Viper

I had a '73 back about 1980. Wish I had the money to fix it up and keep it running back then. I sold it, not knowing what they would be worth. I still miss it...would love to have another. Heck of a 4-wheeler.

Brian, lets go to Outdoorsmans!......bring lots of $$

Very nice! Great mass! Nice chocolate color. Congrats!

WOW!! Every hunter's dream!

Very nice! What an accomplishment!

Priceless!! Time well spent with your son.

It looks part moose, caribou and coues

It DID turn out nice! Did you do anything after the boiling....bleach....clear coat? Great buck btw!

Some cases are made slightly larger than the rest. I know two people who have their Swaro 15's in this case. You have to try the fit....it'll be tight.

<p>I will take the Horn Hunter bino case if it will fit the 15's. PM sent.</p>

WOW! Great buck! Very cool!

Great idea! Fleece material would be my preference.

I have had better luck with Midland FRS than with Moto. The call vibrate feature is invaluable and the annoying beaps/whistles can be easily turned off. They are limited in the pines/canyons just like all others.

The "coues deer hands free" is the one I have. Haven't had the opportunity to test it yet....this January.

I really like my Badlands Bino case. It works great to seal out dust, brush and rain. It is a bit bulky on the chest, but does not interfere with the bow string or pack straps. My Leica 12x50's fit easily, and I know other folks have been able to squeeze in the 15's. I had a range snap on it for a while, but found another item that works better for this setup. The only downside, it is difficult to do one hand operation (open case, pull out binos) when stalking in close and needing a quick look through the binos. They have a tether system so you can leave your binos hang outside the case, but that is twice the bulk...I don't like it. Chasin' A Dream in Payson had these for $70 a while back...not sure if they still have them. Otherwise, the inflated price is outrageous. The S4 Lock Down system looks like it addresses this issue well, but less protection. I haven't tried the other products.

For archery hunts in the brush/catclaw when I need quiet pants, I have worn my Russel APXG2 single layer pants (don't remember the model name). They do very well at resisting snags on catclaw....you will get poked now and then though. A lot cheaper than Sitka and good quality. I have comparable Core 4 Element pants too, but haven't put them to the catclaw test yet. They seem a bit lighter weight than the Russel. You can find good prices on C4E gear on camofire. I also like the regular weight cotton pants with zip-off legs for warmer hunts. I just unzip half way to vent my legs while glassing or when it isn't too brushy. I have only found these at Bass Pro (Red Head brand). If quiet isn't a concern, like for rifle hunting, I wear the Carhartt double front dungarees in green or tan. Very thick and tough material against catclaw and rocks. They are roomy with deep pockets. As for shirts/jackets, I like the Kings Desert Shadow long sleeve shirts. If needed, I wear C4E merino wool base layer under the Kings shirt. The Russel L2 or L3 jackets hold up well in catclaw for an outer layer. The patterns I have on the above mentioned items are Mossy Oak Treestand and Mountain Mimicry. Both do well for all AZ areas. My old cotton camo is Predator and Max1. The key to a good pattern is a loose pattern that doesn't "blob out" at distance, and good contrast between the color shades.

Very nice buck....congrats! Good story! The .270 does it again I love it when the whole family is involved in the hunt. You have a great hunting partner for life.

I was just there with an archery bull tag. We hunted all the foothills of the Mazatzals, from Deer Creek to Mineral Spring. Glassed many hours each day. Before the rain, I saw maybe 6 small bulls...maybe a dozen cows. Sitting water was the key...before the rain. Second morning I found a spring, which already had a tree stand on it. It was late morning and no one around, so I sat in it. At 11:00 am 9 elk came in to the spring...one was a raghorn. Most of the cows filtered down the drainage, leaving the raghorn and one cow at the spring. I started to draw on the broadside bull, but the cow was looking right at me. I waited for her to turn her attention away, but the bull turned straight away and walked down the drainage...dang. This was my only opportunity the rest of the hunt. The next day I found out the local rancher and brother-in-law "guide" had treestands and blinds at all the good water, and they had 4 tags. I avoided the competition and hunted elswhere. This was a really tough hunt and should be considered a limited opportunity hunt. Last year there were a lot of elk/bulls in there. This year the numbers were way down in comparison. After the rain I saw only cows...10 total, no bulls. Not sure I'll put in for that hunt again. The alternative is wait 10 years for a Sept tag. Good luck rifle hunters.

Leaving Thursday for 22-S. meeting in Payson is a good idea, maybe later into the hunt. I'll check the site for info.

I heard they have been mating with skunks Yikes! That'll make a very unique mount. We have been seeing a muley doe with those kind of markings.

Very, very good buck! Your first big game animal.....you will have to pass on a lot of good bucks to top that one. I know what you mean...it is surreal to take a good buck. Feels more like a gift. That will be a great mount......you are having it mounted, right? ...I see you brew beer. Need a huntin' partner?

What is the axle weight rating?...typically around 3500 lbs. Where are you located?

YUP

PM sent

Two years ago, I was blessed with my first 113" buck (SCI). Last year, we could not hunt our usual area due to fire closure. Hunter pressure was very high and I did not tag a buck. This year we were back in our favorite area, where I took the big buck 2 years prior. Opening morning my buddy Paul and I climbed the steep, high ridge to still-hunt along the top. Bill and his son-n-law Brian stayed low to glass the sunny, east slope. That morning we bumped/spotted a few bucks and does, but no shots fired. We stirred things up quite a bit, so we decided to let it rest the 2nd day (Saturday). Sunday morning we tried our opening day strategy again. Paul and I climbed to the top of the ridge, while Bill and Brian stayed low. Paul and I slowly hunted along the ridge top, glassing down both sides. We got a ways down the ridge when Paul said it was time for his "mornin' constitutional". I said "go ahead, I'll walk over here and check out my "sniper spot". This is the same cliff I shot my big buck from 2 years ago. I quietly walked down to the cliff edge, rested my binos on my shooting sticks and started scanning down the finger ridges below. Within a minute a nice bedded buck filled the view. "Holy sh!!...big buck"! Great mass! wide! and looong eye guards! I looked up the hill toward Paul...still taking care of business. I couldn't wait and risk losing this great buck. I pulled my .270 from the pack scabbard, removed the scope coat, snapped on my new Stoney Point flexible bipod and set up prone on the rock cliff edge. I ranged him at 230 yards (angle compensated). I got the buck in the scope at 14x....solid rest. I thought about taking the shot, but thought it best to have Paul spotting for me. I look up at Paul....he is done with the business. He realizes I am on a buck. I put my ssshhh finger to my lips and motioned for him to sneak down the hill behind me. This gave me time to get over the buck fever and settle my nerves. I described where the buck was and Paul got him in his glasses. "Keep an eye on him...I'm gonna shoot". The buck was laying, quartering to me. I had to wait for him to move his head uphill a bit so I would not hit him in the face. When he did, I squeezed off the shot...BOOM! With the recoil, I lost him in the scope. Paul says "he's up, rack another round"...."he's down, get on him". When I got back on him, he was laying in his bed, belly up. One front leg was still moving. "I'm staying on him for a few minutes....stay on him". Soon we determined "he's done". We high-fived and giggled like cheerleaders. I couldn't believe it. I shot from 40 feet away from where I shot 2 years ago. Two nice bucks from the same spot. Now we had to figure out how to get to him, and how to get him out. Paul stayed up top to guide me in to the buck, while I worked my way down below the cliffs and down the steep ridge. It took a while, but finally found him. Then I attempted to guide Paul down an “easier” way. That didn’t work out so well. With some rock sliding and bushwhacking he made it down OK. We admired the buck, took pictures, a few more high-fives, then got to work. Before long, Bill and Brian showed up at the top of the ridge with two more pack frames. I didn’t expect them to come down to help, but they did. I caped the buck, quartered him up and we loaded the three pack frames. We picked our way, slow and easy, up the ridge and through a slot in the cliffs to the top. It was a tough haul, but well worth it. I thanked God for a great buck and nobody got hurt. Also, I thank my great, long time friends for their help. He taped out at 110 6/8 "camp score". The shot from the cliff. 230 yards Deer is tiny white spot, belly up Big buck down This is about where he was laying Paul is happy to be a part of it...thanks buddy Another view Shot was from up there The pack out back up the ridge Cape, antlers and meat....doesn't get much better Fall colors ....and beautiful sunsets