IA Born

Good luck! Can't wait to see the results. I'm sure you have it all dialed in, but if you end up needing any help, give me a shout. If I'm around (in Flag) and can get away, I'll be there.

I miss seeing saguaros, in general, but I miss seeing those, especially. I know the three you are referring to from my days living in Tucson and I know of several more. Thanks for the great trip down memory lane!

Congrats, Christian! Sorry we didn't meet up during the hunt, but glad you found success!

My dad served two tours in combat in Vietnam with the 173rd Airborne Brigade (Separate). Veteran's Day was always a rough time growing up. His Company and remnants of another company (Designated Task Force Black) walked into a horseshoe-shaped ambush on 11 Nov 1967 and the NVA managed to close the end of the shoe. Dad was on the point element when the first mortar round landed 6 feet from him and his buddy. It was a dud, but the 2nd one wasn't. I won't go into all of the details, but he lost several of his friends that day and lived with survivor's guilt (for walking into the ambush) until the day he died 10.5 years ago. Growing up in our house, we all fought the war he brought home with him and Veteran's Day was among the worst days for 30 years. In the end, his severe PTSD caused a major heart attack and he died 15 days before our daughter was born. When I flew back for his funeral, I saw a man at peace and a war ended for the first time in my life. I've learned to live with 2nd Generation PTSD and not let it beat me, but I also learned a deep appreciation for the brotherhood formed of combat. My dad's buddies and their wives have been another set of parents to me for as long as I can remember and they treat my kids like their own grandkids. This is a pic of dad taken on his first tour. He was a tunnel rat and in a mortar squad. He weighed about 120 lbs and is carrying almost 100 pounds of gear. This pic went world-wide on AP and UPI and is in the opening credits of "Quantum Leap" and has been on other shows. I look at his picture every day and miss him every day. I'd fight one more "home battle" to have another fishing trip with him. This picture was taken during some down time on a fire mission. A BIG heartfelt thank you to all veterans of all wars and all service!

I'm with ya! I called my credit card again today in desperation that there was a pending charge. 15 points and nothing. This is getting old! Leftover tag app, here I come! Or Kansas, NM, or south Texas if I can talk my wife into letting me head out.

Same here. Still holding on to hope for that turkey tag charge!

Nice work!

With 15 points, I actually have my hopes up this year! I had to chew Cabela's' bank out last night because their fraud department is so strict they are declining EVERYTHING. I told them they'd better not decline that charge or they'd never see my money again.

Tim's Auto Repair over off Kristy Lane. Rt 66 West to the Maverick. Turn north onto Thompson and then left (west) onto Kristy Lane. He's tucked back in there past Canyon Pet Resort. (928) 213-5524. He's the only guy who works on my vehicles. I heard about him 5-6 years ago from a friend who does all his own work on his '65 and '64 GTOs. He said if there is something he can't do himself, Tim is the only guy who is allowed to touch them. Absolute great guy, honest, and prices won't kill your bank account unnecessarily. You won't regret it, I promise.

Congrats! One of these days, me and a desert muley are going to have a serious face-to-face! Great buck!

Congrats on three great bucks!!

Great buck! A mutual friend shared the video with me. Congrats!

Been crazy busy lately, so not on the site much. That was probably the BEST post I've read since I joined! Mad Props to muledeerarea33?!!

TTT- Will be in Gilbert area next Saturday (Nov 8th).

Pretty sure I see two and one is definitely unusual.

I just now saw this. Thanks everyone! I won't bore you with the details, but I spent the day sitting at my desk dreaming of being anywhere but there. I managed to get in a 3.5 mile run during my daughter's soccer practice and then capped with cake and great family time. Thanks a million!

For hunting or for personal protection during rifle and or archery seasons?? I think they used to say no but rescinded that. Always thought that was a stupid rule. If your gonna poach or do it illegally, those rules arent going to stop you. You are correct. The law used to be in place, but several WMs would look the other way if you were in a border unit, "unless it was a scoped Redhawk" (one WM's words to me once). The law was rescinded several years ago and you can carry any firearm you want while on a hunt. We've had this discussion in several hunter ed classes.

I don't know if it counts as "the wild", but I've had whitetail does come up and sniff my hand at TNC's Ramsey Canyon Preserve. they are so habituated to people there that I don't count it as completely "wild", but the first time a doe did that, it was cool. A couple of years ago, we took our kids there and a doe let my then 8 year old daughter walk right up to 3 feet from it and the doe just stared and sniffed at her. Of course, my daughter thought it was one of the coolest things ever.

My wife and I saw one that you could rent in SW Colorado. We almost did it. Its definitely on our bucket list.

Congratulations!!! You and your entire family are beautiful! Now go get some sleep. You'll need it!

Junior, Harkey, Mav, Josh, and Parker are the only ones allowed to touch my bow, my daughter's bow, and my son's bow. You won't find a better bow shop, IMO! I've spent more money in there that I haven't needed to spend because of the stuff they wouldn't charge me for. If I need any hunting supplies, I go there first!

I don't know how I missed this thread, but what a great read so far! I kept a similar journal on a hunting forum back home (Iowawhitetail) for my daughter's elk and deer hunt out here. She will read this down the road and appreciate everything you have documented for her. This. Is. AWESOME!! Good luck on your hunt and her hunt!

Our daughter had the first Peaks Hunt beginning the end of September. After 24 miles, mostly in the wilderness, in 3.5 days, she did not fill her tag. She passed on two questionable shots and was bummed, despite me and several buddies telling her she did the right thing. She also had the youth antlerless deer tag this past weekend. We left Thursday morning with the intention of getting up there in time to scout the areas I intended to take her. Going into this Tuesday and Wednesday, she started stressing over her school work in a big way. She was really worried about not getting her work done and falling behind, which we've always emphasized as important. When I picked her up after school Wednesday, we had a chance to visit with her teacher and talk about Syd’s concerns. Her teacher is awesome and assured Sydney that she had nothing to worry about and we should leave early in the morning and have a great time. We got up to camp around 11 am, got everything set up, and had lunch. After lunch, we decided to drive a couple of the spur roads I had in mind. About 200-300 yards from camp, at 1:45 pm, there were two muley bucks and three does feeding 50 yards off the road. I was completely surprised to see them on their feet at that time of day, but it certainly got our hearts racing! Down the first spur road, Syd saw a BIG mature doe with a yearling and she decided right there that she had no problem shooting a doe with a fawn or yearling, as long as they weren't still drinking milk. I assured her that they were eating grass and mast and that harvesting a doe like that wouldn't harm the fawns or yearlings with them. We drove down the next spur road and parked on the side to walk down in to a stock tank I knew was there. On our walk into the tank, we saw another mature doe with two yearlings feeding 30 yards from us, just staring at us. They had no intention of moving; they just gave us “the stare” as we casually walked on by, taking note of the time (3 pm) and place. We saw plenty of tracks at the pond and decided we’d seen enough. It was time to head back to camp, have supper, make a plan, and get to bed early. Like her elk hunt, I left the choice to her, emphasizing that there was no wrong answer. 4 am came early on opening morning, but she flew out of bed like a die hard, seasoned hunter! Hot chocolate, oatmeal, and a Pop-Tart for the road were all welcomed. On the drive out, she decided we should hunt the tank first thing. We ended up sitting in our parking spot for about 30 minutes before we decided it was time to work our way in to the tank. On our hike in, another dad with his two sons drove up to us, which was frustrating (but its public land), but we talked for a bit and worked out a plan to avoid ruining each other’s hunts. As we were working our way into the tank, I saw two distinct white butts race across the meadow towards the tank, but behind the big berm surrounding the backside of the tank. They had no idea we were there, so we decided to work back around the other side of the tank and find them again, watching the main lane into/out of the tank. We couldn't see them, so we sat down to wait them out with good shooting lanes. After about an hour, Syd was getting restless so I suggested we work another area of the ridge we were on. As we stood up, I saw one of the does leaving the tank, walking away from us at a leisurely pace. We grabbed our stuff and worked our way around to the other side of the tank to cut her off, but she disappeared like a ghost! We followed a well-used game trail with fresh tracks, but never found her. It was warming up, so we decided to work our way back to the truck and drive down the ridge where we’d seen the big doe the day before. Nothing panned out there and we couldn't find a good vantage point to glass opposite hills from due to the amazing regeneration after a fire about a decade prior. We decided to make a quick drive back down towards the tank before heading back to camp, when I notice the sun shining perfectly on what appeared to be an antler about 100 yards off the road, along a fence line. I stopped, grabbed my binos, and realized it was the white ear tip of a doe and she had 4 other does with her! It was on! Unfortunately, they busted us on the stalk and we couldn't catch up to them. Feeling a little dejected, Syd decided she was ready to take a break. We talked about not giving up and how hunting is full of highs and lows and it can all change in an instant. After lunch, I made her lay down for a nap before heading back out. AGFD happened to stop during nap time to talk about the Condor program and using non-lead ammo (I only load Barnes TSX or TTSX) and it turned out to be a gal I’d worked with before. She told me about just seeing a buck and two does moving (at 12:15 pm) on another road. Not long after that, Syd woke up and I relayed the info. “Grab our stuff, dad, and let’s go see what we can find!” was her response. We jumped in my truck and drove down that road, but didn't see anything. She wanted to drive back to the tank area while we were out and about. Our afternoon plan was to sit on the backside of the tank where we could see into the berm, but she wanted to drive a bit first. After driving a short ways, I convinced her that we should head to camp, grab our camo clothes, all our gear, and just go sit at the tank. Everything happens for a reason, right?? On our drive to the tank area, we saw three mature does feeding 40 yards off the road at 2 pm! We just drove right on past them like it was no big deal and I noticed them return to their feeding. About 100 yards down, I pulled over and we formed a plan to sneak back around. We made our way back up, but I misjudged how far down they were and ended up directly across from them, about 50 yards away. One of the does started looking our direction, so we waited her out. She finally went back to feeding and we got the shooting sticks set up and ready. The doe started working her way across the opening and presented a great broadside shot. Just as Syd was getting ready to let her rifle speak, the doe turned straight towards us, taking Syd’s shot away. I was just getting ready to tell her to put the crosshairs on the front part of her close shoulder, when they spooked and ran off. It turns out another group of hunters were driving down the road and spooked them. Again, the ins and outs of hunting public land! As we were walking back to the truck, she was feeling bummed about the blown opportunity. Again, I reminded her that its all part of hunting and things can change in an instant. We finally arrived at our parking spot to work our way into the tank and enjoyed a nice walk down the road, reminding her about not getting down and staying focused. As we were walking the final two-track leading to the tank, I happened to look to my right and saw the distinct figures of three mule deer does bedded down 30 yards off the road! It was the same mature doe with two yearlings from the day before. They were in the exact same spot at the exact same time! The doe and her two fawns were just lying there, staring at us like we weren't a huge threat. I quickly let Syd know about the deer. Syd turned around and saw them, and got doe fever instantly! I worked on keeping her calm while we set up the sticks to get her a good shot at the mature doe. Because of the angle, Sydney couldn't see the doe very well so we walked a few yards back down the trail. Still nothing. I was amazed that the doe just sat there watching us. After about 10 minutes of jockeying for a good shooting lane, the doe stood up and walked about 10 yards, stopping facing directly at us. We walked 10 yards down with her and got Syd set up. I whispered to Syd “If she turns broadside and you have the shot, don’t wait for me to say its ok.” Right after that, the doe turned broadside and at about 2:45 pm, I heard that 7mm-08 BARK!!! I was watching the doe and she did a perfect mule kick that told me a perfect hit in the boiler room. We watched her trot off as if nothing had happened. I was hoping those 140 gr TTSX would have dropped her in her tracks, but I also knew the shot was perfect. Syd instantly started screaming with excitement! I tried to calm her down, emphasizing that we’ll celebrate when we recover the deer, but it was hard for her to contain her emotions. Frankly, I couldn't blame her. I wasn't far off, but one of us had to keep calm just in case. We walked in and marked the spot where she was standing so we could start searching for blood. I tried to keep Syd calm and tell her we needed to give her 30 minutes, but I knew in my heart the deer was all ready done. I suggested we walk back to the main road and see if there was any blood where the doe may have crossed. As we were walking, she admitted that I was right in that she didn't feel the recoil one bit. Her adrenaline and that muzzle brake worked wonders! Syd was the first one who found good lung blood right away in the grass on the edge of the road and we found some more a short distance away. I happened to look up and saw the deer’s rump sticking out of a group of branches on a downed pine tree. Instead of telling her, I told her to grab her gun and I grabbed my phone to capture a video of her recovering her first deer! When I finally got her to see her deer, her reaction was PRICELESS! We snapped a couple of quick pics with my phone since the batteries were dead in my small camera and I wanted to get the deer out of the sun as fast as possible and back to camp. My wife and our son (and dogs) were back at camp when we got there. They had planned to come up for the weekend to camp with us. They were so excited for her!! It worked out perfectly that Syd got her deer on opening day so that we could have the rest of the weekend to hang out, relax, and enjoy the moment! I tried to convince Syd to get up at 4 am to go look for more deer on Saturday, but she was ready to sleep in! We ended up driving down to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon for a few hours. We've never been on that side. It’s remote, but so much prettier and way less crowded. A definite must see for anyone who enjoys the Grand Canyon! Sydney and I have talked quite a bit about her hunt since Friday. She’s learned so many lessons about not giving up, working hard for something you want, maturity, respect, support from friends and family (including all of you here), and finding success (both in tags filled and not filled). We dropped the deer off at the processor today and will be taking the hide to the taxidermist tomorrow to have a blanket or wall rug made for her to commemorate her first big game animal. She’s all ready planning for next year’s elk and deer hunting, but excited for her javelina hunt at the end of November. Thanks again, everyone, for following along and showing her so much support. I think she’ll be working on her own journal entry this week since she and her brother are off school for a week of fall break. Harvest Pics Recovery Video http://vid1071.photobucket.com/albums/u515/bwooldridge/Sydney%202014%20Elk%20Hunt/20141010_1457571_zps7581314f.mp4 Enjoying Campfire with Younger Brother North Rim Grand Canyon Tuckered Out on Drive Home

Thanks, Mike! It was a perfect boiler room shot. When I take her out to the shooting range up here, the RSOs call her "Annie Oakley" and some of the guys shooting come up to compliment her. More than once I've heard "She's only 10? I wish my 14 year old son could shoot that well." Its been just over a week and she's still flying high. We got the call Saturday letting us know her meat was ready. We were driving to a soccer tournament in Phoenix so I have to pick it up tonight after work. That got her even more excited!

X2 for OE4A. Eddy usually has a list that he keeps for kids who can use those tags, including on short notice. I've donated a tag to him with short notice like this and he made it work. Great group of guys at OE4A!