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Fun hunts this year, we did about 10 days in the field. My arrow found it’s mark yesterday at sunset after spotting a herd 2.2 miles out earlier in the day. Pops was able to harvest his 18th consecutive archery pig this morning. 43rd and 44th pigs killed in this father/son duo team.

Had a great trip to Mexico and killed some great bucks. I should have killed this buck. I found him bedded in the shade tending a doe and had my brother shoot his biggest buck. I'm happy for him I made a great stalk on a cool buck and literally missed him 2 times at 20 yards. My plan was if I didn't find a good buck than I wanted to shoot one with my bow. Last morning I actually found a buck that I wanted. After a little rodeo and him soaking up 3 bullets he was done. Killed a good Tom as bonus One of my favorite things about Mexico

Hey guys, Have not used a rifle since 2009. Decided that practice is key, so I started practicing for the shot, only a few shots at a time. Mostly sitting once I got sighted in, and never more than ten shots at a time. Usually, two to four, doing the thoughtful practice as they call it in archery. Became comfortable out to 130 yards, in the sitting position, with open sighted 30-06. Took this deer first day out, 132 yards, sitting. Light was perfect for open sights. He is kinda big in the body, with a smaller rack. Nice to carry a fine rifle in the mountains. Wanted to shoot one of the bigger ones that live up there, but work is work, and incoming gusty wind was the weather. Overall, a great rifle hunt. Practice paid off.

I've been a part of this site for a while and have spent most of that time looking for a deal or reading about someone else's hunt story. (This was when I wasn't out chasing every buck I could find around with my bow.) I don't have an epic story here but I figured I'd contribute given how much I've enjoyed your all's stories. It's been a few years in the making, but I'll keep it to this year. I've spent just about every Friday, Saturday and Sunday morning (other than around the holidays) since mid December in the hills chasing deer around home. Around home is near Prescott (I'm typically in 17B or 20C). I had missed three shots already this season. One being about 10yds (held at my 20pin and shot high after bumping an oddly curious buck while I was looking for a decent glassing spot on the side of a hill), the 2nd being at 70yds (just low on one of the nicest bucks I've ever gotten close to) and the last being at 50yds just this past Friday (came down with a real case of buck fever here after the stars absolutely aligned when a doe brought a buck in on a string to 50 from 250yds). Not considering my shooting performance, I was completely satisfied with the season and could have given it up for the year after how much fun I'd had. (Here's the nice buck I missed low on at 70) (3x2 with the doe that brought him right below me at 50) I'm typically out by myself, but every now and then (especially when they've got a javelina tag) a friend or two will come up and hunt with me in the spots I've found around home. We always get on deer and have a blast. While in the meantime, one of them is telling me about how he hunts 10min from his home in Phoenix and always sees bucks and how I have to come down and have to hunt with him sometime. I always shrugged this off, not because I didn't want to hunt with him, but because I couldn't imagine missing a weekend hunting at home as opposed to within city limits. All I could picture was getting smug looks from hikers and sitting on a hillside wondering why I came down to this place where there are no deer. After missing a shot Friday morning and not seeing a buck Saturday, I decided to make the trip to Phoenix and hang out with them. They're big UFC fans, I was really going down there to have a good time Saturday night and spend Sunday morning with buddies in the field. We got up Sunday morning, drove 5 minutes before getting a call from by buddy's buddy who we were meeting at the trailhead that we'd been beaten to the spot. A father and son were planning to be on the exact glassing spot that we were planning on posting up on. I never, ever, never have this problem around home. I've come across one other group of hunters while actually hunting around Prescott this season. I was already wishing I was a couple hours away. We go a mile down the road and find this puny pile of rocks that barely allowed us to see out into the smallest, flattest chunk of ground I can remember ever hunting. I can glass up a 4 lane road and a golf course not too far in the distance (turned out to be a mile away). This spot supposedly had deer shuffling in and out all morning the day before. I am really looking forward to a nap at this point, the sun had just come up and I have already glassed everything we could hunt 10 times by 7:45. Not to mention I was really feeling the night before. I was giving a spot one last look before I was planning on laying back and seeing my luck at a nap when I can't believe my eyes. I see a deer feeding on a little knob a mile away, 200yds from the road I had mentioned. The deer feeds its way into an opening, limping terribly and I see the glimmer of a rack. It's a buck, I'm really dreaming now. My buddy's buddy tells me to get after him, I'm relieved because I was the new guy here and wasn't sure what protocol was and how it's decided who goes after the first buck. We typically draw straws when I host and take turns stalking after that. I keep my mouth shut and appreciate the comment. We watch him work into a thicket and not come out, figuring he bedded down. About 8:30 I start the easy hike towards the knob. The other hunters in the area were looking around the corner and couldn't have picked up the buck, I was in no hurry given the amount of people within a square mile of us. The wind's perfect, I worked around the side of the knob and come up around the backside in my socks. I traveled a little further down the ridge than I was planning on and didn't see the buck where I thought it was going to be. Right before I back down to travel further down and pop back over the ridge, I see the buck looking right at me 45yds away. I thought it was over. I dropped slowly to my belly and watched his head through a bush, he was onto something but didn't have me pinned. After about 30min I decided that I was in a terrible spot to stand and shoot from so I slowly back down the other side and come back over where I'd have some cover between me and the buck. I'm able to get back to 45yds with cover, then 35, then 30yds sitting behind a bush. The buck was still facing where I had originally come over the ridge but he didn't pick me up and had even put his chin to the ground napping for a bit and that really allowed me to slip in close. The wind was still perfect, but I could see one of the buck's eyeballs and had no more cover to try and get a shot at him in his bed. It just wasn't possible. I ran every scenario that I could come up with to make a move on him but I was in a good spot as long as the wind held up and didn't see any of my moves working out. I'm behind this bush, it's now noon. It's been 3 hours since I had first seen the buck at 45 yards. I'm texting my buddy how sorry I am because they're just sitting there watching me, watching the buck, watching me, watching the buck. It had to be excruciatingly boring for them. I was having a hard time myself, I couldn't find a position where my back wasn't just killing me, but there's nothing more fun than being close to a buck like that. (My view of the buck from 30yds through my bush through my 10's) (The buck from 30yds as I peek around the bush) I kept giving myself deadlines for when I'd have to make a move because I could envision the wind shifting, and him getting up and taking off in the blink of an eye. I let several of these deadlines come and go. At the 3 hour mark, I was really getting itchy and was feeling the pressure. My buddy's buddy had a million ideas of what I could've done, I heard each one of them after the fact. But I kept peeking around the bush and remembering how close I really was and could picture myself screwing everything up. Nothing compared to him getting up and shifting beds or getting a mid day snack like I've seen thousands of deer do before. But this buck wouldn't budge, as you can see in the picture he's in the hot Phoenix sun and had been for hours at this point. 12:30 comes around and I'm fidgeting around, laying down, sitting back up, closing my eyes, opening them. I have my head down and all of a sudden sense the buck's movement. He's standing up staring right at me in this bush that I'd been in for 2+ hours. Something changed, it wasn't the wind, but this buck was onto me. The bush I was behind wasn't the best cover so I didn't want to stand and draw with him looking right at me. He takes a few steps, positions his body right towards me and stares again. I stay still, drawing back while all I could see was his chest wasn't going to do me any good. This goes on for a couple minutes. Then, he drops his head and takes a few steps to the side, maybe trying to work downwind of me and ends up walking broadside to me. I crouch up, draw back, figure he's still around 30. He stops when he sees me come up over the bush and looks at me broadside. I let it fly. And the sound of that arrow hitting its mark was the sweetest sound I've ever heard and don't think I'll ever forget it. He turns the opposite direction, runs several yards obviously wounded and slows down around 80yds away. He works into some thick stuff and I don't see him come out. He was going down. I couldn't believe that all that time I'd spent driving myself insane behind that bush had paid off. My buddies come hiking down, the dad of one of my friends comes out to meet us from home. He waits for us in the car for a while, not wanting to get stuck with a bag of meat for the hike out. But it was okay, he had cold beer and sandwiches waiting for us. (Not a bad first buck) (Me with the buddy that brought me to his spot. He has yet to take a buck out of this place. But we're even, he took a good buck in my favorite spot back home in October) (Post 5min pack out celebrating with a few cold ones) I've been hunting deer with a bow for about 5 years now and still can't believe the way it all came together. Not even close to how I had ever pictured it.

Met my son Thursday morning around 10 to start our Javelina hunt, my 4th hunt for them and his first time. We set up camp and managed to squeeze in an afternoon glassing session but didn't turn anything up. Friday we spent the whole day glassing and moving locations from higher to lower elevations, finally turning a few up late in the afternoon within stocking distance, we got in front of where we thought they were headed and sure enough 3 of them come by us at 35 yards, i range it for my son and tell him to take him if he can he draws back and releases missing to the left, they take off but not in a big hurry so we watch them move off into a different valley as the sun is starting to set. We decide to leave them alone and go back in the morning to see if they are out feeding in the sunshine, sure enough Saturday morning i glass up not 3 but 9 of them out feeding, we make a plan to get on the ridge above them and drop over the top. It worked perfectly as the wind was in our favor and they had no idea we were there, the first one comes walking by and my son puts an arrow through it at probably 16-18 yards, i sneak about 20 yards farther down the hill and peek over to see the rest of the herd standing at 20-30 yards, i pick out one broadside at 22 yards and put an arrow through both shoulders. We found my son's right away but could not find my arrow or any blood, after about a 30 minute search my son yells out "i know why we cant find your arrow....its still stuck in him" he was laying probably 10 feet from my sons javelina in the brush. It was an awesome hunt and no one i would rather do it with than my son. Thanks jim for giving me a few places to try, although we didn't make it to any of his recommended spots its nice to know people are willing to help others out.

Couple more pictures

Went out with some friends to help hunt javalinas and this guy shows himself at 2 hours before sundown. Put on the decoy and made a stalk around a mountain. Came around a corner and was face to face with the buck at 50 yards. I believe he never ran because I had the decoy on. Perfect hit on a beautiful 4x3 and he didn't go more than 80 yards. Another awesome hunt with my friends. #nobusiness

Got lucky and drew one of the 22 trophy lion tags in my unit. A friend of mine had the dogs. Hunting in 3 ft of snow made it a real challenge but super fun. Big Tom weighed in at 157 lbs and was 8 ft 5 inches long. Super excited to take a cat like this.

I tagged my first javelina in February of 2011. It took me four years just to see a javelina, and five years to finally get one. At that time, I set a goal to tag 20 by my 40th birthday, which will be in February of 2022. I figured I would have to rely on reservation tags to reach it, but when the Department increased the annual bag limit to two, the goal became a whole lot easier. With a mix of leftover and reservation tags, the goal looks to be in sight (hope I don't jinx it). Since that first pig in 2011, I have been a part of 48 javelina harvests...either helping others or tagging them myself. 17 of those have been mine. This is the story of number 17. I picked up a leftover archery tag in one of the central block units thinking that I would have plenty of time to get out in January. As it turns out, I only had one day to hunt. January 10th. Unfortunately, none of my usual hunting partners were available to accompany me. My wife has a rule against me hunting alone (which has saved me at least once), so I called her cousin's husband who had once told me that he would like to observe a hunt some time just to see what it is like. He was free that day and jumped at that chance. So, I picked up my babysitter at 5am and we hit the road. I was a little slower to get moving that morning. It was clear, but very very cold. A somewhat dry front had moved through the night before and left us with a stiff north wind. In the past, that has made for very productive javelina glassing, usually all day. There had been a bright full moon all night, but with it being so cold I didn't think it would factor into our day much. In my estimation we would have a lot of time to find them, so there was no use in putting ourselves through a cold and dark ranger ride when a cold ranger ride at sunrise would give us the same result. The destination was a drainage that I had glassed from several miles away three or four years ago. It looked good from afar, and I have always wanted to get in there and look around some. It seemed to have everything I was looking for, including plenty of south facing, succulent-covered hillsides. We crested into the basin at about 745 and I got the feeling that I need to stop and look at the hill in front of us before moving on to the high point I had in mind. Within 30 seconds I caught two javelina slowly feeding their way near the very top of the ridge. I called my babysitter over to have a look (his first time ever seeing javelina in the wild), and while he watched them they topped out and disappeared. I wasn't sure if we had been looking at a satellite group of boars, or if we had caught the tail end of a larger herd, but it was certainly worth investigating. As we made our way up the ridge, there was fresh sign everywhere, which suggested to me that we were on the trail of more than just two pigs. After some huffing and puffing we made it to the top, where there was a secluded bowl that I was certain would be full of pigs, but it was empty. The ground doesn't lie. It was clear that they had been there recently, but now all was still. I decided to walk slowly up the side of the bowl in the general direction our two tail end Charlies had been headed, and within a few minutes I caught sight of a large herd walking along the spine of the next ridge over. They were not in a hurry, but they certainly had a destination in mind. After some quick adjustments to make sure we could keep the wind in our favor, we hurried off in pursuit. It only took us about 15-20 minutes to get to where we last saw the herd top out for the second time. Again, I approached a secluded bowl, arrow ready, expecting to be in the middle of a herd. Once again, there was nothing to be seen. Stumped, I started searching the ground for sign, hoping to see evidence of where they had gone, but the ground was frozen solid and wasn't telling the story. I started up the new ridge, but for some reason turned and looked to the left. Across the canyon about 300 yards away I could see a herd of pigs, some feeding, and some sound asleep in the sun. I still can't say with 100% certainty that this was the herd we had been trailing, but it sure seems like it was. They had managed to cover about 600 yards as the pig walks from where we had last seen them, down a nasty hill and half way up another. Not only that, they had done so with enough time to allow half of their crew to start their nap. Where they were now bedded was about a mile where we had caught sight of the first two. If it weren't for the fact that the herd was the same size with the same ratio of young pigs to big pigs, I would have guessed that I was looking at a new herd. Even if it was a new herd though, what surprised me is that after an ice cold and windy night, we had a herd of pigs that was down and sleeping by 9am. Where they were laid up, it was easily 15 degrees warmer and completely out of the wind. It was strategic. All of my previous experience told me that this was the time for them to be up and about doing their feeding in the sun, but it looks like this particular herd filled their bellies under the cold full moon. At a time I expected movement, all they wanted was sleep. With the wind the way it was, there was only one approach for me to get to the herd. I had to down the nasty slope, completely exposed to them and then right back up at them. I left my babysitter to watch the show and started slowly down the slope. One by one the rest of the herd made its way to the growing pig pile until only one individual was left out in the open. When I was 80 yards away from the herd, but still on the wrong side of the canyon, that single pig caught my movement and locked in on me. I held perfectly still, half in the catclaw and one foot on uneven ground for a good 10 minutes before she turned her head to feed again. No sooner had I started to move than I rolled a rock and she flipped back around to investigate. This time she stared my way for even longer...however long it takes for my thigh to cramp up. About the time I thought I couldn't take any more she turned and started feeding again. A few minutes later I was in the bottom and out of her field of view. I checked in with my babysitter and he reported that she had moved over towards the rest of the herd to join the group nap. It had taken me over an hour to move 100 yards and to drop about 200 feet. This was the babysitter's view as I finally made my way up the hill. The formerly alert pig is in the pile of two on the left, and there are 10 or so pigs in the pile on the right. I slowly made my way up the hill, and eventually found myself 20 yards to the left of where you see the smaller group of pigs in the photo, but I couldn't see them through the grass. I sat down on a flat rock and just waited. Every five minutes or so a pig would stand up and shift, and more than once I started to draw back, only to have my target lay back down and out of sight. I passed the time ranging various rocks and bushes while I waited, and prayed that the wind would remain constant. After about 20 mintues on my rock, and several balking draws, something tipped off the herd and they suddenly blew out from their tree in all directions. I can only assume that my scent somehow found its way to one of them. In any event, one of the pigs in the closer group (I believe it was the same one that gave me the cramping stare down) suddenly appeared in front of a cactus that I had previously ranged at 18 yards. I drew back and hit her a bit high on the shoulder, but it was enough to put her down and she tumbled down the hill. Her reaction to the arrow brought some of her herd mates, and I was soon surrounded on three sides by woofing pigs, some no more than two or three yards from me. My babysitter had never seen that before, and thought for sure that I was about to be attacked. Here I am approaching the sow after she had stopped rolling down the hill. And here is a close up of javelina number 17: It was a memorable day, and I learned a lot. Each time I think I know what they are going to do, they surprise me. Nearly four hours passed from the first sighting to when I let an arrow fly. They covered a ton of ground and weren't doing what I thought they'd do, but that's what makes it "hunting."

are we living in the same state?

Don’t know Ted lol enjoy.

snow machine only , 273, 261 and williams valley/three forks roads locked. lee member post from december

My brothers should be high teens and mine 105ish+ Due to the exaggeration of most scores I really have tried to get away from scoring them.

You're honestly ridiculous. Horses were not in the Americas until the Spaniards brought them over. They are 100% feral and have no place on the landscape whether you like it or not.

A buddy of mine and me got the fishin withdrawals and had to try Rosy Sunday. FROZE our butt off till around 11 LOL. We strictly fished for bass, and it was tough. Picked up two on drop shot. tried cranks and carolina rigs and other stuff but nothin. Turned out to be a nice warm afternoon , even got sunburned a bit. There were a few crappie fisherman around , but didnt see any action. Water level is still way up and clear. Should be good after a week or so of good sunny weather for all species. See ya at the lake

Saw lots of real nice bulls. One was easy 400+ but he was smart and wasnt staying in one spot. Never saw another hunter where we hunted the whole hunt and I hunted the same spot from opening day to the last day. It was my second archery hunt ever, first was antelope the month before (I got very lucky last year with tags). I missed two bulls, ruined 2 pairs of boots, and found 3 horns and a dead head. I learned a lot chasing them with my bow. Saw a really sweet freak antelope buck and an absolute giant heavy goat there too. One of the bulls I should have hit was a nice heavy 5x5, he was the smallest bull we saw on the entire hunt. I will most definitely put in for that hunt again but I spend prolly 250 days a year in unit 1 so it's not an out of the way place for me. I dont believe the quality of bulls has dropped there, I think when there 250 hunters by Big Lake and 48 on the 96 rd I can see how people say the hunts not very good. But I will definitely put in for that hunt again.

Going strong in the top of the White Tanks. Saw 8 different bucks today, all with does. Watched a big boy at 1000+ w. 10 does, dogging one hard, and chasing off a smaller buck. Had a dumb one at 40 yards, just hanging with the does.

I like you Ben, but ima slap you like Nobulls daddy should have slapped him.

Like beating a dead horse.......they aren't wild, they aren't regulated.......they are a problem that is being ignored!!!!

My kids use a 7mm08. I have a Savage Axis Compact and AR10 in 7mm08 that they both shoot comfortably in the field. For practice I load a reduced recoil round that they both enjoy shooting. Most of their shooting is done with a suppressor, which also helps keep them comfortable. Last week I bought a new Tikka T3X Lite in the compact size and also chambered in 7mm08. It has a 12.5" LOP and 20" barrel, and comes with a 1" spacer to increase LOP when they grow. If you're in the east valley I'd be happy to have you swing by and take a look at it if you can't find one at a gun counter somewhere. The complaints against buying a rifle that they will grow out of are pretty unfounded, in my opinion. When the kid is done you can sell a youth sized rifle for darn near what you paid for it if you originally purchased it on sale. Watch the youth rifles that get posted on here, they never last long. As for the posts complaining about catering to kids, that's some of the stupidest stuff I have ever seen posted on CWT. Keep your kids comfortable. Do whatever it takes to make their first hunting experiences as positive as possible. My first rifle didn't fit me and kicked like a mule. I hated shooting it and I shot like crap. Thank goodness I shot so poorly that I always straight up missed instead of gut or a$$ shooting everything. It took me a long time to overcome my flinching. If I didn't love being outdoors and the thrill of the hunt so much, I wouldn't have stuck with it. With kids who might be on the fence about hunting, you can really win them over for good with a little bit of extra effort and equipment tailored to their needs.

Well I came, I saw, and I did not conquer 🤣 Had a really good time, saw some nice bucks, only went after a couple, and it just didn't come together. Saw a little bit of everything rut wise. Saw does without bucks, does with little bucks that weren't even sniffing around, mixed groups of does and multiple bucks of different ages, big bucks locked down on a single doe, mature bucks cruising, and mature bucks alone just being deer. I think I'd have preferred to be a little earlier but I'm not disappointed by any means. Gonna have to try getting back down in December I really appreciate all the feedback and I'm grateful to get to come spend time in your beautiful state.

people that consider going to the local dog park as being out in nature control what goes on in our forests and deserts. pathetic

Man, this topic went south fast! Love it! I am a horse owner and grew up in a ranching family and I HATE the feral horse plague. Cattle are regulated. When a cow escapes, the rancher loses money. Does it still happen? Yes. There are a lot of people that make money rounding up rogue cattle and selling them because the have monetary value. Horses are not native, plain and simple. AZBH88, do you shed a tear when you see people mowing down herds of FERAL hogs? If horses looked like hogs, nobody would blink an eye if they were shot

We have stag in Arizona? Cool! heck, I was looking at going to New Zealand until I saw the price, this would be much closer and cheaper! How did the CSI tree hugger determine that hunters killed it? Nor would a hunter " leave it to rot". What a libtard! Surprised that person could pull themselves away form CNN long enough to get off the couch and go hike.