bigorange

That must have been you I heard bugling

It's right there under that mesquite. Next to the ocotillo.

Cool idea for a camera box...

Don't knock the Birks. Great camp shoes after a long day in boots. Just not my size...

I'll take them if the sale falls through.

+1 on all counts. Great first post!

I had a drop-away and after my first elk hunt I switched to a biscuit and haven't looked back. I didn't like how the arrow tended to flop around and make more noise in the drop away. Plus it's probably me not practicing enough, but I couldn't load an arrow without taking my eyes off the animal and looking down. Biscuit has solved that for me. Shoot what you like and shoot it enough that you're confident with it. For spot and stalk it just seems a simpler and more foolproof option to me.

+1 on gutless and the elk101 videos. I think I even saw a downloadable file that you could save on your phone in case you were in a real bind in the field and forget. This thread is a testament to what I love about CWT...lots of folks volunteering to help and that's no joke. Heck if the timing was right I'd drive up from Tucson to help you pack one out! Good luck and have a great hunt!

Need more specs on that Hoover...looks to have some custom mods.

Just don't lick them and wah your hands after picking them up. And yeah Steve is right about the Colorado river toads and dogs. Gotta keep those away...can be bad news.

Let me know if you hit the old stomping grounds and need an extra set of eyes. I'll be somewhere down south.

Seem to always see lots of white wings until about a week before season opens...I did see a couple last year while hunting and managed to hit one or two of them.

I never noticed this post until today...looking back or your thread about the new Nikon camera. Could have used that this weekend checking pics. My Canon won't read pics from my trailvam but nikons seem to work great. Anyway, loving the new box and yes the bracket for adjusting angle worked great and didn't have to find just the right angled tree.

Checked my cams from my first setup today...a few does and a small buck. I saw a couple of bucks in this area in January...glad to see some still there in the summer. Looking for the big boy. Thanks to Steve (Elkhunter1) for the custom lockbox. Great work!

+1 no power = no bueno

Yeah 300 road was a highway this weekend. Pretty quiet once we got away from it though.

Voting for you, so I guess we better come eat there soon. Bar? Even better. What's on tap?

We were at Woods Canyon Lake over the weekend. Lots of eagle and osprey activity while we were there too. Only phone pics that didn't turn out great though.

I'm not proud to admit that I've been "that guy" but I learned my lesson and there's no way I'd do it again. In fact if I saw the other hunter again I'd apologize and buy him a beer or whatever his drink of choice might be...if you read this and it sounds familiar let me know. I'd honestly like to apologize. This was my first AZ deer hunt (not a valid excuse I know) a few years ago on a mulie tag. Hunting an area I didn't know at all with a friend who had only hunted it a few times. We had one hill picked out that would be our focus...first mistake not having several spots in mind. Arrived to find a truck at the access point to the hill...getting ready to go look for another spot and noticed the other hunter still there. I politely asked if we could share the hill and would stay out of their way. Turns out we were planning to hunt opposite sides of the hill anyway. I got an "It's a free country" in response and should have read that as "Don't be a jerk" but I didn't...second mistake. We hunted our side of the hill and never saw the other hunters. Saw no deer either and watched one other hunter a mile or so away kill a mulie. Only shot we heard the whole hunt and all we saw were whitetail does. My buddy and I even talked about it sitting on the hill glassing and weren't sure if we had done the right thing or not. Half expected to have a note on the truck when we climbed down...or worse. Probably deserved it. Again, not proud but learned my lesson. Have had similar situations since and have backed out and left the area to the other hunter.

Definitely a tank. If not, definitely a UFO. I've seen tanks like this and the actually trough may be downhill quite a distance. Or maybe nearby and obscured by trees. Hopefully it's full and a popular watering hole for some big bucks!

+1

Taken near Tucson...not my pic. Looking at the tail, almost looks like a hybrid.

Couple from elk scouting last August...unfortunately not during archery deer season.

Done! Good luck!

Great comments so far...agree with the consensus of taking whichever one you shoot the most accurately. I shoot a .270 but that's my only choice. Any of your choices would do great, but MIT lean more toward the .270 or .300 as flatter shooting. But again, whatever you can shoot the best groups at 500. Good luck on your hunt...hopefully you can replace that ugly avatar with a nice picture of a buck! Just kidding...nice to see some more SEC blood out west. Hunting here is definitely different than in the south, but I enjoy it a whole lot more.