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IHunt2live

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Posts posted by IHunt2live

  4. Posted · Report reply

    Hate to be selling this, have had a lot of good memories with this truck and it has been nothing but reliable. I put new tire and headlights on it last year, regular services. Located in the Safford area

    Just under 161,000 original engine and transmission 

    5.9 Litter V8

    Sport trim 4x4

    6.5 foot bed with liner and a Snugtop Xtra Vision Camper 

    AC and heater work 

     

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  5. Posted · Report reply

    I don't post on here much but like most of you I get on just to see cool pics of cool bucks. I feel this is a buck many would enjoy to see. 

    Luck: when preparation meets opportunity. That’s the best way I can describe this hunt. Due to some life events I didn’t not have time to scout much this year. I actually missed the first day of the hunt and the second day committed to helping a friend fill his tag on the one day he had free. We had some luck filling his tag with a nice 90ish buck then it was game on for me and my tag. It would be a solo hunt for the rest of the season which I mostly do and prefer in most ways.

    I decided I would hunt a spot that I nicked named “The Hole”. It’s a spot I have looked at in previous years, one years was covered with decent buck, then some years I have a hard time turning anything up. I had never taken a deer there but knew it could hold a good one since it was a “hole”. This spot is not hard to access but I knew it’s a spot hunters overlook and I call it “The Hole” because, while it’s not that hard to access and not that far of a hike, it’s a pain in the butt to hike in given the brush and terrain. The only good glassing spot is pretty uncomfortable and with an all-day sit during an early season you WILL get burnt.

    I get to the glassing spot with a good 30min sit to cool down before its even light enough to start glassing. This is done for a reason as while most of what I glass from here is a good 1000 yards away, one of the better bucks I had seen in years prior was on a small ridge just in from of the glassing point about 350 yards away. As most of you know that darn close to get to Coues especially just to glass so I knew getting in there in the dark was a must. I sat there and set up the glass on the tripod and started glassing before there was much light to even see anything, thinking ‘Well it’s about that time when lots of hunters are just waking up and the deer are the most active’. Through the low light I make out the form of a deer’s body on the ridge just in front of me at 375 yards. I make out some antlers and continued to watch as the light began to make it easier to see. Due to the subdued light I couldn’t tell exactly what he was and being the first deer that morning I began looking around to see what else may be out. For about 15-20 min I looked around for more deer and not seeing any other and I kept going back to the buck I saw. He was slowly feeding uphill as I was getting a better look. I could not see his main beam on one side so I thought he was a big 2 on one side and a 3 on the other. To be honest I still wasn’t sure it was a buck I wanted to shoot to end my hunt so quick. Finally got an angle seeing it was, what I thought, a good 3x3. This look was just after coming back to him and I thought well that looks like a good buck maybe another one showed up.

    The decision was made at this point to shoot but it took a bit to find a place to set up, the buck only being 350 yards now. While getting the gun set up the deer disappeared on me. It was now maybe 15 min before sunrise, yes that buck was on his feet for just a short while in the daylight. The last spot I saw him was on the edge of a large brushy patch so I figured he was in there somewhere. The wind was howling to and he was on the shaded side from the wind so it made no sense for him to leave, my gut told me hes still there. I watched the brush for about 45 minutes and I catch the buck up for just a few seconds as he shifted in his bed. No shot before a bedded back down, but now I knew where he was and could make out bits of his antlers through the brush.

    I made sure the gun was ready and got the phone scope set up to film the shot and the wait began. I waited for about 45mins and at was getting back on the gun to make sure it was ready. Well I looked in the scope and there he was standing. He was now looking over his shoulder and looked uneasy. Not knowing if he was about to bolt I decided to bag the filming and take the shot. At 350 yards I felt 100% confident on the hit but watch to see if anything runs off the ridge and nothing showed up. I gather my gear, make the short hike across the small canyon and find this.41719347_IMG_7214-Copy.thumb.JPG.3d110adcf08a82dc2741a2229f5657b0.JPG

    When I pull him out of the brush he just got bigger. I did not see all the mass, extra points, and thought how stupid I was in thinking I may pass. I was gitty for a while and got to work. The pack-out was heavy and sucked but I loved every minute of it. Yes, luck had a lot to do with it but my preparation, previous knowledge and opportunity all aligned for this hunt. I've had the privileged to take some great buck, working a lot harder to do so, but this is my best. Sorry for the long read that did.

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    • Like 21
    • Great Buck! 3
    • Wow! 9

  10. Posted · Report reply

    I was lucky enough to find a killer spot years right before they changed the bag limit, I limited out in about an hour. In southern Az, I usually see them in higher elevation in steep deep canyons with large pine trees, kind of like ones you would think turkeys would roost in. This particular year was after a large fire in the higher elevations of this mountain range and I found a pocket full of acorns and so the birds were thick. Haven't seen birds since in such a concentration since and haven't shot another one since. 

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    • Love 1

  13. Posted · Report reply

    Selling my Savage 111 270 WIN I bought around 2008. I would estimate about 150-200 rounds fired through it. The rifle has some obvious ware from time spent in the field but they are mostly cosmetic. I was getting 1 inch group at 100 yards with Remington Core-Lokt 130 grains.

     

    FTF and asking $300 right now maybe willing to trade for a Ruger 10/22

     

    I'm in the Douglas area but will be in Tucson a lot next week and could meet up in the evenings then.

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  14. Posted · Report reply

    I agree hard to beat the Ruger Predator. Great accuracy and price. Not a whole lot of talk about them and not very many places have them but you can find them is the Remington 700 SPS. Still a good value and a great start with options for upgrades.

  18. Posted · Report reply

    I went into this hunt a little more relaxed then i usual do, doesn't mean I didn't work/hike like crazy, but if I shot one great if I didn't who cares.

    Started off trying to get my wife a deer while she was 7 months pregnant. We tried moving in on a great buck but for some reason he slipped out before we could get into position leaving 2 smaller bucks behind. She was happy with one of the smaller ones and given her condition she filled her tag.

    Next came my brothers deer. He brought his 9 year old son along for the hunt which was kind of a new experience for me making sure he had a good time. He passed on a buck I figured was in the 90 inch range, which i gave him a hard time for. A few days later we went back and found the same buck and he decided to take it this time. it scored 95 inches. Sorry no pics.

    I had two days left on my own to take a deer. I went into some steep country I wanted to check out but hadn't being concerned about my nephew. It was about 2 miles in and about 1500 foot climb. I glassed up a decent 3x3 but I just kept looking. After a while I looked back at the buck when I caught a quick glimpse of this buck as he switched beds. I wasn't sure what he was but I had planed on switching glassing locations anyway that would take me closer for a better look. After getting to a closer vantage point I quickly picked up the smaller buck. after about 30min more of glassing I finally caught a glimpse of a deer through the trees. What gave him away was the movement of his jaw as he chewed his cud. I wasn't able to see his antlers but after watching him for a bit he got up and switched beds giving me a little better look. After studying him a bit I decided he was good for a second to last day buck. I had lots of time to set up prone. I knew this 400 yard shot would be a chip shot after all the practice out to 1000 yards. The wind was strange as it would gust 40-50mph then stop to just about nothing so i just needed to wait for it to calm down. I was also able to take the time and get it on video, I should have taken more time to get it in better focus but it was still cool.

     

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    I was hoping for a least a mature buck and I would say I accomplished that. Its by far the oldest buck I've taken, his time was limited.

     

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    • Like 15

  21. Posted · Report reply

    My computer took a crap so I am going to try to do my best to post this on the phone.
    Last year I was able to harvest a great buck, 110 inches, so this year I had a total different perspective going into the hunt. I told myself that I would relax more and would be just fine not filling my tag this year. I sometimes get way to uptight during these hunts so with the change in additued, and with the help of some downloaded podcasts for those long midday hours, I found myself just enjoying the experience more and passing on decent deer I would have normally shot.
    I didn't get drawn and the hunt I was hoping for didn't have any leftovers so plan C it was. Knowing that good deer can be found in ANY unit just because I had a leftover tag I wasn't going to settle for what some would call a "leftover buck"
    My time scouting was limited but had a few good bucks on the list and some good areas to look at. Well couldn't find the bucks I had on the hitlist so I tried a new spot that look good on day 6. Glassed him up at 1000 yards in his bed and didn't think much of him until he got up and I started seeing side views. I closed the distance by half and he helped out but closeing another couple hundred yards so about a 300 yard shot put him down.
    I was presently surprised with his size as he tapped out right around 107, and maybe an inch deduction in net. He's bigger then any of the other bucks I had found scouting and he makes a total of 217 inches of bone in 2 years for me on "leftover hunts".

     

    The pack-out... It SUCKED but I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

     

    • Like 17

  22. Posted · Report reply

    Going to post it on Ebay but thought I would offer it here first. It brand new never used just came off a tripod I bought and I'm using a different head. MSRP is $79.95. Asking $55 and I will cover shipping once funds are received.

    Link below for Specs.

     

    http://promaster.com/spec-sheet.html?catalog[name]=ProMaster-Professional-Ball-Head---BS-08-%233508-Tripod-heads&catalog[product_guids][0]=1095100

     

  23. Posted · Report reply

    Thanks for the pointers fellas. My father-in-law is no trophy hunter so he is very happy how the hunted ended. Saw bulls every morning and evening and saw more bulls then cows. They started talking pretty good on day three and we were slipping in on 4 bulls as they left their evening spots. Most had gone into the thick junipers before we got eyes on them but this bull was a bit slower and gave him a 300 yard shot.

    He started hunting Arizona 52 years ago and this bull finishes his Arizona Big 10. Elk has always been his Nemesis.

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    • Like 9

  24. Posted · Report reply

    So... this new second knoll shooting range...open ?...not ?... schedule and hours ?.. anything. these fuckers must be braindead retards. 2 million dollars and nothing online or in the paper. another arizona game'nfish FIASCO methinks.

     

     

     

    http://azgfd.net/artman/publish/NewsMedia/Public-invited-to-grand-opening-of-Second-Knoll-Target-Range-on-Aug-27.shtml

     

    https://www.facebook.com/azgafd/?hc_ref=NEWSFEED&fref=nf

  25. Posted · Report reply

    First let me start off with I know how these posts can get some worked up so I do this with reservations but like some I joined this site to share hunting stories/success and also share some knowledge.

     

    Didn't think I was going elk hunting this year but my father-in-law (who is in his mid 70s) just got back from a road trip and found an early rifle bull tag for unit 10, his second choice, in his mailbox. I don't think he really knew what he was putting in for or all the access issues. Hes not looking for a monster and honestly I think he will shot any branched antlered bull a couple days into the hunt.

     

    I feel like he going to depend on me to get him a bull and I have never set foot in the unit, nor has any of my regular hunting circle. I've begun a little research and have some ideas, looking forward to an elk hunt were I can utilize glass. Thinking about focusing on the south, southwest portion.

     

    I will be making a few scouting trips this summer but any starting points/advise would be appreciated.

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