Absolute Bomber Coues

Check out this Coues deer that was just found in central Arizona.  The lucky guy that found it checked it with Game and Fish and they determined that it was killed by a mountain lion.  It is unbelievable how many giant bucks are taken by lions.  They are by far superior hunters compared to us humans with our high powered rifles and optics.  I put a quick tape on the buck and he grosses 144 inches and nets 139 nontypical.  He has a 129 3/8 gross, 124 3/8 net mainframe with 14 5/8 of extras.  His beams are an incredible 21 3/8 and 22 6/8 in length.  The photos don't do this buck justice with his height, width and massive bases  All I can say is I hope that he passed his genes along before the lion got him.

400 Bull

Here is a photo of Logan Anderson with his bull that he brought in to have scored a few weeks ago.  Logan took this bull on an Arizona archery hunt last fall.  The bull officially grosses a little over 414 and nets just over 400".  As you can see from the photos it is a very impressive bull.  I believe that this was a limited opportunity hunt. 

More MX

Here are more photos of the bucks taken in Mexico a couple of weeks ago. Friends Houston Davis, Darin North and Jeremy Gugelmeyer all took nice bucks.  Houston took his 105" buck at over 700 yards, quite impressive shooting.  Darin took his 97" buck and I believe it was over 500 yards.  Jeremy took his buck with a closer shot and it is 108" with a broken G-4 or else it would have been 111-112.  We had a great trip and are looking forward to hopefully returning next year.





Houston (above)



Darin (above)



Jeremy

Hannah's first big game animal

Sorry I haven't posted more photos of the coues deer taken on our Mexico hunt;  I will get those up in the next couple of days.  I have to share some photos of my daughter and her Javelina she harvested this morning.  She was very excited to say the least.  We have been hunting the past couple of days with no Javelina sightings until this morning and we were able to get within range so she could get one.  We did find a dead Javelina Yesterday morning that had died sometime during the night because it was still limber when we found it.  I couldn't find any visible signs of trauma, so it must have been sick.  If I start foaming at the mouth in the next few days I had better go get some rabies shots after handling it.  Anyway I posted a photo of that pig as we found it and also a couple of a happy Hannah with here nice Javelina from this morning.

A happy Hannah and her Javelina

Hannah, her Javelina and  a proud dad

Hannah and the dead javelina we found yesterday

Sonoran Giant

Here are some photos of the giant coues buck my father-in-law, Earl Laforge, took while we were in Mexico last week.  Earl and good friend Jeremey Gugelmeyer were on the buck for a couple of day and finally got it killed on the third day of the hunt.  I actually saw Earl shoot the deer from my vantage point across the canyon.   I got to see the deer alive, and believe me he is impressive to look at.  He is has a typical 5X5 frame with split eyeguards and an extra on each side making him a 7X8.  I put a pretty accurate tape on him in camp and came up with a little over 131" gross.  He should make the all time Boone and Crockett nontypical coues category.  We will be doing a lifesize mount of this buck later this year and I will post photos of it when it is completed.  Enjoy the pictures.

Sonora Coues

I just returned from Mexico a couple of days ago where I was hunting with five others and we had a great hunt.  The trip went smooth and I saw nothing different from the past 11 years we have been going down.  I am sure that there is some risk involved, but we didn't mess around in town and stayed on the ranch the whole time we were down there.  Everyone harvested nice deer and I will post photos of them over the coming days.  This is the buck I took on the last day.  I have been wanting a true 4 X 4 for years and I was finally able to get one.  He gross scores 100 7/8 and I couldn't be happier!  Check back for more photos to come including a monster buck my father-in-law harvested.





Family Affair Coues

Here are a couple of bucks taken in the late season by Jeremy and Kristy Ulmer, owners of Chasin A Dream Outfitters archery shop here in Payson.  Jeremy's buck is a gnarly old dude that grosses in the upper teens and Kristy's buck is pushing the 110 mark.  Kristy harvested her buck on the second to last day of the season with a strong and cold winter storm moving in that morning.  It turned out that it would have ended her hunt if she hadn't found her buck that morning.  The upper photo is Jeremy with his buck and the lower photo is Jeremy, Kristy, and their son Zach with Kristy's buck. Congratulations to both of them and if you are coming through Payson, stop and visit them at their archery shop across the beeline highway from Dairy Queen.

Archery Buck

Check out this coues deer that my good friend Gavin Weller took last week.  Gavin has taken many nice bucks with his bow over the years, but I think this will be his biggest to date.  Congratulations on a great buck Gavin!

Another Arizona Coues

Here are a couple of photos of Dan Kasprzyk with a nice coues deer he harvested early in the late season in central Arizona.  Dan took this deer with one shot at 670 yards with his 7mm rem mag with a long range scope mounted on it.  According to his dad, Dick, the deer was in country that looked more like sheep country with all the bluffs and steep slopes.  Dan's buck grosses over 100".  Great buck and great photos.  This is a good example of how well your field photos can turn out if a person puts a little thought  and effort into it.  Congratulations Dan!

Another Massive Coues

Here is a buck that Ty Goodman of Goodman Outfitters guided a hunter to in central Arizona a couple of days ago.  He is super massive and grosses over 130".  Ty guides his hunters to some great bucks each year.  I believe the story is or will be posted on the Rutnhard website, as Ty sent me this photo and it is already marked with Goodman Outfitters and Rutnhard.  Congratulations to Ty and his hunter on a great coues deer.

Old Nelsoni Ram

Here is Steve Hovik with his Nelsoni desert ram he harvested a couple of weeks ago.  This ram is quite old and has the most chipped up horns I have ever seen on a desert sheep.  He definitely did his share of head butting over his lifetime. 

Niece's first deer

My niece Megan harvested her first deer a couple of weeks ago.  She hunted with her three cousins and it was the first time hunting for all of them.  Even though Megan was the only one to get a buck, they all had a lot of fun and learned alot.  She is pictured with her dad, Tim, and her brother Gage.

Old Warrior Ram

Here is Brian Johnson with his desert ram he took on opening day of his hunt.  This ram is 10+ years old and has the horns and scars to show it.  Brian and friend Mattew Phillips watched this ram for over a week before the hunt and he stayed within a quarter mile area the whole time.  This ram has 15" bases and carries the mass well, with a gross score of a little over 171 B and C;  He should make the minimum for B and C after the 60 day drying period. 

New Mexico Ibex

Friends Dick, Tanner and Shelley Henry just returned from New Mexico where Dick had an Ibex tag.  Here is what tanner writes about the hunt:
Dad, Shelley and I just returned from my dad's Persian Ibex hunt in the Florida Mountains of southern New Mexico. For those of you unfamiliar with the state, the Florida Mountains, (pronounced Flooreeda) are extremely steep, jagged, inhospitable desert mountains, just south of the town of Deming near the Mexico border. Dad was one of 15 successful applicants to draw the coveted "once in a lifetime" tag to hunt Ibex. Dad spent a significant amount of time researching the hunt early this fall and requested the help of Shawn Choat from Animas in southern New Mexico. Shawn made many trips to the Florida Mountains while Dad and I were on other local hunts and a Whitetail deer hunt in Missouri. Shelley, Dad and I arrived the day after Thanksgiving (last Friday for our Canadian friends :) ) and set up camp. We spent the evening checking on some Ibex that Dad's research had led Shawn to locate. We luckily found the Ibex we were after. Let me tell you, I have never seen a more courageous, perhaps mentally disturbed animal in my life. During the rut, these things seem to defy gravity and have a perpetual chip on their shoulder. We watched the males (I don't know if they're Rams, Bulls, or Billies) fight, push around females, and generally take their agression out on anything vertical, whether it be mammal or plant. Their ability to maneuver the sheer vertical cliff faces  and boulder piles just left us awestruck. If you ever have an opportunity to hunt Ibex, DO IT! Anyway to continue, Shawn showed up that evening and we planned the morning hunt. The plan was to have me deliver Shawn and Dad to the base of the mountain so they could climb in the dark for an hour to a planned ambush site. The following morning, Shawn and Dad arrived at a small oak tree at the base of a 200 foot cliff where the Ibex were sleeping high above predators reach. As daylight broke, the Ibex bounded down from their perch and paraded toward a small mountainside spring and in front of Dad and Shawn. With one well placed shot from my borrowed .270 Dad downed his 41-inch Ibex. Shelley and I were out on the desert floor in my truck watching as the Ibex fled the scene over the cliff faces to safety. Shelley and I climbed up to help pack the Ibex off the hill only to find that these things are only about 27 inches tall and weigh about 60 pounds.

California Blacktail

Here is Randy Stalcup, art director/graphic designer for Western Hunter Magazine, with his California blacktail.  Randy writes, "I got to take a wonderful trip with my Dad and took a great buck. He's a typical 4x4 with eyeguards and scores 132 3/8"! I never dreamed of shooting a buck this big".  Way to go Randy!