turbo

Dealing with other hunters seems to often be part of the equation. I walked pretty far back for a few days, just to get away from other hunters. Then, spent Sat where another group was in "my buddy's area", , and I just said " hunt within a mile of a road, deal with it." btw, the rutting mulie buck survived unscathed being surrounded. Very respectful how you spent three days tracking. Wish others would do that...We are seeing evidence of all the long range hunters who are not really all that skilled at shooting. Do not want to be controversial, but I wish others would learn from your persistence. I like being reminded as well. Interesting post.

Nice desert buck. 37B can be a tough place to hunt. Good job

Just curious? Where are the handgunners in Arizona? most recent post is a bit old. My rifle tag went unused, as I arrowed a coues in Aug. Planned on taking out a .44 Super Blackhawk, and thought about the early December hunt I did not go on. I think I will be using a pistol if January and August do not yield a deer opportunity on a size I want to release an arrow on.

Buffalo Bore website has good info. From my understanding, the pistol better be shooting a hard cast bullet. For defense, a pathetic caliber re: bear, like 9mm and 38, can work, at times, with a hard cast bullet, according to the BuffaloBore info. I am more confident with a .41 or .44, and maybe a 357 with right loads for all, when out in the backcountry. Had encounters with lions a lion and bears, unarmed at the time, and now like the chance to live with the above calibers. BTW, I practice shooting quickly, 1 second or so, at a target that mimics a bear's head as he comes in. A bit paranoid, maybe, but it is fun.

Glad to see people are using the handguns. I knew there had to be more people out there with them than this forum suggested. For larger bucks, I have wondered as they stayed out range of my bow, about a pistol. Right now, I am close to increasing my hunting range by a factor of 2 with my .44 pistol.

ZekeBE, you will probably like the lower bodyfat. 10% bodyfat,or so, gives the day an entirely different feel than other levels. My younger brother had a heart attack, at age 44, and the issue of cardiovascular disease runs in my family. I am motivated by that aspect alone to stay lean. But the overall feeling is generally good.

Zeke BE, that mtn dew was killing a friend of mine, and once he quit, he had very similar results. Good job. BTW, don't buy too many new jeans until you find out the weight you will settle at. I learned the hard way.

80 miles! No one got any chub on that hunt. These long, old school camp out hunts are motivating.

Solid job. A mule deer is a lot of meat.

When this deer stopped trying to figure me out, I slowly pulled back and let the arrow fly. 11 yards between us. I aimed at heart, he being a bit uphill. Arrow went through paunch, liver, and cut an artery near the heart. He piled up about 70 yards away. (Homemade bow, mulefat arrow about 550 grains. I thought I might hold for my pistol tag in December, but this felt right.) Note. ASAT seems to work. I had a Buff neck scarf and a woodland boonie on with the ASAT. This deer and his bud just could not figure me out. I shot basically sitting on one leg.)

The internet says you can not kill deer in blue jeans.

Needed to be close. Here is the story: The bow I used is the third bow I made, in 2012, from a hickory board. Thank you Arizona for letting me use sub-40 pound bows. Around August 1st, I found my archer's tendon revisiting me as I shot my favorite 50# plus bow; bow arm is shaking. "Sad" as the Prez would tweet. I had to craft and tune new arrows to the only bow I could shoot right handed string hand and not shake. I shot that deer at around 24" draw, sorta sitting position, so about 36 pound draw weight. Slow, but quiet. Believe me that set of arrows, 550 grain to 560 grains, were flying below 145 feet per second. So I had to be close. Coues are tough with any bow. I picked a place that would provide set ups below 20 yards. Skill and luck. (speaking of spears, kinda makes we want to try an atlatl in Missouri, lol.)

getting the heart pounding and then calming it all down for a good release, that is the juice. Props for braving the lightning!

...sleep in and recover from the Summer cold. Go out in afternoon, sit behind some concealment in my new ASAT shirt, and let the deer get real close and wind me. Get up and wonder if I should have practiced more on longer downhill shots. Sleep in, repeat...

Just returned from a scouting trip. Only been hunting there starting 2014. I have noticed a decline in bucks. As well with the lands north of Arivaca Highway. Border Patrol members are very friendly, and the illegal traffic is still there. As well, they report few bucks in places that look like wilderness and would stun a Midwesterner, given the size and vistas. Members that bow hunt think it is an issue, all the increased enforcement and illegaI activity. I agree that big bucks "must be out there." Yet, for summer bow season, hauling a pack of meat over a few hours seems risky. The issue is a conflict: get away from the roads, and be close enough to the rig and ice. Wrestling with that conflict this morning.

Those "condensed versions" conceal effort to the casual reader. Motivating me to put in for the sheep. Congratulations.

This thicket goes into the Hall of Turbo Shame; "Oh, I will move up on one knee, then sit down perfectly still another 2 hours" and at moment the buck is 5 yards away in the dead ground. Did not harvest in Winter 2016-2017. However, I carried a handmade bow, drank coffee looking at mountains and mesquite, and met cool people. Had a few opportunities, and managed to mess a few up, painfully so. Good thread, to come down from the high of the hunt.

nice. 50 yards is so close and yet so far.

Motivational. Enjoy reading about mistakes others make. Misery loves company. And enjoy reading about people who stick to it.

over issuing of tags in 33 might be interesting feb. reading. Start another thread, someone..

Thanks for the debrief. There is a magic to these Coues. Been focused on mulies lately, However, Coues are poor man's sheep as Jack O'Connor said. You will come back and harvest one of the toughest animals on Earth with a stickbow, a Coues. When bored, google this guy Tracy; he he show up when you google "camo vs plaid." He seems to kill every thing in the lower 48, but the Coues deer... He says, (paraphrased): "still working on that Coues..."

Unit 33. and some say it is overhunted.

jumping the string. It hurts.

How is the hunt going? I hunt stickbow too, and yep, ambush placement is crucial. I break out the range finder sometimes, range the terrain a bit and realize that thicker brush can be better for us.

The GOP only scraped by this election regarding several states. They need every vote. I think Trump is smart enough not to alienate any of his base.I am not in Arizona for the high wages in my career field.