OpticNerd

Thanks and your welcome Lee! I'm glad you like it as much as I did putting it together. I don't know how frequently Gila Monster are seen out in the wild but it was definitely something I don't see too often. This was actually the first one I was able to get close to. The other two I've seen was while I was driving and by the time I got turned around I could find them anymore.

Wow this proves that while one thing may work for one guy it might not work for the next. I'm the exact opposite the more FOV the better for me. This is the one feature I can say has helped me find more game. For me the more area I can see in the binos at one time the better chance I have to catch movement. I remember when I first switched over to a wide field eye piece to use with my spotting scope. I couldn't believe how much nicer it was then the narrow FOV of the zoom and I seem to be finding more game with the wider FOV. Thanks for the replies. The one thing that has came up a couple times is distance. This is probably one of the main reasons I didn't see an increase of animals found when I switched to top of the line glass because I rarely used the binos for anything past 1200 yards. It seems that most guys say this is where they see a huge improvement when using top of the line optics. I will say I've done a side by side comparison between my $500 Nikon spotter with a 16x eye piece, the Swaro 15s and the Kiabab 15s. No matter what the distance I preferred the view through the Nikon spotter over both the Swaro and Kiabab 15s. I get a wider FOV with the Nikon spotter and just a tiny bit more magnification to boot. So far this $500 Nikon spotting scope has helped me find more game then any other piece of optical equipment I've ever used. Thanks again for the replies!

Thanks for the responses! I think I figuared out why I wasn't seeing an increase in the number of deer when I switch over to the ELs. It's because I'm such a good glasser it doesn't matter which bino I use I'm going to find every findable deer in the area. It's the only thing that makes sense

Thanks for the replies. So far all the positive things people have posted about high end glass is exactly why I thought the ELs should have helped me find more game. The only thing I could come up with is that maybe when I use the lower end glass I tend to glass slower because I spend more time looking at things that could be a piece of a deer. I find majority of animals by catching movement and to my eyes I can see an animals movement just as easy through lower end glass then I can with top of the line glass. It might have to do with my technique more then the quality of the glass but I pretty thorough when it comes to glassing. Maybe I wasn't glassing far enough with the ELs to see an improvement because when I'd glass anything further then 1200 yards I'd use a Zeiss spotting scope instead of my binos. Eventually I sold the Zeiss for the same reasons I sold my ELs and ended up getting a $500 nikon spotter which I love and use all the time with a fixed 16x eye piece. I feel I find more animals with this scope then I did with the Zeiss spotter. There's no doubt in my mind that the ELs and Zeiss scope are optically better then my Nikon glass I use now. I must not be good enough to take advantage of the optical quality of the top of the line glass.

130 2/8. Even though he looks like a 140 class buck in some of those pics.

Very nice indeed! Loved it! Thanks for taking the time to put it together and sharing it with us.

I just saw a similar topic on that mule deer site under the elk section. Anyone thinking about using Rage or any mechanical heads should go read this thread.

Like WHALE said it's all about shot placement. There are plenty of great heads out there now days that will work awesome if your shot placement is good. If I were you I'd advise against using mechanical heads because there is always a risk of something going wrong with them. There are plenty of fixed blades out there that shoot like field point so why risk it by using an expandable. I used expandable heads for about 10 years but after having them open up during flight 3 different times I switched back over to fixed blades. Trust me you don't want to know what it feels like to miss an animal because your broad head opened up on you. With that being said I really like Slick Tricks and Mangus Stingers. Good luck!

Really???? Weapons drawn?? Wow! They take what the want too??? Come on man your kidding right? Correct me if I'm wrong but the rule is if the skull doesn't have hair on it then it's OK to pick up right?

The mass on the left side of that skull is just SICK! Great finds!

Oh so it was a toad after all good to know.

Sorry I couldn't resist. I videoed that frog back in Aug of 2007 while archery hunting coues. Thing was super FAT!

This has got to be one of my all time favorite statements I've read on any hunting forum. You have an awesome way with words Mr. Quimby.

+1 If you were driving with your release on then I'd say the ticket was justified.

I guess this happens more then I first thought. I heard a similar story a few years back. Stuff like this sure makes me miss the days back in the 80s when I first started hunting. For the most part hunting use to be more pure and simple. No days the world of hunting is way more complicated then it needs to be.

Congrats! Bull or cow?

I'm more of a Sun Devils fan but it's good to see the U of A winning after all the changes they've gone through in the last couple of years. I hope they can make it past Duke.

Crazy story! The only thing I can think of is that maybe the officer thought you were road hunting. When would it be considered that you were actually hunting in 27? I know plenty of guys that consider just driving roads as hunting. You were already planning on hunting in 27 so driving down a road in 27 could be seen by the officer as hunting in that unit since you said you were planning on hunting the unit. If you saw a buck run across the road would you stop and go after him? Not trying to be rude just pointing out some possibilities.

Thanks for sharing those with us Julius! No need to go to Mexico with bucks like that. Love that 108 buck!

There's nothing we can do about the spread of CWD from water sources because an animal has to drink. But an animal doesn't need bait to survive. I don't care if baiting is only 1% of the cause of CWD that's 1% too much. Until proven otherwise I'm not going to use baits anymore be it salt, corn or any other form of attractant. I still can't understand why some people think the G&F is out to get us and to shut hunting down piece by piece. It's their job to do what's best for the animals and to ensure that we have healthy herds so we CAN continue hunting. Sometimes we might not like what they are doing but that doesn't mean it's not what's best for our animals. Over the years collectively the G&F has done more research, surveys, historical data or any other form of animal studies then any of us. Put this all together and you got the most educated group of people that knows what's best for our wildlife and not just deer and elk but all of AZ's animals. Like them or not the G&F deserves our respect because without them we wouldn't have the quality of hunting we have today.

I'm one of the few for the ban. I never been opposed to baiting until C&S posted his other thread about the subject. Heck I've even used them for my trail cams but that was before I knew the G&F believes baiting may lead to the spread of CWD. Even if the G&F said there was only a 10% chance that using baits could help spread CWD I'd still be against the use of baits. The risk of spreading CWD is not worth it in my mind. There's already enough natural attractants or animal condensing features out in the hills. Things like tanks, ponds, springs, seeps, game trails, funneling areas like saddles and such. With a little homework there's really no needs for baits so until there is some hard evidence that proves baiting doesn't help with the spread of CWD I'll be against the use of baits.

+1 on this part. I may not agree with everything they(G&F) do but for the most part I think they are doing a good job. We got some of the best hunting in the west so they got to be doing something right. On a side note where are all these new laws the G&F have just recently pasted that I keep reading about? Not trying to ruffle any feathers but it seems like a lot of people think that we don't need anymore new laws from the G&F. I just can't recall any new laws being passed in the last 10 or so years.

That would be my guess. Looks like it's going to be a pretty good DVD if that's what he's doing. KGS1 has put these post with links to his site on multiple hunting forums. Effective way to advertise his product by using the hunting forums. Maybe Shane will let us know soon if he's planning on putting out a new DVD. I liked his other two it would be nice if he made another. Thanks for posting the links to your site KGS1 you got some good stuff on it.

Next time you glass up a 180 muley and don't want to shoot him give me a call I'll take care of him for you Good luck on the oinkers!