Leaderboard

I would like to say it was by great skill and cunning that I called in and harvested my first (and probably only) AZ Gould’s Turkey. BUT, as is usual, Providence prevailed. It took me 13 years and 26 Bonus points to draw the #1 of 3 permits for the area for the early hunt. I went down to Patagonia RV Park on Tuesday to get in some scouting time after “setting up camp.” [:-D However, 3 days of before dawn and after dusk just about killed me – getting OLD! Super dry and dusty, the roads were actually not bad on the half hour drive into the area. On the first evening, I was heading back and here they came across the road -- about 6 mature gobblers strutting and gobbling and carrying on, along with a few hens. Talk about exciting! “This was going to be an easy hunt.” SURE! I was up well before dawn the next day but not quite as early as I liked in getting to the area. The turkeys were gobbling but soon stopped early in the morning. I did quite a bit of driving but never found anything else, so I headed back to camp. My hunting buddy, Ed, showed up mid-afternoon and we got to see another show in the same area. The next morning, we were in the wonder spot before sunup and got to hear the show again – same thing they clammed shortly after hitting the ground. We went driving around to the south where they had headed but did not find them before the wind came up. We did run into the flock later on to the west before driving back for a nap. Man, Ed snores loud! The days get muddled in my mind but on one of the days we drove into Nogales the long way to get gas and saw a lone hen at a couple of different locations along with a cattle dog. We did see the turkeys every day in that same field, though, in the evenings. Finally, the hunt started Friday and we got up at 2:30am to assure we were in-place before 5am. Instead of one gobbler, there were several going off without us calling. Unfortunately, there were also several hens making all kinds of racket. We had not called at all till we were set up in a likely place on the way to the field to the west where I assumed they would go. Being close enough to hear all of them fly down was so exciting. However, the sounds seemed to go south and try as we might, there was no bringing the gobblers back from those real, seductive females. We tried following their path and did identify the roost area. Again, they had all shut up just after heading south. In a desperate attempt, we drove around to the south and I sat some water while Ed napped but it never panned out. We stayed out all day in the wind scouting new areas and almost got hit by a falling 3” branch while napping in the truck. Now the providence part … Early afternoon had us back in the magic spot. Opening the windows, we immediately heard a gobble to the south but from further off than the roost trees. At least they would call once in a while during some of the daylight hours while on the ground! I started getting ready to try to intercept them on the way to the field when we heard a gobble from the field to the west. I then decided to have Ed take me to the other end of the field to where I we had seen them every day. Just after leaving, Ed spied this lone gobbler in the field heading south to join his buddies near the roost site. We continued up the road and had a philosophical discussion about if I would be satisfied with a run and gun harvest. I told him I try not to argue the specifics with Providence. I got out and Ed drove back to the magic spot. I could see the gobbler moving south through the sparse junipers. It was a mature gobbler with a nice bead and a beautiful, bright red head. I glassed him looking at me with his left eye and it reminded me of that scene in Jurassic Park where the dinosaur was staring at the hero with one eye. He was pretty far away so I tried to stay behind the trees up to the fence line where I headed South to the corner. Well, the gobbler was also headed to that corner in no big hurry. After he cleared the last two big Junipers, I rested on the fence and flopped him at 38 yd with one loud boom (3” magnum, 12 ga, #4 shot). He was still flopping when I got to him. Ed missed all the action because he forgot to lock the truck and went back to lock it, but he got there in time to record the aftermath of me holding the legs to avoid getting spurred and allowing the bird to expire without damaging the meat or cape. Following tagging the bird, we carried him back to some shade by truck to get some pictures. My head was covered by the bird’s tail in almost every picture but we got the one picture on a 2nd phase of pictures. He had nice spurs, one sharp (3/4 in) and the other rounded. His beard was a good one, too, at 11 inches. We found a nice tree with ample shade on Guajalote Flat where we skinned and cleaned him. His craw was completely empty which surprised me – too much time chasing the ladies! It had been a long day and I was tired and probably dehydrated. We got the bird on ice, ate some deer loins for dinner and tried to go to bed early. As seems to be typical, after strenuous days, I ended up in A-Fib but oh well. I slept well until about 2 am when I had to go, but at least the A-Fib had stopped by that time. I was so thankful for not having to stay up for another morning. I drank some more water to re-hydrate and the next thing I know, Ed is coming back into the trailer and making all kinds of racket at 5am – he is an early riser, and prefers the RV Camp’s restrooms and has not embraced the old man syndrome of sleeping in like I have. I guess 5am was really sleeping in compared to what we had been doing. He even made us coffee! It was 34F outside and inside the trailer was 49F. He was in short sleeves and shorts -- I was looking for my sweat clothes. Did I tell you he is from the UP of Michigan? So, I got up and enjoyed someone else making the coffee and prepared to come home with the bird. He left an hour or so before I did. I pulled out right at 7:30am to bring the bird home, leaving the trailer since I had already paid for a week’s stay. Providence had reined and I do not get to brag – well, too much.

Any nudists join lately?

4 days before the start of this hunt, Eddie Corona at OE4A contacted me about donating this hunt to me from a very generous person who was unable to hunt. I'm a double amputee combat vet and a diehard bowhunter. Immediately I got to planning. I knew nothing about bison and about bison hunting. Luckily I got connected with Russ and Laura Jacoby. They are bison whisperers. I can truly tell you that I would not have been successful on this hunt without them. Their logistical expertise is on par with extremely complex military deployments that I've been a part of. It's amazing to see what they do. The conditions this year were tough. There is still a ton of snow on the Kaibab. 4'-7' drifts are still present up there. Without a snowmobile or UTV with tracks, it was impossible to reach the blinds and salt. And the road leading in to the north rim is closed until June 2nd. I'm not convinced that the snow will be fully melted in time to get access with a truck. My hunt ended June 6th, so I definitely hired Russ/Laura or else I wouldn't have been able to access the hunt area. As most people know, this particular hunt means you have to sit in a blind, 14 hrs a day for an average of 14 days before you harvest a bison. You have to wait for them to come off the park. I mentally prepared myself for this. And I knew I was going to take the risk and try with my bow. It took us many hours just to reach the spike camp deep in the Kaibab using UTVs with snow tracks. It was slow going, like 9mph for 12 miles slow. After we finally arrived at the camp, Russ sent us 3 hunters out to hunt half a day while he set up the camp. Myself, Randy and Dave set out on the 90 minute ride to the hunt area. Randy and I dropped off Dave and then parked the UTV to begin our mile long walk into the blind. We hunted our way to the blind and as we approached the blind Randy spotted bison already at the water source. We quickly set down our gear. I grabbed my bow and Randy grabbed his rifle. Randy was able to take a quick couple shots and down went one of the bison. One bison ran away into the Grand Canyon park and the other waited by the bison that was laying on the ground. At that point I was able to slip in to 28yds and put an absolutely perfect arrow in the last bison. I shot another arrow and hit low in the sternum, but it wasn't necessary because the first arrow was a kill shot through both lungs. He fell and was dead in 30 seconds. We were ecstatic. We celebrated, hugged, cried and shared our viewpoints on what had happened. It was absolutely amazing! I couldn't believe I had snuck in with a bow, on the rim of the Grand Canyon and perfectly shot a bison!!! It took us long into the night to cut up the two bison and load them on to the snow machines. We used Russ's winches on the UTVs and portable winches to hoist the two bison into trees to make the work easier. Another 24 hrs later we were finally back at the main camp. After our goodbyes I drove home and got to contemplate what had just happened. I think I'm luckier than I should be. I never even stepped foot in that blind. I can't wait to try the bison meat from this harvest and sharing it with friends and family! Other than that...all I can say is that I am so blessed and thankful for OE4A for what they do.

Like the topless deck on a cruise ship…not who you want to see. LoL

VE Day 1945

**Withdrawn** Kimber Target Elite II 2-tone. 5" barrel, target sights, rosewood grips, extended safety, excellent trigger. I've owned this for 5 or 6 years, maybe 150 rounds through it. A few minor safe dings. Beautiful gun that shoots really well.

Geed Luck to all

I download maps and run OnX in offline mode on my iphone with the cell service turned off. Haven't used a dedicated GPS in years.

Theenks 😂

Wish I screenshot that thread…bummer

You know there mostly old and fat. Not the hot chick's dancing in your head.😁

Check your phone big guy 😘

At this point though do we really need a post every time this happens? This has been their MO for a couple years now. Anybody that falls for it at this point kind of deserves to be scammed.

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I remember when you couldn't give a Norinco SKS away. Yup I'm old.

I'd throw a wacky rig right at the front corner. You know there's a 5lber there under the shade of the propane tanks.

Structure

June 7th

Thank you! Yep, dropped him off at the taxidermist this morning

I’ve got 4 daughters ages 8, 11, 13, 15. They all hunt except the youngest as of now but she will be doing her hunters safety soon once she turns 9. The oldest 3 especially the oldest two have shot several animals already out to almost 600 yards. I think the most important part is NO running and gunning! Got to have a calm kid and calm animal so they can take their time and I always get my girls prone if possible which so far has been almost 💯 of their shots. I had my 13 yo (then 12) set up on 75-100 elk coming over a fence that had been pushed anywhere from 86 yards to 150 yards but they would not stop, kept trotting so we let the opportunity pass. She ended up killing one 2 days later but the last thing you want your kid doing is blowing off legs and or missing/rushing that’s a good way to get them discharged and create target panic. Practice is also key! I take them out shooting often and I believe what had really helped my oldest was shooting a lot of prairie dogs with a .17, it sure helped her pick up animals in a scope a lot quicker then her sisters that haven’t shot prairie dogs as much. You have to make it enjoyable for them too. I know sometimes us adults can get caught up in the hunt and grind. You have to be careful not to run your kid into the ground. Sometimes it means taking a morning or evening off but you don’t want them to look back on the hunt like it was miserable. One more thing like mentioned above they are definitely my favorite hunt of the year!

Look at the zeleo or something like that. Better price

I am planning on doing a trip in the next year. My son turns 18 and is fairly independent at this point so was planning on rewarding my financial freedom with a hike through the wild west.

https://www.ammoland.com/2018/02/defense-against-bears-with-pistols-97-success-rate-37-incidents-by-caliber/ Here are some stories ranging from 9mm to .454

This discussion reminds me of the old recommendation about making sure the sights on your handgun of choice have been filed down smooth.