Redbeard

Gone

I can't be there but you might give Marvin a call.

The Bowhunting in Arizona Record Book is published every 8 years and 2008 is time for the fifth edition. The committee has been hard at work recording all the new entries, reviewing piles of applications, writing new articles, and compiling the hunting data stats. that make our book so valuable. We are very close to publishing but are trying to let as many people as possible get their entries in to this edition even though our official recoding period ended last summer. Our planned cutoff date was last Sunday April 20 but several hunters contacted us still trying to get some entries to us so we decided to put off the deadline to May 31. This will push back the publication date to Fall 2008 but since there won't be another book until 2016 we figured it would be nice to be sure we were as current as possible with this one. If you are not familiar with the BIA book you should check one out. We have categories for all the traditional big game species plus javelina and turkey (Merriams and Goulds). We also have the Cochise and Kaibab Awards that are for hunters who take several different species with a bow including fox, bobcat, and coyote. There is much more information than just the records. There are stories about the state record animals, interesting articles about the history of bowhunting, how to information, and pages and pages of tables of harvest data that are very interesting and useful to improve your chances of taking a trophy class animal. And more... Arizona is the best state for hunting many of the N. American big game and our great record book reflects that. We should all be proud to be Arizona bowhunters and entering your successes in this fine book is a great way to record the history of hunting in this state and to see your personal trophies recorded for posterity. This next edition will contain approximately 3000 entries from about 1400 hunters including some of the biggest names in bowhunting like Chuck Adams and Ben Pearson. This edition will also list several new State Records (some of which are also world records.) If you have any trophies to enter in the best state record book in the country contact us a.s.a.p. The entry must have been taken in Arizona under Fair Chase with a legal bow and arrow. The entry fee is only $10 per animal and you must have the trophy scored by an official BIA, P&Y, or B&C measurer and submit it with the BIA forms and proper photos. You can go to bowhuntinginarizona.com for more information and contacts (except my email address on the website is outdated. It is bigsky@commspeed.net) We plan to have a publication date set soon and will send out pre-buy letters so you can reserve a copy. I believe we will have only 2000 printed so they are just about guaranteed to sell out. If you want to purchase a 4th edition (Y2K) we have just a few regular eds. available but do have more numbered collectors copies. Each ed. has much more information than just the individual entries so they are truly a collectors item. Thanks Chris Dunn

Jeremy, Sorry we didn't get back to you sooner. We talked about your buck at the last meeting. The rule is that any animal that the original score would put in the top 3 must be panel scored to be entered in the book. It seems kinda weird but it is the same way P&Y works. Marvin can explain why better than I can since he's been through it with his world record antelope. We have a couple weeks to get it done but the problem is getting everybody together (including you) we could probably get it done if we could arrange to meet somewhere in the middle but it will probably have to be in Phx. so we can get enough committee members there. The fact that you shot a great buck is good and bad I guess. We have a couple other heads to do for the same reason so we'd like to get them done at once. There are several really good trophies to enter in this next ed. for sure. I don't want to have to drive to Phx. to score your buck anymore than you probably do to get it done but that may be the only way. If you have questions call me or Marvin. Our numbers are on the bowhuntinginarizona.com site. Thanks, Chris Dunn

I agree that the mass makes it look like a Rez bull but the third point drop tine and the kickers on the 4th and 5th look a lot like the genetics of a certain bull we videoed back in 99 or so.

:blink: SWEET! With the big heavy ones like that the match is usually close by. Get on it! I recognize those genetics. I bet GRONG does too.

This ticks me off not because of hunting over salt (which I have done) but because it shows how they discriminate against us. So will rifle hunters not be able to hunt over bait? How many places are there where you can shoot a rifle and not be near salt? First. AZGFD does not give a dang about actually being able to enforce a law. By making it against the law and putting up a stiff penalty they intimidate you with fear of the penalty. They also frequently write tickets that are unfounded or at least would not stand up in court but figure most people will pay the fine rather than hire a lawyer. This just gives them another tool to harrass hunters with. I was told to my face by a high level officer that they do this and they "know" 80% of the hunters are breaking the law anyway so they just need to come up with new ways to get us. Second. Why should archery hunters be discriminated against with regard to harvest success? AZGFD knows they have been getting a free ride for a long time with thousands of bowhunters buying archery deer tags but hardly killing any deer. Now that we are being successful (even though the rate is about 1/4th or less of the rifle success) they want to knock us back down to zero. They can always claim they are protecting the resource but that is total BS. It is about getting as much money as possible by reducing success. At least they are doing that to the rifle hunters too. But why should we be held to an even lower success rate. If they want to help the deer population they could do it in a number of ways, like predator control for example. Oh but they don't have enough money...blah balh blah. They know we will still apply for hunts and buy tags because we are a captive audience. A class action lawsuit is exactly what we need because this is BS.

Well, I finally broke the curse and got a nice coues buck. I've had some pretty bad luck with Dec. tags over the years including wrecking two trucks, two dogs died, blew my knee out, and had a friend die. Because of this I always approach these seasons with some caution, wondering what will go wrong this time. This season started out with a dead battery, wrecking my quad trailer lights, and having problems at work before I got out of town. Par for the course but I had a feeling that it might still work out. I hunted 8 days and froze my butt every one of them except the last. Even in the desert some mornings were in the teens this Dec. I had been so cold for the previous hunts that I broke down and stopped at Cabelas to buy some decent wool camo on the way down for this last week. I love that stuff now. The story of this day of hunting started out kind of funny. I had found this area by studying maps and aerial photos. I was looking for the right habitat and for a place away from the crowds and it worked pretty well since I had hunted this area for 3 days opening weekend and saw lots of deer but never saw another soul. Until the day I shot this buck that is. I was a little disappointed to see somebody else's fresh tire and boot tracks ahead of me this morning. I hiked in about 1/2 mi. and glassed for an hour and spotted 6 or 7 deer including one little buck. I continued on to another spot then saw the other hunters. I was relieved to see they were bowhunters but as I got closer I realized it was my friend Andy (Little Bear) and his girlfriend Jessica. They were trying to get a deer for her. Neither Andy nor I knew the other even knew about this place let alone would be hunting there that day. Andy had just discovered this little spot himself a few months prior while lion hunting. We were excited to see each other and spent the rest of the morning glassing together. Things were kind of slow although we did see one nice buck chasing a doe. He was a big 2 point but not big enough. About 11 am Andy saw a couple of does coming over a hill about a mile away and while trying to put antlers on them he suddenly said, "Dude! There's a giant buck following them!" We spent the next hour or so watching the deer come our way and down a steep canyon. We even saw the deer actually jump off a couple of cliffs as they worked their way down through the rocks. I was holding out for a buck at least 100" B&C and was pretty sure this buck would make that cut but even with a spotting scope it was hard to tell. Andy thought it was bigger than I did and even though I am an official measurer I also knew he had been looking at several big bucks since the summer that had since been killed so he had some good perspective. We hoped that it would bed in a place that I could easily stalk it but unfortunately it went into a small side canyon out of sight. I tried going way down the ridge we were on to look back into the canyon but I couldn't find it. I hiked back to where Andy and Jessica were and he assured me it had not left that canyon so I went across the big main canyon to get on top of the ridge above the (hopefully) bedded buck. After long stalk that ended by me crawling to the edge of the side canyon I spotted two bedded does but no buck. I was in the sun and in plain sight of them at 150 yards so I just stayed put. For two hours. As the shade crept into the canyon the does got up and started feeding up the opposite side. As if by magic the buck appeared right where one of the does had been bedded. He was destroying a cactus with his antlers while facing away from me. That made it hard to see his points so I wasn't quite sure what he looked like but it was such a cool stalk and situation I didn't care. I ranged him at 165 yards set up my bipod and readied for a shot. A few minuted later he turned quartering away and I touched of my .300 Weatherby magnum. He instantly flipped upside down and landed belly up with his antlers stuck in the dirt and never even twitched. I was a little worried that he might have broken a point with his poor landing but I just remained calm and gave thanks for the opportunity and the events that came together with that shot. That .300 WTB had belonged to my Dad who died two years before. He had hoped to use it to shoot a big buck I had found for him one year but couldn't make the shot happen. I kind of felt like this shot was still in the gun from that hunt. Andy and Jessica finally heard the shot they had been waiting for and I hiked back up to where they could see me and waved them down. Surprisingly, I didn't even feel like hooting and hollering but when Andy let out a yell from half a mile away I had to answer. I met them at the bottom of the canyon then we all hiked up to the buck together. I still had no idea how big he was just that he was big enough and it had been a really cool day of hunting. We marveled at how long his beams were and how great he looked but didn't try to figure a score or anything. Just by first impression we guessed maybe 104-106" which would be my biggest coues deer so far. We took a bunch of pictures then caped and quartered him for the long hike out. The hike out involved almost two hours of thrashing up a steep canyon with head lamps fully loaded with meat and lots of gear. We reached our vehicles at 7:30 pm tired thirsty and hungry. I realized I had gone the whole day from 4:30 am on one package of Pop Tarts and a liter of water. I spent the night in Tucson at my friend Lance's house and had a bacon ultimate cheeseburger and a beer for celebration. Lance was away hunting himself so it was pretty quiet. I finally had to put a tape on the rack but I'll play the game and hold off on giving the number so you can all play guess the score. I had been trying to draw this tag for several years and considered it the coues deer equivalent of a "Strip" tag for mule deer but I still had a hard time getting started on the hunt. By the fourth day I was back in the mood and overall I had a great time. I glassed up several hundred deer but only 50 or so bucks. I did see one nice mountain lion and a coatimundi that was as big as a Labrador Retriever. After 8 days of hunting the only other hunters I ran into happened to be good friends and their company and help was very welcome and appreciated. It couldn't have ended better. Now it's time to get one like this with my longbow....

Am I surprised NO. This just goes to show that everything averages out in this universe. We are just canceling eachother out on good luck vs. bad luck. It's cool you got the stuff back but that kid needs a beating.

Josh, When I do I'll be using it to mount my big sheds. $150 ain't bad for a cape that is already tanned but make me an offer if you want.

I'd sure like to see you entering these bucks in the Bowhunting in AZ record book. Don't be shy?

Thank you for changing your avatar. Mr. T piddy the ugly foo!

I just heard from a friend in Carefree that they were watching some piggies in thier back yard when mamma pig laid down and started popping out piglets.

I hope nobody is feeling sorry for him just 'cause we all thought it was so much bigger. That's a killer deer.

I think I have one in my freezer that has been tanned and ready for mounting. It was off an 85" buck. My taxidermist told me he charges $150 just for the tanning on a deer cape. I'll take $150 for it. I just need to go dig it up. I have about 10 capes I've been saving in that freezer.

:blink: I find that score hard to believe but I know you know what's up. I still want to see it in person. I totally underestimated my buck and you were the opposite. I guess we need to hunt together and come up with an average. I hate guessing from pictures and your pictures sure looked good but I would have been way fooled too with those long G2s. It doesn't matter though that is still one sweet buck. 100" ain't nothing to sneeze at. The score doesn't have jack to do with the coolness of the hunt either. Congrats on ANOTHER great buck. Still waiting for Andy to whack one. He is usually done for the year by now.

Fantastic! Way to go. Hey if it makes you feel any better I missed four shots at under 20 yards before I got my first javelina with a bow and I was about 30 years old at the time. How old are you? Your story will really inspire my 9 year old daughter. By the way, you have a great Dad for sharing the hunt with you. I bet he's more proud of you than you can imagine. Congrats to both of you.

WOW! That is a beautiful sheep and I'm not even a sheep guy. You definitely made the most of that 26 year wait. Congrats a million. Just so you know on scores you figure the difference between each side for each measurement. So according to your horn length there is an inch right there. Not that it matters what it scores.

HA! My goal this season was to take a javelina with my 9 year old daughter Zoe standing next to me. She loves hunting and is a great hiker and outdoors kid so I knew we could do it. We just went out in the afternoons close to the house in unit 17. I'll spare you the long stories but the first time out I missed a 25 yard shot with my longbow but she got to see the whole operation. We had a 2 mile hike out in the dark over ankle breaker rocks that time but she was into it. The next time we had some pigs in an open meadow at sunset. I crawled to within 40 yards while she waited at the last tree behind me but I never got close enough for a longbow shot before darkness and shifting winds ended it. Yesterday I took both of my girls (Zoe is 9 and Phoebe is 6). I brought the compound this time figuring I was handicapped enough with two little kids in tow. Another long story with lots of close calls and surprisingly the pigs were not spooked once even though we got within 5-50 yards multiple times over an hour and a half. What is amazing about that is my six year old is the squirmiest kid you ever saw. While we were still hunting around they both had to run around and crunch in every patch of snow. We had a blast and finally gave up on the herd we had been chasing as they headed into the yard of a ranch house. We headed back to the truck happy with so many close calls. I had drawn on these pigs several times but never had a clear shot due to the thick brush. We had been sneaking around so much I figured they need to get some energy out so I had them race across a meadow to a tree. About 30 yards into the race a herd of javelina spooked in the brush right next to us. Figures! Might have even been the same herd. We got after them and wouldn't you know I got a 25 yard shot with both of the girls kneeling right next to me. They saw the whole show. I hit the small pig good but it was quartering a little towards me. It charged right at us with its bristles up and finally veered off only 8 ft. away then bedded in some thick brush about 15 yards away. We waited 20 min. or so right there and didn't hear a sound but when I went to check it was still alive. We decided to leave it until morning since it was getting dark and I didn't want to push it further into the brush patch. I went back this morning and it was right where we had left it. I field dressed it and brought it home for some pictures with the girls after they got out of school. Zoe really enjoyed helping me skin it too but squirmy Phoebe went and jumped on her trampoline. Overall it wasn't my biggest pig but it was the most fun by far. It was like herding cats all afternoon with those two goofing off and competing for who gets to hold my hand next etc. I'd say, "Don't move they're right there looking at us." then turn around and Phoebe would be jumping on and off a boulder arms swinging wildly right behind me. Those pigs must have thought, "Surely those people are not hunting." I kept cracking up at the whole situation but somehow we stayed on them and got one. I've guided people that were the worst hunters in the world and been successful but this took that to another level. My kids are great outdoor kids but the two of them together trying to sneak around in the brush and leaves and crunchy snow was next to impossible. I think God made javelina just for this kind of hunting. If I can get a javelina under these conditions I will take the title of World's Best Javelina Guide! HA! Let's see if I can post this picture.

SWEEEET! Nice buck man! Looks like some tough country for stalking. Especially crawling on your belly. Nice job. You guys are inspiring me to get off my butt and do some hunting.

My wife and I have been backpacking since we were little and our kids haven't known anything different in their lives. They both started going on pack trips when they were just a month or two old. We have 4 llamas for carrying all the gear which makes packing with kids much easier. We backpacked with them into the Grand Canyon when the were only 4 and 7 without the llamas. They did great. We spent 4 days camping in the desert over New Years and they didn't have a single toy but they were never bored. We try to convince them that they are really lucky and different to spend as much time outdoors as they do. They think everybody does that stuff. What really made the point was when they found out that lots of people don't even know how to go to the bathroom in the woods. My wife explained how when she used to guide all women llama pack trips she had to teach all of these grownups how to squat in the woods and not pee on their pants. They were shocked and thought that it was just the weirdest thing that grown people had never done that. We got a good laugh about that. My biggest concern is that when they grow up they can find guys that are nice and like the outdoors too. Hopefully they can find guys who can keep up with them at least. There just aren't enough kids their age that are growing up in the outdoors. Or worse, they might move to NYC or LA! They do it all with us. The family that hunts together stays together. This is my wife's 2005 mulie. Another family trip.

:lol: :lol: I think it's called American Idol now.

I'd proudly end my season with a carp like that. Congrats on a great buck. Story?

I think my kids may be a secret weapon. Walk around with them goofing off and the animals never get the feeling they are being hunted. Zoe is going to be a killer hunter, she just loves it but I'm not so sure about Phoebe. She loves going out in the woods but can't stand to be quiet/still for a second. I think she's going to be my motorcycle racing buddy. We are going on a family wilderness pack trip this weekend and I'll be packing a bow for deer so maybe I can try them out again. I got a 4X4 mulie with my bow on a pack trip when Zoe was 6 months old. She's good luck. I gotta find that picture of the two of us with that deer. I actually had a red beard back then.

That's what I'm talkin' about right there! That thing is definitely one of the coolest bucks ever. Jeremy, I believe I met you up in unit 8 last year when you were scouting for elk. We talked for awhile about hunting coues in your neck of the woods while I was waiting for my buddies to show up on the 354 rd. Did you get a bull up there? I ended up getting a nice one on my LO hunt. Congrats a million for that buck. You have definitely got those things figured out. I LOVE droptines....I want to come visit it. Chris Dunn