mattys281

All about perspective amigo. We did a hunt last year, didn't start hunting till we were 7 miles in and a bunch of elevation gain. We had an awesome time and I didn't even have a tag. Gonna go much further this year and I won't have a tag again. Its enjoyable to get your butt kicked a little to hunt country few see. Funny thing is that the deer don't get bigger the further you go. In fact we see way bigger deer in areas that you can hunt from roads. We think it's because there is more water near roads and lion hunters hunt those areas as well. But I wouldn't miss packin way back in to hunt where we see no one, don't hear a quad, you can pass a buck and not assume he is dead by the next guy that sees him, don't have to worry about someone hunting "my" spots, and you can start glassing from your camp cause you are already in there! But to each their own! I've noticed the same thing. The thing that most people don't realize about wilderness areas is that the way a chunk of land gets to be designated as wilderness is by basically being so vertical/rugged/unsuitable for development that it's really not good for much else. This type of land is often not suitable for huge populations of game animals. At least that's the story with the wilderness areas I'm most familiar with here in Az. Now, the really cool part about wilderness areas is that there's always pockets of good terrain that hold animals, and if you can find those, then you've got yourself a group of critters many of whom have never seen a person. I love uneducated deer!

That makes all the difference in the world. My wife never givs me any grief over it either, Ive just had other investments for my vacation time the last couple years. Spent a week hunting with my buddy in Nebraska last fall, and this year we're heading back there for his wedding and then have an october otc elk hunt planned for colorado with another good friend/customer. Life happens! Dont blink.

Agreed. Part of the reason I have struggled to find a good hunting buddy is because of my desire to go deep into the Wilderness Areas. Hard to find someone willing to hike 5-10 miles each way just to get into the area to start hunting. I actually thought it would be easier with the onset of Cam Hanes and the Train to Hunt philosophy, but no luck yet. I have found some people willing to hunt with me, but as soon as I mention the hike they get a little busy. That will always be a lonely way to hunt. Generally speaking, people are not really know for being well disciplined or motivated. I love backpacking and do at least a couple 2 nighters every winter, but seldom do long trips anymore. Too busy chasing dollars and raising babies.

Nice! I saw a white doe years ago. Would love to see another one someday.

Sweet! Looks like a good weekend.

I've been using those moultrie mini cam M80's. There a few years old now, but the battery life on them is fantastic. Take good pictures too.

And just like that a new bromance has begun... Will it rival Casey & Lark??? Only time will tell.

The guy I usually hunt with I met out in the nasty chit where we were the only two stupid enough to go. Bumped into each other a couple times at the parking spot, chit-chat, swap numbers, years later we still coordinate plans & put in together on deer hunts some years. So now we're just as stupid & still go there, but at least we have company. There was another guy I met on this forum that I hunted with for a few years. Still swap txt & visit once in a while, but haven't hunted together in a long time.

It's disappointing, but not surprising.

Good for you. Best reason there is to sell anything. There's not too many feelings that are sweeter than getting your pay check and being able to keep it! Good luck with you sale.

Great mount of an awesome buck! Makes me more than a little envious. Congrats.

Nice! Looks like a good variety of critters.

It has been recognized and written about by many scientists from different fields that there are too many people on the planet. The problem is that nobody wants to volunteer to leave. As for bringing more people in, I think the main reason you'll never seen a restructuring to immigration or any kind of population control laws has a lot more to do with wall street than it does Washington. The last thing people in the business of selling goods and services want is to see their market of prospective customers be reduced. Its all about gdp. If you cant export it, then you have to find a way to sell more domestically, and everyone knows we're not good at exporting. Hence we need more people to come here and buy our nike shoes, drink our starbucks coffees, and drive our ford trucks. Corporations are the puppet master, always have been and always will be.

I picked up a nice crossman 1200fps .177 model with a suppressor and a 2 stage trigger on sale at big 5 for $85 a couple months ago. This thing is a tack driver at 20 yards and quickly fixed my pigeon problems. Of cours I threw away the p.o.s. 4x scope it came with and mounted up a larger 9x p.o.s. bushnell that came off a .243 kit I bought a few years ago. This little air rifle is fun, I cant wait to kill some squirrels and/or rabbits with it this fall. Some times its worth checking those sales flyers before you toss them in the recycling bin.

Not much gap between his belly and the ground, looks like a pretty good one to me.

I also often go without the fire, but it's more laziness than fear of scent. I think the smoke is actually a great cover scent and I've never seen a deer spook from it. Just the opposite actually, I've had coues & mulies both walk into my camp in the Mazatzal wilderness & look right at me sitting next to fire 10 yards away like they had no idea what the heck I was or what I was doing there. smoke is actually a natural cleansing agent, as it kills the bacteria that causes human b.o. If you're out for an extended period, you can through some green juniper on your fire with the leaves and smoke-clean your clothes. Better smoke than sweat. I usually just carry a 1 gal plastic bag with a 1/2" thick stack of scentless baby wipes & a small bottle of scent killer spray though. Spray your clothes at the end of the day and lay them flat between your thermarest pad and your sleeping bag, they will be dry and warm in the morning when you need to slip them on.

Nice work. That's an awesome muley. I love the crab claw on that left side!

There's only one guy it could be:

I carry a lightweight set of base layers for sleeping in. You will sweat up your hunting clothes if you sleep in them.

Look like does to me too. Welcome to the site!

All big cities suck. People are too busy to pay any consideration to anyone else. My family moved to Prescott Valley, Az. from Santee, ca. (small town near San Diego) in 1991 when I was 13 y.o. At that point, P.V. was still a little hill-billy town in the middle of the prairie. No sidewalks, only 2 paved roads in town. My brothers & I couldn't believe how people acted. Everyone waving to you and wanting to talk to you and stuff.... WEIRD! And when you were walking down the side of the road, people coming up behind you would veer way over to the other side of the road to go around you, and then wave as they passed. At the time, we though our parents moved us to some backwoods town full of half wits, but now that I'm all growed-up and have been living in the arm-pit of heck (aka Phoenix) for many years, I realize it was the best place in the world at that time. Lots of hunting, hiking, fishing... we'd ride our bikes out of town to the fields with .22's slung over our back and nobody ever said any more than 'you boys be careful wiht those'. Hopefully, when I get a little closer to retirement, I'll be able to find some hill-billy town like that were people are still nice to each other.

I think it's the heat. People are constantly uncomfortable, which makes them edgy. Nobody likes getting cooked constantly and running from a/c to a/c.

Sounds like he'll have the problem fixed in a few weeks.

Congrats on some great bucks! Cant wait for deer season!

Good news. Im glad for you.