Outdoor Writer

Maybe someone should call 911? -TONY

Yup. That's exactly why I would try to get them to put 15s in the line. But right now for as much hunting I'm getting to do, the 12s would be more than enough. They will work just fine to see the pigeons on the light pole acorss the street. -TONY

Great buck. Good job! -TONY

That's a neat 'lope mount, Doug. -TONY

Well then, here ya go. -TONY MY FIRST DEER HUNT The sun was rising as I crawled up the hill. At the top, I looked across the canyon and spotted a deer standing alongside a tall saguaro. Slowly, I rested my rifle on a limb of a palo verde tree and peeked through the scope. After three days of hunting, I finally had found my buck. He was standing broadside, providing a perfect shot at his lung area. I put the crosshairs behind his front leg, and a second later the 140-gr. bullet was on its way. It connected with an audible whap and a small puff of dust. If all went right, the bullet penetrated and exited the hide on the far side. Almost immediately, the buck reacted to the hit by hunching his back. He then wobbled in place and fell where he stood on the hillside. I had finally shot my first deer, and the many pounds of venison for the freezer would no doubt make my wife happy. I walked across the canyon to the dead buck and tagged it. Then, with hat in hand, I gave thanks to God for giving me the chance to kill such a magnificent trophy.

The euphemistic, PC version of my first deer hunt: My Initial Search For An Ungulate The roundish, orangey orb was just moving upward in the sky, as I slowly moved on both my elbows and knees toward the acme of the rise in the earth. When I reached the apex and peered afar across the sharp-edged depression in the ground, I saw the object of my search standing on the far away incline next to some vegetation with myriad spines protruding from its shape. With deliberate movements, I lowered the wooden and metal tool in my hands until it came to rest on a slim wooden growth sprouting from the lateral edge of a major piece of flora. The iris of my right orb quickly peeked through the optical instrument, and it revealed the grayish ungulate I had diligently sought over the last three time spans that covered 24 hours each. I now realized my quest to gather sustenance was nearing its end. I centered the instrument's crossed wires on a spot that would cause the immediate expiration of the now motionless fauna. Short ticks of the clock passed as I let the index digit on my right hand nestle into the metal semi-circle and come to rest against the tool's thin, curving activation mechanism. A short tick later, the digit moved rearward, causing the tool to jolt against the area where my arm connects to my upper torso. At that point, I realized the 140-gr. hunk of pointed metal was well on its journey across the abyss to its intended impact point. The sound of the collision with the hair-covered, untanned leather was quite audible. If everything went as planned, the projectile would grow in size, enter the area where air is produced and exit the untanned leather on the opposite side. That's exactly how the remainder of the event transpired. Almost immediately, the results became obvious. The little mass of metal had let out all of the air, causing the impacted target to teeter and waver aimlessly. Finally, it made contact with the sloping earth and went still. I then realized I had just caused the passing of my first wild, four-footed fare for the dinning room table. The human female I had said "I do" to would indeed express her gleeful enthusiasm over my success of providing a multitude of consumable repasts. I walked to the motionless hulk now resting peacefully on the terra firma. After removing my head covering, I recited some religious-like words to our male parent, used my hand to make a crude cross on my body and extended my gratitude to the big guy up in the skies. The harvest was complete.

Marc is no longer located there. His shop is now in Campe Verde. -TONY

Welcome, Riley. I hope you realize you will be getting many requests from theses dudes to come hunt in your backyard, especially if you have salt or corn available to keep those bucks still in one place. -TONY

In case anyone doesn't know what we're discussing here, below is an earlier message from another thread. -TONY Since there's no General discussion section here, I wasn't sure where to put this, sooo...here it is. If no one here has ever read any of the C.J. Box FICTIONAL mystery novels, you might give them a try. Box is a very capable, Wyoming-based writer with a nice style for easy reading, and for the most part, I'm found very few factual errors in them in regards to the hunting/outdoors aspects. His books, listed below, are all based on Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett, who usually gets involved in solving some sort of murder in each novel. There are lots of well-developed characters within each plot, too, and many of them carry over from one book to the next and even beyond. So if you decide to read any of them, I suggest you read them in order. The list starts with his first and goes from there. You can also read sample chapters on the C.J. Box web site. Open Season Savage Run Winterkill Trophy Hunt Out of Range Blue Heaven Free Fire I'm now about 1/2 way thru Free Fire, which takes place in and around Yellowstone NP. I read all the rest over the last year, and they were all good. -TONY

Thanks, guys. That's good to hear. Now I'm looking forward to trying them out. I have a set of 10X B&Ls for around-the-neck use, but the folks at Alpen have been wanting me to test some of their products for two years now. So I finally relented, deciding to try the higher power glasses for now. It's too bad they don't have 15s in the line. If the 12s are good, I might talk them into adding the 15s. -TONY

Did you teach her that??? -TONY

Well tell him I hope he enjoys them as much as I did. And tell him to make sure he reads them in order! And tell his wife I said "thank you" for making him more literate. -TONY

That's approximately 36 sheep refund checks for me. -TONY

Tony, Now you have money to give back to them for the next draw!!! Not likely! I don't do the spring hunts any longer, and by the time the elk/'lope draw rolls around, that $265 will be long gone. In fact, it will probably go toward the $1,000 or so I'll have to pay for my life-size wallaby mount in a couple weeks. -TONY

My $265 refund check for my sheep application arrived just now. -TONY

So as not to amass any more demerits here, I'll send you a PM. And no, there won't be any more comment other than my agreement with Bill. I'm weaning myself away. -TONY

10-4, Mr. Bill. -TONY

I just e-mailed this Letter To The Editor -- Arizona Republic. Leave Your Rambo Lunchbox At Home How absurd will it get before people start applying common sense to each individual situation? Chandler district spokesman Terry Locke's assertion that young Mosteller's drawing of a firearm was "absolutely considered a threat" is ludicrous. Did Mr. Locke think the kid would then make paper bullets to assassinate other students? In contrast, Ben Mosteller was dead on -- can I say that without being arrested by Sheriff Joe? -- when he felt offended by the Columbine reference. Calling someone's kid a potential murderer is never a good idea unless the evidence is foolproof. Just think, during his elementary school days my youngest son used a metal lunchbox with Rambo (Stallone) prominently displayed with a military-style assault rifle in his clutches. Of course, that was pre-Columbine before teachers and their administrators went into a CYA mode and overreacted to harmless nothings. Today, they would probably confiscate my son's lunch box, as well as the dangerous package of throwable assault Twinkies and suspend him indefinitely. Whada country, huh? Tony Mandile Glendale, AZ

Gino, I guess because I'm much older, I have better self-control. Dave, Appreciate the comment. This isn't aimed at you, but I'm gonna pass this time so my frustration level remains manageable because it gets somewhat tiresome going in circles. Regardless of anything said, it seems to always end up with "it's all about money" and "it's all the result of mismanagement" comments. I'm sure if the biologists and WMs could get out there and impregnate a few does so there are more targets come hunting season, they would. But you know, holding a deer still ... never mind. -TONY

Super blacktail for CA! Kudos to your friend. -TONY

Great suggestion, Gino! -TONY

Good for Mr. Mullions! -TONY

Good on you, Scott. Now you'd better get your butt into a Cabela's or Bass Pro and stock up on polar expedition weight long johns. -TONY

uh-uh. I vowed to stay out of these go-nowhere food fights from now on. You ain't suckering me into this again. Here's a good read that might address some of your questions. Mule Deer Working Group Be sure to use the links at the left side of the page, especially the ones about predators and precipitation. -TONY

Thanks. -TONY