Leaderboard

The following is what I found in my hunting book about the most severe winter storm in my memory. "The winter of 2009-2010 was the most severe winter in 43 years (since 1967). We had over 14' of snow with +8' coming in less than a two day span. Our cabin experienced damages exceeding $23,000 in value due to the heavy weight of the snow. The wildlife didn't fare much better than my cabin as many were stranded in the deep snow and some did not manage to migrate out to lower elevations to survive the severe winter. There were stories heard that when the snowplow made its way to the Beaverhead ranches there were hundreds of elk in a herd that walked by vehicles to gain access off the snow bound mountain." Additionally my wife and I were snowed in for 4 days before we could get out of the cabin........ but luckily we had food, fire and stored water. The power was out off and on for about 4 days. Contrary to what I would have guessed, the horn quality that year for my archery hunt was disappointing. I guess most of the superior nutrients on the ground went into restoring their bodies from the severe winter, and not to exceptional horn growth. It was a fun 4 days at the cabin though with my wife being snowed in. Wish she was still here on earth to have shared this last storm with me in Alpine.

Remember those two girls that decided to drive to Big Lake or Crescent Lake....something like that? Happened many years ago. 30+ maybe. They were stoned and ended up stuck on a closed road they claim ADOT didn’t check. Finally rescued by snowmobiles and then sued ADOT. Probably why ADOT does what it does now.

Finally got the new 6.5-06AI broke in and a load developed. Winchester model 70 26" shaw barrel Lake city match brass sorted by volume and neck turned 59.0 grains H4831 CCI magnum primers 140 berger vld Velocity = 3180 fps Here is a three shot group at 200 yards to confirm zero. And here is a five shot group at 800 yards on a steel gong. The square in the center is 4"x4". The wind was variable and blowing in from the left at 8-10 mph. I got to say I'm pretty happy with the results. When running my data through bergers ballistic program I'm reaching a 1000 yards with more than 1000 ft lbs of energy and running about 20" flatter than a 300 Rum running a 210 berger at 3050. Windage numbers are within an inch and I'm only giving up 400 pounds of energy while using 30 grains less powder and producing the recoil of a 270.

To tell this story we need to go back 7 years ago when my brother in law Adam starting telling me I should try to hunt big game in Arizona. I have always loved the outdoors and enjoyed fishing, but never truly had the desire to hunt. Finally, after about a year of listening to Adam plead his case on why I should hunt, and also seeing my sister get a bull elk, I decided to put in for the draw. Being that I was a rookie, I had no idea I would have to wait several years before I could hunt elk. After two years of not drawing a tag Adam convinced me to put in for deer as well. Well that was probably the best decision I have ever made. Over the past 4 years I have had the opportunity to go on multiple big game hunts. Some of the hunts have been successful and some have not, but just being in the outdoors and growing friendships is reward enough for me. Through all the ups and downs, I have developed a deep love and passion for hunting. I have also been blessed with the fact that I get to share my passion with my son Thomas, who has been hunting along side of me for 2 years now. Heck the kid has gotten two elk before I have even shot at one!!! I might be a little jealous 😀 Let's move forward to the day I got a call from Adam letting me know that cards were being hit. I was on my way to work and can still remember screaming loud over the phone, "I got MY bull tag!!!" Adam even told me to calm down because I was so loud!!! It was six years in the making, but I finally got MY tag. Since I was involved in a few other hunts this fall and had other obligations, I did not scout as much as I should have going into this hunt. I was able to get out and go scouting the Sunday before opening day and had high hopes. Adam and I went into a very good area and unfortunately we struck out and did not locate any bulls. I was trying to remain confident knowing that I would be back up on Wednesday morning. That would give me two more days to locate MY bull before the hunt started. Well Wednesday morning came and passed and I struck out again. Needless to say I was a bit nervous at this point. Wednesday evening I went into another area and located 15 or so bulls, but nothing that I would consider to be MY bull. Adam came up and joined me for Thursday's scouting. The plan was to split up and cover as much area as possible. Well about an hour or so before sunrise I was on my way into a scouting location Adam selected for me, but to my surprise someone had beat me to the spot. With very little time before sunrise I decided to go to plan b which was a spot I had seen a really nice bull during my son's cow elk hunt this past October. I drove as fast as I could to get to the glassing spot before sunrise, luckily I made it just in time. After about 30 minutes of glassing I had spotted a few small bulls and some cows, but still no sign of MY bull. After about an hour I decided to move locations. Just as I started to move I saw a yellow spot through the trees working my direction. I immediately put the glass up and knew that this was MY bull. I spent the next 2 hours watching MY bull feed across from me at 450 yards. I took several pictures and some video of him all while thinking, "Why can't this be opening day!" Once he disappeared into the thick trees I knew where I wanted to be for opening morning. Going to bed Thursday night I could hardly sleep, opening day was almost here and I had MY bull located. Adam and I went in to find MY bull opening morning, and spent more time glassing fog than anything else. There was a storm forcasted for the first three days of the hunt. We decided to back out and try a different spot in the evening hoping for better glassing conditions. The evening hunt came and passed. We saw several bulls but nothing that was as good or better then MY bull. My sister Tracy joined us for the second day, and we made a plan to go back and locate MY bull. Adam was pretty familiar with the elk movent in the area and he knew that it would only be a matter of time before MY bull shows up again. We just need to stick to the plan. The second morning came and passed. Again we saw several bulls, but we were unable to locate MY bull. We decided to change it up for the evening and tried a different spot. We located a really nice 5x6 bull that was definitely bigger then MY bull. Long story short we made a stock on the 5x6 but quickly realized it was not a good decision to continue. If we continued to chase this bull, we would be putting ourselves into a dangerous situation. He was across a canyon from heck, a storm was starting to roll in, the wind was picking up, and we were losing sunlight. Everything was telling me that this was not MY bull. It was a difficult thing to do but we had to let that bull go. On the way out my sister found a small deer shed. I have never seen her so happy in my life. It was one of my favorite moments of this hunt!!! We regrouped at the hotel, and honestly all of us seemed relieved we stopped chasing that 5x6. After all he was not MY bull anyway. On the third day we met our buddy Chris who came up for the day to help us glass. We stuck to the plan for the morning and went in to locate MY bull. Once it was light enough to glass we instantly spotted a large herd of cows about 400 yards away. We knew that there was a spike and a small 4x4 with this herd yesterday morning. We watched the herd for about fifteen minutes and we did not see MY bull, so we all worked around the hill about 50 yards to glass another spot. After a few minutes I decided to go back to the original glassing spot to check on the large herd. To my surprise there were 5 other hunters glassing right on top of us not 20 yards from our gear. It was pretty clear that we were there first, since our ranger was also parked very close. I was trying to contain my anger, after all it is public land. I personally would have backed out, but obviously these people were not going to do that. I called Adam to let him know what was going on. Adam discussed the situation with the other hunters who were trying to get a kid a bull regardless of size. They agreed that they would give us an hour to locate MY bull, and after the hour we would let the kid shoot the spike or 4x4 in the herd just in front of us. After about 10 minutes of some high pressure glassing, our buddy Chris said, "I got a small 5x5 over here." We took a look through the glass and sure enough it was MY bull. He was about 1300 yards away so Adam told the other group to give us 15 minutes to get set up, and if we don't shoot by then they can have the kid shoot one of the other bulls that was still in range. Adam and I went on a fast paced stalk to get in range of MY bull. We got to about 500 yards and tried to set up for a prone shot. MY bull was slowing moving through the trees not giving us a shot opportunity. We needed to move positions and we knew we were running out of time!!! We knew at any moment the other group was going to shoot. After about a 75 yard army crawl we got back into a shooting position. MY bull was still not cooperating. He was not presenting us a shot opportunity. I watched him in the rifle scope for several more minutes, then BOOM!!!! The other group started shooting. The kid that was with the other group took 6 to 9 shots at the 4x4 that was in the herd from earlier. I honestly lost count but kept thinking please don't scare MY bull!!! The other group did give us well over 15 minutes before they started shooting. I was very thankful for that and the fact that all their shooting didn't spook MY bull. After about 5 more minutes MY bull finally gave me a 580 yard hard quartering away shot. BOOM my rifle went off. I did not see the hit through the scope but followed the bull up the hill about 15 yards and he stopped broadside. BOOM, I sent another round. MY bull just stood there like I missed completely. I asked Adam, "Where did I hit?" Perplexed he replied "I don't know???" Then my bull started a fast paced walk up the hill. I followed him through the scope for about 5 seconds and then I saw him drop. MY bull was down!!!! I told Adam "He is down, he is down!!!" We sent one more round just to be sure and watched him for a few minutes. He was not moving. After reality hit me, I punched Adam in the arm yelling, "I got MY bull!!!". Needless to say I was excited and relieved that it all worked out. The other group of hunters were also successful. They were able to get the kid the 4x4 from the large herd. In addition to that, Adam glassed up another bull for another member of that very same group. The third hunter was able to take a bull at over 900 yards. Pretty good morning to say the least!!! 3 bulls down in about a 30 minute time frame, including MY very first bull!!! Huge thanks to my sister Tracy for helping us pack MY bull out. She packed out a front and hind quarter. Also huge thanks to Chris for glassing up MY bull that morning under a high pressure situation. Finally, huge thanks to my brother in law Adam for convincing me to put in for this hunt 7 years ago. Hunting has tought me alot about myself and because of hunting I have developed some great friends. I can wait for the next adventure but won't soon forget this hunt, and being able to harvest MY first bull. VID_20181129_075956.mp4

I thought Obama laid off all the cattle guards, lol. Hope you find some

I'm not driving all the way to payson for a camp kitchen. Give it to wildwoody.

First it was really cool all the snow falling! Next morning reality hits!!! Where are my four boys? Oh yeah they are all grown up and gone! While my neighbor uses a snow blower????? Who owns a snow blower in Snowflake?? And then of course there was this which didn’t surprise me but didn’t exactly make my day any brighter! Very greatful for the great moisture that came to our area and that I am still healthy enough to shovel snow with the best of them! I probably won’t be able to move tomorrow but dang it was nice to get a real snow storm!

From hannigans meadow lodge Facebook page. Says it was 5 feet in spots

You wanna know why? Really? Too many flatlanders and fools driving on bald, underinflated tires, who couldn't put on chains to save them, even if they had them, which they don't, and who have no idea what snow or ice is all about. forepaw

I haven't shot old model army revolvers in many years, but I used to shoot them a lot. I mean, really, a lot! When I was in college I used to buy up the junk Italian reproduction guns from the Cabela's bargain bin ($20-$40), in Kearney Nebraska and literally shoot them to death. I even hunted occasionally with the old model army and killed a deer or two with one on occasion. A few things I learned from pitching thousands of round balls down field. -filling any air gap between the powder charge and the ball will enhance cleaner ignition of the powder as the powder will be compressed against the flash hole at the back of the cylinder. -You will get a more consistent powder burn from cylinder to cylinder because powder charges will be uniformly pushed to the back of the cylinder. This will equate to more consistent velocity from one cylinder to the next. And finally, the historic reason for using a filler between the powder charge and the ball. Chain fires can happen with black powder revolvers. A chain fire is when you fire the chamber inline with barrel and somehow the flash manages to ignite the powder in the adjoining chamber causing it to detonate and launch a bullet, which is not inline with barrel. Trust me Bro', having this happen is great way to develop a flinch when shooting pistols. This might be the most prevalent reason for using a filler, the prevention of an inadvertent spark sliding past a ball in an adjoining chamber and igniting that powder charge. I think this is a very rare occurrence, but it can happen. Just trust me, it can happen. So if there is an air gap between the powder charge and the ball, a filler is a great way to stabilize velocity, possibly correct ignition problems, and possibly prevent chain fires. I recall reading about all sorts of magic things that could be used as a filler, but I always used corn meal, cheap and readily available in every grocery store bigger then a quicky mart. One more piece of advice. Don't use fixed steel plates as targets less then 20 yards away. Lead round balls are soft and the Old Model Army is powerful. When that soft round ball impacts a fixed steel plate, the shrapnel from the disintegrating round ball can fly straight back at you causing painful wounds that may land you in an emergency room, where a hot ER nurse might assist with stitches in an effort to put you back together. You might then decide you should marry said hot ER nurse, but then become a victim of an incredibly ugly divorce. I wonder if she still has my 20 or so old model army revolvers, but I don't wonder enough to call and ask. In summary, old model army revolvers are awesome and likely one of the most impressive handguns built prior to anything that chambered the 357 and 44 magnum cartridges. Using a filler between the powder and round ball may very well lend to a number of desirable ballistic efficiencies, and don't shoot at close range steel plates with an Old Model Army as it might mess with your life in ways you never even imagined.

so when is the deadline to get aplications in for this?

Everybody knows its Mar 1st. These threads arent any good anymore like they used to be 5 yrs ago.

Dats a lot of sheeps..

Who said their kids were disadvantaged? What I said was I wanted them to go hunting. Seems pretty reasonable to me.

Just my perspective, but having my sons able to go out on youth cow hunts when they were starting out was pretty awesome. After they all got their first cow, they wanted to go for bulls. Now comes the waiting game. My oldest took to bow hunting and has had 2 archery bull hunts in a good unit. The other two, well, waiting for a rifle or muzzle loader bull hunt could take a long time. I'm OK with that. But having a backup plan for cows while waiting for a bull tag isn't a bad thing. That said, my wife isn't a hunter, and we've never put her in for a hunt for the sole purpose of handing down a tag to one of the kids. Some folks do, and I have no problem with that. It's playing the odds and using the existing, legal opportunities to get the kids in the field - and that's a good thing IMO.

Almost every person I know does this. Either to keep there kids in tags or to keep them selfs In tags.

I think you should have to own land to put in for hunts and to vote

I remember this now. You hate the claw for the same reason right? Is it just anything that helps kids kill stuff? Just kidding I know that’s not the case. But I think the scenario you just described is less common than the other end of the spectrum where parents and grandparents are giving kids a chance at drawing any elk tag in their first few years of applying. Telling a kid to wait until he is 15 to hunt cows is not good for recruitment. This year my kids have 5 total apps in. Mine, my wife’s their grandma’s and their own. Of that if we draw a tag for each of them, we’d be pretty lucky. Almost all of our apps are for cow tags, except my son who has a condition that allows him to receive donated tags. For us, it’s about getting kids out there. If someone is forking our cash to apply a couple extra grandparents every year, big deal, it’s not killing the odds.

Some of you guys got your wish. The draw deadline has been extended. Seems to me like the more they tinker with the draw app, the worse it gets. This version seems more convoluted than ever before.

We used to slaughter cows on the archery hunts. Most of the guys griping about how many tags are issued now have no idea how many cows we were killing in the 90’s and 00’s. The Dept made a conscious decision to increase opportunity by shifting tags to bull hunts while simultaneously increasing herd numbers by reducing cow harvest. The results are exactly what Wildwoody described. More elk, fewer older age class bulls. Same $ in Dept budget. I would say this was the fundamental shift that moved AZ away from the trophy Mecca it once was and into a more balanced state. Still WAY better than most, but not what it was. I don’t hate it, but man what I wouldn’t give for a 2000 3C archery bull tag.

Those archery elk dates would be fun again!

More applications + more tags + increased application fees + increased tag fees. All across the board it's been costing more and more each year just to apply. And not too far in the past, you could opt to only buy a license if drawn - no more. Out of state applicants have it even worse, but it's like that in all the SW states these days. Hunting has changed from a simple, cheap means of getting meat on the table to a very lucrative "cash cow". That said, I think we have it better here in AZ than just about anywhere else. Yeah, it's getting pricey, but still have some of the best resources around. I've got a family of 5 and when you start adding up all the costs involved just to get licenses and apply it really adds up fast. If you want to expand to NM. CO, UT - it is a "pay to play" game. However, this is what we love to do. It's our passion, and passing that down to the next generation is priceless.

They sell on here often. They’re worth more than $275-$300 and are a MUCH better rifle than a savage axis or howa. Maybe not as accurate but much higher quality. Depends on the condition but i would say $500 +-. Lets see some pics

I appreciate the offers but I hope to host them here at my place in Texas and it’s covered. I don’t have big Whitetail but we have fair 8 points and an occasional bigger buck. It will be great to host them and give back.

That's what CWT used to be before all the bashing, oh ya and about deer hunting.. Awesome I'm in on a $50 spot