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Was fortunate to help my father in law take a good buck on his unit 7/9 champ hunt. About the time I met him 20 years ago, he was diagnosed with MS. For quite a while, he had minimal symptoms, but these last few years it has gotten a lot worse. He has taken a number big animals with a bow in the past but with the progression of his symptoms, archery is no longer an option for him. He did draw a 7e bull tag a few years back but even with a crossbow it was still a struggle and we never even got close to tagging out. When he drew this tag he was really motivated to not just shoot a deer but shoot a really good deer. I had been scouting religiously before his hunt, primarily in 7e but really struggled to turn anything in an older age class up. Opening morning we decided to try 7w and right at first light found one of the widest bucks I have ever seen. He lacked height and had shallow forks so we decided to pass on him. We came back to the spot we found him at 10am and found him again bedded. We decided to sleep on the decision to shoot him, being opening day. It was a decision we regretted as we never saw him again. We hunted all over 7e and 7w but would return quite frequently to that spot looking for him. We did find a number of smaller 4x4s but nothing that came close to the wide buck. On day 4 we did find a better 4x4 in 7e but it was out of range and in some country my father in law could not traverse. This morning we were starting to contemplate lowering our standards a bit when we glassed up this nice buck in a new area. He was at 500 yards from the road we were on so we decided to get set up for a shot. I brought a shooting bench out for him to help with his shooting. As soon as we got set up the buck bedded behind a rock in a field. We waited an hour until the buck finally stood up and my father in law made a perfect shot at 500 yards with my 6.5 prc. He was beyond happy with the buck and it was great to see the joy he had getting out and hunting again.

My younger son drew the general rifle hunt tag this year as his 1st deer tag. 2 weeks ago my older son was on the youth hunters in the same unit and the big storms really put a damper on that hunt. The weather for this hunt was much better thankfully. Friday morning was a dud, but Friday evening we sat a blind that we setup a few ago. About 445pm 6 deer walked in. 2 spikes and 4 doe. We were teying to get him settled and setup for a shot on a spike and they were moving and feeding. Either stopping in front of other deer, behind other deer, or at bad angles. After about 5-10 min something kinda spooked then and they went into cover and fed away. Bummer. About 530pm a few doe popped out of another area farther away, then came the 2 spikes. It was the same group. We started positioning on them and from the right 4 more deer fed in, this group had a Forkhorn in the mix, so we started to target him. Again. He wouldn't stop moving or stopped in bad positions. Eventually it got to dark and we had to let them go. Saturday was uneventful other than bumping some does here and there. Sunday morning went like Friday morning. Not alot. Sunday afternoon we set the blind again and the 4 does and 2 spikes fed back in around 5pm. We were able to get my son lined up on a shot at about 200yards. He sent a round and you could tell the buck was hurt bad, but he walked about 30yrds and lied down. We gave him some time, but he was still head up so I had my son send another round. He was hit again, walked about 10yrds and lied down again. After awhile we went over and he expired. It wasn't as clean as you pray for, but it was done. He was a pretty happy camper and I was a happy dad. We quarter him out and got him out of there after dark. You always want a trophy, but this will be his first of hopefully many. So this is trophy #1 with room to grow.

Kamado roasted turkey

Grilled ribeye with roasted brussel sprouts in a balsamic reduction honey glaze on creamed yams!

SOLD Howa 1500

Pan seared scallops with purple asparagus and a garlic chive emulsion!

Congrats to your son and you!

I didn't get my first deer until I was 35, and still don't have a coues under my belt. He is way ahead of his dad.

Congrats to that young man! I've got two about that size and they were very tasty.

Congrats!

Way to go. Congrats to your son and you.

Dang good job Dad. He is only 10. And will be hooked for life. Nice job to both of you 😁

Nicely done 👍

Tell him great job and congrats

Nice buck. Good job.

congrats to that young man! great times, great dad taking him out

Very cool. Congrats!

pork tenderloin, $3.38lb.

Drop them in your neighbor's jacuzzi with a little detergent and vinegar then hang dry. 😎

This is show low not Heber. We have laws

That there is some fun stuff! We should have a Coueswhitetail cast iron cook-off!!!!! Main dish Desert Appetizer Exotic Foods Just a thought!🤣

Great job Zane. And thanks for all the vibes for the 3rd hunter. My son was the 3rd hunter and got it done before the hunt ended on a nice regress 2x4 in velvet. All kids in camp went 3 for 3. Great time with the kids and getting them on deer. Everyone had a blast. Can’t wait to do it again

The weather held out for us up north. Jase got his first deer right before dark.

This past weekend was Jacob's last youth elk hunt. Any antlerless elk is the mark. We were camped with a great group of folks and saw elk every day. Unfortunately, they were all too far away and moving fast, or there was the one cow who ran across the road in front of us and kept on trucking. We finally got into a shootable group Saturday night; however, they were being pursued by another group of hunters on the other side of the valley. As much as I wanted it to work out for him, he says "All these young kids filling their first tags is a great thing. I have a lifetime of chasing elk in front of me." He's wise beyond his years, that's for sure. We woke up yesterday morning with the intention of relocating the rest of the herd from Saturday night. A good friend was with us this time. We found the bull and a lone cow in an area that we couldn't hunt, but watched their movement. Figuring on where they were going, we hatched a plan. Jacob took off and staged himself while we kept an eye out from our hilltop. Jacob has been wanting to do more solo hunting. Who am I to say no considering how much I was turkey and pheasant hunting on my own by the time I was his age. I trust him explicitly to stay calm and know how to react, even when there is no cell service. Will took over guiding him and they formulated a solid plan. I was texting Jacob that I can't see the elk and have no clue where they are. I was about to suggest that he work his way back to the truck. That's when it happened. We heard a series of shots ring out in rapid sucession. I gave it a few minutes and started texting Jacob. Nothing. No service. That's when I saw him in the opening. He walked out to where he could give me hand signals. Even from that far away, I could see his excitement and read his reactions. He'd done it! He filled his last youth elk tag on the last morning of the time we had to hunt. He did it on his own, too. We (mostly Will) gave him general guidance on how to approach the situation and Jacob took off to find success. As he told us, he was weaving through the thick junipers and, as he popped out around one, there was the cow standing broadside at 10 yards. Jacob jumped in to help field dress his trophy, realizing he needs to learn. I was sitting back beaming with pride at the young man he's become. Selfless, hard working, altruistic, compassionate, determined, and building integrity. I already know how badly I will miss these days, but I also know how little I will have to worry in less than a year. For now, though, its time to regroup and get ready for his upcoming last youth deer hunt this coming weekend. Sideways pics on my phone drive me nuts. Sorry!

I've been hiking the AZ Trail with a couple of buddies, and we just hiked sections 40 & 41 on the Kiabab last weekend. Section 40 goes right through the East side of the Kiabab where the Bravo fire burned. The section we hiked just opened back-up last Thursday, and we were the first to hike that section of the AZT post-opening. The fire scar intensity through the portion we hiked was anywhere from severe in portions, to mild/spotty in others. We saw lots of deer and sign all over the burned areas (plus lots of fresh bison sign in the burned area closer to the southern end....). We also saw turkeys and grouse in the spotty burned areas. Pretty amazing how fast the wildlife will move back into burned areas. S.