Tight Guy

Just a thought. When we had the late rifle bull in unit 9 we had the same issue. What we found was that the forested waterholes were frozen from the cold, and the Elk moved to lower more open ground where the water was still open. Don't know if that's the case, just something to ponder

I posted here in June about my excitement to have finally drawn a unit 9 Az Antelope tag after waiting 21 years. Here is the story. I meet with "Sir Royal" and then later with a friend of my son Ryans father-in-law who had this same tag last year, and picked their brains about where to start my scouting. As usual the amount of time I wanted to devote to this was cut short by real life commitments. I did manage to squeeze in 3 days in Aug. and to arrive 4 days prior to the opening day. What I found while scouting was that the West side of highway 64 is wide open spaces, and the east side is more dense with scattered openings. Most of the hunters concentrate on the west side because of the easier conditions. While scouting the west side we would encounter maybe 20 Antelope a day, of which 5 or so would be Bucks, This is not at all like a Wyoming Hunt where you see 2 - 3 hundred a day. That being said the bucks you do see in 9 are more likely to be bigger then Wyo. due to the lack of hunting pressure. We found 1 shooter buck that would most likely score in the upper 70's The East side is much harder to scout and hunt due to the terrain, but we did manage to find one shooter buck, I couldn't guess a score because it was a brief encounter, but he just looked "good" Opening day and the day after we hunted the West side and tried to use the crowds to herd the Bucks our way which worked to a point. We did see some bucks, and after a stalk had the high 70"s buck at 200 yards and unaware of our presence. My oldest Son Jason was whispering "shoot him, while my younger son Ryan was saying "don't shoot we can do better. It was decided that we would wait and come after him later in the week if we didn't do better. We did take turns looking thru the scope and that buck never knew how lucky he was. Sunday morning we decided to hunt the East side. We found a shooter buck hanging with a doe in the perfect location for a stalk. After using the terrain for cover we used a blind stalk to put us in range. When we found him he was watching us from about 300 yards away. My first instinct was to shooting from a sitting position but then I decided to lay down to be more steady. Not only did I miss high, I didn't realize that I was laying on a downhill angle and as you can guess I got the "scope eye" I started to cuss and my boys were saying, don't worry he didn't go far. I said im cussing about the blood running down my nose, not the miss. Jason whipped off his shirt for me to wipe blood, I did manage to find a stump to shoot off of and again missed low. We never had the time to range him for either shot, and that's my story. After 2 more days of searching we found him again and this time we made it count. It wasn't the best shot but thank God for Barnes Bullets I coundnt be more happy with this buck, it was a great hunt, a harder hunt then you would expect, and who wants a lay-up hunt anyway. Well I had my turn, and would be happy to help anyone who might draw this tag in the future.

I have the 9 rifle antelope hunt. I will keep my eyes open while scouting and pass the word along

Anybody got one for sale? Prefer the rust color from Montana decoy but black will do. located in Gilbert

Marathon seat covers, they are on the web out of Montana. They lazer measure for your model, and the ones I have on my 1999 GMC have lasted 8 years. Check them out.

I think a lot of the appeal of this round is the "Coolness Factor" of shooting with a suppressor. It will always draw a crowd at the range. That being said I do have a 300 blkout on an AR platform, but am only planning on shooting supersonic rounds at this time. As AZsugerbear said, 1850fps with a 125 grain 30 caliber bullet is right at 30-30 range and we all know that that round killed more deer in the 19 hundreds then any other. Am I going to put my 25-06 in the closet and use the 300 blk as my deer rifle, not a chance. I really built this rifle because everybody has a AR in 223,myself included, and this was something different. I put a 2 x 7 shotgun scope on it and am good to go.

PM sent for PDF thanks in advance.

Looking for a Moo Cow decoy for rifle Antelope season. Anyone have one they would be willing to sell / rent??

I Have seen the "moo cow" decoy being used on TV by Randy Newburg on a antelope rifle hunt in AZ. Just wondering if anybody here has tried this for a rifle hunt and what did you think.. Cant hurt right. Also does anybody have one for sale???

great job AJ, congrats

The ranch owner of the Deep Well Ranch is a gentleman named Bob Burris. His house is on the west side of hwy 89 between Antelope Hills Golf course and Chino Valley. Look for the American Flag flying in his front yard. He is a great Guy, all he asks is that you do walk in only. Do the proper thing and drop by before the season and ask permission just to let him know that you will be on his property and thank him for the access. My sons drew this tag with-in the last 5 years and my youngest Ryan got a great buck off of this ranch. Its rare indeed in todays world to be able to access private land without a trespass fee. Across the highway in unit 19A they charge for access on some of the ranches. If you do have a tag in 19A the Deep Well Ranch runs east of hwy 89 up to the railroad tracks and Mr. Burris will allow access for this area also. I recommend that you get the GPS chip with private and public lands defined. The ranchers that do charge a fee east in 19A are quick on the trigger if you cross the line. Having the chip can save your bacon if there is a dispute as to where you are.

If anyone doubts how long it takes to draw a premium tag in AZ. let me illustrate. I drew my last antelope tag in 1994 when I was 39 years old, I just found out that I drew a tag because my card was hit by Az. Fish and Game for 90 dollars, and I am now 60 years old, where did the time go. Enough whinning, I got 1 of the best tags in the US and I plan to enjoy every minute of the scouting, planning, preperation, rifle sighting, shooting, map study, ect that goes along with this. If you see a "Bronzit" color 1999 GMC with a topper shell on it scouting unit 9 this summer that would be me. I will also be camping out 1 week before the opener to get to know the area and bucks better. I will be in a 14 x 17 outfitter style tent camp, but I don't know where it will be yet. I will update the location as I start scouting. Stop by camp and I will buy you a beer, an we can compare notes as to what we have managed to glass up. I don't mind sharing info up to a point and there is plenty of ground to cover. If anyone has had this tag recently I could also use some starting points and tips, Any help would be appreciated. This is most likely my last premium tag in Az for antelope and I will try to post pictures and scouting updates as I go. Totally jazzed like a kid at Christmas, more to follow

WAG 122 6/8

So the 25-06 did fine and you want to change?? Any of the above choices are more then capable of the task at hand. That being said I have owned my Remington 700 in 25-06 since 1972. ( I bought it brand spanking new for $139.00 ) The difference between then and now isn't the caliber, its the bullets. What we have now is so much better. Shoot a premium bullet, and place your shot, and have your knife sharpened.

Never saw that before. I cant stop laughing. PRICELESS

Does this mean I can extend my elk tag an extra day past the season " due to an unusual failure "to tag out. Seems like this is becoming the norm. Get in on time or you lose out. Rules are rules

I last hunted Antelope in Az. in 1994. I now have 21 pts saved up. Quite simply if you were me, and knowing that this will most likely be your last rifle tag that you will draw, what unit would you apply for , and why?

I have looked for this answer and hope this isn't a repeat and waste of Flatlanders time. Antelope 22bp unit #9 and unit # 10 rifle Thanks

My expectations are for an Antelope hunt, not a drive around and shoot one from the road. Scouting is half the fun of this hunt and whatever area I eventually draw will be scouted hard, and I sure that I can round up a few good bucks to chase. Maybe the question should be which unit would offer the best hunting opportunity away from the crowds.

As you can see from my photo, Doing what we do together as a family is like the commercial says "PRICELESS". You guys are doing it right.

Any fixed blade that shoots out of your bow well. G5, Muzzy, ShuttleT's, and my choice Thunderheads. Elk are tough critters so shoot the 125 grains. IMO I know some hunters that swear by expandables, and they do a great job, but the big boys like Elk are better with a fixed blade. PS ever see a hunting show on TV where a expandable had a complete pass thru ?

PM sent

I have come to the conclusion that if I haven't shot a rifle in my gun closet for the last 8 years maybe its time to let someone else enjoy this " Gun Safe Queen " and put it to good use. This Rifle has a 22 inch stainless steel barrel with a brown laminated stock, Ruger stainless scope rings, and a Burris 3 x 9 x 40 Fullfield II scope. I had the barrel free floated and the trigger breaks at between 3.5 and 4 pounds. This rifle shoots 1 inch groups and possibly better with a better shooter then me behind the glass. I have shot maybe 300 rounds in this rifle. It has a scratch on the right side butt stock as you can see in the pictures, and is in overall good shape. I also want to sell the Ammo, brass, and dies that go with it Included are 51 rounds of Winchester factory Ammo, 50 rounds of Nosler Ballistic Tip reloaded Ammo, 151 brass cases, and a set of RCBS loading dies. I am asking $ 750.00 for the whole lot, or $ 650.00 minus the scope. I am located in the Gilbert AZ area.