stanley

Ya, like others here I used to LOVE Outdoor Life and Field & Stream. Late 70s to early 80s while a teen I had a subscription to Field & Stream, and one of my best friends (and closest hunting buddies, still today...) had a subscription to Outdoor Life. We would share the magazines back and forth, and sit around reading the articles and imagining being on those hunts! Often while listening to Van Halen's epic first album!!!

Some of my favorite memories come from that Kiabab doe hunt!!!! Soak it up and take lots of pics for the memories!!!!!! Regarding the weather, I agree with bigorange! Looks like it will be perfect!! Funny you mention "the freak snowstorm....". Big +1 on that!!! I have been surprised fairly often by a snowstorm on that hunt. Often just flurries, but good to be prepped none the less. Enjoy!

Thanks! For sure, 2 1/2 hours is better than all day (or all season)! For processing, I generally do my own butchering on all animals. For this one, my buddy and I spent several hours the day after the kill de-boning and sorting the cuts. I ended-up giving him a large portion (like > 3rd) to take back to Salt Lake with him. For the share I brought home, I spent last Monday morning cutting & wrapping the standard cuts. After handling the standard roasts/steaks/chops/cuts, I was left with about 80 pounds of 'trimmings' . I wrapped about 30 pounds of the trimmings into 1 & 2 pound stew-meat freezer packages. I don't have a grinder, so I took about 50 lbs over to Miller's Southwest Processing to have ground into burger. Miller's was pretty quick, so I picked-up the burger on Saturday. My son and I enjoyed buffalo burgers while watching football yesterday. Was awesome! Now that I've got it all sorted and frozen, I'm going through all of the requests from friends, trying to share a bit with all. As a side note, I've also been experimenting lately with canning meat & stews. I took about 5 pounds of the stew meat and made a great batch of red chili, then canned/jarred it in 16oz jars in the pressure cooker. Loving the canning/jarring for long-term storage! S.

No doubt!!! During my brief time in the blind, I was trying to get myself ready for the mental marathon that I was facing. I was looking around at my little window on the world, saying to myself something like; "I've got a nice view, there are birds, trees, a few deer.... I CAN do this!!!" But yes, fate spared me that test, though.

Would estimate something like 35-40ish yards. Didn’t range it. 😉

.30-06, 180 grain. Off the Walmart shelf, Remington Core-lock. Was plenty!! (I honestly didn't really need the two follow-up shots, but wanted to get her anchored. )

No, Kevin, no shoulder mount. I've never been a 'head on the wall' kind of hunter (I am VERY much a hack hunter! lol), and in fact my house is just sort of small for that. I'm having Sean's son do a bleached Euro mount though. Also, the hide was in pretty good shape, so I'm having it tanned for a rug or to throw over the sofa or something, though. Doug, indeed lots of good eating. I had the kids over for dinner on Tuesday to dine on one of the tenderloins. They were huge, and a single one fed four of us. I seared it in cast iron, the finished it off to medium-rare in the oven. Was amazing!! Tender and tasty! Nick, for sure I am blessed! S.

I have only killed one squirrel, which I did on a whim while elk scouting a few years ago. Was one of those big suckers, not one of the little 'chipmonk' looking things... Cleaned it, quartered it, and seared it in a cast iron skillet. Added mushrooms, and after they cooked down a bit I added a little cream of mushroom soup, thinned quite a bit with water. Then simmered for a couple of hours. Was delicious!!! Super mild tasting, and tender. S.

Thanks a bunch, Kevin! Was not in the tank with a big meadow. I don't remember the name of the tank, but it was actually fairly far west. Basically about 6 miles west of 270, roughly 1/2 mile north of the park boundary. Was tucked pretty deep into one of the east-west running canyons. S.

I've got a 24x48 piece of plywood that I have used for years when 'cutting/wrapping' time comes. Would love one of these! PM sent! S.

Man, that's pretty country, Andrew!! How are the temps?? Chilly or unseasonably balmy, like here?? S.

Nice! I really love the look of those horns!!! Awesome!!

Don't have anything new to add to all of the above input/comments. I echo most of them. I would simply reiterate to soak it up and have fun!! My three kids are 25, 23, and 21 now. The time I've spent in the field with them over the past 15-20 years is by FAR the best times I have had hunting. To this day, even as young adults, there is no greater joy than spending time with them in the field and on occasion standing over their shoulder as they pull the trigger on an animal. Precious times!! S.

Yup, it's actually not that uncommon at all to be asked what is being shipped. Not all places ask all the time, but it's not unusual.

Eh, not really a single 'best' way.... If there is a scammer posting in the forum, then I think the 'report' function, or an IM to myself or one of the other admins is fine. In this case, the scammer was not posting. They were sending IMs (I checked, and they had ZERO posts). Since they had not posts to 'report', then an IM to myself or one of the other admins would work. Or as in this case, a public call-out. Really, just anything to bring visibility to it will usually get the attention of myself or one of the other admins.

They're gone now.

Per Big Tub's comments, Mearns could be tough this year. They rely greatly on the monsoon summer rain. Either way, there are always some opportunities out there! Can't wait!

Sounds awesome, Andrew! Enjoy!! S.

Yup, sort of like clockwork. We generally had good precipitation last winter/spring, and historically that is THE major driver for Gambel's. I haven't been out to my favorite desert quail spots for several months, so I'm glad to hear it's panning out. We are SO blessed here in AZ with four months of continuous quail hunting, starting next month! Can't wait for the season to open!!

Indeed, cool coloring on that one. No let up at the dairy we hunt. Still limits of Mourning & Whitewings. Plus as usual, about twice that many Eurasians. Crazy fun!!!

Nice!! Always cool to get it on film!

Ya, regarding the political aspect/spin, I had posed the question a while back regarding union vs. non-union historically equaling Democrat vs. Republican. It is always interesting to me that some of those who purport to be fairly staunch Republicans sometimes also appear to be big fans of unions. I grew-up in a mining town too (Kearny / Ray Pit). My dad, however was on the opposite side of the unions, in that he was an engineer/geologist (management). In fact, he was one of the negotiators for the company side when there were strikes. Was sometimes interesting at school because the vast majority of my friend's fathers were union guys, and here was my dad standing firm on the 'other' side. LOL I am definitely not a fan of unions. Not because of my family history, but simply because I am a very firm believer in the free market system. Supply/demand, and all that goes with it. If someone is willing to do a job for a lower hourly cost than union labor costs, then I think that is the way it should be. These are points, of course have already been shared in this thread. All that being said though, it does not mean that I don't appreciate the hard work that ALL laborers, craftsmen, tradesmen, etc. do! Kudos to the hardworking folks of America!!! Here's to you on Labor Day!!! S.

Outstanding!!! Been doing great at the dairy that we hunt, as well! Watched the demo on that wild game washing bucket. Looks awesome!!! We have sort of been doing the same thing from scratch for the past few years, in that we bring a bucket and a couple of big containers of water with us to the dairy. When we are ready to clean the birds, we fill the bucket 1/2 full of water, gather around and start 'breasting' the birds. The breasts go into the water, and we start to swish around manually and skim feathers off the top. We will then drain and freshen the water a time or two while skimming feathers/debris. Looks like kind of the same effect. I didn't realize that someone had actually commercialized it! Happy hunting, all!!! S.

'Who cares....' Those are true words of wisdom and great perspective, Andrew!! I need to ask myself that before I post next time. Absolutely zero use in getting wrapped around the axle on this stuff. At the end of the day, I really don't care.

To specifically answer your question, no, I didn't find it strange. It is not that uncommon for someone making a long range shot to only load a single cartridge into their rifle at a time. Regarding your "guarantee" that those weren't the only two shots taken, do you have any facts or actual basis for that statement, or simply speculation? (It would be fairly easy to verify with eye witness accounts based on the number of folks on the hill.....) How can you guarantee that?