mattys281

Sounds to me like there's enough of us into this, that we need to orchestrate a CWT.com summer trip. How does the Blue Range in the White Mountains sound this May? I've done some day hikes in there, but would like to do a 30 mile or so loop. I'd also be interested in thru hiking the Mazatzal (the short ways, not length wise - at least not yet). Any takers on that? Matt S.

What unit did you get the HAM hunt for? I got 37A. Matt S.

Congrats on your pig. Matt S.

Big congrats kiddo! This is number two for you isn't it? Seems like I remember reading about your first last Jan? Good luck w/ the bobcat mission. I've seen 3 or 4 of those in 27 over the last two years, you should get your dad to drive you over there for some callin. Just watch out for the bears, they like to come in too. Matt S.

No kidding. I've seen those bucks chase does and run off bucks for all but 1.5 hours in one day without even stopping to eat. Pure guys Guess some traits are universal, regardless of what species you are. Great pics. Matt S.

All you guys w/ you pig pics are driving me crazy! Can't wait for my hunt to start. Congrats on the javi's! Matt S.

That's what I'm seeing. Last Jan. 1st I was out hunting javi.s, but had neglected to buy my '07 archery deer tag. Of course, I don't see any pigs, but at 11:30 glassed up a nice tall racked 3x3 muley bedded down w/ a couple does. I ditched my gear under a bush, ran the 2 miles back to my car, drove to Wal-Mart in Globe, bought my deer tag, drove back out there, humped the two miles back in, spent a half hour looking for my gear that had moved itself in my absence, set up my spotting scope & that dang muley was still in the exact same spot! 3 hours had gone buy, it was 2:30 by that point. I stalked him, but got busted by a danged coues doe that had been completely invisible when I began, but was up & moving (go figure!!!) by the time I got over there. I don't know how long they'd been there before I started, but from the time I spotted those deer until the time I got busted & they blew outta there something like 4 1/2 hours had gone by & the only move that muley had made was to shift around the same bush to stay in the shade. I'm not saying muleys never move, I've seen 'em get up & browse around and then bed back down some where else. Just seems like they're more prone to longer naps which gives you more time to work, but as I said before, most of my observation comes from young coues bucks, which is why I asked about the more mature ones. Matt S.

Ok, reading Hunt Az's post about his stalking problems has my hamster running & I've noticed some things here that I wanted to ask the more experienced guys about. First off, I've had the opportunity to stalk a few mature muleys over the last couple years, but most of the coues deer I've stalked have been youngsters, I'm still working on gettin into the big ones. What I've noticed though, is that it seems like when a muley beds down for the day, he stays put, making him much more susceptible to a stalk. The coues deer, however, seem to get up & move around a lot more. I've yet to see one stay bedded for more than an hour with out getting up & browsing around, even in the early season. Anyone else notice this, or is it just me? As a result, I've tried to plan stalks on coues deer that allow me to keep a visual on them, where as with muleys, I'll drop out of sight, feeling confident that when I come back over the ridge they'll still be close to where I left them. As I said, I've been stalking young coues deer, so maybe the mature ones are different. The few mature coues bucks that I have got to play with were up & moving late in the morning (10:00-noon), but that was always during the late season while the rut was supposed to be happening. Appreciate any observations. Thanks. Matt S.

Doesn't sound like it would make a very attractive mount either.

I think the Mountain House meals are pretty good. Tast like hamburger helper & they're vacuum packed so they take up less space. They also sell a bear canister at pretty much any place that sells backpacking gear that is designed for backpackers. Weighs less than 2.5 lbs & is garuanteed to keep out bruins. You could stash your stuff in one of those. Matt S.

I divvied up my food into daily rations this year using the 1 gal. zip lock bags & it works great. Also included a multi-vitamin, vitamin C, & calcium supplement. I don't set up a base camp, I tend to wander w/ my camp on me at all times. That extra 50-60 lbs. is hard on your legs goin up hill & hard on your joints coming down. Your body will consume your resources, so make sure you can replenish them. One good thing about late season backpacking is that the nights are so long & cold, you spend a lot of time rolled into your sack. You may get dehydrated & malnourished, buy I never got sleepy!

I was the same for a long time. I hated technology & felt that it was commercializing & ruining hunting. Finally, I got sick of tag soup & decided that bowhunting was hard enough, so I didn't need to make it harder by being narrow minded. I got my first rangefinder for Christmas last year & it was a p.o.s. Bushnell from Wally World. Returned it & took the money across the parking lot to SW & got a Nikon pro 440 or whatever it is. That rangefinder is small, & a year later still running on the same battery it came with. Awesome buy for $200! If it gets too easy, maybe someday I'll try to hunt w/ a stick bow or whatever to make it more challenging, but the way I look at it now is that I work for a living & hunt as a hobby, so my field time is limited. I want to make the most of that limited time & my rangefinder & tailcams (more technology I previously hated!) help me to do that. Matt S.

I hear you guys. I've got some great bucks on trail cam, but, as I've said, most of my real-time observation comes from seeing the youngin's & does, and I'm pretty much convinced that they suffer from severe ADHD until they pass at least their 3rd year. I've had more than one stalk blown during the last couple years because some stinking doe or spike I just watched bed down gets up 20 minutes later & is standing fifty yards away from where they had been staring at me when I get within shooting range.

Every archer in Az wants to know the secret to success, welcome to the club. I'm not going to embarass myself by admitting how many otc deer tags I've eaten before finally connecting on one this year, but I will tell you this: between December 12 & Jan. 8 (when I tagged out), I logged around 14 or 15 days of deer hunting. It took 4 stalks to get one. You've got to put in the time. Another thing that's helped me is that when you read magazine aricles, alot of them will say things like they "slipped in to a hundred yards & then took off my boots" or whaterever, but I slow down a lot earlier than that. I was 350 yards out from my buck when I put on the stalking socks & by the time I circled on him I'd probably covered better than 500 yards in my socks. Some of these other guys that are better stalkers than me might disagree, but I have a hard time being quiet on all the gravel & dry grass & junk that covers our state. I don't usually slow it down that early, but I didn't want to take any chances on that guy. Usually, I'm kicking off my boots between 200 & 250 yards out, depending on the situation. Also, be agressive. Don't wait for the perfect opportunity, because it'll never happen. If you try you luck on enough "decent" opportunities, one of them will pay off. Arizona has the lowest archery success rate in the union, so don't get discouraged, just keep at it. How many stalks will you have to make? As many as it takes. Good luck out there. Matt S. p.s. I missed 5 deer before connecting - if you don't have a rangefinder, get one & if you do have one, keep it in a spot that it's easily and quietly accessible so that you can use it frequently. I started keeping mine in my front pant pocket this year, because it was quieter & easier than getting it out of the case it came with. Good luck again.

Great muley! That boy's got some tine length on him. Congrats. Matt S.

That comment may not be exactly accurate. If that doe had really learned that manuever from my 'ex', she would've step on his nuts, grabbed his wallet, & then got the heck outta there. But I digress....

It's not my favorite, but I'll eat it. Hopefully I'll have one in Feb to try that Chorizzo & sausage recipe out on. Congrats on some nice pigs guys. Javis are definetely a blast to hunt!

That is an awesome buck! THrow another congrats on the pile. Where the heck do you guys find these things!?!

Man that's an awesome muley! Congrats! Bowhunters are kickin' butt this late season - keep 'em coming guys!

That wasn't in 37A was it? I'd like to run into one of those.

Looks like a good size pig! Congrats. CAn't wait until Feb so I can go get mine. Matt S.

As low as the success rate is for archery deer hunters, I don't see how it makes any sense at all. It's just another way for the G&F to encourage "hunter recruitment & retention". Take away baiting, put otc permits on a draw & do anything else you can think of to make it harder for people to hunt. There's logic for ya! Matt S.

I was hopin you'd find your way over here from at.com. Congrats again on a great buck & welcome to the site. Matt S.

Had one of those things scare the crap outta me about 2 weeks ago while walking back to my truck. It was about 7 feet up in a mesquite tree & decided that when I was about 5 feet away from that mesquite it was the perfect time to launch out of it & take off as fast as it could across the flat! That'll get your attention. Congrats to you buddy, that's a big coati. Matt S.

Guess you picked the right screen name! 70 yards! Good shooting & a nice buck, congrats. Matt S.