azhuntnut

I was out this morning looking for mr big since I was one of the lucky 50 to draw a muzzy tag and found two herds of does. They still weren't showing any rutting sign and one of the herds didn't even have a buck with them. There were 3 bucks hanging with the other herd, and the biggest was about a 130-140 three point. This herd usually picks up a big buck when the rut starts, but he has shown up for the party yet. He was about 185 last year, so I am hoping this year he is as good or better. By the way, it was in the teens in the desert this morning. Headed back out Tuesday afternoon and will stay until the season is over. David

When you are close to town, try using house cat on your ecaller and a decoy. David

I want to start this story back on the 14th of October. I was out with my 13 year old son setting up cameras and glassing for the up coming deer hunts. When night fell we thought it would be fun to spot light for a while and see if there were any good bucks hanging around. We had only been spotting for a bit when I noticed two sets of eyes low to the ground and right away thought bobcat. I pulled up the binos and could instantly see that it was 2 mountain lions. One was sitting and the other just laying next to it. We must have watched them for 10 minutes and they never moved. The next morning about 5 am I had my buddy come out with some hounds and we started walking some roads. We were standing next to my rig talking and looking at some fresh track when all of a sudden his dad started yelling back down the road about 100 yards CAT, CAT, CAT. We ran back to his truck and his dad said that the cat had come out of the brush near us and ran right down the road past the truck. When daylight hit, we got the dogs out, but for some reason had trouble getting a good scent trail. Later that night me and my son thought we would give the light another try. About 30 minutes after dark, we found a lion stalking a doe. She some how noticed it and ran off. The lion was slowly walking across a cotton field when I noticed more eyes. It was an additional lion about 200 yards away from the other. At this point I was in complete amazement. I had only seen one lion in my life and now had 5 sightings. The next morning we got out early hoping to possibly glass one up while looking for deer. After a couple hours behind the glass, I started headed to set up more cameras. We stopped at a spot between two fields and I got out to put up a camera. I didn't see many deer tracks, so I decided to move east one field. Right when I sat back into the vehicle, my son asked me "what is that up there". Right away and could tell it was a cat. I grabbed my gun and lay down on the ground to get a good rest. Right when I looked through the scope, I could see two cats standing together. I shot at the one in the front and neither one of them moved. I knew then that I had shot high. I settled my 400 yard dot on it and shot again. This time the cat jumped straight up and did a 360 in the air and ran into a Sorghum field with the other in tow. After about five seconds, an addition cat ran into the field with them. Sorghum looks a little like corn, but it alot thicker and taller. I waited 2 hours before I decided to risk my life and go in after what might be an injured cat. I only found 2 drops of blood before it entered the field and couldn't find any where it ran in. I spent the rest of the day trying to find blood somewhere on a plant. I had a friend come out and help me, but he couldn't find any blood also. I shot this cat at 8:30 in the morning and finally found a puddle of blood at 4:30. I had to crawl on my stomach sometimes, but I was on a good trail. About 50 yards in the trail went cold and couldn't find tracks. It was very disappointing not to find my first cat I had ever shot. We were back at it again in the morning of the 20th with the hounds again. We weren't able to get a hot track that morning, so we took the dogs back to where I lost my cat. Every once in a while the hounds would get a hit, but never found the cat. Friday morning I decided start calling right at daybreak where we had seen some good cat sign. I called for about 45 minutes with no luck. I headed back to an area where I had found two tracks walking together and started glassing the area real slow hoping I would find a cat heading back to bed. I had been glassing for almost an hour with not luck, so I decided to walk a road that runs between 2 fields. I started down the road and instantly found fresh tracks. I walked a little more and saw an additional track walking the same direction. I had my eyes to the ground for about 30 yards and for some reason decided to look down the road. You can only see about 400 yards, since the brush is thick on the sides and the road has a slight bend to it. I noticed something about 300 yards down and pulled up my binos. Standing behind a bush, I could see the head and front chest area of a lion. I instantly thought, I don't have a gun with me. I turned and made a mad dash back to my rig parked about 45 yards away. I grabbed my AR-243wssm and ran back. I only had time to lay out and try to get solid. It was very difficult to control my breathing to take a good shot. The cat had not moved an inch, so I took the shot. I could instantly hear the sign on the bullet hitting bone. When I looked back through my scope, I could see anything since the dust had kicked up from the shot. When the dust cleared I could see the lion stumbling, but running out of my view. I ran back to my rig and called my buddy that was duck hunting about a half mile down the road. He said he heard the hit from there and was on his was. I waited about 20 minutes before we headed down the road. We got the spot I shot and found blood and a one inch square piece of bone on the ground. I started following the tracks while he watched out around us. We only got about 50 yards and noticed the tracks going across a deep ditch with water. I decided to run back to my rig and shut it off, but move it up at the same time. I had just stopped and stepped out whan I saw him swing his gun across the ditch and he started to yell to get over to him. I could see the lion trying to run off. I was able to put another one in him at about 80 yards and this finished the job. I pulled my first shot, and it hit him right in the front bone of his left leg and severed the bone at the joint. I think if we had been quiet, he would have bled out right where he was hiding. He isn't a big cat, in fact they aged her at about 10 months old. I can't believe they can grow so fast. I shot this cat within 500 yards of the last one. We have 9 cameras out now, so hopefully we can find the bigger one I saw with the one I shot last weekend. I didn't have time to take many pics, since I wanted to get her skinned on on ice. I shot this one at 8am. The date stamp is wrong by one day, and the time is off on the pic. David

TTT http://phoenix.craigslist.org/nph/rvs/2671566228.html

He is so big it looks like he ate another lion. Congrats on a record book cat. David

Art, It seems like every post you make it has something to do with saving all the predators in this state, or saying something derogatory to one of the members. I am beginning to think you might be some type of animal activist "trolling" this site. You are going to have a hard time ever getting any help from anybody on this site when you draw a tag and can't figure out where to hunt. And to answer your question, most bucks live a solitary life and are much easier to kill since there aren't so many eyes looking out for that lion sneaking up behind them. You need to move to Cali. Before you make an uneducated response, go back and take a look at your post history. Sorry for the hijack scooter. David

Check out Remchester Brittanys. I got a dog from him in the past and my Brittany has been a great dog so far. He was very easy to train and is eager to please. You cannot go wrong with one of his dogs. David http://remchesterbrittanys.com/

I have had good luck with decoys. I have a coyote tail connected to a motion device to swings the tail all around. I like to spray my decoy down with vanilla extract to cover my scent, plus I have had coyotes stop and smell it when they come in close. David

Can anybody recommend a good English Spinger Spaniel breeder here in the State. Bench or field is fine. David

I wanted to add an update to this thread. Last Saturday while I was scouting for my upcoming Muzzy muley hunt, we found a lion kill within 5 miles of where I shot my lion This past weekend I found more tracks about 7 miles west of where I shot. Plus I noticed about 15 buzzards within a mile of the other lion kill, so I figured a lion must have struck again. The tracks that were found by the kill are from a big tom, so its not the mother of the ones I shot. The deer population in this area has decreased almost 90 percent from last year. I did hear of another sighting this past week in the general area. Lions are devaststing on deer population for sure, and I am seeing it more and more each weekend I am out. David

Casey, I bought a 99 Suzuki Grand Vitara 4dr back in June and proceded to put a small lift, shocks, struts, and a basic tune up on it. So far this has been one of the best vehicles I have bought. I actually use it to drive all over the state to my hunting area and then drive it offroad while I am there. I have put about 14k on since I bought it, and would buy another in a heart beat. It just turned 145k the other day, and I don't think it will stop soon. It goes through some of the thickest mud and most any terrain. It even has a 160hp V-6 with auto and all the bells and whistles. If you watch craigslist, you might be able to find a decent one for a good price. I call it my Huntin Hooptie. I have only put about 150 miles on my duramax since I bought it. David

My son Austin just turned 13 recently, and is becoming quite the hunter and outdoorsman. He has been hanging with me every since he could walk. For the last 6 weekends he has been coming along with me to scout for the upcoming deer hunts, as well as his deer and Jr. javelina hunt. I have been trying to teach him the importance of glassing and trying to pick out small parts of the animal when scouting, and he has become very good at it. His deer season started back on the 4th of November and we had a plan already to go on opening day. We were able to get on some deer, but they gave us they slip. I might add that he was the one that spotted the herd. We decided to head over to our next spot and start glassing, but we couldn't find anything. On our way to the next spot we saw some deer headed to there bed, but they got into the thick brush where we could not pursue them. We were able to glass up a couple bucks, but Austin wanted to hold out for a little bigger buck. He was trying to beat the one he shot from last year. The rest of the day was uneventful. The second day found us back in the same spot as the first morning, but we were unable to find any deer. Our next spot found a small hard with a small 2x2 in the group, and again he decided to wait for a little bigger. I can't believe the patience he already has at this age. The third day we set up in a blind near a crossing point going to there bed, but after two hours and no deer I decided to get out of the blind. Of course right when I stood up I could see the deer about 450 yards away, and they saw me. They all busted out of the area and we couldn't get on them. We hunted for the rest of the day, but the deer were just not cooperating. I honestly think that with the amount of lions we had been seeing lately made a big difference on the deer herd this year. I had to get him back to school, so we headed home on Sunday night. Since his pig hunt was starting on the 11th, we decided to come back and hunt the last evening of his hunt. We glassed for hours, but the deer just were not moving. We moved to one last spot to glass and I thought in the back of my head that this hunt is over and he will go home without a deer this year. With just ten minutes of shooting light left, Austin spotted a doe on the edge of the brush. When I pulled up my binos, I could see some antlers sticking out of the tumbleweeds and could see it was the 2x2 he had passed up earlier in the hunt. He told me he wanted to shoot it. He grabbed the gun and I got the tripod set up and the gun locked onto it. The buck started to move through the brush and wouldn't give him a clean shot. I then noticed another buck moving through the brush behind the smaller one and pointed it out to Austin. I told him it was about 125 yards and then stopped the buck. He took the shot and we could instantly hear the smack of the bullet hitting its mark. I am so proud of the fact that Austin spotted these deer on his own. Its such a great feeling when you walk up to an animal that your child has shot, and you know you were the one that helped get them to this point. A couple mores years and I will be following him around. David Opening morning of pig season found us in the same general area since we had been seeing pigs during our scouting trips. I think the pigs knew the season had started, since they weren't showing up as planned. We hunted hard all day with out a single sighting. We went to a spot Saturday that had a ton of pig tracks, but no pigs were in the area. I had set up a trail camera the day before, but nothing had walked past. We spent most of the day glassing our favorite spots, but just couldn't find them. On Saturday evening we went back over to the area where we had found the tracks. Austin was able to find them right away and the hunt was on. We got set up on the tripod again and waited for a pig to give us a shot. One of them got started to move away from the herd in a hurry, so we decided to try an shoot that one. Austin made the mistake of trying to shoot it while it was moving to fast and missed it. The pig got into some thick brush, so we turned our attention back to the rest of the herd. Right away I could see a pig standing still and moved Austin into position. He could only see the head and upper back area of the pig when he took the shot. You can tell by the pics that it put the pig down quickly. He kept me busy skinning and gutting this weekend, but it was well worth it. David

I got all three, but I feel that an animal should be awarded for all of its growth. Deducting an animal for not having matching sides doesn't seem like a fair way to score an animal. I have a bull on my wall that lost almost 40 inches in deductions (P&Y) since both sides didn't match. David

I just found out that the final score on my buck is 89 4/8's SCI. A full story about my hunt will be in an issue of Trophy Hunter magazine. Thanks again for all of the great comments. David

Jeremy, I will call you tomorrow and give you an area to check out. David

That's a great buck, and pretty dang good shot as well. That buck looks almost identical the the one my son shot last. They really get hooked once they kill there first big game animal. David

Do we have any woodworkers on this site? I am trying to determine the angle of my cuts to build a pentagon shaped pedistal. I know its 72 degrees on the inside of the box at each corner, but for some reason I am having a hard time determining the cut angle for all the boards to match up together. David

I am using some old 1x10s I found and will be cutting the long side of the boards. So I would need to run them through a table saw and set the saw at a 22.5 degrees. Is this correct? David http://www.k6-geometric-shapes.com/pentagon-shape.html

Thank you Lance for posting the success you had with the Rifle Rail shooting system. It means alot to me to hear when another hunter is satisfied with my products, and used them in taking some great animals. David

I was out again this weekend with my son getting ready for his deer hunt next weekend and decided to take him to a place where he could practice on some coyotes. It didn't take him long to spot a couple. One was running after it saw us, but for some reason the other sat down. He got ready to shoot, but at the last second the coyote laid down. I barked at it a few times before it got up and started walking away. I then noticed a second one coming towards the other. I barked again and got his to stop. He took the shot, but was just a tad low. They started running togeter, but one stopped when my son started barking at it. I was already set up to shoot, so I took the shot and heard that all familiar smack sound. I pulled up the binos and could see my prize laying in the dirt. When drove up to the coyote and I noticed another one laying about 12 yards beyond it. After looking them over, I could see where I had hit the first one and didn't hit any bone and part of the bullet hit the second one in the front of the chest. There was just a small amount of blood on the coat of the other coyote. I just recently starting using a 243wssm on an AR platform, loaded with 87 grain vmax bullets pushing 3400fps. This caliber has way more knock down power at long ranges then my .223. I ranged the little hill we were on and it was 345 yards. I have never seen this before, but I know it happens. I made sure I shot a male and a female, over a year old, and not with there mother so this wouldn't bother one of our members(he knows who he is). I am an eqaul opportunity shooter. David

Thank you for the pics. The mounts look great. David

I would like to see some pics of your life size coyote mounts. David

My taxidermist said he found the 87 grain vmax just under the skin on the opposite shoulder. He said it was fully expanded and did a ton of internal damage, including destroying the shoulder. I looked up my load in my Shooter app, and it said that the bullet was traveling at 2531 fps and 1238 foot pounds of energy when it hit the first coyote. I all post a pic of the bullet and the weight. David

I am using a Nikon Monarch with the mil-dot reticle. It is the 4-16x44. After I sighted it in for 100 yards, I went on the Nikon website and used the Spot-On program. I was able to enter my custom load into the program and it showed me exactly what the yardage is in my dots. I currently have my scope set up on 15 power since I know most of the time I will be taking long shots. My first dot is 250 yards, and then 400, 500, and my last dot is 600. This makes it much easier than trying to hold over on long shots. You can also download the app to your phone, or in my case, I have it on my Xoom. David

Got this pic while checking my cams this weekend. Walking right down a road. David