DotShot

I have always shot the Barnes XBT in 165 gr and have had absoloutly remarkable results on both deer and elk.

I Love to hunt period, but, having killed my first deer last year with a bow i could care less if i ever drew a rifle tag again. The rush i felt was unbeleivable. ITs definately a bow for me.

Well for me, my first rifle was a Winchester Model 88 chambered in .308. THe rifle had originally belonged to my grandfather and had been passed form him to my father. I can remember many deer hunting trips in which i watched my dad shoot numerous bucks with this particular rifle. On one such trip in unit 24A we were hunting around Tom Oshanter peak and my dad climbed up on this big boulder over looking a canyon and the rock shifted, he fell, and the stock on the rifle broke in half. After the hunt my father told me that if i saved enough money for a replacement stock i could have the rifle and thats exactly what i did. After replacing the stock I killed my first deer with it and went on to kill many, many more with it. THe rifle now belongs to my oldest boy (13) who also has killed his first deer with it, as well as his first Javi (which by the way was due to the advice i received from this very website). Everytime i look and the rifle it brings back many wonderful memories of hunts passed and excitement thinking of hunts yet to come. This year the rifle will get its first experience in the elk department as my son was drawn for his first elk hunt this year.

The reason the military uses a FMJ is to be "Humane" and forbids its soldiers from using exposed lead, hollow point or any other "hunting type" projectile. I would venture to say that if the military used those types of bullets, the kill percentage would increase. But as we are about the only country who "adhere's" to the ethics of war i guess the FMJ is here to say whether it be the .223, .308 or anything above, below, or in between. ANd as i understand it the Military went to the .223 for recoil and basic load issues as you can carry alot more .223 ammo than you could the .308 for the same weight. Anyhow as i stated earlier i am not a fan of the .223 as i will only own .30 cal rifles.

They are not eligible as they must be free ranging in order to qualify.

I agree with you, but using that logic, we could say that drug dealers are not bad guys, they are just supplying a product. It goes both ways. I completely disagree, drugs are illegal, providing a tophy animal for the taking is not. This is really no different than the hunts ofered at the YO Ranch in Texas, or at the King Ranch. You pay the money, you get the deer you paid for.

It's kinda of funny to sit and read this particular thread as it is obvious that opinions are running rampant. Personally i wouldnt use a .223 for deer and that is only because i have other options at my disposal. Having said that let me say this, the US Military uses the .223 and trains soldiers to hit accurately at 300 meters touting that as a fairly guaranteed kill range given the bullet is placed in a vital area. And therein lies the key to ANY caliber, if you can get it in the kill area, within an acceptable range proportionate to the cartridge you are shooting, the animal WILL die. Now i dont know about you but I havent had to make many shots over 350 yards when it comes to deer and i highly doubt that the average hunter is going to take a 350-400 yard shot (note i said average hunter). For me, if it's not a trophy animal and i have the capability to get closer, imma get closer. One last thing, whats with you fellas and yer .20 cal cartidges? recoil issues? inferiority complex? (ha ha)

You know, I completely disagree with this and find it absoloutley disgusting, BUT, if you want to get angry at someone, get angry at the people who pay for that kind of thing, not at the guy trying to make a buck. As long as there is a market for it this kind of stuff will happen. THis kind of situation is all about money, not sport.

Well so much for that, no success as of yet. We got up there on Saturday and after we got camp set up decided to go look around. AS the rain was falling the elk were very active, we saw 10 bulls, nothing overly large (one really decen 6x7), and about 20 cows. Sunday we saw about half that many and monday i saw 2 elk as they ran away! We also saw 6 really nice mule deer bucks, the smallest of which was a decent 3x2 and the largest a 5x4 that was probably a 160-170 calss buck, why didnt i shoot it you may be asking, because i didnt have one of the Camp Navajo deer permits (they issued 24 this year). I may try again this weekend but if not i will definately be down in 36C chasing mulies with the bow. I did manage a couple of pictures of one little bull and three of the mule deer although the deer pictures are from a distance and hard to make out the racks, i will post htem when i get home from work this evening.

Well at long last it begins anew, hunting season has all but arrived and i begin my quest on Monday. Myself, my older brother and his friend all have archery elk hunts up at Camp Navajo (Bellemont). They have cow tags, and I an "any elk" tag. We'll be arriving there on Saturday to do a little last minute scouting prior to opening day (Monday). I've never hunted elk with a bow and i am stoked beyond belief. After a 10 year hiatus from bowhunting i picked up a bow last year and the first day i went out was lucky enough to take a small 3x2 muley, and gentlemen thats all it took, archery has now moved to the top of my list as I know whther i draw a rifle tag or not, i can always buy an over the counter deer tag and chase muleys rutting in December, and Coues rutting in Jan and fellas, you cant beat that. Any how, wish me luck and hopefully i'll have pictures and a story by weeks end next week.

Well I personally don't think that is too many permits. For those of us who hunted 24A years ago when it was an "Any antlered deer" area still and offered well over 1000 permits and even then i dont think that it was crowded, but thats just my opinion. Get off the beaten path and get away from the road hunters and you'll find yourself all but alone if you do.

How does one find out if he/she attained one of the leftover hunt tags? Do you just wait and see if it comes in the mail? Anyone have any clues?

Nice pics! and unless my eyes are deceiving me one of the rifles pictured looks to be a Winchester Model 88? What is it chambered in? The only reason i ask is because i own one myself chambered in .308 and i love the rifle. I have killed many, many deer with it and quite a few south Texas feral hogs. A few years back I passed the gun down to my oldest son and he now shoots it. The gun was originally owned by my Grandfather who passed it on to my father, who in turn passed it down to me, and now my son owns it and I hope he passes it down to his son as well. Anyhow, great pics!

5.4" for the month of July at the airport in Tucson which is roughly 3" above our avg for the month of July. And where i live in Marana I know for fact we got more than that as a friend emptied the rain guage last friday with 1.5" for that day and the next day dumped 3.5" out.

THe first thing i would ask myself is what do i need a gps unit to be able to do functionally. If its just to get you back to camp or the vehicle i would not spend alot of $$. I also have the Rhino 110 and a Rhino 120 but i aslo have a young son who hunts with me and the ability to know where he is at all times AND speak to him is crucial (we hunt alot in unit 36C lots of UDA's) now having said that if cost is not an issue, i would suggest the rhino (Ebay has em for around $120 for a new 110 the 120 is about $200). The difference between the two is the amount of memory and the ability to upload and download maps via the MAPSource software.

I shoot Muzzy 3 blade 100gr and have had nothing but good luck with them. Word to the wise, if you choose the Muzzy's they DO NOT fly like your field point, so when you sight in be sure and use the practice blades.

Well Lady luck has been good to the family this year, Myself, the wife, my son, nephew, Brother and Father drew 36C Nov Whitetail. I also drew an early Archery Any Elk Tag on Camp Navajo in Bellemont, my son drew a rifle cow elk for the same area.

Well I for one am not going to sit here all day today, I think i might drive down to 36C and check on a few waterholes and see if i cant glass up some deer! Might even take the bow with me and take out some frustration on the healthy population of HUGE jackrabbits down there.

Well regardless if the results come today tomorrow or sometime next week, as long as they are out by the 28th the G&F can say the results were out early and thats probably all they are shooting for. Now let me throw this out for y'all to chew on. Do you think that if Arizona started there draw process the same time as the other states did, would it reduce (thus increasing odds overall), increase (lessening odds) or stay the same in regards to the number of applicants? THe way i see it, all of those who dont draw in the afore mentioned states can always get one last chance in Arizona and i personally think it hurts everyones chances of being drawn because of that reason. Anyhow what do you all think?

If you hold the cursor over the picture on the main page it does in fact mention fall draw results, nut it has been that way for at least a week.

Lordy PLEASE don't bring this topic up again. It dang near brought some folks close to fist fightin!

Well if i have to endure another freakin week of bein glued to this dang computer, imma kill something alright but i can tell you it wont be a big game animal! As I posted in another forum I know that either my wife got a once in a lifetime rifle bull tag in unit 10 or she, I and the boys got drawn for deer in 36c Nov whitetail or mulie. Unfortunately me and the oldest boy will have to wait for results on our elk apps as we did paper on those none the less that non-hunter type that is in charge of posting the results needs to crap or get off the pot!

Well I got 2 hits, one for 78.00 which is either our 4 deer permits, or my wife drew unit 10 bull early hunt, i am more inclined to beleive its the 4 deer permits. I also put my dad and younger brother in and that accounts for the second hit of 39.00 for 2 deer permits. My son and i put in 2 paper apps for archery elk so we'll just have to wait and see about those 2. I am keeping my fingers crossed!

hunt4horns: If you wouldnt mind I'd like the contact info as well for the place in Vegas.

I currently own and use a pair of Docter 15x60's that i bought off ebay for $400. I have also looked into replacing the eyecups as mine are in rough shape. I have only found one place that can replace them, and it is in Montana. The eyecups have to be custom fit which means you will have to send them off and wait. I chose to just deal with mine versus sending off the binos. If you want the email address to the place i found let me know and i will be happy to provide it!