BML

Great Job Basser!! I applaud all your efforts in the field and the classroom. I will add to the list of an AWESOME 2008 for the Lanoue family. It started off for me and my dad on our javelina hunt in January. As usual, my dad was out of town for opening weekend. He and my stepmom have a tradition where every year on the day after Christmas, they leave for vacation in their 5th wheel and don't come back until the 2nd of January. I guess it's sort of their way to unwind the old year and get ready for the new year. Anyway, I digress. I took a buddy of mine along who I don't get to see very often, so we planned a weekend just us guys. It rained constantly, but I was able to get my pig. My dad also harvested his pig the next weekend, but we were unable to get any pictures since my camera decided to take a crap!! :evil: I managed to get out and call coyotes a few times. Here is one of the unlucky ones. I was lucky enough to draw an archery antelope tag as well. Here are a couple scouting pictures On day 2 of my hunt, I was able to take this beautiful buck. He officially scores 75 6/8 In September, my dad was lucky enough to be able to chase bulls around with his bow. On day 5 he took this awesome bull! Next up for us was a Wyoming antelope hunt for my dad and I. My dad shot this 82 inch buck. Here is the buck that I shot later that same afternoon. Later that same month, it was time for our coues deer hunt. This time my brother also had a tag. We were fortunate enough to take three bucks in two days of hunting. My dad's buck My brother's buck My buck That's all for us for 2008. This year has already started off great for me. I took a great pig with my bow a couple weeks ago. Hopefully, the draw gods will finally bless me with an elk tag this year!!

Great job Matt!! I as well, was going to recommend that spot. I live in 19A and hunt coyotes in those foothills whenever I can get out. I see pigs at least two or three times a year out there. They can be tough to find at times, but they are there. Good luck!!

Soooo, the guy gets paid $15,000 for receiving three stolen elk and then they fine him $10,000??? dang, looks like a money maker to me!! What a joke!!

That's the one!! I also have a picture of this buck next to another buck that was also killed at the same time. The other buck is a very nice buck as well, but looks like a dink compared to this one!! Thanks for the info Amanda!

It can shoot 466fps, but if it doesn't shoot well, it won't be a popular bow. Pretty much every serious bowhunter out there already has their minds made up on what bow they shoot, simply because it's the bow that they shoot the best. Don't get me wrong, though, there will be a lot of folks that buy it because they have to have the "latest and greatest" bow on the market. That's the draw for all these major bow manufacturers. I imagine the percentage of people that actually achieve the IBO speed of a bow is pretty small anyway.

Thanks folks! I appreciate the comments.

After being completely skunked on opening day, I have been sitting around the house just waiting for some decent weather so I could get back at chasing pigs. I had some plans to get out this past weekend, but the high winds and the rain/snow kept me at home watching football. Not such a bad thing!! So Monday I am on my way into Prescott around 10:30 and wouldn't you know it, I see two pigs out feeding on the side of the highway! I figured that was my sign to haul butt and finish my route so I can head out for an afternoon hunt. I was able to leave my house at 1:00 and had the glasses on the hills shortly after 2:00. There is so much country to cover in this area that I knew I wasn't going to be able to see it all. The farthest hill was right at a mile away as the crow flies. It was more of a bowl than anything and was literally covered with prickly pear and yucca cactus. I honestly didn't know if I could even make it over there since it was so far away so I purposely didn't glass it. After about 30 minutes glassing with no luck I decided to put the 15's on that hill. Wouldn't you know it, within 20 seconds I had two pigs!! At first I thought I didn't really want to walk all the way over there, but quickly kicked myself into gear!! I had to hike down to the river and find a way across, since there are no roads into the area that I was glassing. I finally found a decent spot to cross, or rather jump, and I was on my way. I lost sight of the pigs as soon as I got to the river, but they were just feeding, so I knew they weren't going anywhere. I made it all the way to the base of the ridge they were on and sat down to try to relocate them. The wind was really blowing hard and I knew it was going to be very tough to get on these pigs. I had two choices. Plan A was to hike around the back side of the mountain and come over the top on them. Plan B was to skirt the bottom of the ridge and try to get high enough to see them from the same side of the ridge. I chose plan B since it would give me a better opportunity to locate them first. Problem was, that during my stalk they had completely vanished!! I knew they were there, but I could not for the life of me find them again. After about 40 minutes or so of glassing, I decided to pull out the predator call. I blew on the call about 6 or 7 times and wouldn't you know it worked! I immediately saw one of the pigs stand up and start to shake. That call always gets the pigs moving!! The wind was blowing very hard and right at my back, so I knew I had to hurry to get above them. I had no choice but to hike straight up hill about 100 yards. When I got to my landmark, the pigs were gone yet again!! I thought for sure they had winded me and left up over the top of the ridge. I sat down and started scanning the pears when I see one of the pigs about 60 yards below me. PERFECT!! I was now upwind of them and I knew I was going to be able to get on them. They were slowly heading down the ridge to get a drink in the little spring at the bottom. The wind was blowing so hard that I knew I could get away with some noise as I stalked down to them. I was able to get to 40 yards when the first pig stepped into a lane. "too far with this wind", I though, so I continued getting closer. Finally, I closed the gap to 30 yards. The pigs still had no idea I was there, but I could only see this particular one. I drew back, settled my 30 yard pin right behind the shoulder and tapped my release. I have no idea what happened, but that arrow flew almost three feet left!!! I don't know if the fletchings were messed up or what, but I know it wasn't me. I was very calm and my pin was right on him when I let the arrow fly. Fortunately for me, none of the pigs had any idea what was going on, so I had another chance. I woofed a couple times after the miss and it helped calm them down again. I hadn't seen the other two pigs come down yet, so I slowly hiked up about 10 yards or so to get on the other side of a big tree that was blocking my view. All the sudden this HUGE pig steps out from behind a prickly pear. I didn't have time to range her, but guessed 25 yards. I drew and put my top pin right at the top of her back. She sort of jumped the string when I released and turned towards me. The arrow ended up entering her shoulder, right below hear ear and exited behind her last rib. She never took another step. The Slick Trick broadheads once again performed flawlessly, doing severe damage upon impact. When my arrow hit, the third pig stepped out from another huge prickly pear patch a mere 10 feet away from me! I had no idea that pig was even there! It was very confused and kept looking back toward the pig that I had just shot. I was able to take off my pack, dig out my camera and get a couple pictures before it finally headed up and over the mountain. This one really shows how thick the prickly pear cactus really was. It was very easy for these pigs to disappear on me. Here is my pig as she lay. She was standing in that little window when I shot her. She dropped right in her tracks. And finally, me and my pig. It took me forever to get some good ones with my new field camera. This is as good as it gets. When I finished up all the work on my pig, I sat down with a fresh bottle of water. As I watched the sun set, I had some time to reflect. I was thinking about all the events that just occurred and realized that this was the first time I had harvested a big game animal while hunting alone. I don't really like hunting alone. Not only is it boring, but there is just something missing. I really enjoy spending time with my brother and dad out in the field, along with other hunting buddies. To me, part of the whole experience is who you get to share it with while it happens. I was actually a little bit bummed out as I started gathering my gear. I missed out on that part of the hunt this time, but I will be taking my dad back in there when he gets some time, so hopefully we can make up for it!! Sorry for such a long read, but I tend to get a little long winded!!

Another option would be the key/lock style safes. My wife bought me one for Christmas last year since we could not afford anything else. We have kids so some sort of safe was a necessity. I have no issues with mine. I think it holds 6 or 7 long guns on the right side and the left side is all shelving for pistols, ammo and whatever gear you can fit. I obviously haven't tried it, but I can't imagine this safe can be broken into either, even with a crowbar. It's very solid and the locking mechanism is well designed.

SWEET buck Jason!! Congrats.

Here's the skinny. The tags will be $25 per vehicle. You can buy them online, at servicearizona.com, beginning January 1, 2009. You can get them in the DMV offices beginning January 2, 2009. Here is the part that can be good or bad. The good is once you buy the sticker, you can register your vehicle for a $4 fee for the entire year. Where this could be crappy, is if you have already registered your vehicle just recently. According to DMV, you will NOT be issued any kind of refund if you try to re-register for the $4. The only way around this screw up is to sell the vehicle, like say to your wife. You can then get a plate credit since the vehicle is being sold. Then, re-register it for the $4. If you have a vehicle that does not have a license plate, you MUST get a plate before you buy the sticker. I believe this is why they are offering the $4 registration, since they are forcing people to register the vehicle BEFORE they can purchase the OHV sticker. From what I am being told, this new OHV sticker program WILL be enforced without warning. I have done a ton of research on this, since it affects my family a lot. I have a Rhino, my wife has a dirtbike and my son has a quad.

Very cool, thank you!

Hey Scotty boy... Could you by chance post up some rough dimensions of that base for us? How tall, width at the bottom and width at the top, etc.... Just trying to get an idea of the actual size of yours and compare it to something that might fit in my house. Thanks!

Very cool! Thanks for sharing and congrats.

Answer #1--The coyotes are still there. They have a very unique ability to burrow themselves in even the smallest bushes to get out of the wind. They really do not like the wind and will do whatever they need to do to stay out of it. If there are any little ditches in the area, or even small little ravines, they will be in the bottoms. Answer #2--Some will do the ladder thing, but not most. It's kind of a pain in the arse carrying a big ladder!! Most will simply ignore the area, even though it really does have enormous potential. The hunters who do hunt the very thick stuff use a shotgun. It's actually pretty fun to call in the thick stuff. The action can be fast and furious and you have to be 100% ready for when that dog shows up or you may miss the opportunity. If you really feel the need to get elevated, simply take a small stool. You would be amazed at how much more you really can see if you just get up a foot or so off the ground and onto a stool.

Sweet!! Congrats on finally getting it done!

I have both my antelope that I killed this year at the taxidermist sitting because I haven't found a base that I liked. UNTIL NOW!! Both my mounts will be pedestals and that base would work perfectly for my house and where I want to put them. What an awesome mount and base. You guys did great with that combo.

Wish I wasn't working! Weather conditions should be awesome if the wind stays calm. Good luck to you!

Great buck man! Congrats. I have always wanted to do a backpack style hunt like that, but for my first trip, I want to go with someone who has already done a few hunts to show me the ropes. Sounds like you guys had a great time. Congrats again on a very nice buck.

Nice job Casey! I did some calling on Thursday and again Yesterday, but didn't have any takers. All of my good areas have the archery and rifle coues deer hunts going on right now, so I am staying out until those hunts are over. Calling new areas can be tough, especially if you really aren't sure if there are dogs even there. Congrats again. You going to mount that badger?

Troy, I am not sure you can even get the light truck tires in a 12" I could be wrong though. I know a couple UTV dealers right now that can get the 14" Toyos out the door for around $97 a piece. A really neat website to check out if you haven't already is www.rhinoforums.com. Do a search on the Toyos and you will find a TON of information, including which vendors on the site are selling them. Also, if you are a member of the site, most of those vendors will give you a discount.

Thanks for the info David. I will let you know when I decide to buy them. I still have probably another summer's worth of life on my stock tires and then it's time to upgrade. I am pretty sure I am going to end up with some sort of truck tire. Only downfall is that I have to buy 14 inch rims.

Here's my new rig. I have been a long time Chevy guy but when it was time to upgrade from a regular travel trailer to a toyhauler, I had to upgrade trucks too. Went with the new Dodge and don't think I will ever look back. These were taken on this year's late rifle bull hunt. Here's the real hunting rig. This is by far the best hunting purchase I have ever made. Stayin' dry!

Hey David, How do you like those tires?? I have been thinking about going with the Toyos for my Rhino. I haven't heard any bad reviews on them yet, but I am concerned with the stiffness of the sidewalls when putting truck tires on. It tends to make the ride really rough.

According to the 2000 edition BIA book, 412 would be third in the state. Don't have the P&Y book though.

Thats way cool!!! Thanks for sharing.