azpredator@work

very nice indeed!

I was drawn first choice 37B ham hunt. Archery is my gear of choice. My son was drawn 3rd choice 37b Ham hunt . Not real happy about that one, but it will be interesting who gets "first shot" . I told him he has to hunt archery for now on for the stink pig.

This hunt started out a lot easier than it was last year. Last year Enrique, my son, drew the 22n late tag and we had no idea where to look. At 11 years old it was his first elk tag so I was determined like never before to find him a bull. 19 days of scouting later I knew the unit very well and was very confident he would shoot his bull. The big snows came plenty early and had pushed a lot of elk into the unit. He shot his first bull an hour after opening day @ 85 yards. This year Enrique was fortunate enough to draw the same tag. I spent 11 days scouting and fine tuning the particular elk and their locations. This year was different as no big snow storms had pushed much elk off the mountain. The bigger bulls also seemed to be bunched together instead of staying by themselves. We followed a particular bull literally all year long getting a glimpse of him on 4 occassions and over 170 trail camera pics. I took the family camping the week prior to my son's hunt to watch the area we would be hunted to see what kind of pressure would be placed on the bulls. On Sunday we woke to snow and I went out to locate the big bull. There were boot tracks everywhere, but no vehicle at the normal parking place so I was a bit bewildered. I hear some commotion so I went to where it was coming from and found a lady and her son. She had a rifle on the ground and he was trying to figure out his map. They were lost with a bull down. It was mid-morning and I wanted to see if I recognized the bull she shot. Sure enough it was the bull we had been following for the past year. In the meantime Enrique drew a youth tag in New Mexico. On the second evening right before dark we were able to call this young bull into 22 yards for his shot. 1 well placed round was all it took for this bull to go down. An all night skinning and pack job was in store for us, but we didn't complain. Hunting in the plains is a very different experience for sure. You can glass antelope and elk within 50 yards of each other and the elk drink from the same water sources in the middle of nowhere with the antelope. Pretty cool. Back to Az: With the biggest bull (that we knew of) gone from the area we focused on one canyon that held bulls from Oct-Dec of last year. This year was the same as 2 groups of bulls were insistant on not leaving the canyon. With 9 bulls located I knew it would only be a matter of time before Enrique would put down his 3rd bull. Opening morning found us high on the ridge glassing. Immediately, we found the bulls and started our decent onto our shooting location. 5 shots later I was convinced Enrique had shot a nice 6x. We gave him and hour and I watched the footage about 10 times. I was sure he hit the bull no less than 4 times. We slowly went to where the elk stood and found no blood. He had stood there for nearly 15 minutes so I got a pit in my stomach thinking maybe he was hit bad or Enrique had missed. We searched the entire day and never found a drop of blood. The second day we were back at it looking for blood. We had his tracks, but with so many elk using that area all looked fresh. After the second full day of searching we gave up. The 3rd day the elk were back and no shot was presented. They worked their way through the brush for 45 minutes and we waited on that sidehill all day, but they never came out in the evening. 4th & 5th day the bulls were there, but no easy shots for my son to take (there's a huge difference between getting a shot opportunity and getting a 12 year old a shot opportunity). Each day the same thing. Shooter bulls (5x5 or bigger) were spotted and in range, but not long enough for the 3 minute setup required. The last day we found the bulls again and now 6 more bulls had joined the group. They were all mature bulls as well. Some broke up pretty bad, but a couple were dandy 6x's. Unfortunately, they all stayed in the brush and pines and never came out. The 2 smaller bulls started up the side hill to the exact same location as the first bull on the first day. Enrique took aim and made the shot. We were very happy for this last day bull and makes # 3 for Enrique @ 12 years old.

Yes - prayers are definitely in order. Sad indeed.

badlands pack sold Bushnell spotting scope sold

Diamond Rascal youth bow. $190. Has a cabelas 4 pin sight, whisker biscuit, 4" doinker and limbsaver wrap. This is by far the best starter bow made for the little guys. I'll include a dozen arrows. 7 gold tips and 5 easton acc's. Lots of adjustment 18lb - 32 lb (?) and lots of draw adjustment as well. Bow shoots fast and accurate - you won't be dissapointed. Badlands 2200. $ 130. The most popular backpack made. Used very little - maybe a couple day hunts. Perfect condition. I'll throw in the hip belt attachment and the rain fly cover. Well designed pack with internal frame and 1st pack out trip capability with orange wrap. [att achment=29127:badlands_pack_3.jpg] Bushnell compact spotting scope. $75. Super compact and extends when ready to use. I've never used it after owning it for several years. I've loaned it out a couple times, but it is still in perfect condition. I think I paid around $200. It has 2 different eye pieces. 25x and variable 15x - 60x. Great size to throw in your pack and use it when needed. email me with questions @ wporter@palmharbor.com or call 480-226-4103. Thanks, Wade

"Simply Awesome!!! I know exactly where you were! That area is the best!! Woot Woot!! Congrats!" Jeremy - some pics are taken to steer others in opposite directions. Shush!

spotting scope sold pending funds

Congratulations on a great trophy. Good to hear hunters helping hunters.

desertyankee - absolutely awesome. The coloring on him is beautiful. Hunting bivy style is unlike any other. I love it. My boy is 12 and cannot quite do things that way yet, but in the next few years he'll be ready. Again, glad to see you got your trophy. I just got your message this morning as we didn't get back until 1am this morning and my cell died Sat. Again, huge congrats to you.

I don't know what material is used on the vision, but my double bulls have come pretty scent free. I do however set them out in the backyard for several days before setting them out in the woods. I spray the inside heavily with dead down wind and let the sun do it's thing after that. No smell issues detected by me or deer. Good luck.

congrats on your trophy

It started out fast sighting the first javelina within seconds of putting up the glass. We covered a lot of ground and Leslie, my 14 year old niece, ended up winning "first shot" opportunity as my son has already killed javelina. We ended up busting the javelina from it's bed 4 feet away and Leslie was a little slow to draw her weapon. The second day we changed locations. We got within 65 yards of the herd of 9 javelina. The plan was once Leslie killed her pig she would hand the rifle to my son and he would get a pig before they left the area. Being within 100 yards for 34 minutes provides great footage on video, but without coming away with even a single shot was VERY frustrating for me. She simply could not locate any of the javies in her scope. We were directly down hill from them so that made it a bit difficult for her to stay steady. I did manage to shoot a coyote before the day ended. The third day we found nothing and had to return home. I had Thanksgiving day off so I rounded up the kids and took Leslie's dad along as well. We found the pigs around 10am and the stalk was on. Enrique, my son, had first shot this time. I got everyone into position and started filming. We were within 100 yards from the herd. Enrique made sure I was filming the same pig as he was holding on and let me know he was going to shoot. He made what looked to be a good shot with the pig jumping and rolling. Leslie traded places with Enrique and we captured her first kill on camera as well when she made a great 60 yard broadside shot. The picture shows the exit hole side. High fives everywhere! They both enjoyed caping and skinning the javelina and we were in home just in time to enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving meal provided by the long day's cooking by my wife and sister-in-law.

picture test Holy crap - it finally worked!

great story and congrats on your trophy!

congrats on your bull - way to go!

Great bull with lots of character. Very Nice!

I will only need the elk packed out of the woods. My son who has the tag is 12 so he can't help much and where we are going to hunt will be very difficult for one guy (with asthma and fighting the flu) to pack it out. Send me your contact info. Thanks, Wade

I need to locate a good packer for Dec's elk hunt in the Payson area. I used a couple guys who worked for the county last year. One guy's name was Porter something and I cannot remember the other guys name. If you know how to get ahold of them or if you know of a good packer in the Payson area please providfe me their information. Greatly appreciated.

The best one I ever ate was one I shot in thick cactus country. Of course, he was a youngster compared to others I've killed and I am sure that played more into it than where he lived. I have seen no difference from state to state or different terrain. The biggest difference is how the meat is cleaned and stored before freezing. By the way - I was up in 22 this past weekend. It snowed yesterday. The big bull we've been keeping an eye on was killed by a nice lady and her son who were lost (better lucky than good). She shot it at 75 yards and they thought it was a spike until he ran after the shot! They got turned around pretty bad. I found them after checking cameras and neither had a compass or GPS. That's a bummer for my son and I as we've watched this bull since last December all the way up to last week.

1) 5bs 2) 6as 3) 8 4) 7w 5) 7e Sounds like G&F may combine all 6 tags into one 6a pool for next year so you may not have to focus on just 6as. If they do that then I would change to 6a for my first choice. Good luck to you. All units stated above will produce the caliber of bulls you are looking for.

Great job - huge congratulations on a fine bull on a tough hunt. That's awesome!

nice buck - congrats. Remember to use the flash on your camera

another beautiful buck - congratulations. I love it when they add inches while you're watching them!

VERY nice! Beautiful deer.