AZHunter11

Just reached out to a mobile mechanic I know up there. I’ll let you know if he is free to help out this weekend.

Looking for a well cared for hunting/scouting rig. I’ve been actively looking for a side-by-side for weeks on Craigslist without much luck, and since elk season is approaching fast, I’m hoping y’all can help me out. I prefer a Polaris Ranger but will consider other makes. Send me a PM if you have one or know of one for sale. Appreciate the support!

Bump

Quite the adventure for a meat buck... I decided to do a backpack hunt this season, hoping to get away from hunting pressure and find a big buck. I scouted the unit almost every weekend for the last couple months to get to know new areas and find a few good glassing spots. I tend to put a lot of miles in when scouting/hunting; in some cases, 20 miles a day. It's all part of the experience! Anyway, I found one buck that I decided to chase come opening morning: I scouted that area the weekend before the hunt and pack water back there. While I was there, I ran into a group of guys that had five tags and had already set up camp in that general area. They mentioned that they had a couple good bucks in their back pocket, so I assumed it was the same couple bucks I found before. Good group of guys, so I decided to give them space and check out another new area. The new spot I found on Google earth was about 7.5 miles from the trailhead, but great glassing and potential. As the hunt approached, I was caught between three spots. One was the only water I found in the area (but had to go through nasty country to get there), a spot that I found a couple months back but didn't have a chance to follow up on before the hunt, and the one new spot with great glassing. I stay up on the weather daily before the hunt, and there was a storm system moving in the Thursday before the hunt. So, I decided against the spot with water and elected on the new spot with great views. The day prior to the hunt, I backpacked in the 7.5 miles with 69 lbs total, including 10 liters of water, 4 days worth of food, rifle, and all of my other gear. I had to bring that much water since I chose not to hunt the area I packed water into the weekend before and there isn't any anywhere around. Also didn't want to assume that the storm was going to bring available water. Only thing I glassed up the evening before opening day was a bear unfortunately. Passed on four smaller bucks opening day. I figured I put this much work in so I should be a little patient. Did take a video of a coues class clown; for some reason, I can't get the video to upload. He was jumping up and racking his horns on a tall tree, almost doing a complete back flop a couple times. He was also darting around the other buck, doe, and fawn that were around as well. Just a goofball. Anyway, after two days of glassing, my patience ran out and I shot one of the smaller bucks. I shot the buck around 3:30 pm in a very steep canyon. I didn't realize the wash at the bottom was a shear drop as I tried to get to the deer, so it took me much longer to get over to him that I thought it would. Finally got to him around 5 pm, and had the meat deboned and cape strapped to the pack by 6 or so. Unfortunately, this is just the time that it became dark. I attempted to go down the steep wash to head back up the huge canyon wall, but about near killed myself in the first 20 feet down. So, I roughed it out overnight. Of course, I didn't have any of my sleeping gear with me so it was a long, cold night. Couldn't sleep, so basically just waited 12 hours in the dark. I bundled up as much as I could but it wasn't enough, so... yep you guessed it, I used the deer cape to help keep me warm. I was either a manly mountain man or just inviting bears and lions to stop by haha. Only reason I caped it was to barter a cape for a euro mount; it was a bonus to help keep me warm. Well, morning finally came and the spot I tried to go down was about impossible to get all the way down the wash (in one piece). I had to back-track quite a ways to get down the wash and then start my ascent up the canyon wall. It took about 5 hours to get back to camp (2000 ft elevation gain), and then another 5 hours to get back to the truck; about 12 miles total. All of this with about a 90-100 lb load... needless to say, I was exhausted. Every year, I say that I'm going to stop shooting game that would make a miserable pack-out... don't think I'll ever learn haha. I'm not getting any younger so I figured might as well do it while I can! It's about the adventure, memories, and deer meat for me, so although it seemed stupid to pack out that small buck that far, it was still mission accomplished. Ok, I'm done rambling. Thanks for reading and hope y'all have also had success this year!

That lightning was intense Thursday night. Congrats on a great buck.

Sent you a PM.

I edited my post. It was nearly 70 lbs with 10 liters of water. If you are interested, I can send you a copy of my gear list for this hunt. Here is a quick summary: - Pack: 4.88 lbs - Shelter and Sleeping Gear: 7.45 lbs - Packed clothing: 2.38 lbs - Optics: 13.77 lbs (10s, 15s, and 85mm Spotter) - Rifle: 12.2 lbs - Other Gear: 3.5 lbs - Water: 22 lbs - Food: 3.5 lbs I did not bring my cook kit since I was conserving as much water as possible. If anyone is interested, I don't mind sharing my comprehensive gear list. It includes weight, cost, nutrition, pie charts, etc.

Getting ready to pull the trigger on an Exo Mountain pack. Figured I'd see if anyone here has one they'd be willing to let go. Let me know. Thanks

In case some of you need an incentive to pull the trigger on some Kuiu gear (like I did), here is a link to a 20% off coupon code. https://share.kuiu.com/x/NYCiz7

The motor in my 2003 Silverado locked up yesterday, so I'm in need of a replacement. Any suggestions where I might find a used or rebuilt motor for a reasonable price would be greatly appreciated. Due to time and space constraints, I may look for someone to do the swap for me, so let me know if you have any referrals. I figured this would be a much better starting point than picking up a motor from Craigslist or a junk yard. Thanks for reading.

Congrats on an awesome buck.

Day 1: I scouted the area 4-5 weekends before the hunt since I like to be prepared and have alternate hunting/glassing spots, and I'm glad I did. I started out the morning with a couple buddies at one of the best glassing spots. Since most of the deer that I've seen there were more concentrated in a specific area, I hiked over to a hill near that area to be in a better shooting position. Still dark by the time I got there, I set up the tripod and binos and waited for sunlight. About an hour after sunrise, one of my buddies said they located deer. I headed back to where they were and they pointed out a wide 2x2 bedded down under a tree. Although he was only 500 yards out, the only thing we could see was his head and antlers. Since I had no idea which direction his body was facing, I decided to wait for a better shot. I briefly took eyes off of the scope when my buddy said he just stood up. By the time I located him again in the scope, he had already walked behind a tree. Hoping he would step out for a broadside shot, something spooked the deer and that buck along with two spikes bolted... bummer! I hunted hard the rest of the day but didn't come up with anything. Day 2: Since that spot produced deer the previous morning, I decided to start there again. My buddies weren't able to make it this morning, so I went to the same glassing spot we saw those deer. Once daylight hit, I spotted a couple groups of doe with fawns. A little more searching and found a buck further out heading my direction. Once within shooting range, I noticed that it was the same buck that I missed out on the morning before; strange since I haven't seen much patterning among mulies. He continued closing the gap between us, and when he stopped to chew on some brush 300 yards in front of me... boom. I quickly found him in the scope after the shot and saw that he fell straight backwards without taking another step. While field dressing him, it looks like the bullet went straight through his heart. My buddies showed up just in time to help pack it out too haha. There was a small point growing on one side, so turns out he was a 2x3; it was a great hunt and happy to have meat in the freezer!

Congratulations again to you and your daughter Stan! What an incredible hunt. She definitely set the bar high for the other girls.

PM sent

This is my first post as I am a new member. I've met a few great guys that turned me on to this site and I've already consumed a lot of good information. I look forward to meeting more of you in the future. Well, back to what you clicked on this topic for. My late rifle bull hunt started last Friday and what an experience it was. I hiked to one of the spots I've been scouting the past few months just as first light hit. I immediately glassed up a few good bulls, one in particular (think he was a 6x7). I dropped the pack, grabbed my 7mm STW, and hiked up the ridge to get in closer. Now within 300 yards, I had in him in the crosshairs just waiting for him to turn broadside. As he started to turn and I was about to shoot, someone else shot at him. I was a bit heartbroken; what are the chances? Oh well, someone got the shot off faster; congratulations to them on an awesome bull. I went back to my glassing spot and thirty minutes later, saw something about a mile away. It probably took me an hour to get out there, but I glassed it up again from the other side of the canyon. This was the result: Although that first one was bigger, this is my first bull so I'm still a pretty happy camper. Thanks for reading and good luck to all of the other hunters out there right now.

Congratulations to you and your daughter Stan! Very well deserved!

Well done, congrats. What were you shooting?

Fortunately, I had a buddy from Payson give me a hand.

This was in 22N. A lot of tags out there this year.