MULEPACKHUNTER

Cant imagine doing a move like that, good luck.

Some asked me this and it ended up like the lottery question that comes up around the fire. Rather than endlessly going on and on of possibilties I decided to reroute the question and say what would you rather do and give 2 options. A) If it was all paid would you rather go on a fully prepped full on 2 week drop camp in the wilderness of your choice with 2 freinds for multiple species including fishing with meat pick ups and resupply OR,,, A fully funded full on fully staffed hunting lodge near the wilderness of your choice for 2 weeks with a 1 on 1 guide and your 2 buddies where you could hunt and fish and eat and sleep all at the lodge.

I read a book about newzeeland and they have some cool sounding multi species hunts over there but I think most are backpack and really rough terrain. Sounded like some real adventure. I am not sure on a dream hunt though.

That's what I thought. I will tell you what, I am very picky about my food and have a hard time eating others food for this reason, they just cant treat it as good as I do. I cook alot and have done some catering and private dinners for clients so the meat care was #1 for me. I skinned and qtrd and stripped as much meat as I could with the gutless method then put it in game bags and then in a trash bags all within 1 hr of killing. On the way to the truck I burried the bags in the sand in the cool bends of washes and then waited for the sun to go down before finishing the trip. I packed Ice all around in the cooler until it got home then a day later I boned out trimmed and ground with pork fat into breakfast sausage and man was it good. I also fried a backstrap in butter, sage, salt and pepper and man was it good. First butcher job and first time javi eater and not my last. Thanks for all the info.

Anyone seeing 22LR around yet? I am out.

Man I need some new freinds, they all picked the lodge. Well if this ever happens I know where to find the 2 buddies. Option #1 for me too.

Nice deal, hangin for 5 days huh? I saw some guys in like 75 degree weather durring the archery hunt and they hung theirs all day ? I figured they would go bad in those conditions? Does it seem better to age them?

What would you consider a good herd size if 4 or 5 is low? Congrats on some good hunting numbers. I didn't weigh mine but ended up with 20 lbs of sausage last night from 2 pigs. Thought it would be more but now that I see the actual weights I see its about right.

Good points, Like you said not my cup of tea on some things. Good thing there are some out there who can do that type of managing. Now I don't have an issue with baited bears under a tree stand if I took the time to research and bait myself and did all the leg work to get the bears in and then I took one. I was thinking of paying 10,000.00 to someone a thousand miles away and flying in to a warm bed then getting hauled in a UTV to a spot where they have bears waiting for me. Dont think I would be happy in the end doing that. Or Maybe its because I don't have the ten grand. LOL There is something invaluable in working for it for me. It keeps me sane from day to day doing the research, pouring over maps, hitting the field, for months before going after game.

Very Lame. Dont care if idiot #1 sold bear to idiot #2 but trying to forge the trophy is very lame. Just for the record I dont see that as hunting in the least. Nor is showing up at a ranch with baited bears under a stand hunting either. JMO

More D, thanks for the reply. I am going to try to get out with some more experienced hunters this year for sure. The more I learn the more I realize I dont know. Thanks again and good luck on future draws.

Can I ask how you would handle a deer processing in the field? I have never seen a pig done that way so thought I would ask.

Thanks for the write up I love that skinning technique, I will be using that next time around. Congrats

Wow, I just boned my quarters in the kitchen and it was alot of work, I cant imagine doing it in the field and keeping it clean? I had garbage bags as seen on CWT forums but It was still tuff. I will have to do some more learnin. I was working the back quarters and my wife said I should just pit roast the whole thing too. I will do this next time for sure.

Congrats, 200 yrd running is a tuff shot good job.

Good deal and nice shot placement

I am writing a long drawn out story for my own use but I will shorten it up and worry over it. I just think I cant do the whole experience justice, from conversation in this forum to actually do it I feel it needs to be told better than I can do it. Anyway,,, Hit the road Thursday afternoon for a long dirt drive set up camp with no one around and had some dinner just me and my son age 21. My daughter was still in school and couldnt miss. Friday morning we got some great sign and some deer and left about 12 miles of cross country boot tracks in some beautiful and hunterless Arizona wilderness. No pigs spotted on Friday and now was the time to drive back out the long dirt road to pick up my 16 yr old daughter and drive back in on yes the long dirt road. Quick dinner and a beer and off to bed. Saturday morning 6 mile one way hike into rough country when all was looking like the day before and the kids were starting to look bored at my explanations of where they might be I spot a 9 strong herd 100 yards ahead of us across a wash we just found hot sign in. Too thick to get a shot we decide to back off and watch them move. Feeding steady east we hump it 200 yards up another wash away form them and pop up with them feeding right across us into a 100 yard pick and roll. We get set up and bam my daughter lays down a perfect heart shot and she just lays down, before I can turn to tell my son to take one he lays down pig number 2 10 feet form his sisters. What a day. What a day. I have never killed a big game animal and now I am in company with my kids who have and they did it as well as I hope to someday. I had plenty of time to fill my tag as well with my son pointing to target after target but I knew 2 was plenty to haul for today. Tagged, pics and meat stripped we made our way from cool shade to cool shade and burried the meat at each stop to keep it cool, we finished the hike out in the dark and talked like old hunting buddies all the way. We spent the night telling stories and talking in the tent until 2 am and slept in before heading back out the long dirt road home. Here are some pics from the 2 days.

Good deal, sorry to hear about all the traffic. Not my favorite thing either. Congrats

Congrats, and man that is like Bino city under that tree. I wish my X-mas tree looked like that.

It was a tuff hunt, I was in there 3 days scouting and never saw them physically but I had hot sign in a few areas. They were moving from week to week, I went to hot spots I found the week before and they were not there anymore and then found new fresh sign 500 yards from there then the same a few weeks later they weren't in the new spot anymore or the old one. Basically we cut a fresh track and followed it and glassed the direction they were headed and spotted them on that fresh trail. This was my third Javi hunt so I am happy and lucky I think. Oh and I forgot to mention My buddy that had the 4th tag bailed out the day before the hunt so it was just family which ended up being a blessing.

Thanks for the well wishes and happy b-days. We got it done, my 16 yr old daughter and 21 yr old son tagged their first big game on 2-23-13 1pm. Meat in the cooler and headed for the grinder. Story to be posted in the general story post or on its own soon. Pics too of course.

Maybe its a sign this time of good luck,,,heading out tomorrow morning for my son and daughters first hunts ever for any species. Pig tags for all of us in unit 22 on 2-22 which is also my Birthday. I have been scouting and have 2 hot sign areas but have yet to spot them in the flesh. 4 days to get it done. Good luck to all this weekend, enjoy and be safe.

I hate to be one of the bad guys but I agree with too many roads. It really is awful in AZ. I go out on my Mules and get to riding in some beautiful country thinking man I could hunt this area with no one around and , OH wait there's a water hole too, Man this is it,,,,,Nope there is a road going right to the water hole with 3 trucks parked on it. 1 mile later another road to a water hole 1 mile later yep another road to a water hole. Very lame in my opinion but I don't believe it is hunters or GF to blame soley, its every one including ranchers, campers, hikers, offroaders. The closed roads everyone was mad about earlier this year did next to nothing, and the roads closed didn't stop alot of folks from going down them anyway because all they did was put a little yellow sticker on the road sign. Just think how nice it would be to be hiking along tracking deer sign and not walk up to a road with 3 rangers headed down it with other hunters. Just my 2 cents

The other issue with this plan is why do we care if applications keep pace with population growth? Population of the herds is all that should matter and if applications outnumber oportunity who cares about people poulation vs applications?

The following article is older and was on AZCentral from 2011 but what is says to me is just what, as a new hunter, I see out in the field. It says there is little regard for quality of hunting or management of herds. Just revenue. Just like the government they are simply fighting to stay big if not get bigger. Why not downsize to accomodate better quality and less quantity? I hate to not be hunting but I hate even more when every area I try to go to is populated with hunters during my shorter hunt time and un populated by overhunted herds. Applications for big-game hunting permits have fallen 22 percent since 2006, despite state efforts to expand and improve hunting opportunities. The Arizona Game and Fish Department still gets far more applications than it can approve each year, so the number of people hunting hasn't necessarily decreased. But officials have been trying to counter the downward trend in applications, which they attribute mainly to the economic downturn. They say the decrease is troubling because hunters contribute hundreds of millions of dollars to Arizona's economy annually, according to U.S. census information. Arizona Game and Fish spokesman Doug Burt said many states, including Arizona, are studying hunter recruitment and retention in response to a nationwide decline in the percentage of people who hunt. "The national trend is the percentage of hunters has not kept pace with the growing population," Burt said. The Arizona Game and Fish Department began shortening the number of days each deer hunter is permitted to hunt in order to schedule more hunts and accommodate as many people as possible. In 2006, Game and Fish issued 40,433 deer permits. In 2010, it issued 48,148. Last year, it started offering free, two-day apprentice licenses to people who aren't sure they want to commit to a yearly license. The department also gave grants to hunting organizations to fund 28 introductory camps to recruit new hunting enthusiasts. Application numbers have rebounded slightly in the past year but are still down compared with 2006. Hunters say the problem is more about money than interest. "The majority of people that I talk to, it's just sheer economics," said David Hoyle, president of the Chandler Rod and Gun Club. "They just don't have the money to do it, or they just don't have the time because they're working so hard." In addition to a general $32.25 annual hunting license, hunters also must pay for permits for each type of big-game animal they want to hunt. "Big game" includes deer, antelope, elk, turkey, javelina, bighorn sheep, buffalo, bear and pheasant. This year, 259,646 people applied to hunt those animals, down from 331,816 in 2006. One of the most common permits, for resident deer hunters, costs $42.25. But permits for rare hunts can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars: A bighorn-sheep tag costs $272.50 for residents. On top of those costs, hunters must pay for equipment and gas to drive to assigned areas. Game and Fish requires applicants to pay up front and wait for a refund if they are not among those chosen to get a permit that year. The department also allows hunters to buy a bonus-point credit for $7.50, which improves their likelihood of getting a permit in the future. The number of applicants forgoing big-game permits and buying credits instead has skyrocketed since 2006. Hoyle said hunters who opt out of applying for big-game permits can still hunt small game, which doesn't require an additional permit. Even the total number of annual licenses issued by the department - for hunting and fishing - declined 6 percent between 2006 and 2009. More-recent figures aren't available. Factors besides cost also could be affecting permit applications. In 2007, the state's online-application system crashed, and the department hasn't been able to get it operational. Burt discredits that theory because the crash didn't affect most of the applications in 2007, the year numbers started to decline. Hoyle said the application numbers might rebound if the department got the system back online, because out-of-state hunters would be more likely to apply for rare hunts such as adult male buffalo, which can cost up to $5,542 for non-residents. With the online system, those people could supply their credit-card numbers, and the department would charge their accounts only if they were approved. Now, they have to pay up front by check or money order. Whatever the cause in declining applications, Burt said hunting is important to Arizona's economy, and his department is working to increase interest and opportunity. Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/news/election/azelections/articles/2011/08/06/20110806arizona-hunting-applications-down.html#ixzz2KnDmBlMF