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What a hunt! We busted our tails since the opener. From finding crazy things out in the hills to a bunch of close calls, it was an amazing adventure. One to stick in the memory bank for sure!! I am so dam proud of my wife. From nearly wanting to quit archery due to shoulder issues, learning to shoot left handed, etc., your persistence is incredible!! I was able to call this bull in from a burn and pull him right in front of Lorie, where she made a perfect 17 yd double lung shot....he went 60 yds and piled!! Congratulations!!!!! I’m sooo proud of you!!!! Beautiful 6x6 bull from last Saturday.

My friend Steven drew an archery antelope tag in New Mexico so we spent the whole summer shooting and getting prepared for the fall, his focus on goats and mine on coues. His hunt went very well and he killed a buck opening day at 10:30am, which left me a few weeks to get ready for the early archery deer here in AZ. Opening morning came and I had two forks at 38 yards when I stood up from my glassing spot, but it was only an hour into the hunt and I wanted to keep glassing. Ended up putting one stalk on a bedded buck that morning but he caught my wind once I got within 40, from there it was sitting water. That evening was short on bucks at the water but I was happy to at least have seen a handful of deer, this was also the first time I've sat water for any longer than an hour. Next day I hiked into a new basin and was glassing above a tank that was 500 yards below me. After seeing a few groups of small bucks I found a 3x3 leaving the water hole below me and another heading towards the water. My buddy John and I gathered our stuff and ran down to the tank. We set up our stools between some bushes and sat for 20 min, and in that time had a 2 point and some does come drink. we quickly began building a brush blind and does were coming in while we were doing so. John Decided to go sit a different water for the rest of the day and left. Not long after he'd gone, I look to my far left at 52 yards away were the 3x3 I saw coming down and his buddy. I draw and realize I didn't trim the blind out well enough on this far left side. At full draw I begin to stand and lean out of the brush to get a clear shot. I shot and the buck turned away from the shot and I watched the arrow skip off the dirt behind where his shoulder was, all I could do was laugh. Ending up seeing over 30 deer that day on water but no bucks bigger than what I missed that morning. The next weekend we went to check out a spring we used to hunt around a lot. Had some deer come in but the most excitement came from my first run in with chiggers. Next day we stayed low enough to evade the chiggers and ending up finding a big 3x2 crabclaw coues with a fork muley buck and 6 mule deer does, the stalk was on. I got to some rocks and cut the deer off moving up the drainage. watched as they filed through, coues buck at the back. Ranged a barrel cactus they all walked by at 88, set my sight for 85 and when the buck walked into the gap I was already drawn back and gave him a grunt. Shot felt good and I watched the arrow impact his shoulder (sounded like i shot a wet brick wall) and he did a mule kick before running off. I watched him run for a ways and pulled back to watch him in the glass from the original glassing spot. Went to the last spot we saw him after waiting an hour and tracked blood for over a half mile before we lost it. I saw that my arrow didn't get much penetration, I had pushed the shot just a touch right and hit bone just an inch or two forward from a heart shot. Spent the next day looking for him and watching for birds but found nothing. My hopes were that he recovered and is still out hustling muley does from the muley bucks. Now the final weekend of the early season and I had returned to the hill I started the season on while John was nearby sitting. I glassed 4-3x3s a ways out before the sun had come up, the bucks were determined to not let the sun hit them directly. I watched as they worked down into a canyon as the shade line chased them. One buck was 90+ and other others not much smaller. John wanted to get up and move around so we could maybe see them but I told him to stay sitting while I glassed another hour, hoping to find a bigger buck. Didn't find anything bigger so I circled around to the north, hoping I would have a good perspective of the canyon and possibly catch the bucks feeding on the north slope. I made a rookie mistake and peaked over the hill then quickly set my glasses up, only to find the largest of the bucks 250 yards straight across and hes already got eyes on me. He slowly worked over the hill and I thought he had gone over for good. I continued glassing while John made his way over, and found another one of the 3x3s I had seen earlier. Once john got there, i acted quickly because I liked where the buck was located and felt confident I could make something happen. I dropped into the wash and followed it down until I was able to peek around the corner to see the tree the buck had bedded under. I ranged at 150 yards. I backed up and began crawling up the side hill, hoping to get to some rocks above me. I get to the top of the hill and to my surprise the buck is up and next to him is another 3x3 that appeared from thin air. I realize I had busted a doe and she got the bucks up from their slumber. I look at the two bucks and decide the new buck is bigger. I get to a good shooting position and range him at 88, with no way of getting closer without exposing myself I set my sight and start judging the wind. I sat on my knees and began to calm myself down. After a minute or so I felt focused and relaxed. Shot broke cleanly and arrow went right where I intended it and he was down in seconds and went 20 yards. Right after I shot, that bigger 3x3 that ran over the hill must have come back over and he spooked less than 50 yards from me, I never even bothered looking that direction during the stalk, figured he was gone! Oh well hahaha John got to watch it all go down from a few hundred yards away. He's been my archery mentor so it felt good to show him how much he's taught me. I reminded him that I likely wouldn't be out there sweating my butt off, dodging snakes and dodging lightning strikes just to be chasing coues with a bow if it weren't for him taking me under his wing. He's a beautiful buck and I couldn't have dreamed of a better coues to take with a bow. And to kill him by spot and stalk made it even that much sweeter. Archery coues has been my goal for the past few years and it felt awesome to get it done after all the work that was put in over those years. I was blessed to get him on my 7th day of early season deer hunting and couldn't be happier with the outcome. Yes this was long winded but that's just how I do it on here, thanks for reading This is the buck that busted me then came back over just to do it again My buck Trusty Outdoorsmans pack going on year 7 loaded up with my bucks head and boned meat

I’ve never really been much into scores. I honestly have little experience with it. I have shot several bucks but none are close to anything a lot of people would call a “bruiser”. Having said that, what would you guess this buck to score? I’m guessing him to be about 27” wide and in the 150-160” range but I really have no idea. These photos are unedited and straight from my trail camera.

Cleaning out my shop I was reminded of a fun trip shed hunting we had many years ago! Cole found this deadhead in a remote area we had hiked into! So unique on the side that isn't burned left us wondering what the other side really looked like! Post Wallow fire find

It was a TOUGH hunt where I was at in 6A......almost no bugling the entire hunt. The first week, I found 4 mature bulls feeding together down low and not a cow in sight! I knew it was going to be tough. After several passes on smaller bulls throughout the hunt, I finally got lucky and sneaked in on this bull while he was raking a tree. He was all alone and only bugled twice after daybreak. Pure luck I was able to come across him in the rain. One arrow at 36 yards did the trick...he was down in 25 yards after a bugle stopped him once he was hit. I feel very fortunate to have this bull on the last day!

As posted by a classic .270 shooter I bet.... What exactly is a twisted fluted bolt action? Hilarious... I suspect you won't respond like you do when someone comments on your silly posts....

With 25 BP's figure that I'll draw before I Check out. I have been waiting 23 years and I really only want 1 Goat tag. Once I draw, it will be my last time applying. Also dont have anyone to go with me. My huntin buddy George is out of the country, Part of hunting is enjoying it with friends.

Proud or no proud, sounds like scouting to me. With a legal tag.

I hunted 11 M two seasons. 2012 harvested a huge bull. The largest one that I have ever seen alive; I have hunted big bulls for 42 years ,and harvested more than 30. My advice to you is--Find the most recent used watering place, or a best travel route. Set your blind correctly,,, air flow is most important. Now,consider your skill; ( Max range that you can put the arrow into a 6 inch target? ) Have your blind all set & you be ready 30 Min. before first light. You should have -calling skill -average or better. Big bulls will come to a poorly blown call, when the timing is right.Most hunters call too much. The best time to call-is when the bull is about to pass you -(a little too far out). I have about an 85 % call-in success. I use bull calls only to locate. I have never seen a big bull try to -do it with another bid bull. Bug bulls come to - cow calling.They will always come to love calls better than challenge calls. one other thing =always use sent blocking (ca mo) clothes. and the best spray sent blocker. Now you are about 95 % ready -to release. Now the heard part = PATIENTS ! Absolutely necessary, for all the shill and practice to -- put the Elk steaks on the plate & the Trophy on your den-wall! Best of luck

Quartering away is a bad shot? The execution for whatever reason caused the result. I know several of the trophies on my walls were from quartering away shots. I would not hesitate to take a quartering away

You have no idea what happened. Elk can move a LOT with a single step. It’s easy to second guess based on a nasty pic but there is no way to understand the circumstances that lead to that shot. Its definitely a shame. That’s a giant 11m bull. Somebody is sick over it I am sure.

Hybrid? No coues deer in my neck of the woods.

dang hoping they call me it would be my 4th tag in unit 9. They could call me the morning of the last day and I would still head up there ;)

The 20 tactical but it's not much slower than the 204. 222 rem, 221 fireball, 22 K-hornet all fill the bill for fur friendly be odd balls.

Sold pending meet up. Yeah I love these blinds, I'll buy another one with the same pattern here before too long. Just need to make some extra coin right now so I'm having to let some things go.

Let's see the 430" bull Seeker

I've got a couple of things I don't wear much / read EVER. Probably would let them go for nothing to someone trying to get into it. PM me.

Well, your wish is my command. I WILL be in Phx October 5 (Scottsdale Sports Complex) for a soccer game.

After almost a full week of chasing bulls my wife finally gets it done. This was the toughest rut hunt I've been apart of thus far. We were able to get on and locate bulls every single day but they were just not responsive to calling.( At least not the big ones.) She passed on several bulls some of which were bigger then the one she tagged but just didn't present the shot she wanted. Her decisions to pass on bulls that didn't give optimal shot had me frustrated but also very proud at the same time. On Thursday the 19th we were up at 4:30 and decided to slip into a spot before dark. A spot that was on fire the morning before with at least six bulls all around us was completely silent this morning. By 7 I had given up on this spot and decided to hike back to the quad. Frustrated and tired we drove back to camp and grabbed a quick bite to eat. On a whim I told her let's get a little higher up and go to a spot where we had success in the past later on in the day. I get to a spot that overlooked the steep canyon and throw out some calls. In the far distance I hear a couple faint bugles. Ask the wife if she wants to go after them and she responds reluctantly "I guess so." We drop down the canyon and up the other side only to hear the bulls bugle 1 ridge over. Without asking her again I start dropping down the second canyon. We hit the bottom and I tell her only one more Hill to climb. We get to a spot to where the elk we're only about a hundred yards away and I start calling. They bugle and bugle but never get any closer. I decide with the wind right and howling pretty good we could sneak a Little closer. We get to within 50 yards and all pandemonium breaks out, elk are running in all directions. Knowing that the wind was good we hunker down and start calling. I hear a bull coming in but I can't put my eyes on him because of the thick and tall Manzanita. He's only about 15 yards at this point and my wife says she doesn't have a shot. The bull freezes and isn't coming any closer. After a few minutes my wife looks to her left and there's another bull about 28 yards out. She points to the bull and says she wants that one. the bull that was 15 yards away slowly walks out of sight and we decide to make a move on the bull up top. I can hear him thrashing and see his antlers going crazy but that's all I can see of him. I tell my wife if she crawls up to the next tree she should have about a 20 yard shot. She gets to that point and slowly stands up but says she has no shot. I'm about eight yards behind her so I stand up slowly and look through my binos. I can see about at 1 foot by 1 foot opening through the bush that is right on his vitals. I let her know if she shoots through that hole in the bush she has a shot. She slowly stands back up and looks again. After what seemed like forever she comes to full draw steadies herself and releases. Through my binos I watched the shot and know instantly it was perfect. The bull takes off and after only a short Sprint through the tall Manzanita I hear a crash about 80 yards away. She looks at me crying and asks "was it a good hit"? With the biggest smile all I say is "you smoked him". After some hugs and high fives I start to track. Knowing that he's down I waste no time and after only a short walk through the Manzanita we find him piled up. Perfect double long shot and the bull was dead within 30 sec or so. Not a monster by any means but I couldn't be more proud. What makes this hunt all the more special is that my 67 year old dad and my nine-year-old son were part of it. On almost every stock an outing other than this one they were with us putting in the miles. We hiked back to the quad and drove back to camp before breaking him down so that I can get my son and Dad there to share the experience.

Helped a friend harvest his first goat. We were done by 9am opening morning. He was happy with him. 25/06. 250yds. Had a blast

The wife got the call last Thursday so she took the tag. We knew we would only have the last 3 days to hunt but it would be fun. We saw 70 antelope the last 2 days after a couple misses she took this buck today. Not the biggest on the mountain but she was super excited with him.

I shot this bull Saturday. Just thought I would share....

Managed to be fortunate enough to get a tag and fill it...Tough hunt I was averaging 10-12 miles a day and 110 degree temps...Saw plenty of critters and had a blast when I did get to hang out with great friends...Got him Aug 27th and for those wondering it was a 100 yard facing straight on shot from my knees and the arrow went full length through the body and exited the rear...arrow kept going...thanks to those of you who gave me some tips on where to start..it was worth the effort for sure!!