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Elk flat iron marinated in a sweet teriyaki/chili marinade. Vac sealed for 12 hours to draw in the flavor. Smoking at 225 for 90 minutes . Paired with broccoli and home made egg rolls. My goodness did it come out better than I expected!!!

My dad passed away in July and this was my first outing since his passing. He and I started hunting together in the late 1970s. Like most of us, our dad’s taught us the skills needed to be successful, the appreciation for everything we harvest and how to take care of the meat from field to table. In his memory I used his favorite rifle and I was able to hunt our favorite unit. Over the years, we have harvested many deer, bulls and cows from this unit. I am thankful to have had a successful hunt and relive over 40 years of memories.

My condolences on the loss of your Son, Sir.

I was able to take this absolute behemoth of a bear this morning. I typically hunt the spring but due to the shortened season, late winter moisture and cool temps, I was not able to turn a bear up. I had hesitations about hunting higher elevations in the oaks due the great crop of prickly pear not far away at lower elevation. Well I'm glad I stuck with my original plan.

My wife and I got tags together this year for the same hunt for the first time. We were real excited for this hunt, more than usual. Opening day I spotted her buck 2100 yards out and figured he was a mid 80’s buck. We kept an eye on him every 5 minutes to see where he beds down. While keeping tabs on him we saw 10 other bucks but nothing worth chasing after. Once her buck bedded down under a tree, we marked the spot and started the stalk. We snuck into 330 yards and the rest is history. The buck had a bigger body than we thought and scored right at 90. We had a long pack-out back to the ranger and feeling the aches and soreness today. Over the next few days we looked over 30 bucks or so. I was looking for a 4+ year old buck (secretly trying to beat my wifes buck!) I didn’t have any luck. Monday morning came and I spotted a big 2x2 buck that we have seen maybe 8 times and never gave chase to him. He bedded down during grey light and the wife and I took off. We snuck into 380 yards and waited about an hour for him to stand up and the hunt was done. My buddy Christian showed up to help out with the morning Monday hunt, he carried out some weight which was nice! Thanks amigo! Overall deer movement was phenomenal even with the full moon. The freezer is full with our bucks and my sons junior buck. We’ll definitely put in together again next year.

First time poster, long time lurker looking for some advice. I've hunted this unit 11/05/21 - 11/11/21 and 11/25/22 - 12/04/22 and have yet to glass up a single buck. I got drawn for the early December hunt this year and am hoping my bad luck will finally turn. I counted almost 30 does over the 9 day hunt in '22 (I even glassed one up bedded almost 1300 yards from the top of the mountain I was on.) so I know it's not an issue of being able to spot them. I use OnX for E Scouting and have put some extensive time into getting out there and ground pounding but still with no avail. I've hit up "Whitetail Pointe" and other areas, but have thought about hiking into the wilderness for a few days this trip. My Hunt areas are primarily West (San Carlos Res Land) and East of 23S (so mostly the NorthEast part of the unit). I'm wondering should I Focus more on the South/SouthWest part of the unit? Keep going in the general area I've been going and venture into the Wilderness Area? I'll probably get rolled for this, but I'm a MidWest transplant for work and have been a resident for around 5.5 years now. I didn't grow up hunting, but wanted to get into the sport as I got older. College and Military obligations got in the way for the majority of my 20s, but was able to pick it up in the latter half. My hunting career started with my coworker asking "Did you put in for Deer yet?". So of course, I chose the hard route first and went for Coues 🙃🤣 I was fortunate to finally harvest my first animal with a Cow Elk tag this past fall, so now I need to finally get my first Coues. I will most likely be doing this hunt solo this year. Any and all Tips/Tricks/Advice/Constructive Criticism/Etc. is welcome. Thanks In Advance.

Long live the 220 Swift.

You started a thread that is great! Thank you you.

Ace Hardware in Queen Creek has three.

It is tough. He had many rifles, but this was his favorite and I watched him carry it on every hunt for about 45 years. I forgot how heavy it is :) I am sorry about your dad and I hope you get to use his rifle next year. It sure was meaningful to me. Funny how alot of old timers liked this rifle.

All. A guy bought the last ones today

Yes, I he loved it up there. My kids are 22 and 26, we will always be there for them.

Ya go figure. Sure doesn't leave me scratching my head.

SPF

Final post….All guns are sold.

Love mine, I've had it for about 5 years. You could squeeze 8 scouts in sleeping bags in one but the CO2 levels will skyrocket. It is perfect for two people on cots with gear, four max.

I think it’s now “ How about them Cats!”

A wonderful tribute to your Dad. Cherish those memories made afield.

My 13 year old son get his first buck opening morning!

Man, sorry to hear of the loss of your son. Truely, truely, truely a parents worst nightmare.

This is from their website: " Areas: The Pinal Mountains are a popular location to look for white-tailed deer. The area is rugged and steep and deer are seen primarily in the drainages below the mountain summit and on most slopes of the Pinals, but glassing is difficult on the north side due to thick conifer and chaparral and high hunter concentrations. The high elevation areas of the Dripping Springs Mountains located south of Globe also provide good opportunity. The Dripping Springs road can be accessed south of Globe off of Hwy 77 across milepost 154. There are many roads that run north and south along the ridges that provide good glassing opportunities. Forest Roads 248 and 899 are two trackers leading to the north of Dripping Springs road, and both of those will take you to good deer areas. Any of these roads are likely to lead you to whitetail deer. Be aware that mule deer also occur in these areas; so be sure of your target before you shoot. If hunting the northern portion of the unit, white-tailed deer can be found in the areas of Timber Camp Mountain, Regal Canyon, Phillips Canyon, and Chrysotile Mine Area. Forest Roads 2334, 360 and 304 access these higher elevation grassland and chaparral habitats where white-tailed deer have been increasing in numbers over the past several years. Another area is off the Horseshoe Bend Road (FR 219) on the west side of the Apache Mountains. Take the Wheatfields exit from Hwy 188 north of Globe across Pinal Creek and past the HE Ranch to the 219 Road. FR 219 junctions with FR 220, which travels to Richmond Basin and FR 223, that leads to Shute Springs. Both these areas have whitetail and good open slopes for glassing. Travel by foot or horseback to access the upper slopes of the Apache Mountains for a better chance at older age class white-tailed buck. " I'm probably going to head towards Horseshoe Bend Road area off the 188 this year as I haven't spent a ton of time over that way.

Thanks! First animal I've ever actually harvested. Cow Tag was in Unit 1. First day there wasn't a lot of action. Woke up in the woods to it being a balmy 8 degrees 😂. Met a few local coyote hunters and got some decent tips, so decided to move camp. Day 2 we glassed mostly pronghorn and a ram in the morning. Noon came around and got hit with a wind advisory for the rest of the day. We had gusts up to 50 mph, so not very advantageous for glassing. Saw a few dozen Elk about 800 yards from camp and said "F It", and decided to make a play to hopefully somewhat salvage the day. I got onto a small of herd of about 6-8 Cows with a Bull. 1 Cow was hanging back from the group and busted me (first time I'd heard an Elk bark) about 140 yards away behind a large tree. Final day out, my buddy glassed another herd in a different set of woods from camp. Decided to mosey on into the woods and see what we could make happen. I shot this one at about 163 yards. After being skunked for 3 years, I was ecstatic to be able to punch this tag.

Great thread! Last night’s dinner. Blackened salmon, broccolini and avocado slices.

I wonder how much $$ has been spent on this gray wolf project

What kind of trades? I might be willing to haggle for the 4" rounds