tomgobbler

The late elk hunt is just around the corner and and the elk are pushed farther from the road right now, hunt farther in and dont worry about how your going to get it out. i just packed out a deer last week, and ready for the late elk hunt. give me a hauler if your needing some help. good luck tommy

me ad my 11 year old drew 28 HAM jav's and i drew 27 turkey, will be buying the my son his first turkey tag as well, plus have a san carlos turkey tag, plus my brother drew 28 rifle, and him and his wife drew 4a/4b, plus mathewp drew unit 1 again.... so SPRING is going to be GREAT......

Well, i got down to shane's thursday night to do a little scouting, not that we really needed it, we always sit in one of two spots, we have a spot on the west side of the mountain, and one on the east side, its just a matter of choosing a side and going for it. Since Shane's BUddy, Ray had spent the week before my hunt, hunting mule deer, on he east side, i decided to look the west side over that evening. Ray had us some good bucks located, but i wanted to see what was hangin out on the west side. So i glassed from 1:30 or so, until dark, locateing 6 different bucks. 3 nice 80is 3x3's one small 3x3 and 2 unknows, as they disappered to fast. BUt a GREAT sign the evening before the opener. However daylight found us on the East side of the mountain were Ray thought there might be one of the bigger bucks he had seen earlier in the week. As we pulled up in the dark to our glassing spot, i met Ray for the first time, and i also was able to meet his "baby" his custom 30-378, with turrets out to about 2000 yards....he says with a chuckle anything on the this mountian that you can glass we can shoot. ( and it was a BIG mountain) anyhow as it begin to get light enough to start to make things out we each faced a different direction to begin the process of picking apart the mountainside. Ray about 75 yards down the ridge, to be able to look back into some cuts, me looking out the front and right side, and shane about 25 yards to my left watching the ridges and bowls to the left. About 30 minutes into glassing i barely make out a buck 3/4 of the way up to the top behind some brush. The sun still hasnt topped over the edge of the mountain range behind us, so with the buck being so far away and no sun to highlight his rack, i couldnt really make out what he was for sure. i knew he was out his ears in width, and he had a good body size, so i was thinking he had to be a decent buck. So i walk down to were SHane is sitting and ask him to come back up to were i am at, to take a look at the buck to see if he can get any better detail on him. As we are looking at him he moves out a little, and the sun finally tops out and so we get a little better look, but he is still a ways away. SO i radio Ray to come up and see what he thinks and to dig his gun out. In the mean time as Ray is making his way up a herd of pigs start up the mountain and run right into the buck, he didnt care to kindly to sharing the mountain and he ran the rest of the way to the top, SO now he is about 10' from the skyline and about 3 jumps from being gone for good. i tell Ray i think the buck is big enough to shoot, and show him were the buck is, and ask him what he thinks, and he says no problem, lets get him ranged and dialed in before he tops over. So he ranges him at 748 yards, and tells me how much to dial the scope so i lay down, rest the gun over Ray's pack, and dial the turrets to the correct yardage, ( allowing for the steep incline as well) he says you need to hurry, he's broad side ( very slight quarting away) and about 3 steps from being gone for good, so put a shell in and find the bucks shoulder in the reticle, hold steady for a split second and touch it off. ...... well what happened? is all i saw was smoke and dust with the muzzle break the gun has on it. SHanes says he down you nailed him, and i'm line no way, and Shane's like yep the big centry plant just shook a bunch as the buck layed and kicked in it. And i was like if you guys are just trying to get me to hike to the top of the steep mountain for the fun of it, i aint going to be happy, and Shanes says nope hes laying right there at the top. SO to make a long story shorter we hike to the top of the mountain and there lays my buck. an 85ish 2x2 with 6" eye gaurds, 13 1/2 inside spread and 15" main beams, but NO 3rd point, just a 2x2. BUt i'm happy with the buck, a 748 yard 1 shot kill opening morning at 7:45 or so. ANd it is my wifes birthday tomorrow, so i really needed to get home for that. ( Which i made it for) so what a day.... A BIG THANKS TO SHANE AND HIS BUDDY RAY, A GREAT GUY, THAT CAME ALONG AND GAVE A COMPLETE STRANGER A HAND. May all YOUR friends be like these 2 guys. Good luck tommy in the last picture you can barely make out the truck were i shot from

the gun is the 378 wthrby. necked down to a 30 caliber. so a 30-378.

"they" say, a cat will make its rounds every ten days or so.... would be interesting if you get any other pictuers, and if it matches that pattern or not.... if you could "pattern" him then you'de have a better chance of what day to go back and call... up your odds a little.... having said that, yes he will be around somewhere close, and yes there will be other cats.... he made a pile there, is that a "cat toilet" meaning was there other old cat scat there, or was that the first cat scat you see at that spot... if there is old there, then it is a regular toilet that they WILL be back to at some point. if it is new, then i'de still say when he makes his rounds again he will do his thing there, and so will other passing cats.... and if there was a cat there at some point then there will probably be one there every year, unless drastic drout or fire or something happenes. there is food, water, thick cover... there is cats.... i have caught a cat in the exact trap, in the exact location 3 years in a row, and in a month or 2 i'll garuntee ya i'll catch one this year in that exact same trap and set up..... give me a week or 2 in your spot and i'll have that cat for you good luck it is a nice looking cat, if you give him time to fur up. tommy

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anyone have the paper that the game and fish puts out or know to look up last years spring left over javelina tags.... i cant seem to find it. thanks tommy

Ok here's the deal. My brothers wife drew her first elk tag after about 15 years of applying. an EARLY rifle tag, we've been out looking quite a bit and have LOTS of NICE (330-350) bulls located, and a few BIG AND NICE ones located. (350-380)but of course the archery hunters are messing with / killing several of them and several others are getting busted up. I found a bull that i think with go a true 380.+...(my buddy watched it for 20 minutes @ 250 yards wed night and again thursday morning) NICE BIG 6x6, with its whale tail i think having a 1"-2" point actaully making it a 6x7... but its BIG.....perfectly semetricle, just a beautiful bull, we went out last night to look in another spot that i had seen some good bulls in to see what else we could find. and i told my brother i think we should sit on this "380" bull this week and let her shoot it opening morning and his reply was no its not 400..... and i said well Do we have any true 400 bulls that we have scouted that isnt broken ( i think we had 2 that would go 400, but both are broken) and he said no... and i said well, then.... of course we are going to still be looking the rest of the week, to see what's left..... and NO we aint going to hire a guide..... So yawl know how hard early rifle tags are to come by.... is the 380 class bull "big enough" would you wrap you tag around it opening morning if you had the chance.... ??? OR would you try and hunt a few days for a 400....just curious what yawl would do.... Hopefully pictures to follow after next weekend

of course this is her hunt and she is going to shoot what she likes... we are just going to glass, let her know what we think of the bulls we see, and gut, load/haul it our for her... she just gets to have the fun she is going to decide when and what to pull the trigger on :) i think she would be REALLY happy with this bull, there are 2 other 6x7's in the same area as him, and he puts them to shame. HE is BIG..... me and my bro were just hashing it out last night as we were looking at other bulls.... i was saying i would shoot the sucker in a heart beat opening morning, and he was saying naw i'de hold out.... just two opnions on what ya would do if the tag was YOURS... but i really think he would have a really hard time passing this bull up and looking for bigger.... but you wont ever kill a 400 shooting a 380.... i may never shoot a 400 casue i'de shoot a 380 everytime, i couldnt pass it up.... just me though it will be fun regardless

congrats , nice goat.!

Got ya, i know augar canyon very well, generally chase turkeys in there somwhere every spring. didnt know those houses / subdivision to the west was called that. congrats again tommy

Cool, i thought i was pretty close, glad to hear i wasnt way off.... although for you sake i wish i would of been 4 inches off and he would of been 18" Just kidding, Congrats again glad you were able to take the one you wanted. It is always fun to go watch an animal take pictures video andthen hunt for that exact animal and be able to close the deal. i drew last year after 20 + years of applying and took lots of pictures of my buck and killed him with in 20 of the hunt.... but the hunt was really all those hours scouting and looking.... glad you were able to find and take the one you had spent time on. He will make a great mount and those cutters will make up for what lenght he doesnt have. He's a very nice goat. yea 1 and 27 are parts of my stompin ground, so yea hope we can run into each other some time. were exactly is dry valley.... thanks for sharing tommy

nice buck! congrats

nice buck, how long is it? any side view of the cutter? congrats tommy

very nice, i have been wondering if you killed him yet, so what is the lenght of the horns? sweet goat either way, congrats tommy

very nice! congrats tommy

My brother was archery deer hunting, and sitting and glassing one of his favorite "bowls" for mule deer when he heard a noise and looked up the hill and a bear come off the ridge trotting/running straight towards him from a couple hundred yards off, this year with the moisture we have had the ferns were 3' tall so just hunkered down and waited. The bear kept coming, and coming... and pretty soon slowed to a walk, at about 10' broad side in front of him, he drew, settled his pin and touched the release, and watched the arrow zip right through the bear just behind the front shoudler. 18 yards latter, the bear piled up still in sight. It was all over beofre he knew what had really happened. His First bear, and with a bow! Its better to be lucky then good any day i say these pictures are after he got it back to my house to skin for him, we are going to do a lifesize mount of it. enjoy Tommy

i'de shoot the 2nd over the first, and i'de say mid 70's..... he isnt all that.... he does have nice cutters, but if you look at his ears, the cutters are NOT above the ears, and the horn length, is barely twice the ear length.... so around a 13-14 lenght.... i dont knwo what unit your in but i think you could do better on lenth.... although those cutters are pretty nice.... but its all in the eye, if you like him shoot him and have fun tommy

Nice buck..... but whats up with the ruined cape!

DAle. along with that heat comment, people need to realise that the more they handle and touch the greater the chances fo the velvet slipping, yes we all want great pictures, but try and do it with as little "touching" to the velvet as possible, you dont want to wrapp you fingers arund it for very long, and especially if you are packing it out, i had a guy that had a perfect hand print of the velvet come off, becasue he carried it over his shoulder for quite a ways and had a good hold of the velvet antlers all the way to the truck, also i see quite a bit of wrapping the tag tight around the velvet, we need to avoid this as much as possible as well, it will pull some of the velvet off, those tags are sticky try putting the tag through the hock, i know this isnt the "traditional" way for most of us, but on a velvet animal, give it a try. tommy

i have never met clay, or had any dealings w/ him, but as a taxidermist these kinds of situations are tuff, As well, or as hard as you try to please every customer that comes through your door, you never will. A mount may of been mounted great, but if something isn't just as a customer "remembers" it, or something in there ( the customers) eye just does'nt look quite right there isnt much you can do. That will happen from time to time, So now you have a tuff situation, on clay's side, he spent all that time and effort ( and money) trying to make it look perfect, you pick it up and don't say anything ( although you dont think it looks just quite right) and then after all this time it gets brought to clays attention.... thats a long time to of had a mount and of not said anything. BUt there times that a mount wont look right to you, i did an antelope for a guy and about 6 months latter he brought it back and said the angle of these horns dont look right to me.... according to the picture i have.... well anyone knows that your camera angle can do way funny things to antlers and horns..... and everyone knows that quite a few measurements are taken off of the head before it was skinned so that antler/horn positioning can get as close to the original as posible, so i pulled out my old notes and showed him my measurements and we measured the mount together, every measurement was less then an 1/8 off origanl measurement. , and most under a 1/6 difference..... he said well it just doenst look right to me, and i said ok what would make ya happy, and he said they should tilt forward just a little more, so i rehydrated, took out the stiches and tilted the horns a 1/2" forward, and he was happy as a lark.... Point is, not everyone will be happy all the time, even though it may of been correct in the first place..... 1- 4 years is a long time to bring it to his attention..... 2- CLay, Way to try and make ammends and step up, even though i dont feel you needed too ( althought i probably would of done the same thing) 3- Mark, very nice "voiding" the check, i hope the more you look at the mount the better you will like it, and come to apreciate the work clay put into it. 4- kudos to you both for being professional. good luck tommy

when my grandpa was alive we grew acres and acres of cantelope, and watermellon, and the jackrabbits would play heck with them, we used to stock pile them things, one time me and my brother had a pile of 50-60 of them things at one end of the field, we had antelope come through as well, but we were far from deer, so never them, but they can sure play heck on a place... matt i thought you were just "hand feeding" them for your muzzy hunt, given them extra protien for antler growth tommy

i asked around to the few guys i know that do this and most of them i talked to do a flat $500.00 a day deal, if they get there in the morning and can get back out in the one day, its $500.00 if its late afternoon and they dont get it all done and have to go back the next morning then it $1000.00, i thought that was a little much, so i gind of varied it a little depending on how far i had to go, so price depends on of coure how far you are from my house , how long it takes me to drive there, and how far a ride it is back in, and how long it takes us to get back out. ect..... Unit 1, could take me from an hour, to the north east corner, vernon area, to 4 hours at the southern most part..... BUt a ball park would be say a one dayer, you call me in the morning, i drive up, ride in, we load up and ride out and i'n back home before dark. $400.00 if its latter in the day and we just get there at dark, and only get part out and have to go back in the morning i'de say $650.00.... for the 2 days.... if your real close and i'n only gone 4-5 hours from home, then i'de adjust accordingly, $300.00 or something..... i'de work it out with ya and we could weal and deal a little, i'm not set in stone.... BUt if its on a friday i will probably have to take a day off of work, and so i'de have to make up lost wages, if we had it all planned before hand, or if it was last minute, all of this would come into play..... ect.... if its saturday, then a little different story..... and If the timing was right i'de also bring my dad, 4 horses are a little hard to handle by myself.... so it would all depend on all of the above, but i'de do my best to make right by ya, and save you one heck of a lot of work. Them suckers are big! and they are a pain..... even with horses they are a pain ..... but if timeing was right me and dad would do ya a heck of a good job getting your elk out for ya/ thanks tommy

anyone need there elk (or other big game) hauled out w/ horses? sent me an e-mail and we can get it all set up. more looking at units 1, 27, 3's, 4's, as these are closer to Taylor, but will consider any other units. This service lets you hunt farther from the road, without worring about how your going to get it out once its down. As we all know that is a big chore. Having said that i do have to be able to get my horses to your elk/big game, there ARE places a person on foot can go, that a horse can not. good luck tommy

Bill, that too much thought was ment towards myself, with all of the discription i was giving, on 1 mount vs several ect... that others might think i was putting to much thought into it. NOT that you were, i think its great that you are getting ideas, and thinking about it before doing it, i get so many that come in that dont have a clue as to what they want. WOW, what a nice buck, mounting him as you last saw him is also a request that i get often........ and yes a background/wall color can also bring out the antlers better. On that buck there though i'de have a hard time not turning him to the right with that left side towards the room.... Either way very nice buck! good luck making a decision, that buck will look great no matter which way hes turned tommy