iBowAZ

Awesome bull...way to stick with it and get it done!

Hi All, If you lost a bull, check out the the 6th image in this photo set, which was posted today. http://hikearizona.com/photoset.php?ID=42288 Tim

The photo's were taken along the Buck Springs Loop trail, which I think is in 5A.

Hi All, I picked up this Tikka T3 243 Win. for my Coues hunt later this year. I've been digging around the internet trying to find factory ammo. and not really coming up with anything which would have me lean one way or the other. Accept, that all rifles are different and you might need to purchase a few brands, different grain weights, shoot a lot, etc. to figure it out. At this point I'm fairly sure the grain weight I select should be between 85-105. I plan to zero the rifle at 200 and my max. distance is 500-600 yards. The scope I'm using is the Zeiss Terra 4-12x42 with the RZ8 reticle. Any guidance would be much appreciated. Thanks, Tim

1/10"

Thanks for info. This is one of the rounds I was thinking about.

Thanks for info. I don't have the time or space to get into reloading right now, nor do I shoot enough to justify the expense, maybe in the future. 500-600 is the plan, based on previous success, but once I find a place to shoot long and start shooting, then I'll know my max. with this rifle.

Thanks...sounds like I should give these a go.

This is great...thank you.

OK...thanks for the info.

Great Buck.... Darn that rain...something we don't see often, way to stick with it!

With the help of my friend Brady and my brother Jeff, I was able to harvest a nice 4x4 on the last day of our hunt. Thanks guys! This hunt was tough and warm. We hiked up and down mountains everyday glassing the flats and foothills. The bucks were sparse, so we hunted in different areas almost everyday, trying to glass them up high and low. Jeff and I were set on at least 4x4’s, while Brady was out to take his first deer. Brady ended up taking a great 2x2 on day five and I took this 4x4 Sunday morning, the last day of the hunt. The day started with a pre-dawn hike, which was much higher and steeper then we expected. About three-quarters of the way up, Jeff said that’s high enough to start, so we setup for glassing and waited for the sun to rise. Not long after first light Jeff picked up four deer, which soon disappeared behind a small hill without us knowing whether they had antlers or not. At that point, I relocated to the top of the hill to see if I could find those deer from a higher point. I glassed the low hills and didn’t see anything, so I turned my attention to the vast desert landscape to the west. After glassing the greater reaches of the flats with the 15’s, I put the 8’s on the tripod and glassed some of the washes and drainages closer in. Following some quick looks around the desert floor, I decided to do a full North to South swipe at about 800 yards. No sooner do I put my eyes to the glasses, I see three deer trotting up the wash, straight for me. I blinked, they came to a stop and all had antlers. The nerves started firing because I could see one had a much larger rack than the other two. Something had them spooked, because they were running, stopping, and zigzagging between a couple washes. I signaled to my brother and Brady to come up the hill and then back to the binos. Now there were also four does in the mix and the bucks had vanished. A minute later the bucks popped out from behind a Palo Verde and were on the move. In between trying to communicate with the guys, get my rifle in place, and keep an eye on the deer, I lost them all. Side note, I think the does and bucks were independently making their way across the desert, crossed paths and spooked each other. Anyways, as the guys arrived I’m frantically trying to find some movement below and picked up the does after a couple minutes. They were now straight out in front of us at 300 yards and still seemed spooked as they were walking quickly and looking back often. Still, no sign of the bucks. I couldn’t imagine where they ran off to because we had an amazing bird’s eye view over a large area. For several minutes we were all glued to our binos. Then I heard Brady mention something to my brother and then in slow motion not to attract attention Jeff pointed straight down under the cliff below us. I peered over the edge and there they were looking up at us from 140 yards. They had moved right up under the 60-foot cliff and steep desert terrain below us. At that point we all leaned back away from the edge hoping they wouldn’t run. I moved around to my rifle, eased up to the edge; as the bucks seemed to lose interest in us and started walking away. I then moved a few feet along the cliff and struggled to pick up the 4x4 in my scope as Jeff read off the growing yardage…200, 250, 275, etc. By the time I was ready to shoot, the 4x4 was walking straight away up and down through washes and never offered a broadside view. Finally, at 450 yards they all stopped on a shaded dirt bank, pacing around checking out their surroundings. At this distance it took a minutes to pick up the 4x4 in the shade, but once I did, I was in a comfortable steady position, so decided to shoot. The distance was 450, I confirmed the hold over from ballistics chart taped inside my scope cover, relaxed and squeezed the trigger. Click…nothing happened. Side note, later Jeff looked at the round and said it had a light primer strike. So, I cycled another around and got back on the 4x4 now up the hill a little at 460 yards with one of the smaller buck bedded down behind him, but to the right. I got on target again and fired. He walked towards us as I waited for Jeff to give me some good news. First, I heard “you didn’t hit him”, then “no…he’s hit.” I cycled another round and picked him back up as he and the other two bucks slowly walked our way. Jeff and Brady said they could see he was hit as he disappeared in the wash behind a Palo Verde. From time to time we saw antlers move through the Palo Verde as the other bucks stood there looking around. After a few minutes, the antlers were still; and the other two spooked, and moved off. A ½ hour later we all agreed he was down, so Brady and I made our way off the hill and to the wash while Jeff kept an eye on the antlers. Once in the wash we located a couple landmarks and made our way across the desert. Ten minutes later and after walked straight into a cactus because I was focused up ahead we found him…and he was down. Jeff joined us; we all exchanged congratulations, took a bunch of pictures and then put a plan together to get him out. While they went for the quads, I took care of the field dressing. Bonus, with GPS, a known horse trail, iPhone maps and some wide washes they were able to get the quads right to the deer. We loaded him up and were on our way. Overall, it was an awesome hunt. Glad our new big game hunter Brady could bag one. Hopefully, he’s hooked. For me, harvesting the 4x4 is a distant bonus compared to spending quality time with my brother. Thanks Jeff for keeping us going and on task. Finally, a huge thanks to my wife Jen for minding our little one while I came and went in the darkness for eight days. Where we glassed and shot from. Finally...hands on! Shot was taken from top of cliff in the background. A team effort! Thanks for reading…Tim.

Meat is done! Can't wait to try some of this maple sausage in the morning.

Posted on Brady’s behalf…Here’s his 2x2! It took us 5 hours to get him down after he was glassed up at 1000 yards feeding towards us down a wash. My brother and Brady snuck off the hill we were all glassing from, and crept through the desert towards the buck with the wind in their faces. I watched the hunt unfold from the hilltop as the buck bedded down obscured from both hunter and guide. My brother, Jeff, guided Brady in to about 80 yards working from landmarks, Saguaros and Palo Verde. Finally Jeff glassed up an antler and only a minute or two later the buck stood, either catching their movement or hearing them. The buck stared right at them for several minutes as Brady waited for him to take just a couple steps to the left. Instead the buck bound off to the west, down into a shallow wash and stopped. At this point he was over the horizon and out of Brady’s sight, but only about 150 yards away. Again he took off, up the far side of the wash and continued up the hill. Now even out of my sight I started to think we lost him, when the air-ripping crack of Brady’s rifle filled the valley below. With a free-hand standing shot from 200 yards and two others to bring the hunt to an end, Brady harvested his first mule and first big game! Way to get it done Brady!

Great looking buck...congrats!

Pictures? Pictures and story are up in a new post.

Four of us hunted eight of the 10 days and saw a bunch of does and five bucks: 1 small spike, 2 2x2's, 1 3x4 and 1 4x4. A buddy of mine took one of the 2x2's on the 4 day and I took the 4x4 on the last day of the hunt. We did a lot of hiking for good vantage points and glassed, glassed, glassed.

Sounds like you had a great time. Love the rack...lots of character.

Wow...huge!

Baiting, no thanks...I'd rather hunt.

Sorry to hear that.... Hopefully the word gets out. Could you tell us the general area you were in?

For a change in scenery, my wife and I came across 88 on our way home from the rim yesterday and saw these guys and gals.

Eight does yesterday...very hot out there. Can't wait for the cooler temps.

I have a Browning 300 WSM with a Leopold Vari-X 3 4.5x14x40 and I've been shooting these Winchester 150gr. silver tips. Also, the scope has a duplex reticle. The last time I drew a rifle tag (2008), I set the gun up to be dead-on at 200 yards and that's how it sits right now. At the range, I mostly practiced at 200yrds and shot the metal plate at 300yrds once in a while. This year, I would like to stretch my comfort level out to 3-400yrds. My question is, with this rifle setup, ammo and practice of course is 3-400 realistic? Thanks for reading.