Str8Shot

It is Ethical to police yourself ! It is Ethical to state your opinions and debate your stance on any topic including legality... It is unethical to try and force or impose your will on everyone else. A good number of laws are unethical in a free society and why so many ignore or break them... those that do are doing something illegal are not always unethical, and the reverse can be true as well (just look at all the laws the wall street guys hid behind) . To think that misses and injured game is always the product of a persons ability, or lack there of, is ridiculous. I have yet to meet a hunter (hope I never do ) that misses and lost injured game does not weigh more heavily on them, than any successes they have in the field.

The thought of tender venison is making my mouth water .... going to be some good eating there, nice job getting it done.

Bruiser of a Buck .... Awesome accomplishment ... All you archery guys have me thinking Of picking up a bow, something I have not done since I was a teen.

Seems Pre-Rut is gearing up smaller bulls starting to chase cows who will be taken from them in the coming weeks .... I would expect full on rut conditions to kick in 3rd and 4th week of September if temps keep dropping at this rate could see that first overnight freeze by the Third week of Sept. and you have the full moon on the 28th ... If I recall a few years back it was similar but then a heat wave seemed to put a stall on it.

He is growing nicely and should have a couple more weeks before that testosterone kicks in and chokes off the blood to the antlers... My experience and what I have learned ( of course always exceptions to every rule) Bigger Bucks shed first and rub a bit before the small guys ... Upper plateau Bucks finish and start rubbing mid to late Sept. the Desert Boys tend to fall 2 to 3 weeks behind.... I have seen a few Big guys still with a little velvet hanging on the early hunt, though more the exception. I have seen little guys still in velvet on the late November Hunt down south

IN Arizona I have never had issues with them over 6,500 ft. elevation , they do take longer to start and stay lit sometimes but I was always able to get them to go and stay once going. They do make a lamp model that uses matches to ignite they recommend for High elevations ... you can also look up HACKs for thermacells in google/yahoo and learn how to refill the butane (higher quality butane they say lights and burn better especially in high elevations) ... you can even save money by re-coating your own pads.

The whole Unit has access problems .... One Unit if I were to ever go back to hunt it would be on horse back . Been some years and not sure if there is any access through the Mercer Roads anymore ( last time we were there they were talking of working a deal with some outfitters and even plowing some access around Sombrero Butte ) the Cake Mountain area always held good Bucks ... Access is the big part and if you are going to hunt it you best be up for Packing in ... even minus access through mercer you use to be able to get most of the way by going south and around on tom Rhodes Ranch Road .. weather washes the roads out a lot so not sure how close you can get to the east side of Sombrero... There are good bucks just have to work for them a little harder.

I thought you duct taped your pants at the ankle

They work great use to take mine with me everywhere fishing or hunting , but have to replace it after leaving it hanging on the rail in boulder canyon at canyon lake ... make sure you have fresh pads and fuel !

Awesome Job to both, Hunter and Father ...

If I only had the spending money .. seriously good deal !

Travis, so each time you draw, the cost goes up ? Unlike guide fees that will keep increasing year after year because of gas, food, licenses permits and insurance cost, however your $350.00 never goes up until you draw.

HOLY DROP TINE ! ... Both Awesome bucks .. Congrats on the tag , the hunt and the success !

Great story and result ... I can relate on the tire thing only when it happened with us the truck that lost it was following it as well... The bikes are awesome something we have pondered in the past in some units but never tried... do you use bikes a lot ?

Awesome Buck ... Way to fill your tag with your bow... Would love to see this guy hard horned, find any sheds of his around ?

sorry to clarify ... it is like insurance in the sense that only a very small percent will use it ...

How else they going to reach the goal of 100 cams in every unit ... JK ... it is insurance and for those non residents that pray year after year "This is the ONE" once they realize it will take them at least 10 years the smart ones will put the money in an account , use it to earn a little profit , and have it waiting when the day arrives. Would be interesting to know how many guys they have gotten to sign up

Depends on how you are hunting .. The closer you want to get the more beneficial camouflage becomes ... granted with wind in your favor and some stealthy stalking you can find yourself within bow range even if wearing bright neon colors ...

And I am sure they have quiet a few dedicated Non Res Strip guys paying and waiting ... only thing I did not see was if by miracle you draw 2 years in a row

That is a STUD ... well at least he has a couple small ones on his head . Congrats to your buddy on his first time archery buck and one that will taste amazing at that ... It is not about the score it is about the experience and memories ... well done !

Do not let them get too connected to technology young.. They have a hard time disconnecting ... Get them outdoors as much as possible and engage them, ask them if they want to fish today or take a hike to look for animals and finds.... As others said get the success early and take advantage of the youth opportunities. p.s. be prepared to do a little less of the hunting and fishing yourself at the times it is about them , giving the kids more opportunity than yourself ... at least with fish and small game ... treeing a squirrel and having dad take the shot 80% of the time will not help any ...

My 2 cents, Ghost? It is not worth the hassle or the bother to get a lawyer ... Price of lawyer + cost of lost time at work and most likely still getting fines even if reduced will cost more than paying them ... Keep in mind majority of the officers are wired and recording so any apologies or talk that you may have been in the wrong even if you are in doubt or questioning it usually goes against you ... In future My suggestion especially if you feel it is wrong and something you will end up fighting, is hit the record button on smart phone when officer is there , tell them you are recording , deny everything, no maybe or possibly ... ask to see the radar ( majority in use have a cam and will show your vehicle and posted speed on a still) , if no radar and they were pacing ask if they have video ... if They are BS or even low probability for being upheld if fought, the officers IMO will just leave you with a warning either they know they do not have good enough evidence or they know you will fight it and they do not care to deal with court. Times have changed and traffic and civil violations are a money making machine, fines are calculated to be affordable to most in lieu to the time and money they would lose missing work... If you know you screwed up and got caught .. apologize to the officer.. take the ticket and pay it , that is the cost of violating the law... There you go ghost, my 2 cents !

Great Trucks and that is a pretty solid deal for the miles ... I would run a carfax ( sellers will usually pay cost ) it will tell you all you need to know on that truck ... With those miles majority of the service will have been done with dealer. From what I see with the upgrades done and if all checks out good that is a very fair price

If you are where you can bring an ice chest and ice make it into a redneck AC Cooler ... throw in a couple blocks and loose with some cold drinks .... those things will drop a 6x6 blind temp down 20+ degrees ...

somewhere I posted a real good location to start from with cams and all back there ... heck, may have even been gino's or his A3 buddy;s cams ...