broadhead

I picked up a simple $20 tripod stool that folds up pretty tight and slides down in the side pocket of my Exo 3500. It weighs 2 pounds which is a little on the heavy side but the question of sitting on a pad or sitting up on that stool is a no brainer now if I'm glassing any longer than an hour. I can shift my weight from side to side to lean on an elbow and back and forth to change how far up I sit and adjust my tripod and I stay comfortable for hours and hours. I would just prefer to get one that is a little lighter like some of the ones the guys have mentioned above.

Last year it took them until well into January to get the 10 which was hugely disappointing. PM me if you want my opinion of their product once I got it.

You're on the right track. Last year I went through the same thing you're going through now and learned a ton. It's fun to be able to glass and see bucks chasing does on one ridge and bucks running off smaller bucks on another ridge and the does caught in the middle of it all. One valuable lesson I learned is when the bucks are on their feet chasing it's really tough to anticipate their movements and get in position for a stalk (some guys on here are pretty good at it but it's definitely a learned skill). However once they are tending a doe they stick real close and can provide you with a chance to make a move. Otherwise if you find a good water source like you mentioned and have sign like Paul said it's probably worth sitting on. Good luck and have fun. Desert rut hunting is a lot of fun and the weather is usually great. Let us know how it goes.

Every time I hang a camera now I cringe because I can't get past the thought that I'm either hanging it with a good shot of the trail or I'm hiding it better to decrease the likelihood of it getting stolen and ending up with poorer pics. I have one out now I'm just praying nobody (who is inclined to steal) walks by and sees, even with the security box and cable. Sorry to hear about your tree stand. For that reason alone I'm looking into saddle hunting. I hope you find them.

Be sure to check in and let us know how you like it. I run an Exo 3500 but am always looking for more gear that I can convince myself I need.

That's a breakfast right there.

Beautiful. Nice wide rack. Nice shooting too.

For a warm/hot climate I went with the Salomon Quest 4D 2 GTX and I couldn't be happier. They're lightweight and have excellent grip - almost too good on rocks sometimes. The only issue is I wear 11.5 or 12 in everything but needed to go with 12.5 for these boots. A buddy had the same experience with the size issue so that may present a problem with the size you need. Other than that I will definitely buy them again when these wear out (which they have no sign of doing at all after a year in southern Arizona terrain. I got mine on Amazon for $153 which was a steal.

If I'm not mistaken the BTX is a 30x for the 65 and 85mm objective lenses and 35x for the 95mm. I can't vouch personally but from handling it a few times trying it out and doing a lot of reading from people who have it it seems to boil down to how far you walk vs how much you're willing to carry. Generally speaking the folks that backpack further in seem to prefer the 65 or 85 and those that glass from roads or shorter hikes really like the 95mm. Again this is all second hand but there are some very good reviews floating around out there. I look forward to getting my own when I can save up the cash. Good luck.

That's awesome.

I saw the story about the score on this monster. Tied the world record, right? That's insane. Great buck, congratulations!

Hello, Looking for a little advice. Last year was my first season bowhunting the rut in Arizona and it was mostly done by glassing for bucks chasing does while sitting on a nice choke point in ambush. Saw plenty of deer and made a couple moves on a nice buck that turned out to be much better at staying alive than I was at closing the distance on him. Even though I saw plenty of bucks on their feet I had a really tough time trying to figure out how to get in position to get a shot on one since their movement in the open was almost impossible to predict. If any of you guys who have experience doing this can provide a little advice for me I'd really appreciate it. Do you wait until you see a buck you want bed a doe or try to cut them off as they chase? Thanks.

Ok cool thanks. Just from doing some reading I get the impression that when they're moving that much chasing does either try to cut them off on a saddle or a likely choke point or wait until a buck is locking down a doe. Anything other than that seems like it would be too tough to try to guess their movement. Thanks again.

Well done. Do you feel like that unit gets a lot of hunting pressure or is it pretty easy to get away from people if you hike a ridge or two?

Cool thanks guys. I got out there for the last two hours of light yesterday but didn't see a thing. The wind was really blowing so that might have kept them off their feet. Since I've only had a few hours to spend out I've had to stick close to the mouth of the canyon so I think I need to push in a few hundred more yards and see if I can turn a few more deer up. The bucks are probably sitting tight this time of year but with the rut coming up for my next hunt I'm more interested in seeing where the does are hanging out.

No kidding? I'd love to see that.

Which is an amazing setup if you can afford it.

Are you in Vail or down towards Corona? I'm down in Corona and am trying to get to know 34A a lot better. The north end mostly since I live so close. I just got back from a few hours glassing up a brand new area just a few minutes away but only turned up a few does. Otherwise I hunt 33 which has plenty of deer too.

Like a couple people who have already replied I'm one of those guys that just doesn't like using a spotting scope. Before I upgraded I had diamondback 10x42s in a chest harness and Kaibab 15x56 that went on a tripod (which is an absolute requirement for 15s). I found plenty of deer. I'm not a trophy hunter and I found that setup to be adequate for identifying bucks from does as well as the general size of the animal. Take the advice of the guys on here that can recommend a good mid-range pair of 15s and personally I recommend pairing them with a set of 8 or 10x42s that you can wear on your chest and you'll be very well covered. Some guys will also recommend a good set of 12x50s with a pair of 8s. That's what I went to and I really like it. The 12s are a little lighter and easier to freehand and I don't feel like I'm giving up much of anything in magnification. Really at that points it's all personal preference.

Sitting in my recliner listening to it come down in Vail (while watching DVR'd hunting shows lol) with more forecasted for the coming week. Tomorrow is going to be in the 60s and mostly clear down here so I'm getting out for a day scout in my new area if for nothing else than to enjoy this great weather and glass up a few deer. Hopefully the rain overnight will have them on their feet in the morning.

This cool weather has me really looking forward to December and January. It was like as soon as the temps dropped my deer hunting mode kicked in.

Mount Lemmon seems like kind of an anomaly like that. It's so close to town but within an hour it can feel like you're nowhere near town. And as you already notices there's no shortage of deer. Good luck and have fun.

That will depend entirely on which unit you decide on. If you're coming in from Tucson and want to get into some wilderness area there's the Pusch Ridge Wilderness northeast of town in the Coronado National Forest which is all part of the Mount Lemmon area (Unit 33 which I talked about above). It's essentially all public land and there are more than enough Coues deer in there with plenty of bucks. You can access it easily by going up Catalina Highway from the south or up and around town around Oracle which a lot of people do. PM me if you're interested in Mount Lemmon and I'll do my best to fill you in on what I've seen. It's probably the easiest unit to access if you won't have the chance to scout ahead of time and are coming in from Tucson.

Lots of good hunting around Tucson. Mount Lemmon/Reddington like already mentioned as well as the surrounding units are all good especially if you are willing to hike and don't mind driving a little bit to a few of the other units. Don't overlook 34A, 34B and 35A if you don't mind working around Fort Huachuca. Just be mindful of the border issues the further south you go. A guy I used to work with would take deer out of 29 every year but wouldn't camp away from his truck and carried an AR with him everywhere because of smuggling. Another thing is the pressure is drastically less than the rifle seasons so getting away from hunters is a lot easier. Either way there are plenty of deer down here. You'll find them if you scout and glass well. As the water holes start to dry up from the monsoons they'll be bunching up into a few key areas and once you find them you'll find the deer. I learned that and immediately began to find them again a lot quicker. Getting into bow range on a mature deer, however...

Dad bought me a Winchester 70 .243 when I was a scrawny 11 year old starting out. Great rifle to get comfortable with and still my favorite rifle to shoot.