catclaw

I found the Pronghorns just like any other Chinese made boot, too soft and not very durable. The only Danners that are worth a hoot are the ones that are made in Portand and they are not cheap. I have a pair of Santiams. I won't buy a boot with any nylon showing- the cactus just goes right through them. I have worn out a pair of Cabelas Canadas (Meindl) and now have their Alaskans. They are outstanding boots. I can also highly recommend the Lowa boots- Schnees sells one variety they call the sheep hunter. You can go UP from there depending on your crampon needs. I never had a pair of Rockys that lasted more than two or three trips without tearing a sole or splitting a seam. I am HARD on stuff- I even need to send back my Badlands pack as it is falling apart! Maybe I should order all titanium gear from hear on out!

They look pretty slick and handy, but they are obviously fair weather set-ups. They won't stand up to a heavy wind or snow load. I was able to deflect them pretty easily with my hand. I can prop and extra upright in the center of my wall tent and it will stand 16" of snow no problem- doesn't set up quite as fast as this one though. I don't see a spot for the stovepipe either! I guess it depends on your needs. I just built a small trailer with a torsion axle and throw my wall tent in with the 4 wheeler and away we go. It won't fit a Rhino, but then I don't have a Rhino.

No turkey tags this year- pigs in 22... I think it was my second choice. 22 is the closest unit for me to take my son to. Not my favorite pig unit. I hate the Tonto Nat Forest and try not to schedule hunts there. One never knows when you are going to find all the gates locked and every road in the Tonto has a dang gate!

That's what I like hearing. I hope those horns are 100% intact!

Way to go Scott and Rhonda!

I am going to guess around 109" gross.

I can't see his spread, I can't tell how good his bottom two points are. I guess he is in the 360 range I couldn't tell if there were any small portions broken off of mine, but the main beams were intact and I could count all the points. The royals and two of the bulls i saw were 24"+ and the 5th were 16+ on one, the other biggest one was 7 points on one side and I never could see the right side. I hope the right side was as good as the left. I have seen a LOT of bulls and very few of them are the "Oh my Gosh" bulls. I hope I can find them on Friday morning!

I see a several advocating the use of 22 caliber centerfires- I think this is a bad idea. I started out hunting them with a 22-250 and killed quite a few. Then one day I hit one a little too far back. I got lucky and broke his back with a running shot at 300 yds. He was still alive and fighting when I hiked over. The hole through his liver just wasn't big enough to put him down within reason. I never used it again. My buddy, who has killed far more of them than me and has two in B&C had a similar experience a couple of years later and gave it up too. They have no energy left once you get out beyond 200 yds or so. To some extent this is true with a 243. You shouldn't expect to kill them beyond 300-350 yds without an absolutely perfect him. I use a 300 Wby as does David Miller and a lot of other hard-core trophy hunters. Why, because they work and work well. If you need to take a long shot, you don't want a pee shooter- too many lost deer. I have seen a lot of deer and cow elk fall to a 243 ( mostly after about 75-100 yds) and have seen quite a few run off and have to be tracked down. The same hit with a good bullet in a 300 mag will greatly increase the likelyhood of one falling close to where you shot it. If you limit your shots to under 300 yds, you are probably fine. If you are one of these guys that likes to shoot across canyons, then get something bigger. The Army/marines etc doesn't send snipers out with 223s to snipe people off (a 223 is great in an urban setting) because they know that a 308 or 300 WM works a lot better! There is no such thing as overkill. Dead is dead.

I shot one in Mexico in 2000 at 366 yds - it's on the Coues is King video. First shot of the bipod and the second shot off-hand as it hobbled away. Both bullets were within 2" of each other. I shot one in 34A a number of years ago at 500+- yds that was trotting broadside. It took me 3 shots to figure out the lead and holdover- I was younger and dumber and wouldn't do that again now. Shot a lion of the bipod at 510 yds- probably my longest shot at anything bigger than a coyote!

He's not over 100, but could be 90-92" at most, I think he is mid 80's. Casey, lay off the kool-aid...

You could find and meet some new friends from this forum and then you wouldn't have to hunt alone!

Just returned from 4 days of elk hunting with some buddies in unit 8. We saw between 8-11 bulls each day. Passed on one whopper first morning and several other 300+ bulls each other day. Sure is an easy unit to get around in and my oh my are there a lot of elk. Saw a nice WT buck in the oaks one day to top it off. Saw at least 10 decent mulies and one that would got 185. Not a bad unit.

They suck, You are money ahead to buy a Timney or equivalent and just replace it. The Rugers are case hardened and if you grind more that a few thousanths off them, they will fail. Some guys have had success fixing them. I have seen a lot of them ruined by others trying- including a well reputed gunsmith.

WT, especially bucks, really seem to like the leaves. I have seen the rake the leaves with their antler, then lick them up. I find the leaves are especially good myself. Pick some on the last day before you head home and throw them in a salad. Adds a good flavor.

I talked to Don Martin last night at a meeting and he said that units 9 and 10 are still very dry with dry or nearly dry tanks- They must not be getting this rain.

Derrick is on active duty

Message sent- Good luck

I have spent quite a bit of time in them. It's a bitch to drive in there. Wouldn't do it in anything other than a 4x4 quad.

Holy cow Scott- you guys hit the mother load. I didn't put in for anything except antelope in 2A. My son drew a bull tag in Unit 10. We are pretty jazzed up about that.

Here's my take on it- Can you buy a lottery ticket with a credit card??? No- it's against the law- in every state that has a lottery. The big game draw in AZ is a lottery. Period. Apply online so that you can correct any errors. Get a confirmation # and then send in your check. If you can't afford it up front, you can't afford it period. Those who say that they have to put in for a whole bunch of tags just to draw one, use an application service who will fund it for you or borrow the money from the bank. I know a lot of guys who borrow $15K every year to apply all over the west for everything so they can hunt something. This process now is a real nightmare!

Scott, Nor did I, did see some whopper mulies though. Dennis

Well it's Christmas eve as I post this. I am headed back out tommorow night, hopefully for the duration [if needed]. I'll post pics of my big one when I get back. Go back and get that one you missed on Monday. Dennis

Any reports yet as we are in the 4th day of the season. We went one for three and will be back out Christmas day to finish out the season. Saw the two biggest bucks were already rutting. My buddy in 24A saw the same thing, buck chasing does all over- just haven't seen a really big one doing any chasing yet! It is cold but DRY...

Good luck you guys keep at 'em, don't slack off...

Scott, Don't let any more get away! Like I told you, we got one the first day and I won't go back out until next week. I think you were the only tag holder that wasn't on the same mountain with us! I love the set up photo. I'll try and keep my camera handy and take a few myself as I always kick myself for being too lazy to drag it out. Dennis