AZDirtyTaco

I'm far North valley and use Verde Valley Meat Processing. Mike is a really cool guy and does a great job with his recipe. Highly recommend him! Time wise... it's no worse than driving to the other end of town.

Awesome story and adventure! Thank you for sharing. Congrats to you both on a successful hunt all the way around!!!

broadhead - You had a good story and one that I was hoping you'd follow-up on. How'd your hunt go?

How would you describe the level of activity? It has really fallen off in 2 of my 3 spots in the past 6 weeks. It's gotten really dry out there and I'm not seeing much movement once the sun is up and warm. Much more like early summer activity down in the lower elevations of 21. Evenings have gotten poor. The forecast doesn't appear to be throwing us any bones for the early 21 hunt either.

Great advice and great job of breaking it down in simple form!

I'll trade you my North valley spot to shoot for your money coues spot. Sorry man... Couldn't help myself. Like mentioned earlier, that's like asking for a honey hole these days.

I won't run a pack anymore that doesn't have a meat shelf. They double as a scabbard or separate compartment when not in use and are non-existent bulk wise when compressed. Eberlestock scabbards are cool, but I've always struggled with the portion that hangs low, dragging on descents, hoping down rocks, setting it down, etc... It's just always in the way. I absolutely love the Tenzing packs for overall construction, organization, and fit. I'm 6' 3" and have run the TZ4000 for a couple seasons and have ended my search for a daypack. Light weight packers could easily run it as a multi-day pack. I lean on the heavier side of spectrum however for extended trips, and unfortunately for me, the TZ6000 is not tall enough for my torso. So I last year I went on the waiting list for the Mystery Ranch Marshall for multi-day trips. It lacks the organizational features of a Eberlestock or Tenzing, but 100% gets it done in all other aspects and excels where I need it to most - hauling.

I've spent more time than I care to admit researching this topic and have yet to come across any real useful information for the scenario many of us are looking for help on, which is something along the lines of - what should I do if I am miles back in remote and rugged coues country, with no cel service and self rescue means hiking 1,000ft up in elevation? My best guess... I'm, you're, we're screwed! You can scour the web and be hard pressed to find anything to address that worse case scenario. Good boots, gators and an InReach (or similar type) are the best tools I know of so far.

Isn't that at least in part, some of the thrill involved with hunting a bear with a bow? That being said and to answer the question since it's still on the table... sling your bow like a frisbee at that sucker and reach for what's on my hip, then pray I wouldn't have to answer - and then what?!!! And congrats on getting it done elkwalker! Awesome achievement to say the least!!!

Awesome story! Solid inspiration going in to the season. Thank you for sharing and good luck this year.

Hey all! Just recently purchased a new bow and am on the fence with my go-to arrow selection. Hoping for a couple of opinions on which way to go and why; to help make a decision. I already have the arrows. So no out of pocket either way... Here are the options I'm looking at including fletching, nock, insert, etc. - 1. 510gr @ 295FPS 2. 450gr @ 316FPS Both are +/- 2 or 3FPS on average. I've only been shooting archery for a little over a year and no opinion is a bad one. To preface: I'm not trying to get a debate going on KE and the whole faster vs. heavier deal. I don't feel like there is a wrong way to go with those 2 options and regardless of game being hunted. I intend to use the same setup for elk, deer, javelina, turkey or whatever else for that matter. Just looking for some opinions from those of you that lurk these forums like me while we're not hunting or scouting.

That is an awesome accomplishment right there! I do see the stickbow in my arsenal at some point. I need to find a bit more success in general before going that route just yet. Great buck and thanks for sharing!!!

I appreciate all of replies and opinions offered! I'm going to run with 510gr. After slinging a few arrows over the weekend, I decided that I really liked the heavier FOC weight when it was all said and done. That added FOC has really made a difference while shooting in heavier winds of say... 15-25mph in my past experience. I do figure this will be my stop when it comes to arrow weight and any future gains will be in the speed department. I really doubt I'll be investing in another bow for several years and don't think I'll be chasing the speed until I see that I can jump another 25+ fps. I think I'd also have harder time than what I'd like drawing back on heavier limbs while sitting... So I'm done on the draw weight as well. Thanks again gents! I don't think we covered anything new in the world of archery, but it definitely helped me to hold the discussion and think it through on my end.

That'll help bump your level of confidence up a notch or two!

The "get there faster" aspect is certainly one that's hard to overlook. I guess when I think of it a little deeper, my question would be - at what point is there a diminishing return on weight, or at what point is there enough weight and going any heavier isn't going to improve the results? I don't think there is ever going to be a "get there too fast" way of thinking. I'm kinda in the realm of trying to figure out where I stop on the weight. It's all about finding that right balance, right? I feel like the answer for me is somewhere between 450-525gr and this thread is helping take another step toward finding that balance. I've trolled the interwebs on this a good deal and figured it was time to start my own conversation. Elk is the largest quarry I'll be chasing in the foreseeable future and I don't think that seeking 600gr arrow is beneficial. Or at least until this happens - http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/animals/a25263/scientists-are-close-to-cloning-a-woolly-mammoth/ Again, I appreciate the perspective!

Good stuff and all really great points! My lighter arrows are 300's and the heavier 250. I had my 300's cut down this afternoon and also swapped for steel inserts to bump up the FOC. I will experiment between the 100 & 125 tips over the next couple of weeks. I'll have to check out your elk thread. I could go either way. I love the flight of the faster arrows and and love the wind bucking, bone crushing aspects of the heavy. I'll probably end up going the way of this thread in all honesty. Heavy is winning out so far! It's all just a little good fun while laying low when it comes down to it.

+1 on this! Neither of them are bad. Whichever shoots the most accurate out of your set up would be my pick. Either one of them are going to be effective with a good broad head. Thanks! Yes - I'm running at 31.5" and 80 pnds. I don't recall the IBO. It wasn't really my priority when selecting the bow. I've chrono'd 15-20 arrows from each of the examples. I haven't run the heavier set yet, but am pretty confident they'll fly true. And YES - shooting more is always the #1 game pan. Everyone has to rest a little here and there though, right? I live close to Ben Avery and get out at least once a week on a bad week. I appreciate the feedback!

Been a multi-day backpack junky for years. I've been a fan of Gregory and a company back East called EMS for heavy hauling(65-90pnds) for the past 20yrs give or take. Just started down the hunting pack path a couple of years ago. The Team Elk is a killer all round pack for guys/gals under 6ft. Just picked up this pack from Tenzing a few weeks ago after more hours of pack hunting than I care to admit and 6' 3", I couldn't be much happier - https://www.amazon.com/Tenzing-TZ-4000-Hunting-Backpack/dp/B00IBD9V2Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1471142667&sr=8-1&keywords=tenzing+tz4000 Bought a Badlands Ox prior to that purchase and took it back after a moderate 3 day backpack scout in July. Very comfortable pack to wear, but was an awful design in terms of the main compartment and took very little effort to have zipper failure on both the main and small compartments. In all honesty I knew I'd be returning the pack at that stage and didn't take the care that I had earlier on in the trip. Either way, it didn't take much. Seems to be a theme with Badlands. Cool packs with lots of nifty features otherwise. I put my hands on the Outdoorsmans packs and while they seemed solid over-all... I felt that the construction techniques were terribly outdated and lacked most modern features of packs at a price point of $400-500. I don't think one could go wrong biting the cost bullet on Kifaru or Mystery Ranch. Each of those companies have some fantastic systems for hauling meat, but lacked the organization features that I've come to look for. Eberlestock has a ton of solid options that incorporate great load baring qualities with organization and scabbards for the rifle hunts which I really love. Eberlestock hasn't quite figured out the advantage of adding the meat compartment in the same way as a couple of the other competitors. They have a couple that would get it done, they are just monster packs size and weight wise once built out. Personally... I moved quickly past the minimalist packs of Kuiu, Stone Glacier, and the like. Just not what I'm looking for. So all things said and done. I am really digging the Tenzing TZ 4000. My buddy bought the TZ 6000 after I turned him on to Tenzing and he absolutely loves it. Just as a side note; price point was not a factor for me when spending my undisclosed hours surfing the endless web reviews when I finally made a decision. I was prepared to spend in the neighborhood of $800 when I 1st started my hunt for a new pack. Anywho, I'm a complete gear junky and thought why not chime in on a topic that my wife started off with the comments of, "not ANOTHER pack"... and finished with, "thank God you finally picked one"! ..

I recently picked up a pair of Scentblocker Buckskins for $60 on Amaxon and really liked them for the money. Spent about 3 days in them and backpacked a good 7-8mi. They definitely were warm and my leg was soaked underneath, but the peace of mind was well worth it while pushing through the brush and places you can't see. My buddy that was with me on that trip bought a pair from Cabella's (unsure of the brand) and was really happy with his as well. I think he said he paid around $40.

I have a Team Elk pack that is in very good-excellent condition that I would be interested in trading you for your Clutch. I love the Team Elk, but it is not large enough for my torso unfortunately. Bonehead purchase on my part. I can snap a few pics and post if you're interested?