Coach

Yeah, I'll be headed out tomorrow. Taking the whole family (at least that's the plan) but since it's new years some might want to sleep in. But I'm going out for sure and I'm sure at least one of the boys will be ready to go chase pigs. If I don't connect, I'll PM you and maybe we can meet somewhere Monday if you want.

Awesome picture - I agree, the way the hunters and the animals stand out is amazing but you can tell it's an old photo. Thanks for sharing.

Very cool pix and story - great day for sure!

Welcome aboard - +1 on a great first post. Great looking buck in what looks like some tough country to stalk.

Jeez ... now I get the ground rules after nearly 300 posts, most of which break them ... THANKS!!! I was wondering why I kept getting PM's telling me to shut my yapper ... :lol: Welcome aboard Shaun. I'd agree ... you've found the best hunting site on the web. LOL, My youngest son, Josh, wanted to see pictures of a prime rib we had cooked up Christmas Eve, and of course, I could't just make dinner without taking picturs and posting them up here. He saw in my profile that I had over 2000 posts, and just had to bring that fact to the attention of my sweet, loving wife....LOL. Her response, of course, was "what in the world do you have to say that much about????" LOL... I guess this place is addictive. I don't go on facebook or twitter or anywhere else, but I consider this place an extended home where I can just talk about whatever. Most of it has to do with hunting, sometimes it's more. What's great about this site is the people who frequent here.

Glad you are on board - Welcome! Now, just a few ground rules...Don't talk about religion, politics, wolves, baiting, trail cameras or ATVs and you'll never get any negative responses. LOL. Just kidding of course. Glad you're here. This is a great place to talk about anything and everything related (or not so much) to hunting in AZ.

I really like the .270 WSM for a "kids" gun (my kids are boys), heck I think it's a great all-around adult gun, but if she's flinching with a .270, then maybe a standard .243 or 22-250 (or 25-06) might be a better choice. There's a lot you can do with the gun itself to cut down on recoil too. A muzzle break combined with a really good recoil pad like the Simms or Pachmayr decelerator can really make a huge difference in kick. I bought a cheap wood stock for my kids' Howa .270 WSM, cut it down and put on a Simms recoil pad and they shoot it as comfortably as they do my AR-15, (.223 with a buffer spring = no substantial kick). And they are in the 100 pound range. I considered a muzzle brake to ease it up even more, but haven't found that necessary. While I haven't done it myself, if you took a .243 or 25-06, put on a muzzle break and a good recoil pad, I think kids could shoot it very comfortably. Of course, if you use a muzzle break, it's a lot louder so hearing protection both at the range and in the is an important consideration.

Absolutely nothing. Hornady bullets have been killing critters for years. Same with Sierra, etc. These days picking a bullet is like picking a bow - there are lots and lots of great ones to choose from. If Hornady, Sierra, etc. weren't still performing well, they would have faded into the shadows as other players with a more agressive advertising strategy (Barnes, Nosler, Swift) start to gain more of a following. Sierra Match King bullets are some of the cheapest around, but have a huge following with reloaders as do Hornady bullets. Same as with archery equipment, when it comes to bullets, powder, favorite hunting round, you just have to find what is right for you. The good news is, there's a lot more "right" anwers these days than wrong ones. The selection we have today in every category of hunting equipment is so far advanced over what our dads grew up hunting and reloading with is mind boggling. But the companies they used are mostly still in business, and for a good reason.

Update, I went out a couple days ago and it was the exact opposite of my previous outing. I took a nice, younger hunter along that I had randomly met before the elk hunt a few months back. In the morning, I glassed up 15+ deer and put the new hunter on a stalk on a 100-ish heavy 3x3. Conditions were absolutely perfect. We had this deer bedded in a very stalkable situation. Didn't work out, I think he turned his radio off - and he ended up just upwind of where the big buck and several does were bedded. Some of the does blasted out, but the buck stayed put. He went in, but now from the wrong direction and while a doe stood at 20 feet from him, the buck slipped over the hill - All I could do is watch (and bang my head into a rock). Later, in another area, we found a good group of piggies (12 strong) and a really big boar I hope to arrow in a couple days. Glassed up more deer and did some quiet "bed stalking". More deer found but no shots, yet... Finally, a little spike stood up, literally 20 feet in front of me and all I could think was, if I shoot this baby buck with milk dripping off his chin, just to fill my tag, my wife will shoot me. So I kind of whisper, "Legal buck - coming your way"...I watch him draw and hear the "whack". The little buck runs right at me, obviously hit, then veers off. I'm sure this guy has just tagged his first deer with a bow and I'm very happy for him - some high fives, and we're off to find the buck. Well, hours later, on hands and knees of tracking a blood trail that went from OK to pretty much nothing, I was pretty dicouraged. I've been on blood trails like this more than once, and as soon as the buck left the snow, and blood drops went from every few feet to yards in-between, I knew it going from bad to worse. Many times we lost the trail, but stuck with it REALLY hard and kept finding a little drop once in a while mixed in with fresh deer tracks going in every direction. Bad news is, we never did find his buck, and I was kind of left scratching my old bald head...It's good to take out newer hunters, and try to pass along the things we've learned, but it's also frustrating. This guy is a lot younger than myself, and had it been my own son along I would have encouraged taking the same shot under the same conditions. I really don't fault the guy - it's just really hard to be in the situation where you kind of feel responsible for putting someone in the position for a shot, but then can't recover the animal, and they can't tell you where they hit, or where their pin was when they shot... Overall, it was a great day - glassed up at least 25 coues deer, a good group of javi's got new hunter a shot at his first deer...man I just wish that little buck had been hit a little better and we walked out of there with a "perfect" day. Some things are just beyond our control, I guess.

Nice bullet selection - I'm reallly interested in seeing how the TTSX fly - that's a lot lighter than I usually shoot in a .300 WSM - pretty high velocities (and pressure) there. I like the Accubond in 180 and 165 grain, and CT in 168 grain. Can't wait to see how those lighter bullets fly in 300 WSM. I always considered 150 grain the lower limit for a .300 mag of any flavor but my dad used to load up some 100 grain match kings in his .270 as a "plinking" round and had great accuracy. Keep telling us what is working for you!

Awesome pic - gotta love those desert swine! Some of the coolest critters out there, and that is on heck of picture. Already got my vote for the next round of trail cam photos.

Nice Brian, Looks like it's going to be another "Done-in-One" year for you. Awesome spot you've got there.

That's pretty amazing. I wonder how they were able to hit the moving pistol bullets with a bb. Maybe a shotgun fired upward simultaneously??? Cool vid anyway.

TJ, Peg is trying to talk to you. This is a tough one for me - my own father just turned 69, he worked hard his entire life and now has one passion and one passion only - fly fishing. He's phenomenal at it. In the middle is my mom, just a year or two behind him. His job required relocation - but for her that meant leaving friends and eventually feeling very isolated. Sometimes, wives feel that their entire life is all about supporting the men in their lives, and they do it selflessly, making many quiet sacrifices along the way. When they finally do say something, you bet your sweet backside, it's important, and you would be wise to take pause and really listen. I'm only about 1/2 way into years of marriage as you have, and I surely don't presume to give advice that wasn't asked for on that matter, but since you did ask, and since I do care about you, I'll say this. There is something that has been on her mind for a while and she ignored it as long as she could. Now she's doing the only thing she can by getting it out into the open. Whatever it is, hear her opinion, encourage her to elaborate even though it might be painful. She needs you to understand something she can't easily communicate to you. That means you have to work all the locks and keys and firewalls to get at what is at the root of whatever it is she is feeling. Women are amazingly complex and wonderful, but unlike a guy you can punch enough times in the chest to get them to unload what they are feeling, require a lot more nuance, setting up a comfortable zone with boundaries, even if you have known them for many years. Women have an incredible fortitude that allows them to press difficult issues below the surface and keep them there almost indefinately, unlike men who can't carry an ounce more baggage than will fit in our pockets. But when the pipe bursts, you've got a big job on your hands to contain the emotion that has been welling up, supressed and gaining momentum for a long time. When that pipe busts, it's a hard fix. The good news is, you don't have to wait for a Chryronble melt down. What you do have to do is actually listen, be aware, understand where that special person is emotionally, and do everything you can to be her rock before a melt-down occurs.

Awesome! Great desert muley. Thanks for sharing - those guys are tricky!

Huge thanks to Chef for some new ideas. This one came out really good. Carrie and the boys all thought it was one of the best ones we've done so far. Here's the roast I started with. Seems like a pretty good cut, but does have the thick vein of fat running through the middle. Good marbling though on a close look. Seared all sides in a skillet. Had to use EVOO because I couldn't find Pomace olive oil. Minced up two heads of garlic by hand - in another bowl mixed Cayenne Pepper, Montreal seasoning, Kosher salt and a little dry mustard. Added EVOO to the dry rub and then the minced garlic. Stirred it all up into a paste and patted it on. Once on the meat I sprinkled on some Cavenders, a little garlic powder and just a little more Cayenne. I like a pretty "loud" crust. Took right at 3 hours at 325 to get the inside to 120 degrees. Let it stand for 15 minutes while the veggies were steaming and the au-jus was mixing with the leftovers from the baking pan and sliced in... Overall, the family loved it. The crust was fantastic (thanks again to Chef for the idea of making a paste with olive oil, minced garlic and the dry ingredients). I might have pulled it maybe 5 to 10 minutes earlier - very tricky timing on a 3 hour cook time, and for the au jus, I think next time I'll just use pure beef stock with kosher salt and white pepper. The drippings (considering how much OVOO was in the paste) were a little more oily than I prefer. But I'm nitpicking. The roast came out delicious, the family all enjoyed a Christmas Eve treat. Would have liked to have a pretty picture of a slice on a plate with some steamed veggies, but got too busy eating to take pix - LOL. Once again, a big shout-out to Chef. While I'm not totally new to prime rib, having someone like you to give some truly expert insight is really comforting when trying to tackle a meal that you want to be special for your family. Your insights really helped out. Merry Christmas to all CWT members, and thanks to Amanda for creating this awesome site where we can get together, share ideas, and meet new friends.

Man you guys are getting me all pumped up. I've taken serveral coues now, but so far only one muley, and he was a velvet buck in the high country. A nice, hard-horned desert mule deer is one trophy that has always eluded me. I've only been able to go after a few decent ones, and with does, they have got to be one of the hardest things to sneak up on. Even when I think I'm being really quiet and working the wind, it seems I'm busted every time way before I'm within even marginal shooting distance. You know how you plan out a stalk and pick certain points you have to get to and check the deer to see if they're still relaxed. Well normally out of 5 or 6 "get to" points I can only get about 1/2 way before I look up to check on them and see every single doe on their feet and staring right at me. LOL. It's a challenge for sure, and I'm in awe of the guys who pull it off successfully. Finally got my 4x4 fixed, apparently I'm pretty rough on vehicles. So once all the Christmas formalities are over I'll be going back at it. Sounds like the action in the desert is heating up too.

One more vote for the accubonds.

Will do - I'm actually cooking it up tomorrow since my mom making nice Christmas Ham and my aunt is in town. So we'll be doing our in-house Christmas dinner one day early. (Yeah) Who doesn't like Christmas to come early?

Wow - that buck is just awesome. How many times have you dreamed just seeing an incredible buck with a huge frame, close to touching beams with double drop tines? Now I've seen one - lol. Huge congrats to Luis - just flat out amazing.

Nice - huge congrats to Lilli on her first coues!

Wow - thanks Chef. That was a very complete and informative series of posts! I've been using the wrong oil for sure (EVOO) gonna fix that this time. Also, I don't know if let the last two stand long enough and maybe that's why didn't come out as good - or quite possibly I just had a much better cut of meat the first time. Looking forward to it! I also never thought about calibrating my themometer - it's a "dial" type so I'm not even sure how to adjust it. I'll have to look into that. Last question - for the best au jus, do you pour the drippings and pieces of the crust from the roasting pan into beef stock? I dont' necessarily want greasy bubbles in the au-jus but want as much flavor from the meat as I can get. Ok - I lied - one more. You mention using minced garlic instead of garlic powder. I usually coat entire outside in in EVOO (now pomace OO) to help the outer seasonings stick to it better. Any issues with getting minced garlic to stick to the meat and stay there along with all the dry seasonings? Thanks again!

Thanks TJ, Shoot me a PM with your email address and I'll flood you with pix of these critters with javis, turkes and elk.

Sounds like it was pretty domesticated from the get go. It was obviously more comfortable playing house pet than pretending to be a true "wolf" in the sense that the people re-inroducing the "wild" wolf would like us to imagine. About 10 years ago, I was lucky enough to move from the city back to the White Mountains. Immediately our family came to adopt (by our own reckoning) a couple of coyotes, we named Farmer and Fuzzy. Don't blame me for the naming, that was strictly the kids' choice. Eventually, a longer-legged dog showed up, turned out to be a young, male adolescent wolf. At first, I discounted the sightings, but it was later confirmed he was part of a pack released around Sunrise Lake and rather than seek out other wolves, he headed to town looking for an easy meal. While I didn't feel threatened by this one, young wolf showing up in my back yard, I did realize that the wolf re-introduction program could not succeed. This effort to bring back wild wolves to the White Mountains was like trying to transplant bear or javelina. Once they get the smell of human occupants, they will be drawn to it.

Given that it's close to Christmas and we all dream of that "red rider" BB gun under our pillow. Imagine a hunt on Tiburon Island for rams that dreams are made of, and a voyage across the sea catching yellow fin tuna, el dorado and sailfish. And when the boat docks back onto the sand, with the sun turning into a red orb over a black sea, a warm welcome with a fiesta of colors and dancing and fire, shared amoung friends - all the bounties of the sea and land, lobster, crab, halibut, fresh picolte, a pig roasted over a spit... As a hunter, I have a dream of what heaven might be, and that would be my heaven.