couesmagnet

I've seen plenty go down with a 165 grain head. 200 grains is over kill. That 220 swift would do a heck of a job with a dome shot.

I think tag for tag archery hunters wound far more elk on a yearly basis than the gun hunters. I can't tell you how many people I know or that I run into on the hunts that have wounded 2 to 3 elk on just 1 archery hunt. This is directly related to the increase in distance archery hunters are willing to shoot. I've never seen an elk lost with a rifle in all my years but with a bow it's sure is a lot. Sorry first coues was 80 if I veered of track.

Nice job darr, those kids are already killing machines. Congrats!!

I have lost 3 bulls in 24 years of archery hunting. All 3 were between 380 and 395. 2 of them were marginal hits under 20 yards and the 3 rd one was just a bad shot. These were all older hunts but I sure wish I had the bulls in the garage. I don't think you ever get over a lost giant. Still bothers me a bunch.

I wonder if i quit paying my federally backed student loans for 20 years, if i could just wave my gun around for a couple weeks and the feds would go running away. When they came back to seize my assets for the non payment of the loans maybe i could get a couple other non payers to join in with me and protect my assets thru civil disobedience. Heck ole sheriff joe might even show up with the swat team. The guy should have paid his bills, cause by not paying them he left the back door open for reid and anyone else to roll over him thru lawful ways. It's always the guys on the fringe of issues that do this kind of stuff and then hide behind a flag , a symbol of a patriot. It's also patriotic to pay your bills, but it doesn't look as good to pay your bills in this instance, but instead prance around on a horse waving a flag, Pretty sad!!

I've killed 12 bulls with a bow, and i have never had a pass thru yet. I want to switch to a fixed blade this year myself. Sounds like it's either the g5 or the muzzy this year for me. For once it would be nice to follow a 2 hole blood trail.

Hope he throws back any browns he catches. Eat the rainbows throw back the browns. Nice pics.

I always start at the unit boundaries and work my way to the middle, from the outside in. Good luck!!

The year everyone is trying to figure out when all the giants were killed is 2010. They killed 15 to 20 bucks out of 13a over 200 in 2010. What you don't realize is that they also killed just as many in 13b that year. Everyone told me not to put in in 2011 cause they all got killed in 2010. There were several bucks killed in 2011 in both units that went over 200 again. What most people don't realize is that a 3 year old deer can hit 200 on the strip, so the mentality of saying the bucks are shot out still from 2010 and even 2011 is kinda false. They killed a 285 buck and several others since then, and most aren't any older than 5 years old. That means all the bucks that were born in 2010 and 2011 could potentially be big bucks right now. the single most important factor on the strip is moisture , not age. Age plays very little into the size of the antlers on the strip. My buck from 13b in 2011 had a 210 typical frame and i was told by all he was only 5 years old at most. I shot a kaibab buck years ago that goes 221 and he was aged at 4 years old by the game and fish. They could kill every 200 inch deer on the strip on any given year, and guess what if it rains really hard the next year, there will be several giant bucks there the next. People that tell you it's shot out in either unit based on the previous years harvest don't really understand the strip or it's dynamics. What they should be saying is it hasn't rained and even the 7 year old bucks are under 200 this year, and the young bucks are 175 instead of 200. Also neither is a sleeper unit as everyone from georgia to california knows the name of either unit, and draw odds will show this. Don't listen to people saying either unit could be shot out, cause that's not thge way to look at things, it's all about the rain up there period.

I agree, sometimes its better to do the info gathering on your own, instead of announcing it to everyone. It's not being greedy, its called self preservation.

Both are equal if its a good antler growth year. 13a is easier to find the deer, as they are concentrated in high numbers in a few places. I had 13b archery in 2011 and in 33 days straight of scouting and hunting i never saw a buck over 180 from the road. After killing a 215 buck with my bow i drove up to 13a to visit some friends, and it was amazing to see a bunch of big bucks from the road in 1 day in 13a. To each his own, but 13a is easier in general.

Check out mogollon rim outfitters web page for some eye candy. Consistency at its best. Impossible to beat their average on the late hunt.

I have both 8 and 10 power swaros. If i'm in the forest i will take the 8 powers over the 10's all day long. In my opinion the 8 powers make it easier to judge animals in the forest at ranges under 150 yards. 10 powers are to much to get a realistic assessment of an animals score. Go with the 8 x32s or 8 x42s and you will be happy.

I don't even care anymore. I was charged but they probably gave my tag to someone else last week that had insufficient funds on their card just for fun. At least this isnt the deer draw like in 2011 where i found out i had a archery strip tag less than 3 weeks before the season start date. Good luck to all, as this is getting really old now!!!

The "take up his cross" part is the most powerful part of the message, and it's the hardest thing to do. Great couple verses, what a sacrifice that was made for us all. Thanks for posting, cause it's easy to forget sometimes.

Awesome bull, amazing for being so young. Shane seems to always find big stuff, and every year I like looking at the pics. Congrats.

Awesome bucks, great job for sure. 3A is a sleeper for big goats. I have a couple good friends that have shot a 85 and a 88 incher in 3A. Not one of the best units but still some toads. congrats!!!

I have been paralyzed for a week, can't even fish. I want to go scouting this weekend. Please be today!!

Very nice goats, congratulations!!!

Bet that went over like a fart in church Lol flatlander, the locals were pretty nice about it when they saw i was helping a 11 year old boy and a 13 year old girl. It probably wouldn't have gone as well if it was me alone. This is a tough hunt!!

New mexico does this perfectly, and i wish az gfd would do the same. New mexico actually treats this like a science, not like az where it's guess how many marbles are in the jar type deal. Copy new mexico's way, and we would be dealing with hard numbers, not just guesswork.

If you get the chance to do this , it is a load of fun. The dogs come floundering in much quicker than during the day, and it's a ball watching them come in. I was lucky enough to go several times with a friend who had nearly 50000 in night vision gear. Rolling doggies at night never gets old.

Guided 2 very young kids there 6 years back for free. Killed 2 bulls out from under the locals opening morning. There was a zoo of hunters where ever there was elk. Both bulls between 240 and 260 ish. Scouting is critical cause most bulls are dead by the 2nd morning.

There should be mandatory reporting in this state for all big game. I never understood how the az gfd knows anything about what's going on with regards to harvest rates now. Why have to extrapolate data when they could require it? Sounds like some unit manager guessing isn't the way to go about it either. Guessing leads to what is going on here in 29. This could happen in any unit in az now with the current way of doing things.

That does bring back memories of applying for the kaibab. Imagine drawing 1015 or 1017 as your 3rd or 4 th choice.