recurveman

I vote for a recurve!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I actually started out with a compound. But if you really want to get a kid started shooting a great way to do it is through JOAD. It is a kids only league. I'm not sure where they are at now days but it is great fun for the kids. I believe they can use compounds or recurves. But the kids really seem to take off when they get around other kids. Check it out if you get a chance. It is well worth the time. Later, recurveman

I love 36B. But I met a guy a few months ago that had trial cam pics from 22 that were awesome. I'm not sure why I'm not hunting up there since it is only an hour instead of 3 hours. This guy with the pics had bucks that were in the 90's that he had shot with his bow. Then he had pics of other bucks that were in the 90's but he didn't want to shoot them. He wanted bigger. The pics of the bucks that were bigger were much bigger. he was guessing close to 115-120. I think he is pretty close if I compared the pics of the smaller bucks he had already shot to the bucks that he only had pics of. It was pretty awesome. He had an album of pics his camera's had taken over that last 2-3 years. You could watch these bucks get bigger year after year. Just flat incredible. But I'm still heading down to 36B. It must be all the wets I see when I'm glassing. Later, recurveman

Nice elk. Just tell your camera man to get closer and turn the rack a bit. I hope you took multiple rolls of film. You've got a nice bull there. Later, recurveman

Critters know when it is human scent. They might not know what made a twig snap or a rock fall. I'm not a big fan of cover scents. I think that is just a bunch of crap for the most part anyways. If I'm sitting downwind of a BBQ with steaks grilling and a fresh pile of dog crap..........I can still smell both smells. I'm just bummed that the dog didn't do it someplace else. If I can smell both smells I'm sure that deer can too. Either way it is important for them not to have a clue that you are there. The more variables you can put in your favor the better. Later, recurveman

Blah, blah, blah. REAL MEN SHOOT BOWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Though I do love my .243. I would shoot my .300 weatherby but it kicks to much and hurts my shoulder. Panzee out, recurveman

Just two. There were 4 people who got drawn. The last two might be more of a challenge. One of the guys has no clue what so ever. The other guy has killed quite a few 320+ bulls but isn't in the greatest of health. So, it might make things a bit more interesting than I really wanted. With a little luck we can get them bulls. Time will tell. Later, recurveman

We were in unit 8. We have had a great time and I'm heading back up Thursday morning to see if I can't get my buddies a few more of those bulls. I just love to see them hit the ground. I have a late WT tag in unit 8 and I'm looking as hard as I can for those little critters too. But if anyone has any ideas I'm all ears. Later, recurveman

I can't believe the people left because of the rain. I heard bulls all day long in the rain. It was great. We shot our first 6 X 6 bull Sunday morning in the pouring rain. While we were cleaning this bull the group we were hunting never stopped buggling the whole entire day. It was very cool to clean an elk in the middle of the day and listen to the elk buggle. I would have been a bit happier without all the rain. I spent 4 strait hours in the rain and was soaked through. Thank god I was ready to camp in the rain. Then Monday morning in the wind we shot a 7 X 7 once we found him. The tough part was hearing a buggle in the wind. Then this morning was clear, quiet and crisp. I figured it was going to be great. We heard a few buggles but it was like they needed a break from the heavy rutting they were doing while the storm was working through. Go figure. Later, recurveman

I saw a mulie doe with 3 fawns the other day. I was shocked. It is so good to see little ones. Maybe in a few years the population will be better than it is now. Later, recurveman

I actually thought it would be a great idea to turn your mom in. If she doesn't hunt then tell her that you willl pay her fines and get your elk tag that way. How great would that be? It might cost you a little more but it would probably be cheaper than going to Nevada or NM and buying one of their tags if you could get drawn. later, recurveman

I think this is a great idea. I'm going to get my mom to poach an elk in unit 9 every year. Then when the tags come out I can go collect mine. I think I can make this work. What the heck. She doesn't want to hunt anyways. So what does she care if she looses her license. I do know a few people that have turned in poachers in this state and you get nothing for it. Not a thing. It sure would be nice if you did get a tag or some reward. Later, recurveman

I was hunting with a guy that bought the action buffalo tag last year. It was a ton cheaper than I tought it was going to be I believe it was under 10K. Which if you think about it the state tag cost 750 for a bull. That is a pretty good deal relatively speaking. He also bought the pig tag for his son. He told me what he paid for it. I forget the price but it wasn't very much. A few hundred or so. Ya kind of have to remember it is just a pig. I've know two guys to buy the gov WT tag over the years. One of the guys was a dentist. Just a normal guy. The second guy had more money that he could ever spend (he isn't Mike Tyson). He looked around by himself and a few buddies for the majority of the hunt and never found a buck he wanted to shoot. So he didn't fill his tag. I believe he was looking for something in the 130+ range. Seems a bit extreme but it was his tag. So not everyone is a stuffy CEO that buys these tags. If you met any of these guys you wouldn't even know they had the means to purchase one of these tags. Later, recurveman

There are probably a few more governor tags than you think. I'm sure a bunch of people don't know there is a pig, buffalo gov tags. I wouldn't be surprised if there were others too. Maybe even a turkey tag. I think the coues and buffalo tags are probably the best value out of the governor tags. Later, recurveman

I shoot a PSE right now and really like it. I actually voted for a Mathews. I think they are the quietest bow on the market. Though they are a bit spendy. I also really like the hoyt. Past that I'm sticking with my PSE. Later, recurveman

I'll be up in unit 8 this weekend if someone needs help finding/killing a wounded buck. I don't know where he is at but I will be in the whitetail country of unit 8 so I can't be that far away to at least help. Let me know. Later, recurveman

There are a ton of guys out there that say they have never wounded an animal. They always wait for the perfect shot and always hit where the aim. I only have one thing to say to them. You are a rookie if you haven't had enough opportunities to screw up or have some bad luck and wound an animal. It isn't a matter of IF it is going to happen but a matter of WHEN. Congrats on finding your animal even if it was a few days latter. I've looked for animals a few days later just like you did. Check the sky and look for birds. Or just take a walk and look for birds that you kicked up. Sometimes they can be your best friend. I'll be the first to say that I've hit and not recovered my share of animals but I look for them until there are no other options. That is all you can do. Cangrats on a nice buck, recurveman

This is my guess. I would bet there is quite a bit of private land and it is difficult to hunt because of access issues. I don't know that for sure but that would be my guess. I've hunted 30A before and access is an issue. Just my guess, recurveman

I still think it is unit 22. I think it is a kick trying to play detective and find out where he is talking about. Personally, even if he did tell me where it was at I wouldn't go try and kill it. I see to many critters that I want to shoot without trying to get his too. Here is another example of how I believe a guy should be. I was in unit 9 last year hunting elk. Another guy I was camping with (but didn't know before the hunt) said he wanted to hunt this big bull(we both figured it would gross close to 400). I asked him if it was the one behind camp that looked a certain way. We shared some details and we both had seen the bull on several occasions before the hunt. I told him to go and shoot it and I would go some place else. I never hunted in that area the whole hunt. I wanted to but didn't think it was right. The only bummer was he didn't get the bull either so I didn't get to see it on the ground. I guess even if some of us do find out where someone has a nice buck........it doesn't mean we will be a "WALLY". Unless of course you go home and I happen to be up there on a Tuesday. Then all bets are off. Later, recurveman

That is what I thought. The reason I said it shouldn't have been your third choice is because you don't get your third choice until everyone has gotten a shot at their first two choices. It just didn't make sense. Now that you say it is your 1st choice that makes a ton more sense. Plus, that should be your first choice. It should be a great hunt and you should do very well. There are a ton of nice critters to shoot in the unit. Good luck, recurveman

I don't see how 36B was your third choice. I had 36B as my first choice and didn't get it. I would have had to have gottnen my first choice before you got your 3rd. I would check and make sure that you got the tag you think you have. Plus, that would also mean that 36 B in december was a 100% draw. That would just about be impossible. Usually it is around 10% or so. Either way if you want to learn about the unit I would start with the game and fish website. Look under hunt unit reports and that will give you some general directions on where to start. We all have our favorite spots. I'm sure you will have your favorite spots by the end of the hunt. I will tell you this. I saw some monsters in January so they should still be alive today. If they make it through the first two seasons you might even get a crack at them. Later, recurveman

Treestandman - I have a little advice for you. Stop calling people. Just wait until the roads are open and go get your camera. I do my best to not contact anyone that write me a citation of any sort. I knew one guy that wanted to comply with OSHA. He called them up and asked if he could find out the regulations. Over $100K later he was up to code and trying to keep them out of his shop. I know that sounds kind of funny but it is a true story. Stay off of their radar and you will be happier. If you really want a citation then keep calling them. Give them the location of the camera and your home address. I'm sure they can mail you the citation. Later, recurveman

Grande bear - I love my Pentax. I'm sure there are more expensive glass out there but they seem to work great for me. My buddy has a pair of 8 or 10 power Nicon's that I think are the best glass out there. But he told me they ran in the $1600 range. I can get a pair of pentax for 10% of that. I guess it just depends on what you want to spend your money on. The pentax aren't as good in low light conditions. I think the main reason is the power. I have a pair of junk 10X 50 bushnells that work much better in low light. But I would doubt you would be able to shoot when I can see through my bino's. I love looking through binos on a tripod. I don't see how people look for coues without a tripod. I just seem to pick up the small movements I can't see when I'm just holding the bino's in my hands. Later, recurveman

Well this is my guess. I think the pics are real. If they aren't real then you should spend as much time scouting as you do into making those pics look that good. I think the pics were taken by a person and not a camera. The angles are all different. I'm not sure that a stationary camera could have taken all of those pics. Though I could be wrong. If there aren't supposed to be any deer in this unit and you were scouting elk then my guess for a unit would be the 15's or 3B. I'm guessing the 15's. But then again I could be wrong. I think the buck would score very good. I'm going to guess it would be around the 115 give or take a bit. Either way I think you should pass it and look for something bigger and let me take care of the "grunt" work. I'll let you know what it scores. It probably just photographs well and is only in the mid 80's. I bet he has got a camera in unit 22 and wants us all to think he is somewhere else. By the way. Nice trick tank. Nice buck. Maybe you should be hunting deer instead of elk. Just a thought. Later, recurveman

"average"is different for everyone. The key is to stay with in your limits. For me it is pretty simple. I'm pretty comfortable shooting at any range where I can hit a pie plate. If I can hit the plate them I feel I can hit and kill the animal. My only problem is I can hit a pie plate from a longs ways away and the animal isn't there when the arrow gets there. So I really try to limit myself to the closer shots. I've taken the long shots but really don't think that is part of my game anymore. I would have to say I would limit myself to no further than 60 yards on elk and much closer on everything else. The other thing you have to think about is what critter you are hunting. The whitetails are a ton faster and smarter than a Mulie. So you might want to get quite a bit closer so they don't duck the arrow. Pretty much 35 yards and under. If you are hitting the pie plate then 35 is fine. If not then get closer. Plus, if you can't get that close then you really didn't win even if you do kill the critter. later, recurveman

Heck I got so many tags my hand got a cramp just signing them all. Thank god I didn't get another elk tag this year. I don't think I would have had time to go. Not to mention my wife almost got a cramp in her hand too. It will take a few days to recover and off scouting this weekend. I would say we did pretty good. I put in for 6 critters and got 3 tags and my wife did the same but only got 2 tags. Not bad. I guess it makes up for all the years I got the big fat NADA. Later, recurveman