Coach

Gotcoues, I have to apologize. I've read this post probably a dozen times just blown away at the success you guys have had this year. I'm so exited for you and your family and, wow, just "WOW", you can't get any better than that.

Ilene, first and foremost, I want to congratulate you on an amazing hunt. But more than that, I want to thank you for taking the time to really describe your feelings on the hunt, your expectations, your frustrations. We all dream about the day we'll finally get that coveted tag. When it finally happens, we are overcome with the combination of joy that we'll finally get to go on that kind of hunt, but it's tempered by the pressure that comes along with it. "What if I draw this amazing tag and don't live up to the expecations that come with it?" Believe me, I've been there, this year, in fact. It sounds to me you started looking at this hunt as an opportunity to really expand as a hunter. Maybe prove something, maybe break through some barriers. I, too was lucky enough to hunt North of the Canyon this year, 13B - a hunt I honestly never thought I would be lucky enough to be on. All my friends are die-hard hunters, and all wanted to have that tag. I could describe what pressure I felt to make the very most of that hunt, but from your story, it's obvious that you've already been there. It was a "numbers" game before I even got there. Not to mention, I could count on one hand (maybe one finger) the number of 170 class mule deer I had ever seen in the wild. That number would be ZERO on an actual mule deer hunt. Yet I had totally convinced myself I could go up there, pass up all the 170, 180 even 190 bucks until I found "the one".... Well, it didn't work out that way at all. 3rd day of the hunt, I shot one of, if not the biggest mule deer bucks I'd ever seen. But what do I do? I start comparing him to pictures I'd seen online. I start wondering if I was "less mature" of a hunter to have taken the shot.... "If you hunt the strip you have to kill a 180 buck at least, but should hold out for the 200+ ones that are there..." Those words echo in my mind... The more I reflect on that hunt, and all the things that made it hard, the more I realize that measuring a hunt by inches of horn is probably the worst measure of a hunt. The real measure of a hunt, in my humble opinion, is the culmination of lessons learned about yourself and the people you surround yourself with. Ilene, I commend you on an amazing buck, but I'm more impressed with your ability to express the true beauty of what hunting means. It's not about arbitrary points or measurement. It's about how the experience of something as simple as going hunting creates the opportunity to really step outside yourself, take a look and decide what you like and don't like. From there it's all yours. Thank you for this post.

I've got several pairs of binoculars and an older video camera. The camera is a sony (uses a tape), the binoculars are Nikon, Pentax, and some cheaper models we bought when the kids were younger and just wanted something around their neck. Been doing some "Spring Cleaning" but in the fall, and these will get donated along with lots of other things unless somebody wants them. I'm in Lakeside, and not looking to ship. But if you can pick them up, they're yours. I'd love to see these go to some young hunters.

Nice job boys! Way to get after those piggies.

Hey James, I would be happy to meet up with your father, and I might even have some fanny packs to add to the mix. My oldest son just took all of my old camo, lol. Shoot me a PM if you want and we can make arrangements.

Many years ago, my dad was working for the Forest Service. They would appraoch each camp and write down the vehicle license plates. They were cordial, but each camp knew if they left a mess behind, they would get a fine in the mail. As I grew up, I was in the boy scouts. Between those teachings, and everything my dad, grandparents and uncles taught, you leave the land better than you found it. The first step of any camping trip is to pick up any garbage left behind by others, and the last step is walk every inch making sure nothing is left behind.

Holy smokes!!! That buck is amazing. The frame, the mass, the kickers - absolute dream buck right there. Huge congrats to the hunter and all involved.

Sounds like you guys are doing great! I can't wait for the next report.

Great job, Brian. I was laughing out loud when Mark was telling me this story. Congrats on getting that smart buck!

Great topic and I agree with you whole heartedly on both issues. I LOVE Arizona, but I am so disappointed with the littering. I don't know what it is about AZ. You go to Colorada, Utah and hardly ever see litter. Here, it's everywhere. And not just the tossing out of beer cans, which is disgusting enough, all along Rim road there are places where people dump couches, refrigerators, truck loads of garbage. It's like we're missing some kind of "state pride" when people are willing to dump trash all over one of the most beautiful places in the country. Please, when you do your clean-up, send me a PM. I'll do my best to be there with my sons to help out. Rim road runs just behind my house, and many times we've talked about organizing a clean-up, but it would take a huge effort including the local boy scouts, maybe some donated roll-offs. There's just so much garbage it's more than a few people could put a dent in. I've also witnessed on more than one occasion people setting up camp, and when they pull out they dump their black tank right where they camped or as they drove out. How classless can you be, to dump your sewage all over? There is NO EXCUSE. There are dump stations at Big Lake, Hon Dah, Lakeside, Show Low, Heber and Payson. At most it costs $5 and in some cases it's free. As to the hunter ethics, I've noticed the same thing. Your story reminds me of my two older sons' first elk hunt in 3C a few years back. That year a new friend offered to help the boys get their elk and I gladly accepted. This guy is pretty wild - I mean the stories he tells of the situations he's been in hunting Mexico, and here in AZ where it has literally been life-and-death type situations. He trained with MMA fighters and to listen to his stories of crazy situations he's been mixed up in, at first I was skeptical and thought they must be exaggerated, but they've been confirmed by other people who know him. Anyway, we showed up to a certain spot well before daylight, with two youth hunters ready to chase elk, listening to the activity and putting together a plan - and exactly as you described, two vehichles drove past us and pulled off less than 100 yards up the road. He just said, "I'll be right back" and walked up the road the two vehicles. I would pay good money to know what he said, because they were out of there so fast - and when he returned all he said was, we won't see them again. And he was right. LOL. Personally, I'm not confrontational. I even felt a little bad that it took this other guy to "set things right". But to your point, you shouldn't have to be. Those guys saw us and were about to jump right in the middle of our set-up. I don't know what the solution is - other than mentoring our kids and other new hunters. Picking up trash along the roadside can go a long way. I always end up with extra trash bags full of someone else's litter. Maybe if we make a concerted effort to clean things up, those slobs will not have an excuse to add to the problem. As for ethics, I'm really encouraged by stories I read here about families hunting together. At the same time there are just as many stories of stolen trail cameras and blinds, fights over water holes. We just have to be good stewards, and if you know someone that steals other people's stuff, speak up. As a side note, I was lucky enough to hunt "the strip", 13B, this year. There was no trash along the roadways, trail cameras were on every water hole with nothing more than a bungee cord. For some reason, the hunters in that area were very respectful of the land and the other hunters. We need to make that the model for all areas in AZ.

As a kid, I grew up hunting birds, rabbits, squirrels - all with a pellet gun. I was constantly turning over rocks and logs catching whatever snake I could. My dad grew up hunting too, but for whatever reason, he gave up hunting, art, photography, backpacking about the time I was born, as best I can figure. It's still a mystery to me, why he just lost interest, about the time i was getting the bug. I joined the boy scouts, hunted every creature in the NE Oklahoma woods, learned to sein minnows, fish, bowfish carp and gar - but I always felt I was doing it all on my own. When I wanted to be a pitcher, my dad put up a net in the yard and tied a t-shirt in the middle. "When you can hit the shirt every time, you're a pitcher", he told me. When deer season approached, I would touch every round of reloaded 30/30 ammo. At best I would sit an old treestand. Usually, my contribution to the Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner was a few rabbits and squirrels. Maybe a duck. Around college age, my dad bought me my first compound bow. It was an out-dated PSE but it was all I had. I shot that bow every day with a finger tab and Easton 1117 arrows. My first pair of binoculars were Nikon 10x24 pocket binos, again provided by my dad. I hunted and hunted, and did what I thought then was glassing. Every spare moment in between classes at U of A, I was doing everything I could to learn about hunting. I'd sneak off and hunt the hlls around Tucson with my crappy bow, crappy binocs and absolutely no idea what I was doing. One Saturday morning around Redington pass, with papers to write, tests coming up, I find myself on my first real deer hunt. I didn't get anywhere close to them - I still remember the lead doe catching my scent and ushering 4 or 5 other does and a scraggly 3 point deer out of the area. From then, I tried over and over to get within bow range of a javalina or deer. It seems like it took forever but one day I took my first ever javi with my crappy bow. Not long after I took my first coues with my dad's rifle. I can remember vividly turning off the music, really getting serious, driving into my area and started the process of getting into the hunt. I would love to credit my love for hunting to my dad, but I can't. My love of hunting came from my desire to learn on my own. 20 years later, the only hunts I really care about are my sons' huhts. When I have a tag, I am 100% solo unless one of my boys are there wth me. Well, that 's not totally accuate, the last coues buck I got was a hike-in hunt, and had Greg Lewis not been there it would not have happened. Greg spotted ths buck and walked me right to him.

Get the animal on the skyline, keep wet-wipes in your pack and try to avoid the tounge hanging out. Admittedly, I had to photo-shop some bloody tounge pix on my last hunt. The worst possible photo op, is the back of a truck with the tounge hangin out and lots of blood. The best thing you can do is tuck the legs underneath, wipe away any blood and traces of blood, get behind the animal with as much of a skyline as possilble, and put the focus on the animal, not you.

That's aweome, Brian. I talked with Mark quite a while today when you were out hunting. I can't wait to see the buck you got!

Look for fresh sign. Their scat is unmistakeable, and it's all based on vegetation so it breaks down quickly. Get a good vantage point and glass hard, then do some walking. If they are there, you'll find bedding trees with lots of scat. Work washes - they love to move down low. Lots of mesquite and cat claw with grass is their comfort zone. If you're in an area where the pigs are active, you'll see a lot of digging and rocks moved around. Find the biggest cedar trees you can find and look around for scat. If it's white, it's old and they might not be there. If you find fresh scat, they are there. When pressured, they move together to thick cover, but they usually follow trails. Just get your "mountain man" on and look at the dirt - it will tell you where to find the pigs.

Bump

Great job Jake! Way to get it done!

NICE!!! Well done.

Wow - that is a fantastic buck, and very well done mount!

Looks like it has been very well taken care of!

Man, that is one heck of a fish. Everytime I see a tuna like that I can't help thinking about how much good eating will come of it!

Here's Matt when he was 5. He was already a hunter then. Now he's almost 16. Time goes by so fast you won't even believe it. Take pictures, write down stories. Take every second you have with them as if it were a golden grain of sand. At the end of each day, take the time to remember the good and bad, and just think about both.

Bigorange, it will happen so fast you won't even believe it. One day you are trying to teach them some little things, the next, they're wearing your old boots, the next, they're whispering in your ear some of the old advice you may have already forgotten and teaching you some new things.

Whoah, that's a stud buck. Huge congrats!!!

Wow - Huge congrats!!! Nicely done and then some!

Brings to mind the quote and context from Dances with Wolves.... "Good...Trade".