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Yes sling and psychrometric wheel . Had a 40" mercurial barometer too which we dialed every Thursday at 12Z to synch the aneroids. Was among the first couple dozen people in AZ to be trained on the Doppler color radar. Prior to that we used a B-52s air to air radar which showed clouds and precip well. Memories (I know, big whoop, yawn).

Been in the area I hunt in Aug the last 2 weekends, water everywhere. Should keep the deer spread out and not sitting ducks coming into the water holes. Hopefully keeps units open longer.

Are we doing a league this year?

I have been addicted to watching the doppler that last few weeks and watching all the rain in the desert. I finally got a chance to drive through some of my favorite areas to hunt this past weekend and there was standing water on Sunday from rain on Thursday. That is awesome to see. Usually, that water is soaked up in a few hours but to see it still there days later means the washes have been running and the desert has been getting plenty of water. Let's hope that translates into some big, fat, healthy bucks for us all.

We got hit in unit 5A a few years back in a heavily used camp, this ranger lady had her a new shiny range finder and made us move the horse trailer 20 ft closer to the road. We camped there 25 plus times and never heard anything ever again. The squatting camp spots is a real bummer though, I get it but when you get the last crappy camp hole on a F.R. and camp for 5 days and the 5 trailers in the good spots sit empty the whole trip it really wears on the nurves.

I'm a huge proponent on cracking down on the 2 week rule - the woods should not be free storage and we all have gone up 2, 3 + weeks apart and seen the same abandon trailer sitting there. Those jerks dominating those spots puts more pressure on new spots to be 'opened up' and more and more habitat misused or people pulling in and camping on top of you - not my idea of fun either. Tkt them after 2 and tow after 3 if you ask me.

Yesterday was the start of my California pig hunt and we were in pigs at first light.The first pig spotted was a banded white and black that came up from the crop fields .She was small and had a piglet and a smaller pig in tow .Won't shoot the sow with the piglet.So into the hills we went and we did find pigs .We found a good group and it was on .I couldn't get a shot on the lead boar and the guide said to shoot the third one back .Just before I was going to let it rip he waived me off and said we could do better.No pigs spotted in the afternoon hunt just some California blacktail deer .

Hi everyone, Sorry for the delayed response, life has been crazy since having our first child. I did not notch my tag but passed on some decent bucks and saw a ton of deer and some really nice bucks. I appreciate all the help from people on here and even got to hunt a day with another coueswhitetail member (Thanks for all the help Cole!). I will definitely try and be more active on the site but I am a little bummed that this will be my first fall not chasing coues deer since I started hunting them. Cheers

Thank you for all the great info guys! I will share some photos if it all works out.

Finally getting to enjoy some of my pig .Nothing like brats on the grill.

I hope they are spread out. Makes the hunting tougher for road hunters!

Apple on the head…

for those of you struggling to locate elk, here's a little inspiration.... Ya just gotta set up your trail cams in the right spot..... temp~2.mp4

Haven't seen an elk in a week now. Patterns have changed with the monsoons. I did find this last night.

Pretty sure your eyes deceived you. The date stamp is correct on the train camera picture and very typical to see mature bulls hard horn at the beginning of August. Jeff

I’d say your eyes deceived you 💯 especially if it were all of them. I have seen a bull rubbed the last week of July up here in Colorado (very rare) but this time of year they are still putting on a lot of inches. 2nd week of August is usually normal for them to start rubbing out.

I’d be shocked if they were rubbed already. Earliest I have ever seen a bull rubbing velvet was first week of august

I will have one of my boys set up cams. He doesn't hunt, but likes to get out and hike. He can send me pictures and not tell me where they are from. Seems legit to me.

Up at 3 am to meet my guide again.First pig spotted on the move up a draw at 300 yds .I'm up on the sticks and dialed for the yardage and gun goes click.I forgot to put a round in the pipe.No luck for a recover he was gone.Lots more driving and looking.I never would have thought coming to California and seeing bull elk .But we came across 3 bulls full rack and Awsome.Ill post some pics when I get home and upload from the camera.A few hours and several miles later we ended up on one of the guides buddy's ranch.As we go thru the gate I see a cow elk in the field and quickly take a picture.My guide Tom says there's a good pig in the field.So I get my gun this time I put a round in it and we are on the move .At 200 yds I'm on the sticks and dialed for the hold.Tom says let's get closer .So we move and now I'm inside a hundred and zeroed back out .I got the go ahead to shoot when the pig turned and let it fly .Right thru the pig .It started to run and Tom says great shot I can see blood .The pig ran about 40 yds and piled up .Ill put up the other pics of the elk and turkey and kill shot when I get back home.

I don’t know how anyone could stay home for the first 9 days of a archery bull hunt.

I would do the last 5. The closer to October the better IMO.

I agree…plus toward the end the rutting activity is usually better. Depends on the year and lots of factors, but the 2nd week is usually better.

If you only have 5 days to hunt and they are going to be consecutive days, my advice is hunt the last 5 days. Hunted it many times and the crowds clear out by the 2nd Sunday of the hunt. It will be a zoo opening weekend. If you are going to split them up, hunt the first two days and the last 3 days.

Just have a plan for what to do when you kill one. It’s easy to get 6-8 miles back with just your gear. Getting 250# of meat out of there is the tough part. I would plan on stock animals or not do it at all. Later fall coues deer hunts are made for bivy hunting. September elk hunts, especially off the rim are not.

If you have to dry camp for your hunt, carry in and cache as much water as you can on your scouts even if you have to cache it partway in. Just think of it as leg day in the pines. Have a plan for getting an elk out. There's some good packers in the area that can do it for a few hundred bucks provided fuel isn't over $20 a gallon then.