bchoitz

Hiker, Is there any state you didn't hunt in last year? Those are some nice animals, congrats. Bret

For those of you in the Phoenix area, particularly the west valley... The Buckeye Hills Shooting range is finally open, at least on the weekends. Currently they are open on Saturday and Sunday from 8:00AM to 4:30 PM. The Buckeye Hills Shooting Range is owned by Maricopa County Parks and Recreation, and is operated by the Buckeye Sportsman's Club. I went to the range today, arrived about 10:30 AM, and stayed until around 1:45 PM. They have a 200 yard range with 40 lanes, covered shooting benches, and well marked target stands (so you know you are still in the correct lane). During the time I was there they had between 10 and 15 shooting stations occupied. No waiting for your lane, and it was much more relaxed than at Ben Avery. If you live on the west side of town, this is a good alternative to the drive up to Ben Avery. Here is the web link to the range: http://www.buckeyehillsshootingrange.com/ And one to Buckeye Sportsman's Club. http://www.buckeyesportsmanclub.com/ The range is located just West of SR 85 about 10.5 miles south of I-10 on the way to Gila Bend. Follow the signs to Buckeye Hills Recreation Area. Note from the website: If weather appears unstable, please call ahead as we frequently experience range closures because of high winds.

.270, thanks for the reminder on Joe Foss. I completely agree that this range is named in honor of a very deserving American hero. Jim, I think you will like this range when you are not on the "1000 yarder right around the corner" That range is getting harder and harder to use.. As for the Bad experiences at Ben Avery and other ranges, I can understand why some range masters get uptight. Ben Avery has too many lanes for one range, and a multitude of user types. (Handgunners, Tactical, Large Bore, and small bore). I would much rather see several smaller ranges, split by use type. It always makes me wonder when I go to Ben Avery and see 80 lanes of shooters on the main range and the .22/small bore range is not in use. What a waste. Living in Buckeye for the last 18 years, I'll be happy to support the local range, and I hope I never have to go back to the main range at Ben Avery, however this range is not without it's challenges, which include the County not really wanting to give the operation contract to Buckeye Sportsman's club. If the use does not increase, the future will still be in doubt. Remember this range has sat virtually unused for a year already. It has been open for the last two weekends. Future plans do not call for a longer range than the current 200 Bret

Yep, that was me. Had a great time. Good luck with the mulies in 39! Bret

I put mine in 1st so they are on top after they open the applications and sort them into species.. It worked last year, I had tag #1 in my hunt. Bret

Short and sweet, this was a great year for hunting in Arizona! 2 Jr hunts, Elk in 4A in October with my son Curtis, Deer in 12A West in November with my Son Curtis and my daughter Carolyn. Unfortunately Carolyn didn't get a shot opportunity due to wanting to sleep-in the last day And my wife and I had another frustrating December hunt in 35B. I tagged out, she hunted two days, then made a "quick" trip to Idaho and Oregon to help my daughter move, which lasted through some great snow storms and took 13 days instead of the planned 5. The spring and summer were taken up with several fishing trips with my kids. Crystal River, Colorado East Fork, San Juan River Looking forward to another great year in 2009! Bret

Why .260 Rem? I've considered that cartridge but it has it's limitations. Will he handload or buy factory ammo? Makes a difference on what is available. If he is buyin' he is better off with a more widely available caliber like .30-06 or .270 Win, or the venerable .308 If he likes the "magnums" he should consider the tried and true 7mm. Lots of coices, but what it boils down to is the bullet diameter (in this case .264), weight, muzzle velocity, and distance. If he wants to shoot past 300 yards he is better off with a 30-06 variant such as 25-06, 270, 280 rem, or 30-06. If he wants a short action gun, then the .260 rem is a good choice, but I would not recommend it if he does not handload, and shots over 300 yards will start to see alot of bullet drop. So, I would choose that for deer/coyote/antelope if I wanted to stay with a short action rifle and I was a handloader. If I had to choose for a short action rifle for somebody who will be buying ammo, I'd recommend a .308 Win. If the short action is not the deciding factor, I'd chose a different caliber, such as ..270win, 30-06 or 7MM for an all around rifle for someone who will be buying ammo, and if they handload, it depends on personal preference. I choose a .280 Rem for an all-around caliber. Notice I didn't mention magnums? If he was interested in the "power" of a magnum he wouldn't ask about the .260 Rem. Is that as clear as mud? Bret

Congratulations! Awesome deer. Way to go!

Nice buck! great story! 1st one? your gonna get spoiled! Bret

truehunter, I feel your pain! Those are the same questions I had during my December hunt. I saw lots of doe's but only 2 bucks in the 4 days I spent in the field. I saw no rutting activity, although 1 of the bucks I saw was a spike hanging with some doe's. I don't have the answers, but I am still trying to learn, and still looking for my 100 incher as well. I will never complain about the late December season though. It's fantastic being out hunting and not seeing any other hunters once I get on the mountain! Congrats on your buck and a good time in the field. Good luck getting the tag again next year, and keep hunting! Thanks for your story. Bret

I only got half way through the thread and now I have to go to work.... Keep at it! I sincerely hope that you find this deer for your benefit as well as for ours. the ONLY way you will know what truly happened is to find that deer. Good luck. Bret

Ouch! That hurts! Watch the pawn shops in the vicinity of wherever it was stolen as well. Bret

Great job! Glad you got to hunt with the wife, and to score a double is even sweeter. Bret

It has been three years since I was last drawn for deer in Arizona. It's my fault of course, I only put in for the December Coues deer hunts which have low numbers of tags. I started doing this because my wife Kathy wants to go with me like she did when we were younger. Now with her job as a swimming coach, she is not able to get away until the second week in November. I also make my hunting applications with the time set aside for the Jr hunts for my son and daughter, which really only leaves the December time for my own deer hunt. The first weekend of the hunt was dedicated to areas where I thought Kathy could, at fifty, get her first deer. There was a storm moving in, and it was very windy by the second morning. We saw very few deer, and I was a bit frustrated because she did not get any shot opportunities. This is not what Coues hunting is supposed to be like. Kathy had to leave during the middle of the week to drive to Boise ID and help my daughter who is moving to Oregon. My plan was to get out the second weekend after the storm moved through and get in some hunting in areas I had not previously hunted. On Wednesday, Kathy left for Boise, pulling a trailer, and got as far as Searchlight, NV. It seems a little storm was dumping snow on Las Vegas, and searchlight is up the hill from there. She wisely sat out the storm. Thursday saw her back on the road by mid-morning, and it was clear she would not make it to Boise until Friday at the earliest. I made reservations for her in Ely NV. My hunting plan for the weekend was now changed. I decided I would stay within cell phone range so Kathy could keep me informed on her progress. It seems ironic that one of the reasons for going hunting is to get away from the time clocks, demands, cell phones etc, and now here I was making sure I could still use my electronic leash. On Friday I was out of the house at 2:15AM for the drive to my unit, with an expected arrival time of 5:30 AM. Not as early as I would like, but a reasonable compromise. By 6:15 I am sitting on a low hill glassing. I'm seeing lots of deer, and thinking; this is what it's supposed to be like when huntin' Coues. 7:15 AM the phone vibrates in my pocket, and I know It's my wife. She is waiting another day in Ely for a storm to pass through the I80 corridor near Elko and Wells. That is a lonely place to risk getting stuck in a storm, and I think she made the right decision. No more worries for today! I hiked and glassed and hiked some more. I think I saw 30 or more deer, but I never saw an antler. It was déjà-vu for me. I hunted this area 3 years ago. The deer were plentiful, but the bucks were not. Friday night I go to bed without a clear plan for Saturday morning. There must be bucks in the area, but I'm just not seeing them. Am I in the wrong place? Am I glassing too fast, or the wrong places? Saturday morning arrives at 4:00 AM. Frost on the ground and the tent. Off I go, having decided I'm probably not high enough on the mountain. I'm going most of the way up today, and then I'll glass into a south facing slope from above. I'm in place by 5:45, and cooling off from the hike. The shirt I wore up the hill is off, and I'm putting on all the clothes in my pack. Thermal shirt, flannel shirt, jacket, thermal underwear. I wish I'd brought a change of socks, because It's cold. I should have brought my vest, but I thought the new (and different) thermal shirt would compensate. It didn't. The sun starts to make it's way into the sky. I've been glassing for about 30 minutes now but haven't seen a thing. I'm going to move to the opposite side of the saddle I'm on and watch the southern facing slopes that can be seen from there. It's more area. I'm set up and within seconds I'm seeing deer. One and two here, three, four, five, and six there, seven, eight.... Wait! I can't believe it! Antlers! On a deer! OK, how big? He is eating in a yucca bush, facing uphill. Turn some, show me what you've got. Three by three, antlers are high off his ears and curve in. Not a great spread to them, but decent mass. Yeah, he'll do! Now, is he alone, or is there a bigger one. (Hey, I can hope can't I?) No he seems to be the only buck on this slope. Can I get closer? Not likely. The distance is about 300 yards and there are two deep draws and a very steep hillside between us. Can I make the shot from here? There is no room for a prone shot. I'm going to try it from the tri-pod. I don't have "THE CLAW", but I'll do the best I can. Rifle on the bino's. I'm a little shaky, not sure if it's the cold or buck fever, but my money is on the cold. Steady, Deer in the scope. Aim a bit above his shoulder.........BOOM Now I'm looking through the scope trying to find him again. He's still there, by the yucca. Not in a panic. Back to looking through the bino's. I watch him and he goes back to feeding and starts walking. He is headed for the second draw, but is not in a hurry, and he certainly was not hit. OK big guy, you had your warning shot. Rifle on the bino's. Deer in the scope. Aim a bit above his shoulder.........BOOM! Now I'm looking through the scope trying to find him again. Nothing! I'm thinking how much easier this would be if I wasn't alone and somebody could watch my shot for me. Back to looking through the bino's. I can't find him, but by now most of the deer on the slope are high-tailing it out of there. Does everywhere! There must be twenty deer on that slope. I can't find him high or low. If he's not dead he is not standing, at least not on the slope I can see. I check the ground around were he was, but can't find anything. I mark the spot I shot from on the GPS and pack up. I check the spot he last stood and get landmarks that I can find when I'm on that slope. Now I look for a route. The slope between us is steep, but I'm not going down and then up. OK, through the first draw, and onto the slope between us. Check the landmarks and scan the ground again. Still nothing. I'm approaching the second draw now. Again I check my landmarks and scan the ground still nothing. Now it's been almost 20 minutes since my shot, but I'm finally on his slope, and moving up to where he was. Oh Yeah! I got him! Woohoo! Uh-oh. How am I gonna get him off this hill? Well, pictures and a tag first. Then take GPS coordinates. 286 yards. The phone rings. It's my wife. She is leaving Ely on the last leg of her trip to Boise, and I'm starting the last leg of my journey for the weekend. I'll even get to church on Sunday! I have a lot to be thankful for! I sure hope she wants to go out and try to get her deer when she returns, because I can't wait to hunt again! Merry Christmas to all!

Don't know about the Marlins, but my Father-in-law used to hunt with a lever action Model 88 Winchester in .308. No need for blunt or rubber tips. He chose that because he is left-handed and when he purchased it left-handed bolts were very rare. Great rifle, but they are a bit pricey used. Bret

Great Story! Congrats on the Javies! Now go get that buck! Bret

:lol: :lol: Bret

Nice Buck and nice story. Thanks for Sharing. Good luck in Mex. To those who think the Dec. tag is a"Once in a Lifetime" tag, keep that train of thought, You are right and you shouldn't waste time putting in for those tags... Bret

Go tomorrow, and the next day! You won't regret it. Good Luck! Bret

Congrats on a successful father-son outing! Great Buck and story! Way to go! Bret

Beautiful deer! Congratulations to all involved. That is truly a team effort! Bret

Tell us More! Congratulations on your successful hunt! Bret

Sweet Success! What a way to spend a day! Congrats on your first archery coues. Thanks for sharing your story. Bret

Well, my wife finally made it to Medford Oregon, It only took her 10 days. It's been a long lonely holiday period. She should be leaving there tomorrow and arriving back here in Arizona Monday. After her ordeal I don't think she will want to go back out for the last day or two of the hunt so it looks like I'm done for the year. I tried to measure my deer, but I'm not real adept at that. My attempts yielded 92. Bret

Nice family outing! That was a great story, thanks for sharing. And a real fine buck too! Congratulations. Bret