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Griffin and I hit the road with high hopes and much excitement. We connected with 2 locals who volunteered to help us out. You never know what to expect. Does this mean here’s a dusty 2 track I once saw a deer at or rolling out the red carpet. We were humbled by the level of commitment to help us. Each day was filled with hours of glassing and holding out for a good one. We passed many bucks and held the bar high. Finally on day 4 we spotted a heavily palpated 4x4 about a mile away and 800-1000 feet higher. We watched him graze and knew he’d be the buck of dreams if we would be able to hang our tag on him. We formulated a game plan and off we went. 4.5 hours later we sat above the thicket. We decided to wait him out. Unfortunately the gray ghost gave us the slip and we never saw him again. It was an epic 2 hour hike out in the dark with our egos bruised but our hearts full of the experience. The next day was to be our last in AZ so we decided to take the first legal buck we saw. Finally on the opposite hillside we spotted a buck and moved into shooting range just as the buck disappeared into bottom. He was about 200 away. As we sat there picking apart the hillside just looking our local friend hissed “he’s right there!” 100 yards away the buck emerged from the thicket and stood quartering to knowing something was up. Quickly griffin steadied on the sticks and the crack of the rifle broke the silence. No buck in sight. We decided to give it 30 minutes and give it a look. No blood at all but we spread out and began grid searching. Just a few short minutes later we located the buck and the celebration was on! I want to say I’m so humbled to the 2 gentlemen who took time out of their schedules and spent 5 days helping us chase down the gray ghost we are forever in your debt. We came as strangers but now I consider you good friends! The hunting community is filled with good people who are the salt of the earth with kindness in their hearts! Cant wait to return to AZ next year!!

Tessa had a tag for the Navajo reservation we had gone up on January 2nd to hunt it was brutally cold single digit temps and we did not know it but we both were in the early stages of covid. The first day found us looking at roughly 40-50 different bulls. The wind was blowing in the wrong direction for us to do much without spooking all the elk. The second morning we found a herd of bulls with several of them looking to be 390 plus. We had a target bull that was some where in the 380 range we probably could of had a good chance of killing him but elected to go after the bigger bulls. Well as luck or bad luck would have it this herd crossed into the park once in here you can not hunt them and amazingly they seem to know it. We waited all day for them to come back out but they did not. With us both feeling sick we decided to return home. On the reservation you have to have a guide the guide we was using had another hunter coming in anyway . We returned for the following Thursday morning things had changed dramatically, we saw about 10 bulls in the same areas we had seen as many as 50. After finding this bull about two miles away up a canyon with 3 other bulls . We put a plan together after a 1.5 hour hike we were in position for Tessa to be able to harvest this elk. He was just shy of 360 his teeth were wore down to the gums he had to be very old doubtful he would survive another winter. I do not know how many more hunts i have with her because she has a boy friend now i will cherish them all. She has an oryx hunt on the White Sands Missile Range next month. I hope she gets one i here the meat is excellent.

I have a 20” .308 McGowen barrel with black cerakote. $100

Only issue with the Swarovski Z5 is that their turret will only dial up 14.25 MOA. I have one and it's a great scope but I can only shoot out to 725 yards with my 6.5x47.

Malted hops and bong resin. The world uses 10% of their brain. Thomc uses 1.5%

I did my first euro mount with some tips that the late hoghntr gave me I think it looks good. sorry for turned pictures and I don't know why the antlers got darker

Every couple of years I draw my December tag. It’s somthing I look forward to, preparing online maps and comparing previous hunts. I set off in the low country glassing along the way. My dads always been big on not walking past one just to get where you wanna go. But I knew exactly where I wanted to be, as most of us do by now. We know what tags we wanna draw , where we want to hunt and most importantly where those better bucks should be. It was December 12th and it was hot. The clouds we’re starting to form overhead and the wind had picked up, making the sun beating down a little more bearable. About then a small 3x3 had started working across the ridge next to me , exposing himself on a rock out crop he paused and looked back over his shoulder. The big fork showed himself, I could see his crown was tall. I almost immediately made up my mind. Thinking to myself “ are you really gonna shoot a fork?!?! But at 540 yards I could see his main beams coming around the front and his eyegaurds were as good as they were ever gonna be. I set up my phone scope, and dialed my rifle . The wind was picking up, confidence in my gear I settled into my rifle. The buck stopped broadside and I squeezed it off. Jumping to my phone I replayed and confirmed I made a good shot. My bullet had drifted forward, but it was in the shoulder and he was down. I’m awfully proud of the decision I made to take this old buck. I honestly tried talking myself out of it at one point but in the end he’s a trophy like no other I now have! The taxidermist has him at 6-8 years old and he went 93.25. it’s a passion I couldn’t imagine living without, Merry Christmas Coueswhitetail members , Happy New Year and God Bless! IMG_7259.MOV

I have a brand new Bergara at home. I’ll have to check it to be sure it’s small shank. It’s a .308 though.

Location and price?

They weighed in right at 16 ounces.

I was just hungover this morning mostly

Have do have something as a UofA fan, since football won’t be it for a while. I think a few of the forkers on here were bragging earlier in the thread... you didn’t question their sexual orientation..... you a closet asu fan too? Not a college basketball fan? White guy who can’t jump? Cats are going to March Madness if it happens with the Covid bs. ASU, not a chance. had to stir the rivalry pot, as the forkers were going silent.

With the price of wood now, and it would make a great Armoire. Just add a rod from side to side. Very handy. Could make a nice garage storage cabinet for a man/lady cave. Or in a kitchen for a pantry?

I own both. Two of each. They’re both great. Both have advantages in given categories and neither make the other obsolete. Match your load to your circumstances with either and you’ll do alright. the biggest argument among 308 haters is that the 308 has waaay more windage than the CM. That’s very true if you’re not compensating at all and you’re running light bullets. My best CM load has 51” of 10MPH wind at a grand at my average hunting elevations and temps. My best 308 is 55” but comes with higher recoil yet also has over 200’# more energy. This is comparing the 147 versus the 208. Both heavy for caliber options. One of my favorite 308 loads has 62” of wind (176ATIP loaded fast) which is 11” further out than my CM load. Either way, it’s a missed target. Any long range shooter worth their salt would never not compensate for wind. It’s the misjudged that causes the errors. An error does NOT mean you’ll miss by 11” more inches versus the CM. Let’s say you judge 10MPH but it’s actually 7MPH. It’s a 3.3” difference not 11”. The gap is much closer than most shooters realize and a bad wind call is a bad wind call. Flatter trajectory is helpful but not critical since the advent of affordable range finders. Lower recoil is nice too but between the two isn’t a dealbreaker. 308 Advantages = Phenomenal barrel life, higher impact energy. 6.5 CM Advantages = lower recoil, flatter trajectory, slightly better windage. 308 offers manageable recoil and the CM offers reasonable barrel life. Windage difference is negligible unless using old bullet styles and lighter weights. For deer size game, both have adequate energy. pick one in a quality platform and use heavy for caliber bullets and it’s hard to fail with either. Personally I prefer the 308 but I don’t feel handicapped with the CM.

Not a sports fan but.. Bragging about basketball being gay pick 2

As the father of a daughter who hunts as well, I think you’re gonna be hunting with your “little girl” for many more years! Mine is now married, and she made me bring the boy friend on our deer hunts when they started dating. Now we all hunt together. But you’re right, the memories of hunts with your kid will stay with you for a lifetime, just keep making more! Great bull, btw!

The best hunt is the one you get to be on. It doesn't matter what month it is. If you want to be in a December hunt, go for it!

Found my answer thanks!

Yes

Jarred Nichols, Nichols guide service

With limited days to hunt this year I decided to try my luck this past weekend on the mountain. The 1st day went alright but all I was seeing is doe's so I decided to switch it up a bit and pack down into another spot. I ended up seeing 4 bucks and Shot this super cool buck with only a day left to hunt. We thunk he busted off his main beam when he was in velvet. He has some pretty cool character and I could be happier.

WOW that is a massive 2x2! What a beautiful buck. Congrats!!!

Yup, fantastic hunt…lot’s going on so no write up yet…topped it off with a beautiful coues yesterday on a 3 hr stalk