kidso

Because more people are finding out how easy it is to tag a late archery bull! I am now 0 for 3 on that late archery tag, so just two or three more years and I will be due for some meat based on the low statistical success rates for those hunts.

Hand call or electronic? Sweet marks on that Tom! Do you eat your bobcats?

Guess we need a new sub-topic on the forum to post in entitled "Meat Donations" to allow the recycling of game meats to keep them from being wasted.

You sound like a school teacher with all of your reflective thinking and self analysis. Not a problem, that is how I operate, too!

Not only is it a waste, but it is also a direct violation of printed hunting regulations --the wanton waste of big game meat.

Maverick, let us share the bounty of our brothers.

A very nice gesture and what a sweet gift for my birthday on Friday! ...too bad I live in Chandler.

I am glad she is ready to chase pigs with a bow, as that is a serious adrenaline rush! Congratulations!

Nice buck, and sweet 90 yard shot!

Did you sneak a few bears in the appendix?

I have a sweet garden tiller available for an amazingly low rental price of 5-10 pounds of wild game meat! It is practically brand new and has only been used once......about 4 years ago. So, I would have to make sure it starts up first! Ignore the chicken poop,my machine is a great size and is a gear driven beast! Located on the east side near the Chandler Fashion Mall off the 101 South and 202 Loop.

Nice looking cat, and great little meat feast!

Nice, wish I could do that!

Holy cow! Just watched Human Prey, Season 1, Episode 3. My hunting buddy better darn well take the shot if a bear is on top of me ripping away my flesh! I kept yelling, "Shoot!" throughout the entire attack sequence! Beware the ultimate natural land predator!

Pigs are great, especially when they are as long as you are tall!

Great job, and nice of the shooter to not pull the trigger on a shot he was unsure about. Congratulations!

Nice! Where is the young hunter with his smile?

Nice looking buck!

Just knowing there was a herd of pigs down a certain wash or in a particular canyon is absolutely no guarantee you will tag one. But, it will give you a positive mental outlook for one thing....HOPE!

That is an age old question I have still been trying to solve! It is particularly puzzling in our state because some bears do not even hibernate and many just go into a reduced state of activity, but still minimally forage in our mild winter temperatures. That being said, the earliest I personally have called a bear during a stand was the first week of May, but I have tried quite a bit during the "early OTC" bear hunts that open up in March. I feel that most of the bears that are out at that time are still minimally moving and grazing on new vegetative growth or leftover acorns from the previous fall and are not very interested in pursuing a meaty meal. However, that will not stop me from trying again this year! I just realize and accept the fact that the chance of success on that early bear hunt is painfully low, probably even lower than the success rate on late archery bull elk hunts. But, it is still fun to go out and practice one's calling skills while prepping for warmer days.

You hit my favorite calling stands. I love calling off of hillsides and into thickly vegetated or rock-strewn drainages beneath me. For one, bears can use drainages as travel corridors; and two, they can find shady spots to bed down out of the sun. That being said, I have found more bedded bears on hillsides than I have in drainages. And third, your personal safety and visibility of incoming bears are greatly increased from an elevated position versus one from the bottom of a drainage. However, I have no problem calling into a drainage from above and then moving into its bottom and calling again from ground level. One of the scariest stands I ever made took place following that exact pattern and had a beastly bear crashing downhill in what appeared to be a falling run through thick manzanita directly towards an 8th grade student I had brought with me that day! Some people are not afraid of black bears, that is their choice. I choose to fear them when they come in on a full sprint while hand-calling and they have gravity in their favor! That is why I still always call from "above" first, before I set up stands "below." In my opinion, its not worth calling water holes, as a thirsty bear will come in to water just as well as a hungry bear will come in to a call. One might as well just sit water and be just as effective. I also like to call off hillsides and drainages that bears are using to access water holes or feeding areas. Setting up stand in these locations allows you to catch bears some distance away from their destination while they are still actively moving and are less cautious about their surroundings, versus how they suspiciously act as they approach a watering source.

I would have shot that buck myself had it crossed my path while javelina hunting! Meat in the freezer and jerky in the pantry.

I have an HHA Optimizer single pin sight. I had previously always used fixed pin sights exclusively, until this slider sight came with my bow. I hated and despised that single pin, until I began using it at the range. I always wondered if I would lose time in the field adjusting it for an animal. However, I am 2 for 2 with the sight and have taken both bear and javelina with it. For me, this sight "forces" me to use the rangefinder around my neck, when previously, I let my adrenaline take over when I had fixed sights and hardly ever ranged my target animal and consequently missed half of my shots!

Could you sneak a few bear pictures in the appendix pages at the back of the deer calendar? Maybe a nice blonde or two, or that elusive white wooly bear you stumbled across...

I shoot Wac'em XL's. A nice 3-blade fixed blade broadhead with a 1.25 inch cutting diameter.