az4life

That is Awesome Dude! You Rock! I hope to be able to do that with a bow some day. Story Story.... lets hear it.

So many to choose from.... so I may add another later. Well for an easy, fun enjoyable yet short hunt, my antelope hunt was great. Spent the day before season scouting areas around town in wyoming. nothing more than 3 miles from my brother-in-laws home. We spotted a good heard and never got closer than 1.5 miles. He figured the heard had been staying out of sight in the low spot near a bluff. Also knew who owned the land and after a couple hours sight seeing, we headed back and made a call for permission to hunt on the next day. We rolled up in the truck about 30 mins before sunup, parked about 400 yards uphill and started walking down to the fenceline 200 yards or so away. Slowly and quitely we moved to the fence and crossed it and expected to go another 100 yds to look downhill on the heard. the sun was peeking over the horizon and we were keeping low in our movements. Before we got 20 yards from the fence I hear my brother in law say "get down, keep down". I am looking forward and after a few seconds I realize he is looking toward the sun. The heard buck we saw the day before was heading toward us at a pretty good pace. He is less than 75 yards away still coming! Well he got to about 50 yards and I shot. He filled the scope completely and went down like a sack of potatos. My hunt was over in about 2 minutes after sunrise opening day! Fortunately we had 4 other antelope and 2 other deer tags to fill and a week left to do it in. We finished the day watching a pair of 180" plus whitetails that we spotted in about an hour after hanging the antelope but never got a clean shot. Fun times... YEAH

Topics like this just show what a great bunch of people frequent here. You folks are the best!

Well I am glad to hear you have a Dec hunt. Yup, as the rut gets into swing, the bucks, big and small are up an around chasing does and trying to keep other bucks away from their little harems. Lots going on in a big bucks mind, and they can get careless when it comes to being stealthy. You may want to put out a game cam or 2 to see what is up and around in the night hours. Might also want to put out a salt pile (although it may be too late in the year) to try to help the game get into your game pattern. Lots of good articles and postings on helping you get the game in your pattern. Good Luck

Glad you had a good scouting trip. Sorry to say, Unless you have a late dec tag, I would not expect to see coues in te rut.

LOL Well it's Definitely not OUR Ernesto with all that fear and disruption.

You came to the right place for info on it! WAAAY TOO much to write on this topic here, so I suggest reading a lot of the past posts and everything on the links from the main CWT page. In short, What most would say you NEED to increase your odds. Steady Tripod + Good quality, high power Binoculars Many folks like a 15x56 or similar. Anything you can do to increase your comfort, and therfore your total time behind the binos will be well spent money! Read about how to glass for Coues, and watch some videos if you cannot scout it yourself. These deer are known as Grey Ghosts for a reason. Practice and be proficient at shooting out to at least 300 yards. Many times you won't get closer than that. Patience and perseverence. Good luck!

You should post those pictures. The guys on Mythbusters tried for days and days with archers adn machines but never pulled it off. Even with machines. Congrats on the consistent shooting

Hey now.... That is what you could call a Great Weekend. I bet you forgot to buy a lottery ticket! Congrats

Yipeeee All is well in the world again!

Well when comes to hunting spots, we all know it can get pretty intense. Keeping a cool head and realizing people have weapons is crucial. I think about the story a year or 2 ago with the family in Michigan or Wisconsin who had stands set up on their land and some whackjob takes up residence in one of them. An Argument ensues, and before it ends seems like 3 or 4 of em are shot. The AGFD's new plan for creating more "opportunity"in AZ could be the fuse in the powderkeg. That extra opportunity will certainly create some conflicts too! Be Safe out there!

Wish I was an archer with a tag and some time!

Younghunter If you saw that many deer in that one spot, I think you did pretty good. That doe at 780yds is a pretty good picture considering the distance. What camera set-up are you using?

Bill Now that we have the REST of the Story.... thanks Hey Josh, You going to trade in your hounds on a mule?

I posted them about 2 yrs ago and the story is still changing. I heard from someone that the mule was supposed to be packing the lion but decided that was not to be and tossed that dead critter down and stomped it. I think the pics are cool nonetheless.

Looking at the tag#s maybe we have a "band of brothers" from PETA on the AGFD commission. Conspiracy theories aside, with the urban sprawl and increase in population, and therefore hunters, the state resources are being pulled in many different directions by often opposing viewpoints. The AGFD still has one of the best potential situations to grow all aspects of hunting. Quality and Quantity of Game, Hunter retention, Hunter increase, Quality and quantity of days afield. It appears to me that they are too shortsighted in their management and should really look toward a long term plan more-so.

If not, I bet you could sell your service as a guide!

Depends on where in the area but Yes it does hold them. Summer might keep them a bit higher but I aways saw them in the fall and spring. I have not been in there for 15 years but when I did hike around thye were always around In the hills and draws and slopes about halfway up to the top from the beeline hwy side used to be loaded. Bear and Javalina too. Get out and glass and I'd bet you find them.

Ditto to what everyone else said. I think this guiding was a job, that most of us would have PAID the lodge to have! Awesome.

Certainly looks secure with that set-up. I used a military ammo box and did the cut outs and put 2 large eye hooks on it to run the cable through. The thing I hate is the extra weight it adds when you want to pack one in a ways. The rig gets so heavy and bulky that you just can't take more than 1 or 2 at a time. What about yours?

I see why you picked that one up! Very nice find!

If the "model" does not fit their current plans, they just ignore it or at last resort they would say that it was unrealistic or in error. Either way, they get little if any challenge and do what they want to.

ditto.... Bout all the strength I got is what it takes to push these puter keys... Maybe I could shoot out across town tomorrow afternoon? Got spectors coming tomorrow at home and haf to go to sky harbor around 5. Whadyathink?

Wowiee... Bill, I understand, but do not agree with your opinion on this one. The poor management by the department has made them more of a political group than they ever have been. When they started to worry more about politics, it was the beginning of the end for the quality hunting on open land in AZ. The AGFD has an agenda and have repeatedly and consistently shown they will run over hunters and game unit managers to meet their own goals. Like others have stated, they have skewed and "loaded" surveys, to paint the picture that suits their own agenda. And instead of finding value and merit in using surveys taken by quality concerned hunter groups (like ADA ) using AGFD guidleines, they are dismissed as not scientific or random, Whatever suits them is the rule that has won out. The quality and quantity of big game in the state has greatly diminished in the last 10 years. We have more hunters, yes and we all have to share less tags because of poor predator and range management. So now, Tags counts diminished and we adjust our expectations. When we have been drawn the hunt quality has for the most part not suffered. Selling a bunch of tags in Late summer, early fall in AZ is just stupid since if we do harvest an animal in any place other than road hunting, there is little chance of saving the meat in near 100 degree temps. Not what I would call responsible hunting. There were lots of other ideas for the dept to increase opportunity without alienating their core supporters. Bullheadedly they chose to stay the course they chose. Well, in 5 years I would like to see what good it has done. Americans overall have short memories for major events like this. Well, in 5 years I would like to see what good it has done. Probably will be a lot of hunters wishing for the "good old days" when there were prime tags for USO to try to steal from AZ hunters who cared. I have lived here all my life and can respect that your experience in hunting far outweighs mine. It seems that you have fought the good fight for hunting and hunters over the years and I Do respect that. however.... I would guess your perspective has changed from your younger days. Like you I will likely not hunt in AZ much in the future. This saddens me that what once was a great state for Game, is but a shodow of it's former glory. Hunting for me will continue in other places more "western" in their way of thinking and game management plans. To those who stand for what AZ hunting should be, May you Fight the Good Fight and don't give in until you win! God Bless!

A lot of hunters tend to stay out of the burn areas, but game animals seem to like the new vegetation. As long as the flames are not licking their tails, they are usually in those zones. I think it is like eating regular carrots or baby carrots... new growth is like the baby ones and most folks agree those have better flavor.