stanley

Hey Christian: I just got a new J104 (plus the spike camp duffel) last week. I can't wait to use it. Adjusts from 2200 to 4000+ easily (6000+ with the spike duffel). I love the rifle holder as well. I got it direct from Eberlestock. Good luck! S.

Got into lots of birds this weekend in our old haunts. Not as many as last year, but last year was an anomaly... Still enough to limit on, although they seemed a little warier than some years so the limits weren't easy. Overall, a GREAT opening weekend! I mainly focused on hunting with my 12 year old. It's amazing to see how they mature from year to year and I'm now more & more comfortable sending him out on his own for short periods of time as opposed to constantly looking over his shoulder. Good fun! S.

Nice mass man! Thanks for sharing.... S.

I would tend to agree with missedagain on this. At least with gambels it should be a fair year, especially in the areas with good water. Anyone with some honey holes should do fairly well in their usual haunts. I know I'm planning on a limit. Good luck all! S.

I was in NE Utah this past weekend as well, joining some old college buddies for their elk hunt. We stayed in Manila Utah, and I snuck away to fish Little Hole on the Green twice. Had a great time and caught some nice browns. One was close to 20, and the rest mainly in the slot. Beautiful country up there!!!! Thanks for sharing the pics. I'll try to post a couple of my own when I get a chance to up-load them from the camera. S.

Doug & Bret know...... Hunt high, or hunt low. Deer to be found either way.... S.

Mike gave you the best advice. Check-out the G&F website, hunting unit reports section. Look at the ranch roads that they list. Any one of them will get you to the foot of the mountains, then all you have to decide is whether to hunt high (hiking your butt off ) or hunt low (with the masses ). There will be deer to be found with either choice. S.

I've met a few good folks from this site. Always fun/interesting to put a face to the screen handle. A central meeting place would be nice. Another idea would be to connect it to a volunteer event? Arizona Hunters Who Care sponsors a ranch clean-up in the 36's in the spring that is a blast. LOTS of folks turn-out, and it is a great cause if folks don't mind taking the drive south. It's really not that far; only a couple of hours south of Phx. This is where I've met a couple of CW folks already.... S.

Outstanding story and pics! Memories of a lifetime for sure..... Thanks much for sharing. S.

Great topic Doug! Good story Dotshot! Very cool that your boy now is using the rifle.... My first was an Winchester 1894 30/30 that my dad handed to me (it was his...). I killed a couple of deer with it prior to 'moving-up' to a .308 I bought myself in college. The 30/30 actually has an interesting history; My father was a geologist/engineer for the Kennecott copper mine in Ray (Kearny). Back in the early 60s before I was born, he and some other guys were cleaning-out an old storage shed and came across a crate of un-touched Winchesters. They were apparently purchased by the mine in the early 1900s to defend against a possible attack by Pancho Villa. Well the attack never came, and the rifles sat in storage for decades. When my dad and the other guys found them, they turned them into the Controler and he didn't really know how to account for them, as well as the fact that the corporation had absolutely NO use for them at that point. Well, they let my dad and some others purchase the guns for $20.00. This was in 1962, I think. It's an awesome model with the full buck-horn sights, etc. Outstanding condition since it sat in the crate for 50+ years.... I still have the gun today, and will never let go of it. S. PS: My oldest now hunts with the .308 that I purchased in college. I've moved on to a .7MM.

Rifle for me. Not proficient enough in my stalking skills, and don't have the time to put into the scouting necessary for a tree stand set-up. I envey guys like you though Mark! S.

Awesome Mark! Wish I would have seen this yesterday and I would have congratulated you last night. I echo what Kevin said; It was nice meeting you & your son at the clinic. Good luck to your boy on his Junior hunt this year! As mentioned last night, be sure to get in touch shortly before the hunt and I'll pass along any late info I have. I suspect if you check-out the areas I showed you though, that he'll have a good hunt. S.

Easy Marshal; When there is a gate, there is no cattle guard (otherwise there wouldn't be a need for a gate...). Usually you'll notice a gate beside a cattle guard so the rancher can take the cows or horses through that way. S.

Good deal Doug! Thanks for jumping-in and joining. With the majority of the junior hunts being scheduled during the same time-period this fall, we'll need all the help we can get to try to cover the camps. The help is sincerely appreciated. If any of you '36' fans are looking for a good time in late November, please consider joining us down in 36A. We'll have a great time camping and helping-out with the youngsters on their hunts. The hunt overlaps with the second weekend of the general hunt, so I know some of you will be in the area anyway. I'll be there, as my boy has one of the junior tags. Hope to see some folks come out. S.

Nice pics Christian! Thanks for sharing... With all the prep-work you're doing for your hunt, you're sure to get some action. I was down in 'C' this weekend. A buddy of mine and I hiked into a drainage we are going to be hunting towards the north end of the unit. Found some awsome tanks, WAY back in there. Saw several deer, and three decent bucks. I don't have the set-up to take good long range pics though. Scott, you're right about the bugs. They were driving me absolutely nuts! I think we might have spotted more deer, but it was miserable sitting behind the binos. Just couldn't get relaxed.... Again, thanks for the pics. S.

I'll be in 36C with a buddy on Saturday/Sunday. Leaving Saturday afternoon after my boy's football game, and hiking in for an over-niter up a drainage we're going to be hunting. Hopefully we'll glass-up some deer in there bright & early Sunday morning. Maybe we'll see you along the highway somewhere on Sunday on the way home Christian. Good luck! I hope you fine some more bucks! S.

I went out this morning. Didn't get into huge numbers where I was hunting, but was able to eek out a limit of birds before getting to work for a 10:00AM meeting I had to attend (hunted until 8:30ish....). I'd rather be hunting quail or deer, but it's always a good feeling when the dove opener comes. Kind of kicks-off the hunting season.... Taking the kids out tomorrow morning for some more fun! Good luck all. S.

Hey Amanda, I've never tried the pear fruits. I'm taking the kids out for doves in the morning, so maybe we'll take a detour and try to find some pears on the way home. Is the juice sweet, or do you sweeten it with sugar prior to drinking? S.

I attended the Wildlife for Tomorrow banquet on Friday night, and was fortunate to get to shake Bill Quimby's hand and congratulate him after he received the honor of being inducted into the AZ G&F Hall of Fame. His acceptance speech was as anyone would expect; eloquent with props given to his time in AZ and kudos to his family. I'm glad I got a chance to congratulate you in person Bill. A true honor..... S.

No sir Bill, the honor was mine. You're too humble. The years of experience we younger ones (I'm not THAT young...) have ahead of us are worth nothing if we can't hear and understand & learn from the experiences of those who have gone before. Though you may envy the younger crowd, I know the majority of us envy you. Sincerely, S.

What will I do? Depends on whether they kill a pig or not. If they end-up killing one, then I'll likely congratulate them and be back after the deer the next day. Do I think it will happen? Rarely.... my $.02.... Will the hunt be a failure? The only hunt that is a failure is one that is not enjoyed. I hope I won't let that 5 minutes of the hunt dictate if I enjoyed my precious time in the field or not. My friends and family will make the hunt, not the one guy who is out there after a pig. As you say though, maybe only time will tell.... S.

It may seem like a lot, but 24A is a fairly big unit. 36B has 1000 coues permits + muleys for the early hunt! 36A has close to a 1000 total as well. With only 175 muley hunters in your unit, you'll likely not encounter any problems with them crowding you. Like Amanda said, the muleys & coues generally hang-out in different areas. I suspect the muley hunters will stick to the muley areas, and vice-versa..... Get away from the roads, and you'll likely have a good quiet hunt either way. S.

Great pics Christian! Thanks for sharing. I was down in 36A yesterday scouting with my son for his November junior hunt. We didn't see as many deer as you, but we got a good look at some nice country. We've not spent much time in 'A', so it was more of a 'get the lay of the land' trip. Nice & green down there! S.

testing

I don't know DesertBull. I see where you're going, but I don't think he's the same guy. Although both have stellar senses of humor, it seems to me that they are coming from different angles.... I'm thinking BHD is a little more light-hearted than who you have in mind. Although the 'three initial' handle (BHD vs. XXX) is quite coincedental... S.