Coach

Just about anywhere N and W of Greens Peak, especially the draws that lead to the rez border. Lots of fighting in those cuts at night. Potatoe Patch S. of Whithing, Pate Spring and Mineral Spring are awesome too. Carnero lake is another good spot to dip your float tube in, cast some flies and listen to the bugles.

Looks like it's going to be an awesome rut. I heard bulls bugling as early as July 5th. My buddy who lives in Torreon in Show Low said he heard a ton of bugling in the mid afternoon a day or two ago from his home office. Congrats to all you bull tag holders. Should be a really great rut hunt this year.

Do you have a better picture of the Rossi 22 pump? I've always liked the old "gallery guns". Might be interested but I can't tell much about the wood or metal from that pic. Thanks.

More specific information please.....Did you lose it between Hwy 87 and the Lone Pine Saddle junction? Or did you come from the Roosevelt side? Was it in a black case? Looks like it might have been found - man this forum is awesome.

They hold up decently - for a while, and are a pretty comfortable boot, but don't count on them being waterproof. Once the seams split, your feet will be swimming, even in high grass with a lot of dew. I've never found a pair of boots that are half leather and half nylon/cordura that can take heavy use. Solid leather uppers by Lowa, Meindle, Kenetrek are the only way to go for a serious boot.

Those "rubber doughnuts", aka "X-Ring" can do a world of good. It takes some experimenting on where to place them on the barrel. The problem is, they are designed to mellow out the "barrel whip" and stabilize the harmonics of the barrel. So, when you need one, it really means your barrel is having a hard time handling the pressure your load is producing. I've seen this most often with fluted barrels. Seems people like a very light countoured barrel, or even fluted to save some weight. If you look at what long range hunters, snipers, even rimfire shooters do, they opt for a heavier barrel. Even shooting .22 rimfire, a 1" bull barrel is the norm. So why do we see 5/8 inch fluted barrels on large magnum rifles? Because they sell. They don't perform - they appeal to a certain market segment. I had a Weatherby Super Big Game Master in .300 Wby that had a fluted barrel, muzzle break all the tweaks and had a heck of a time making it group. Even used the "doughnut", which I still have if anyone wants it. I bought a savage 114 Classic with a medium countour barrel, and it shoots sub MOA regardless of what I feed it. So a $1400 gun took a ton of work to make it acceptible, and a 500 gun outshot it out of the box. The difference - the medium countour barrel on the Savage out-performed the fluted barrel on the Weatherby.

You're off the hook, Casey.

Bump for a really nice AR.

With all due respect, and you obviously know your stuff - When I reload - it is for one thing and one thing only. That is accuracy. I know every rifle has a sweet spot, when the perfect balance between burn rate, meets the harmonics of the barrel - and everything from primer to brass to powder and bullet weight all come into play. I have to disagree that 4350 is "way too slow". While I agree it's not a super fast burning powder, it is very stable and provides consistency. From what I've seen, consistency and accuracy go hand in hand. Based on 20 years of reloading, I would bet you would be hard pressed to find a single powder that is more consistently accurate from the 25-06/270 Win platform up through the .300 Magnums than IMR 4350. I've never seen 4350 flatten primers at medium loads, or produce barrel whip at higher loads like I have in the other powders I've tried. Again, not trying to be argumentative, I just don't think you can discount IMR 4350 in just about any finicky rifle without trying it out.

Wish I had room or budget for it - that is a sweet rifle.

Be careful about the GTX - I'm on my 3rd pair. Danner was good enough to replace them when the seams broke out - twice, but this pair did exactly what the first two did and split out where the leather hits the nylon at the flex point, and the waterproofing won't take more than a week of hard hunting. Great customer service, but my GTX have become my "around the house" and woodcutting work boot - I don't take them hunting anymore.

Wish I could snatch it up - just too many other "priorities" right now. I have no doubt it won't be for sale very long.

I just hope this doesn't turn into a "hunters vs. AZGFD" situation. We're pretty lucky here in AZ. The current relationship between hunters/fishermen and G&F is pretty good right now compared to a lot of states. As I stated on another, related thread, I applaud Mr. Husted for his honesty in the matter. I also think G&F did the right thing by persuing charges. There are plenty of negative results that could come out of this situation. On the other hand, there are some positive ones as well. For starters, G&F has proven that they won't show favoritism, that their commitment to upholding the laws includes everyone, even those at the top of their ranks. To me, that shows character. Secondly, it gets the department to really look closely at the difference between those who make an honest mistake, and those who intentionally set out to break the law. I'm sure there are lots of folks on here who have been diligent and have never broken any game laws, intentionally or otherwise. On the other hand, I bet there are many more who have accidentally found themselves in violation. or violated a law without ever even knowing it. Rules change every year. Usually it's pretty black-and-white, common sense stuff. But sometimes it's little minor things. In all honesty, who knew there was a 10 week period from April 1 to June 15th that you can't shoot a Gunnison's Prairie dog, before this whole thing unfolded? Point being - we all have a responsibility to know the law, and usually it doesn't take much effort to ensure you are in compliance. But, there are situations where even with best intentions, you can find yourself in violation. My hope is that G&F can recognize this given this situation and excercise some leniency in the future when law-abiding hunters come foreward looking for assistance. And that hunters will realize that what was legal 2, 3, 5, 10 years ago may or may not still be legal - and we need to be sure of exactly what is legal to take, and if there is any doubt, don't pull the trigger. It's not the same world a lot of us grew up in where pretty much anything small game or predatory was legal year round, and the only "poaching" was people intentionally killing big game our of season and hoping they didn't get caught.

+1 on the DIY stories. I have nothing against guides or anyone who hires them. I prefer to hunt DIY, and like reading stories of other hunters going un-guided. I wish there were more publications and shows featuring DIY hunters on public land. Glad to see you guys are putting some focus there.

Nice job! Sweet bear and a great shot. Looks like that gun is a killer.

When I saw "Willys", I was expecting something totally different - that thing is freakin' awesome. Is that tan paint or Durabak? I'm not really in the market but love jeeps. What kind of cash price would you be looking at?

Theives are scum. Hunters stealing from other hunters are the worst kind of scum. Sorry to hear about the loss.

I went out to do some wood cutting this morning and saw a successful bear hunter coming into Springerville around 10 AM. Didn't get the make of the truck, but wanted to say "congrats" to the hunter.

Sorry, wrote VOID across my extra 13B tag and took the scissors to it.

Well, that's an interesting "turn of events"... If he was willing to take away someone else's hunting rights for 5 years, he should be subject to the same penalties and not complain too loudly about it.

I've got a couple big hunts coming up where hauling a big camp trailer just isn't an option. I've always wanted either a quality cotton wall tent or Cabela's Alaknak, and just wanted to see if there are any bargains to be had. I might get through the season borrowing from friends, but I'd rather not ask to borrow expensive gear. If the price is right, I'd rather just get one now. If any of you guys are in the valley and see a good deal in the Cabela's Bargain Barn, I'd appreciate a head's up. For the Alaknak, I'd only be interested in the 12x12. Same basic dimensions for a wall tent, would like a floor. With either, a good quailty stove is a huge plus.

One more thing you are going to have to look at closely, and this is hard because trying on a boot in a store with dry socks, even really good ones, is when your sock compresses with sweat and use, does your foot slide forward in the boot? You have to realistically measure what width of boot you should be wearing. When you are going downhill, over hard terrain, your socks are wet and compressed, do your toes slide foreward into the front of the boot? One of the first things I look for in a boot is whether it is "lace-to-toe". Can you adjust the boot based on the width of the ball of your foot compared to the width at the "gap".' If you're 6' or taller, I can guarantee most boots will be too loose in the heel and too fat in the toes. I've bought a lot of boots over the years. The old style Cabela's Mounain boots were awesome. They don't offer those anymore and the new versions suck for a vareity of reasons. The Perfekt hunter is a solid boot that I'd recommend to anyone. What it lacks is the rock-absorbing ring of rubber you see in the Denali.

Thanks 123456, I just called them and it sold today. But I do appreciate the heads-up.

Hey, nice looking bear! Probably no better place to hunt big bears than the SC. Thanks for posting the pix.

Yup, that's what I'm looikng for. And from the sounds of it, the 20x12 would even be better. Thanks everyone for the replies so far. I'm just getting caught up.