jnobleinaz

I have the proghorn rest but they have a new trophy taker that has a guard around the entire rest that is the one I would get if I was buying one now.

My brother and I saw one like that on our pig hunt. No stalk due to terrain and i had my daughter with. We decided to watch him with his does and it was really cool having my daughter watch through the binos.

I am one of the dumb superstitious ones that keeps them to myself.

Instead of spinach he needs to chow on some biologic and he will start p44ping 160 class bucks.

i have a legend c because i wanted the colr screen. very easy to use also.

I have a pair of duovids and I love them. I like being able to switch power from 15 to 10 for field of view. The real thing that made my decision was the eye cups fit my head better and I can glass while wearing my glasses better with them. It came down to fit for me. My brother has my minox 15's. he likes them too. As for the adapter I have the outdoorsmans and it works great. I personally think swaro leica is a ford chevy arguement.

I have one question for all of you guys. How do you keep the meat from going bad on a hunt like this? If it is warm i do not see it possible. I would like to hear input.

I have found an easier way to tryt and score these bucks with xtras if you try and score them as a 3x take the aztras and set them on top of his existing g2 and 3 and look at it that way I would guess that buck at 120 or so with the mass and tine length. It is kind of tricky at first but when you set those inches on top it gets big really quick. oh well it would be nice to ground check and get good measurements. lol

This year I was lucky enough to have a dec tag again. I went down the first weekend of the hunt and saw some really good bucks but made the decision to try and wait till after christmas to go back down. I was going to go by myself but friends Bret Prentice and Jim Mullins were nice enough to come with me. I told the guys about the spot i wanted to go and thrusday we headed down. That afternoon we saw some hogs and decided to try and find them again in the morning. Well we did. For around 6 or 7 hours we watched buck after buck walk around chase does rub trees and make scrapes. At least 3 of the bucks we figured went over 100". One caught our eyes and we aited forever for him to bed down. Bret decided to stay up on the hill and watch the deer while Jim and I tried a stalk that we knew going in would almost be impossible. What I mean is that there were so many deer it would be like walking through a mine field. Jim and I made it to the top of the ridge we thought would give us a shot but there were too many ocotillos in the way. I wanted to get closer. We knew Bret had the buck in his view and would give us a signal if things started to go haywire. It was at the backside of the ridge I mentioned to Jim that it might be the wild west when we top out and he laughed with agreement. Because at this point the wind had switched on us and was blowing directly down towards the deer. Just as we started to go over Bret whistled and we knew it was time to go. White flags were all over the place and the sun was directly in my eyes and filling up my scope with glare. Jim was trying to tell me which deer it was and I got my rifle on a branch. "What's the yardage?', i asked he said 450 to the center and 500 to the top. At this point I found the biggest buck we think and let 3 bullets fly as he would stop for a brief second. After my first shot the branch I was using for a rest broke and I slipped down on my butt. I missed all 3 times and all the deer went over the ridge. All we could do was laugh. At this point I had had my chance at a monster coues which had me excited. On our way down we stopped and glassed with what light we had left and saw 2 bucks which we knew had antlers but we could not tell how big. So yesterday morning we went into a different spot and set up. We all looked in different directions. I went up over the ridge and there was club buck feeding in the grass. i had seen this buck the night before opening day bedded with another buck. I told Jim and Bret he was over the ridge and they wanted to check him out. I had decided to pass on the deer before but they said I was crazy because of all the point s he had. So the stalk was on. Over the ridge we went and halfway up I decided if I got him in the scope I would try and take him. When we got to the top I could see deer moving in the bottom but lost them in the trees. Jim was looking through the glasses and found him feeding to the left. I was about 40 yards or so from Jim and Bret was between us running the camera. Somehow I panned left with my scope and found him. The yardage was 340 and i squeezed off a round. I heard Jim yell "You smoked Him!" This all happened so fast. Then my nerves kicked as we were all hugging and high fiving. When we got to him I realized I had made the right decision to take this buck. he is not 100 but he is awesome. Bladed eyeguards that look like webbed duck feet. He also had broke on the left g3 and on his right he had broke 2 points off. I am very proud to be able to take the buck I saw 2 weeks prior and have such mass for a smaller frame. i know a lot of you guys would call me crazy for passing a buck like that once too so dont worry if you want to rip me. Bret and Jim said I was spoiled to see so many big deer on this hunt, but I loved every minute of it. Thanks to Bret and Jim again for coming down. i had a great time and I believe they did too.

Alright I can start writing now... I feel like I had a ton of bricks taken off my back since sunday at around 2:00 pm. Why you ask, cause I felt intense pressure on myself ever since my dad John Noble Sr had drawn a sheep tag. It was bitter sweet news. The unit he drew, which yours truly had put him in for is one of the hardest in the state to hunt. If you are an older guy it is very very tough. I did not know this till after I talked to a few people. Basically they said good luck with a sigh under their breath. So I started digging and talked to a very gracious guy named Robert Frost who gave me some maps of the unit which he had guided previously and said I wish you the best of luck but it will be very very hard with the age of my dad. I had an archery elk tag this year and my dad had a bull elk tag also but my mind was on this hunt the whole time. I did not write hardly any posts on here for a while cause I was engulfed in thought of how to do something I had never done. But I called a couple friends and asked them if they wanted to come. Steve Bailey and Jim Mullins said they would come. I did not expect Jim to be able to make it since he was guiding an elk hunt that would end the day of the sheep hunt. But Jim said he wanted to go no matter what. My dad and my brother Chard went down to scout 2 weeks before the hunt. I started climbing and glassing and I came close to the first ram and got photos of him. The next day I found 2 more about 1 mile south of our camp. Elk hunt passes by and dad gets a spike we only had 3 days to hunt. Fast forward .. Thursday nov 30th we get to camp and I run out to glass before its dark, while my dad and brother set up camp. I find 3 rams and watch them tear apart a palo verde tree and eat. Next morning I get up and go out to the same spot. My dad and brother arrive at their glassing point. I see 2 more rams at that time and figure we are set for the next day. These rams are solid. that night Jim and Steve arrive under a downpour of rain. It rains all night...... Opening morning found us spread out within the canyon I had scouted. NO rams nothing. It was windy all day long. Never saw a sheep. That night at camp I was frustrated thinking where could they be. The next morning I told Steve that we needed to go 1 more canyon over and check it out. Jim, Chard and my dad went back into our original spot. A 1/2 hour after we set up Steve said I think I see a ram. I looked over and there was 2!! I placed a call to Jim and they they drove over from the other area. On their way we saw 3 more rams so we had 5 that we could see. Our plan now was to have Steve my brother and I keep tabs from across the canyon and have Jim and my dad stalk in. Jim was videoing and it worked out perfect he took it nice and easy with him. I think it was 2 and 1/2 hours or so later when they got to the spot we thought they could see the rams from. Our big problem was a depth perception issue. From our point it looked even across the face but in reality it actually went back into a giant horseshoe. The closest they could get to the rams was 400 yards and we had to wait out for a big one to step out. There was 3 class 4 rams we could see from our spot. So our only option was to wait until one of them stepped out into an opening. Next thing we know is the bigger one comes out of the wash and it was "game on". My dad put one through the ram and we could see he was hit. He moved around a little but had to bed down so Jim and dad went down to another spot with a distance of 300 yards he put him down for good. We started screaming and yelling with excitement. A ram was on the ground. Steve and I gathered our packs and got over to that side of the canyon where we all creeped up to see what was laying on the ground. A stud ram with mass and more mass. In some other units he would be a shooter but for our unit he was for sure a keeper. 32 inch broomed off curls and 15+ bases. His score is 166 and for a 68 year old guy to hike up the stuff he did to get him I am very proud and happy. For the 5 of us it will be a hunt to remember for the rest of our lives. I want to thank Steve and Jim for sharing in my dad's hunt and you just never know when you will pull that tag of truly a "lifetime".

I am hopefully. We should have a good camp and lots of fun. I cant wait to sit my but down behind the tripod waiting for the sun to come up!!

I just want to say that Jim videoed my dads sheep hunt and made an awesome awesome video with music and the whole nine yards already. I just have to say I have seen a ton of videos and this is one that blows me away his before and after footage scroll shots and editing are amazing. i wish you guys could see the whole video. It is savage and not because it is my dads hunt but really really great work!!!

Awesome buck and I do like the wheelbarrow. Congrats

Not sure I agree with this there is a difference between 2 bows from the same manufacture. And even more difference from one manufacture to another. For example Mathews Hoyt and Bowtech all have different cams not one pulls like the other. And a huge one for me is the grips and there feel. All of them are different. Does the manufacture still cover these bows under there warranty? I know bowtech keeps very good track as to the retailer that sells there bows with serial # and they ask for it when doing any warranty work at the retailer. jnobleinaz Please do not take any of this the wrong way. Just trying to help. I bought my brothers and mine from a dealer that sent our warranty cards with them. I have a tribute and my bro has the allegiance. The one thing I like about the new bows are the shorter axle to axle measurements. It makes it a lot easier to move around bushes and tree limbs. I dont take any offense but I just think whatever you think feels good you should check ebay. And for the savings I could buy 2 bows for the price of 1 new one.

To be brutally honest you will not find much difference between the manufacturers of the top line equipment. I would go shoot some bows then get on ebay and see what you can find. My brother and I got our bowtechs last year for half of retail they were demos. It doesnt really matter what bow you shoot as long as you shoot it accurately. My buddy has a 98 model pse and he can shoot quarters at 60 yards. ya his bow has a little noise but just 2 cents. I would not buy a retail one just because you will pay thru the nose. It's all marketing that s what they want you to believe. i got a bow last year. All I know is shoot what you can and try and get a used or demo you will save a ton of money.

awesome I like to see the ladies shooting stright

awesome I like to see the ladies shooting stright

That is awesome I love to see the younger gen getting into the sport

my brother and some buddies drew 20b javi archery again but no turkey for my wife and i again

That is one heck of a story i would like to read more starting from the first day you found sheds and saw him. Really nice way to end something that long. You did him justice.

Good luck on the elk hunt but I have some advice on your writeups we all have other hunters we run into in the field, so I would leave that out of your stories. I would stick to the nuts and bolts of your hunt. have fun

I am also changing to 150 grain interbond's for my .300 win mag for greater distance. -33 inches @ 500 yards.

This will be the norm for our future and many beyond. With urban sprawl and land being bought up left and right you will be running into antis and people that do not realize that we as conservationist's have a priveledge to hunt on property that some might think is unhuntable. I can see if you were in someones front yard or something but I still stand by if the landowners do not properly post the property you can hunt on it. Everyone has to have good judgement. We all cant put our tails between our legs and not stand up for what is lawfully okay. I have had the oppurtnity this year to be with a friend who was setting up on an animal across the street from a home and the homeowners were mowing thier lawn. They then stopped to come over and watch. I did get nervous not knowing what they were going to say but they sat and watched my friend miss and we had a little laugh. I just agree we need to stand our ground and there is also a law that prohibits people from interfering with a hunt. And yes we do have a ton of people that think they manufacture steaks and roasts at the local supermarket. For these people they need to wake up and smell the potroast. Animals die and they sometimes are wounded but if we do the best we can to take ethical shots "not frontals on elk for an example" we will be much better off. I f I am out and see land that looks good and is not properly posted I will hunt on it until someone kicks me off. Have a good one. John

Ya if you dont have the proper postings then you are allowed to hunt on that piece of property. I had this conv with a game and fish officer last month. They can tell you leave the property but you are allowed to hunt it. As landowners they need to make a decision to follow the rules also.

Geez you guys must be lucky or what I didnt think you Mullins guys knew how to elk hunt. LOL