singleshot

Looking for a tutor in the Safford, Thatcher area to help with a Pathology class for my daughter. Would be willing to pay a generous hourly amount if anybody knows of an R.N. or someone who might be interested. Thanks

Cool picture. I hope you ended up with that Marlin 22

That was really cool! Thanks for posting that.

Had this sent to me in an E mail by a Tucson resident. Is this a response to the D.H.S. opening the gates? Tucson City Council.pdf

I guess I better turn myself over to C.P.S. I abused my children by letting them hunt doves, quail and turkeys with a shotgun. I should have searched for a muzzle break for that old 20 gauge, let alone the 12's. 20 gauge - 6.5 pounds - 7/8 ounces of shot - 16.1pounds of recoil = 270 winchester - 8 pounds - 130 grain bullet - 16.5 pounds recoil. 20 gauge - 6.5 pounds - 1 1/8 ounces of shot - 25 pounds of recoil = 7mm weatherby magnum - 9 pounds - 160 grain bullet - 25.6 pounds of recoil 20 gauge - 6.5 pounds - 1 1/4 ounce of shot - 31 pounds of recoil = 300 weatherby magnum - 9 pounds - 165 grain bullet - 31.6 pounds of recoil 12 gauge - 7.5 pounds - 1 1/8 ounce of shot - 23 pounds of recoil 12 gauge - 7.5 pounds - 1 1/2 ounce of shot - 45 pounds of recoil 12 gauge - 7.5 pounds - 1 7/8 ounce 3 inch magnum - 54 pounds of recoil = 450 nitro express - 11 pounds - 465 grain bullet - 55 pounds of recoil If a kid can shoot a box of shells at doves, or a round of trap with field loads buy him or her a .270. a 25.06 or 7mm-08 and forget about the muzzle break. Even if you get a super lite with a tupperware stock, the old break open barrel H&R 20 gauge is going to bring the thunder comparable to most center fires. My kids and I do wear ear protection at the range but the last guy we saw in the field with muffs around his neck and a ported barrel is still known as "inspector gadget ".

7mm-08, especially if you hand load. My daughter started with an H&R single shot which she has taken deer, elk, Javis coyotes etc. I bought her another one in the Marlin X7. Very nice rifle for the money. She weighs about a buck ten and the recoil has never bothered her. I can't fathom hunting with ear plugs around my neck just for a muzzle break but to each his own. Be sure and check out the trigger on some of the cheaper Savages and Remingtons, the $350.00 savages have about a seven pound pull on them.

Thats a really great picture, the ragged edges of the wing feathers seem to bring out the "beauty, and the beast".

Great job on the write up! Kudos to you for hanging in there for six years and discovering the beauty in hunting can be found in many ways.

Thats absolutely right, we lost the December hunt in 29 because of the high archery success ratio. Wards is caught between a rock and a hard place, mandatory reporting, promoting his business etc. If the hunt does go to a draw it will also have a non resident cap at 10% right? Thats going to hurt. With the high archery success rates the draw tags will be limited. In the long run about all we can do is pray for RAIN. All the management in the world isn't going to do diddly squat without moisture.

Way to stick with it. Keep on doing what you have been doing, hunting hard and enjoying yourself, and one day everything will fall together and you will get that buck.

26 years ago today i was knocked to the ground by a loaded rail car in the Morenci Mine. The last clear thought that went through my mind as I went under that car was "GOD PLEASE HELP ME". When the dust cleared I realized I wasn't in Heaven or heck, I was laying in a pile of rocks with my right leg missing. Never have believed that God has a plan for anybody. Was it Gods plan for that little Phoenix girl to be locked in a toolbox on her back porch to die? Sandy Hook? With a church on every corner and a Bible that can be interpreted in a way that no one can agree on, what works for me is the pursuit of a personal relationship with God. I have faith, in a God that will be fair and just in the end. I don't like the feeling of letting him down when I sin, so I rarely pray for myself. I pray for the people involved in the wrecks I pass, for the safe passage of my children, and sometimes for the people on this web site that ask for it. In the end I have faith to be judged by a God who saw my life as the guy who picked himself up, was not a societal sponge, tried to be a good husband and father, and was decent to other people. I know the Bible says that "Good Works" doesn't count but It is what works for me, it is all that I am able to realistically believe in. I don't want to believe in a lord that will condemn me to burn with all the maggots in this world for not having the undying faith that "all I am is through the hands of Jesus Christ". My choices were mine. My relationship with our Lord is mine also. It is what works for me.

I'm not much of a sports fan but I have to go with the niners. I love to see a running quarterback, and one that is willing to sacrifice taking a hit for extra yardage.

Nice pictures and a unique, clever write up.

Very nice pics. of some awesome looking country. Kudos for sticking to your goals and not settling for a buck that you would not be thrilled with. I think it's great that you passed on the buck in the video in hopes that he would reach his full potential. Even if you never find him again it will add to the intrigue of your hunts knowing that he is still out there and wondering what he might look like.

Awesome fortitude! 19 days I bet you had every twig within 50 yards memorized. Congrats on a nice buck.

Nice pig! Way to get it done.

Great video. It's like getting to catch him twice!

Absolutely drilled him is right! Nice.

The outside temperature on the rear view mirror read -2 as I traveled south from my home last Sunday to meet up with some friends for a day of archery hunting. All weekend it had been really cold in South East Arizona, which makes for some really good hunting when the sun comes out. Pigs dont have fur, on really cold mornings like this one, it wasn't long before Brian glassed up a herd about a mile away, on a south facing slope, in the sun. After closing the gap we relocated the strung out herd, looped to get the wind in our face and slid in on the final stalk. David can shoot! His sight pins look like a parade at night and he is deadly with every one of them. One pig in the bunch really stood out, bigger by far and a really light tan and now that pig was broadside at 45 yards. I had a group in front of me at 40 yards but I wanted to watch the tan pig get smoked. The look on Davids face was nothing but confidence as he squared himself, slowly drew, and settled in for the shot. The 80# Mathews Monster, Vortex broadhead, dot shot! The pig rolled down the hillside. Brian, standing behind me running a video camera, is an awesome bow shot also. Then there's me, not a great shot and under pressure to boot. My arrow bounced off the rocks over the head of the pig I had selected. I get buck fever, always. I can usually talk myself into some sort of control but maintaining focus through the whole shot, and not floating my pin over the vitals leads to misses and hits around the edges. With a rifle those "edges" are not nearly as critical, but with a bow they can turn into long blood trails and disappointment. In 25 years of bowhunting and much longer with a rifle, I have enjoyed quite a bit of success. My dad has always enjoyed giving me a hard time about hitting them around the "edges". "You always seem to bring one home but you sure like to hit em around the edges don't you boy", been hearing it for years. The liver, spine, neck, hams, all are lethal shots, but that "dot shot" eludes me more often than not. As the sun was setting in the late afternoon we split up a few hundred yards apart and began to still hunt through a vast mesquite thicket. His white face is what caught my eye. Glassing through the openings in the mesquite and tall clumps of Alkali Sacaton grass his face stood out like a beacon. I would catch a piece of him and the does that were with him now and then as they angled towards me through the brush and I dropped my pack and nocked an arrow. Buck fever, a bucks head bobbing and weaving over the brush, and a rangefinder. Not a good combination. I couldn't get a lock on his head which was all that was visible, a doe had me pinned down and he was about to enter my only shooting lane. I tried to drop my rangefinder but it had magically became entangled in the trigger of my release. Here we go again, talk myself through another one. Seven Deadly Pins, the one I had chosen after estimating the range floated over his chest and the Wise Guy release propelled my string and arrow on its way. The buck kicked like a mule and blood appeared instantly in his ribs, definitely lethal, but around the "edges". The blood trail was immediate but it was getting dark, it was going to get really cold that night and we were afraid to bump him so we left for the evening. Daylight found us on his trail and we recovered him shortly thereafter. We spooked a huge bobcat off of him that had eaten a small chunk off of one hind and then had tried to bury him.

I have put that shot on several deer. The two that really stand out, buck ran to the top of the ridge, watched me for 35 minutes, started feeding. The other buck ran off with his does and once they had put some ground between us he continued to posture and push them around. Saw him several times in the following weeks. I never had much blood on the arrows though, mostly just grease, and no blood trail whatsoever. You may have caught the top of the lungs. I would glass the flats and look for crows.

You can't buy that roller coaster of emotion. Nice work and good luck on your future hunts.

Nice story and deer. I like reading the parts through the eyes of your daughter.

Outstanding bucks! All of them, but yours.........WOW!

I drove by at 8:30 this morning and their was a line of chairs all along the south side of the building, no vehicles or people in the parking lot. At 3:30 this afternoon the same thing. I dared my wife to jump out and re-arrange the chairs as we cruised through the parking lot. Should have done it.

Really nice buck. Congrats