Yuma Outdoorsman

Well, 2021 was an interesting hear. I had one of the best fishing seasons I have ever had. Winning several local tournaments and winning a Wild West Bass Trail tournament in Havasu with a good buddy of mine. I also was lucky enough to partner up with a lifelong buddy and we were AOY for a local Rod and Gun Club. Then, the luck followed into the rifle deer season and I was able to knock down a solid buck that I had on camera. He isn't the 200" buck we all dream about but I was so happy to have him. I wish everybody much success this upcoming hunting and fishing season and I hope every one has a great 2022.

Hopefully you can find him, I know the odds are tough with rain coming but I am rooting for ya to find him.

A buddy of mine up in 20C is scouting for his pig hunt and said he saw a herd of 12 does with a nice 3x3 and the buck was pushing the does very aggressively. He left his bow in camp because he was just headed to town to get some stuff they forgot and the buck pushed the does across the road in front of them at 60 yards, didn't even care they were sitting there watching. He is kicking himself now. He is going to try and pick them up again tomorrow morning and make a play.

Has anybody seen any deer that have come out of this unit this year? I was anxious to see some giants that were shot but nobody has posted anything. Probably because they want to keep it hush hush with it only being 15 tags but I think word will get out.

I was shown 2nd hand from a border patrol agent I know. I think the camera is a border patrol camera. The guy that showed me the photo doesn't even deer hunt.

Ya I saw one pic and the buck was a nice one but that’s it. I’ve never been down there but I saw some trail camera photos and holy cow.

Congratulations! Cool looking buck!

I think for the units I like the hunt the last 2 weeks of January are when it’s the hottest but sometimes you can get lucky and find them rutting sooner. The next full moon isn’t until Jan 17th so I’m thinking by then the big boys should be ready to play.

I loved every bit of this thread. Hopefully somebody posts up any reports from over the weekend. I enjoy seeing the photos and videos of the bucks, both mulies and coues.

I am not sure if I posted this in January or not but I took "the shot" with my camera instead of my bow because when I first saw this buck, he was directly in line with the setting sun and did not look very big. He went behind some trees and then popped out and I snapped these photos at 104 yards. I looked at the photo after I took it on the playback and realized he was a nice 4x4 and had a double main beam. He did not stand there long enough to knock an arrow, much less get a shot off. How wide do you think he is? I was guessing 25-26" possibly but my friends think he's wider. I don't see it but who knows. I will be going back to this area in January in hopes to find him with some ladies.

Haha ya, I messed that part up 😂

Congrats to her on killing her first animal. What a nice buck. She will for sure be hooked for life now.

I heard second hand so you know how that goes but according to a game warden in Yuma that spoke at a Yuma Valley Rod and Gun Club meeting, if you shoot a buck on 1/1/22 and had a trail camera photo of it at all in 2021, you could be written a ticket based on the warden's discretion. I don't see a game warden writing a ticket for it but this warden said it was possible.

The amount of fun he had razzing people on public forums always cracked me up. If you were new to the forums he followed and did not understand his humor, he could piss people off in a hurry. Truth be told, he was a great guy and had a unique sense of humor. He would always give credit where it was due but would absolutely not miss a chance to get his shots in when he could.

Nice buck man! Congratulations on the harvest.

Just out of curiosity, how many people entered the new draw application using their Social Security number in the Customer ID box? If you used your social, your application would be rejected as that is not the correct ID. I have a ton of friends who just used their social and were not aware it was different so I was curious how many of you did the same?

I have no problems reporting if I killed an animal or not. I also think it’s the best chance to keep OTC hunts open long term.

I completely agree, that’s a big maybe too.

Ya it says week of the 6th they will call the people that drew each tag.

There are some of my friends who applied with their social security number and the application was accepted. It sounds like some of you did the same. That's what I was wondering. I think a lot of people assumed there social was their ID but its not. They will not refund your application money.

Any rams getting killed? Seems like the guides are more hush hush this year than normal. I know Arizona Desert Outfitters has had their hunters knock down nice rams in 41W and 44BN but their photos are tease photos with side profiles so you don't get a good look at the whole ram, just the side closest to the camera.

Even now with it being 85+ in the desert, deer I had on camera are going 5-7 days before watering again. Last month it was 2-5. Tough to sit water when they aren’t hardly coming in. As for the rut, I always pray the full moon in December will get them going but usually see it turn on more towards mid January. Good thing is, not all does get hot at once so it only takes one or two to get a big buck all twitterpated to allow us to move in. Good luck this archery season 👍🏻

I shot a buck this year and this is what the dew claws looks like. I’ve seen some that are super long but never seen them crossed up. Anybody else have any photos of some crazy dew claws they want to share?

Thank you!

Awesome! congrats to your friend. Really cool!