TAM

Jay, that's a fantastic buck. Nice and tall... I love it! Congratulations to your hunter.

Looks like you guys had a great hunt... Thanks for sharing and congratulations on a real nice buck!!!

SWEET!!! Congratulations amigo, that thing is a stud! For sure that brute is one of the best looking bucks I've seen killed this year.

Congrats again Josh!!! Several days after Josh killed his buck out of that field we glassed it from a knob about 3/4 of a mile away and there was almost always deer hanging out in the middle of it all day long. The numbers of deer and rutting action in that area was amazing! I'm already starting to think about next year

... And that right there is the essence of what hunting Mexico is all about! Congrats guys on another fantastic Mexico hunt. I love that first buck you killed, he's really got some nice character!

Jay, to me the feed seemed about the same as last year but there was a lot more water. Tanks that were dry last year had water this year and tanks that were low last year were full. As far as the rutting action goes it was "Game on" every day! I watched bucks running does like antelope, and I don't think I saw a buck that was either not with a doe or didn't have it's nose to the ground looking for one. One of the biggest challenges we faced was that the bucks wouldn't stay put long enough to stalk or get set up on them to get them killed. There was no doubt that the rut was on everywhere we looked. We also saw nearly as many bucks as does... very close to a 1:1 ratio. I think we hit the rut perfectly!!! - Tim Tim, cool insight and report. We have always found that hunting during the rut is good and bad! Just like what you said you see tons of bucks but they are constantly moving and dont stay put very long in order to put a move on them. This makes for good discussion. Couple of questions, what were the exact dates that you were there? We usually see the most activity in Mexico for rut during the period of January 10-25th and if I had to be precise it would be the 12th-18th. Another question, have you seen those dates be a bust because of warm weather? My answer would be absolutely I have seen it "on" then get hot and it shuts down until it gets cold again. Thoughts? Darr and I debate this stuff all of the time, would be great to hear some other insights and observations. Congrats on a fine buck! Jay, we were there the 19-26th and our ranch was located about an hour south of Hermisillo. I give the ranch location because I think how far north or south the ranch is plays into the prime rut dates. Other ranches I have hunted further north have usually had earlier rut dates. I agree with what you are saying with regards to warm weather but I also believe the moon phase plays into how the deer are acting as well. Just my opinion but cool temps and a New Moon phase make for the best rut hunting. I also think that the rut will seem "spotty" at times because of the presence or lack of presence of a hot doe. You can hunt a spot today with a hot doe and see several good bucks. However when you return the next day and she's been bread all the bucks are gone! When this happens I think a lot of guys will say the rut stopped, or that the moon or warm weather slowed things down. But the truth is that the hot doe in the area got bread and the bucks have just moved out looking for the next doe to rut. Or in other words the rut is still in full swing but the hunter just needs to move and find another hot doe and he'll find more good bucks rutting hard. Jay - I'm sending you a PM. - Tim

Nice job Kevin!!! Looks like you guys are off to a good start this year. Our group is spending the night at Jim's house tonight and crossing the border first thing in the morning. Hopefully the Mexico board is filled with lots of big buck pictures and fun stories when we get back on the 26th. My favorite time of year is finally here

No MILS.

I used to use Danner Pronghorns... owned three pair but they only lasted about 2 years each. I feel like Danner's quality has slipped in recent years. About a year ago I bought a pair of Kenetrek's and I love them! Like Casey said they seem quite stiff and they do take a little time to get them broke in but they are by far the best boot I have ever worn. I think mine are the Mountain Extreme 400's. They have several different styles.

There is a misconception on the term "emergency". The only reason for this portion is so that the bill would go into effect immediately rather than 90 days after sine die..... Then there could be planning for an expo in 2013. Call it whatever you want it's all just a little more frosting on the turd!

This whole deal is starting to remind me of how the Obama administration passed Obama Care. They went back door all the way and forced it upon us without much in the way of discussion or consideration of many crucial facts. Now of course HB 2072 is very different but it sure seems like a bunch of powerful guys at the top are trying to force their veiws on the rest of us kind of like putting frosting on a turd and calling it a cake! This is not an "Emergency" and should not be fast tracked and forced down our throats!!! We don't need scare tactics to manage our wildlife. I have a lot of family and friends in Utah and have hunted there for many years. They have a system very similar to this and it has been a complete disaster. There has been a lack of accountability in reporting and spending the profits with very little if any benifits in return to the hunters and wildlife of the state. Look at the odds for the Utah raffle hunts! There are some of the lesser quality tags with decent odds but the high demand hunts have odds that are worse than the regular draw odds. This is a very slippery slope for Arizona to go down!

If it looks like a turd... Smells like a turd... Tastes like a turd... Then there is no doubt IT'S A TURD!!!

So where do the profits from the sale of these tags go? Who is in charge of spending the money? What are they allowed to spend the money on? Is there any oversight or rules in who, what, when, or how these groups can spend the money or do they just get to all give themselves big pay raises? Seems like a great way to create more tags for the wealthy and more corruption within the system! I also feel like this would push AZ one step closer to a land owner tag system like they have in Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico. Seems like a very slippery slope if you ask me.

Thanks for the update Jim... What a cool buck. Congratulations!!! We will be crossing the border on the 18th and hunting the 19-25th... I cant wait!!!

What a cool pic! The buck in the middle is the reason we go to Mexico... The right side on that thing is SICK and has got to be 58-60 inches! The 17th can't get here fast enough

Last year I had a buddy build a 6.5x284 to use as a hunting rifle for my kids. It looks a little rough but the darn thing is a shooter! Welcome to the club

Congrats on a great looking buck and a great shot!

We don't leave for a few more weeks... but to say that I'm excited doesn't even begin to describe it! After enduring some slow hunting conditions over there the last couple years I'm ready to get rid of the bad mo-jo and drop the hammer on something big!!! Good luck to everyone, be safe, have fun, kill some giant bucks, and don't forget to post the pictures when you get back.

I believe the limit in Mexico is 8mm.

Cool buck... congratulations to you and your hunter!!!

All I can say is choose your battles wisely! Good luck and Merry Christmas

You can't take a .338 into Mexico... perhaps not a factor for everyone but it is for me. I'd stick with the 300 RUM.

In 2007 I killed a 236 pound mule deer on the Kiabab with my 270 Weatherby mag and a 130 grain Berger bullet at over 3400 FPS muzzle velocity. The buck was just 76 yards away. Even though I was expecting a much longer shot I simply turned my scope down to it's lowest setting and dumped the buck right where he stood. There wasn't even a leg twitch! The point is that often times the more rapid expanding bullets will perform well at both long and short distances where controlled expansion bullets seem to have some limitations... especially at longer distances. I think the original question was what makes a good long range bullet? Very few long range shooters will even consider any of the heavy constructed bullets because their BC's are too low and because at long ranges they often times don't have the necessary energy left to properly expand the bullet. Here is a link to a lab test done by Barnes Bullets that pretty much back fired on them! They were trying to show that Bergers and Ballistic Tips just explode and don't get as much penetration as the Barnes bullets and they were right! Look at how wide the wound channel is on the Bergers and BT's. Yes the Barnes will out penetrate every time (even at long distance) but look at how much more hydrostatic shock is exploding into the animals chest in the 4"-10" range (That's chunky soup in a chest cavity). Look at how narrow the wound channel is on the Barnes bullets at 1000 yards! That is exactly the opposite of what a long range hunter wants when looking for the best long range bullet! http://www.barnesbullets.com/information/bullet-talk/lab-tests/ The proof is in the pudding and I think that's why more long range hunters choose to shoot a more rapid expanding bullet. Higher BC's and more hydrostatic shock! And like I mentioned above... They're pretty darn effective at close range as well.

Nice buck! Did a dropper break off his left beam or is that just a bump below his G3?

I have several random thoughts on this topic. First, to me the most important factor is accuracy. You can't kill what you can't hit. Second, hunters have been killing stuff with bullets for a long time and even in the old days with non-premium bullets critters still got killed just as dead as they do today with premium bullets. If you put ANY bullet through an animals chest it's pretty much gonna die (go back to my first point - accuracy). There seems to be a standing arguement over the best way for a bullet to kill. There are the Barnes and Nosler Partition guys that want perfect controlled expansion which often times lends itself to the bullet completly passing through the animal. Some like the idea that this creates an exit and a better blood trail while others argue that it's wasted energy. Also as already mentioned these type of controlled expansion bullets often have a "window" of optimum performance and if you hit the animal to fast or to slow you may not get the desired performance from the bullet. Then there are the guys like me that want a rapid expansion bullet like a Berger, Ballistic tip, or in my case a JLK. Our theory is that we want the bullet to enter the animal and then explode like a gernade throwing fragments of copper, lead, and bone through the animals vitals. As this happens less energy is lost and often the animal absorbs 100% of the bullets kenetic energy. We may not have an exit wound for optimal blood trailing, but then again there may not be a trailing job at all as often times the animal goes straight down. In my experience shooting a 300 RUM and a 6.5x284 with JLK bullets we have killed animals from ranges of 80 yards out to over 800 yards and the result is always the same. The bullet goes in and explodes! Sometimes we have gotten exit holes but I think it mostly depends on if you hit any bone on the way in. In most cases the animal goes right down or dies a few feet away. To answer your question, Yes I feel like I have a much larger "window" of optimal performance with a rapid expanding bullet than I get when shooting a heavier constructed bullet. But any way you look at it Accuracy is number one and the rest is just going to be like discussing Ford, Chevy, or Dodge! Good luck!