huntingfool

I'd rather have more shotgun shells.

Hahaha yeah. Brought my lab in case she wanted to follow some scent. Some help she was, she didn't even smell it until well into picture taking. Every time she caught a whiff she freaked!

Yeah man, I just was not expecting a lion and when I have my kids I try to make sure they see it before I shoot it to keep them interested. When it cleared the tree was my first good look at it and I noticed it was big but it was directly facing me so I just verified cat and then lined him up. Although I clearly saw a tail when I glimpsed it thru the trees, it didn't register until he flipped. I generally carry 9 shells to a stand, 5 on the side saddle and 4 in the tube. I keep the tube empty at home so I keep those 4 extra on my dresser. I went out with a guy two days ago and gave him some shells, and when I grabbed the shells off my dresser it added up to 5. Never emptied my scattergun on a predator stand before but I'll make sure I've got 9 shells going forward!

Nice cat!

Thanks guys

How long does fur typically stay prime, namely for cats and fox in Northern AZ? I found another cat last night and was unable to kill it but it is excellent cat country. That's the third cat I've seen this year, was considering trying to concentrate on areas I have seen cats or expect cats for the rest of the year. I know I can shoot them thru March but I remember thinking the fur starts to shed before that. I hate to shoot them when they aren't prime. Not because I have any love of cats but it seems a shame to waste the fur. Coyotes die regardless of fur condition. Also, when do they start to get good in the fall? Mid-November? Thanks fellers.

Thanks. Looks like trapping season runs Nov 1- Feb 28... that coincide pretty well with prime fur? A buddy shot a fox last year on October 5th and it wasn't there yet, still pretty thin. Up in the high country.

This morning my daughter and I were up early before school. I had the day off so I asked her if she wanted to have some daddy-daughter time this afternoon and do some calling. She agreed so I picked her up from Kindergarten and we headed out. I had snacks and all the gear ready. Last month I brought my girls out calling for the first time and we got a fox Story here: Fox Hunt I had a spot picked out I wanted to try. We got settled on our chairs and I wrapped her up in the camo blanket I got her for her birthday for this purpose. Called for just over 20 minutes and was just about to pack it up when I saw something coming. It was heading for cover behind the call and it was fairly thick so instead of really identifying what it was I signaled to my daughter where to look and then got ready. I saw the animal (I was at first thinking fox) thru some thick stuff and then disappeared behind a big pine tree. When it didn't pop right out from the other side I realized that it may very well be a cat. The longer it didn't pop out the more I expected a cat face to appear. Sure enough after at least a minute is slowly walked out and stopped and my suspicion was confirmed. I slowly raised up the shotgun and flattened it, 15-20 yards max. We were both very excited, bobcats are always a very welcome surprise! Our chair and blanket setup: Underneath attire: She's not a bad little photographer either: My youngest was excited too:

I'm just getting the pelt tanned and skull whitened. It would have made a good mount, I'm not big on taxidermy but my wife said she likes bobcat mounts so I guess the next one may get mounted. I'd already open skinned it when she told me.

Right on! I used to call in lots of deer down south, probably more deer than coyotes. Usually does though, only one buck. Anyway good job!

Yeah Lance she told me walking back to the truck that she wanted to shoot one. I got her a 22 this summer and she only shot it once, was not super interested in it so I didn't push it. I told her if she practiced this spring and summer I'd let her shoot fox next year and she was down. I'll see if I can get her shooting a lot more this year.

Just got back from a great hunt. My good friend Mike and I met family and friends down in southern AZ for a deer hunt. This was Mike's first coues deer hunt and only his second deer hunt so getting him on a deer was my main goal. Day 1: Got up early to drive down to the hunt area, we started hunting ~11am. Glassed some does on this hill: Naps are an important part of hunting: Day 2: My buddy Clark met us for day 2, we did a lot of glassing and a lot of hiking in steep country. We saw ~23 deer if I recall on day 2, at least 3 were bucks but we were unable to get any shots. This was the day Joelblitz tagged out on a fantastic buck though, Story Here. Day 3: Day 3 we teamed up with Casey (firstcoueswas80) and his friend Jim. After glassing an area in the morning and seeing 6 bucks, we decided to pull a sneak on two small bucks bedded in a draw full of thick mesquite trees. We snuck over there and the deer were hidden but we figured out where they were bedded and waited for one to stand up at 250 yards. After ~45 minutes the spike stood up and Mike lined up for a shot. First shot missed but he connected on the second. After it was said and done, Mike completed his first successful spot and stalk, and landed his first coues buck: Day 4: We were glassing early day 4 when Casey spotted a mountain lion. He got set up and took a shot but it was a long poke and that kitty lived to kill another deer. More on that in Casey's write-up likely. Spent the rest of the day in some different country but did not see any bucks this day. Day 5: Day 5 was a long, steep hike into a great area. However, we could only find does and a couple small bucks (fork horns). It was getting down to crunch time for me so I wanted to go shoot one of the forks (the easier one to get to) but was pretty easily talked out of it. Would have been a heck of a hike back to the truck for just a fork horn. No more opportunities on Day 5. Day 6: This was my last day to hunt. Morning found us glassing a good spot but it was full of does. We moved down the road and after about 20 minutes there the hillside came alive with deer. I don't know if they were anticipating the rain that was to come or what but at about 1130 we started seeing deer up and eating literally all over the place. Sure enough after another half hour Casey found a buck. I was ready to shoot anything so a small 3 point looked great to me. Mike and I pulled a sneak and when I cleared the mesquite tree I wanted to get to the buck was a 400 yards. I dialed up the yardage, got set up prone on my bipod and waited for the buck to clear a tree. He cleared and I busted him. Was holding out for bigger the first 4 days but I am more than happy to have gotten this buck. It's good to have meat in the freezer: The new Eberlestock J34 getting a break-in workout: This is where we spotted him, he was way up the hill in the shade, kinda centered in the picture: Anyway we made it happen, thanks a bunch to Casey and Jim for all your help. We can't thank you enough, this was a good hunt with good company. Glad you guys got some good bucks and am looking forward to your writeup!

I hope for the same thing Jim, it was great meeting you as well.

Awesome buck, congrats.

Good deal!

Bout time you posted man! Congrats on the nice bucks, it was good to see you again bud. Thanks again to you and Jim for helping us get deer, very much appreciated. Good hunt this year huh??

Congrats again on a great buck Joel!

Nice buck Stomp!!

My best was last year. 101 3/8" gross, something like 92" net. Shot with a rifle, ~30 yards, lucked onto him big time and didn't know what I had until I walked up to him. Can't wait to try again this year!

My wife was drawn for antlerless elk this year, no elk tag for me. This hunt was in an area I've never hunted but it's easy to draw and a good friend of mine was confident we could find some elk for our wives so we thought we'd give it a try. First morning had a couple bulls bugling. We were still-hunting towards the bugling when a shot rang out and the bugles started moving away. We changed direction and as luck would have it the elk looped around and crossed a canyon ahead of us. We hustled to try and cut them off and get a shot as two herds were crossing the canyon but could only close to 330 yards. My wife is pretty solid at 200 yards but haven't practiced further than that so they were out of range. We spent the rest of the day hiking uphill into the high country, hit 9500 feet and elk sign was everywhere but it's so thick and steep the only way to hunt them I think is to sit a trail. I'm not sure either of us have the patience for that so we made our way back down. Was a very long day but learned some stuff and saw some great country: Nap time: Day 2 we were up early and hiking in the dark to a small spot of high ground with feeding area all around. We had been there about 15 minutes when my wife spotted some elk. She was pretty excited but it looked like 2 bulls, moving left to right along the ridge. After awhile we could see a cow and 2 calves but they didn't offer a shot and disappeared below the ridge line. We waited as we could still see a spike bull and sure enough another cow and calf and another spike popped up. My wife was situated with her rifle and there was a small log laying in front of her for a perfect rest and the cow finally offered a shot at 150 yards. The shot rang out and the cow just stood there. The other elk milled around and by the time my wife had another round racked the cow was walking. I could tell she was hit hard, her hind legs did not want to move with her front half. She had the look of a dead elk walking but she came to a stop and her head was back up looking around. Her calf stood right in front of her blocking a shot. They stood there for about 30 seconds when she finally tipped over. Waited to see if another cow would offer up a shot for our friend but no dice. So we made our way over and took some pics before the work started. The cow must have been quartering towards, entrance was perfect about an inch behind the shoulder, got both lungs and made a mess of the liver. Just clipped the stomach but not near as bad as it looked. She fell about a mile from the truck, took 2 trips with 2 packs. First load was the heaviest: I tell you what, there is nothing in the world like watching an elk tip over. I love it. All the preparation, logistics, load development, the numerous trips to the range making sure the rifle is sound and that she could shoot consistently, waiting for months to get out and go, going over shot placement, all the miles hiked... so many hours of thought and energy put into reaching an objective and it's all validated when you see that elk fall down. I can't get enough of it. I couldn't be happier about wife wife shooting this elk, last year she got a deer but it was a buck we saw 5 minutes into the hunt from the road. This was the real deal, she had to put her time in and put her miles in. It's soooooo much more satisfying to do it right. Rifle: Nosler TGR 300WSM 180gr Nosler Accubond 66.6gr AA 3100 I bought the rifle earlier in the year and she drew first blood with it. She nuts up to that 300 better than a lot of dudes, she can be a rough customer One more of the elk killer:

Grilled up a tenderloin over oak coals for dinner. I love elk.

Awesome. That makes me happy

Yeah Casey, I am happy with the rifle. Hope to bust a coues buck with it later this year. When you want your elk cape?

Nothing fresh, only poop I saw was very old. A lot of aspens were scraped though, I assume these are bear scrapes?

Heck of a bull Hector!