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I reckon this won't go over well, but the thing I don't fully understand is how people can 'miss' multiple times at a distance they obviously can't shoot and feel good about continuing to shoot. I watched a guy miss 10-12 shots this last Sat, then shoot 3 more about 2 hours later (he got that deer by god). I was skinning a bear at that point that we choose to get 250yrds from vs shooting the exact same distance that he was shooting from at a deer at the top of the same canyon. What really confuses me is he had a ridge 300yrds closer that he had to get to anyway to collect the animal. Turning a 700+ into a 400+in just a matter of 20-30min (way less than the time period of all the shooting going on). I cringe at the thought of how many of those misses are actually hoofs and legs that at that distance the shooter isn't going to investigate unless the animal hits the dirt. I even heard his spotter say at one point, 'I think you hit him', then a good 5 min and 3 shots later, ' I don't think you did'. That's just too far if you aren't sure and just stop shooting. Anyway, for those of you with the skill the practice under all of the conditions that we all know happen--that's awesome, but the glorification of it and the equipment alone doesn't make it possible for the other 98% of us and it's unfortunate that some of % of that, thinks they can and trys to the detriment of the those animals wounded and ultimately to our opportunity. Good luck all!

Killing a nice coues has always been something that has eluded me. I’ve killed a bunch of them over the years but never one that i would consider nice, or big. I have been fortunate enough to take some real good elk, mulies, antelope, bear, etc. but coues have always kicked my butt. Having killed 3 between 95-98” my goal is always to take a 100” buck. This year was no different. I’ve been chasing one particular buck for 3 years now but i have never seen him hard-horned. My goal was simple this year, kill that buck. I have hunted him endlessly through archery and rifle season with no luck. I spend a LOT of time scouting and running cameras so i know most of the deer that are in the area i hunt. As soon as the bucks shed their velvet this year, i lost track of all the “shooter” bucks i have been watching. I can’t for the life of me figure out where they go. Well, the opening morning of my rifle hunt rolled around and Jason, my brother and myself found ourself at our glassing point. Jason had a tag with me and my brother was there to help out. We started seeing deer right away but nothing special. After covering all the country in our immediate vicinity, my eyes started to wander to the country I’m sure we all look at with the thought of “why am i glassing so far away?” I mentioned to my brother that i could see a couple deer waaaaayyy out there and he told me pretty much what i was thinking to myself. Why the he!! was i looking over there. I figured i was looking at a couple does anyways, so i got back to glassing the more approachable country around us. A few minutes later my brother told me he spotted some more deer waaaay out there where i was looking and one looked like a decent buck. Not getting too excited, i pulled out the big eye and looked him over. He was a decent buck, but not what i was after. We kind of forgot about him and got back to business. A little while later someone was looking over him again and he seemed a lot bigger than we thought. Another look through the big eye confirmed there were two bucks. We could tell they were both at least decent with one being larger than the other. We watched the bucks bed and made a plan. Jason and i would make a very long and what should have been “low percentage” stalk to see how the bucks looked from much closer. The stalk worked out great. We found ourselves 450ish yards from the bedded bucks. After a quick look, i decided to try to shoot the bigger buck. A few minutes later he stood up and walked through a narrow shooting lane. I fired and the shot found it’s mark. Buck down. After the celebration ended we noticed the other buck was still standing there and Jason decided he was big enough. A few minutes and one shot later we had two bucks dead within feet of eachother. I never got a great look at the buck i shot i just knew had a good frame and could tell he had a bit of funk on his rack. When we got to the bucks, i was pleasantly surprised. He was not the buck i was after but he is one i could not pass. Jason’s buck was also a little better than we thought. Nothing like an opening morning double-down on a couple good bucks.

Hi! I'm new to the forum and wanted to brag a little about my daughter's first hunt. Got herself a cute little Coues deer.

I have had this rifle for a while and was fortunate to get a new Vortex Razor HD AMG installed on it. What a great scope and it shoots pretty good also. Eric is a great guy to work with just awesome customer service. Yea I puked on that last shot on that five shot string

Javelina and Turkey in 24A

Its the negative comments that drive people from wanting to post anything. Agreed it really needs to stop. I hope your daughter gets it sold.

I believe Bill at R&R Taxidermy in Mesa will trade you a hide for a Euro mount. This website has really seemed to go downhill the last couple of years. There is a ton of finger pointing and name calling lately. Hunters need to stick together, not belittle each other. Good luck with the sale!

The State of Arizona touts wildlife as a commodity all the time. Hunting is a huge sector of the state's economy. We all contribute to it. Every license you buy, every tag you pay for all goes toward purchasing an animal from the state. Don't insult my intelligence.

Well here is the short and sweet version of my wife's first elk hunt. She drew a limited opportunity "Any Elk" HAM hunt. I knew it had the potential to be a tough hunt so contacted my friend Shane Koury to help us out. We got on a monster bull early on day one that none of us had ever seen before, but he wasn't in a shootable location. As we moved in on him, he and his cows busted us. We were determined that he would be our target bull and set about to pursue him the rest of the hunt. The first day and a half were great. He was a very silent bull and bugled very little, which made it tough to find and trail him in a flat, cedar heavy unit. Late on day two the weather started moving in and for the next few days we were pelted by rain, snow, sleet, hail, and heavy wind with little to no breaks in the weather. This weather effectively killed the rut in our unit. The bugling slowed to just one bugle before light by day two. By day four the bulls were back in bachelor groups and there was zero rut activity or behavior. On day five Shane and I did an evaluation of my wife's mood. We agreed that we (mostly me) were putting our standards and expectation of bull size/class on her and encouraged her to be more open with us about what she was looking for in the hunt. It was clear she really just wanted to shoot a mature bull, and we didn't want to kill her enthusiasm with the continued grind for our target bull. After we "adjusted" our expectations and plans, we quickly came across this guy in a bachelor group of three bulls. Kursty made a good 235 yard shot with the muzzleloader. We heard the loud unmistakable thump of the bullet making impact, but he ran off into the thick cedars. After a short time we began tracking him. No blood, but because of all the moisture, a blind man could have tracked his deep prints in the mud. After bumping him a couple times we agreed to back out and give him four hours. It was probably about 40 degrees at the time so we weren't too concerned about meat spoilage. We could tell he was struggling to stay ahead of us and was done, but needed some time. Those four hours drove my wife to a near nervous breakdown. After picking up the trail where we left off that morning, we found he had bedded up not far from where we left him. Kursty put one last shot in him at 21 yards and he was done. This was a fantastic first elk hunt for my wife that had a little bit of everything, highs and lows, grinding it out, crazy weather, a little rut activity, etc. I am super happy for her and can't wait to get her out in the field again.

I was able to finally get my bull last week (evening of the 20th). Passed on a lot of smaller bulls before we finally spotted this guy.

Archery javelina in 6a for us!

Great season! Got into a herd having a full blown party, opening morning (a week late in 7w this year for the early muzzy hunt in there) Had some bruisers just out of bow range. Got into big bulls every single day and no shortage of amazing elk hunting! Met some cool hunters in the field, earned some blisters and bruises. Found a good shed, hiked through God's most beautiful country, I had a great time overall. I called in many bulls, saw some of the most jacked up bulls I've ever seen, took a shot and missed at a 3x6 that was so strangely cool.. and an hour after that, I managed to slock this little guy on Monday evening. Ranged him at 86 yards, as I began to punch the trigger I noticed a blade hanging out if the rubber band..... Talk about a dilemma..... I punched the trigger anyway. Bull ran 40 yards and spin-out dead! Had him half quartered up before my fellow archers showed up, 2 trips down the mtn, and we had him bagged and tagged and hanging in the cool air back at camp by 1am. My 4th archery bull and I really really enjoyed the hunt. Just got home to do laundry and work tomorrow, then back up the hill to call in another bull for my buddy.

Scouted for a month ahead of the season. Hunted for 13 days and finally everything came together. Tough hunt. Was hunting unit 8 and it was hot and dry. It was 85 the first 5 days and not much cooler after that. 81 yesterday. My son was supposed to be my helper but melted in the heat. I took him home after 5 days and was alone the rest of the way. Some of you will remember my dad passed away in May. This was the first time I went on a hunt without him. Emotional roller coaster for sure. Had many close calls and got a tip from a guy I met on a little hidden water spot. Sat there a couple days with no results other than antelope, mule deer, coyotes etc.. I did get several bulls on camera at night and it kept me coming back. I chased bugles around in between. After 12 days I was about wore out and decided for good or for bad, I was going to sit that spot until the end. Day 13 found me in the blind before daylight with bulls bugling all around. As luck would have it, part of the herd decided to come down the ravine to the water. The big bull pushed his way through the cows and into the water. 40 yards. He turned to broadside, I calmed myself, settled my pin and let it go. Hit him just a little high which brought on some nervous moments because he bled in his chest instead of leaving a blood trail. But I knew I hit him well and was confident he was dead. Made a circle and found him about halfway back. Not going to lie, I shed some tears. It was a long, physically and emotionally draining hunt for me. Then, I had no help. Did everything on my own. Told my wife, I can say I did it alone now, but I never want to do it again. A common theme with the bulls where I was hunting, was weak backs. Everyone thought it was from the drought. Not sure, but if this bull had backs to go with the ridiculous fronts, I can only imagine what he would have scored. All in all, I had a great hunt and met some good people. Was considering doing euro mount. Anyone have any suggestions of someone in Phoenix that is good, and reasonable? Almost done. Should have my hands on him soon. Can't wait to put a tape on him. Daniel Gradillas of Spot-N-Stalk Skullz holding him.

My wife and pops drew oct tags together. Last year both were able to tag out and were excited for this year. Opening day my wife had passed up 7 bucks til I spotted a shooter for her. Took us an hour and half to cut it from 2300 yards to 500 yards. We looked him over again and made plans for a stalk. Worked our way up to 154 yards, after a few practice squeezes she felt comfortable enough and let her bullet fly. It’s her second buck almost a twin to last years buck. on Sat we couldn’t locate any shooters for pop, Sunday morning same deal, around noon pops decided he’ll take one of the smaller bucks we found in the morning. So we hiked in bout 2 pm in the heat and circled around to view the north facing slopes. Turned out the small buck had a buddy that’s a little cooler. We set up at 208 yards and his bullet hit the mark, fun hunt this season. Warm and really put the boot to the ground!

Got to my hunting unit on Friday 21st at 6:00 pm. 24 hrs later, Saturday at 6:00 pm, put an arrow in this bull, ran about 100 yards and dropped. I'm very happy! Thanks for looking

killed an incredibly fat little 2x3 burro up under lake mountain this am. just a 2 1/2yo buck but with more cavity fat than i have ever seen with lots under his hide also. water and acorns everywhere. made a good shot w the smokepole, good friends, good times making memories all went well. will sit well with me if it is my last. lee ps have not seen the 'dude' since last day of deer season in 3b right at dark.

no turkey. didnt put in for pig. Did get a Bull bison tag

If it helps, we had 2 bears in one canyon 2 saturdays ago, one on top of the canyon and one towards the bottom (1500yrds apart I would say). Got 127 from the upper one waiting for him to clear some brush and he just vanished, meanwhile the lower bear did as well. We decided to cut our losses and bug out. Came back last Sat (1 week later) and found the lower one again and my son was able to get to 250 and done deal. We did not see the upper one that I assumed got a good whiff of him causing him to disappear.

It has been pretty common for people to buy and sell capes on this site. I am not sure what all the push back is about.

Excellent! Congrats to all!

Here’s a couple archery bulls I helped with in New Mexico I know nobody likes the tramp stamp, but that’s the way things are now unfortunately.

Been checking frequently this morning. Hopefully I will finally get my Gould’s tag

Shot out to 500 Yards today on the steel plates at Phoenix Rod and Gun club and couldn't be more pleased. I shot the far left steel plate aim point was the 2 inch red square and was able to put 10 rounds pretty much in a 3 inch group no real wind to contend with. Shooting Hornady 143 ELDx with 51.4 grains of 4831 SC jumping the lands .020 using CCI 250 Primers no pressure signs at all. Really digging the 6.5X284 and the Vortex Razor AMG HD is a great scope super clear and instead of dialing elevation this time I used the recital held over 7 MOA ballistic chart said 6.8 MOA it was nuts on. I cerakoted the gun this last week also and Area 15 was great to work with. This is my first true custom gun and I think I may have caught the bug.

I wouldn't touch that liver. Catfish bait ? You might want to take the head and liver to fish and game so they can take biological samples from that one.