bchoitz

Two nice Bucks and time well spent. Now your gonna have to get a lion tag to spend the rest of your time off1 Congrats to you both! Bret

Congratulations to both of you! Definitely worth getting out of the truck. Bret

I'll go with 1187 beans unless that number is already taken. A real mathematical guesstimate. Ok, maybe not so mathematical. Bret

Sweet pair of bucks! Way to go! Congrats on a fun hunt. Bret

Sweet Buck, Congratulations! Now you can enjoy the holiday's with the kids instead of fighting that urge. Waiting 8 years? thats a long time, I only had to wait three!

Success is not being at work, leaving the rat race, and stress behind. Marking time by the position of the sun, and if I get to shoot an animal that is fantastic! Success is the satisfied smile on my son's face when he is standing over his first deer and first elk. Success is not sleeping all night because the bugling and grunting of the elk keep you awake as you wait impatiently for opening morning. Finally, after everyone else's hunt is over (aka December), Success is being able to drop all my responsibilities to everyone else, and only having to worry about me, my needs, and my desires. Other than that, I'll echo Ernesto's sentiments, God has provided a wonderful world with rich diversity, and when I am able to spend several days observing God's creation, I truly see the magnitude of His Glory. I come back refreshed. Bret C

I'll let you know on Monday after I get back from 35B! I hope to get my wife's buck this weekend and then it's just my tag for the rest of the month! Bret

One more thing.... Cherish the time in the field with your dad. At 47 I have never gotten the chance to hunt with my own father. He stopped hunting shortly after the first time he took my older brother on his first hunt, and I did not get the chance until I was married, out of the navy, and moved back to Colorado where I learned to hunt with my father in law. I still try to get my dad to go with me and my sons, but so far no luck. Bret

As Red Rabbit said, what have you been doing? You have the glass and have been seeing the deer, that is usually the hardest part. Watch the deer and see what they do, where they go, and what they feed on, and where they bed. Practice in the off season and try stalking the deer, not just the bucks, but the does as well. (I can't tell you how many times I tried this growing up outside of RMNP) For elk, apply for the earliest cow tags, (October) and spend a day or two before the season scouting water holes and listening for the bulls. Your ears are better than optics for the early cow season. Go with friends if they get a hunt and will take you. I learn alot from others. Good luck! PS - How can I get one of my kids to buy me a pair of Swaros for Christmas? Bret

Congratulations on a fine hunt and a nice looking deer! Bret

Congratulations, looks like a fine buck to me! The first is always a trophy. That big one will be waiting for you next year, in the same area. Way to go! Bret

Congrats on your buck, a great write-up to go with it. Way to go! Bret

Way to go! Congrats on a fine ending to your hunt. Bret

Great looking buck, and a great story to go with it! Good job. So, did your dad's buddy get another chance for his deer? Bret

Sounds like a super hunt. I wish I had the time to spend watching the same deer for a month before the season started, and then decide that would be the deer I took. I can understand why this hunt is so special. Great job, and thanks for sharing that with us. Way to go! Bret BTW, I'm switching back to the Nosler Ballistic tips for my coues hunt. My son was using my rifle for his Elk and Kiabab deer, and has been using the Barnes bullets. I like how I've seen them perform with elk and mule deer, but I've not heard enough good things about them on the much smaller coues deer. Your description of the exit wound sounds similar to what others describe, but I'll never complain about a 10 ft blood trail with that much blood.

I love those old black and white's, and cherish the few pictures I have of my grandparents taken when they were younger than I am. Like most of you I immediately noticed the model 99. I still have the one my father purchased in the 50's while he was in the service. Mine is in .300 savage, and my recollection is the .300 savage has been around since well before the above picture was taken, although I'm not familiear enough with the variations in the model 99 to date the rifle from a picture. I thought the .303 savage was only chambered for a short time and was then replaced by the .300 savage as a more efficient cartridge, basically a cut-down 30-06. Anyway, I can't image how much more difficult it would be to hunt cous deer with open sights. Thanks for sharing that picture with us. Bret

Great Story and a sweet reward. That sounds like a very hard hunt and a well earned buck at the end of it all. Maybe you should have brought the wife and horses on opening day? Congratulations! Bret

Now that's huntin'! Great story intermixed with appropriate pictures. You have truly captured a good hunt. Sorry the deer didn't cooperate with a "shooter". Good friends and time well spent. sound like a lucky bean indeed. Bret

Congrats! That is one more buck than I saw all of last year during the jr. Rifle hunt. Enjoy the fine dining and the memories from the field. Bret

Huh? My point was that he ASSUMED they came to steal his stuff, and the very first interaction he had with them was confrontational and apparently accusatory, and was based on his previously stolen equipment. Based on his own account of the incident, he left no hope that the encounter would be anything but negative. The encounter obviously soured his hunting trip for that day, if not for the whole weekend. I offered a suggestion to avoid having that happen in the future. I get enough negative interactions in my everyday life. I'd just as soon avoid the stress and anger that comes with those moments when I'm out hunting with the objective to "relax" and "enjoy" my hunt. It also doesn't matter if the keys are in the ignition or not, it's still not OK to steal my car........ And this from someone who drives a rag-top jeep and camps in a tent close to a road while hunting. Bret

Now that is amusing. Bret

Good luck to all you Nov. hunters. I can't even begin to think (openly) about my late hunt until after the Jr Deer hunt in 12A next weekend. Leave some for us poor December tag holders . Leftovers again Bret

This is not a forum I usually look in.... I have loaded barnes bullets for several years for my .280 Rem. Being cheap I've only purchased 100 at a time. Barnes has changed their offerings over the last several years. When I first started I was using Barnes X bullets in 160Gr and loaded them the same as the Nosler Partitions. I switched from the Barnes X bullet to the XLC's when I got a really good price, and noted that I got roughly the same performance from the XLC as with the X bullets, except I was using 2 grains less powder. (54 Grains instead of 56 grains) I also switched from H4831 Powder to the H4831 SC (Short Cut) powder at the same time. Also, copper fouling was much less with the XLC bullets. Use Barnes BC-10 for cleaning out the copper. Now they have stopped making the XLC bullets and are making Triple Shock, which I will assume is equivalent to the older X-bullets. ( I have picked up some due to the Kaibab Tag my son drew, but as of yet I'm still using the XLC's) So here are my observations: The Barnes Copper bullets are longer than a lead core bullet of the same weight. This could impact your loads IF you are using a powder that fills the case and the longer bullet will compact the powder. The XLC was a coated bullet and required less powder for the same velocity and produced less copper fouling. The newer "Triple Shock" appears to be about the same as the older X bullets. Plan on reducing your loads from what you used on a lead core bullet and look for signs of excess pressure, particularly if using a slow powder. Work up to the same powder load if that is warranted. Use a suitable cleaning agent to remove copper fouling. I have shot 1 Elk and 1 Mule deer, and each of my 2 sons have killed an elk using Barnes bullets. I have never recovered one of these as all were pass through single shot kills. I guess that means they have worked OK for me. I normally load 140Gr nosler ballistic tip bullets when targeting the Coues Deer. They are designed to expand quicker on thin-skinned game, and I like the faster muzzle velocity of the lighter bullet. If you are looking for better bullet performance but don't necessarily want to work up a new load, I'd recommend Nosler partitions.

Congratulations! Nice looking deer. Next year take one step backwards and make the hike out an even 2 miles!

Yep, your correct on that, I stand corrected on the legality of the issue. It must not work too well since baiting does not seem to be a common practice in Arizona. (Unlike Texas where instead of swingsets, the Walmart's have deer feeders set up out front.)