Coach

I was down in 23 this weekend for the HAM hunt and had a muzzle loader bounce out of my ranger. It wasn't just any muzzle loader, it was an old Thompson Center Hawkens .50 cal that belonged to my grandfather. I know - how stupid was I to let that happen? I debated taking it but grandpa killed a lot of white tail in Oklahoma with hand poured balls. It's been sitting here in my office for years, and I just thought it would be really cool if I killed a pig with it and his ammo. Of course, I was devastated to have lost it. I re-traced every road I had been on trying to find it with no luck. Everyone I met, I asked if they had seen it. None had, but some took down my phone number - asked where I was camped, real, honest folks hoping to find it and get it back to me. I stopped by a big camp close to mine and asked about it, and the guys kinda grinned and said, yeah, we found it. Really great guys - they said as soon as they found it they knew it meant a lot to someone and weren't sure whether to put up a sign, or how to get it back to the guy who lost it. I just want to say, THANK YOU 1000 times over to these guys. They could have just kept it but they didn't. That's just awesome. And to the guys who took down my phone number, looking to get it back to me if they found it or heard about it. As I was driving out today, one guy came running out and flagged me down. He was one of they guys I had met earlier and just wanted to know if I had found it. Not too often you find people like this that are so honest and caring. I just want to say how grateful I am to the good hunters in AZ that look out for each other. If any of the folks I bumped into are on this site - thanks for being such stand-up people. I know a lot of members here have found optics or a gun that someone else lost and went to great lengths to find the owner. You guys are top notch in my book.

Wow that thing is a giant! Congrats on an awesome lion. Great story too - I bet your girls will never forget that adventure.

Getting up there in points, but reading similar posts, it looks like 16 points isn't much. Do I apply for premium hunts and expect not to draw, or are there any really good hunts that I have a decent shot at drawing that are worth using up the points?

G&F does things slowly, by the book, and occasional, farms out work to contractors. The state of their current online system illustrates how far they are behind the rest of the world, technologically. The way I see it, they are under-funded and what funds they do bring in are mis-appropriated, of just flat out stolen by the state. They do what they can with what resources they have. The best minds in technology are not working for state level government. And the lowest bid contractors are not going to provide the kind of experience we are used to with Amazon or retailers like Cabela's or Midway USA. I've said over and over, 3 or 4 guys could radically make over the G&F online system. in a weekend. They just don't have the funding or the interest to do it.

Odds are pretty good in NM with a bow. And as many have pointed out, Wyoming has some incredible tags. Some OTC. I helped a friend on a muzzy goat hunt this year and the goat he took ended up something like 89 5/8, and he was passing a solid 84 goat each day. A friend of mine says he has access to a ranch in CO with lots of 80+ bucks. I've only hunted antelope with a bow. Some of the bucks I saw and chased were amazing. I really want the classic antelope hunt, where I can see lots of good bucks. I realize at 16 points, it's no guarantee, but I've waited this long and don't mind waiting more - for that once-in-a-lifetime hunt. So, unit 10 looks like the most promising, but I know nothing about the 5s and 4s. 2A, 2b, 2c and even 3c and 4b are close enough to go learn. When I do finally draw, I'll go self guided, but I feel at this point I know more about goats ins other states than I do here.

Not to derail, but has anyone fished Sunrise this year through the ice? Some of my best memories up here are landing some bomber bows and brookies. Had a couple 22+ of both.

While I was glad to see it, that had to be one of the dumbest calls ever.

I've found that most digital cameras take really big pictures. Before I post any pix here I open them up in Adobe photoshop, go to Image/Image Size. The default size under Print Size is 60x45 inches. By changing the width to 10, the height adjusts to 7.5. Then I select File/Save for Web, which allows me to save as gif, jpeg or png formats and the resulting file size is shown in the lower left corner. A typical photo will with medium quality will be under 100K saved as JPEG. I save these photos off to a folder called "reduced" and can post them easily. Example: This photo was 19.8 MB on camera and reduced to 103 kb.

Awesome bucks. Congrats to your hunters. I've hunted the SC twice and come home empty both times but have seen some really nice buck. Nothing like what you turn up though. Great job getting your hunters on some really beautiful bucks.

Nice! Lovn' the AR. Probably not a better pig gun. My middle son connected this weekend with my AR. Pix on another thread. Congrats to Laura!

Dang. Nice looking rig.

We'll be down there with 3 tags to fill - staying at Punkin Center. Good luck to all the youth hunters this weekend.

Great vid. I use this method on all the animals we harvest. I've always started at the back quarter though and worked forward, taking the back strap. then the tenderloin last on each side. The order doesn't matter much IMO, but they did keep it really clean. The goal is to use the hide, peeled back, to act as a tarp would to protect the meat from contaminants.

Awesome. I love seeing members meet up and make new friends. Sounds like a really fun hunt.

YESSS! What they said ^. I wish I were out there hunting them, but too many projects at home and work right now. If you're not hunting 'cause you think the rut is done, it's not. This is a great year for horn growth and the rut is still going strong. Never a better time to get after them.

That's awesome! Way to get it done with a bow. Huge congrats to you and your son. Great times in the field together and a whopper of a pig.

Nicely done! Those piggies are addicting. Gonna try and get one with my flintlock this year.

Basketball, whether it's college or pros just looks to me like street gangs. I can't stand to watch it. The entire sport has lost all credibility for me, and to make matters even worse, WNBA, WTF? Blast away.

Nice!!!

Sweet! Nice way to start it off.

Now THAT's how you write up a hunting story! Great story, awesome pics along the way, felt like I was right there in the moment. Thanks for taking the time to write it up and share. I've never seen pigs in the snow like that. Very cool.

Beautiful buck! Way to stay after it - especially the work in finding and recovering him. Huge congrats.

Nicely done, sir! Great job.

Prayers sent for Jared, Mike and their family.

I like the idea. I'm planning on getting into better shape for canyoneering this year and looking into crossfit. My wife and her friend are gymnastics coaches and we just moved them into a huge warehouse next to crossfit in Lakeside and it looks like a fun way to get in shape. I didn't see anything about the preparation for "train to hunt" - is it a full time workout, diet regimen, etc, or just a yearly competition?