Coach

I've said it before, I'll say it again. As a graduate from UofA, the Wildcats will always have a place in my heart. That said, I'll always cheer for any Arizona team over CO, UT, NM, CA, WA, OR, etc.. UofA needs major work in football and basketball, but the same could be said of ASU and NAU. Have some sense of state-pride and back all Arizona teams. When the big show-down happens, sure pick your favorite, but the stupid "UofA sucks and ASU sucks" mentality really reminds me of Jr. High. It's an old, worn-out, pathetic mindset usually perpetuated by people who never graduated from any higher education in AZ, and it just smells like youre 5AM butt-cheese. Time to grow up IMO.

BTW, not meaning to be nit-picky, but the story could use a couple of paragraph breaks - you know, make it easier to follow... just sayin'.

Well Gino, no matter what the conditions, you sure know how to get it done. Nice pics and looks like one heck of a fall of hunting. Thanks for the pics and stories. Kinda wondered why you dropped off the radar - looks like you've been a busy bee.

I can see why! Who wouldn't be exited about a buck like that??? Huge congrats!

Anyone following high school football in AZ knows the "big game" every year is Blue Ridge vs. Show Low. Maybe the hottest rivalry in in the state. The last 3 years it's been BR vs. the Cougars in the Dome at Flagstaff. Last year, the Cougars came out on all cylinders and put it to us. The year before that, we came out on top. Tonight, Blue Ridge finished up a zero loss season, facing the Show Low Cougars for the third straight year in the state championship game. Tonight, Blue Ridge took the trophy home, but the kids from Show Low really showed their mettle and their inner pride. Those boys fought hard, didn't win but showed respect for their home town, maintaining true dignity that doesn't often come with rivarlies of this caliber. My sincere respect goes out to the young men on both teams, and to the coaching staff, to bring a world class rivaly face-down that could go either way, and keep it civil, respectful, and in the spirit of high school athletics. Having played for Paul Moro, many years back, and having a son of one of my good friends and former teammate playing for Ricedorf - most people outside this community can't even begin to grasp the rivalry here. For those boys to be picking eachother up, congratulating eachother after each run, treating eachother like friends, rather than enemies, really says a lot about both coaching staff from both teams, but even more about the character these young men have developed. These boys all played their hearts out, but they also showed respect for eachother - GOD I love highschool football. Shameless shout out to my bro, Dain Thompson - who kicks butt and probably will never read this. You rocked tonight.

.300 Wby Mag is an awesome round, but it takes a big rig to handle it well. A muzzle brake is mandatory, IMO, and you can't have a wimpy fluted barrel. As to the price of ammo, well, 5 years ago WBY ammo was considered very expensive, but these days it seems $40 - $60 per box is more the norm. I used to reload for my .300 WBY for around $17 a box with Norma brass and premium bullets - Nosler, Barnes, Swift Scirocco. I experimented with lots of powders but liked the IMR 4350. Roy Weatherby hunted the globe, created a whole industry around wildcat and magnum rounds. Interestingly, his favorite was the .257 Wby Mag - and he was hunting mostly African plains game during his years of perfecting the hunting round. Funny that a quarter bore would win his favor over the bigger and heavier magnums he was better known for.

Wow, that is an impressive piece. How are the optics? What's it like to look through?

That's halarious Scooter. I did the same thing one year in Oklahoma. I was shooting a 12 GA pump and thought for sure I could pick up some good turkey loads on the drive over - nada. So here I was hunting turkey with quail shot. I decided to borrow Grandpa's "goose gun" a bolt action 10 guage. Grandpa calls in a group of jakes walking right down a fence line. Once they get past us on their way to the decoys, I aim for the one in back (big mistake), fire and 3 birds hit the dirt flopping. My tag was good for only two, so grandpa had to tag one of mine.

Wow, don't know how I missed this thread! What a great buck! Huge congrats! Spot and stalk speedgoat with a bow has to be one of the hardest hunts out there - for any legal antelope. To take a monster like that is a super accomplishment. Great job!

Nice Job Misty!!! Congrats on a great buck - and great job Clay for getting her set up for success.

I might have seen you at Fossil Creek this year too - were you down there. Sounds like the same FJ.

Took a while but I found him. Do I get a prize? LOL. Nice pic and great thread.

Nice job TJ, aint getting older a bitch? The mind is willing but the body doesn't always agree. Way to tough it out and take a great buck. I keep looking at that rack - great character - much like the character that put him down. Big congrats, and way to keep doing what you love.

That's really good advice. The neck and lower parts of the legs are something I always struggle with. So much meat there, but it's so full of sinew and connective tissue - the things that usually lead to gamey tasting meat. Gonna have to try this out next time as I hate seeing any edible part go to waste.

Wow TJ, that is just flat-out AWESOME!!! Great job. I love it when people take the time to celebrate, especially Christmas. Great job.

Congrats to Miles on a great first bull! Way to go getting him out there. You'll have trouble prying that Tikka out of his hands. LOL. Congrats on life-long father-son hunting memory.

Holy smokes! Great bear. Can't wait for you to put a tag on that big old bruin.

Great hunt - gotta love those backpack hunts. Great deer too! What can you tell me about that tent? I love Big Agnes stuff and I'm looking at getting the Big Agnes Crater (15) with the pad. I'm currently using an REI Clipper, and it's a little bulky. If I could leave the fly behind that would save me half of the bulk, buy you gotta be darn sure no rain hits. LOL. My buddy used a Kifaru ParaHootch, that was like 11 ounces and packed about the size of a water bottle, but it has no floor and seems like little more than my tent fly and costs around $200. And you have to supply the poles. A telescoping walking stick works perfectly for the tall pole, BTW. Gotta find ways to shave off pounds on those kinds of hunts. My pack is 10 pounds empty, add just my ML (close to 13 pounds) two sets of binos (swaro 10s and 15s) and I'm over 30 without any tent, sleeping bag, pad, food or water. Fully loaded on my last hunt (carrying a lot of extra water) I was about 78 pounds, and that's just way too much for an old guy to pack. I could trim a few by picking a lighter pack, but I really love the Lowe Alpine Saracen. Just a great pack all the way around, but very heavy.

Great job on an awesome bull and huge congrats on the new baby girl! Yeehaw, life is good.

They must have been a couple years ahead or behind me. Dan Wahlin graduated one year before me. The real stand-out players in my class were Jeff Holly, Paul Hoyt, John Acosta, Mike Gutierez (sp?), Kevin Trainor, Brandon Williams & Robbie Golden. Hope I'm not forgetting anyone. Mike, Brandon and Robbie were all state champion wrestlers as well. Jeff was pretty much our whole offense - and he shattered almost every record for running yards at the time. We didn't have much of a passing game in those days. Kevin T could throw, we just couldn't catch. Even when I started my Sr. year as tight end, my nickname was "Iron Hands" Jones. LOL. I could block reasonably well but couldn't catch to save my life.

Big thanks to Audsley - some very good information and a great perspective.

Glad to hear it, Dan. I'm still bummed we never hooked up the years I had the SC tag, but I was thinking of you in the places you told me about. I came so close so many times. Maybe if I save up I can finally do a January hunt there - but only if you can come with. Waddaya say, we got a deal? I'll feed you real well!

Here's a little support for the claim. These pictures are taken from a Christensen Arms .338 Lapua at 100 yards. In both targets there is a "flyer" marked as "fouling shot" that is clearly separate from the following 3 shots.

Got lots of pix of my kids scampering around in diapers in hunting camp, stuffed into backpacks, kissing dead animals with a sippy-cup in one hand...Get 'em out there with you as soon as you can. One of my earliest memories of taking young sons along on a hike, just ages 5 and 3 was, wow, these guys can outhike me all day as long as I carry the slim jims and water... My oldest boy, now 14 could have killed a javi at 20 yards at age 5 had it been legal. He sat along with me and glassed every step of the way. I'll bet you he outglasses me this Spring when pig season comes around because he's pumped to take his first archery javi, having killed a couple now with a rifle. Personally, my dad set me in a couple of deer and turkey blinds in Oklahoma as a kid and told me to "just sit still". Nothing against my dad, but it was a hands-off approach, and I had to come to embrace hunting on my own in my early 20's. We did have a pig hunt or two in the meantime, but we were transplants here from the Midwest, and we had no idea how to hunt the desert, and he couldn't provide much guidance. My two oldest boys now, 14 and 12, have killed 2 cow elk, 4 turkey and 4 or 5 javelina between them if memory serves. Neither of them has yet to take a deer, and I'll do whatever I can to change that this year. My youngest son is 3 years behind his brothers, and has tags for pigs in 23 and turkey in 1/27. I will be working my tail off to make sure he at least has the same opportunities as his big brothers have had in their first years of hunting. In short, take them out NOW!!!

Just to clarify, the RUM has no belt. Maybe thats what you meant? No, 308 Nut, you caught me red-handed. I was sure the RUM used a belted case, but I stand corrected. The .404 Jeffrey that the Ultra Mags are based on is not a belted case. A good read on magnum rifle evolution can be found here... http://www.chuckhawks.com/evolution_magnum_cartridges.htm Thanks 308Nut for keeping me honest.