JustinB

Group tagged out on 2 cows by 9 am friday morning. Saw plenty of bulls as well. Bugling was hit ir miss all weekend. Saw what seemed like more hunters just driving than hunting. Should get better and better as the next week and half go by

I would respectfully disagree... Every animal i take is a trophy to me. Particularly this one....

Knife was hand made by a friend of mine that does custom knives

Unit 8

Not many tags for that hunt so worrying about the footrace might not be an issue. My buddy has the same tag. The big bucks are the smart bucks and tend to congregate close to the private property. It is a big unit with lots of good country. I would be looking at the fringes of that unit. In doing so you will likely avoid some of the other hunters.

Great morning. Bear came in 20 yards in back of me. Scared the crap outme. Never heard a sound. Had my group of bucks come in. Missed at 10 f'ing yards. Had not prcaticed out of a treestand and with the steep angle i sent it barley over it back. They stuck around for another 5 minutes with no other shot. Pretty sure they are bedded one bench below me now. Hoping they come back. They have been here everyday for a minth. They were not spooked and just walked off eventualy. Made for a fun morning but man how low can you get... Missed at 10 yards. Cant believe it

I have bow hunted for many years and always was spot and stalk. I would see tons of deer and inevitably tons of deer would see me. Many many stalks in order to fling an arrow. I have killed my fair share of muleys. Most are average with a few smalls thrown in there. This year I am sitting a tree stand. A bit brutal to sit for 14 hours a day but what I can say is each day I have been out I have either gotten and shot and missed (lesson learned practice out a treestand before hunting I am still sick about the deer I missed) or have had the opportunity to pass buck after buck. First time I have ever felt like eh he's too small. I have seen the light! I will perfect my hunting from a tree stand. Just sitting has given me the opportunity to observe many different species but most specifically the coues. It is almost like they are on a clock. Sometime between 8:00-noon a group or single buck will come through almost daily. It has never gone beyond 2 days without seeing a buck. I would find a trail. 90% of the bucks i am seeing want to have nothing to do with the salt. I am on a pitch point and the deer are just funneling through as a travel corridor. long story short. keep at it. find a trail and a pinch point. get a book and start sitting. You will get volunteers just marching through.

No. Actually have another hundred pounds in the truck. Found it in the middle of the road coming in?? I generally dump a few hundred pounds on a new site. Often it is gone ( in the ground)in a few months. Once its there its there for life. Feshen it up everyother year or so. Much less obvious when it has saturated the ground and it isnt blocks sitting there for aomeone to notice. I have salts that my kids will hunt ling after i am gone. Once the animals start digging it out it then also holds water.

Still at it. The one I missed last friday has not been back. Have had to force myself to pass on what I consider quality deer. Slept in on Tuesday... guess I shouldnt have as there was a new arrival. I have not seen or gotten any other pictures of this guy. Had 3 good deer but smaller come in today at 10:30

These guys know where they are kind of safe! The one to the far right got an arrow stuck in its neck by a nimrod last year. He was captured and had it removed. He is still growing.\ Sorry cant figure out why the pics posted the way they did.

Yeah, I would never shoot one of those dinks. LOL I guess if you got out from behind that computer you might hsve the option All about personal choices dont you thjnk. The beauty of hunting. You get to decide for yourself what you want to try and kill

It hasn't been written yet but I'll write a song for you guys. I'll title it "Hang Up and HUNT" Im stuck in freakin tree stand. Alresdy read a book just watched the spike go by. Nothing to do but look at this phone. Battery will be dead soon...

These are the smaller ones. The guy i have missed is substantially taller wider and heavier

Thank you. Yeah. I am a bit jumpy and yes. I did rush both my shots. He is the biggest coues i have ever had in range. Nobody is back in here with me and it is a 3 week season. He is consistent. Just wanted to get it dine today. Just need to slow it down. He is close enough to home i can hunt the mornings and still get to work if i need to next. They have not seen me nor smelled me. So there is plenty of hope. Thanks again

Yeah well as mentioned. Didnt anticipate hunting this hunt. I generally spot and stalk. Set this cam up really just to see. What i saw was to good to not sit for. Didnt even own a stand until tuesday. I hate sitting but this guy is worth it. So no. I have not practiced out of a tree stand. Being he is one if the biggesst coues i have been able to see i am a little jumpy too

Well i questioning why i am here since he just came back in at 35 yards and over his bavk a second time. This time he left with a little more urgency but 2 other stuck arohnd for a few minute I could really puke from this stand right now

Sounds like someone needs to share some trail cam pics! I'm headed up thursday afternoon for 3 days in a ground blind. Hoping to be able to just put up a pic of one of the bigger ones dead! Just cant let myself shoot a little one. My finger gets itchy when I have a legal animal in fornt of me.

Wasnt going to do it this year but checked a new camera that I set up for the January hunt. Well 17 different buck have been hitting it each day over the past 20 days. Got a stand set last night. Now just have to not shoot the little guys and wait out the bigger ones. Crazy thing. On the camera in 20 days there was only 1 doe and 2 bears. Everything else was whitetail bucks. I have never had that happen on a camera.

My point is the criticism of a bad situation that worked out because the guide was prepared. He had a weapon and knew how to use it. Glad to hear about your bear spray as I believe that is a highly effective deterrent. I have been present on 4 occasions where bear spray was deployed and that solved the problem. Carry what you carry but don't tell a guy standing over a dead bear he should have done it this way. I guarantee that this guide has more bear knowledge, experience and encounters than just about any of us commenting here. Bear are predictable. I have a 44, 45 and 9mm. I know that I can repeatedly, consistently and accurately put multiple rounds on target with the 9mm. I would be curious to see how many people here commenting could put the hot 44 on target with 6 rounds in under 2 seconds. I dont feel that way about my 44. thats what I am talking about. Then again maybe the louder bang will scare the bear away after the miss....

This thread is all Monday morning quarterbacking. I am sure the guide was quite familiar with bears and the area. His duty to his clients was to keep them safe and put them on fish. As I read his story he put 7 bullets on target. There are alot of people that carry a side arm in the woods that coundlt get on bullet on target because they don't practice. Now lets talk about all that recoil in a large wheel gun or the 10mm that has been suggested. Again you might get lucky with one round but keeping o target in the heat of the moment with that power is difficult. I have family that live and work in Grizz country. Some see bears on an everyday occurrence. Some carry some dont. All have had encounters. the reality is 99% of bears black or grizzly AZ or AK just want to get away from people. Bears that are not startled are pretty easy to read. As you read through this thread I sense fear. I would hedge to guess that most on this site don't run into or see bears very often. As I read this article these guys did what they are supposed to. They were familiar with the area. They made noise going in. They simply startled the bear. The guide then again did waht he was supposed to. he protected them. I would rather have a guy with a 9mm that can put that magazine on target than someone with a cannon that MIGHT have the control to get 1 round on target.

Its bow hunting... we do it to get close to the animal right? take your time slip in close and kill him under 25 yards. I bet you'll hit exactly where you aim.

The bear is dead. Nobody was hurt. I would say that the 9mm did what it was supposed to. He had the control to get on target and put the bullets where they needed to be.

Thank you all. I appreciate the input. I know that I have been missing animals. It was just a personal choice on how I hunted and what kind of weight I carried. Thank you all for the input!

Well my 10 year old daughter drew her first tags! Kaibab doe jr hunt and javi the same week. I think she is excited! I know that i am.

Looks like my daughter got her first deer and javelina tags and the rest of us get to watch her hunt. Look out kaibab doe's