Shooter McGavin

crew max or double cab?

Absolutely love mine. Was able to use it on the (4) animals that my family harvested in the month of October and it was spot on. Also excellent Swarovski customer service, on my deer hunt the protective cap popped off and the rubber threaded piece that protects the reticle fell off. I called customer service and they are sending me a complete replacement part at no charge.

Ton of them in unit 33, milepost 15.5 on Reddington Rd. Just follow the wash west and when you start to get to some pretty big trees look up and around. Killed one there about 3 yrs ago. Also, off of Ruby Rd between town of Ruby and Pena Blanca Lake, both sides of the road in the mountains.

Yesterday I was fortunate enough to fill my WT deer tag in unit 33, this deer as well as both my children's deer were taken out of the same canyon. I shot this deer at 4:45 and didn't get back to my truck until 8:00. Nothing like walking in the dark through waist high grass, hidden shin daggers and tons of catclaw through deep canyons, needless to say I'm done hunting these grey ghosts until next year. Now I'm going to focus on quail, a little shoulder recoil therapy. I shot this guy at 440 yds. My daughters deer, shot at 254 yds, shot Oct 9th My sons deer, shot at 161 yds, shot Oct 11th And my cow elk, shot at 217 yds, Oct 19th All shot with the same Kimber 270wsm with 150 gr silver tip ammo.

First off when they say limited, G&F isn't joking. Did some pre-scouting to get a layout of what my boundaries were going to be. My unit was a smidge of a section (twin arrows to the base of Anderson Mesa rim to Chavez pass to meteor crater) saw some elk but not many, but something is better than nothing, so fast forward to Oct 15. Got camp set up and waited for Friday. Got up early and got to a high point to glass, about 1 hr into it I see dark clouds rolling in and then thunder followed by lightning. The fact that I was high up and holding a metal lightning rod made me really nervous. I make it off the mountain just in time before the sky opened up. It rained throughout the day on Friday, Saturday and partially Sunday. Roads becomes snot, got stuck, punctured a sidewall, ended up driving back into Flagstaff and made a complete 4 tire purchase. Trip just got really expensive. Saw elk everyday, had a few shots, missed and blamed and cursed my gun. Drove back into Flagstaff Sunday night to visit a friend and just regroup had dinner and some tasty libations. Made it back to camp only to have it rain some more, woke up at 5:30 this morning to give it a try. Started walking up my usual hill and busted a herd, got a shot off but missed. High tailed it to a saddle only to see a bull and cow standing at the bottom of this hill, ranged the cow at 217 yds and sent the 270wsm 150 gr bullet down hill. Hit my target and started the really hard work. Dropped it off at Casey's and now back in Tucson with the family. Tough hunt but determination and many miles got the job done.

The ones my wife picks out for me, followed by yes dear.

When I informed the Mrs. the day I was in Discount Tire, the 1001 questions started; Do you really need new tires............yes, the roads are horrible and slick. Do you need to purchase all 4 now..............Yes, I need more aggressive tires to locate these hard to find elk. Why can't you just buy one..........the tread is different on the other 3 and won't wear properly causing further problems down the road. Just this morning, she said you might as well go to the at wash and clean your new tires, they are still dirty. I love my wife, she is so funny. But yes you are right, the elk will definitely taste better not thinking about the purchase.

Wow-za, extremely nice buck and fantastic job.

Actually got to it pretty early this morning, the meat was very cool to touch. Got it back to the truck and dropped it off to WGP. Talked with Johnathan re: our situation and told him to salvage what he could. Fingers crossed for something.

Well it's that time again to share another successful WT Jr. deer hunt with the oldest. Went out yesterday to try and tag a mule deer, unsuccessful but had a great one on one time with the boy. I told him lets go get a WT since the game camera had plenty coming and going. We headed out his afternoon at 3:00, got to our glassing point at 4:15, wind not in are favor so we went to a large shaded bowl. Instantly picked up a buck, we high tailed it around and got within 260 yds. I told him to just breathe and send the lead. He shot a tad high and the buck moved about 10' up. I told him reload and send some more, shot low and he took off. He looked at me and sorry dad, should have practiced some more. I felt bad because I new how he felt and been in his shoes year after year. I told him not to worry but let's look over this ridge and see if we kicked up anything else. As we peer over I notice another bedded buck, this one was 160 yds out. I told him this is your redemption buck. He got set up and squeezed off a round. The buck shot up and stumbled through some trees, I said lets go take a look. We got down and I found some hair and flesh, I turn around the direction he ran off and found some good blood. About 20 yds, the deer jumps up and bolts down hill. Jake rips off another round but misses. The blood trail was good so we followed him down, we bust him again and he keeps running down hill. He runs at least 300 more yds down hill. We finally catch up and about 100 yds out and Jake puts a final round in him. This was about 5:45, we tag him and start dragging him out due to the daylight running out. We get him half way up this nasty hill and it's dark, no where near the truck or any roads. We break out the flash lights and gut him and decide to cut off the head and shove him up under a rock overhand to come back tomorrow. Even with the flash lights Jake was getting nervous how dark it got and I didn't want to take a chance of getting hurt trying to get back safely. It took us 2 hrs to get back to the truck. This is his 3rd WT, and he is only 12. The grin says it all.

2:45 came awfully early this morning, got my 10 yr old daughter up for her very 1st Jr deer. She was drawn for unit 33. We headed out the door at 3:30 and parked just after 4. Started up the mountain, holy smokes was the wind blowing hard. I was not happy with that with the only exception that it would keep the bugs at bay. Half way up my daughter says her feet hurt, I know how that goes but how do you tell a 10 yr old everything will be ok. I tell her lets just get to the top of this hill and sit and wait for the sun to come up. Well 20 min into it she says she is cold, the wind was just obnoxious and slightly cold even for me. Well after just seeing does I give her an ultimatum, lets keep going up and over where the sun is now or sit here and shiver. Bless her heart, even with sore feet she said lets go. We make it to the saddle and boy does the sun feel good but man it was even windier. I tell her that most deer will be out of this wind on the west side of the mountains. As we head south I start to glass and immediately find 4 doe, then 3 bucks. We drop down, I range them at 256. With the wind still blowing hard we can actually talk and get set up with them not hearing us. I extend the bipod and lay both packs on top of each other. She finds them in the binos and then transitions to the rifle scope. Bingo, she has them. The next 20 min go by with "daddy I'm nervous, is the gun going to be loud, will the gun kick hard" I told her to breath and relax, put the deer in between 2 and 3 crosshairs ( it was 254 yds at the time) you probably won't feel the kick and for it being loud here is some TP to put in your ears. Another 10 min go by and she is contemplating which deer with the occasional question "are they bigger than Jake's 1st deer", I said yes whenever you are ready just squeeze the trigger. All of a sudden a 3rd buck appears broadside, same distance, she says I want that one! I told her whenever you're ready I'll be your eyes. Boom, deer drops in his tracks and high fives and hugs for a wonderful 1st experience. We walk down and begin the fun and pictures that will last a lifetime. We drop it off at WGP for burgers and steaks. I'm taking my boy tomorrow, ( same jr hunt) he wants a Mule deer though. So hopefully another story will follow.

If you are not in a hurry, I'll be driving through Anthem on 10/15 on my way up for my cow elk (hopi hunt) and I'll take them off your hands. Let me know?

Had over 2300 pics and at least 8 different bucks ranging from spikes, folkies, 2x and 3x. Showed my daughter and she is oh so ready. The coati's and fawns were really neat to see.

Was there yesterday and today scouting for my cow hunt in Oct, heard 1 bugle, glassed up 2 very nice 6x, 1 ugly dual beam club head and a 4x. Weather was very warm, wondering if that has something to do with it.

With all the rain and seeing how green the mountains have become I had to check my camera again and thank god I did. The grasses were up to my waist making the trek up very nerve racking and painful. Kept walking into shin daggers and was down right scared I wasn't going to step on a buzz worm. I get to my camera and it was absolutely insane how much growth was around this area. I pulled so many weeds making the area more open, then I swapped out SD cards and hurried home. Mind you it was only 3 weeks, but I had 4326 pics. Needless to say I am very happy with the results. Let me know what you think this 1st buck might score?

This morning was a repeat of yesterday only a tad bit warmer. The boy clobbered them again. I swear there were times where there were 2000+ birds flying from these two fields. It was absolutely priceless watching him spin like a merry-go-round trying to focus on 1 bird. Killed one rattlesnake, what was weird he was tailless, somebody or something gnawed off his tail which scared me a little too much. He reared his head about 4' away and was hissing, but not rattling. Needless to say his frontside was a mirrored image of his backside after a 20g took his head off. Gonna do 3 peat tomorrow to end the wonderful weekend.

A friend with an empty freezer

Couldn't find the time to make it out during the work week but headed out this morning with the boy and a good friend. All I can say is, Holy Bejesus their were thousands of birds. Got my limit in under an hour which gave me ample time to watch my boy get his 1st limit of 15. He depleted my 20g stock of shells but it was sure worth it watching him aim, then bang-bang (that's his Antonio Zoli O/U) and then to see the bird buckle and smash to the ground. Couldn't be happier, headed to Walmart to stock up again for second round Sunday. We all limited out.

Matching Kimber Classic 270 wsm, one for each child I'm taking out opening day on Oct 9, unit 33 jr hunt. I have a bad (awfully good) feeling daddy will be very tired dragging 2 WT bucks simultaneously back to the truck.

I currently own a 2014 Toyota Tundra crew max. I have been blessed to get the go ahead on installing some sort of lift. I am not looking to break the bank but I want a nice clean look and bigger tires. I would like some feedback from all CWT members who have a leveling kit or suspension (4" being the max height). I have inquired with Desert Rat regarding the Boss suspension which I guess Toyota uses to level their trucks. I guess it's as smooth as a stock ride, but it only raises it 3" and costs $1200+ labor, the leveling kit is a 4" but a rougher ride and quite a bit cheaper. Any thoughts or pics of your rides would be helpful. Thanks in advance

Did you put the lift on or did it come with the truck? How many miles on it before the steering box? Was it normal driving /hunting conditions, for example see a road and wonder where it went or do did you really 4x with it?

I will surely inquire about this

The 3" lift is $1200, plus $400 in labor. So around $1800. It has some new style beefy coil front springs along with other goodies. The 4" leveling kit has just spacers (front and back) $480ish Both costs include alignment

Thank goodness that wasn't from a proctologists point of view.........................

Definitely cool old photos, but is it just me or do the deer back east just look bad (jacked up). I don't think they compare to the beauty of our Coues and even Muley's in Az. Maybe it's the dry heat that gives our deer a great looking look. Just saying.............