NitroAZ

I found this shed last week while hunting on the Prince of Wales Island. After scoring the shed I figure this buck is right at 121" which would put him in B&C top 10. By looking at the terrain these guys live in I'm suprised they are not all monsters.

I just wanted to share some pics of a couple bears we shot over the last month. One of the big boars was killed under the Commissioners Tag last month and the other was shot on Saturday.

Lion.. I bumped in to a G&F fish officer once down there who told me they do see bears every now and then in the Boboquivaries.

Just depends, I've watched them bed under mesquites, oaks, rock ledges, I've even seen a couple bed out in the wide opening on large boulders. For the most part they will find a dark cool spot which offers plenty of shade through the day most likely not too far from whatever food source they happen to be feeding on.

I have quite a few of them and have only had problems with one, for some reason it just stops taking photos after awhile. As far as night shots goes I think they do just fine, but then again who cares what comes in at night!! the nice thing about them is the fit nicely in the Bushnell lock boxes Sportsmans sells.

Just wanted to share a couple pics I took on Saturday in the Sierra Anchas. As I came around the corner I saw these sheep standing in the middle road, luckily there was a sign there to warn me of their presence.

I'm really enjoying the XF EVO, It's not as fast as my Omen, but It draws and shoots very smooth and I find it very forgiving. I used this bow last month to shoot a bear. Attached is a photo of the exit damage done to the bears leg bone. The bow set at 71# with the help of a 384 gr arrow and a G5 Striker produced enough energy to do some serious damage. Great bow and a great bow company!!!

I am selling my Westin Sportsman 1-piece grill guard -- Made from polished stainless steel; Features thick rubber protectors line uprights, 1.5 in. diameter center crossbar tubing, 1.5 in. diameter tubing headlight area guards, and mounting points for optional driving lights. It is in good shape with no dents or bends. I am asking $300.00 or OBO Fits all 2008-20010 F-250/F-350 Call 520-400-8196

How else are the going to heat up their burritos?

With the recent closure of the Coronado Forest closure I can’t help but chuckle over the irony of the latest fire which is in happening in the Huachuca’s. The US government doesn’t want us on the forest because our vehicles, firearms or campfires may ignite a forest fire, but every current southern AZ fire has been caused by wets!! It’s not enough that UDA's come into our country and destroy our economy and everything else in their path, now we can add the destruction of wildlife and their habitat. How can there be a fix to the illegal immigration problem when even our past governor reports back to the current administration that there is no problem. Thanks for readning my rant, who new this site could be so therapeutic??

Map of the burned area.. Very sad!! http://www.svherald.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/Really_Big/images/monument%20fire/2011/jun/1/0620_330_MAP.jpg

I just wanted to share a photo from my latest hunt. With the recent news of the Coronado closure happening this week I decided to give my bear hunt one last chance. At first light on Wednesday I began checking some of my spots but after reviewing photos I didn’t really have anything coming in frequent enough for me to gamble sitting the last day. I decided to head back over to where I had a majority of the activity. Throughout the last 4 weeks I’ve had close to a dozen coming in, unfortunately 8 were sows and cubs. Upon arriving I checked my cameras and verified I had bears coming in every day since my last hunt on Sunday. I was pleased to see that two of the bears were ones which I haven't seen on camera for about 3 weeks, more importantly they were bears without cubs. As I climbed up the tree I was feeling positive I would have a visitor as I usually do while I'm sitting at this location, but I felt strongly that this time it would be one without cubs. I got into the stand by 7:05, 15 minutes into sitting I was reviewing photos on my cell when I heard footsteps. Usually I hear them about 70 to 80 yards out, but as I looked up I saw her coming along the trail at about 35 yards. As she advanced a little further she came to an abrupt stop, she had her nose in the air and was really concerned. I had no shot opportunity and I prayed that the 2 pints of cover up I used and my HECS scent suit would do their job. The wind was blowing directly from me strait to her at about 15 mph. She started walking in circles and finally decided to come off of the ledge and approach the water. As she got to the edge of the water it was apparent she could smell my scent from when I had stood there checking my camera just 20 min earlier. The scent must have just been too strong and through the dense cover I could see her rear around and begin to head out. As she climbed up the ledge I drew back and waited for her to come out of the trees. For whatever reason at about 19 yards she slowed down and I put the pin a few inches behind her diaphragm, the arrow, most of it, exited in front of her opposite shoulder. She ran/rolled down the hill right to me and died below my stand. I couldn’t believe it, the 6 days and 54 hours of sitting finally paid off. The hunt was bitter sweet, I surely didn’t want to be the guy to shut down the unit, but in light of the recent Coronado news I set out to fill my tag and as luck would have it I shot a sow. I ran her down to the G&F for inspection and she was estimated to be about 6 or 7 years old. Congrats to all of the other tag holders who worked their tails off, hard work and persistence really does pay off.

Amanda, what other days if any did John have available?

Great job Sam!!!!

This is the first Black Bear ever seen in the Havasu area. I'm assuming he got tired of eatting dirt and rocks and figured he'd come down and do some trolling for smallies! http://www.azfamily.com/news/Black-bear-se...-104445253.html

After a few weeks of looking I finally located a few bears. Here is a pic of a boar I shot last week.

I've got this buck and some smaller ones hitting this natural lick.. I have this camera mounted adjacent to an dirt tank where I have another camera as well. As I pulled up on the tank I could see that my camera was gone. I don't mind losing camera (third in the last month), I'm more tweaked at how some so called hunters can steal from other hunters.....

So I go to check some of my other cameras this weekend and find two more missing and then a pic of this guy trying to God knows what to another one of my cameras. Just goes to show you no matter how far you drive or how far you hike you are never safe from thieves.. Now all of my remaining cameras are locked up, so much for being trustworthy!!

Steven, I just sent you a PM

Not at all, I had a few hunters in there in Jan and Feb and we saw lots of critters... Good Luck!

Just wanted to give you all a heads up. There will be a mountain bike race in the unit on Sept 11, the race will be all day long and run along the perimeter of Kendrick. Racers will show up the 10 and head back out the 12th. The race was actually supposed to be last month, but because of the fire on Sitgreaves the Forest Service told them not to hold the race and it was just recently rescheduled to the above mentioned dates. BB_Course_Map.pdf

I’ve have had great luck with King Sneeky Pete Feet. When using these style of boot covers bring along a metal comb, after a while the bottoms get matted up causing them to be not as sneaky. A couple quick swipes with the comb and they are just like new again. Also, just remember these are an aide and are not completely quite, so continue to move slow, deliberate and use heel/toe.

I rolled up on this sick doe yesterday. I can only speculate what was wrong with her, It was sad to see. Times like this it would be nice if we were allowed to do a mercy killing. Here is a link to the video

Just a little closure on this. After calling the Tucson office of G&F, they put me in contact with Martin Guerena the unit manager. After we spoke he ran out to the area, after looking for a short time he located the doe which had died about 50 yards from where I had last seen her. As he walked up on her he noticed a fox eating on her as well as a few vultures. After inspecting her he found what seemed to be a close to full term fawn in her. He says the fawn had been dead inside of her for quite some time. As the fetus rotted this a number of problems for the doe including neurological issues which explains some of her odd behavior. Too sad!!!! BTW, I was very impressed with how the Dept handled this, from their rapid response to the follow up call I received from Martin. Keith