Coach

I'm trying to get my son to jump on this, but he seems to think he needs a giant old ford 350 to get from point a to point b. Teenagers have no common sense.

Trust me, I'm from the government, and I'm here to help you.

The great news for you is, there are tons of great bows for youth shooters these days. I got the Diamond razor edge for my boys because at the time, it had the most adjustability, from draw length to weight. They could shoot that bow from age 8 to almost 18. Many bow companies now have bows that are extremely adjustable, because of (IMO) the success of the razor edge.

It's been a very long time since I was up there last, but we used to fish wooly boogers and "egg sucking leech" patterns for bigger trout. San Juan worms in the rapids, and when you could find a long shore line with a quick drop-off of sand, rebel 3-inch minnows on the spinning rig would keep you busy all day. Drag that off the edge of the shallow, sandy bank to the deeper water and you got hit every time. Since the rebel doesn't dive deep, we'd use a real big split shot at least 2 feet ahead of it so when it fell off the shallow edge it would stay close to the bottom.

Classic, biglakejake. I hear you loud and clear.

Wow, that's some really great footage you got there and put it all together very well. Thanks for sharing it with us.

I've learned the hard way. If you share your success on the web, your honey holes will be compromised. People have become very resourceful. From a picture and a few words from your story, they piece together exactly where and when it happened. I have no problem with that, it's just the way people use the internet to expand and learn. That said, for me hunting is a very solo thing. I don't get mad at the people hunting around me, I try to find ways to get more isolated when it starts feeling crowded. I can't imagine walking up to a hill where someone is already glassing and set up next to them, any more than I can imagine walking through an area I know someone else is glassing, yet I've had both happen to me on more than one occasion. My take is this, if my biggest concern is the guy who got there 10-15 minutes earlier, then I'm not hunting the way I want to be. We've all done the get up early, head to your spot only to find yourself looking at the tail lights of someone who had the exact same idea you had, but got there first. That's a pretty good indication that your thought process leading you to that spot is, for lack of a better term, lazy. And I'm not throwing this out there like it's everyone else doing it but not me. I've been a lazy hunter too. I've missed hunting a spot by a couple minutes because somebody else got there first. That's a telling sign. If you love to hunt, and you truly want to separate yourself and get totally into the spirit of the hunt, you really can't do it if you're standing in line behind 3 guys trying to do the same thing, like your wife sent you to supercuts, and you're looking around at dipsh!ts exactly like you doing exactly the same thing for the same reason. Hunting is an amazing tool for self-discovery, but only if you recognize it for what it is, and not for what it is portrayed through the tv shows and commercials. It is a vehicle to find or recognize the real "you". It's not about all the buying of stuff that makes you a better hunter, it's about you finally realizing that you aren't at war with the world around you, but placing yourself right in the middle of that world as a giver and taker of life.

One more for rockymountainatv.com. When I needed tires for my Polaris ranger, I was amazed at the deal I got from them. Great customer service too.

My prayers go out to his family, and those who were closest to him.

Now that's a huntin' partner.

I've been using over-the-counter calls for the past few years, and have had decent results. This year I bought one of Ammon's slate calls and it is really nice. It's hand-made mesquite and crystal with a great looking striker. The sound is superb, as is the artistry. If you are looking for a good call, give Little Creek a try. There's something cool about having a hand made call vs. something you can just go buy off the shelf.

I'm not a Kimber hater, but I think Sig makes a better 1911 sub-compact. I was dead set on buying a Kimber, but I think Sig stays more true to the original 1911 platform. I chose Sig and wouldn't trade. Hard to go wrong with either. Both are great pistols.

I'm raising three sons and a couple of my best hunting buddies have mostly daughters. Their girls have no trouble at all "keeping up with the boys". If anything, I find girls are more willing to listen and learn, as boys sometimes have a tendency to get ahead of themselves and assume they know more than they do. Some of my favorite hunting moments on this site, and just in general are young ladies getting it done. Be it elk, deer, javi, turkey, even bear, the gals are putting up some serious trophies - and it's not just the kiddos. Some of the best archery coues and elk I've seen were taken by lady hunters. TJ, to your original post, I grew up in a similar environment. Family usually got together on Thanksgiving and Christmas - we'd go shoot and catch everything that moved (Southern Oklahoma), so the meal consisted of rabbit, squirrel, quail, catfish, crappie, bass & crawfish that were too big for bait. The boys did the catching, Grandma and the aunts did the cleaning and cooking. A couple of my cousins though really threw a wrench in the works. They were both girls and would rather be out with the boys doing the killin' and catchin' than the cleanin' and cookin'. My take is, I am really glad to see moms and dads taking their sons and daughters out and teaching them every aspect of it. The kill doesn't end when the animal is down, and I intend to teach my boys as much as I can about the animal from the way it lives, to they way we make good use of it to the best of our abilities. And I see other dads teaching their daughters the same things. Hunting doesn't draw gender lines. Some like it, some don't. Some like certain parts more than others, but I've seen as many great female hunters as I have great male game chefs.

A buddy of mine recently drew a coveted sheep tag and was lucky enough to have with him a man who has studied lions in AZ for many years. They were amazed by the lack of sheep and concluded that the artificial water catchments meant to benefit the sheep were actually attracting lions. Their observation was that sheep can live and thrive in areas with little or no standing water. Lions cannot. So by creating water catchments in sheep country, you actually depress sheep populations by encouraging and supporting their primary predator. I found this interesting as it relates to this thread.

The best elk callers I know use diaphragms. The easy, push-button calls are too predictable. With diaphragm calls the person using it makes it unique and more realistic. I have a hard time with them, seems I'm always spitting saliva or gagging, but I would definitely steer clear of the hoochie mama, or other "pressure" cow calls. As others have said, the elk have caught on and run the other way. If you are like me and have trouble with the diaphragm, there are some good reed calls that can still allow you to tailor the sound. I've got a couple, my favorite is from a start-up shop, I think they're in Montana - don't remember the name right now. My second favorite is made by Primos called "I Maka Da Bull Crazy". It's flexible and gives you full control of the sound, but IMO it has a tendency to "squeak" at the wrong moment when trying to get that high-pitched sound.

I bought this one a few months ago and really like it. Solid build, great trigger, points well and is exceptionally accurate for a sub-compact.

Nice job! I really liked your write-up as well. Congrats!

Nice job! Something about seeing the family effort around getting those kids their first Javi's - I just can't get enough of. To you parents putting in the work, and getting kids involved, my hat is off to you. Huge congrats to Cassidy and Hunter, and to Heather for keeping her head in the game and helping Cassidy seal the deal. Awesome all the way around.

Yup, aka "trick tank".

Back when I was young I always took 1/2 inch bedroll and a wool blanket and wondered how the Indians could just lie down in the snow with no clothing. These days, if I have to sleep on a cot, I like 2" of foam and a good canvas bag. Funny how the older we get, the more we care about how and where we sleep. Keep in mind, the thicker foam under your bag will take on a lot of sweat. Air it out during the day.

IMO, javis are very unpredictable. The standard MO is they hunker down on cold, windy days and frolic on sunny warm days - especially after a cold front has moved through. In reality, I've seen them very active on cold, snowy/sleety/windy days and very docile on warm weather days with the barometer rising. Piggies generally follow the normal pattern of more activity when the barometer is rising, less activity when it's dropping, and almost no activity in high wind, cloudy and a front moving in. I have found that pattern to be pretty reliable for all game, even fish. However, I've seen pigs in high winds, blowing sleet and rain, front of a front. I've also seen them gather under a tree super early AM, and hold there under perfect conditions, all day. Bottom Line, IMO, go hunt 'em. They will probably surprise you with their uncanny knack of doing the opposite of what you expect them to do. That's why they are so fun.

Nice job, Lance. I'm hoping that Jackson's experience gets him closer to the real "core values". Reaching out to kids, the way you do, is great service.

Happy Birthday, and thanks for all the great videos you've shared here.

+1, Gonna have to order one of theirs this Spring.

What is the average airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?