John O

3 blade Slayer and 2" Swhacker are my two options. Leaning towards the Slayers.

I have for the last several years. I have really tough feet to fit, and they are perfect. If I hunt fairly hard, they only last me for one season, but for me that is worth it. My feet are a little weird, and are prone to blister with anything else. They have held up very well in wet conditions as well. I don't think you can go wrong for the price. Also keep in mind that Merrell has a one year unconditional warranty. I have used it, and had a new pair of boots at my door in less than 5 days.

Way to go Devan, and a big congrats to your friend! I have to agree with you that some of my all time favorite hunts have been when I was able to help another hunter, and see their succes when they are so deserving. Good luck on your deer hunt!

Wouldn't waste my money. Had a pair for a week and sold them. Try the Nikon Monarch 12X60's. You can find them for under $400, and very good glass for that cost. The additional power is overrated, unless you spend the big bucks. Just my opinion.

My advice is simple: 1- Get up high with a great 360 degree vantage point at least 30 minutes before any light 2- Stay out all day 3- Don't discount hill faces where logic tells you there are no deer Good luck!!

It's going to be leftovers for me. Boys drew late jr. 36a.

Strings are an area I don't pinch pennies on. If you are near Bull Basin in Tucson, I HIGHLY recommend their custom string guy. I had my 80 lb. dreamseason done by him, and it was fantastic. Highly recommend.

Looks a little familiar to me too..... I'll be interested to see if the guys pushing this under a new name keep the same quality Steven did. Can't say enough good things about it.

Saw these in the Cabelas archery catalog that showed up the other day. They look just a little like a broadhead I have used for the last few years. At least I can finally buy the 3 blade version.

Shoot 110 gr barnes in .270. Between me and my boys we have shot about 7 animals with tsx, and 7 with ttsx. Almost identical in grouping, and result. Awesome softball size exit wounds every time. Wouldn't use anything else.

I've got a really nice load worked up for mine using 110 TTSX bullets. Let me know if you are interested.

I have one. Bought it for my oldest son after my second got done with hunter ed and inherited the Savage 110. I am extremely happy with it. Great trigger, similar to the savage acu-trigger, great action and very accurate. I have it in .270 and load up 110 gr Barnes TTX for him. I would say one of the best in it's price range. Hope this helps.

Over the past 5 years, I've taught that badge to over 80 boys. Great times!! Always fun to give a boy a chance to try something, when it might be the only time in their childhood that they get to use something like that. One of my favorite badges to teach, for sure.

Keep hearing good things about Zen Ray optics. Did a little research, and am a little skeptical because they are made in China. Still I have read a lot of good reviews. Interested in particular in the ED3 8X43. Anyone have any experience with these, or similar?

That's awesome TJ!! Great times and special memories with loved ones is what life is all about. Those fish tacos come in a close second. Thanks for sharing.

I've either seen them in huge groups, or as single males. Attached some photos from a few years ago. I counted over 45 of them once, from tree squirrel sized little ones to full grown. Pretty cool little creatures. The one I shot ended up in a museum in Montana. Turns out a client of a local guide was looking for one.

Not quite as young as yours because I got a late start hunting. Still cool to see the changes.

I always use a money order and hand deliver to the G&F office. The best part of this is the 7-10 day pre-draw entertainment on CWT.com, watching everyone who applied with a credit card lose their minds. I will continue to sit back with my bucket of popcorn and jr. mints and enjoy. Thanks everyone!!

I'll take the stabilizer, if you will sell it by itself. PM sent with contact info.

Nice. Hopefully bull this time, right?

Sweet Devan!! As for me, I picked up a Blacks Greek G11. Very impressed with it, and suits what I need perfectly.

I hear you TJ. I clicked on the "View New Content" shortcut this morning and over half of the most recent posts were under the Political Discussions category. Not that we shouldn't be passionate about causes we believe in, but when politics starts dominating, I become less interested. I have my political passions as well, but my faith, family, and hunting passions greatly outweigh the political. I will never abandon or give up on CWT.com because it has given me so much, but I see fewer and fewer of the original core people that were on this site as recent as 2-3 years ago. Maybe this is part of the reason, maybe not. Either way, a huge thanks to Amanda for all she does, and ensuring this site is all it can be.

We had a blast chasing those tasty over-sized rodents we call javelinas this early season. Headed back to hunt with some good friends in hopes of avoiding the dreaded javelina tag soup. Me and my two boys had tags, mine archery and jr. tags for them. My oldest son couldn't hunt the first weekend because of High School commitments, so I packed up and my youngest son Ryan and I headed out for the 3 hour drive to last year's stomping grounds. It was the last day of archery javelina, and I figured we could get up high and glass the last few hours of the day. Either we could find some for a quick stalk for me, or maybe locate a herd for the next day for his hunt. We got into position at 4:00 that afternoon, and 20 minutes later I picked up a herd about a half mile away. I asked Ryan if we should save them for the next day, or go after them. He insisted we should drop down after them, so off we went. I called Scott, who was on his way home from work, and told him to meet us on the hill and bring his bow. He met us half way in, and after some gentle coaxing, he agreed to come in after them. Typically Scott stays back and watches the action, and is always willing to help others. His son Austin came in with him, and stayed back to watch it all go down through the giant 30X80's. Ryan had never come along archery hunting with me, so he was excited to see if we could get into them. We made it to about 100 yards, and Scott and I decided to split up, and take two routs in, covering both exits in case they scattered. With Ryan right behind me we stalked in, a Juniper between us and the two pigs I could see ahead. I stepped out and had one ranged at 39 yards. I was breathing a little hard from the hike and a little hopped up, so I missed my first shot. The pig ran to the right and gave me a 43 yard shot, and I center punched him. The shot was a little back, but we were able to recover him down the hill a few minutes later. I called Scott, and he had one down too. We just completed the perfect double within 10 minutes of darkness on closing day. AWESOME!!! We were excited to say the least. Not the best photos, but it was dark so we did our best. Nice shot Scott!! Two pigs in one pack Next up was Ryan. We hit it hard the next day, but couldn't locate any. On Saturday, we were able to find a herd about a mile and a half out. This was the same herd I shot mine out of last year, and Scott has named them "The Phantom Herd". They got the name because once spooked they disappear and aren't seen again until the next year. Scott had stayed down low, but was able to find his way back to where we were to help Ryan get in on them. On our way up Scott noticed a mule deer buck bedded across the canyon about 150 yards away, who put his chin on the ground and held still as we walked by. We finally made it to the overlook where we hoped to see them, but they were not there. We set up and glassed for several hours trying to find them bedded or catch some movement. Nothing. We waited them out for over 4 hours. Just before 4 pm Scott picked them up, quite a bit higher than we expected to see them on the face. Ryan and I got geared up, and dropped down the canyon before hiking up to get in position for a shot. Scott's dog Dusty started following us down and really wanted to come, but dogs and javelina don't mix well. Dusty watching us hike down. We made it up about half way, and I could see the area the pigs were in. I set up Ryan prone, with the bipod in front and a backpack under the stock. He got settled in and comfortable. Ryan told me he was steady and ready to shoot. Safety off, and BOOM!! Ryan made a great shot, and dropped it. As you can see, he was a little happy. We hiked up, and Ryan was finally able to see his javelina. A nice female, a little over 50 pounds. After the shot, Scott and Dusty made their way over to us and we took some photos to remember Ryan's special day. We headed back the next weekend to see if we could get one for my older son, but no luck. All in all we had a great time, and felt blessed to be able to enjoy a little corner of God's creation with family and good friends. Two more photos I think are worth sharing. The first is the broadhead exit wound on my Javelina. Like nothing I have ever seen before. We actually gutted it through the exit wound, it was so big. Second, is Scott's javelina head boiled out, with the broadhead still in place from the shot. Turns out he made a perfect head shot from the rear, with the broadhead tip barely exiting the skin through the eye socket.

My son made me vote for him, but #4 is a tough one to beat! What a great bunch of Photos Doug.

Best wishes Scott!! Happy birthday old man :D