Coach

Holy crap! Great bucks. You sure do know how to find those big bucks! Great job and huge congrats. Now let's hear the stories!

Definately a gorgeous coues buck - man I love those big, tall, symetric bucks. He's a dandy and will look great on your wall. Congrats! Great buck for sure.

What a great game so far. Anyone who wants to watch a classic high school rivalry, check out www.aia365.com Nothing better than watching these young men playing some fantastic football!

Yeah, it was a really close and exiting game. Frankly I think BR got very fortunate. Show Low was playing really well, but had some costly turnovers. Weeks was at QB and did a really good job. Also, Show Low did a great job of shutting down our running game. I'm guessing we'll get to see them face off once again for the state championship game.

I REALLY don't like the design of the head - it just looks like it will break exactly where yours did. That said, as other have already mentioned, that bone is rock hard. Not many set ups will penetrate the scapula, so in this case, while the head did fail, it was more of a shot placement issue than a broadhead selection issue.

Why did I think this post was about Gino???

If you aren't stuck on that one, I would suggest looking at .270 WSM and .300 WSM. My sons and I have had great success with these two on everything from piggies to coues to elk. Great ballistics, performance and variety if you hand-load. I've shot lots of different guns over the years, and love the stand-by .270 for everything, or the 7MM Mag or 7MM STW. But I really love these two WSM offerings. I really think you can "do it all" with .270 WSM, but stepping up to the .300 WSM gives you a ton of bullet options, without some of the problems a lot of .300 Mags are known for. My "Go To" gun is a really nice Savage American Classic in .300 WSM, and I was "trading down" from a Weatherby SBGM in .300 Wby. I like the WSM better in many ways. Part of the trade was for a Howa 1500 in .270 WSM for my kids (Thanks, Gino). I bought a wood stock on ebay for $12, cut it down and put a limbsaver recoil pad on it. This gun kicks like a .243 and shoots incredibly well with 140 grain Nosler Accubonds on 56.0 grains of IMR 4350. My 12 year old killed an elk in the fall and a javelina in the Spring with that gun. Haven't shot the 6.5 you're talking about, so I can't draw a direct comparison.

I like the older Cobras. The new ones seem too boxy. Everyone I know who uses Motorola radios have an annoying "roger" beep at *every* broadcast that you can't seem to silence. With the Cobras, you can set them to vibrate mode which is very good for getting your hunting partner's attention without any noise that may spook game. They also have earbuds with inline mics that work well in the field if you can run the wires under your clothes so they don't hang up on everything. To Bill's point, the use of 2-way radios will disqualify entries in P&Y & Boone and Crockett. Personally, I don't agree with that rule, but it is the rule. We had a good member leave this forum over the debate about whether using radios actually violated the rules of "fair chase" and the whole discussion on "ethics" that ensued. No need to re-hash that debate, but just be clear that if your intention is to enter a trophy to either of these organizations, the use of radios is prohibited. When you do select radios, look at range as a starter, but that range is "line of sight". A 10-mile range can be reduced to a few hundred yards in most of the country we hunt in AZ. That said, my buddies all bought Garmin Rhino's hoping to consolidate the GPS with the radio. Great product, overall, but the range they could actually communicate with these $700 gps/radios was pathetic compared to my cheap Cobras. I could keep in touch with our hunting buddies on the Kiabab at much further distances than they could. If I were buying new radios today, I would look at Cobra & Midland, and I would steer clear of Motorola. Just my $.02

Nice job - that's a dandy!!! Congrats!

C'mon, you can't tease us like that! Let's see the pictures!

First off, I really feel for you and hope your situation improves. To your initial question, I don't know anything about your particular situation, but I have often wondered what I would do if I were there. I have accumulated a LOT of good hunting gear over the years, and at used/garage sale prices, I still don't think I could change my overall predicament for more than a couple of weeks by getting rid of it. Considering how long it will take to get back, a big part of me leans toward keeping the stuff you know will be hard to replace and maybe thinning out some of the other things that aren't crucial. Man, my heart goes out to you. I think maybe as a community, we can come together and see if we can't ease your burden. I know there are lots of good people here who would gladly donate some cash to help you get through this rough period. DesertBull has a great suggestion. A buddy of mine decided, against the odds, to leave his old job and start a company of his own - he's a heavy equipment operator. Best decision he ever made, IMO. Now he owns his company, lots of equipment, sets his own hours and answers to nobody (well, maybe his wife..lol). That choice was hard, but he's in a way better place now financially - and freedom wise. When you get the "overqualified" run-around, maybe that is a message that you are ready to be the boss. Best of luck to you.

Nice job, boys! Those are some amazing bucks. Congrats!

What a fantastic bull! Great job Hunter, congrats on a hunt you will never forget.

As a UofA ulum, I tried to watch one game this year and it was so pathetic I literally had to turn it off and delete it from my DVR. The cats usually play pretty poor football, but this year has to go down as one of the worst. I'd rather watch ASU play. At least they have a program, and can step up in big games. And no, my 3 sons won't be attending UofA. I'd rather them go play baseball at MCC or NAU, if they are fortunate enough to play sports beyond high school.

That big ol' smile says it all. Doesn't get any better than that. Great job!

Great job! Way to stick with it and make some great family hunting memories!

Good posts - also make sure as a "good owner" to tend to the smelly stuff. Nothing worse than walking around camp and step in pile of dog poop.

LOL. fixed my typo - I hope he didn't see that. I'm going to start calling him Jeff now, just to see if he gets it.

PM sent.

Awesome footage Jed, as always. I still can't believe that the hunter passed that big, dark 6x6. That's one heck of a bull. Thanks for sharing some of the best elk video anywhere. You have mad skills!

Got any pix. I know a guy who might be interested. He was looking for that gun in a 7MM mag, but this might be close enough.

Dang - that looks great. Wish I could drop by, but I'm up here in Lakeside. Should be a great day!

Thanks Pine Donkey for starting this thread. I've been so busy lately, it seems every time I come on here there are serveral new great stories about a youth deer, elk and javelina hunts. Without a doubt, the best threads on here IMO, are these young guys and gals taking their first animals. Congrats to all you youth hunters. I sure hope I can get to each and every one of your stories, as they are all unique and special. For those I may have missed, congratulations - I hope the experience will stay with you forever. And a sincere "THANK YOU" to the mothers, fathers, families and friends getting behind these young hunters and creating special memories. You guys are "towing the line" for future generations of hunters.

Awesome! Great job.

That is AWESOME. Way to go Jett! One heck of a shot and one heck of a buck! That picture sleeping with the horns says it all! Priceless.