Kilimanjaro

Nice pics Brian, but the Mearns is great!! Its always cool to see Mearns out in the hills. And yeah, there are a few up in the Catalinas!! I found these up near the Reddington ranch area back in Dec of '03..

thanks for sharing the pics.. I need to get up in that sage grouse country with my mutts sometime.. looks like good country to run them in!

indeed it is.. and on top of ALOT more hills than we'll ever know about.. they are eveywhere in southern AZ.. just remember, if you get that feeling that you're being watched, you probably are..

I guess I'm gonna be voting for the lesser of the evils and go with R. Gullianni should the Reb. party decide to go with him.... what other options do I have?? Hillary?? Yeah, right.. I'd vote for the pimpley faced 15 year old who sacked my groceries this evening before I voted for that woman.. Should McCain win, we are in for a long, hard road.. not that we aren;t already there..

thanks guys!!

There are few places more beautiful than the Texas Hill Country during the spring time months.. Blooming Bluebonnets, Indian Blankets, budding pecan trees, and succulent new green grass covering the landscape... ..and during this time of year there is yet another reason that will draw you to this area.. the booming gobbles of area Rio Grande turkeys begining their own springtime rituals.. drumming, spitting toms in full strut... lovesick for those pesky hens.. that's why I make it a point to head home every April and give those toms a run for their money.. I wouldn't miss it for the world. head on out there and see for yourself.. the turkeys are there. Plenty of them! Texas dreams in HD in the springtime.. spring showers make livin' the good life easy.. 'Rio country.. 'Rio country was also once Comanche country as well.. and sometimes while out in the turkey woods, you just get mighty lucky.. and with the generous bag limit of 4 birds per season, taking 2 feels pretty good!! he made the mistake of strutting in the wrong field on that afternoon!! and this guy was a tad bit too lovesick for that imaginary hen he thought he heard fly down off the roost that next morning!! come on out to TX yourself and see what all the fun is about.. The locals would love to have ya out!!

if it weren't on that weekend, I would be there.. but I'll be a 14,411 ft on top of Mt Rainier in WA on that date!!

I think I'll stick with my Swaros and would tell anyone else to do the same.. the next pair I'll be getting is the 10X42 EL's..

WTF, Doug?? Are you getting out of hunting and shooting?? Seems like your hocking off all your babies.. What gives?? Want all new stuff?? If so, I can't say that I'm any different!!

wow... that is a rare find.. come to think of it, your the first person I've seen actually find one.. like Christian said, remember the spot and go get the skull later..

thanks guys!! I really appreciate the kind words.. yep.. there is a ton of snakes in that country.. not gonna lie to ya. I saw 4 on this trip.. one was a 4 1/2 to 5 footer.. definaltely makes ya double check everywhere you place your butt before ya sit down!! There are TONS of dens in that country.. the ground is limestone and has holes everywhere in it.. I guess you just get used to hunting in snake country.. you AZ boys otta be used to that!! These snakes down here never even den up!! azyoung, why ya headed to Amarillo?? Good hunting country up there.. doesn't look anything like the area I was in, but is a really neat part of TX.. upland paradise when it rains in that country. AZP&Y, that skull is the biggest I've found so far.. he's right at 148. was just pure luck. We did Chiricahua peak a couple of weeks ago.. there was TONS of snow still up there!! It was the best hike we've done so far this year.. saw a few fired up Gould's gobblers while there and got a few snaps of them.. we're gonna do Wrightston one more time this weekend just for the training.. Mt Rainier is coming up on us fast!! less than a month till its show time.. then its time to see who trained and who didn't!! RR, I knew there was a part of you deep down in that ol' AZ soul of yours that had left a bit back in good ol Tejas!! thanks again guys!!

way to go Troy!! That is a great lookin' bird you got!

nice lookin bird azpack... congrats!

Hey guys.. I thought I'd drop a line from Texas and fill ya in on the hunt thus far... We are having a great hunt.. I've taken 2 boss tom Rios so far and have seen TONS more.. They are gobbling and strutting like crazy right now. I took a double bearded tom yesterday evening over the decoys as they were headed to a field to get in some afternoon strutting in before heading to roost and the other one was taken this morning in 10 minutes after setting up. I had 'em fired up on the roost and they flew down and stutted their way right into my setup. Picture perfect!! Was done this morning before the sun had even came all the way up!! My old man is on a turkey fever streak as of right now.. he's missed 3 birds within 25 yards!!! He'll connect though.. I hope! He missed one this morning with his longbow... And then really bombed on a bird this afternoon with a shotgun and was a tidge bit PO'ed with himself to say the least! The flowers are in full bloom right now.. Texas Bluebonnets, Indian blankets, and tons of others.. It is greener than you can imagine right now.. water everywhere.. And ticks and mosquitos!! I'm getting eaten alive out here!! Oh yeah, I almost forgot.. I've found 2 arrow heads so far, a double brow tined skull, a good sized shed, and my best skull find so far to date.. a hair over 148.. I was stoked to say the least.. Pictures to come when we make it back to AZ on Tues!!

yeah, some of them were.. I culled a TON of WT does out here with a 22-250.. head shots all the way.. kept the carcass clean.. we were shooting upwards of 60 deer per day and we were having to clean all of them.. less messy that way.. plus it was just fun to see who could call their shots.. a WT doe's head is a mighty small target at 200 yards!! But the BB was taken at about 150 thru the shoulder, the muley was shot thru the neck at about 200, the coues at 275 with a shoulder shot, and that pronghorn was a tidge over 300.. also shoulder shot..

We are hunting just outside of my hometown.. San Angelo.. right on the edge of the TX hill country. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention.. I FINALLY got in my African safari from last season!! The crate came here last week and was waiting for me here at the in-law's house. I can't wait to get started on a mount or 2.. anybody got a few bucks to loan me so I can mount that giraffe??

I've killed a ton of deer with .22 cal. rifles.. my very first deer was taken with a .222 Rem. I've also used 22-250, .223, and .220 Swift calibers to take deer sized game such as a TX mule deer, and a blackbuck antelope. All with good results.. I also took my first and only coues WT here in AZ with a .223 WSSM. And taken a pronghorn buck with the same rifle at over 300 yards.. 22 cal guns will work great!!

I had a few pics from this past season that I never shared with any of ya'll, so I thought it to be quite fitting right now, seeings how there's nothing going as far as any seasons go right now, to share with you guys a little photo topic of the three main AZ upland species.. First off is the most common.. the Gambels.. go where the thorns are thick, and you'll find the coveys in amongst the catus, catclaw, and cholla.. you gotta be quick though, they're runners and they'll leave you and your dogs scratchin' yer heads wandering where they went!! the hills where these birds roam have a little character to them... but the payoff is well worth the effort in my book.. next off we have the Scalies.. or if your a Texan like me, those #@%!^ Blues!!! if you can find a place that looks like a sea of golden grass with islands of yuccas sticking up, you might want to go ahead and pull over and let the dogs have a run.. they'll be there.. if you can get the boogers to break from the covey, they'll behave for your bird dogs just fine.. and when paydirt is finally made, you'll see why it was well worth the miles, sunburn and aching feet.. handsome devils, aren't they?? and finally, if anyone on CW knows me, you'll know this bird is by far and away my fav bird to hunt here.. Mr. Gentleman himself, Mearns.. point that truck south towards the hills and soon you'll find yourself in heaven on earth.. golden grass, evergreen oaks, and a bird that captures the essence of bird hunting with good dogs.. oh, they'll hold for ya if you're quiet... sometimes, if you're lucky, you'll even catch them out in the open.. Mearns hunting brings smiles to everyone from the saltiest of Mearns hunters.... ....to the newest of rookies.. and with the look of pure royalty, how could you not feel privledged just to have a chance at him.. He'll capture you and your dog's heart.. I promise. well, I hope all of you had a wonderful past season and let's hope this upcoming one brings just as much fun and joy..

thanks guys... I will yak with all of ya'll on Wed of next week.. I'm headed out within the hour.. making the long haul home to TX for the wife's baby shower and 4 days of chasin' Mr. Rio gobbler.. I'll fill ya'll in on the results!!

thanks for the great comments guys.. I appreciate it a ton.. I was just thumbing thru some pics from this past season and saw a few that I hadn't shared.. I thought now would be a good time to see a few pics.. not much going on this time of year.. As far as for me taking nice pics, its just the law of averages.. If you take enough, one or two are BOUND to come out OK, right?? Just ask anyone who hunts with me.. I take a MILLION pics!! My friends who hunt and hike with me don't call me "Wang, the Japanese tourist" for nothin'!! thanks for lookin!!

same question Jim... when ya taking me kitty hunting??? I need one of those bruiser toms in the living room.. heck, I've even got the pose I'm gonna do on him.. I just need to go kitty hunting now!!

Fuego, that is a really nice coues mount.. Whoever finished it, did it right!!

thats the blackest Merriams bird I've ever seen.. His primary feathers on his wings look like an Oceola turkey.. the bird in the third pic looks like a normal AZ Merriams.. Could that first bird be a domesticated bird by chance??

I would LOVE to have you pour me a bronze.. I am really interested in the whole process. I know nothing about it, other than the first step and the last step.. Other than that, I'm clueless on how and where to get the in-between steps done.. But I would love to know and then have you pour me a bronze or 2!! I would love to send a bronze of a bull tahr that I personally did to the doorstep of the outfitter I worked for in New Zealand. He would be blown away!! what am I looking at in terms of time, cost, steps involved, etc????

Jim, thanks for posting that one.. I will be sharing that one with all the buddies at work!! sad, but oh so true..