GRONG

Oh man that has to be ROUGH!! Sorry for your loss Mark...............

Steven, WOW is all I can say to those stats!!! Thanks for getting that for us all to see and you're EXACTLY right about your post from yesterday too!!! Thanks for your comments and posting!

KB, what you're saying does make sense, I'll be the first to admit that. However, in my own personal book of ethics, I don't feel as if my hunting over salt or water source makes me as much of a criminal as someone who uses tacticals on their scopes to be able to shoot 800 yards with ease. If those were outlawed would it be the same thing to you? Probably and I understand that. But when it boils down to the G&F not wanting us to actually kill deer while we're hunting instead of just being a hunter in the field that's experiencing the "opportunity" to hunt and be there for the experience of the hunt that is where I disagree. When I said, "Pass all the laws they want, not gonna change me...", I meant when and if a law is passed just cause they want to see my chances lessen because they really don't want any deer killed it's really not based on ANY scientific study or facts at all. They don't want archers harvesting at a 20% success in any given unit. In that case I say open up all the units and that'll spread us out across the board and would probably still keep withing their harvest objective... whatever that may be. I'm in no way in favor of a draw for archery deer but if it boiled down to that that'd truly and honestly make me/us decide what it is we want to hunt with. Right now we can hunt with both. If we happen to draw a fall tag I feel as if we're sort of spoiled and fortunate with being able to do that. At least I know I am. If I had to decide between the two I would have to stick with the bow. After spot and stalking the buck I did a month ago I realized that it is possible to kill a deer that way and what a cool feeling it was to accomplish something like that. Not that saying spotting a big buck and shooting him with a rifle makes you less of a hunter it's just that each of them involve their own level of "fun". I guess in a way if it all boiled down to a draw type thing I'd hope that they'd leave the baiting option open, sights on bows unlimited, any power of binoculars optional, treestands or blinds optional, fixed blade or expandible or flint broadheads allowed barefooted stalks or boots with Bear's feet over them etc etc etc also an option left up to us as hunters. I could go on in my own scrambled way of expressing myself but I hope that clears the air a little. If not, I'm sorry, I'm not the outlaw I may have made myself sound like I possibly was.

You know, just when you think a buck has it all he goes and forgets to grow eyeguards!!!! Regardless, freakin awesome man!!!!

I'd LOVE to see those butt-jacks try and enforce that one! Like it's been said a page or two back, those J-holes don't even leave their truck. What I'd like to see is the results they print of the "actual reported" harvest of the archers in this state. Seems to me that it's been in the 4-6% range over the past decade but I haven't paid much attn to that in a while. And what does it really matter? I think that archery hunters in the past 10 years have gotten better and the technology of the whole sport has just shot thru the roof and who knows, maybe in the next 5yrs we'll have bows that shoot 450'/second. I bet it's coming. Seems just 8-10yrs ago it was crazy to hear of one that was 240fps, now we get em that shoot 350fps. The morons in the game dept gonna put limits on that? Probably. I will tell you all one thing, it's not gonna change how I hunt, cause I know it's ethical and I'm not doing anything wrong by sitting my salt lick or an old one a rancher put out there decades ago. Maybe I'll just have to start placing the trail camera a little higher so you can only see from the deer's knees on up so there's no proof of what they're doing at that spot at that time. Pass all the laws they want, not gonna change me and I'd guess it won't change a whole lotta you guys either. My two cents anyway.

Dude that is a RIPPER buck!! What a year for some great coues bucks with the bows guys. Congrats to you on a VERY hard earned buck. Not sure I coulda sat there that long, TREESTANDMAN yes, but not me. Way to stick it out!

I must be out of the loop!! This is the first time I've known of you shooting a buck again. Congrats Gino that's way ssssssssexeeeee!! Can't say I've ever called a buck sexy but hey, if it charges you guys up then get it on. You've got to LOVE how Gary's cleaning ends up! He just finished 2 for me and my elk from last Sept and they look goooooooood.

I LOVE that rack!!!! That thing is way cool man, congrats!!!

Come on!! Gino you better have better pics than those...... I want to see BIG pictures, those little teasers blow. That first buck is a STALLION!

I've seen the pictures many times and if that thing goes anywhere near 500" I'll give you a pile of antlers. Tony, it's not the one from Canada, it's from CO. Two different bulls.

LOL!!! No, it was pissed enough when I got about 2' from it. I think those red spots under it's eyes are from it trying to push it's face through the bars.

WOW!!! Freakin awesome buck!!!! Seeing Ty and Justin in the pics I almost thought maybe it was a 22 buck for a second. I say that cause I've seen a buck that was killed prob 15-20yrs ago in 22 that had matching inner beams on both sides. What a cool gene for sure and a big congrats to the whole party!!!

I was out in 6a today looking for lion sign. I drove my quad into the bottom of a small canyon on a dim road and parked in the bottom. There was a small bench-like sandy place with a cedar tree just out of the bottom. Looked good for a lion scratch so I walked up there. Instantly a heard a rukus in under the tree and noticed a bobcat in a live trap. I took this pic and walked off. Never even crossed my mind to let the bobcat go or kill it for myself but some of you might.

Ya where's it at Mike?!?! Pics man pics!!!!

Wait wait wait. Let me see if I'm following you correctly here. If I leave my truck unlocked it's MY fault if someone steals something out of it? I do find the comment funny about the bungee cord BTW but regardless if it's tied on with string, you're saying it's still MY fault? Come on!! If a thief smashes my window out of my truck and takes my binos or takes a pair of bolt cutters to the chain on my stand/trail cam is it still MY fault that this happens?!?!?! heck NO IT'S NOT!! A thief is a MF'n thief no matter what!!

I'm curious, why is a treestand left after season fair game and the trail camera not? What if you weren't able to make it back up to your stand site for a couple weeks after whatever season you're hunting and some dip-shiznit came and took it with that kind of mentality. It'd torque you pretty hard wouldn't it? I mean, it's your hard earned dollars and sweat equity to find a decent spot for your stand and maybe you just didn't have a wknd where you could get away due to work or babysitting or whatever. Regardless of what the excuse of not being able to get out it's STILL SOMEBODY ELSE'S PROPERTY AND NOT YOURS!!!!

Today I'm up at the M Diamond ranch here in Camp Verde pumping their septic tank for them. Get to BSing with the guys that work there as I'm pumping the sludge and this super nice guy named Anthony keeps talking whitetail and elk and we hit it off right away. We'd hunted and been in a lot of the same country before so it was nice talking with him. I mention to them that I had a treestand and a trail camera stolen up in 21 this past couple of months and they all expressed thier opinions of the SOB that stole my stuff. About a half hour later it comes up again about my stuff and Anthony says, "I think I know who has your stand and camera". What?!?!?! I about spit up half a lung when he said that, or maybe that was from the septic fumes, either way I was competely BLOWN away!!! I said well I got a picture of a guy at my salt lick and I think it's him that took them. He says, well regardless of that, I know who's got your stuff. He said a kid he knows from high school that lives in Cottonwood told him about stealing a stand and camera the last day of the same hunt I was on. I WAS BUSY SKINNING MY BUCK WHEN THE GUY WAS TAKING MY STAND!!!!!!! How crazy is that?!?!?! Anyway he was nice enough to call the kid today and told him that he was coming to get the stand and camera from him as he knew who they belonged to. He said the kid told him that he felt apologetic about the whole thing and that he was sorry. Anthony just left my house cause he hand delivered the stuff to me!!! Strange coincidental thing here is that had I not been up to check on my stuff on Saturday this never would've even entered the conversation today when I happen to be at his work pumping the septic tank!!!! That's why I mentioned Redbeard in the sub-title of this topic because he often referred to me as the luckiest SOB he'd ever known and that this kind of crap only happens to me. Well I guess you gotta mark another notch in the list there Chris cause it happened again........

I had a feeling this was gonna come up. No I honestly don't believe that it was Anthony who took it. Yes it is Anthony Randall. Something similar but worse happened to him a couple years ago. He had his saddle, bits, chaps, etc stolen out of a lock box at a ranch house. Stole like three grand worth of equipment from him and a friend of his.

JIGGITY JIGGITY SIM SIM SALLA WHAT THE CRAP!?!?!?! WOW!!! Congrats on a frickin BEAST DUDE!!!!

It's amazing how when I've found trail cameras or treestands or basically someone else's property out in the field the LAST thing from my mind is, "I'M GONNA TAKE IT!". I've seen trail cameras and I've tried seeing the pics they've got on them but NEVER did I ever think to stuff it my back pack and walk off with it. Well today was the day...... I hiked into my stand and wanted to get my 2 trail cameras I've had hanging for the nearly the past 3 years in the same spot. Well when I got there I quickly realized one of my nice digital trail cams that TREESTANDMAN made me was GONE! I looked over where the other was hanging and luckily it was hidden in an oak tree well enough that it was missed and still there. Feeling a tad invaded I looked up at the oak thicket where my treestand has been for 3 years as well and it was gone too! Even the F'n tree steps!! Now I totally and completely understand the feelings of being invaded almost as if my home was burglarized. It's not so much that someone found my little area and salt lick that I've enjoyed over the past few years but the fact that they were ignorant enough to have found it and the first thing that came to their pea-brained mind was "I'm gonna take this guy's stuff and teach him a lesson". Well back in Oct on opening wknd of the wt hunt I got a picture of a guy standing at the salt lick, checking it out. This is the first time anyone has ever stumbled upon it that I'm aware of and I got him on camera. I'm bummed I didn't get a picture of his face but this one will have to do. Anyone recognize this guy from the back? His gun or the fact that he hunts with a walking stick? I'm willing to bet my money he's the one that did it. Notice the trail cam bungeed to the tree on the left. Hard to miss that one from where he's lookin. Now I'll admit that of course there could've been someone else in the area that saw it and did not get their photo taken but hard to say. I'm sure I'll never know. An interesting note. The morning I killed Mr Mass, as I hiked through the pines and near my salt lick, I stumbled upon a salt lick I'd never seen before. I looked at my friend Chris and said, "How and the H would I ever miss this?". I instantly looked up in the trees for a stand of sorts and never saw a thing, not even a footprint. Today I looked again and couldn't see any evidence of a stand or cut limbs. Coulda been a rancher but I seriously doubt it. Oh well, I guess I learned a HUGE lesson. NEVER LEAVE ANYTHING YOU DON'T WANT STOLEN UNLOCKED!!!! My trust and faith in others has been completely shot out the window and I'm not sure if I'll ever even go back there again. I will always look at anyone I see in the woods as if he's the one who did this to me. I know there's many many others on this site who feel as I do cause thier stuff has been taken too and I wouldn't really doubt it if the butt-jack that stole my stuff frequents this site. If you do and you're reading this all I can say is I hope you glass off a big rock bluff one of these days and it gives away and you get pinned under a large boulder and die a slow, cold, lonely death cause your time is comin brother. THERE AIN'T NOTHIN WORSE THAN A THIEF!

Did you just call a Toyota Landcruiser a JEEP?!?!?! How dare you!! You take that back right now!

Way to go Steve!! I tried sending a little extra mojo that one time but I guess we used it all up on the first one. Congrats man!

No Lance it looked to be just like I do mine, salt mixed right into the dirt. It's funny how my salt lick, that's been there for years, wasn't touched but yet the other was being HAMMERED. I bet the dirty sumbeeotch put bleach or something in my lick to kill it. Mine had quite a lot of fresh salt in it as of Oct and plenty to last till the spring. Very interesting......... His time is coming for sure. Sabotage central is about to get his if he's stupid enough to hunt there. Don't get me wrong, I don't consider a piece of forest property as mine at all but when my stuff disappears and all of the sudden in the middle of nowhere appears a salt lick right next to mine is sounding an awful lot like monkey business to me. I take so many precautions when going in and out of there it's just plain stupid and borders on complete paranoia! I step on rocks and patches of grass so I don't even leave so much as a foot print in that area.

No Lance it looked to be just like I do mine, salt mixed right into the dirt. It's funny how my salt lick, that's been there for years, wasn't touched but yet the other was being HAMMERED. I bet the dirty sumbeeotch put bleach or something in my lick to kill it. Mine had quite a lot of fresh salt in it as of Oct and plenty to last till the spring. Very interesting......... His time is coming for sure. Sabotage central is about to get his if he's stupid enough to hunt there. Don't get me wrong, I don't consider a piece of forest property as mine at all but when my stuff disappears and all of the sudden in the middle of nowhere appears a salt lick right next to mine is sounding an awful lot like monkey business.

Gino, Gary Iles has him in Payson right now. He's cleaning the skull for me as well as my archery elk skull and my Dec 06 archery buck as well. Can't wait to get them all back! As far as P&Y go, I wouldn't mind entering it but I got such a RIDICULOUS run-around and out-right blatant lies from Glen Hisey at P&Y a few years ago that I told him he could shove his club and return my dues to me. My membership was cancelled but they never sent back any of my dues. I hate liars and I called him out on them and he still wouldn't man-up to them. Spineless trash I say....... Thanks Scott, Packer and Keven! But I will say the tape isn't flawed it's the guesstimator and his level of excitedness. Or in my case just a tiny dwarf-like buck. I'm using that as my excuse anyway! Keven how'd Mexico go? You gonna post any pics and a story in the Mexico section?