azhuntnut

I just dropped mine off on Thursday to get it ready for elk season. I have used them since they opened here and have had good luck. A gentleman named Darrel in the archery department(I-17 and Yorkshire) seems to be pretty knowledgeable and friendly. Ask for Clint if you go to the one in Goodyear. David

He looks more like a 320-330 bull in the second pic. He isn't that long on his firsts and seconds, thirds and fifths. He will be a nice bull next year with that symetry. David

Thanks for all of the replys guys, this should really help me out on my quest for a big boy. I am going to head up there this weekend and try to get my camera set-up and drop some salt. I should be able to get at least six weekends of scouting in before my hunt. If anybody has anymore ideas, feel free to pass them along. Your help is greatly appreciated. David

Well I got lucky this year and drew a 7m archery bull tag and want to get started scouting this weekend. I haven't spent much time in this area, so I don't know it very well. Does anybody know if there are some camping areas around the Mountainaire area? I am towing a 32ft fifth, so I will need plenty of space to turn around and park. I thought this would be a good spot to get started looking for the BIG one. Second question; Is there a place up by Flag that I can store my trailer and won't have to worry about it? I will probably leave it until the season is over. Thanks, David.

Archery bull tag in unit 7m. Anybody have trail cameras up in that area?

I got the one made by Primos for my pig hunt in January and used it for about five minutes and put it in my backpack. I hated the way it hung on my shoulder. I went back to hanging my bow from my hip. David

To the top

The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation is having there banquet on June 11th this year. If anybody is interested in going you can goto the website provided and click on Phx chapter banquet for tickets and information. We will be auctioning off a deer hunt that will be guided by Broken Arrow guide service. It will be a four day hunt located in units 32 or 33. Rolando, the owner of Broken Arrow has told me he can guarantee a 90-100 inch buck on this hunt, but I am sure you will probably see something bigger. The hunt is going to be good for the 2006 and 2007 season, that way you have time to get drawn for a tag. You might have seen him lately on Majestic Outdoors where one of the hunters shot a 102in buck. We are going to have 65 guns this year that will be raffled and auctioned off. There will be around 400 people this year, so your chances of winning something are pretty good. My wife won 5 guns last year and got drawn a total of 9 times. Hope to see you there. David http://azod.org/azrmef/index.html

Hey, theres no animals in 5bn. You are just wasting your time.

I have hunted with Rolando before and he is a great guide. He was just starting out back in the early 90's when I met him and he was already spotting deer with ease. If you are looking for a somebody to guide you on a hunt give him a call. I spoke with him today during the show and he told me that they actually spotted alot more deer then what the camera showed. The last buck on the program scored 102. David

Thanks guys for all the comments. I did get to see alot of great scenery. I also managed to lose 25lbs in the last three months, so it did start getting me ready for elk hunting in the fall. I tried calling with about every call known to man. I am not able to go back for the last weekend due to other plans, so I will have to chase him again next year.

I managed to draw a spring bear hunt this year in unit 31. I hunted this unit two years ago without finding a bear. This did not discourage me much since it was my first time. This time I tried to prepare the best I could by talking to different people who have hunted the area before. Thanks to all the members that gave me there input on where to hunt in this unit. I actually started hiking every other day with my pack on about two months out from opening day. This really helped get me in great shape for walking in the mountains surrounding Mount Graham. I started scouting a little early hoping maybe some bears might be out looking around, but found little sign. I was out opening weekend hiking into different canyons, glassing every finger I could. I hunted almost every weekend after opening day weekend. I did manage to see deer everyday I was in the field, along with my first Kudi Mundi.(spelling?) I didn't see any bears or hear of any being seen until last weekend. A nice fella in Safford named Danny Carascos told me he had seen one, but couldn't get a shot at it. He told me where I could find, but it was quite a walk. He had come in on horses, but I was up to the challenge. Last Sunday I went in after this big bear (350-400Pds) hoping to find him in the same area. It took me almost two and a half hours to get to the canyon, but the bear didn't show himself. I did manage to see some nice coues in several different bowls. So this weekend I was back at it again. I started out a little earlier and with a faster pace hoping to catch him out feeding, but once again he was a ghost. I spent the entire day walking down into canyons checking for sign or caves. I made it back to the truck at 7pm with no bear. I figured that I have spent fifteen days in the field and walked more than 35 miles. I logged about 3200 miles on my truck and owe my wife a barrel of honey do's for sure. Sometimes I wish it was called shooting, not hunting. I honestly think that G&F have this hunt just to make money. I don't think this hunt has ever been closed early. It starts to become frustrating when you spend so much time on a hunt without even seeing the animal you are hunting. Looks like I will be at it again in the fall. Sorry so long and no pictures. David.

No, it was a typical 3x3. Long mainbeams with good thickness all the way through.

I saw a coues on Saturday that a gentleman shot in 31 three or four years ago that was huge. He's not into scoring his deer, so I don't know the score. The eyegaurds alone were 6 inches long and then split at the top like a v-shape and those were an inch long. I should have taken a picture. He had another one there also that came from the same canyon that had the same genetics as the big one. They were almost identical in shape. I am probably going back over there again soon to keep chasing the bears and will try to get a picture. David

While I was scouting for bear this weekend I managed to get some pictures of some Coues through my spotting scope. There are three deer in the pictures at about 1300 yards around 5:30 in the evening. I had the scope set on 60 power and the camera zoomed in on a couple and no zoom on the other. I also spotted something I had never seen before, but couldn't get any pictures due to the time. It had a tail about 2-3 feet long with a small brown body. I think it is called a ringtailed cat or something. I spotted it at about 3/4 of a mile digging in some rocks and bushes. At first all I saw was the tail and thought it was a cat. This is my first time trying this, so if you can give me any advice let me know. David. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v719/azh...ut/Dsc09046.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v719/azh...ut/Dsc09047.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v719/azh...ut/Dsc09050.jpg

Amanda, You are right. I thought it might have been a mundi, but I wasn't for sure. It was a little bigger than the one in the picture.

I was in unit 31 this weekend scouting for my bear hunt and saw two coues. One was a 3x3 in the 90's. I tried to get some pictures through my spotting scope, but there was to many heat waves plus they were about 1500 yards away. I need to get one of those camera adaptors for my scope. Lots of water runnin in all the creeks and saw some bear sign. I set-up my trail camera in an area where there was bear and deer sign, so hopefully I will get some good pictures. David

I talked to a friend of mine Friday that went out on a hunt with another hunter and he said that his buddy had shot a pig with a baby inside. He said it looked like it was probably ready to have the baby anytime. I have never seen this before at this time of the year. Anybody ever had this happen before? David

Has anybody tried using the Winchester 130 grain silver tips in a .270? Did they seem to work well with your gun? I have a bear hunt in March and was thinking about giving these a try. My other option was the Hornady 140 grain light magnum. The Hornys are $8.00 bucks more a box. I like to shoot about 100 times at the range before I go out, so it could get quite expensive. I don't have any time to reload any right now so that isn't an option. Any suggestions would be great.

Have you guys seen what a G&F officer makes these days, not much. The ones that work up in Flagstaff have a hard time just making it. I hope to see some of this money go towards a pay wage for them. David.

Looks like Oregon with cactus and mesquites. Did you get those deer pictures through a spotting scope? Those TC's are nice since you can change out the barrels so easily. I picked one up a while back that was custom built with a .223 barrel lengthened to 16.5in with a muzzle break to be a legal rifle. Added a rifle stock and custom forearm. Nice job on the pig, they are so much fun to chase around the desert. David. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v719/azh...ut/Dsc08951.jpg

http://www.azgfd.com/artman/publish/article_251.shtml

I am a native also and have slowly watched all of the lakes around Flagstaff going dry. I remember when Mormon Lake was a great place to catch pike and catfish. When I was in gradeschool (middle 80's) we used to sit on the dam between upper and lower Lake Mary and shoot ducks and geese like crazy. The good news is that upper lake is full and lower is almost full. The lakes around Williams are also full. I just hope that the only natural two lakes in AZ (Mormon and Stoneman) fill back up again. I hope it keeps raining right up until around the middle of March and then stops. I have a bear hunt to attend. The horns are gonna be big this year. David.

I don't mind drinking my own pee, but somebody elses.. THAT'S SICK!