Coach

Knowing our system, the dude will sue and end up buying a nice 200 acre ranch in S. AZ...

Get a rope...

I'm glad to see so many responses to this post, with such a wide variety of contributors. I think Super Jumbo may be on to something. G&F reduced the rut tags across the state, and in some cases doubled or tripled those tags in October and November. I've been on my share of late December hunts, and a few November hunts. In my experience, a late December hunt, when the rut is in full swing, is certainly no guarantee of even seeing a congo buck. They definately do move more, which makes the chances of seeing a buck during the "slow hours" improve...That said, most of the bucks I've seen bird-dogging at mid-day during the heat of the rut weren't the big bruisers - they were the smaller bucks trying to get a chance at the does. November is even harder, IMO. The bucks seem to move infrequently, they aren't being led by the desire to breed. They seem to occupy a tiny bit of landscape and spend most of their time bedded. Maybe more mature bucks are making it through the early hunts, by moving little, if at all during daylight, with substantially less pressure during the rut is what is allowing 3-4 year old bucks turn into 6-7 year old bucks.

Wow. Amazing buck, and story...Thanks so much for sharing. That is really freaking awesome.

This year there are a lot of great bucks are hitting the ground - both coues and Muleys. Lots of good (great) hunters working hard, learning more efficient techniques, good equipment, etc. I started a related thread earlier - on the one hand, it seems like G&F is issuing way too many tags, and in my favorite hunting unit, it seems to be having a negative effect. On the whole, I'm seeing bigger deer, and way more exceptional deer being taken, than ever before. It makes one wonder if the quality of deer is actually improving, if it's just a function of more hunters working harder and thinking "outside the box", or maybe we're just more connected these days, and we get to see more of the deer that our hunters are tagging. Whatever the reason - AZ hunters are taking some amazing deer this year, as they have for the past several seasons. It will be interesting to see if the trend continues. Congrats to all of the hunters out there taking amazing AZ trophies. I hope you have made a lifetime of memories hunting AZ with family and friends.

I'm happy to report that the story had a happy ending.

I didn't find the deer - but I just saw this on another forum and figured I should post it here. http://forums.bowsite.com/tf/regional/thre...=1&state=AZ

Looking forward to the story of your hunt. Good Hunting!

"a horse in a corral"

Congrats on a great looking buck!

Nice to see that game meat getting taken care of right! I've been eating jerky, backstrap, summer sausage, italian sausage, way more meat than I am used to, for the past several weeks. My family was blessed this year with 3 elk - one bull and two cows, and we have been working really hard to put the meat to its best use. You guys that tag out on elk, deer, whatever, and aren't sure how to make the best of it, speak up here. Lots of people on here know how to make the best of every bit of a harvest. I have had a hard time getting my family to eat wild meat. I've found that the more I make jerky, snack sticks, sausage, brats, whatever, the more they want to gobble up. LEM makes great seasonings, and I've gotten lots of compliments on some of my beer sticks that are nothing more than cleanly trimmed deer or elk with LEM Snack Stick seasonings out of the Jerky Cannon, and dried in any dehydrator. I'll toss this out too - those lovely backstraps and cleaned "roasts" of back quarters. Don't be afraid to cut them into strips around 3/8 inch, toss on a little Cavender's or Montreal seasoning, then dip them lightly into some flour before crisping them in really hot olive oil. Seriously, some of the most tender, most flavorful, and most appealing game meat can be prepared this way.

Anyone who "wears out" a pair of Kenetreks in one year is someone who puts on some serious hiking, and someone who knows boots better than the rest of us know much about...well, anything. I'm obvoiusly a big fan of the Meindl Perfekt hunter boot, and I've worn out a few lifetimes of boots. Couesfan (Jim) and Coue's and Sheep (Gino) are wearing Kenetrek boots. That tells me something. These guys are way ahead of the curve of the average AZ hunter, not just on anmals, but the equipment they count on. Before I buy another pair of Meindle's I'll be trying these boots out. You gotta follow the success on lots of things. Boots are right up there IMO. I might skimp somewhere along the way, I don't have a pricey rifle or a top-dollar rifle scope, as long as they outshoot me, they are doing their job. But I won't skimp on glassing optics or boots...Been hunting AZ long enough to know those are top priorities.

No way I could sell that one "by the pound". Way too cool, and unique. Brown it up and use it as a backdrop for something cool like a bobcat, mearns, something artistic. A horn like that is pretty special, and some of the great taxidermists who frequent this site could do something really amazing with it. Pick something else you like, like a good coues Euro, some mearns, gambles, maybe a green teal, or whatever. I'd hate to see that thing ground up into asian afrodesiac powder...just saying.

+1 and then some! Welcome to AZ, and welcome to the site. AZ has TONS of public land. Some units are getting locked up more and more because of private land, but for the most part, the state is wide open. As others have said, archery deer tags for much of the state are over the counter, and there are usually leftover rifle tags in the Southern units. Prime hunts, like the trophy hunts North of the Grand Canyon, and coues tags during the rut (Late December) are a little tough to draw, but there are deer hunts from Oct - Early December that are not hard to draw. We also have Javelina, which are easy to draw for, very fun to hunt, pretty much all over the state, and are a great way to get started learning areas and hunting techniques when you are new to the state.

+1, looks pretty big to me.

Nicely done, Brian!

That's a sweet buck for sure! Congrats, and welcome to the site.

I've posted this before, but it seems appropriate for this thread. A couple years back I was hunting unit 27 in January. I had a treestand all set up, and deer had been moving through this area. I hiked in, in total darkness wearing the bare minimum of clothes, got to my stand and started layering up in the darkness. I had insulated coveralls, a thick parka, over who knows how many layers of clothes. The temps were in the low teens when the sun came up. Around 10 AM, I caught a movement to my left. Sure enough, a small 3x3 buck walks right out from behind a juniper right in front of me. I had never shot a deer with my bow, and here, finally after years of hoping to kill a coues with my bow, is a nice little buck not 30 yards away, totally unaware of my presence. I attach my release to the string loop and go to draw...can't get more than halfway back. I'm trying not to move too much, but my muscles were so messed up from the cold, I could not get to full draw. I actually laid back in my stand trying to get the bow pulled back, and this buck is just standing there watching me struggle to get to full draw - I just couldn't get a full draw, no matter how hard I struggled. At this point my feet are sticking out, my bow is pointing up in the air, and I'm pulling at it as hard as I can. If ever a deer has laughed his butt off at me, it was that morning. He simply walked off, as if nothing had happened while I contorted and twisted like crazy. Moral of the story, if you're sitting a blind or treestand in cold temps, draw your bow from time-to-time, just to make sure you still can!

Super bull for sure! Congrats to Adam on an amazing AZ bull! (There's the smile I was looking for! )

Absolutely amazing!!! Great job. One question though - how in the world did the guy holding all those massive heads keep such a serious poker face? Not slamming, but man, I would be ear-to-ear smiles for a month after a year like that!

Nicely done, Kathi! Great buck and story. Thanks for sharing!

Awesome! Great bucks and to be out there with you dad had to make it extra special. Now I gotta get my dad out there with me! He's 66 and can hike like a madman, just lost his passion for hunting a long time ago - but is one heck of a fly fisherman these days. Gonna have to drag him out for his grandsons' javelina hunts, get the old hunting juices flowing in him again. He's probably forgotten more about hunting than I'll ever know. Congrats again on a great hunt, and memories that will stay with you forever.

Hey Scott, How have things been down in your neck of the woods? I bought the Perfekt Hunters about 2 years ago, and they are by far the best boots I've ever worn, and that's saying a lot. I had a pair of Cabela's Mountain Hunters that lasted nearly 10 years - and that was during my late teens to 20's. The tread was all worn off, but the uppers and waterproofing were still good. I finally had to stop wearing them because in my late 20's my arches dropped (I'm told) and I went from an 11.5 to a 12. I went through quite a few boots after those, and never found any I could really get excited about until the Meindl Perfekt Hunters. I've put quite a few miles on them, but now I make sure to put some good leather treatment on them to keep the leather in good condition. I've been using Obenauf's leather preservative. From what I've been told it does a good job of keeping the leather from drying out without clogging it up. Seems to be working as promised. As for socks. I like Merino Wool with some spandex/nylon/poly mix to keep 'em snug or Smart Wool. The Cabela's outfitter wool socks are good too. For me, it has to be wool, and I don't like the old itchy kind of wool. Cotton is flat out - cotton will get wet, stretch out up and ball up and cause blisters. I also don't use liners - tried 'em a couple times and didn't like them. To me it felt like my feet were sliding around too much, like the liner was sliding around in the outer sock. I felt I had less traction, and more chance of getting a blister, or on downhill slopes my feet were jamming into the ends of my boot. Let us know what you find out.

I had to google this rifle, never heard of it. If you get one, let us know how you like it.

Holy mackerel, what fun!!!! I've got 3 boys, a bit older than yours but I'll tell you what, it seems like yesterday they looked an aweful lot like your 3! My oldest is 13 now, and it seems like yesterday he was 5. Get ready for the whirlwind buddy, and enjoy the ride. Thanks for posting pix - beautiful family you have there.