BigGameHunter

Still best thread on the internet ... I hope AZGFD takes another 2 weeks

39 pages of anticipation ... 10 pages of people bragging about tags .. 10 pages of congratulations ... 10 pages of complaints on no tags ... boys, we are definitely on pace for 60 pages! Tag or no tag ... I feel like following this thread has already made me a winner.

This is my favorite thread on the internet ...

I fire myself every year at the start of rifle deer (October) and rehire myself at the end of archery deer (Jan 31); then a week in April for spring turkey and for a week for the crappie spawn. It's hard resubmitting and reading my own resume but it's all worth it for the those 14-16 weeks a year where I can detox from the office. As science would conclude ... I'm highly productive in the other weeks. That being said ... I need to check my cc again for the elk hit.

My card still hasn't been hit ... I'll definitely keep you posted once the draw starts.

My card hasn't been hit yet ... so it's still not starting ... will keep you posted.

My card still hasn't been hit ... so the process has yet to start. I will keep everyone posted.

My card wasn't hit ... so they haven't started yet. Keep you posted.

I got a $100 says the girl in pink made the shot and tracked it and her teammate in camo carried it out. Nice work

That's funny ... don't care who you are.

I love 5BS ... my favorite elk unit. I would hang that bad boy on my wall in 3 seconds ... and I bet he taste the same as any other 5x5.

If your freezer is too full ... I have some room in mine Nice work!

Nice work! Congratulations!!

Lots of Javi over by Peppersauce ... however, not a lot of muleys in that area; mostly whitetail. Muley's possibly back by campo bonito (heading west); might run into a pig or two along the way. Fill that tag and then share the stories of both kills. (Saddlebrook area will be a doe show .. which is great for staying busy behind the binos but likely frustrating for a young hunter).

Well ... I can finally post a pic of a tagged buck. For far to long I have come to this site to relish in the pics of downed bucks and bulls, but today, I get to post one of my own. Five years in the making ... and here is my first recorded buck. Got this guy in 36B this weekend. We knew with the amount of hunting pressure that was occurring south of us the deer would be pressed north back into the base of the base of the mountains and washes and we were right. After a long morning and a whole lot of walking and glassing I finally was able to kick this guy out of the wash on the way back to camp. Sometimes staying active and moving around the washes is all you need...sure it's kind of lucky, but I will take it. Besides luck only happens when opportunity meets preparation, right? While he wasn't the biggest buck we glassed during our scouting trip(s), he was one of the better ones we saw all weekend. I am just thankful that the weather stayed decent for us as we were expecting far worse from the rain storms. With just light sprinkles and a cool breezes it made the mornings fantastic. BIG THANKS to my brother for all his helping in getting this guy back to camp in one trip. Also, special credit to my 4yr old nephew for being a super trooper during the entire hunt and especially while packed his guy out. Thankfully, he was there to empty our snacks from the packs .. giving us plenty of room. As a side note: as we spent this weekend chasing muleys we glassed up some awesome coues. I would bet my left leg that we probably glassed 15-20 coues bucks and 4 or 5 of them were 100"+. Sitting behind the tripod during this hunt was awesome as we were literally finding deer in ever nook and cranny of the desert and mountains. I would bet (my right leg this time) that we probably glassed 50-75 deer (does, bucks, whitetail, muley) throughout the entire trip. If anything, seeing that many deer, it keeps your morale high and confirms that you are in the right area(s). Time to go take my 2015 archery tag and make soup out of it ... looks I won't be needing that bad boy in December. The soup will be served with a nice backstrap! Happy hunting to all that have the second hunts.

Filling a youth tag ... that's what matters most in keeping hunting alive. Nice work!

hunting isnt easy and hardwork will payoff ... Good work

Thats a gnarly buck .. Well done!

Awesome buck! Congratulations!

Nice work and it's important to spend time with the family. Congratulations

My experience is that deer and cows will frequent the same water holes ... after all there are few sources of water so they will get pushed to the same spot for water. I suspect the difference is the times at which they will frequent the water hole. In regards to rattling, never had much luck with that. I just use a grunt call. It's seems to be more effective.

The November hunt will be slightly more challenging ... if it were me, and I'm just one dude that archery hunts that unit fairly regularly, I'd kick some dirt around the Tortalitas ... and like everyone else said, there are some big boys that wonder those grounds. Good luck. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

This guy .... I'll make sure you get a deer hoof at the Christmas party.

Awesome bull ... let's hope you don't have to wait much longer for the next hunt.

While I typically spend most of time chasing muleys , but that doesn't mean I haven't seen my share of coues floating around ... feel free to hit me up. 33 is a solid unit (especially during the rut) .. .I spend a lot of time here. Feel free to PM me and I would be happy to help. Just be ready to hike and glass. Most of this unit, especially on the west side of Catalina's, is well traveled. So don't be surprised to see a bunch of road hunters and dudes bumbling around without binos. I recommend sitting on a hill and just watch where they walk ... they will be kicking deer out in every direction and not even realize it. It's really quite comical ... I see this all the time and I have to admit ... makes me laugh every time. Just be patient and go slow; you won't have much problem with finding your shot.