mattys281

Congrats to your dad. That's a great looking buck!

Sure looks like some amazing country. Thanks for sharing the pics.

I'd agree 100% with your principle, but you gotta consider the heart-thumping/adrenaline overload factor too. Some guys that are crack shots on the practice range have a hard time holding it together when the excitement is on. My last couple of deer I've shot I've been stone cold, no different than shooting paper, but the first couple.... whew! Don't even remember aiming or squeezing the trigger! Not ever sure how I managed to hit them, but I guess I understand why I missed so many before I finally connected.

That's the way it goes. I tagged out on 8/31 and was glad that I got to sleep at home for about 2 nights. After that I was ticked off that I have to wait until january! Guess I'll have to go take it out on some unlucky rabbits or something. Its been a while since bunny was for dinner.

Thanks to all that served past and present. God bless and come home safely.

Congrats to you both thats an awesome coues buck!

I thought about it, but quite frankly im a pisspoor rifle shot and cant think of anything a bowhunter needs that for. My nikon 440 is short on distance for stalking, but I think the 1000 will have some extra to it. What do you guys use that 1600 for are you shooting over 1000?

I think the shorter one (this one) is a nice looking bow, but I don't care for the longer version. It's all riser.

Here you go Fred, a unit 27 buck just to help you sleep at night

+1 on this. Perfect time to break out the big glass and a nice comfy camp chair. Also probably a good opportunity to learn about escape routes if there's some rifle guys pushing them around. People tend to think that when spooked deer just run off. That may be the case occasionally, but the last three I've blood trailed never left the deer trails even when mortally wounded.

I kind of feel like the speed angle is way over sold. My 2008 model black ice only had an advertised ibo of 318 and it's blown through everything I've ever shot with it like they were paper targets anyway. Just my .02 but I think if its light weight, respectably fast, and it got smoother and more forgiving/accurate, then they are definitely heading in the right direction.

Yeah, I'd imagine that has to smooth out the draw and make it easier to get straight nock travel out of it. I may have to swing by archery HQ and put my hand on one of those...

I like to build them out of natural materials rather than stuff I drag in. Nothing beats a nice low growing juniper that can be dug-out a little to make a tree cave. I cut a couple of branches out of one like that a couple years ago down in a saddle that I often see deer in and had a deer walk up to within about 6 feet of me less than an hour after settling in. Of course she saw me at that range and took of snorting to high heck, but it was still a pretty cool encounter.

Awesome buck! Congrats!

So is there rutting activity during the last 2 weeks of Dec????? I can only speak for what I see out in 24B, but I mostly see little bucks pushing them around in December and getting shot down. The bigger guys seem to get more fired up in early jan. But ive also seen bucks still moving with does during the ham javelina hunt in beginning of February. Who knows for sure? Not me. But if I had to pick my favorite I'll go with the first half of January every time.

I see the most rutting activity during the first two weeks typically. I always plan my big spend of vacation time for that period.

I keep admiring that deer pic over and over again, but didn't scroll down and see the write up until last night. Thats quite an adventure. Makes me glad to hear how decent those hunters were about the situation. People are so antler crazy any more it could have turned real ugly with a different set of people on the hill. Im glad for you that it turned out right and you kept that magnificent trophy. Congrats again.

I've had some cats & a bear or two turn up on cam out there, although I've not seen them in person. My buddy I hunt those ridges with has glassed up 2 or 3 cats over the last couple years. I'd say she's got a trick or two to have lasted so long out there.

It's a good reminder. Everyone has their own personal experience their looking for, and different doesn't mean better or worse. Although I think that guy was out of his mind for letting a couple of those walk by...

Perhaps they'll not watch them too closely. Fingers crossed...

Congrats on a great buck!

Congrats on an awesome buck!

Bit of a drive for you, and I suspect that count is going to increase shortly any how.

go to kaibab, same meat poles hanging in trees that have been there 20+ years. people using them too I didn't see any getting used, but I did notice a bunch of them around some of the camp sites up in 12w this summer. I don't remember seeing them anywhere else, but maybe I just didn't see enough for it to stand out.

You said it man. People who don't work for anything don't respect anything. And that's the trend in society. "We don't have to work for it, we deserve it just because we're here doing you all a favor by turning oxygen into carbondioxide..." Actually, most of them probably aren't even good for that. If they were consuming oxygen, you'd likely see some functioning of the brain.