Coach

The good news is, this came up a while back and got shot down. I think a big part of that was backlash from AZ bowhunters legally using salt. If we shut it down once, we can do it again. They tried to pass it off as an effort to confront CWD, which has yet to become a problem here from what I've read. But the argument was that salt and feed could potentially aid in the spread of CWD. I've been putting out salt in AZ for decades, and I can tell you, the animals hitting those salt licks are typically bedding together, so I think a good argument could be made there. The second part of the reasoning I've heard, is they don't want food plots specifically managed to attract game, as are common in the Eastern states. You be the judge on that one - IMO, you're more likely to find a pot grow than a food plot in AZ. Let's just stick together, be informed and let G&F know that we're opposed to restrictions like this. Point out that NM has had these restrictions in place for a long time and it hasn't impacted the game positively there as much as poaching has impacted it negatively. I like AZG&F, and hope they continue to focus on poaching rather than restricting legal take methods.

I drew 3a/3c September archery. I feel like a douche - shoulda known you had that tag. Hit me up. I've got some ideas you might or not might be considering.

No logos - shoot me.

Since the cat is out of the bag, here's another angle. Huge congrats to the hunter and all those who made is possible.

The Slik Carbon is a really good tripod. I've got a Bogen Tracker 3205G that is great for holding heavy glass. My Go-To for 10x40 - 15x56 swaros is the teeny little Slik Sprint pro. Does a lot in under 2 pounds that the big boys do. Won't work well for a 77+ spotter though.

Just got the pic on my cell. Would love to post it, but I've been burned by that before. Patience - all good things come to those who wait. LOL.

I've got a Cabela's XPG flashlight that I have taken on every hunt I've been on for, wow, longer than I care to admit. I don't know if they even still sell them, but that has been as much an essential part of my pack as lighters and a space blanket since they came out. Mine is rechargeable, around 130 lumens and is as strong now as it was when I bought it 10 years ago.

BTW, I love this quote... "After familiarizing yourself with these guidelines and if you are willing to scrutinize a buck to see if he has what you are looking for, then the decision to keep looking or settle for what’s in your spotting scope is yours. If you are willing to pick up your optics, repack your personal gear, smile and turn your back on a buck lying totally unaware of your presence because “it’s just not there” you’ve just reached a new pinnacle in hunting. Remember, big trophies look big because they are! On the other end of the spectrum, if there is any doubt about the quality of a trophy, “it isn’t big enough,” do not talk yourself into seeing something that isn’t really there."

This is quickly turning into my favorite thread ever on CWT. I've read most of the articles posted by JLW and KaibabHunter and there is some very solid advice there. I know I'll be memorizing every line of these articles. As I've pointed out (and proven) sizing up mule deer is a little mysterious to me. That is probably due to the fact that I haven't actually seen many (if any) true giant mule deer on the hoof. I've seen plenty of pictures of them - but that's totally different. Coues, I find, are pretty easy to judge, even from a distance. I have to look at scoring mule deer much more like field judging elk. You can have a great looking 6x6 bull elk that makes you want to pull the trigger. But you have to really look at a lot of characteristics if you want to break through that 350 - 370 class range. I've hunted a lot of elk with friends and my own tags over the years and I'm really learning about how to break through that over-zealous mode when it comes to field scoring them. You really have to get picky about the fronts, the thirds, more importantly the overall width and the 5ths. Most people I've been with get so caught up on the royals - which almost always look impressive, they forget about things like how far back are the 5ths, how tall are they? You can judge a bull much better by his 5ths and width than you can his royals. How far past the 5ths go to the end of the main beam? How far up the snout do the fronts go? 90% +/- of the time somebody thinks they have a 370" bull, they are looking at a 340 bull. And the rumors of a 400" bull usually are in the 370s, maybe 80's at best. There's the "wow factor" when you see a big bull that you start throwing out numbers based on how impressed you are to see such a manificent animal. I'm sure it is pretty much the same with mule deer. I've been hunting all over AZ for decades now, and I've probably only seen 2 - 3 mule deer bucks that would top the 150 range. Sometimes I tell people looking for a really huge bull that it will look almost like a cartoon - it will be so big you won't even have to start adding up inches - you'll just know it. I think this might apply to mule deer too. If you are super picky about a 185 vs. 200 mule deer, you're going to have to really look at width, depth, mass, kickers... on the other hand, you just might just see something that immediately know is exactly what you are looking for without having to pick it apart. So, if you saw this, would you be measuring through optics, or shooting? LOL.

Thanks Tracy. It's the older model, and I've got it set on the lower, 3MP setting. I got 1,997 pictures in 5 days (partials on both ends). I adjusted it today from the 3 pic setting to 1 pic, but only had a 256k card it would take. That's like 1 or 2 days max. I know there are ways to reduce the number of pix, but I really like seeing everything going on there. I'm hoping there is a way to at least double the capacity by sending it in to them. Maybe it's time for a new camera that can handle more volume of pix.

Last I heard the Vortex backorder list on rangefinders is until September. I'm gonna wait it out, but I was really close to getting a Leupold with similar specs. Since they've been out a little longer, they are probably more available.

Well I sure am glad to hear stories like Rifleman and Becker where they actually track down the bad guys and get their stuff back. Usually, it doesn't work out that way so I'm glad to see some of the theiving scumbags get held accountable. Nicely done, gents! Rifleman, I sure hope they drop the case against you. You were just doing the right thing, and it sounds like you were able to not only retrieve your own stolen property but that of other hunters. Kudos, and stand tough. This may be a stretch, but I'd bet a vast majority of camera theft boils down to 17-22 year olds. There just seems to be a period where young boys turning into men don't have the mental capacity to comprehend the nature of their actions. (BTW, this applies to ALL crimes if you study it a little). It's not necessarily that they are "bad kids" - their brains are just wired differently at that age. Empathy, consequence, conscience, "moral compass", are often lost on these young men at that age - I know I didn't develope those character qualities until I was older. Maybe all us dads have a responsibility to teach these things, reward and encourage them, because they sure don't come natural to a late-teens/early twenties boy. They HAVE to be taught by a positve role model. Ok, stepping off the soapbox.

I voted for the Muzzys. G5s fly well, but I like the replaceable blades on the Muzzy and have just had outstanding results with them. I've shot a lot of heads including G5 Montecs & Strikers, Slick Tricks, Magnus Stingers and BuzzCuts, lots of clones, couple older mechs...Sold all of them except my muzzy 100's.

Here's one that hasn't been brought up yet. The Baretta Tomcat. I'll start with the cons: It's 32 ACP. Ok, now that we're past that, first thing I'll say is you can get some pretty decent self defense rounds in 32 ACP that help bridge the gap from there to .380/9MM. The Pros. Semi Auto so it's very slim, low recoil, very easy to use, and for my wife the #1 selling point - No slide to work. The barrel tips up from the front and you just stick one in, press it down till it clicks and fire till it's empty. I knew my wife was going to be picky. She refused to even look at the revolvers, mini Glocks etc. She liked the Walther 380 and clones, but just couldn't work the slide on top. As soon as she handled the Tomcat, she said that was exactly what she wanted.

Man - it just doesn't get any cooler than that! A great buck, a very capable youth hunter, excellent footage. Nicely done!

Hope it's not too late. That Garmin radio/GPS setup is a good idea that didn't really work out so well. The radio distance is dismal at best. I've been with friends on the Kiabab and Navajo. My super cheap Cobra radios out performed the Garmin Rhinos on both hunts in many categegories . While I think it's a reaklly giood concept, they are yet to make it work as planned. The general functioning works well as, you can transmit your location just by speaking over the radio. Where it fails is range. On cheap radios I coud stay in contact with fellow hunters but the Rhinos failed to pick up a signal.

Yeah 270WSM, that's the same hunt. It's really not that big of a tank, and I still wonder why he was so emotional. Guess he finally crossed something off his list, but I gurantee there are a lot harder working hunters on this site. Not trying to take anything away from that hunt, but I find it a little strange when some celebrity shows up, does a hunt that you or I or our neighbor has done, and somehow gets rock star treatment. He didn't find that tank, he didn't scout it. Now I sound like POS current President with the "you didn't build that" comment. But to be fair, he didn't. He didn't do the scouting, he didn't get off the trails and find this spot on his own. Someone else did all the ground-work and put him where he needed to be. Then he did a show about how hot it was in his blind until "his" buck showed up, I've been hunting that area for coming on 3 decades now - that's a long time to look at the same stuff every year and dig in a little deeper each summer or fall. When you see one of your hot spots get turned into - I dunno - advertisement lettuce? Guess I'm just venting now, but I'd way rather see the celebs go hunt Texas or Africa. Arizona is way too pristine and pefrect to let the money rollers and big cameras turn it into cheap horn porn.

Here's what I've seen. Elk seem to love the big, chunky salt tabs like are usually used in water softning systems. They look like a pill about 1" wide by 1/2" inch across. Deer seem to like it better when you have very finely granulated salt that gets down deep in the dirt. The more natural the salt the better. Deer will stick their hooves into the muddy salty dirt. Elk prefer to just chomp down on the big hunks of straight salt.

I might have a friend inteterested in that Monarch.

Nothing at all wrong with quads. They are great if you are by yourself. Personally, I've got a wife and 3 boys. We'd have to have an army of quads. One day I'd like to have a really nice jeep or older FJ. But for now, the Ranger has been a really great tool to get us all out there together.

Lance is definately on a roll. Good stuff right there, and a great belly-laugh. The good news is he didn't steal anything and he's trying to be a "stand-up" guy. The bad news is, he really thinks that you are in "his spot". Not to distract this thead too much, but I had a similar experience years ago. I had a good water tank in 24A all scoped out. Had cameras there for weeks and when I finally went in to set up a blind, I notice someone else had a double bull set up on the wrong side of the tank. I wrote a note similar to the one you posted, but said basically, "looks like we're hunting the same tank, let's get in touch so we aren't on top of eachother." So that night I get an email from Randy Phillips from Archery Headquarters and he's got Fred Eichler set up on this tank. Well, to be honest, I didn't know who either of them were, but they had a lot of interest in some of my cameras on the tank. Randy said I could probably get some free arrows or something if I had footage of the buck Fred ended up taking. I got some pix sent from Randy's phone and just didn't think much of it. One night, I couldn't sleep so I start flipping channels. I found this guy Fred Eichler for Eastman's Hunting Journal hunting coues in AZ, so I decided to watch it. No kidding this was the same tank, the same hunt I was on and the pictures I had on my phone and email were actually the same ones used in the show. Kind of a funny story. That tank is going to be awesome this year and I'd like to try and take a bear off it in August.

I'm re-posting this camera. I had a lot of interest but it's still available. Nice camera, soft case, all accessories and spare battery. $600. Might consider partial trade on a good coach gun or compact 1911.

I've had some pretty close encounters with bears along the Black River over the years. Usually, it's young bears probably on their first months away from momma bear and they are interested in fish. When that has happened, they were on the opposite bank as I was cleaning fish and I would toss the carcasses toward them. They usually shied(sp?) off but came back later to eat the scraps that made it to the other bank. From what I've seen the bears we have are not very aggressive. Most see a human and bolt out of there like a wary deer. Some down around the Black get a little bold. I've seen them break into cars and get in camp late at night. I would hate to shoot a bear out of fear, but there have been some fatal maulings in AZ over the years. Best practice is, give 'em some room, when they know you are there and don't run off on their own, it's probably good to give them a good scare. It's a lose-lose when they they aren't scared of humans. We end up with busted up camps, and they usually end up dead.

Wow, what a gorgeous buck!

Ouch - that sucks!