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Kevin

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Posts posted by Kevin

  2. Posted · Report reply

    Congrats Travis, that's a nice bird! Jeff, I think, hit the nail on the head. I've killed a bunch of Gila birds and none of their spurs have hit the 1" mark. I'm almost sure that the steep hills and rocky terrain wear them down as fast as they can grow. I know genetics play a role as well but I truly think its the wear and tear that keeps them short.

     

    It must have been really cool to watch them mate. Never actually seen it happen in the field. Also tells me they are a little behind schedule. Usually hens are nesting by now. I'll post up my 2010 adventures when the season is over.

     

    Kevin

  3. Posted · Report reply

    I drew the nanny hunt 2 years ago. My advice to you is get in great shape, have some very good boots and lose any fear of heights you may have. They are an absolute blast to hunt and are amazing to watch. You can glass them up on just about any part of the mountain from the bottom. My girls and I spent a lot of hours watching them during the summer before my hunt.

     

    The hardest part of the hunt is drawing a tag. There really isn't any reason not to kill one if you draw. There are tons of animals, you just have to get within range of them.

     

    Kevin

  4. Posted · Report reply

    Stanley,

    The area your son killed his bull in holds tons of turkeys; however, like PSE said, it is still under a couple feet of snow. Hunting pressure is pretty high there early in the season as well, but there are plenty of birds to be found most years. I'm not sure what this late snow pack is going to do yet as far as turkeys moving back into the high country. Let me know if you need a hand.

     

    Kevin

  7. Posted · Report reply

    My hunting partner sent his 12 year old 10X42's in last year to have them cleaned and a couple of minor scratches polished. He ended up with a completely refurbished set of glasses when they returned them. New armor coating, new eye cups, polished all four lenses etc. All for what it cost him to ship them. Yeah, I'd say it is worth it.

     

    Kevin

  8. Posted · Report reply

    Well the way I look at it, in order for me to apply in AZ as a non resident it costs me a $150.00 "application fee" in the form of a non refundable license fee before I can apply for deer. I think the $27.00 your complaining about is pretty cheap, thats about 6 app fees you would have to pay to catch me. I agree that increasing license and application fees is tough, especially in this economy, but honestly NM is still pretty decent to non residents. Consider this; you have as good a chance as anyone else to draw over here, even in our best units. It'll be a cold day in you know where before I have enough bonus points, at $150 a year, to draw a quality rifle elk hunt in AZ right? No sour grapes from me, it is what it is, I'll continue to hunt there as I draw or until I can't afford it.

     

    Kevin

  12. Posted · Report reply

    From running trail cams on several known water sources last year, I figured out that there had to be other sources of water. Most of us focus on the tanks and springs that are marked on maps. The area I was scouting held a good number of Coues deer that we would see, but rarely did they water at the tanks or springs, where I had cams. Neither did the 217" non typical Muley that we were after. By moving our cameras to travel areas (saddles and trails) we started getting a lot of pictures of deer that we weren't seeing on the waterholes. After spending 2 years moving cams we located a seep that came to the surface when a large tree blew over. The water, barely a trickle, was in in the hole that the tree roots created when it fell. We hung a camera at the seep and there were tons of pics 2 weeks later, of both Coues deer and the big buck we were after. Even after the monsoons came, that big buck was watering at his little seep regularly. The coues deer were less reliable but still came by occasionally. My point is, there is more water in the hills than most of us realize and finding the isolated spots that aren't widely known is where most of the deer water in my opinion.

     

    Kevin

  14. Posted · Report reply

    Several years ago my partner and I were perched on a hill that we liked to glass from long before daylight. As dark turned grey we could hear something approaching us from the opposite side of the hill we had climbed. Minutes later a fellow with his 8 year old son stood looking dumbfounded that we were on the rocks he has glassed from for 20 years. We invited them to glass and after a few hours went our separate ways. That night they stopped by camp to see what we were doing the next morning. Before the end of the hunt we had fed them and vice a versa and still email each other 3 or 4 times a year. My point is, not all is lost. You might even make a new friend.

     

    Kevin

  16. Posted · Report reply

    J, The buck Erick helped out with was one, then I saw a cell pick of one that should be abouve the 110 mark from the same area. A kid out of Cruces killed a 184 and change muley right behind there on the forest. Tell Don congrats and hey for me. Did you ever see the article on Boone's buck? It came out in August. Just curious.

     

    Stan, I wish your boy had the tag this year. I saw 4 bulls last Friday morning that went 320 or better, all within 1/2 mile of the area I told you about. I can't wait until my girls are old enough for big game. The oldest and I are fixin' to give the squirrels a hard time.

     

    Kevin

  22. Posted · Report reply

    Coues Archer, if your arrows are flying good now-with whatever grain field point you are shooting-most fixed blade broadheads of the same weight will fly good with some minor tweaking. Gaining mass (arrow weight) may actually cause less penetration if arrow flight is affected and becomes less than optimal. Imagine the extreme: If your broadhead is too heavy or too light the arrow will fly sideways, back and forth, until the fletching stabalizes it. If the arrow strikes the target (hopefully in your case a 380 bull) while in oscilation your penetration will not be as good as if the arrow was lighter and flying perfectly straight. Ever drive nails? Hitting the nail on the head with a straight blow will drive it deeper in the board than if you strike it from the side, no?

     

    I've shot through bull elk with a 390 grain GT 7595 with a 90 grain Wasp head. Not a lot of mass, but they fly straight and true. That's the key--besides the broadhead being shaving sharp.

     

    If you want to check how well your arrow flies, strip the fletching off the arrow and shoot it at 30 yards WITH A FIELD POINT. Do not, repeat, DO NOT try this with a broadhead!!!!!!! If your arrow oscilates from side to side you need to tune the arrow or bow. Also, the arrow should strike the target straight, not having the nock to one side or the other. Look up Easton's tuning guide on the web for details.

     

    Just remember, true flight and sharp broadheads are much more important than total arrow weight.

     

    Good luck on your tuning and your hunt and congratulations for doing this now instead of the day before the hunt. I'm sure it will pay off for you come September.

     

    Kevin

  25. Posted · Report reply

    Another site to check out is Hagshouse.com. SSS and yeti are both members and post on the forums. I've never used the SSS boards but have heard nothing but good about them. I've replaced my pix boards with Yeti's and am very pleased. Both links can be found on Hags house. Also, check their classifieds. You can come up with some good deals once in a while.

     

    Kevin

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