GRONG

My guess is around 12" and my guess on score is around 127-130" gross. If the "unofficial" green score has already been posted then I'm sorry and I'll shut up. That's just my guess is all. WHAT A BRUTE!!!!!! That thing is the screen saver on my phone, I LOVE IT!

Hey thanks for the reminder!! Pulled mine out of the drawer and just now hooked it up! Can't wait to finally get a chance to use it this elk season! Good luck everyone.

DUDE!!!! Are you kidding me?!?!?!? WOW WOW WOW!!!!!!! Congrats man that thing is SICK!!!! That thing 60" or what? Congrats again man. Post a bigger file size picture of that horn so I can have it as my screensaver would ya? I hope you find the other side soon before those squirrels make short work of that thing. Josh

My hunting partner Gail and I went out last Saturday and pounded the dirt for 15 strait hours. It was a dang long day but we made the best of it. After about 3 hours of hiking we walked out to the edge of a big rim and I instantly spotted a white tine stickin up out of the brush about 30 yards below us. We could tell it was a year old horn from the color but figured it was a good 4th point stickin up. We sat there glassin for sheds for about 20-30 minutes till I just had to get off the bluff and get it. Gail fired up the video camera and got it runnin as I walked up to it. I stood there in disbelief as I got close enough to it to tell that this wasn't just an average elk antler! It was the 5th point stickin up, not the 4th!! And what a 5th it is at 18 1/4"!! I pulled it out of the brush to show Gail and he was quite shocked too! What a way to start the day off for sure. I zigged and zagged all over the slope for a couple hours but never could find the match. I got to a lower bluff and spotted the same side horn off the same bull on an open slope about 400' below me from the drop of '09. I made it down to it that evening finally but had to get up and out of there to find Gail and look in some other areas first. Can you spot the tine? Realized after getting home and lookin at my photos that I never took a pic of me holding it to show how big it really is. Whoops! The 1st 2 points are unfortunately broken off but from a friend's trial camera photo of the bull back in '09 you can see that the G1 is probably around 17-18" and the G2 is around 15". The 3rd is 21 1/2, 4th is 22, 5th is 18 1/4", 48" beam and 30" of mass puts it at right around 173" which is one of the best sheds I've ever found in AZ in 20 years of lookin. Pretty exciting for sure. When I topped out I finally got ahold of Gail on the radio only to find out he'd already picked up a year old 345" set and was on the move to pick up a brown 6pt he'd glassed across a small canyon. Caught up with him in time to see him walk up on a 360" chalk single horn! That was exciting! So all in all Gail ended up bringing out 7 sheds, small brown 6pt set, 3 year old sheds and a couple older sheds. On the hike out I went and made my way into some NASTY stuff to get to the one I'd glassed that morning. Crossed a huge rock slide and fought some awful brush to get there but it was worth it too. Both big ones together. The closer horn measured 169" with 30" of mass.

First of all I'd like to say I'm extremely humbled by the attention you all have given to Jen and I, simply stunning.... I think I'd got on to see what Amanda had written about a day after she started this topic. I had only gone thru the first page of comments and I just couldn't stop the tears. I can't even begin to thank all of you enough for your generosity and prayers. Your comments and thoughtfulness affected me deeply and I took none of it lightly! My phone rang constantly from people offering their help in any way possible. It was an extremely stressful month as any of you can attest to when a loved one is very very sick. Trying to run my business and juggle my two young kids was absolutely brutal. My Mother and several of our friends chipped in to watch the kids here and there but shuttling them around and having a stupid crazy schedule with my business was just near insanity. That topped with having to leave my poor sick wife laying in bed everyday and to come home and see her in the same state was a whole level of stress all in it's own. This all started when Jen and I were talking mid afternoon when she said, "I think my neck and back are going out." Within an hour she was laying in bed feeling awful. She had intense head and neck pain and I took her to the Urgent Care the following afternoon in Cottonwood. Instead of trying to corral my kids in a waiting room for a couple hours, I left and told the receptionist that if she needed anything please please call me and I gave her Jen's cell phone. 3 hours went by as we were just killin time waiting for the phone call to come get her. At 8:20 I showed up at the place and it's closed!!!! What in the heck is going on and where is my wife were just a couple of things going thru my mind. I drove across the street to hospital and went quickly into the ER where the lady there told me she got there a while ago by ambulance! WHAT?!?!?!? I asked what was wrong and they said they were doing a CT scan and to go home and come back in the morning. I said I don't think so, I know just what a few hours in the ER can cost let alone all night! So about an hour later they let her out and said she just had a headache. As they're wheeling her out she's throwing up from the intense pressure in her skull saying, "I know there's something wrong with me you can't send me home!" The head nurse just said, "Nope, you've been released." So we got a bill from the ambulance company for $1100 for driving her literally ACROSS THE STREET!!!! Never even got a courtesy call to let me know what they were doing and if I'd prefer giving her a ride myself or not. Then the ER charged us $3300 to tell us she had a headache..... She continued to dry heave for 5 SOLID DAYS, not just a few times a day, I'm talkin at least once every 5-10 minutes!! This was on a Monday. The next Monday after laying in bed the whole time for the whole week she said take me to FMC in Flagstaff. After checking in to the ER there they went thru all her symptoms and finally did an MRI on her and also a spinal tap, that is when they found out it was viral meningitis. They can't cure it, they can only give you pain meds for the brutal headaches and neck pain. Those meds made her super sick and she spent another week laying in bed. Now when she's laying in bed she couldn't sit up for more than a few seconds because of the pain in her head and neck. So going into the 3rd week of this, on a Sunday she says, "You gotta take me back to Flagstaff now, I'm not getting an inch closer to becoming better!" So I called the Dr and he said absolutely bring her back. So she stayed in the hospital for a full week, another MRI later and another spinal tap and many many other tests to rule all other possibilities out, they finally put her on some steroid medication and now I can happily tell you that as of this past Wednesday afternoon she pulled out of it and is 100% fine!!! Other than being physically weak still she's doing great! So again, thanks for all the prayers and support everyone!!! When we told people about our experience with VVMC in Cottonwood not one person we talked to had anything nice to say about that place!!!! The care was extremely frigid and they didn't seem to care less if she would've dropped dead on the floor. I can tell you I'm not giving them a dime of my money (or yours) to pay for what they did. Viral Meningitis is not life threatening, its just a very horrible sickness, which COUES D can attest to, but had she had Bacterial Meningitis she would probably be dead her Dr in Flagstaff told us. The "headache" diagnosis given by the lame brains at VVMC could've cost Jen her life if that was the case! She was begging them to stay and they refused and just shuttled her into the waiting room where she continued to throw up from the pain. The doctors and nurses at FMC were ALL very nice and professional and I don't have one complaint about that place other than VVMC is their sister hospital. Sorry I couldn't respond any earlier, like Amanda said, I couldn't remember my password and honestly didn't have any time to even respond and I apologize. You all have been wonderful and it will not be forgotten. Jen and I have talked about it and if we are miraculously accepted by AHCCCS Health Insurance then we would like to donate all of your monies to a worthy cause but I'll keep you posted on that outcome. We played the no insurance game and it bit us in the rear HARD but we can't afford the $500+ dollars a month for insurance like most families. So whatever the cost damage ends up being they can have $100 a month for 30 years for all I care. It's just great having my wonderful wife back, the kids think so too..... A very heartfelt and sincere thank you to everyone, Josh and Jennifer Epperson

Been meaning to share this buck with everyone I just sorta forgot. One of my best friends and man, a person could know, Alan Ellsworth and I went to Unit 23 this year to try our luck at getting a decent buck. I hadn't been back there in probably 6-7 years but was hoping for a good hunt. To make a long story somewhat short, we hunted for 5 solid days and this is the best buck we could find. Seriously low deer numbers and an absolute TON of country to hunt with very little in it. I shot this buck at 350 yards on our last morning there. I'd guess it to score around 90". I know this isn't really a product review, and I wish I had pics to show it, but I recently got the Outdoorsmans Pack System backpack from The Outdoorsmans and holy Lord that is the best pack I've ever had BY FAR!!! I can't even begin to tell you how comfortable it is. I had my Leupold 12-40X spotting scope, 15X Swaros, close to 100 oz of water, camera, knives and several layers of jackets etc on this pack along with a totally boned out coues buck, cape and head strapped on and it held all of it no problem! It also held my .300 Rem Ultra Mag over the side of the frame and it was so comfortable I couldn't believe it!! I had to hike all this stuff about 800' out of the bottom of this giant canyon, down into and across another 400' deep canyon to get back to my quad and it never got uncomfortable in the slightest. I know it's a tad pricey when compared to a Badlands or Eberlestock pack of similar size but I would have to say that having a pack like this on your back is like using 15X Swarovski binos on a tripod as opposed to using a pair of 10X Bushnell binos by hand. Not kidding! I never thought a pack could be this comfortable, but I would highly recommend it to anyone and everyone in the market for a new backpack......

Isaac has been asking me to take him lookin for antlers for the past 2 months and each time I was going I knew there was no way he could make it with me cause of the length of the hike etc etc. So late morning a couple Saturdays ago I loaded the quad in the truck and we took off. Oh man was he excited! Soon as we hit the dirt road he had his head hung out the window hollering and carrying on, it was pretty funny. Got to a spot and unloaded the quad and drove the bad road in from there. We pulled up to a small hill and said ok Isaac lets walk from here bud. He was so cute with his Spongebob backpack on pushing thru the manzanita. After we topped over the hill I told him that we were gonna walk thru the saddle between the 2 hills. He split off from me about 30 yards off and was doing his best to look for sheds not really having much of a clue of what to do or what to watch for. I got to the saddle first and spotted a small brown 5 point and called Isaac up. I told him there was a spot up here that a bull elk had bedded and it could be a good spot to find an antler. I had the video camera rollin when he walked past me. He walked left of it and I called him back saying that it looks better over here. He walked past the antler and literally missed stepping on the end of the beam by 3" and he kept walking. HILARIOUS!!! He got about 15 yards farther and I called him back again. This time he walked right up to it and finally saw it. He picked it up and had his mouth wide open in excitement and quickly he said, "Dad, we need to find the other side!" We walked around a little bit and I ended up spotting the top end of a nice 6pt across a deep drainage. It was getting late and I told Isaac we'd better hurry. I could only go as fast as he could thru the thick manzanita and cat-claw and that cost us some time. We got to the bottom and I told him to stay put and I'd be right back. I got up there in a few minutes and picked up the 330ish sized horn and got back down to him. We had to beat feet to make it to the quad nearly a mile away. Isaac was a trooper and we made it to the quad just before dark. Oh and I forgot, back in December I took Isaac out for a late afternoon walk behind our house and in the same typical fashion he finally found the antler. Walking past it.... Finally sees it... Haulin it out like Dad on his backpack..... Gotta love em

This topic doesn't seem to be getting much traffic under the get-together forum so I figured I'd put it here too. Anyone looking to show off their sheds and heads should bring their own table and chair or you can just show them off of your tailgate. We will rope off an area for each person interested in displaying or vending. Get there early to pick your spot. There's lots and lots of room but getting there early would be a great idea. Bring some money in case you're interested in buying a neat antler to add to your collection cause there'll be buyin and trading and selling going on. If you've got a pile of antlers in your garage and are needing a bow for your upcoming archery elk hunt then this is a great place to get that extra cash you've been needing. I'll be posting up directions to the event soon. Don't miss it!!!! AZ Antler Fest

Just to let everyone know, Alan and Shelly Ellsworth of Show Low AZ have opened their home to anyone interested for the first annual AZ Antlerfest on Saturday May 14th. Come and bring your best antlers of any type to share with everyone. There will be a couple measurers there for anyone that would like their sheds entered into the North American Shed Hunter Club record book. Food will be pot luck style so bring your favorite BBQ dish and drinks. Bringing a camera is a MUST!! Alan's amazing collection of world class elk and deer sheds and heads will blow your minds! You'll see the world record typical bull elk with a net score of 442 5/8" as well as the insanely monstrous set of 170" double drop-tined White Mtn Apache coues sheds. Sheds from bulls from 350-490" and dozens of coues racks and sheds from 120-140+"!!! Here's a couple pics just to give you a hint of what you'll see, I don't want to post to many cause we want y'all to be surprised when you get there. Hope you come join us!

Look in the shed antler section as I posted directions to Alan's house there this morning. Here's that 170" set of coues sheds that you all will all get to see if you show up...

HA!! Somehow that doesn't seem like a good split to me if I'm the one doin the footwork.... Anyway, yesterday Gail and I split up while hiking. He was accompanied by a friend of his, Ross, and they each found a side off another set from this bull!!!! Will get pics soon as Gail emails me some.

Weston, great pics man!! Thanks for sharing

Another load of antler from a couple years back. Alan's barn is in the background..... In this parking lot is where the Antler Fest will take place. Here's a tiny fraction of what you all will see at Alan's Barn-O-Sheds-N-Heads Remember these? Stackin bone..... Stacks O Bone Dinosaur bull.... This antler is AWESOME!!! Not sure what happened here but it's like oozing lava. I guess....

Headed to Antler Fest..... This is the 2nd load of antler hauled to Show Low in the past 3 weeks.... You all really don't want to miss out so please come!

I just got the Canon VIXIA HF200 and am in love with the thing! It's optical zoom is only 15X but sweet moses does it take fantastic HD footage. It's nice cause it's recorded all on an SD card. It's a little smaller than a pop can in size which makes it awesome to put in a side pocket of my backpack. I know this is an old thread I just thought I'd add my 2 cents about this camera.

I was just harrassing you Lee, I knew what you were saying. LOL!

WOW!!

Dan thanks for sharing man, those are some beauties!!!

That is a sweet set for sure and thanks for posting!! BLJ are you saying as a buyer that you would give $25/lb for a set like that? If so come over to my house and I'll load your truck up with sets like that and much much bigger.... Didn't mean to hijack your thread hornhunter....

Hey Craig, Just saw this post and voted. Hilarious comments from TAM and Lance at the beginning of your post. Good stuff man

GOOD LORD STEVEN!!!!! How'd I miss this post?!?!? I can't tell you how cool I think that is!!! Congrats to all your hunters and to you for trainin that little sucker so good! Now if only I had one of those to find whitetail sheds for me.................

That's friggin awesome!!!!!!!

I'm absolutely speechless....... A huge congrats to you my man cause that thing is SICK!!!! Are you sure that's all it scored? Looks a lot of non-typ stuff going on there to only score that. WOW WOW WOW dude that is unreal!!!!!!

Mr Jonathan, that is a great post and GREAT pics of that lion in that leanin tree!! Kudos to you!!

Ya I don't know what's up with the black pics but they still work if you click on them to blow the pic up.