Heat

Very cool. Met Mr. Patterson and his son at the clinic. Nice guys for sure. We hunted the same unit. I wish I would have captured my hunt on video like that. Great work guys!

Congratulations on drawing a coveted desert bighorn sheep tag. Get ready for a once in a lifetime experience (for most of us at least). The hardest part of your sheep hunt is over. Let the fun begin! Good luck and most of all have a good time! If you have any questions by all means fire away!

Not so fast there Lance! Yuma voted overwhelmingly for Ruth McClung! We just don't have enough votes to make much of a difference. Pima County is mostly responsible for his re-election. I too despise that man!

I might need to use a taxidermist this fall I want to start doing my research now. Can anybody recommend any top quality taxidermists that work in AZ or nearby? The lion thread has me scared to death about using someone I know little about. I have my eyes on one, but I would like a lot more opinions. If you don't want to post it here, a PM would be great. Thanks, Nick

Awesome video Jake! Glad you got Jim's hunt captured. Good folks all around right there!

Hi Everyone, As many of you know, I was one of the luckiest hunters in Arizona this year. Not only did I get to participate in a great turkey hunt this year, I was drawn for pronghorn and desert bighorn sheep. I fulfilled my lifetime bag limit on desert bighorn sheep in Arizona on Wednesday December 1st, 2010. I shot my ram at 9:30 in the morning on the first day of the season. I could not be more proud of the rare accomplishment. One of the best parts of my hunt was that I was able to share the experience with many of my closest friends around. Most of them got to see me harvest the ram. I made a 500 yard stalk and a 94 yard shot with my .270. He was hit good on the first one, but I put a finishing shot into the ram to keep him from tumbling down the mountain any more. I really want to thank everyone who contributed to this success. This truly was a team effort, not only from the guys there at the mountain, but the ones on other hunts and other places far away who helped me throughout this process. I could not have accomplished this without all the encouragement and information that was shared with me all fall. Thank you all so much. My ram was aged by the Game and Fish Department as 9 years old. His horns scored 158" gross and 157 4/8" net. For a DIY ram I don't think anyone could complain. I am super proud of him and he is by far my greatest wildlife trophy. Nick

That is fantastic! Congratulations! Nick

I've been on quite a few boats out of SD. My favorite by far is the Success. It is a really nice, smaller, FAST boat. It is for 12 anglers and fishes much more like a 6 pack boat with a few more guys aboard. The rails are low, the crew is tops, and did I mention the boat was fast! I've also been on a couple of great trips on the El Capitan. There are lots of other good boats in the fleet, but these boats stood out to me when you take the whole experience into account. I'm not sure how much they fish in the spring on the Success, but the Point Loma is also a good boat if you just want a 3/4 day trip that should be running during your timeframe. Nick

I really like my Kifaru Express (military version of the Spike Camp) pack with the cargo chair. It will easily carry everything I need for the day plus some and carry a first load of meat (elk quarter, half deer, or whole javi) back to camp. I loaded up a whole gutted pronghorn on the cargo chair and walked it to where I could get the truck. The pack was fine but my skinny legs weren't so strong. My pack will probably outlive me. Some models to consider are the Spike Camp (day pack with some extra), Late Season (a bit bigger), Siwash (bigger still 1-3 days overnight), and Longhunter (more for backpack style hunts). They also have a new ultralight line and beefier military line. Also look at Mystery Ranch's stuff, especially the Crew Cab. Both of these companies build their packs right here in the good ol USA! The picture attached is me packing my buddies sheep head out in the cargo chair of my Kifaru. Nick

If you want to hunt bears on WMA res, try to hook up with Marty Gatewood. He's a native guide and really knows his bears. Nick

Hi Steve, I remember chatting with you at the clinic and sharing our excitement of the hunt. You are absolutely right that the number doesn't really mean a whole lot. You killed a great mature ram on your own terms with only the help from your friends. That is an excellent outcome. I am happy for you man. Hope to be able to share stories and pics at the banquet this fall. Hope to see you there. Again, congratulations on a great Arizona Desert Bighorn. Nick

Well, Had a hot streak going of filling 4 tags out of 4 during 2010. I was hoping to have that continue this past few days on my just about annual archery javelina hunt. I guess the hot streak has ended, and the drought on the javis continues. Javelina are my nemesis when it comes to game animals. Don't get me wrong, I've had my fair share of encounters and have had a few shots, but I have not harvested one. I hit one once and didn't recover it. I've had a tough time finding them most of the time. This year I decided to get a tag for the west side of the state since I live in Yuma, and wasn't sure how much vacation time I would have after my sheep hunt. Normally I would hunt in 33/37B. This year we decided to try 16A. After a few phone calls and lots of scouting on the web with maps and anything else I could find about the Hualapai's, we went there. Got there opening day and went looking for a place to set up camp. Just as we were leaving town, we saw a herd of pigs right off the side of the road about 100 yards away not more than a mile down the road outside of town. My bow was all packed away and it took me a while to get it unpacked, but my buddy was more or less ready and jumped out and went after the pigs. I saw one going up a small hill that was surrounded mostly by flat ground. I eventually caught up to my buddy and we were right near the pigs, close enough to hear them sniffing the air, but the cover was too dense to see them. I figured I was close but couldn't tell where they were. Next I hear my buddy shoot and then nothing. I decided to work down the little ridge I was on to see if anything was coming my way after the shot and noticed javi legs under a tree about 15 yards away, but way too thick for a shot. Waiting for the pig to make his next move, I think he winded me and got the heck out of there. I consider us pretty lucky for even having that chance. That was the last of the javelina we saw in 3 days of hunting. We glassed like crazy and covered lots of country but couldn't get back on those or any other javelina. The last day I finally found an area with obvious new and old sign of them, but by then it was pretty much over and time to pack it up and head on home. I still have a few more days over the weekends to try it, but won't have time to make it back to the Hualapais. I might try some of the river bottom near me, where I found some (heard them within 100 yards but couldn't see them) a couple of days before Christmas. I figure with a little luck, I might catch them coming back from or in the fields before they make it to the salt cedar infested river bottom so thick you can't even walk through nevermind get a shot with a bow. Recovering one in there might be a challenge as well. If anyone has any hot tips on the hunt that includes most of the west side of the state, I'm all ears! Nick

Really nice buck! Way to go! Nick

Nice one!

Way to stick with it and get your pig. Talk about a dedicated javelina hunter. I could learn a lesson or two from you I'm sure! Congratulations! Nick

Actually he shot too high and missed. I guess I left that part out. I have tried the predator call but may need to try it again. Thanks for the advice. I'll let you know how it goes. Nick

Very Cool! Good luck on the pigs! Nick

Go west! Colorado River has a bunch of refuges with a bunch of ducks...Havasu, Topock, Cibola, Imperial. There's also lots of water that's not on Refuge land. Nick

I have the Slik 340EZ. It will fit all of your needs except the one about standing to glass. I use the stock head for it, but you could put the RC2 head on it if you want to upgrade. I went with the 340 over the 330 EZ because it packs down smaller than the 330. I also use 15x56 Vortex Kaibab's and the Vortex tripod adapter. Very solid and affordable system. Nick

A pair of 8's on the neck and 15's in the pack for the tripod is a great combo. I also have a set of 10's which I use when I only want to take 1 pair. Works fine on the tripod and handholding. I think 10x is a lot easier to handhold than 12's and they probably won't weigh as much if you get a 42mm lens instead of 50's. My all around go to binos are my 10x50's but if I feel the need to cover it all I use my 7's on the neck and 15's for the tripod. Nick

"dont they now have otc tags available for archery in the m - units !? " Sure do!

Now that's a dandy right there! Nick

Love that mass and symmetry! Congratulations on a great buck! Nick

WOW! Great deer guys! That's some good memories right there!!

Way to go Matthew! Dude you are one deer killing machine! Congratulations on a great buck! Nick