Andy

You are right, the runoff from the fire did a number on the gila. I know some people that floated it last year sometime and only caught one fish.

PM Sent

Second that about High Desert Angler. Also, the Taos fly shop has access to some private property that has some good fishing. I saw a show that featured Taylor Streit and the Taos fly shop and they were catching some big fish on the private water. Andy

Has anyone had experience using a garmin Rino to talk with another brand of walkie talkie or even just a regular garmin radio. I read one review that said something about a scrambler made it hard to comunicate with other walkie talkies other than another Rhino. Thanks

I just re read my question and it doesn't make a lot of sense but you answered the question I was trying to ask. Garmin doesn't make just a radio. So I guess my question should have been does the rino transmit with other walkie talkies other than just rino's. Thanks for the responses. I would be curious to see if anyone else has similar experiences or not. Thanks, Andy

I am not an expert but I think that training/retrieving everyday for 5 minutes is better than longer periods of training time less frequently. And there will be days where the dog is not as focused I feel it is best to just call it a day. If I feel myself getting upset I stop with the retrieving/training for the day.

congrats on a nice bird and great story. It sure seems like the turkey in that area of the state have thicker beards than birds in other parts of the state.

I bought a pair of swaros back in december and I keep my covers on them whenever I am not looking through them, but they still seem to get stuff on them. What is the best way to clean the lenses? I am scared to even touch the lense in fear of messing it up. Also, my eyes must be really close together because when I tried putting the loops of the lense caps on my binos, so when you take them off they just hang, I can't get the binos close enough to see through them clearly. Any suggestions? Hopefully this makes sense, I don't really know how to describe it any better. Andy

I just got an oryx on Sunday and was hoping to draw again because I had a ton of fun. No such luck, but my dad drew off range and a buddy drew Rhodes Canyon.

A friend of mine has a depredation antelope tag out here in NM. We went out to check out the property and get the info from the farmer. We saw a few antelope driving out and all the bucks we saw were little. I was wondering if they have allready shed their horns. Andy

nice job houston. It seems like you get bad weather out there every year. Did you find any deer sheds? Andy

I was hunting with a friend, Marshall, down in the southwest corner of NM (unit 27). We were on a private ranch that borders the Grey Ranch ( one of if not the biggest ranches in NM. Don’t quote me on this but I think it is around 500,000 acres. We were on a 20, 000 acre ranch that Marshall had made connections with. He sells red angus cows and sold some bulls to this rancher. He then went over and helped on the ranch several times and instead of paying him they gave him two tags and guess who got the second tag. I made the 5 ½ hour drive from Albuquerque on Friday and got in around 10 PM. Saturday morning we were up on the edge of a big draw glassing, but only for about 45 minutes we walked up the draw and made a circle back to camp and hopped on the 4 wheelers to head to the north end of the ranch after coming through a gate in the bottom of a draw marshall pointed and all I saw was a huge buck (pushing 30 inches wide and so thick that I thought he was in velvet) just going over the edge of the draw we were in about 250 yards away. We had no chance at a shot so we raced to the edge of the draw and got the guns and climbed out of the draw, in the direction the deer went and didn’t see a thing. There were actually 4 bucks in the group but I only saw the last one. It was wide open on top and they just disappeared. We were both in awe of the size of deer we had just seen so we pressed on. We did a lot of waking in some smaller washes but didn’t see anything else. We went back for a quick lunch and were back at it at noon in another big wash on the north end of the property. This wash was a lot bigger than the others and had huge fingers coming off of it that had a lot of deer and sign. I took the high side and walked up and down in all the little fingers and cuts and Marshall took the bottom and we were hoping to push the deer between us. We had gone about a half mile and I saw about 30 doe running across the ridge of one of the fingers in front of me, but I didn’t see any bucks so I swung around them and continued walking. I found those does again and they were running parallel to me and I looked out in front and there were 2 nice bucks running also. They dropped out of sight and I figured they were headed for a draw about 200 yards ahead of me. If they ran up the draw it would bring them into range and maybe a possible shot. I ran across the flat to the edge of the draw and sure enough the bucks angled up the draw and were just about to the top of the other side about 80 yards away. They stopped and were looking back down the draw. I had to act quick. One was in the open, but facing straight away the other was lower down, but behind some brush. I pulled up the gun and looked at each one real quickly and decided on the one in the open because he was incredibly heavy and tall. I couldn’t tell how many points because he was straight away. I held on the back of his neck and dropped him in his tracks. I wouldn’t normally take a shot like that except he was so close I felt real comfortable about the shot. After the shot the other buck ran up and out of the draw and I realized I might have shot the smaller buck. He was a typical 4x4, but not as heavy as mine. I walked over to my buck and was so happy to find the biggest buck I have ever killed. His right fronts are a little weak, but he makes up for in with his mass. He is a 3x3 that is 23 inches wide. We hunted hard the next day and I switched spots with marshall and took the low side and let him walk up high and wouldn’t you know it I spotted a bigger buck than mine about 175 yards away down towards the bottom, so I tried to push him to marshall, but they were both surprised when the buck popped out about 50 yards behind marshall and he only had a running shot as he topped out about 250 yards away. Marshall did connect Monday morning right before we were going to leave on a little fork horn. It was a great hunt. We also saw a ton of quail, I found a coues shed, a small 4x4 muley skull, saw a bobcat, coyote, a rattler and some javies. Here is the story I must first admit that I am a mooch hunter. Don’t mention a hunt that you have or are putting in for because I will probably invite myself or just show up so watch out. I was hunting with a friend, Marshall, down in the southwest corner of NM (unit 27). We were on a private ranch that borders the Grey Ranch ( one of if not the biggest ranches in NM. Don’t quote me on this but I think it is around 500,000 acres. We were on a 20, 000 acre ranch that Marshall had made connections with. He sells red angus cows and sold some bulls to this rancher. He then went over and helped on the ranch several times and instead of paying him they gave him two tags and guess who got the second tag. I made the 5 ½ hour drive from Albuquerque on Friday and got in around 10 PM. Saturday morning we were up on the edge of a big draw glassing, but only for about 45 minutes we walked up the draw and made a circle back to camp and hopped on the 4 wheelers to head to the north end of the ranch after coming through a gate in the bottom of a draw marshall pointed and all I saw was a huge buck (pushing 30 inches wide and so thick that I thought he was in velvet) just going over the edge of the drawk we were in about 250 yards away. We had no chance at a shot so we raced to the edge of the draw and got the guns and climbed out of the draw, in the direction the deer went and didn’t see a thing. There were actually 4 bucks in the group but I only saw the last one. It was wide open on top and they just disappeared. We were both in awe of the size of deer we had just seen so we pressed on. We did a lot of waking in some smaller washes but didn’t see anything else. We went back for a quick lunch and were back at it at noon in another big wash on the north end of the property. This wash was a lot bigger than the others and had huge fingers coming off of it that had a lot of deer and sign. I took the high side and walked up and down in all the little fingers and cuts and Marshall took the bottom and we were hoping to push the deer between us. We had gone about a half mile and I saw about 30 doe running across the ridge of one of the fingers in front of me, but I didn’t see any bucks so I swung around them and continued walking. I found those does again and they were running parallel to me and I looked out in front and there were 2 nice bucks running also. They dropped out of sight and I figured they were headed for a draw about 200 yards ahead of me. If they ran up the draw it would bring them into range and maybe a possible shot. I ran across the flat to the edge of the draw and sure enough the bucks angled up the draw and were just about to the top of the other side about 80 yards away. They stopped and were looking back down the draw. I had to act quick. One was in the open, but facing straight away the other was lower down, but behind some brush. I pulled up the gun and looked at each one real quickly and decided on the one in the open because he was incredibly heavy and tall. I couldn’t tell how many points because he was straight away. I held on the back of his neck and dropped him in his tracks. I wouldn’t normally take a shot like that except he was so close I felt real comfortable about the shot. After the shot the other buck ran up and out of the draw and I realized I might have shot the smaller buck. He was a typical 4x4, but not as heavy as mine. I walked over to my buck and was so happy to find the biggest buck I have ever killed. His right fronts are a little weak, but he makes up for in with his mass. He is a 3x3 that is 23 inches wide. We hunted hard the next day and I switched spots with marshall and took the low side and let him walk up high and wouldn’t you know it I spotted a bigger buck than mine about 175 yards away down towards the bottom, so I tried to push him to marshall, but they were both surprised when the buck popped out about 50 yards behind marshall and he only had a running shot as he topped out about 250 yards away. Marshall did connect Monday morning right before we were going to leave on a little fork horn. It was a great hunt. We also saw a ton of quail, I found a coues shed, a small 4x4 muley skull, saw a bobcat, coyote, a rattler and some javies.

These pictures are great. I have a question about the 2nd king that you caught. I assume you were carrying another rod since your other rod broke? I can't imagine that you used a broken rod for the second fish. Also, what kind of rod was it and did they replace it for you?

I went hunting in NM last weekend. After setting up camp we headed out to the property. My Step Grandpa knows the area like the back of his hand and we stopped at the opening of a small canyon where he had seen birds in the past. I got out and there were tracks everywhere. I was pretty excited and I worked my way up the canyon on a logging road. I stopped at a junction of several logging roads to call. I have a box call, diaphram call, and a push button yelper (I think it is made by H.S. Strut). I really like the push button call, but the only problem is the sound doesn’t carry as far, but I would recomend it in a heart beat especially for when the birds are up close and personal. I called for about 5-10 minutes and didn’t hear a thing. I got up and continued up the canyon and took a logging road that went up higher because I figured the turkeys might be on the lower road that had more grass and was flat. I hadn’t walked more that 200 yards from my calling location when I heard a gobble that was pretty close. I dropped down in the logging road. The location was perfect because the logging road was washed out creating a depression and there was a rock that was on the side of the road that I could hide behind. As soon as I got behind the rock I started to call and got an immediate response and then I could see movement through the trees. There were 3 gobblers coming in. They would interrupt me with a gobble the instant I started calling. The first bird stepped out at 26 yards ( I ranged the bush after the shot) and I lifted up above the rock and drilled him with my dads Browning upland special 12 gauge. I was using 3 inch #4’s. As soon as I shot the other 2 birds didn’t know what was going on and were gobbling and looking at the other bird. I could have easily dropped the second bird and been done hunting for the trip, but I didn’t want to be done that soon because those birds made it seem so easy, which I know isn’t true and found out later, but I had never hunted private land and non pressured birds. Instead of shooting I got my camera out and started talking pictures and video. Then the birds just walked off. After regaining my composure and realizing what just happened I noticed the 2 gobblers were only about 75 yards away and had started feeding, so I started calling again and to my amazement they gobbled and started coming back. Without hesitating I set the camera on record and set it on a small clump next to the rock I was hiding behind. I could see the birds in the viewfinder and I would peak around the corner of the rock. The birds were just behind some tree branches and stayed there for a few minutes, but the whole time they were gobbling and clucking. One of them finally stepped out exactly were I shot the first bird not 5 minutes earlier, but then stepped behind another bush. Knowing that I had the whole thing on film as soon as he cleared the bush I raised up and ended my NM turkey hunt and drilled the second Tom. I was so excited I pulled a CMC and turned the camera around and talked into the camera about what I had just accomplished and I was clearly shooken up. I did however edit that out of the video clip here. The first gobbler I took had a 10-inch beard and the second had an 8-¼ in. beard. Here is the video of the second bird that I shot. Turkey Video There was 5 of us hunting but now only 3 still had tags because my Step Grandpa killed his 2 last weekend when he was up scouting for us. So I hunted with my dad the rest of the weekend we had a great time with some close calls and one missed shot. Sunday morning 2 other birds were taken by my step grandpa’s brother and their friend. I did learn that even though it was private land these birds aren’t stupid and it takes some skill but it also takes being in the right place at the right time. Just when I thought I had figured things out it would completely blow up in my face, but I guess that is why I love doing it. They don’t read this forum but I couldn’t have done it without there help. They made all the arrangements. I just flew into Albuquerque and the rest was taken care of. Here are a couple more pics from the weekend

I used to try and bring steak, or bacon and eggs, but after a few trips I dropped all that stuff and now all I ever bring is Instant oatmeal packs for breakfast, Summersausage and crackers for lunch, and Ramen for dinner (sometimes I will throw in a potato that I can cook in the fire). And then I also have snack stuff like granola bars and poptarts.

I think 16 b is a wilderness hunt, so I don't think you are allowed a 4 wheeler. Good luck on your hunt.

I went out sunday and monday with my bow. I found a few deer, along with this buck that I jumped walking back to the vehicle. He jumped about 30 yards away and reapeared way up the canyon and I got these pics. Can you find him? a shed I found

I didn't even realize the carcass until I posted the pics. I might have to go back in and check it out. I also thought it might be a dead century plant or barrel cactus.

My dad hunted them when back in the mid to late 80's. They had the hunt set up to were you went in and killed 2 females or young ones, sorry I don't know the proper names. Then if you got your two tags filled you got to go on a trophy hunt later and go for a big one. He killed 2 small ones and went back on the trophy hunt but was holding out because of course during the first hunt he saw a huge one. I will have to look in the old photo albums and see if I can find the pics. I will also talk to my dad and make sure I explained the hunt corectly. They definately don't do the hunt that way now. I do know that you can get an over the counter tag and hunt them year round as long as you aren't in the Floridas, at least it was like that about 3 years ago, but I don't know if there are any populations out there other than the floridas. I would suggest talking to ranchers in the area. Also, Kevin, what do you do in LC. I was born and raised there. Graduated from Mayfield and NMSU.

I went to school at Western for a semester and spent some time hunting in september in Unit 24 and I would always go north of Pinos Altos. I ran into several bucks. Hopefully I didn't give anyone's secret spots away.

I got mine on monday. Unit 27 muzzleloader Coues

I drew a deer tag for unit 27 coues with a muzzleloader. YEAH!!! But holy crap that is expensive. I have never bought a out of state tag. My dad and his buddies didn't draw anything, and they are residents and put in for elk, ant, and jav.

Do any of you all that live in Silver City know a guy named Zeb Kern. I went to school at Western for a semester and met some good guys up there. One was Zeb, and he took me out on my muzzleloader elk hunt during finals week, but I haven't been in contact with him in a few years.

What does "bear in the pear" mean?

Get this, I found out that they went hunting from the email my dad sent me with the picture. After talking with you about hunting turkeys in NM I went home to check my calender to see if I could squeeze a weekend in and if I would have known my dad was going I would have tried to make it work out. Houston, next year we will go. My wife will probably be on a rotation, so we will make it happen.