123456

I recently switched from being a long time Carbon Express user to Victory. My new bow was shooting the light arrows too fast for my liking so I switched to a heavy arrow. I shoot the victory VAP's with the 92gr. stainless outserts. My arrow weighs in @ 442 grains and my bow slings them @ 280 something. I love how the arrows look, shoot and the amount of penetration I get with them. I am no longer able to shoot most standard targets. These arrows usually burry up to the fletchings if the target is not newer or one of higher quality. Having said that, I honestly think the overall quality of the Victory arrows are considerably less then that of Carbon Express. I have never had an issue with Carbon Express arrows. With Victory, I have to have both ends of the arrow cut, so I know they are square. From the factory, I have noticed atleast 10% of their arrows are not square on the nock end. Also, the nocks are very weak. They break considerably easier than any other arrow I have ever shot. If you buy a dozen Victory's, plan on getting 10 that will pass the spin test. I will say that this year I shot an antelope, deer and elk and all 3 were pass thru's. All shots were thru ribs, so I did not get to see how they perform on shoulder shots. I am going to continue to shoot these victory's, but I am sincerely hoping they bring their quality control up, so I do not have one more thing to worry about while archery hunting. If I were to get a different arrow, I would probably switch to an Easton Axis or something else that is the smaller diameter with more grains per inch than most. I love the 92 gr outsert on Victory. Gives you a very high front of center and cuts thru wind better. Ok there is my .02 cents.

Was this in 2008?

Most tags, I would guess 90% are drawn. The ones left over are usually for hunts that have high hunt pressure and average to low success rates. Some leftover tags can still produce great bucks. Our Game and Fish has begun giving out an absurd # of whitetail tags in each hunt, so the hunt quality is taking a turn for the worse. Some units have 4 different whitetail hunts with over 1500 tags divided between the four hunts. This puts lots in the field at the same time and has had a negative impact on the quality of the hunt. As with anything else, the harder you try the higher your odds of harvesting a nice buck are. In Az, if you are willing to hike a mile or two off of a dirt road, chances are you will not see too many people when you get in there. Look at AZGFD.com and look at the harvest data for the last few years. Easy to see when the hunts are and how many tags were given out for that hunt. The success rate they have posted is a guess at best. They are based on a voluntary report which is mailed in by the hunter. VOLUNTARY being the key word not MANDATORY.

Archery is a non draw for either species of deer in AZ. There are a few "premium" units up north for muley that are part of the draw process even for archery. There are specific seasons when you can and can not hunt. As far as rifle goes, you have to be drawn for ANY rifle deer tag in the state. They all have short seasons that usually consist of 2 weeks or less. Same for muley or Coues. The only exception would be reservation hunts or picking up a left over tag if not all the tags were allocated in the general draw. Hope this helps.

20b Pig!! I love chasing these little guys. Not to mention the sausage they get turned into is great.

Freaking Awesome!! That would be a riot to try on javelina!!

I am able to get a zeiss conquest with a 50mm objective to sit on my weatherby with low rings. I would just wait until the gun gets here and then purchase rings then.

Someone please buy this thing!!

What he said.

I do not use 15's. I glass with 10's and use my scope to tell me what they are. I used to have the swaro 15's, but I found my self using my 10 power EL's more than the 15's. I do not use my scope much, but when I do, they are worth their weight. I enjoy a brighter view that the 4.2mm exit pupil of the el's give me vs. only a 3.7mm on the 15's. Plus the image is much sharper. So yes, If it were me, I would sell the 15's and get a nice scope.

Nice bull. Hey and great shot. Looks like you 12 ringed him at 50 yards. Congrats!

3 1/2" is quite the load.. Most, and I do say most, not all, women will not want to shoot a 3 1/2" mag. Having said that, if you go with a gas operated shotgun, the recoil will be greatly reduced vs. a pump or inertia gun.

I have never done it, but that sounds like the exact type of hunt I would like to do. Who did you book thru and, if you do not mind, how much are you paying?

And there it is...... Jealousy!!! It all makes sense now.

I know that as of the last 19a archery goat hunt, it was not illegal to shoot a bow within a 1/4 mile of a residence. The city of Prescott had voted to pass an ordinance against this, and they put up signs saying it was illegal. I spoke the the game warden on that hunt, and she told me that in 19a, those sings mean nothing. That the laws that AZGFD got passed regarding all "M" units a few years back when they came out with the new "M" unit maps, became the law of the land. Basically stating that AGFD now had ALL jurisdiction on hunting within city limits. As far as target shooting, that may be a different story. As I posted above, I heard the law changed this year again regarding the "M" units only. I have yet to officially read that though.

Trophy taker smack down pro.. I like this option because you can go to the limb with your string and you do not have to worry about string stretch. Also, if anything where to happen to your string that times your rest, anyone can get it back in time. Takes no skill, just tightening a bolt. It is almost impossible to get a drop away rest, with the reverse spring tension out of time.

What Dug said above is true, however I heard from a friend of mine, that is a game warden, that they changed the verbage this year to, " no HUNTING within a 1/4 mile of an occupied structure" He told me they put this in place for the Metro units mainly. I have not even looked to see if this is the case, but I have to believe him. In the past it has always been no "shooting" now they have changed it to "hunting" to include archery and other methods of take that are not considered firearms. I am not a 100% on this, just relaying what I have heard from a warden buddy of mine.

havalon and a knives of Alaska alpha wolf. Havalon's are great for capeing and skinning, but lack the strength when needed to pop ball joints or neck joints. I do not carry a saw with me, I just chose to pop the joints and it makes for cleaner meat and less stuff to carry.

Too bad it counts as this years pig if you kill it in December. I wonder if, when the new license structure goes in place, it is still 2 per CALENDER year. 26m holds a bunch of piggies. I harvested my largest pig to date last January in 26m. He was an absolute Giant. 26m is a big unit and pigs inhabit a large section of it.

I agree with just about everything above, except the whole do not shoot big groups of ducks. Those ducks have been shot at for weeks while on their way to Arizona. If you do not shoot at them, and they all land in your decoys, are they not even smarter when you shoot the next group of ducks that come in and they are still in your decoys? If it is a good duck, and they decide to visit my decoys, I hope to make them permanent residents. If there is one piece of advise, I will give most duck hunters, it is to diversify your spreads. Confidence decoys are a highly effective tool. Mojo's can be effective, but IMO cause more harm than good. The good ole' fashion jerk line is a much, much better option to add motion to your spread. Also do not have spreads of 50 decoys in an area that usually does not see groups of ducks that big. One day if we are all lucky, they will open a season on cormerants, and we can all try to get a handle on that destructive specie of bird. They are terrorizing pan fish populations in the north/ northeast, and I have seen a huge rise in #'s over the last 10 years in AZ. They will be like shooting coyotes to keep our big game herds healthy.

I have always wanted to kill one with my glock 23. 3 years ago, I got really proficient with it, and had full intentions on killing my pig with it. I also bought a new muzzleloader that year, and thought that would be cool too. Well long story short, I had a buddy of mine on my hunt with me, and his sole purpose was to get great HD video of my javelin hunt. I got into some pigs and could have shot multiple pigs at around 10 yards with my handgun, however he could not get good video so I elected to wait. They figured out what was going on and all started running like javelina do. When they reached about 50 yards, I said are you videoing yet, and he said yes, so I took my muzzleloader off my shoulder and proceeded to plow a piggy with a barnes sabot. I was stoked because I knew it was going to be great video.... Only problem was, my buddy, who I did not know, was technology challenged. He pressed the wrong button to record, and I now had a dead javelina and no video. I was bummed because the only reason I shot that javy with the muzzleloader was to get good video.. I would have no problems using a .40cal on pigs. Plenty of gun. Use a carry gun, so you have to get real close in order to seal the deal. Like mentioned above, if that doesn't work pull out your second means of take and get them as they are fleeing the scene. There is always atleast one who has to stop and look back to see what just happened.

Jay, you guys kill good bulls every year, and this year looks no different. Everyone will always have a difference of opinion on a particular hunt. I stated in another post about 7E, and another guy said he had a completely different experience than I did. Well this may have been true, however, on the whole, I believe it was a tough year north of Flagstaff. I had the pleasure to help out a long time friend of yours on his hunt in 7E. We helped Rick track his bull and eventually cut it up and load him up. He returned the favor the next morning when my hunting partner got his on top of a steep mountain. (We saved a rear quarter for Rick because we knew he used to play college football and he had muscle milk in his cooler.) LOL! After we had harvested all 3 of our bulls, we all gave a high 5 and were pretty excited to go 3 for 3 in what seemed like a tougher than usual archery bull hunt. The Elk were spread out, and the rut was pretty weak where we were hunting. Rick was hunting a totally different part of the unit, and it didn't sound like he was exactly setting the unit on fire as well. I know that between us 3, we spent almost the whole hunt busting our butts, hiking until my boots wanted to quit, and sitting long periods of time in a blind or stand. I will say Rick killed an excellent bull, and he said it was the biggest he had seen through out the whole hunt. I never did tape it, but I would think it was somewhere in the 320's. We only saw 2 bulls that I would think would beat that. The vast majority of the people I have talked to, that hunted north of Flagstaff, would agree with your statement on antler growth and also agree that the elk were spread out this year. There is always going to be someone who wants to poke when a guide does not kill 375" bulls every time. As long as your hunters had a great time, that is all the matters. Oh yeah, and those bulls are not small by any means, most people would be elated to shoot bulls that big, I know I would. Keep up the good work!

3 1/4 is the dram equivelant. That is basically how much powder is in the hull. If you measure them, they will be 2 3/4 long after they are fired.

WTF is this guy trying to say? Sounds like Madden explaining a WR reverse.

20b or 21 both have high densities of Javelina. Archer's only advantage is the length at which they can hunt for, 3 weeks instead of 1 week for rifle hunters. Also if you have a herd patterned, obviously they will not be disturbed if you get them on opening day. Get high, glass low and I am sure you will be able to find some javies. They blend in very well, and a tripod is a must when glassing for them. Start scouting in November, and if you put your time in, you will find a herd or 2. They have small home ranges, and will be in the same spot or close by just about every year. If you are able to watch them for extended periods of times, you will find their dens or caves, and your hunt odds just went up exponentially. Look for rooting on the hillsides, watch creek/wash bottoms. They will be in both. Good luck on whichever method of take you choose. Just FYI, there will be leftover tags for both rifle, and archery. So whichever you get drawn for, just go pick up a leftover tag for the other, and you have 2 chances to kill one.