firstcoueswas80

Get ahold of Mattobertin here on the sight. good cat,... Even house broken!

I dont mean this in a bad way in the least, but it would have been awesome to see that buck fully grown and hard horned! His cheaters look like they had some more growing to do! Congrats to all!

i disagree with your quote as most 370-390" bulls never reach 400". when these bulls, "top end bulls," are consistently taken out of one reasonably small area then the genetic potential of the area has to suffer. there are not 400"++ bulls behind every tree, even in unit 9. When these bulls are killed they no longer pass on their genes and 370" bulls breed. although they are not small, they are not top end as the top end gets killed every yr in the same area. last yr. for example, there was not one 400" bull taken out of unit 9 in the archery, early rifle, or late hunts combined. it was an average yr. or better for horn growth and yet no 400" bulls. they have been getting hammered hard in that unit and two 400" type bulls, "top end bulls," out of the same areas year after year affect the areas potential to consistently produce these giants. no problem with the gov. tag, outfitters guiding them, hunters, or anything associated with the tag or hunt, just a simple observation. Hmmmm... So what you are saying is that all you Mossback guys are soooo worried about the elk in unit 9 that you are going to pull all you cameras out of the unit.... stop lobbying for SR and Auction hunters with pics of bulls that you guys have gotten on TC's in 9 over the last 2-5 years???? I think not..... I am pretty sure there are people with masters degrees in Wildlife Biology that have little better understanding of carrying capacities that will detremine what the herd can take.... not an open forum fired up by elk hunters that are not getting paid to hunt with the Big Dogs this year and therefore must remain on the porch..... Furthermore it has only been the "Bad Cop/Worse Cop" Routine between obvious Team MB guys that even brought up what unit the bull was from and Allegedly what part of that unit he was in at the time the Dirt Nap was invoked. As we all know.... when the bulls rub they move... and Wilbur could have been 30 miles away by then..... I mean seriously, if he was that easy to kill and he was the only bull they were hunting do you think they were camping for 9 days and decided to walk out and kill "the bull" on the 10th??? On a completely separate note.... comparing elk to sheep is like comparing cedar trees to century plants..... .....And for those of you that are doubters.... I underjudged a coues buck my buddy killed last week by 18"! I saw the TC pics and he said he thought 105"... I said 102"+ and the buck was taped at 121ish by a P&Y measurer....... I also have been looking at the scouting pics of Wilbur for months and had him at about 410ish.... I am told that many other VERY Qualified elk hunters mis-judged this bull on the hoof, and it is not the first time that has happened. I am quite sure that the Gentleman that tagged this bull does not give a Rip if anyone is "convinced" that the bull is that big....he wanted THAT BULL! The fact is the SCI score sheet is done and headed for the book.... I'd bet you can check it on line in the weeks/months to come if you really have to hold on that tight to the concept that "Team Mullins is Lying about the score!" Better yet, lets stand up and applaud what a great week this has been for the elk all over this state! If I am not mistaken this is one of the largest, if not the largest Auction bull ever taken on Public Land in AZ. A bull of this size taken on public land, will keep funneling those much needed $$$$ back to elk habitat in this great state for years to come!! I'd like to thank the man who purchased this tag, and I pray the tag goes for more $$$ next year! I think rather than turning this thread into a boo hoo, Bitter-fest..... maybe we can get back to the deserved congrats to the Hunter, his amazing Bull, and the great bunch of guys that helped him ground check that Bad Mutha!! A Huge Congrats to "the Guys" and to the very happy man that set his cap for Wilbur 2 months ago!!!! Here is a pic of Wilbur on the hoof.... he is a PIG! (I actually have the Green Light to post it up! ) CnS, This is Chad Rhoton, and yes I do guide for Mossback here in AZ. I am not sure what all you are referring to in your post, but let me get a couple things straight.... First off, I could give two cents about the bulls in unit 9.. While there are some great bulls to be had, they are not the biggest bulls around... In fact , the biggest bulls are more in your neck of the woods, but they can be a little tougher to get. There are big bulls all over this state, and those who scout hard can attest to it, not just in unit 9. Secondly, this bull was more popular than Michael Jackson. I know so many people that knew of this bull it was crazy.. I am sure you saw the fence sagging due to so many tc on it!!!!! Thirdly, those are mossback pics, that leaked out, not sure by whom but it is what it is, I dont know who biscuit is, dont really care. The video pics are from some amazing video I have of this bull. I watched this bull with my 4 yr old son for over an hour. We glassed him up and took off to get a better look. We snuck in less than 100 yards and just watched him and videod him, and the look on my sons face when he was sitting with me was awesome... Fourth, I never in a million years thought this bull was as big as he is.. I saw him and put him at 390's, i recently saw him, and he is much bigger than that.. I will say, the pics do not do the bull justice. I have never seen such a discrepancy between pics and the real bull. While I dont know how it was scored, and it doesnt matter... The hunter was pumped to shoot it, he is the one that bought the tag, and he hammered it. Congrats to the mullins and the hunter on an exceptional animal. Fourth, it is ok for people to have opinions,,, some like to be very fact based.. Some hate velvet scores, some dislike SCI, and some B&C and some dont care. Personally I am all about dipping the animal in water and having a universal scoring system. Lastly your comment about not being paid to hunt with the big dogs, I really dont care.. We have found PLENTY of BIG bulls for the average joes to go hunt, it doesnt hurt my feelings. We scout just as hard anyways, just ask Jim and Matt. Chad, Although no one was watching.... I was nodding my head in agreeance as I read your post.... I am certain my post was read as an attack but it was nothing more than an end to bad direction. I know you guys are out there workin' hard, too..... And you are right there are big bulls all over... but as long as there are 420-440 type bulls coming from places like 9, 10, 8, 3a/3c, year in and year out it is safe to say that the herd can handle it. From what I can see there are pleanty of Big Bulls to go around this year... A Giant like this is a fantastic way to open up the year and get everyone's juices flowing! I am very glad that you took the time to get over to the Taxi and hold the bull for yourself. This is about a Victory for AZ public land elk/habitat and a Very happy hunter.... bulls like this Prove that the management and habitat improvements are alive and working in this state! As you mentioned, everyone has a scoring system they like/dislike.... it does not matter how or who scores it, or where it ends up in any of the books.... what a Bull! Best of luck on the regular season. Gino, you put somecApiTal letters in some Weird Places!!!

Up

looks like a wide, semi tall 2 point to me! But, I like them that way

Any one use one? Unfortunately, my .257 wby HAS to have one on! I took El Chupacabra (the fully custom .257 wby)out with her favorite VLD load... Moved the "donut ring" around on the end of the barrel... end of the barrel, half way down, all the way down.. Didnt matter, .75" groups... Take it off... only shot two shots and they were about 2" apart! I shot 4 - 3 shot groups with it on the barrel... All bullet could have been combined for about a 1.2-1.5 inch group! I guess those ugly things work!

That gun is not as bad as it looks. Granted it looks bad in the pix, but it is not all that bad at all. But, he didnt buy it.

IS it just me, or is there no date?

You're welcome Casey . Mike, pm me your email. What about the rest of us? I felt bad for Mike. Heck, I have a soft spot for anyone that Casey has one up on . Don't think the email is sacred so I forwarded but would never post 'em on here for the world to see without permission. dang Kevin, thats low!

That first bear must have thought that Coues deer tasted good!

Hey Mike, I have pictures of it Toad for sure.

I will explain it: Gun goes boom. With out donut, gun shoot bad groups. Gun goes boom. WITH donut, gun shoot better groups. To me, it doesnt really matter how they work as long as they do, ya know?

I will answer up for Scottyboy. His gun is sighted in dead on at 100. With his scope, it is also DEAD on at 200 yards, with the 200 yard dot.

It depends on if the barrel is floated or not. Mine, I keep about 3/4" from the end of the barrel.

Beau, Where would pick up for this bad boy be?

I would love to get an arrow in that bad boy too! Toad for sure!

Wow, the 19 pounder looks like he is about 5 pounds!

Sporter. Number 4 Shilen.

I aint no expert, but... When I look into a rimfire, I dont see a primer. I dont know how the heck it works.

You ask what is out of ordeR? No tag. Oh well, I am sure it got done later. Nicely done!!

How ya supposed to make it go "pop"

Yeah, its on the .257 shoots pretty well with the donut on! Bad part is, I had to put the thing on custom rig to get it to shoot. Good thing, it work and it shoots well!

Savage 99! Nice! Classic! Probably a .300 Savage... Doesnt get any better than that!

Wow. Stud! Might as well not archer hunt anymore, because that buck wont be topped! (probably)

Dude, nice buck! Looks like one heck of a shot too!