standman

We are excited to get back to hunting tomorrow. My dad and I will be sitting together tomorrow. After seeing everyones success from this past weekend I'm ready to put a big buck on the ground. Good luck to everyone else this weekend. Brian

It's still low but fishable. It is rising, has come up seven feet since mid December. Haven't been fishing or heard any reports yet. Will check it out though as soon as deer season is over. Brian

Nicely done! Really liked the video. Truely shows the emotion a hunter has after killing a great animal. Congrats! Brian

Thanks guys. It's not hard to stay positive. I love to watch deer even if it's just a doe and a fawn or a small buck. That is a lot of fun to me. Learn a lot by just watching deer. Anyway, the night after I put the doe scent on the one scrape there was a 3x2 that came in to the scrapes and reworked the scrape that was right next to it. I could see his fresh pee spot in the scrape yesterday morning. I can see his track in the one I put the scent in so I know he sniffed it at least and it didn't scare him. I just hope it doesn't snow too much. I can't get into my spot if it does. Just a little info on this spot. It is just a natural corridor and funnel for deer. It's in a side canyon to a bigger canyon about halfway up the side canyon. It's a shelf that is probably a little over a 100 yards long and 30 yards wide with draws that bookend both ends of the shelf. Just the perfect spot for bucks to funnel through making scrapes and searching for does. Again thanks to everyone for reading. Brian

Super slow day today compared to the past two days. Only one doe and a fawn seen today. Oh well, have to take these type of days with the good. Well I won't be back at it again till Friday. My dad and I will be together then. My dad has only been going one day a week with me. At 73, a diabetic, and just coming off pace maker surgery a few months ago, it takes a few days rest after each time he goes to recooperate from the walk in and walk out. So Friday will be the day we are back at it. It sure has been a lot of fun so far. Passed a lot of bucks, seen a lot of deer, and been close to killing a couple great bucks. Hopefully, this week I can do something to get the good karma coming my way. Thanks everyone for reading and posting. Hopefully, we still will get a couple good bucks down before the end of the month. Brian

He has great width, long eyeguards, mass, long 3x3 frame with split G3s. I hate to throw a score out there without ground checking him. But yeah he's a stud. But who knows, he may just be passing through and I may never see him again. Rut activity is really picking up in the area I'm at compared to last week. A lot more deer activity and movement. Brian

Today was a great day, a frustrating day, and a day where if it wasn't for bad luck I wouldn't have any luck at all. This morning I decided to experiment and try something new. This past week my dad picked up some Code Blue doe esterus scent that with all the scrapes in this spot we would experiment and put some on one just to see what would happen. At 1015 had two does come through, the first one passed right by me at 5 yards while the second actually went right over to the scrape I had put the scent on and she put her nose right on it and sniffed it for a little bit. It didn't spook her so maybe a little confidence can be gained that it didn't run her off. After the does passed through, at around 1130 I see a deer moving my way coming up the shelf. I catch a glimpse and it is a buck. It comes a little further, and holy @!#&%$, it's an absolute giant buck. A "no brainer". He is on a path to come right by me. He is coming like he is on a string. He gets about 30 yards away and he stops. He is behind a thicket and there is no alley to shoot him. He starts to stare over to his left, my right, for about a minute. What is he looking at? Then he turns and starts heading that way. As he is walking I still can't find any alley to be able to shoot him. He finally walks out of my view at 26 yards. Right after he walks out of view, I see why he turned and went that way. It was another buck, a 3x3. He had to go check him out. The 3x3 walks down the hill and is right in front of me. I am hoping the giant buck will follow him but he doesn't. I can hear him walking behind my blind and getting farther away. My knees were shaking about as bad as they ever have while hunting . If only he would of been a couple minutes earlier maybe he wouldn't have seen that other buck. Oh the bad luck. I so thought about shooting the 3x3 just because he was the one that caused the whole situation. But I didn't and let him pass. So yeah it was a great day. How could you not like days like this. I will be back there tomorrow, hoping that my luck will turn the other way and my chance will come. Brian

Oh so close today with my dad and I. Windy and a little brisk all morning. Hate hunting in the wind as deer just don't seem to like to move a lot in the wind. We first had a doe and a fawn go right by us at 915 this morning. Then there was no action till 1210. My dad then taps me on the leg and says there's a deer. After a few minutes of trying to see through the thicket to see what it was, a doe steps out and is on a line to come right by us. Then just a little bit behind her, a buck, a good shooter buck. The doe is now at 18 yards with the buck lagging behind. I reach down to grab my bow and the broadhead point was poking the blind and I didn't realize it, and when I pick it up the point pops out of the blind and makes the slightest of sounds, but the doe caught it. Now the buck is at 30 yards but no shot and the doe backs up and then trots to our left with the buck in tow. They stop out there at about 45 yards and calm down. The doe goes back to feeding. The buck starts raking a tree and working a scrape. Then the buck has other ideas and decides to chase her and he chases her away and out of out sight. So yep, I screwed that one up. Lesson learned. Tomorrow is another day and I will patiently be waiting again. Brian

Going to be back at it tomorrow again. My dad and I are going to be sitting together and I have a feeling that a buck is going to hit the dirt tomorrow . Brian

No. I once posted a pic of myself in a leopard skin thong. The traffic collapsed the entire internet. Al Gore had to re-invent it. Jennifer Aniston viewed it like 20,000 times just herself. That's what she was doing on the computer that night. Had a hard time getting her to come to bed that night. But it's all good now. Brian

Way to go Jason!!! Another BBD! Way cool! Congrats. Brian

yes, thank you. I have been referring to that azgfd site page since November. It has helped. Enjoyed reading about your 2010 October coues hunt too. does AZ in units 23, 24B, 24A have any such terrain with good stands of ponderosa pines? NOt looking for honey holes or specifics but generally North, south unit locations or drainages. I don't hunt 24B much, but, yes 23 (northern 2/3 of unit), 24A (Some in the northern part and quite a bit in the Pinals), and 22 (the northern half of the unit) have a lot of higher terrian that supports ponderosa pines, pinon pine, douglas fir, and juniper. You will not have any problem finding what you are looking for in these units. Brian

Great looking bucks! Congrats! Brian

Scored my cousin's buck tonight, 105 3/8"! He has 16 4/8" inside spread and main beams that are 18" and 18 1/8". Awesome buck! Brian

Way to go Doug! Great Pig! Brian

All ears were fully intact. Brian

I got to my spot this morning and what a surprise, a thin blanket of snow and high wind. To start off at about 830 a doe and a fawn showed up to my right on there way in front of me. As they got right in front of me, I hear a buck grunting coming from back and to my left. As he approached, I peeked out side my side window and there stood a tall, deep forked 2x2 with one thumb. The doe and fawn in front of me are just staring at him as he then cuts behind the blind and I can see him no more. The doe and fawn turn and leave the way they came. Not five minutes later the same doe comes trotting in front of me, and then I here the grunts of the buck coming following her. He is the same buck and now he is 17 yards away. However, I let him pass too . Real nice deer but still not what I'm looking for. Throughout the morning, a few more does and fawns come through but no bucks. Got out of my blind at noon as it was time to head back home. It was a great first week of hunting for 2012. One good buck down, one pig, and a lot of good experieces. Had an awesome time. Will be back sitting hoping for a good buck to come through on Friday. See ya then. Oh will be scoring that buck tomorrow and will post a score. Brian

Today my dad was to go with me, but he didn't feel well this morning. First off I had a 2x2 come through at 10:15 at 15 yards. Neat little buck. Then at 11:30 had a spike come through bird dogging with his nose on the ground. At 12:40pm had a 70ish 3x3 come through with his nose on the ground. I sure wish my dad was there because any legal buck is all he wants and this would have been a good day for that. Tomorrow I will be by myself again hoping for the big boy to show up. It will be my last day till Friday. So hopefully something good will happen. Brian

Today I just had a doe and a fawn come through at 940 am at 12 yards. This spot doesn't have a lot of deer in the area so I'm not suprised at how few deer I'm seeing. What is there is several really nice bucks (minus the one my cousin killed ). So I'm not going to see a lot of deer in this spot. It's just about patience and waiting them out. Tomorrow my dad will be back to sitting with me. So hopefully he can bring us some luck and we can get another one down. Brian

In the spots I'm hunting there are very few rubs. I couldn't tell you if one contributes to the other or vice versa. Brian

Well today was a better day. At 1115 am had a little 3x3 come through at 12 yards. He stopped at one of the five scrapes that is within 30 yards of my blind. He sniffed it a little then moved on. I let him walk, to the dismay of my dad when I told him. Then I had a doe and a fawn come through at 21 yards at 1230 pm. Fun day. Even got to finish my book. Also jumped a deer off one of the five scrapes before daylight. Brian

Inside spread is 16 4/8 between the beams. Brian

Ha Ha! When he picks his antlers back up from the taxidermist I'll have him check and let you know. Brian

A little with no luck. Have tried calling too, called in does no bucks. Called in and killed a mule deer a few years go using the primos can bleat and a grunt call. Brian

If I said I would probably get my man card taken away. LOL. It was a Christmas gift from my niece so reading it is a must. It's called Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Brian