Makin' The Most Of Leftovers!

To start, I've gotta say that this past hunt was simply an awesome time spent with great guys! The only pressure we had was the little bit of pressure Craig and I put on ourselves to hold out for 100" class bucks. I held out for almost a full day and found a buck I wanted opening evening.

The buck was buried in thick catclaw at around 600 yards. I could see enough of him to know that he "could" hit the 100" mark but I also knew that I don't have the patience to pass any high 90's class buck on a Oct. leftover tag! The gun was set up on the tripod with the new "Loc Jaw and Rifle Railz" adaptor and I just shot a 4" group the day before at 600 yards with this setup, so I was confident with the shot. There wasn't a angle to worry about but the wind was variable and I could see it wasn't windy where the buck was but was windy where I sat. I pulled out my phone, called my dad who was on an elk hunt and told him I was getting ready to whack a buck! He knew I wanted to hold out and also knows how trigger happy I am so he told me, "Don't do it!" I laughed and told em' it was big enough and to just listen then I set the phone on a rock. There were 2 canyons between us and I decided the wind was going to be a factor so I held into it considerably and just as the buck stopped mostly broadside, the crosshairs were rock solid and level...BOOM! Craig says, "He's hit and running left!", I reload expecting to hear Craig say he's down but instead he says "maybe he's not hit"!!!! WHAT! Now I'm back on the buck and through trees I can see him just standing there then he starts walking around normally and seemingly fine! I'm frantically trying to get a good range on him but with the brush I know I'm getting wrong readings. Finally, the buck clears the brush and I get a good range, hold tight..BOOM, "To the right, the winds pushing it"!! I'm now realizing that the wind is blowing very inconsistently in the canyons between the buck and I and 2 more failed shots ring out leaving me disgusted and frustrated!!! The buck trotted down into and out of sight in the bottom after my last shot and I didn't even have to tell my dad what happened, I basically just said "I'll call ya later" and hung up. Craig and I both replayed the events and Craig swears the buck "humped" up at the first shot but then appeared completely normal. I agreed, the buck seemed perfectly fine as I missed my last 3 shots and I could see where the wind had blown my shots each time except for the first.

As we sat there replaying and discussing what just happened, 3 bucks that were bedded near my buck had gotten up. We watched them feed directly towards the trail my buck walked down. Immediately as their noses hit that trail they all stopped feeding and started sniffing around! Then, 1 by 1, they walked down the trail where my buck went and after a while they came back up and resumed feeding. We both knew that wasn't normal and I planned to be on that spot first thing the following morning.

Bryan aka "Butters" came up that night and he hiked over to the spot with me in the morning (this part is on the video). We arrived at the exact location of my last shot and I trailed the tracks back up and around and couldn't find any sign of a hit. As I stopped on his tracks back at the spot where my last shot drifted just off his right shoulder I told Bryan that i must've missed the first shot too. Just then a buck blows and busts out of the brush below us! I swing my rifle up, jack a round in, find em' in the scope and notice he's walking stiff legged. I glance at his rack and it appears similar, then look again at his back end and notice he looks humped up so with all this going on in a fraction of a second I find his shoulder..BOOOM! He piles up like a potato sack and my emotions just poured out! I had said prayers that night hoping I was able to finish this deal if i had indeed connected on the buck and my prayers were answered! My thoughts were confirmed as I walked up to him I had indeed hit him the night before with my first shot but the wind had caused a huge drift carrying the bullet almost 2 feet from where I held. There obviously was more wind then was evident and this new 7mm is way more finicky than my .300wm when it comes to wind, next time the 7mm is stayin' in camp if it's windy!

The lesson here is "Always follow up on your shots and make sure you didn't wound the animal"!!! I would've swore that buck wasn't hit, he acted completely normal, never licked himself, never walked funny, and I never noticed him humped up at all. It was great when those 3 bucks gave me that clue but I still would've gone over to double check and I'm very glad I did!

Craig did an outstanding job holding out and it almost paid off on the 5th day of the hunt when he barely missed a buck that no doubt would've hit the 100" mark. The shot was 407 yards but I forgot my inclinometer and we guessed wrong on the angle so the buck got a hair cut and an education! We didn't see the numbers of quality bucks like usual but we did still find 5-10 bucks a day so it was an awesome hunt. I still haven't taped out my buck yet other than some rough measurements, but he's right around 96-97" and is gonna look great on the wall!


And now for the rest of the story, check out the video!



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First Time Elk Killer!

This year has been awesome with tons of great experiences and most importantly a bunch of firsts! We had the priviledge of helping 6 folks take their very first big game animals and that honestly is what i live for! I LOVE helping folks kill giant critters but nothing is better than watching somebody take their very first!

The first and one of my favorites from the 2010 season was a cow hunt with Grant Larson. He and his father Kurt hunted with us on a hunt that none of us will soon forget!

My plan for the hunt was to help Grant get a genuine "Elk" hunting experience which would be tough in a unit known for TONS of hunters and lots of roads. I found a spot that held a few elk and was far enough from the roads there hopefully would be very few if any hunters. To make the experience the best it could be our friend Glen was there to cook for us and my dad along with Bryan Waitman and Bryan Hurley were there to help with the hunt as well. The hunting was tough for a few days with only bulls up close and lots of walking and hiking in the mix. We even called in a nice bull right into Grant's lap one day and had a great "stare down" with him and that was a great experience for all of us! We made several long stalks and had some close calls in very thick country but it wasn't until the evening of the 3rd day when it all came together!

The elk were spotted and the stalk was on! We didn't have much daylight left but Grant and I made it to the elk only to realize we couldn't see the elk through the brush and the wind was swirling. They eventually got our wind and busted out but I was able to call one of the cows back and unfortunately for her, Grant was already on the shooting sticks and ready! She poked her head up over the brush long enough to look at Grant through his scope just as he sent a fatal bullet her way! The blood trail was insane and perfect for a first time hunter to follow and we found her piled up in no time! It was an amazing experience for us all and I'm very glad to have shared the experience with Grant and Kurt! Grant is a killer and we will definitely see more critters with his tags on them in the future! Congrats buddy! Jimmy>

To read a more in depth story and lots more photos click on the link to CWT.com

http://forums.coueswhitetail.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=21470

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Another Hunt Goes The Distance!

Immediately following Bill Kelley's "Overtime Archery Hunt" we had the priviledge of hunting with another friend who's family has hunted with us over the past few years. Bob MacMillan and his family have been very fortunate drawing tags and we've shared many great hunts with them. This year was Bob's turn as he drew an early rifle bull tag and called us up! Knowing Bob's tag was dang near a once in a lifetime tag we put a great team together with Jeff, Manny, Mel and myself as the guides and Glen Dishmon as our chef! Bob is a dedicated trophy hunter and a person who enjoys all aspects of a hunt. He told us from the beginning that he would rather hunt the whole hunt for a giant bull and go home empty handed then shoot a big bull early on! Bob lived up to that promise and we hunted for our biggest bull which was the one and only King Henry but the rut was slow and he no longer bugled as much making it very difficult to locate him. We hit it hard every day, called in good bulls every day and chased King Henry several times but no shots were fired. On one day while realizing we had no chance of catching up to King Henry we heard a Lion take out one of his cows! The noise was unmistakeable and by the time we got to the cow she was dead and the lion was gone. I set up a camera and got some great pics of the Lion that same evening and over the next few days... Bob was very excited at the chance to take this Lion so we set up a blind and Bob put in quite a few hours hunting over the kill but the Lion would never show up while he was there. It was still a neat experience and made the hunt that much more special. Just like my archery hunt, we finally decided to give up on King Henry and go look for the big bull that Bill Kelley and I saw just before he killed his archery bull. My friends Manny Madrid and Mel Kincaid had been scouting that area for us and had several bulls up to 380" located but they still just weren't big enough, even halfway through the hunt! Bob, my other friend and guide Jeff Wright and I headed down to this new area and during our first morning there we found the bull most guys dream about! This was a bull I hadn't seen before, extremely long beams with tons of distance between each tine, wide and good on all of his tines, this bull would no doubt beat 390" and most likely was mid 390's! This was where I realized how dedicated Bob was when he told us he just didn't like that bull and we still had a couple days left so let's keep looking! Like Bob said earlier, he wanted to hunt the whole hunt for a true giant and only in the last few minutes he would downsize if the chance presented itself. We were in search of a certain bull that i only had a brief glimpse of on the archery hunt. The bull had a huge extra tine on one side and abnormally long G4's with a really good frame. Several other hunters had seen the same bull and figured his G4's were around 28" long! With what I saw and what the other hunters saw, this was definitely a bull we needed to see again. We named this bull "Kickstand" because of his abnormal tine that "kicked" out to the side like a kickstand on a bike.

We spent a ton of time looking for "Kickstand" and passed up opportunities at several bulls between 360-390" in hopes that Kickstand was around and not broken. It was on the very last day when Manny and Mel called stating they had found Kickstand but he had broken both of his G4's and a G3 and was a little smaller than we had hoped on the frame. This was the last minute of the hunt and Bob said "let's go look at em'"! We took off and as we ran up and over the last mountain we found his herd and snuck in. We never got a good look at the bull but as they finally winded us and started taking off I stopped Kickstand in an opening and Bob quickly and instinctively hammered em'! Bob had already made up his mind that he was going to shoot this bull regardless of the breakage simply because it was a bull we had hunted very hard for and it had a history. It wasn't any ordinary bull, this was the ghost that had eluded us for days and this was the last chance to take a bull on this hunt so it was a no-brainer! This bull had huge G4 tines before breaking and great character making him a special bull and a great bull with 7 full days of hard hunting behind em'! Congrats again Bob, it was a hunt we will always remember! Jimmy>

Bill Kelly Kills In Overtime!

I was fortunate to hunt with a friend this year on the 2010 early archery hunt and I was super excited for it because I know what a character Bill Kelly is! Bill has hunted with us before several years ago and took a great late season bull on a tough hunt. That hunt was filled with TONS of laughs and good times despite the tough conditions but just being around Bill we always had fun! Here's the bull he took on that first hunt....
Now that Bill drew a coveted archery bull tag he called me and the hunt was planned. We had been scouting extensively in his unit all summer long and although there were very few "giant" bulls this year, there were definitely plenty of great bulls to hunt! We planned on a 7 day hunt but figured we'd be done well before that because of all the great bulls and the good rut starting early! Little did we know the hunt would last for 12 days! We were on huge bulls daily, a couple were 370-380" and one bull in particular, named "King Henry" was a huge 6x6 bull and he teased us every day. We would chase King Henry daily but the country was flat and thick and he had his harem with no desire to add to it. To know we were hunting such an amazing animal was awesome and kept us going but in the end we realized he was simply untouchable and we had spent too much time on him. If it weren't for the fact we were chasing our dream bull the whole time Bill could've taken several other great bulls but he stayed vigilant and held out. Here's King Henry..
By now we were already into the 11th day and Bill decided to call it quits. He was very happy with the hunt and the bulls we passed up and called in, some to under 10 yards! I agreed it was an amazing hunt regardless of not killing but I haven't had an archery hunter go home empty handed so I told him to get back up before the hunt ends. Bill said he'd try and then headed home. Later that night he called and said he'd be back up the next day! Wore out but excited the game was still on I decided to hunt a different area and call it quits on King Henry. The new area had good bulls but our expectations for these last 2 days would be only for the first 6 point to give us a shot! The first day out was overcast with light sprinkles. The bulls were screaming and Bill and I were set up in some open country callin in bulls! The first bull was a raghorn and he veered around us. The second bull was pushed towards us by a much larger bull that we caught a quick glimpse of. This larger bull had some seriously long tines but was obviously only interested in his cows. The bull he pushed towards us was good enough and Bill and I both agreed, a bird in the hand is better so we got ready. The bull stopped behind brush at 60 yards as Bill drew and held on an opening at 50 yards and waited. In no time the bull came into veiw and stopped perfectly just as Bills arrow arched towards the bull! THWACK! The shot was perfect, the bull ran 20 yards and fell! I ran around the tree to get a visual just in time to see the bull get back up and run falling again shortly after!
Bill and I both were very excited and happy to still wrap a tag on a good bull after such a long hunt. We had opportunities at much larger bulls, seen a couple huge bulls, had tons of great experiences and still put down a good bull with a phenomenal shot in the last inning of the game! Thanks Bill for a great experience and congrats again! Jimmy>

Mike Schnable's Giant Velvet Monster!

Well folks, the 2010 season is underway! We just completed our first hunt of the year and we started the season off with a "BANG".....literally!

We've been helping Mike Schnable with his coveted statewide raffle tag which was good for an entire year in 2009-2010 and we made the most of the tag! Mike hit it off with us right from the start and we shared some amazing moments during his hunt. We hunted for 37 days total and passed up some giant bulls ultimately taking one of our favorite giants named "Deuce"!

This bull scores an amazing 415" with dried velvet and without velvet will gross score around 410-412"! This is our 7th 400" class bull in 4 seasons and 8th overall and we hope to maintain our reputation of 2 400" class giants per season! We have some great hunters hunting with us this year on some great hunts so our expectations are high! Stay tuned to see what else the 2010 season has to offer!

For a full story about the hunt and more pictures please follow the link below......

http://forums.coueswhitetail.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=20343

Tyler Mullins' First Big Game!

Here's a special story that I'm proud to share with you! My nephew Tyler drew a tag for Javalina and did it right from start to finish ultimately taking his first big game animal with one shot! Great job buddy, I know it's the first of many!

Here's his story in his words....

Hi my name is Tyler Mullins and I am 11 years old. For a long time my papa, dad and uncles have been hunting and I couldn’t wait until my dad would let me go out hunting with them. I am thankful that my dad would take me on lots of scouting trips during my summer breaks looking for big bulls and teaching me how to find animals. After every scouting trip I could not wait to get started on my first big game hunt.I was finally able to get my hunter safty class finished and then I had to shoot alot and make some scouting trips for pigs. I did shoot a lot but we never saw any pigs when were scouting. There was lots of tracks but the wether was bad every time we went out. I was shooting a old 308 magnum that my uncle tom shot his first pig with when he was my age with papa in the same unit I hunted for my first hunt. Opening day of my hunt came and I was very excited to go find some pigs. The wether was bad agin so my dad said that we would go glassing and scouting our hunting area. We drove a long time until we found a spot that “PW” the pig whisperer, (thats what my uncle calls him) told my dad about. The spot looked really good and not long after we sat down to glass for animals my dad said I got pigs. I got to look through the binos at them and it was awesome to see them running around and how cool it would be if I could get one of them. Me, my brother Cody, dad and travis were going after them now. Travis is a friend of my dad and he had a pig tag too but he said that I could shoot one first before he would shoot one. Thanks to travis he waited for me to shoot first and the pigs got away that time. My Uncle Jim and papa couldn’t be there until later on the first day so they would have missed me shooting my first pig. My dad called papa and jim to tell them that he has a good spot now and to hurry up and get there. We left those pigs to go get my uncle for the afternoon hunt. Uncle jim got to camp and it was getting late so we went out to try varmit calling. Uncle Jim turn on the call and said that a fox was coming tous. Then he said that another fox was coming and then he said bobcat. I didn’t know what to do so I just kept the gun pointed where he said the fox was. All of a sudden I could see the fox right in front of me. Uncle jim said there he is and then I shot, BOOM the fox was gone. I hit him really hard because I saw the hair go everywhere and all I could find was meat and hair. I will use a smaller gun when I hunt foxes with Uncle jim again. I had a really fun time with everybody that afternoon but we never saw anymore pigs that day.Now the second day of my hunt was starting. We went to the same spot from the first day where I could not get the shot at the pigs. The wether was going bad again but we had Uncle Jim, PW, papa, Travis, Cody and dad to help find me a pig. PW (Brian) found some pigs really fast and I got excited again. We were looking at the pigs in the binos for a minute and my dad said there is pigs right by us. I saw a coyote running past me with the pigs running after him. Now I was really excited. The pigs turned and went back down the canyon and we went to the edge to look for them. We couldn’t find them again so PW went to find some more. After PW left us Uncle Jim found my pig in the canyon by some trees trying to get out of the rain. There was 2 pigs so Travis could shoot one too this time but I still got to shoot first. Uncle Jim told me to get down and try to get a rest and then find the pig in my scope. I found the pig and then took my safety off and shot her. I had my first big game animal down. There was still 1 pig there so travis got to get his pig too. We were all soo excited and I couldn’t believe I finally got my pig. Papa, Uncle Jim, PW, Cody and Dad were so excited for me and Travis and I was too. It was awesomeI am thankful that my papa taut my dad and uncle how to hunt so they could teach me how to hunt. I would like to thank dad, mom, papa, my uncles, PW, Travis, and Cody for being with me on my first hunt. Thanks mostly to God for every thing I have in my life.

Tyler Matthew Mullins

Mullins Teams Up With Sonoran Trophy Hunts!

Hey guys and gals, we did team up with our friend Scott Muzzy of Sonoran Trophy Hunts and will be conducting hunts in Mexico again!

I had the privilege to hunt and guide this past January on some new ranches that have never been hunted before! My brother Matt and close friend Wayne also came down to archery hunt for a couple days and they made the most of it! I spent 3 weeks scouting, hunting and meeting new folks down there and can honestly say that we have an incredible opportunity for anyone interested in hunting Mexico! I saw 3 bucks over 130", my client killed 1 of those, I missed another, and the 3rd was just lucky that I had already killed my buck! Matt and Wayne both harvested 100" class bucks with their bows and shot them out of the same blind, using the same bow, and only 10 seconds apart!!! We also had another client who was hunting for muleys come over for a day and he took his first coues ever, an awesome 100" class buck as well!

For more details and full story of the hunt check it out on CouesWhitetail.com!

Here's the link: http://forums.coueswhitetail.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=17463

If anyone is interested in hunting with us in Mexico this next season please call me at 602-882-1182 and I'll answer any questions you may have. If booked early we can be flexible on dates and logistics. This next season is going to be one for the books!!! Thanks, JIM>

Jakob's First Archery Javalina!

Here is a story that I just had to share with everyone. This story is about a close friend of mine's son Jakob and his first archery kill! I've known Jakob his whole life and remember the day he came into this world his father Bret and I had talked about how excited we were for the day he would take his first big game animal. That day has already come and gone and several javalina and deer have fallen to Jakob's well placed shots, but this is his first archery animal and as you'll read, it took alot of skill and talent to get it done! Be watching for many more stories and photos of Jakob, he's already well on his way to becoming a very successful hunter!

Here's the story as told by Jakob's father Bret.........

Jakob got his 1st archery javelina this past weekend, on his 1st archery hunt, At 12 years old! It happened Sunday morning around 9:00 on 1-3-10. 4 shots & he hit him all 4 times!

I bought Jakob & I these tags over the counter for unit 18b. Jakob is 2 for 2 with a rifle so we decided to try it with a bow this time. I decided not to carry my bow until he got one.

Jakob practiced until he could pull back 40 lbs. & shoot consistent out to 20 yards. He'd say" You get me within 20 yards dad & I'll hit em".....I'll try.....

Friday & Saturday we hunted hard but only came up with lots of hunters,some deer, & a few distant pigs that we couldn't re-locate.

Sunday morning we hiked to our favorite glassing spot. After about an hour we glassed up 3 pigs!!! They were about 3/4 of a mile away & the stalk was on!!! After about 30 minutes we were on the ridge we last saw them. We would stop & glass as we went but couldn't find them until Jakob says "is that a pig by that cactus?".... sure enough! 65 yards away stood a lone pig... "good job buddy let's go!" We started to close the distance on a tree that should put us 20 yards form them. We were almost to the tree when I tell Jakob to "knock an arrow,put your release on, & get ready". A few more steps & we spot a pig walking out to the right from behind that tree at about 15 yards! He's behind a bush looking in our direction & woofing....I tell Jakob "when he steps out take him behind the shoulder". The pig starts walking out to the right, Jakob comes to full draw & as the pig is walking....wack! he hits him a little far back but he's hit!...."re-load"( lol! ) 2nd shot closer to 20 yards now as the pig steps through a small opening in the brush & stands...wack!...mid body but low! We Track him down into a wash & under some boulders where he laid with his back to us. 3rd shot 10 yards..."right between the shoulders where the collar is o.k.?"....wack! " good shot buddy! let's just wait him out". After about 10 minutes we decide to try & get him to stand, so Jakob could get a broadside shot & finish him....this is one tough pig! I took a stick & got him to stand/crouch in the back of the cave...now he's quartering to us. 4th shot (last arrow) 5 yards...."hold tight to the shoulder right behind the collar"...wack!... "that's the one!...lung shot!" The pig walks out of the rocks & dies in the wash! WOOHOOOOOO!!!!Jakob's 1st archery pig is down!!!!!

Jakob's pig was a big ol' boar that of course....he wants lifesized. He gets to sew up all the holes though....lol.

He was using his Browning Micro Adrenelin,100 grain 3 blade Muzzy's.

I wasn't sure what to expect for his 1st bow hunt...but Jakob held it together & got it done once again. Proud of ya' buddy!

Jakob's famous quote that day...."I love the smell of pig in the morning" hahaha! me too buddy....

> Thanks, Bret