Tunachaser

Got mine in Yesterday. October 7-9 will be our hunt dates. Black Hills region in Eastern Wyoming so I'm hoping to do it with a bow again or .30-.30 lever action open sights! Private land deal that my buddy leases. Property has Elk, Mule Deer, Whitetail Deer, and Antelope. My wife and I will cover the speed goats and my buddy has the other three tags. Should be an amazing hunt! I finally got my 2014 buck back from the taxidermist which means I don't have a European Antelope on the wall anymore so I am excited!

I was lion hunting up there around the first of April and the guys I was hunting with bumped into the WM and told them that they had a massive die-off this winter. Said it was because there were no acorns last fall and the birds didn't have enough fat to make it through the winter and they did get a lot of snow this winter. I went to check out one of my favorite spots and found one bird talking. Had to cover a TON of country to even hear another bird. Then my buddy had the Buffalo tag this year, went 3 different weekends in April and heard one gobble and saw one gobbler in the same area as he was in last year where he heard an uncountable amount of gobbles. Doesn't sound encouraging to me...... I'd be interested to hear if anyone else would possibly agree that they had a die-off!

Interesting! Perhaps it was the Aspen Fire that hurt or eliminated them? My tag just says "Bearded Turkey" , but I really applied and want to make sure I get a Goulds. Any quick way to identify them? Goulds have the most ridiculous deep and interesting gobble I have ever heard. I've watched lots of videos on the birds in 33 and they sound like Goulds to me! Watch some of Jay Scott or Pat Feldt's youtube videos on the birds they have guided up there, versus merriams hunts, I believe they are different. I didnt realize their gobble was different until I heard my first in 35a and I thought it was a jake or something. They sound weird. But then now I'm addicted to them. 16 bonus points and still cant draw. =(

Hey Guys, So I know this is 8 month's late but I still wanted to share it with you all. What you see below is laid out kind of funny. There is a link to the online magazine I wrote my story for, so if you have time and want to read the whole epic 3 week adventure of a lifetime, Please! click on the link and enjoy the story. BUT! If you don't have time to read the whole giant story, I beg you to please please please just read the excerpt I copied into this post. It is well worth your time I promise. Copied in is the last days stalk as well as the lessons I learned (and reinforced) on this hunt. So please read them, even if you are just a picture looker. =) Here is the link to the magazine: https://www.joomag.com/magazine/mag/0654901001441927963/p58 Here is the part you have to read if you want to look at this post. The Final Stalk: The next morning, Bennett, Davis, my dad, and I all got on the same hill where my dad had watched “Nails” the day before. We glassed hard, but couldn't find the buck. We panned our binos to the country where the other big buck had been seen. We saw some nice deer, but nothing my dad or brothers wanted to stalk. But I had one deer on my mind and I wasn’t going to even consider drawing back on any other, no matter how big. At 10:30 AM, my dad and I went back to the canyon where we believed “Nails” was living and started glassing again. I moved my glasses over to the cliff where the buck was hanging out the day before, and only 300-yards away, in the EXACT spot, “Nails” was standing with a doe. I don’t know where they came from, but it didn’t matter. Again, the buck was just below a cliff, well within bow range. I lost control of my cool and began shaking violently. It was go time! After a series of silly mistakes like forgetting my rangefinder and sneaky feet, I was finally on my way to make the short stalk. One hundred yards from the cliff, I slipped off my boots and went into stealth mode. I was so excited that I almost forgot to nock an arrow again. As I approached the final 10-yards, it began to sink in. The slab of rock God had given me to stalk down was deadly silent. “Nails” was going to be in the open. Three weeks of torture trying to find and refind and refind this buck was about to come down to one last shot. I peeked over the edge and saw the buck broadside in the open looking down the hill. My heart almost came out of my throat. The shaking returned and I almost couldn’t get an accurate range. Finally, my crosshair hit his body; the angle-compensating rangefinder read back 24-yards. I didn’t believe the reading; “Nails” was straight below, but looked so far! I took a second reading; 25-yards. I still didn’t believe it, so I made the worst decision ever. I drew back and decided to shoot for 35-yards. My finger found the trigger, and I touched it off. I almost dropped to the ground as I saw the arrow that should have been my last, fly right over his back. I should have trusted the rangefinder! However, by the grace of God, “Nails” didn’t even flinch. It was at this moment when it really occurred to me that I am nothing by myself. All the practice in the world, all the skills anyone could ever attain—I couldn’t imagine an easier shot—and God made it clear that it was fully up to him whether I would kill this deer or not. I knocked another arrow and put my 20-yard pin low on his chest. Again, my finger somehow made it to the trigger, and I squeezed it off. Perfect! The buck did the classic whitetail kick and exploded down the hill with blood pouring out of the bottom of his chest! Thirty yards later, the buck tipped over backwards. I almost dropped my bow. I fell down on the ground and began to sob. Never in my life had I ever put so much energy and emotion into one particular animal! With it being a Coues Whitetail—my all-time favorite—with a bow, I couldn’t control myself. It made it so much more special to be able to do it with my three best hunting partners in the world watching from just a few hundred yards away. In the background of my own crying, I could hear Bennett and Davis cheering, and my dad crying as well. It was one of those moments where words can’t quite explain. I laid there for 15-minutes, pretty much unable to do anything. When I sort of came back, I made a call to Theo, the amazing girl who had put up with my insanity for the past three-weeks. Through the sniffling, I left her a message saying that “Nails” was dead. God had given us Nails! Finally, we regrouped and headed down a little chute to get down to the buck. I was humbled as we maneuvered through the Sheep-like country that “Nails” called home. I knew where he was lying, but I wanted to follow the blood trail. I knew he bled a lot, since I had seen the blood pouring out of him as he ran, but it was incredibly difficult to follow in the chest high grass! We thanked the Lord for allowing “Nails” to die within eye-sight. At last, we walked up on the buck that over the past three weeks we had grown so close with. It was a sobering feeling to take the life of such an amazing animal. We all sat down and thanked God for his incredible blessings and for his unrelenting love for us as his children. After pictures and quartering him out, my prayers for a heavy pack out were answered. “Nails” was coming home to Flagstaff! Lessons Learned and Reinforced · I see so many people write things like, "Now he's all mine." Well, that’s not true for me. "Nails" is our buck. I cannot believe how blessed I am to have such an amazing Coues Deer team, and I know I don't deserve it. They all forgot about their own tags, and came to help me accomplish the seemingly impossible. But WE did it! WE killed a Coues Deer with a bow! And WE did it because of HIM. We know that we are nothing without God. He made it all possible. HE gave us bodies to be able to hike far, and hunt these ghosts in the purest way possible (spot and stalk), HE gave us skills to be able to shoot our bows, to be quiet when close, and to glass for hours on end. HE gave us passion to chase such incredible animals. HE gave us everything, and I am completely humbled by his goodness. · Score isn’t important. Unfortunately, I made score a big deal with “Nails” before killing him. I thought and talked about it constantly. I would add these stupid numbers up in my head over and over until I was a wreck. Looking back, I was greedy! I wanted to kill this deer so I could boast that I had killed a Boone and Crocket buck with a bow. I did think he would break 110-inches. Honestly, God humbled me. Not only was “Nails” quite a bit younger than we thought, but also quite a bit smaller than I thought. The night before we killed him, God put him in a fight to break off at least three inches of antler. Broken, the buck scores 97-inches. God wouldn’t even let me have him be 100-inches!” And now, I am absolutely 100% okay with that. I have made it right in my mind that score doesn’t matter. It was the hunt of a lifetime, and to me, Nails is the buck of a lifetime. The song, “How Deep the Fathers Love for us” rings constantly in my head. “I will not boast in anything, no gifts, no power, no wisdom. But I will boast in Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection.” It is almost comical to me that even though I know that the only thing worth boasting for in life is the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus made for you and me on the cross, my sinful nature wants to boast about such a small thing as killing a big deer. · From early on, I knew I wanted to name this buck “Nails.” It just sounds bad to the bone! And he definitely lived up to his name, but the parallels that come from that name are just amazing. I named this story, “God Gave us Nails” because I know that it was nothing of my own doing that allowed us to bring “Nails” home. But when I began to think about what that statement actually meant, it brought me chills. And I will do my best to explain what I am thinking. We are all sinners, and to a perfect God, we can’t even come close. Our punishment is eternal separation from this perfect God. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned, and fall short of the Glory of God.” But! It is not God’s desire for us to be eternally separated from him! Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the Gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus.” This is the good news! God’s desire is for us to be with him forever in paradise! How is this possible? Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates his own love towards us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” God wants us with him forever, but our sin is too great. We are unable to be in the presence of a Perfect and Holy God while our sin runs rampant and unforgiven. It is because of this that God sent Jesus to earth. He came to earth becoming fully man, but remaining fully God. His purpose was to die. As God, he could not die for sinners, but as a man he could. Jesus came to earth, and was killed by the people he came to save. They PINNED him to a tree (cross) because the message of hope that he brought, challenged them to change their lifestyle. They crucified my Jesus because they were unwilling to change. But that was his mission. Jesus’ purpose was to die for us. To die for me, and to die for you. Because it was OUR sins that held him on that cross. It was not however Jesus’ death that has brought us life. It is difficult to die for something you believe in, but there are people who will. Humans will give up their lives for something or someone they care about. But NO ONE except for Jesus Christ has conquered that death. And it was the conquering of death that has brought us life!! Isaiah 53:5 says, “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” We are forgiven and we are justified to stand in heaven one day because of Jesus’ death on the cross, and resurrection from the dead. He only asks for this, "that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." Romans 10:9. And again in Romans 10:13, “For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” God gave us Nails. I can’t help but think about the Nails that pierced my savior’s wrists and feet. The nails that held him on that cross until our sins were forgiven. The greatest gift that has ever been given in all of eternity was the gift of Jesus Christ. We owe our lives to him. It is the least we can do, and yet it is all that he asks. I know I would not have appreciated this buck as much as I do now, if I would have killed him the first or second week. Sometimes it takes pain, struggle and hardships to realize that what God gives us is more important or meaningful than we could have previously imagined. The story of “Nails” for me helped me realize this. Even though hunting is important to me, and I am so passionate about it, it is not why God made me. He might have made me a hunter, but hunting is not my purpose on this earth. My purpose is to bring God glory by enjoying everything about his character, and to do everything I can to help build his eternal kingdom while on this earth. Thanks so much for reading everyone! If you would like to talk to me in private or other than this forum, I would be happy to! Send me a PM and I would love to talk. Here are a few pictures of my buck. I hope you enjoyed it. =) Shelton

I agree. Please don't kill turkey mamma's!!! Arizona turkeys already struggle. The babies need their mom's. Congrats Don on your epic year. You seem like my kind of Crazy. You definitely beat me this year as far as days in the field. I hunted 13 days with only 2 breaks.

June can be pretty sketchy for the pelagics (Bluefin and Yellowfin) but this is a strange year. They never stopped catching them so it might be great! I wouldn't count on it though. We go every year, several times a year and wait til late July or August and September is even better but September is full swing hunting season for us. You can watch fishing reports though at www.biteson.com and find the san diego dock totals. They are updated daily. Point Loma, Fishermans Landing, and Seaforth landings are good ones to check for reports. To be honest, the party boat scene is stressful for new fishermen. I'm not sure what you and your sons skill levels are for big fish but fishing san diego party boats can get overwhelming. Personally, I love it!! It is so much fun to me and my brothers, dad, and I embrace the chaos and have a blast. We do have friends tho who are more reserved and enjoy fishing private boats, and the party boats drive them insane. Anyways, here are some of the more affordable overnight/1.5 day boats that I think know how to catch fish, if there are fish to be caught. Boat loads will average 20-35 guys. Condor, Pacific Queen, New Lo Ann, Fortune. The Shogun is a KILLER boat but they are generally a long range boat who occasionally do shorter trips but are much more expensive because it is a top notch operation. If price isn't a deal to you and you would like a personalized trip were you guys are the priority, I would look into Sauerfish Charters. Its a 6 pack operation and they always show good reports. But again, its expensive. Finally, If you are just looking for a 1/2 day to 3/4 day trip, expect 50-70 people on the boat and complete mayhem. So much more chaos than the overnight tuna boats. You will be targeting primarily rockfish or calico bass and the occasional Yellowtail may be caught but I don't think the captains pursue them super hard. Numbers are those boats friends and small bass put numbers on the boat. Actually, I just checked the Mission Belle and they have been targeting Yellowtail! This might be a good boat to get on. But make sure you check reports up until the day you leave. I hope this was helpful! Let me know if you have any questions. I love San Diego. =)

Great job man!! You are tougher than I! I would've been in the truck I'm glad you said it first; that is the ugliest turkey I've ever seen! Haha It's a bummer what rain and snow will do to such a pretty animal. But hey, its a turkey and a story you'll never forget. Congrats!

Is it sold?

TR is retiring soon. He used to be huge in Flagstaff. He did a lot of work for my dad. Really nice guy. I really like your mount though! Being a college student, floor space is very limited. I couldn't do something like that but I love the idea. Very unique and beautiful! Holy cow!! Do you see how close your buck and my buck look alike? Thats crazy!!!

Here's my bucks teeth. Pretty weird!!

MATDADY, I really like your mount! Kind of reminds me of my buck for some reason. My buck was never a fighter, never aggressive, I actually never saw him near a doe and obviously the archery season is during peak rut. He was a little weird in that sense but he was also very very old. His teeth are crazy jacked up. Ill try to post a picture of them. Thanks everyone for you input and advice!!

Plunkett is my grandpa's neighbor and I've never seen better work than his. He is slow but that doesn't matter to me. My family and I have had quite a few animals mounted by Flagstaff guys in the past but after seeing Plunkett's work, I have to use him. My hunt was DIY. I had a great team to help me including my brother, dad, and a few friends. "Captain Hook" scores 82 1/4". 16 1/4" x 16 1/2".

Bowhnt, do you have any pictures of Marc's mounts for you? He also has my bear. After 10 years of spot and stalk bear hunting, in 2013, I finally killed my first Bear and he's a monster. It was an awesome hunt but they are way too cool of animals to kill a bunch of. I'll never shoot another probably in Arizona so I decided to Life-size him. He should be done this fall!!

BowhuntAZ, I love that shield Impala mount!! That is crazy creative and crazy awesome!!

Goat Pen!!! Haha Game and fish did a migration survey in my unit in 2011. I think they tagged like 20-30 of them. He isn't a transplant or anything weird. Just was in the wrong place at the wrong time a few years ago, and G&F shot him with a net gun and gave him some jewelry. His tracker fell off a few years ago.