Pine Donkey

Wat to go Parker. This is my favorite post so far this year! Congratulations!

Spot and stalk goat...that's incredible! Congratulations.

You will have a blast!

What a stud! That is a buck of a lifetime. Congratulations.

Lots of bulls rubbed clean in 1.

They had it in the freezer pretty early this morning. It is at the taxidermist now.

It was spot and stalk. He glassed some bears in the morning, and watched as the headed for the high country. He hiked in and waited for this one to feed back down in the afternoon. It came down one ridge over from where he was, but he kept taking and anle and closing the distance until he ended up 30 yards away.

First off it is a mindset; it's not what we do, it is who we are. My wife and I have lived this lifestyle our entire adult life. We have chosen to live in rural Arizona due to this lifestyle. We are both in education so we don't have a lot of extra money, but we live within our means. Our family has built a pretty good collection of quality gear, but it has taken many years to get it all. The collection has been built through decades of Christmas, birthday, Father's Day, Mother's Day and anniversary gifts. I can scout briefly before and after work most days, and my hunting hotspots are not too far away. When I want to shoot my bow, I walk into the back yard, when I want to shoot a gun, I only have to drive a mile or so. Most of our vacations are spent hunting and camping. On the flip side, when we need to get groceries, wal-mart, hardware, movie theater or the doctor, it is a 50 mile round trip. If we want the "city" experience, it is a 150 mile round trip. These are the choices we have made. Sometimes, I think about the higher pay available if we move to a big city, but I know it would be a very uncomfortable situation for us. We visit family in the Phoenix area, and within a day our two I begin to get a claustrophobic feeling. At their house I hear traffic, at mine I hear coyotes. Their sky is filled with city lights, ours is filled with stars. As I stated before, this is not what we do, it is who we are.

Looks like a good start, congratulations!

My beard is becoming great winter/snow camo!

Great buck! Now you need to find a taxidermist...know any?

Great buck, and done before it even got hot!

I have used the broadside decoy several times. I don't like the weight or the time it takes to set up so I modified it. I sewed a piece of para cord as a strap across the top and I leave the legs at home. When I do a set up, I just hang the decoy on a tree from the para cord. It will move with the slightest breeze, which seems to help. When I set up to call, I leave the caller about 50 yards behind me, then I set the decoy between the elk and caller, while I set up about 20 yards off to the side. It has worked very well in the past. For quick access to the decoy, I keep it in a cheap draw string "shoe" bag which is strapped to the outside of my pack.

Camera...so you can post pictures for all of us to enjoy!

Great idea. You could have them both mounted life size, fighting...you could even use a piece of guardrail as habitat!

Unit 1 has bugling from smaller bulls. The big boys are quiet, but modt are rubbed clean.

That's a dream situation!

I think you up lost the picture! Lol

Yesterday at work I met a guy who has a unit 9 archery tag. We spent some time swapping stories and sharing pictures. He told me that this past weekend he and his son were scouting in unit 9 when they ran into a couple guys with a truck full of tree stands. They began talking to these guys and found out they were working for USO outfitters. They were "claiming" all the water holes by putting tree stands on them. The guys also said that there were a few areas with good bulls working between several tanks, so in these areas they would put a stand on one of the tanks then dump 5 gallons of used motor oil into the other tanks. I am not sure how true all of this is, but it sure turns my stomach.

As I said in my original post, I am not sure how true any of this is. Each year it seems the stories get more sensational. I have never hunted unit 9, but it seems that 9 and 10 produce some of the worst stories every year. I will stay on the other side of the state, try to hunt respectfully and hope others do the same.

I hunt boarder units year around. I would not say I am scared to hunt them, but you have to be cautious and aware. There are some really scary people out there, but you don't often run into them. There are some signs you need to watch for...everybody carrying the same type back pack, the group being shadowed by guys with AR's or AK'. Most of your outings you will not see anything...maybe some trash, but occasionally you will see enough to get you pretty worried. Last year, a couple weeks before the season, I stayed on a hillside until it was almost, dark glassing for coues. As I packed up and got ready to walk the mile or so back to the truck, a group walked out onto the flats I had to cross. It was pretty dark, and they were a long ways away, but they looked to be armed and had heavy packs. Not wanting to have any issues, I bailed off the backside of the hill, in the opposite direction of the truck and took the looonnnggggg way around. I called my wife and told her what was going on, so she was pretty upset. Everything turned out OK, but I had a long walk in the dark. One of my friends was still hunting his way through some thick oaks one January when he came across a camp in a roadless area. The fire was burning strong, but there was nobody around. As he looked around he noticed several bundles that he was sure were marijauna bales. At this point he was terrified and sure someone was watching him from close by. He and his buddy turned and left as calmly as possible. As they walked out he marked the spot on his GPS and when they were back to the truck he called BP. As it turned out this bundles were drugs and the group was also well armed. Some were caught, but not all of them. I would not avoid the boarder units just because of illegals, but you must always be aware of your surroundings. Heck, I have heard people say they won't hunt the lower areas because they are afraid of rattlesnakes. There is a possibility of a snake encounter, but vigilance will reduce the likelihood of any real problems, snakes or illegals.

If he walks by my ground blind he will not be growing anything next year!

Lmao!

Makes you long for a time when you could tell a joke without being judged or labeled. We need the next coming of Reagan. http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=wrRTau5jusU

Park and walk. Plenty of areas and plenty if deer.