ArizonaWildernessHunter

The water bladder is the 3 liter Eberlestock made by Source. You can fit two of the 3 liter bladders in the vest but think that I will get a 2 liter for the hydration bladder pouch in the bird bag section. The 2 liter one is shorter so will fit better. This vest could be used for an all day hunting trip; including food for you and your dog. The buckle in the upper left is the one that came with the pack. Got the snap buckle in the lower right when up in Flagstaff. Peace Surplus had the correct size.

Got a chance to take a bunch of pics.

My Dad got stung once in the foot the day before leaving for a Kaibab hunt. He spent the whole hunt limping around. He fell down really hard and had a 187" deer come trotting up with 6 does. Sometimes strange things will work.

Saw an Arizona Black Rattlesnake halfway up the Peaks. Now I just assume anyplace in AZ could have them.

I use a Gitzo 2542 Mountaineer Series 2 and this is the best tripod ever with a spotting scope or for a shooting rest with a Hog Saddle or Pig Saddle. I am currently using a Manfrotto 054 magnesium head. You can stand up and pan at 60x with no vibration. Problem is the price. Took a lot of weekends to pay this one off. The Gitzo 1542 Mountaineer Series 1 with the 22 lbs load capacity is extremely nice and may be the best of both worlds. It weighs just 2.8 lbs. This is likely the best choice for 90% of serious hunters in AZ. Still quite pricey but will last a very long time. The Slik 724 CF (in my case the 624 is too short for standing and is just extra tall for sitting) and Manfrotto CXPRO3 or CXPRO4 are also very good options. Some mild vibration does occur at high magnifications. The Slik is a decent copy of the Gitzo; only potential issue is the aluminum center column. Just make sure to get a carbon fiber tripod that is cross weaved. You will get little to no vibration. I have never used an aluminum tripod that can even compete with the newer carbon fiber tripods. A $250 carbon fiber tripod will outperform a $800 aluminum tripod with the new techniques. A high end $700-800 carbon fiber tripod should only be handled if you have the funds because once you use one you cannot go back. Also make sure to check the overall height of the tripod setup so that you can comfortable glass up and down hill with your optics. I like to stand so I can see over the brush and have always needed tall tripods. Don't get too caught up in weights since most of the time you can make up for this in other areas. Better to carry an extra 0.5-1.5 lbs and not miss glassing something up. High end glass on a bad tripod is going to cost extra in the long run. Stick with a Gitzo, Slik, or Manfrotto. Hope this is helpful.

Thursday looks like it might be really good. Good luck.

In thicker brush I think using a high end spotter and binos together is best. 10x or 15x binos depending on yardages and running the spotter at 25-30x. Works best when alternating with at least 2 people so likleyhood of missing movement is minimized. Some bucks have habits and others are too smart or live a random life. Got a buck last year that slept on south sides of junipers for some reason. It didn't matter if it was on N, S, E, or W facing slopes. So he was sometimes really easy to spot and othertimes impossible. Know of 2 other big bucks that always sleep on flats in oak brush. I glass everwhere unless I know a habit, then I glass those areas first then everywhere else.

So much lost meat, what a same.

Rifle, think the shot was 100 yards with a Remington 700 in 7mm Mag. I stayed back and had my Dad get close enough so we could rule out the possibility of any cubs under the thicker brush. Didn't want to make any mistakes and the wind was working in our favor.

Picture of the bear. 4 yr old sow. 100% Spot and stalk. Could not tell if it was a sow or boar since I forgot my spotting scope. 4th day for me hunting and 1st day for my Dad. Not the best picture since it took a really long time to find a way through the brush and off 2 sets of cliffs. Bear was at the bottom of a huge canyon. Took us 2 trips to get the meat out. 2.32 miles each way so it was a good workout. Will do a more complete write up and individual post maybe after the skull gets cleaned off.

Totally true

Oh and always double check that your unit is still open. I could not even get a chance to go last year in the unit I saw a few bears in while scouting.

Spot and stalk bear hunting is just as dangerous as hunting deer in bear country. I think the odds of a charge are 2x higher when not hunting for bear. A big mistake people make is approaching a downed animal from the front. No matter the species try to approach from the aniamls back and slightly to the rear. This allows for easy shots through the spine and into vital organs OR a head shot if need be. The animal cannot see you this way and has to cover more ground to make contact with you. During this whole time the animal will be presenting shots into the vitals. You will notice PHs doing this a lot in Africa. I have been charged by a few coyotes, a 5x6 bull elk, and a javelina. The elk was my fault in approaching from the front. My Dad has been charged by javelina a couple times and a few coyotes. All of these charges happened in animals with lung shots at closer ranges. My Dad has been directly charged 4 times by bears in AZ while hunting other things. Twice the bears felt trapped. I helped him just get his first bear in 6A and that bear did not do a direct charge. It was just really mad it got shot.

Try any drainages a 1/2 mile away from dirt roads. Be careful on that metro boundry and any other land issues down there. Look at the AZGFD website and the county website so you know who owns the land and if you can hunt it. Had to drive through a lot of desert before I was in a legal area when I was in school down there. This time of year it is more difficult so don't give up and just try to learn from stands that work. You will have best luck the first 30 minutes of legal shooting hours when it is hot out. Try to avoid being overly repetive in your sounds. You may want to go out and locate some packs a day or 2 before trying an area. You can use certian coyote vocals late evening and at night to find packs. Walk a 1/4 mile and do just one quick locator call. If you hear something just notate it and slowly walk back to your truck. You are just scouting and don't want to educate them. Make sure it is very obvious that you are not hunting when you do this since most areas are closed to night hunting. Also make sure that you are not putting yourself at risk for a run in with crimals trafficing drugs. Many times just being outside late at night or early morning will help you get an idea of some coyote hotspots. Scouting for sign is also highly effective in areas with quiet coyotes or when hunting other predators.

I have hunted 19A a ton and you can find whitetails in the more rugged and remote areas. Currently I see about 50 mule deer per whitetail in this unit. Other units nearby like 21, 22, and 23 have way more whitetail and the ratio is more like 2 mule deer to 1 whitetail or even 1 to 1 depending on the year. I think that it was a poor choice to allow 19A "any antlered deer" hunts in recent years. I have seen the population try to expand multiple times since the severity of the drought decreased but as soon as someone sees a coues buck in an easy to get to area they hunt the area heavily and only hurt the expansion of the population into areas with less predators. IF you decide to shoot a coues buck in 19A I hope it is very old (like gray hair and sagging belly) and that you kill at least 30 coyotes or a lion so that a new generation of deer have a fighting chance. This is NOT a good whitetail area but an area that could become great if properly managed by hunters. I hope this helps answer your question. Sounds like you must have a 19a rifle tag this year. This is going to be a great year for mule deer in 19a and you should be able to get a 4x4 if you have off for the whole hunt.

You can get like 1/128" wear lines on corners exposed to a lot of holster wear but it is a great finish.

Bump

Hey Kenetrek fans maybe these will save you a little money. I have a pair of brand new Kenetrek Mountain Extreme 420-NI (non-insulated) 10.5 mediums for sale. Asking $400 firm or if it makes you feel better the $399.99 I paid for them The price was increased for this year so these will be $40-80 cheaper depending on tax and shipping from retailers. These are a pair I never wore other than to make sure they fit. I will not be needing these this season since I have a pair of Kenetrek Hardscrabbles, 2 pairs of Lowas, and 1 pair of Scarpas. Need some money to buy a Q5 Bird Hunting Vest or WW, an Eberlestock Mainframe (may be helping on 4 different elk hunts and a few deer hunts for family and friends if I can get off, I also have an elk hunt), and a few other things for hunting. For people who have not wore Kenetrek boots before the heel in back is a tiny bit higher than other backpacking boots and the size seems to run true (not narrow in spots like some boots). These should take about 50 miles to break in, but are going to work for 5-6 mile adventures the first day you wear them. The sole on the toe does wear a little faster if climbing a lot, but they are lighter and quieter than the Lowa, Kayland, or Scarpas that I have owned. A nice feature of Kenetrek boots is that you can get them rebuilt for $150. Think they change the sole, insole (support or unsupported your choice), and laces. Also as an FYI these did not ship with any boot wax. This was also the case with the previous pair of Kenetreks that I had as well. I would recommend getting some Kenetrek boot wax or Obenauf's LP to make the leather and stitching last as long as possible. I would prefer to do a face to face transaction. Serious buyers are welcome as not to waste time. I live in central Arizona so I am close to a few different cities and the woods.

I use e-calls and hand calls often. Sometimes I will use both on the same stand. e-calls are a very good idea if by yourself. My dad always tells a story about a guy he went to school with that got torn up by a bobcat near Flagstaff using a hand call. About 7 years ago I nearly had a coyote bite me while using a hand call. Shot it close enough with a pistol the powder burned the fur and had saliva on my left boot where I kicked the thing off me. No rabies was ever found in the bobcat or the coyote. After that I don't use hand calls in heavy cover unless someone else can watch my back. I normally call in twice as many coyotes with a hand call vs an e-call. 1st thing I tell people that have really bad luck with an e-call is to turn down the volume. Another nice thing about an e-call is you can still hunt if you have a bad cold. A lot easier to prevent a cough when just sitting there. I know 2 hunters that think it is not fair to use any calls when hunting. They are of the opinion that since our natural predators don't use calls we shouldn't either. I tell them that they should sell all their guns and bows and they laugh every time.

Wonder why Frank Pollard makes accounts on every website defending this outfitter. Maybe him and Todd Rice should post pictures of the bighorn kills in the field and then pictures of the same guys with the rams at their houses mounted. Based on the number of rams they claim to take they should be able to provide at least 10 of these pictures. Words are just words, pictures are a whole different thing. I would like to see the proof along with the tags. We should also be able to see pictures of the court documents. Something tells me I should trust Phil Cramer with 3169 posts over Frank Pollard 2 posts. Maybe I am wrong though. Was personally accused of creating an account once to advertise an outfitter that I went to school with.

I think the Gitzo 1542, 1532, and 2542 are amazing. They are on sale at B&H Photo till Aug 31. Get the 2542 if you shoot off your tripod at all -or- the 1542 or 1532 for glassing with 15s. Make sure you only buy the mountaineer series and nothing with a "T" in the name. These are travel tripods that will not be as durable, since the objective is space saving. Pictures with bad reviews are these tripods or oxidized tripods from routine salt water exposure without cleaning. I have used the Outdoorsman Tall Tripod and found it vibrated a little when using a 85mm spotting scope, even when tied off. Hade the same problem on windy days with a manfrotto 190xb. Think the carbon fiber tripods are much better at preventing vibration than aluminum. I think Outdoorsman could take over the business if they added a carbon fiber wrap or put some sort of vibration dampening system on their tripods. The Swarovski tripod is a good second choice to the Gitzo. The Gitzo will hold 22lbs and weighs 0.2lbs less. You can really tie off to it to prevent any movement no matter the conditions. You can also add snow baskets to the Gitzo. I can glass at 60x standing with no vibration with the Gitzo 2542 without tying off to my pack most days.

If anyone wants additional information like pictures let me know. I do occasionally go to Phoenix and other places in AZ so not limited to central and northern Arizona.

Lots of Bear in 6B. Not as many as in the 90s, used to see bear in the parks early in the morning. Most areas are difficult to access and are never hunted. These areas are also almost impossible to glass in so sitting water or using dogs would be the most practical ways of hunting them. I think they are worried about the easy areas getting over hunted. There has also been 3 major fires in the unit that burned a lot of premium bear habitat. The last fire was the slide fire this summer.

This happens a lot lately. I just hit the back button and then retry. This seems to be working, but makes me nervous every time.

Take a look at these knives: Outdoor Edge Swingblade This is the only chinese made knife I would recommend. Didn't know till after I bought it but, it works really well and holds an edge. Buck Paklite with the grip #135 is my favorite smaller sized knife. Since I got it in a kit I also have #141 and hoping to try #499 on an elk this year just for fun. This knives did require some extra work to sharpen the first time but now can be used for shaving or butchering just about anything I think. Kershaw 1560 Very good folding knife for the money. Buck 422 If you can find one of these they are the perfect size and lightweight.