catclaw

That has to be the same bull we saw a few weeks ago,looking at that top he has. He's definitely a 300 class bull (300-399)

No to the green prickly pear, in fact, I watched a big boar eating on some pears one year and he tested each one before he bit them off- I went to the bush he was eating on before he got himself shot and there were several pears with puncture marks that weren't quite ripe enough- Kinda like me picking out a water melon at Superstition Ranch Market- thumping them to test for ripeness...

I recognize that spot- it's on the east side of Broke-back mountain Where else would you find those inbred, bubba bulls... Pretty cool pics

I had the opportunity to guide a wildlife management hunt Friday in the Round Valley unit. We (Rod Miskin and I) guided Kent to a nice bull that morning. First 6x6 I have seen on the ground with velvet still intact. There were two other bulls that were quite a bit bigger but this one was just fine. Kent was really stoked about this bull. Kent's friend Curtis helped out too and glassed up bulls. It was an awesome sight to see 20+ bulls single file headed across a pasture with a couple of 390" monsters in there! Here is a closer one to show the great G1s and 2s this bull had.

I heard now that someone may have shot one earlier than either of us way up the highway by the green gate- who knows. Good to meet you too!

Shane, he shot once and then caught up with the bull about 30 minutes later and shot twice more in short succession. You guys may well have shot first but I asked Rod and he said that Kent's first shot was the first shot he heard. It was OUR first bull of the the season that we expect to have many more nice bulls taken in! Dennis

That sounds interesting, I have found some discrepancies between Delorme and Topo, maybe a third source would provide some confirmation.

I know I spend as much time out as anyone and I have stepped on snakes, walked over them, stood next to them and have never been bitten. I have never worn snake boots or gaiters nor do I know anyone who has. I have never heard of anyone in AZ being bitten by a snake while hunting except on the hands when they were messing with them. I don't know if I am lucky or just not paranoid. Maybe if I chased antelope more I would feel differently. I have had a twin-spot crawl into my sleeping bag in the Chiricahuas and not bite me- I'm with Lark, I guess they must be afraid of getting a bad taste in their mouth. Only time I have been bitten is when I was 18 and teasing one in the highway. Gaiters just look way to uncomfortable for me.

Say Hi to Art for me

His first shot didn't get much in the way of vitals- just the liver near as I could tell. He went about 1/4 mile and ended up in the bottom of a draw where he caught up with him and applied the finishing touches. We were able to get a 4-wheeler to within 8 yards of him! When he fell in those rocks. He dinged up his velvet unfortunately. The bull did us a favor when he didn't die in his bed and walked over a ridge to where there was an old road.

My cameras always fill up before batteries die. It's a shame they can't support bigger cards!

This is a neat photo I pulled off a cam this week. I think I missed a lot as the 2gb card was filled up (3800+ photos) in just a week and a half and it was out for three weeks Guess I am going to have to check more often or get bigger cards...

If it was the year after, it really means nothing! I stand by my original guesstimate

We trapped like 24 packrats out of our back yard last year- they were heck on the garden. I was amazed at what they collect in their nests! I found golf balls and tons of steak bones!

That is cheating and not fair chase!!!

112"

Glad you found a scope that works. I didn't buy a Kowa only because it was too big around for my pouch! Of the Euro stuff- I like the Zeiss and Leica spotters but they are spendy!

With furloughs and shortage of personnel, I think we should be happy to see them before Aug 1st. Look how long it took them to get the paper regs out- dang near the deadline before they were out! Not everyone has internet

Isn't that the same day as our party at Jim's house?? Just what we need, more distractions

I have had great luck with Varget and Ramshot Big game with the 120s too.

The only difference I found between the Mark IV and the VX3 was that the boss where the turrets are located are beefier and have while markings on them. Maybe there are internal differences but at the SHOT show, the Leupold reps that helped me had NO idea! We walked over to the Barrett booth to ask them as they make the BORS for the Leupold Mark IV and they said it would fit the VXIII or 3. My VXIII 4.5-14 LR has a side focus and 30mm tube. This adds quite a bit of weight to a scope. Have to decide if it is worth the trade-off or not. IF I ordered a brand new Mark IV, I would get M2 knobs rather than M1. The M2s will NOT retrofit on a VXIII, only a mark IV. I much prefer the 1/2MOA elevation knobs over the 1/4 MOA knobs for hunting. The Specialty scopes made for guys like John Burns et al. have 1/3 MOA adjustments. The only way to get this is to buy the scope (a Leupold) from them. I guess they have determined that the 1/3 MOA is the best balance of speed, precision and simplicity. I can't argue with that but Leupold does not sell a scope to the general public with such adjustments. You can get way out there without having to go all the way around the dial. I think the Huskemaw is this way too but not certain. The big advantage to the Kenton type turrets is that you can shoot faster because you don't have to consult a PDA or chart. Biggest drawback is that it is set up for only one load.

Why on earth would they need all that superfluous information to make a turret??? All you need is the velocity, BC and environmental data. Barrel length, caliber, bullet weight are meaningless. Only reason I can see for adding this is if you want it engraved on your turret! Turrets that are graduated in "yards" rather than Mils or MOA are certainly easy to use but have the down-side of being load specific. Should you find a new magic powder or bullet- you will need new turrets! If you are a one-load kinda guy, this is a great way to go though. ----------------------------------- OK, I just went to their website. Kinda what I figured. They have knobs that are similar to what Huskemaw and others have on them. They are easy to use but pretty much load specific. I would hate to spend $110 and then find out I like a different bullet weight better or something. I really don't have a problem looking at a chart to see how many MOA I need to dial in to make the shot. It is one extra step but completely forgiving as to bullet, load, velocity, elevation, temp etc. Maybe I am a gadget kinda guy. I kinda like my M1 turrets.

I can't think of any spots that are 10 miles away from access in another direction! Well maybe a couple are close, but the only reason to go that far is if you found one from the air and are just needing to get into him. 2-3 miles in is about perfect.

I am really toying with ordering a pair but I am worried about the fit. I guess I can try them inside and send them back if they don't fit right. I feel like I am crazy to try something new as I have had really good luck with Meindl boots. I have had bad luck with Danner. I guess people in Oregon have way narrow feet. Even the wide models are too narrow for me. It really sucks to spend $300 on a pair of boots and they never really fit right.

You obviously didn't look through the Prominar model- TSN-883 or TSN-884. Those flourite crystal lenses are sharper than Swaro's HDs by a handy margin. I have spent plenty of time behind both looking at long range targets and can easily see bullet holes with the Kowa that I could NOT with the Swaro. The Leica seems as good as the Kowa and is quite robust. I am a big Swarovski fan but I can sure tell the difference between the Kowa Prominar and anything that Swarovski makes. I have never taken either one on a hunt so I can't tell you how they hold up in the field, but on the target range, the Kowa was better. Period.