curmudgen

TJ, Sorry I horned in on your story the other day. Congrats on your BIG lion and sharing your experience with us. Jack

Thx guys, your info is very helpful. Isn't this a great site? Jack

One reason I'm going with the Barnes bullets is that I like 110 gr. bullets for whitetail and Barnes is one of the few companies, Sierra being another, that make 110 gr. bullets for the .270 that are constructed for use on big game. Jack

I think Desertbull is right. Baiting is illegal only for bears. Jack

In my opinion, props 200 and 202 are good arguments for voting yes on prop 105 which would virtually kill initiatives in Arizona. Both are propositions put together by special interst groups, the payday loan industry and the employers of illegal aliens, respectively, to protect their turf and prevent the legislature from regulating their businesses. They have been sold with fraudulent advertising, even in the naming of the propositions, and illustrate the way the initiative process has become corrupted to favor special interests with money and clever lawyers and lobyists providing the necessary expertise to help them fool the public. Some of the other initiatives meet those criteria as well, but it's too late to discuss them at this point. Jack

Great job guys, but based on my experience a .270 will kill them just as dead at that range. Jack

For years I had a Remington Mohawk in .243 that my four sons used for their first several deer as they were growing up. We loaded Hornady Interlocks and Nosler partitions. They killed lots of deer out to 300 yards. I expect that factory loads would do as well. Whitetail aren't very big and the .243 is big enough for them at reasonable ranges. Jack

I can't believe this. I logged on today for the first time since my hunt last Friday, all set to tell my story about the lion and the deer I shot and find that I've been upstaged by another great hunting experience. Congratulations on the nice buck and the big lion. Both the deer and the lion in this thread are bigger than mine, but I'll tell my story anyway. The deer I got scored only abt 85 and the cat was a yearling, but I had a great time and maybe saved a few deer for next year. I was hunting in unit 32 when I spotted a buck about 800 yards away going over a ridge across a saddle from where I had set up for the afternoon. I went after him. After arriving near where I'd last seen him and setting up, I waited for about 45 minutes until the shadows were growing long before he showed himself about 200 yards away. One shot and after some searching I had a dead deer in the tall grass. As I was boning him out I heard a rustling in the grass just over a ledge from me and looked down. I saw a cat looking back at me from about 20 feet. At first I thought it was a bobcat, but then I saw its long tail twitching. I went for my .270 which was about 10 feet in the other direction. When I returned she was still there glaring at me. I took one of the few offhand shots I've taken at game and had a lion and a nice three point buck dead within 30 feet of each other. What a rush for a 68 year old who can't give it up. Jack PS: I'd attach photos if I could figure it out.

Back in the 80's I measured about half a dozen mature (90-100 lb.) whitetail bucks from the Galiuros from the bottom of the front feet to the top of the shoulder and from the brisket to the rump. I was surprised that the measurements were the same--30". In other words a whitetailfrom its back to the ground and from rump to brisket is a 30" square. As it is sometimes hard to get one to stand broadside for a measurement, I have since gone to a rangefider which I find to be much more satisfactory when coupled with my Leupold scope with the 300 and 400 yard dots. Jack

Looks great. Too bad it's not a .270. Jack

Congratulations. I have a Tikka T3 in .270. It's light, smooth as snot and shoots 'em all in an inch. (Five shot groups that is.) Jack

Ben Bochu of AZGFD has organized a meeting in Hayden to discuss and receive input about access issues on the west side of the Galiuros. The meeting is set for October 13 beginning at 5:00 pm at the ASARCO Union Hall in Hayden. From the highway in Hayden you go north on Velasco Ave. to Hayden Ave. then west to the Union Hall which is on the left side of the road. Not a convenient time or place for most of us but that's what has been set up. Jack

I used to go to Topozone.com to get maps for hunting, but since they sold out I've been wondering where to go to get good maps I can copy for free or cheap. I'm pretty slow at this internet stuff so they need to be easy to work with as well. Any suggestions will be appreciated. Thx. Jack

On this one I've got to live up to my name. I sent my rifle to them in August of 2007 to have some work done on one of their triggers that had a sear that wasn't quite right. They promised it back by deer season. After innumerable phone calls, many of which weren't returned, e-mails and a few letters I finally got the gun back in June or July of 2008. It seems to work perfectly with a nice crisp trigger but the runaround I got was very aggravating to say the least and we had to use a borrowed gun for one of our deer hunts last year because of their terrible service. Part of the time I was trying to call them they weren't answering their phone and their mailbox was full so I couldn't even leave a message. To their credit, the man I last spoke with was very apologetic and the gun was sent within a day of my speaking with him, but the prevous 9 months were not a pleasant experience. Jack

Ben Brochu of AZGFD has organized a meeting of people interested in accessing the west side of the Galiuros at 5:00 pm, Friday, October 13th at the ASARCO Union Hall in Hayden. I know that's an inconvenient time for most of us and quite a distance from where most of us live, but there it is. I think he can be reached at the Tucson office or by e-mail at: bbrochu@azgfd.gov. Jack

That's just government "of the people" and "by the people". What I often wonder is what happened to the part that says "for the people"? Jack

Before we get too hot about this. let's let Tony, or someone else who is able, check on its authenticity. As we know, much of the stuff on the internet is phony. Jack

Burn Baby, Burn. If we can't log the forests anymore they might as well be allowed to burn once in awhile, so long as humans and structures aren't threatened. It generally freshens things up and makes for more wildlife habitat, especially at the elevations where whitetail live. Jack

Bobbin Bobcat is the best this 68 yr old geezer could do.

I believe he can put them in touch with various groups trying to protect our right to access our public lands. Jack Wms, former Graham Cty Atty. Is there a right to acess public lands that trumps a private property owner on who can trespass on his land? Does he actually deny aceess to public lands when there may be another way in but you may have to walk in? If there is a strip of private land a foot, or less, wide in front of or around public land, the private land owner can generally block access to the public land. In the situation with Ms. Tapia at Aravaipa there was a road that had been used by the public for over one hundred years and because of various circumstances the court found that the land owner could not block it. That's not the case, however with most roads that traverse private land. As to the second question, if you can walk around the private land, more power to you, but being able to walk in is not a practical solution for most hunters and doesn't result in providing the kind of access to our public lands we would like to have. Jack

I'll put in a vote for the Tikka in 270 or 25-06.. I have one in .270 and for the money it can't be beat. I shot a 25-06 for many years and for whitetail I don't think there's anything better, although for some reason I can't quite explain, I now have the .270. If you hit 'em right with anything over 800 ft lbs they will die. Jack

Bill: Matt Walton, who works access issues for AZGFD, did the research in the Graham County Courthouse which proved that the road was a public road dating back to the late 1800's or early 1900s, facts which the Graham County Attorney and the Board of Supervisors chose not to act upon, making it necssary for private citizens to file and win the lawsuit. Unfortunately, Ms. Tapia did not have an attorney and the case will likely not be appealed to a higher court, which means the case is precedent only in Graham County and not state wide. Matt, and others in Game and Fish, are doing a good job at identifying access issues and old roads that should not be locked up, but get little cooperation from local boards of supervisors and little funding or support from the legislature to acquire access to public lands. Whitetail hunters are most seriously affected by road closures as we hunt the edges of the "sky islands" which are the areas most easily locked up by owners of ranches and developers who adjoin the public lands where the deer live. The problem is most severe in Southeastern Arizona, which is one reason the legislature doesn't take an interest in it. If anyone has time and an inclination to get involved in access issues they may contact Matt at the Tucson office of AZGFD. I believe he can put them in touch with various groups trying to protect our right to access our public lands. Jack Wms, former Graham Cty Atty.

Good point. Maybe they couldn't afford attorneys to drag it out until it went away or a sweet deal could be worked out.. Jack.

One thing I've noticed since joining this group is that nothing gets things goin like a discussion of what cartridge is best. Ole .270 has it about right. All the other is mostly gun writers'/magazines' hype and nothin but bull. If ya cain't kill em with a .270 you shouldn't be shootin em. Jack

I say, let's give him a chance. The only thing I see against him is his degree from ASU. GO CATS! If Bill McLean likes him, that's a good start. Jack