.com forum. If you have difficulty posting a picture, this thread may help, or asking another member will certainly get it done. http://www.coueswhitetail.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=3721
3. Then, E-mail Amanda@coueswhitetail.com the field photo of you and your elk, its gross B&C/P&Y score, and a link to the story you posted. Amanda will post pictures on the home page and in this contest thread.
If you do not post a story, photo, and email the info to Amanda@coueswhitetail.com, you will not be entered in the contest. If you just wish to share your hunt but not enter the contest, then do not send Amanda your link, photo and score.
The contest will close Jan 15, 2013. Entry photos with info/story must be posted in the forums and received by Amanda by January 19, 2013.
How to Score your elk
If you can, please have an official measurer score your elk. You can find official measurers on the Boone and Crockett or Pope and Young websites. If you can’t get an official measurer, please use the following links to help you measure it correctly.
Scoring Information – Typical Elk
Scoring information – Non-typical Elk
Prizes
(we will continue to add prizes to the list as they come in. Thank you to those that donate!)
$500 off an elk shoulder mount (or can be applied to any other type of taxidermy work) by Dan Lee at Artist Touch Taxidermy. There is no expiration date on this offer.
10 day rental of Swarovski Spotting Scope or 15×56 Bino and tripod, including shipping (retail value $240) donated by Optics4Rent.com
Covert Trail Camera donated by CouesWhitetail.com. Read more about these cameras.
Bobby Boido (aka luckysob) of A-1 Mattress is donating a camping pad which can range in size from a cot to a RV size bed, up to 60×75. Value up to $375.
Sportsman’s Warehouse has donated $100 (4 – $25 cards) worth of Gift Cards.
Gila Outdoor has donated $100 gift certificate.
Cameraland donated mugs and hats.
Jeff Mortensen (aka Nontypical Solutions) has donated an elk antler night light. These are hand made from elk antler bases with an antler carved into them which lights up when the light is on.
Two Havalon Knives donated by CouesWhitetail.com
5 ft camo LOOP ROPE donated by LOOP ROPE
Two angle measuring devices for long range shooting. Simple and lightweight….donated by Blue Ridge Hunting Accessories
5 CouesWhitetail.com Tshirts donated by CouesWhitetail.com – winner selects style, color, size
Travel coffee mug with pewter eagle emblem
