bigbuckfever

Outstanding!!

I wish I knew how important good "in the field" pics were when I shot this one. My first buck in 1985.

Cool, I've always wondered what those fruits would taste like.

Wt numbers in 23 are down for sure. Even seeing less mulies in areas where they used to be fairly abundant. Drought, sxs's crawling everywhere most trucks didn't used to go, and Anasazi kids crawling thru some of the most remote areas I've hunted have affected their numbers and, in some cases, pushed deer deeper. Just have to adapt and deal with it. The new quota system has put more of an urgency to get out opening weekend. I knew it was going to be a very wet trip, but rather than wait till later, I still spent 4 days getting soaked (and not seeing many deer) because I knew I might not get to go later. I still had a blast and got out of the Valley, priceless!

What's the best scent free mosquito repellent you guys have found?

More than likely has old oil-based paint chipping off. Proceed with caution.

Overheard just before he poured the water,,,"here, hold my beer". Not the sharpest tool in the shed.

Schilling used to make a coating (I believe it was for chicken, but I used it on game and it was awesome). I would sop the extra in the pan with a piece or two of bread and that was like dessert. Wish they would make it again, but I haven't been able to find it for years now. I'll have to try the Brazilian one when I get my elk in November.

Thanks for sharing the vid and congrats on a great bull!

To me, half of the fun was learning how to load it, how far or close I needed to be, working up a good load with the right powder and sabots, having my possibles bag, seeing the flash, smelling the powder. Good memories. I might have to take it out in the next couple of weeks just to shoot it and play in the mountains.

My brother and I had put in for muzzy antelope for about 6 years and I had never shot or owned a smoke pole. I always figured I would buy one and it would be fun to learn about it. I won a scoped muzzy at the elk banquet in 2005 or so and told my brother that night that I bet we get drawn now, and we did. I was also able to pick up an any elk tag and hunt elk while I was hunting antelope. G&F wanted the elk out of 2-b, and I was fortunate enough to tag one of each. 😍

I got a call from the wife this morning telling me that the dog found the grandkids "snack bag" on the living room floor that had raisins and other treats and he had devoured them. After a call to the vet, I had to leave my customers house mid paint job and get him into the emergency vet to induce vomiting. Fortunately, they got at least 13 raisins out and he seems to be ok now. Could have been fatal. Some dogs are more vulnerable to bad effects than others but there is no way to tell. Raisins can damage the dogs' kidneys and cause death. I had not known this before, and I'm a pretty old dog myself. Hope this can prevent someone else's dog from a bad situation (and a $570 vet bill)

Charcoal was part of the treatment.

My heart goes out to ya. Wishing you the best. What ^^^ said.

Archery Headquarters is an option with up to 30 yds.

My two brothers took me hunting for deer the first time about 1983 when I was in my 20's. I never got to shoot at anything until 1985. I was a total rookie and wasn't even sure I would be able to tell a mulie from a Coues. That year my brother Mike and I were down to our last day in December and were both looking forward to getting to town and having a nice breakfast that we didn't have to clean the dishes from. We decided we would give it one more shot and go check out a ridge line we knew we could glass from. There was some patchy snow, and it was pretty cold that morning. When we got out of the truck we split up and I ever so slowly crept my way along the top. I remember thinking how I wanted to walk as slow and quiet as possible so IF there was anything below me, he wasn't going to hear me before I saw him. I worked my way around a big round juniper and when I finally had a good view of the canyon below me, I looked over and instantly saw a big antlered deer staring at me. He was about 75 yards away, standing broadside and he was sky lined on a small rocky outcropping. My heart started pounding like crazy and I was in shock that he was actually there. Buck fever hit me like a ton of bricks, and I started power shaking. I raised my rifle up and when I tried to line him up, I breathed on my scope and completely fogged it up. It was so cold it stayed fogged for what seemed like an eternity. I had a wool over shirt on and it just smeared the moisture around. I had to painfully wait for it to clear on its own before I could see through it. All the while I was convinced he was going to bolt and leave me there to cry. I was shaking so bad, I knew I wouldn't be able to hit him unless I got down on a knee, so I did. I was sure he was going to bolt at any second, but he just stood there watching me flounder about. (I remember thinking later on that he probably has never seen a human before as this was a very remote spot back in 1985 before all the quads and sxs's came about) I was finally able to get a shot off and missed him completely, but he just stood there. I jacked another round in and this time I connected. Well, I just barely got him. I hit him in the leg, but he let me get another shot off and I hit him again. This time he turned and started half running/stumbling off (in the direction of the truck and my brother) I followed and was able to find him with my brothers help. One last shot finished him off. My brother kept telling me he was sure he would make the book, but I was used to seeing pics of big mulies and thought he was just stroking me to make me feel good. I wasn't used to seeing Coues deer, but I had seen plenty pics of big mulies, so I had no idea what I had just tagged. I was just lucky it was a Coues and not a mulie. It wasn't until my other brother got his hands on it and I could tell he was in shock, telling me I should just quit hunting right now because I'll never see another buck this nice ever again. He ended up grossing 126 and was the second biggest Coues typical taken that year. I have since come to realize what an awesome buck he is, and I still look at him every day and feel grateful. My next two bucks were spikes and I was grateful for those too.

Nice touch with the antler pic. GLWS.

My brother and I got tags no. 149 and 150. 4th choice. We have a week to chase WT's down south (we get to hunt from the property he bought to hopefully hunt from) and then head up to 23 to spend 2 weeks going after bulls with a bow.

Anything over 100 is pretty respectable, but it's all subjective. If it gets your heart pumping, shoot! Best of luck.

Awesome for you, hope you find what you're looking for. We'll be looking forward to the story.

The same morons that can't tell you what a Women is, now are gonna tell us what an Assault Weapon is. GTFO

Dang man! Keep at it, we're pulling for ya.

What the heck country is she living in. What a tool.

Now that the Antlers is back open in Young, the wife and I are going to take a road trip Saturday. We are going to head up thru Payson and drop down the Young Rd from the 260 and stop at the Antlers for a burger (all this talk of burgers has got me craving a good one). We'll take the Globe route home to complete the trip. I love that drive. Now we just have to decide which kid to sell so we can afford the gas. Thanks Brandon

Wow!! Great write up and awesome footage. Congrats on a great year and thanks for sharing.