catclaw

I don't think you can blame the department for Macho b- that was obviously an over-zealous researcher who was deceitful and selfish. I think they just made it worse by defending the guy. They can "help" this guy all they want, he has lots of relatives and he is eating my deer!!

I had a camera out on a wallow during the elk hunt in 27 and pulled it Weds morning. I didn't look at the dark pictures until I got home tonight. This was about a mile from our camp. Boy, was I surprised!! The date on my camera is wrong because I took the batteries out and forgot to reset it- this is at 9000' so obviously NOT a January photo!

He won't net 350 but he might gross 360ish.

We had fits this year tuning arrows to shoot. If you have an ultra-fast bow (X-force, Monster etc) you will need mechanicals or short broadheads like Montecs, Wac-ems et al. One of the guys we were hunting with this year had a hunter shoot a bull broadside with a Rage and the arrow went in and hit a rib and came back out!!! The same client shot another bull with the same set up and got complete pass-through because he didn't hit a rib. This is the second guy that told me a similar personal story. We tried Slick tricks but the blades would break off in the "block" when practicing! The Rage broadheads are a nightmare in the qwiver, always opening up and rattling and then you have to put them back together before trying to shoot them. I would not use a Rage on an elk period and would not use one for stalking but limit them to shooting from blinds or treestands at deer. I would not use Slick tricks on elk either-they are not strong enough. I would use Slick tricks on deer in a heart beat. I killed my deer with an 85 grain Thunderhead this year and last. They shoot great from my bow (270fps) and have killed great. They are cheap and work well- I don't see the need to change. The popular broadheads are all at least $10 a piece, spend $12 on an arrow, $10 on a Lumenok and you are shooting $30++ down range with each shot! For a coveted elk tag that might be OK but for pigs and such- it's a little much!

Contrary to some opinions posted, eye-dominance is a big factor; that said, you can overcome it if you want. Let him shoot both ways and see which HE prefers. You can shoot with glasses on and put a patch on the eye you don't want to use. The one thing that won't work is to look through the opposite eye from the side you shoot. I am left eye dominant but right handed. I normally shoot right handed. I can shoot my son's left handed bow about as good as I can right handed but I have trained a lot with both eyes. Some eyes are overpowering in their dominance, in this case, you will have a hard time shooting otherwise. Often, the dominant eye is only mildly so and doesn't present a huge problem.

I found a nice water source in 27 the day before the archery elk hunt opened. We jumped a HUGE bull off it so I built a blind and set a camera. We sat it the next day and turkeys came in - then it rain and rained and rained! I left the camera up and found this spot was pounded with bears. I had three different bears come in one day. I didn't have my laptop with me so I think I deleted all the pics off the card to re-install but I will double check. I saw bears and bear sign every day. I have bear boxes on my cams but the bears always seem to mess with them!!

I have one in .222 and use it for predator calling. It has a been a good rifle. There are some deficiencies that Remington has fixed with the 700 and the 7. They have an ugly, protruding floorplate that does not open (an ADL is much cleaner). They have a huge ugly guard screw that is no longer manufactured so you have to make your own if you need a different one (I did). There is no way to depress the bolt stop other than to stick a small screwdriver in along the bolt. The triggers are a rubic's cube in assembly terms- don't take one apart unless you are really gun-savvy. Other than that, they are good rifles. Mine shoots quite decent and I recently bought a new barrel for it- a 600 take-off in .222 that was far better than my original. It screwed on and headspaced fine although the stamping is not on top. I paid $250 for mine with a 4X El Paso Weaver on it. I wouldn't give more than $400 for a cherry one though. Dennis

Wow- that's one-in-a-million, being a full-draw when it showed up!!!

I have refused to buy big Leica glass and Zeiss as it should come with an adapter for that kind of money! Who makes a 15x binocular and expects someone to use it withOUT a tripod. Kudos to Swarovski in that dept. I think the lesser powered Geovid is more practical. I haven't seen the Outdoorsman adapter so I can't comment there, but if anyone has one, it will be them.

I returned home last night from Alaska- I didn't get in until about 1:00 am. The logistics of the whole thing are somewhat daunting. Details to follow: Day 1 I drove to Phoenix and had my daughter meet us at the airport so she could drive my truck back to Prescott. We hopped on an Alaskan Air flight to Seattle. Check-in was a snap. Luckily, I checked my knives this time Arrived in Seattle where we met my Brother-in-law, Gerald and my nephew , Kaden (9). * We then got on the same flight to Ketchikan. The airport is on an island and the runway is carved out of a rock. There is one gate! We then had to take a Ferry across the channel to town- all of 400 yds. * We walked to our hotel. The brochure said it was right across the street from the ferry- it was, just not the airport ferry. We had to walk about a mile. The sun was out and the weather was anything but typical of Ketchikan. Once we checked in, we walked around and did some quick shopping. We then headed downtown to Annabel's for dinner. * DAY 2 We had all day Sunday as the ferry to Prince of Wales (POW) didn't leave until 3:30. We headed back downtown to show the boys Ketchikan. We stopped and watched float planes take off and land with the flight seeing groups. We watched bald eagles flying around like we have ravens here! Stopped in at Tongass trading to get some fishing knives and jerky. The stuff that is brought in is expensive! * They had a great supply of ammunition in stock! Much different story than home. They had most handgun calibers as well as rifle calibers such as 458 Winchester, 375 Ruger, 300 Wby and everything in between. * We went to the harbor and looked at the cruise ships and then to where Ketchikan creek runs into the harbor. The pink salmon "humpies" were jumping like crazy. They come out of the water and then land sideways with a splat! It is believed to have something to do with getting the eggs ready for the spawn. Kids were fishing off the bridge. I don't know what they were doing with the humpies but they aren't the best eating! Here is a view of the harbor with the bridge. My son Levi is taking it all in! * We finally got on the ferry to Hollis (POW) and watched a barge unload ocean containers. They had boats, trucks and motorhomes just piled on top! It was quite the sight. I have never seen bigger forklifts in my life- the tare weight on them was 80,000 #! * We left for Hollis. The ferry ride takes about 2 hours. It is a nice ride and we take it sometimes instead of the float planes. It's a long walk up the ramp to the docks but our ride was waiting for the 25 mile ride across the island * Just before we got to the lodge, this little guy walked across the road. We intended to turn in but the boys ran down to the dock and started fishing off it! They caught a half-dozen before bed time. There were some strange creatures hanging around as they throw the fish right off the dock after fileting them. * TO BE CONTINUED...

My buddy has one ( I think it's that model) it was their best one before they came out with the Razor HD, anyway the one he has is pretty impressive- especially considering the price. I have been so impressed with Vortex that I recently consulted on a purchase with a client that ordered 5 Razor HDs and 25 Viper 8.5x50s, almost $25K in optics. Dennis

last time I checked, 6, 23S, 22S, 19A, 27 and 24A and B were CLOSED. 23N was still open.

Amanda, I cannot view any photos- even the ones I have posted unless I am logged in- neither can my buddy as we were on the phone talking about it and he said their were no photos. I told him to log on- he did and they popped right up- don't know what to tell you. OK, I just checked again as I WAS able to view photos. This is the first time that I have been able to. Most of the time they are just not there. When I log in, they appear. Same thing for birdog as he was asking me where they were. They work fine tonight though!

Mine depends on whether I am taking a tripod or not, spotting scope and in the winter hunts- more survival gear. A light pack for me is about 15# and a heavy about 32#. It makes for long days sometimes! I carry an 80mm spotting scope and it is not light.

I once saw two bucks in the back of a Scout pickup (International) at the circle K in Superior. One deer was a forky and they other a 3x3 with eyeguards. Neither buck weighed over 40# on the hoof and both had antlers the diameter of a yellow #2 school pencil. The 3 pt was about 9" wide. His teeth were worn to nothing- an old buck. The old guy who had them wouldn't tell me what range they were from. Amazingly small- think of how tiny the bed is on an International Scout!!!

All you guys that are calling this summer are ruining it for any chance to take them when they have fur. I'm not sure I see the point. Why don't you wait until the first of November and kill them when they are starting to get prime? I guess I don't like the idea of shooting coyotes with dens and pups right now. That's my rant!

I am not an expert on this but I believe that as long as its not posted their is not alot the land owner can do. Its just common courtesy to try to find out who owns the land and get permission. Their is nothing I like more than to have someone ask first before they enter. They may just want to be out to shoot some yotes, and maybe I don't want them to, or anything simular. The bond that you build with that hunter is great from our view because it acts as another set of eyes when we are not there! I know if its properly posted, you should see signs every 1/4 mile or signs at the 1/4 mile on the corners and Orange stakes painted on three sides a 1/4 mile in between the signs. Knowing the rules and just taking a minute to talk to someone could make a huge difference in where you hunt from years to come. I can say that on my property I have times of the year that I do not let people on to hunt. There is nothing worse than a truck or atv hitting the dirt roads after a rain. It will get you tossed out before you know it! Ben Under Arizona trespassing laws, the landowner or steward must properly post REAL PROPERTY. If you enter private land that is not posted, you can be asked to leave, but cannot be cited. The deputy was wrong if he told you the burden was on you. In Colorado this is true, but not in Arizona. I have hunted on private lands a lot that aren't posted. If they don't want hunters, they will post it. You cannot enter a fenced residential or commercial YARD but just crossing a cattle fence in the wide opens is a completely different matter.

I think there is enough to hold them longer this year. I once counted 430 elk in a long meadow by Beaverhead in unit 27 one year. It was awesome. I had a bull tag in unit 10 last year and on Thursday morning I hiked a couple miles into my spot and counted 140+ elk from one spot- then a plane came in and broke them up- repeatedly buzzing the herd and scattering them 5 different directions. If I had been carrying a rifle, i would have been real tempted to shoot the plane down. later, when I complained, found out it was G&F flying. I lost a lot of respect for the Dept after that hunt.

I went to the link and, of course, it required registration to see the pics. I went through that when Brock posted his story on there of his big buck. I didn't join, but in all fairness, I cannot view pics on here unless I am signed in. What gives?? Dennis

Nice bull- way to start off the year. I agree that those are copywrited photos and if Chad doesn't want them on here, Amanda is obligated to remove them. I wish there wasn't so much jealousy against the auction hunters- there are only a few of these guys- they are pumping money into the management- not hurting us one bit! Dennis

That is a great buck, first or not!

That rifle wasn't worth $500. It was in horrible shape. Good Call.

I have one on my Mt rifle and it is floated as well. about 3/4" from the forend. If I had a #4 barrel that required it, I would look elsewhere for a problem.

Great pics- looks like a fine place.

Doug- I've been there! Didn't have snow when I was there though!! Scenery My little buck