Red Rabbit

I had never hunted deer in Arizona before. I asked my friend how big Coues deer were. He said if you can see antlers, it's a good one. This was about 1985 near Geronimo's Surrender Site.

After many years of being due on the second Tuesday, the deadline is indeed sneaky.

Wapiti Wednesday. "Kickstand" says to get those elk applications in by next Tuesday to AZGFD.

Check with Ravenrocks. That is where I purchased my Norma brass. https://ravenrocksprecision.com/rifle-brass/?_bc_fsnf=1&Caliber=270+WSM Powder Valley also has 270 WSM Norma brass in stock. https://www.powdervalley.com/product/norma-brass-270-winchester-short-mag/

Spomer's video showed single digit ES but with data from only 3 shots of one ammo. The AllTerra video was not so rosey with higher ES and SD that equated to poorer long range accuracy. (see the last half of the video.) Sportsmans is showing the ammo prices for 7prc and 7bc being the same at $65 with the Terminal Ascent bullet. The 7bc is using about 55gr powder, which would equate to about 10% less recoil than a 7prc with equal rifle and bullet weight and velocity. We'll see how it shakes out when more factory ammo becomes available and is shot/analyzed.

https://azgfd-portal-wordpress-pantheon.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/06115757/2025-Pronghorn-and-Elk-Regulations_250106.pdf

The GoHunt app should let you see what units you can draw with only 3 points and give unit profiles. wgfd.wyo.gov will do the same. The winter of 2022-23 took a big toll on the deer and antelope in southwest Wyoming. I have 14 points for WY antelope and will see how this winter plays out. It will take a few more mild winters and no droughts for the herds to rebuild.

I have not seen any discussion about the proposals to be bantered/approved at this Friday's AZGFD commission meeting. https://azgfd-portal-wordpress-pantheon.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/21115346/AZ-Hunt-Recommendations-Nov-20-2024.pdf

Have you seen any good Black Friday sales to share? Some pre BFsales at Sportsmans Warehouse and Cabelas, but nothing to garner great attention yet. I noticed that Kryptek has some good discounts. https://kryptek.com/ Kenetrek boots 20-50% off https://kenetrek.com/

Family, friends, God's grace, help from a stranger, the smile from a child, the beauty of nature...

Raven Rock Precision has Norma 270 WSM brass on a Black Friday Special. https://ravenrocksprecision.com/norma-270-wsm-brass-updating/

Good friend's son drew a desert bighorn tag. Any recommendations for a taxidermist in the Phoenix area who does good work on desert sheep?

My 6.5 WSM has a Bushnell LRHSi 4.5-18 mounted on it.

Thanks all for the comments and suggestions. I am passing them along.

Did anyone catch the aurora last Thursday night? Also, a comet should be visible about 45 minutes after sunset low above the horizon looking west southwest the next few evenings. It should be visible with the naked eye, but binos would help.

Were you able to swap scopes and retest?

Since I was recently in Estes Park, Colorado for an art show, a few days before and after the show were spent in Rocky Mountain National Park photographing the rutting elk. Sometimes the elk cooperated and were close, and other times the bulls and their harems were too far away in the middle of Moraine Park. The Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6 adapted to the Fuji GFX 100s was used. Many of the images suffered from often having to use a high ISO of 6400, but the Denoise in ACR did a reasonable job on mitigation. More images may be seen on the website. https://www.plateaulightphotography.com/New-Work/Rocky-Mountain-National-Park

Put the original NF back on and recheck groups. My hunch is that it is the used scope.

He is the one named Split 5. He is rumored to have gotten in a fight one night with another large bull with a drop tine. The droptine had his right beam broken and cows stolen.

Thank you Hector. That top bull (same one in the third pic) was impressive.

Looks like it has been over a year since I posted any images. So here is a sampling of what has happened on some Arizona photo trips using the Fuji GFX 100s during the past dozen months.

Coconino Nat Forest will be entering Stage 2 Fire Restrictions this Friday June 21. Forest roads around the Peaks, south of Kachina Village and south of Walnut Canyon will be closed. https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/coconino/news-events/?cid=FSEPRD1181869 https://www.facebook.com/CoconinoNF/posts/pfbid0eepCJHYrAbkYDa5D1ZznEq33QnRjzvwkefQ21PT9gury3xJvQVzWXnYFZwwXu1dKl?__cft__[0]=AZVJMhCLhyKEUkUMd4VlzSPUYuM_lkzVSm4CnxGAv8GASIM4j_7tcfaAl-91eeL8KDk4_OQJpcNZ5D6VQHYElsTofh0EabQgZyMEV5Rm12BkxwIlFUzM4RxHIfDG-xULIG474rG8JzsgnY_zOn5ztjaf4ZrFnLp-TvPHuGqoYqupDIyMyA4PfFPeN5oPQu5PASf7EZYfwYsO17PMTFMZeVKY&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R

Not many leftover Coues permits. Apps due on/after July 10. https://azgfd-portal-wordpress-pantheon.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/30115100/2023-F-FCFS-Web6_30_2023.pdf

The bonus point report is out for the 2024 elk and antelope draw. You can check how lucky/unlucky you were in the draw by hunt number, and plan for next year's draw. https://azgfd-portal-wordpress-pantheon.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/28135125/2024-Elk-Pronghorn-Bonus-Point-Report.pdf