lfootmatt

Being a Missouri transplant to AZ, here's an idea. Missouri VOTERS passed a 1/2 cent sales tax to fund the MO Dept. of Conservation (i.e. Game and Fish in AZ). Recently it was set to expire. The MO voters then made it permnant. In MO the state parks all have flushers, nice CLEAN Showers, ample and well funded / paid game rangers, a great monthly glossy magazine, kids programs, frequent hunter safety classes, etc, etc...... I doubt tag/license fees have gone up much since then in MO. The selling point to the non-sportsman, hunter and fishing citizen was the ongoing habatat restoration, environmental protection and other programs that come with the package. A re-name to the AZ Dept. of Conservation would also help the moderate tree huggers get on board. The environmental nut jobs will never be on board so why try. Unfortunately, in the AZ reality of having a very large retirement population and, at least in Tucson, a large hard left wing environmental leaning population might make passing such a tax impossible. Sure was a good thing for Missouri!!! My .02, Matt

3 years in Tucson now, formerly a Missouri WT hunter, job transfer. Great place to land! Got drawn for the Dec General WT hunt in Dec!!!! Obviously thus isn't as simple as hunting WT in MO! Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Security stuff already taken into account G22 .40 & long gun for scouting trips. I want to know what I need to do to hunt WT out her in the West. .300 SAUM 3.5X10-50 Leupold VXIII solid out to 500 yards. No I won't take a 500 yard shot, but won't hesitate at 400. Is 150 grains too much? And what bullet is reccomended as a handload. I'm leaning to a Nossler Ballistic Silver Tip 150 grain w/ Varget powder. Have good 12X60 binos w/tripod and Nikon LDL 8X42 ED glass binos for scouting. Have Topo maps. Areas, terrain for scouting, etc, need advice on all. Thanks, Matt

MJM, I'll be in 36b in Dec. Don't yet know how I'll handle the camping situation or exactly where I'm going to look to hunt. I've still got some scouting to do. Check my 36b thread on the rifle hunting page. Matt

Haven't been out for a while. I'm preparing a Nov. Colorado Elk hunt, I leave the night of the 2nd, season runs the 5th -12th. Been working up a load and spending lots of time at the range. .300 saum 180 g Barnes TSX, 65.5 grains Reloader 22 (slightly compressed) gives me under 1 inch at 200 yards with a very tight average velocity of 3044 fps. With no signs of over pressure. That should take just about anything in North America. I will be out as soon as I get back from CO. Looks like the San Luis Mountains are my next stop. Thanks, Matt Hows the scouting going so far? Just curious. <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

What does AZ game and Fish think of thos enviro nut jobs and hunt disruptions? Matt

Nikon, I have a Leup VXIII 3.5 -to X 50 on my .300 SAUM. My shooting partner has a comproable Nikon Monarch Gold Ring on his .300 SAUM. Nikon is every bit as good if not better. Wish I had gone that way. Lifetime warranty, etc, etc. Side by side they are both great, but his is better. Mine goes dark just just a bit sooner. These have the same ED Glass that is in their high end ED Camera lenses. I know I'll get flamed, but side by side the Nikon glass has hit the theoretical limit of 95% light transmission. If anyone claims more, they have taken out lenses. But on an apples to apples comparison, you'll not do better. Profesional photographers in the field trust Nikon glass to hold up, their glass is second to none and they make all of their own glass. My next one will be a Nikon. They also seem to be pretty reasonably priced. Or go to Sportsman's and put them side by side, dusk is one of the bset time to test them. My $.02, less if you ask the wife. Matt

A: I misread your posts talking about your packs holding 90 pounds of worthless crap, meaning hunting gear. B: I thought you were talking about Illegals carrying 90 pounds of worthless crap. Then I went on a rant. Now that I've pulled my head out a bit (it never seems to see the full light of day according to the boss, er. Wife), why do day packs always seem to get so dang heavy??? I hope nobody here thought that I ment they were carrying contraband. Just the illegals backpacking dope across the border. Perhaps you can enlist any MM in your area to call you if they spot any huge bucks. I'd bet if they were near your hunting area they would be more than receptive to minimizing their impact on your perfectly legal use of the area. I think they would really try to do everything possible to not be a disruption to your hunt. Later, Matt

JVS hit it on the head. .223 is sweet and ammo is cheap. However, if you want to reach out and touch somethin, 22-250 and 220 Swift are screamers. Personally I'm waiting for my Remington 700 VSSF-II in .204 Ruger, ammo is relatively cheap, won't burn up a barrel and get 4000+ FPS!!!! Should be in soon! Yotes beware in 36b while I'm scouting, if I get bored you're toaast!!! My .02, Matt

90 pounds of worthless crap???? Perhaps when paying $25.00 a pound in Mexico. Once you get it back East it goes for $1,200 a pound. $108,000 - 2,250 (cost in MX) - 500 (gotta pay the backpacker) - 3,000 (gotta pay the driver) =$102,250 Net Profit Not too shabby for a bunch of worthless crap! If you don't already know what I'm talking about then I'll leave you in your sheltered, blissfully ignorant (no disrespect intended) world. It is your God given right to be there as a citizen of the United States of America. Don't forget there might be 30 of them backpackers carrying the same worthless crap!!! Did I just go on a rant? Thanks to the guys/gals down there giving it their all to hold back the hoard. They're holding back a tidalwave with tea cups! Later, Matt

FYI, Was at Pima Pistol Club last weekend. 100 yard and 200 yard rifle range. 10 minuets from Rancho Vistoso in Oro Valley. Call ahead because if there is a competition the 200 yard range mau not be available. I like 3 points but the drive from Oro Valley is a bit much. Once I have a load worked up to my satisfaction I'll go out there to get in some longrange trigger time. My $0.02 Matt

I'll give these spots a try. I think I need to go in saturday afternoon. set up and start glassing late afternoon / early evening and keep it up till dark. Sleep in the truck and hike back in predawn and glass again. I like the remote areas I've been to so far, but I'm not willing to go in or out on that rough of terrain by my self in the dark. The two areas I've been to were very remote with absoutely no sign of illegals. I don't mind going remote and rough, but I've got to change approaches and spend the night to see any real activity. Getting in late and expecting to see any movement isn't going to work. if there were deer in the area I was Sunday it would be an Ideal area to camp at. High, Remote, and illegals and backpackers would have to be stupid and blind to head that direction because the only way out is up and over. I think that is why these areas are so pristine. But if it takes sitting in a wash with the crossers to get my buck, I'll do that too!!! thanks again, Matt firstcoueswas80, Casey, I went way left on the way in. OOPS I was South of Diablo and Diabilito mountains by a few miles. The guy that sent me in intended for me to stay right, I went left and didn't see squat except great wilderness, jack rabbits and doves!!! Matt

I went way back, By road past PUERTO Spring to near Sardina peak which has a MW relay station on top of it. almost 9 miles by road (I use that term loosely) 4 low for the majority, over 5 miles as the crow flies. Used GPS to get approx distances, haven't downloaded the actual tracks yet. I went too far back to be pratical unless camping, took over 2 hours each way. 01 3/4 ton suburban, 4X4, 8.1L w/ 4.10 gears. It has plenty of power to go just about anywhere, but it's long wheel base makes it tough, did alot of angled approaches to get over obstructions. One rock face took sheer power, very steep, couldn't backup or turn around, it didn't want to go so I gassed it, then the lockers in the diffs locked and it climbed it with ease. Not bad for a kid/boat hauler. Only bottemed it once and that was at a crawl on the receiver hitch, very slightly dragged it over a rock. didn't think much until I got home. If anyone finds an AL, oval "TEAM MASTERCRAFT" hitch plate end piece it's mine. OOPS! Wife was not pleased, and I missed dinner with the in-laws. So much for the quad unless I can sleep in it! I'll be back out there this Sunday I'll keep trying until I find some bucks. I refuse to waste my December General Antlered WT Tag for lack of effort! Thanks for the help! Matt PS If anyone wants to give me GPS coordinates of an area holding a 120+ buck in 36b I'd be eternally grateful!!!

I took a service road off the access road that leads to to the MW relay station at the top of sardina peak. I glassed from near the truck for a couple of hours and then hiked to a point 1/2 mile away to glass another ridge line. No deer, but was really windy so they might have been bedded down hard. I don't mind a bit of a hike. What I'm trying to do is find a spot that is holding bucks, get to know the drive and hike in during light, then I'll start going in when I'm comfortable doing it pre dawn and after dusk. I was in some areas I had no business being in by my self during the day much less in the dark! I'm still wanting a quad or even better an old land cruiser w/ a GM drive train and sick suspension. But that's a longterm project. Thanks, Matt

I've got this figured this out! There aren't really any deer in Arizona. this is just one big joke on me to see what crazy place I'll rock crawl my truck to and then hike through a forest of Ocotillo and shin diggers to sit in the sun all day and look at nothing. Ha Ha, joke's on me. Took the hunter access road off the I-19 Chavez Siding Exit. Glassed near Sardina Peak. terrain looked right, elevation, tank nearby should be good, right? Didn't see squat!!! Took too long to get back there, road was too rough to make good time. I'll try again next weekend. Thanks for the help, matt

How do I find out more about the clean-up project? The area I scouted Monday was nearly pristine. 1 sardine can lid in the middle of a God forsaken, rock strewn, shin digger infested, steep a$$ slope. At least I 'm not the only person in this world stupid enough to climb that slope! 1 length of yellow nylon rope and a really old Coors beer can on an old cattle trail. Picked up all of that stuff. Also found a rusted muffler in some really dense brush, rusted beer cans, and ther misc. stuff in an area that appeared to be an old camp site. Too much to carry out, and was rapidly approaching complete decomposition anyway. Thanks, Matt

Finally got out to scout. SW side of the Atascosa mountains, up from ruby road Didn't see a sole or hear a man made sound for at least 6 hours, eagles crying and all. Really pretty area, no trash, illegals or anything. A very pleasnt surprise. Perhaps an indication to the difficulty of the terrain. Lots of sign and game trails in the area I climbed from ~4200 to 4600 feet in elevation. Several fresh prints in a stream bed. Appeared to be a Doe and Fawn. One larger set with a very small set in the same line. Like a fawn following a doe. How big would a fawn's prints be right now? these were about the size of a 1/2 dollar. Didn't look like Javelina tracks, too pointed. I'll try to post the pics if they come out good. Spotted 3 Does. First was in a stream bed. I was marking a game trail on the GPS and decided to glass the trail. As I scanned up the far bank I about $hit when something was looking back at me. ~75 yards away was a large whitetail, looked real skinny to me, but I'm not used to Coues WT. Might have had some small buttons, hard to tell because it moved. Was in the clear long enough to to get out the camera and snap a pic. Was heading into the brush at that point so I don't know how good it is. Turned and flagged nicely, bounded a couple of times and ducked into a very dense low scrub forest on a large flat plain. ~4300 feet It's body was larger than I expected for a doe. 2 other does ran across in front of the suburban on my way out at dusk and just after. Hiked in late so I didn't spend much time glassing. Absoutely brutal terrain!!! 30lb pack with food gear water etc. took 4 hours to get to a tank less than a mile and a half from the truck. Was losing light so I found an old cattle operation trail from some old (dry) tanks and headed back to the truck. Got out alot easier than in. Didn't want to hike out by myself in the dark. The stream turned into a slot canyon in a couple of places. I'm in pretty good condition, so getting my a$$ kicked that bad was unexpected. Having located the old cattle trail I might give it another shot if I can get started before dawn. I want to get up to the South facing slope and galss the North facing slope, lots of the appropriate terrain, cover, feed as described here and inthe book. And did I mention really had to get to? I'll try a couple of other areas before settling down on a area. Thanks for the input, your feedback is always appreciated. Matt

Thanks for the feedback!!! I'll be scouting this weekend. I've been pouring over the topo maps and GPS data for the area. Co-worker is going to hook me up with the Game and fish folks for that area. I'll be glassing myA$$ off. Terrain? I'll do whatever, and go wherever it takes to take a good coues. I'll order the book today. Has anyone else gotten this hunt? Is anyone going to be so bold as to actually camp in 36b? Besides our recent immigrant friends that will be camping in the area! Does anyone think the constant human pressure will desensitize the coues in the area? Seems to make sense to me. Thanks again! Matt