Weston

I dont believe there is one right ideology on the topic of what one should harvest. The most excitement I've ever had from hunting was the first buck I took when I was 10, it was a spike. Since then I have killed a handful of nice bucks and a couple high teens bucks, one with a bow and one with a handgun and a couple bucks in the 100's with a rifle. I would never shoot a spike being as physically capable as I am now, and enjoy hunting august/december/january with my bow in search of giant bucks. I blow way more stalks each year then I care to count and I wouldn't have it any other way. I enjoy the challenge of trophy hunting and the sense of pride I get when I take a big buck after scouting and hunting literally all year long. That said, I would not shoot a small buck because I'm just as happy to be out spending time in the wilderness whether or not I kill. I would never ask for antler restrictions because personally I have seen the extreme joy that can come from shooting a small deer, and I have seen more emotion from people who kill spikes than some that kill 110+ inch deer. That said, I backpack in to do my hunting because I enjoy getting to where I have better chance of not seeing people and finding big bucks. It kind of grinds my gears when I see people shoot a small buck just to shoot a deer the last day of their hunt even though they have killed plenty of deer in the past and get no gratitude off shooting a buck they aren't proud of. But that is just an opinion of mine and I would never ask anyone to change what makes them happy and enjoy the outdoors, and I hope they wouldn't expect me to change my ideology of what makes a good hunt in my book. Furthermore, I think its just as bad when people bash trophy hunters for being trophy hunters and "getting away from what hunting is about" as it is to bash somebody for shooting a small deer. After all, who is anybody else to tell you what your hunt should or shouldn't be?

Awesome buck bud! great work! gettin it done like usual!

I used the new RAGE 3 Blade Chisel Tip, with a shock collar, on Axis 340 arrows, Hoyt AlphaMax 32 29.5" draw 78Lbs

Well, I managed to get it done again this year with the Hoyt! Last year I was fortunate enough to put the smackdown on an absolute monster with my bow and I was able to connect again this year, although with a buck that was quite a bit smaller. I had hunted january and august with my bow this year along with being lucky enough to draw another BP. So I knew once december came I had to put in the effort and get a buck killed. I had planned a 5 day backpacking trip beginning december 18th and as it sometimes happens I couldnt find any of my hunting buddies to commit with me. I was not going to let this ruin my plans and decided I would go on the trip whether or not I could find somebody to come with me. Solo backpacking is quite a bit more intensive than backpacking with a group as all of the required gear (tents, water filters, first aid, GPS, stove etc) must all be carried. I ended up leaving my house at 3AM with a pack that weighed 73 lbs with enough gear food/water to be comfortable for three days if I did not find a water source and 5 if I did. I pulled into the foothills of the mountains that I wanted to be in at about 5:10 AM and set out for the mountains. At about 2:45 PM I found a suitable spot to set up my spike camp and set up camp, and was back looking through the glass at 3:30. I had already seen 4 small bucks and one shooter as well as a herd of pigs, a coyote and a couple dozen does by the time I begun glassing, I saw a good number of deer coming in and out of a box canyon previously and was not only about 600 yards from the canyon so I decided to drop all my gear except my empty pack with water and raingear and see what I could find. As I made my way up the canyon I finally found the only water I had seen so far (after about 8 miles of hiking) right where I had been watching deer go into the canyon, so I decided to build a small blind and sit the water before I walked up to it and got scent all over it. Not 15 minutes after I started sitting my makeshift ocatillo blind I had a doe and a spike come in, but not to where I expected, I had set up 45 yards off the visible water and they were clearly drinking but at a puddle I hadnt seen at 76 yards, I decided to wait and see if anything else came in, about 30 minutes later I had a good buck come into the same water (76 yds). I had already ranged the deer that had previously come in so I wasnt worried about the distance although this water was significantly higher in the canyon and the deer could see right into my "blind" and I was much more exposed than I would have liked to have been. Regardless I knew that it was a buck I wanted to take with his good frame and long seconds so I drew back, he saw me draw and pinned me, I held my bow for what seemed like 5 minutes although I'm sure it wasnt more than 30 or 40 seconds before the buck put his head back to the water. I squeezed the trigger and watched my Axis Arrow sink into the buck. I hit him back, way back and felt a slurry of mixed emotions pass over me, I have seen more than a few animals take arrows far back and never be recovered, my arrow blew right through him and I heard it hit the rock shelf behind him so I knew that I did not need to worry about finding the arrow, although I decided it was best to back out for the night and look for him in the morning so I wouldnt bump him. As it goes anytime I have something like that on my mind when I got back to camp I had about an hour before dark and I couldn't sit alone any longer replaying my poorly placed shot over and over again in my head. I decided instead of blood trailing him I would hike up a ridge that overlooked the canyon and glass and hope to find him bedded under a tree, so I headed out with my 10's and my scope on the tripod. As luck would have it I managed to glass him up dead under a tree not 50 yards up the canyon from where I shot him needless to say I was ecstatic! I made my way down to the buck and took a few (terrible) pictures. got him back to camp about an hour after dark quartered and caped and spent the next hour deboning him for the hike out. I fell asleep early and woke up at 3AM the next morning and couldnt get back to sleep in the ripping wind so I decided to pack up camp and start the trek out. My pack now weighed over 100 pounds with 4 days worth of gear left and a boned out deer, and I had a grueling hike ahead of me but I knew having another P&Y buck on my wall would be well worth it! It took me until about 11:45 the next morning to make it back to my truck without taking my pack off, and was undoubtedly the most physically/mentally draining hunt I had ever been on, between the solitude the heavy pack, and technical terrain. This buck is not a monster by any means, and is not one of the biggest bucks I've taken, but I'm still incredibly proud of him and had a hunting experience unlike one that I typically have. I apologize for the terrible trophy pictures, I figured my iPhone would have a self timer, it didn't.

good work craig, know how hard you guys worked! great buck!

Cant think of anyone more deserving, chip gets it done year after year killing monster animals all over! congrats again man on a TANK!

Happy birthday Josh!

Good work connor, you done well!

Hey guys, I have a Unit 27 late bull tag that I have not gotten a chance to scout at all. I planned to spend a lot of time there but some things came up and I haven't been able to make it over at all. I am looking for some advice as to where people have been seeing elk recently with this warm weather and the burn all the areas I had planned to check out I'm second guessing. I would be willing to trade some info on some Coues spots in 33 or september bull spots in 9, 10, 5bN, 11m Please send me a Private Message with any advice you have! Thanks! Weston

Monster Bull, congrats would have never guessed he would have been killed in the unit he was!

Good job steve, you deserve it great buck man!

Congrats to Ryan. heck of a buck, we've been trying to get him killed for two years one smart buck! Once again, congrats you deserve it I know you have been chasing this buck at least as long as we have!

Well after half a month of hitting it hard I finally sealed the deal! This buck was certainly a tough one to put on the ground. I first glassed this buck up last week and thats when I put the first stalk on him and ran an arrow through the back of his neck at 44 yards I thought that it was over right then but boy were I wrong. After waiting 3 hours My friend brandon and I started to track the blood trail that was definitly nothing to write home about, about 150 yards from where I shot him we bumped him in a thicket of manzanita and decided we best back off untill the next morning, well the next morning came and we gridded the manzanita thicket and the surrounding area all day without any luck but we got back in there the next day and had the same bad luck, we thought he was dead since we glassed up his does again without him and how he had bedded down 150 yards from the shot. We had to go home but I knew that it wasnt over. On thursday we headed back up to look for my deer (which we still thought was dead) but low and behold I glassed him up about 300 yards from where I shot him the week before alive! He was dragging his front right leg but other than that was moving about pretty well although he didnt have his does this time. As the sun was going down we decided we best wait until morning to put another stalk on him I could barley sleep the night before but finally 5 am came and we were beginning our stalk, the draws are very thick and the hillsides are extremly rocky and loud so we moved slow and the last 200 yards or so we took off the boots and put on a few pair of wool socks and closed the gap finally we got into the thicket that we were aiming for right below him on the hill and the waiting game begun as first light started coming through we could see he was right where he was the night before and the adrenaline started flowing! We slowly crawled to the other end of the thicket and ranged him at 55 yards, I thought my heart was going to explode but I drew my bow back and we stood him up, I let the arrow fly and watched it tear through his lungs I was stoked! But, after the week before we decided to give him a couple hours before going to look for blood. Finally we found the arrow and the highway of blood right to the buck just on the other side of the tree he was under! I couldnt belive it I finally did it I killed a coues with my bow! I dont know how I'm going to wait 350 days until I can hunt coues in arizona again but I am still estatic and it was worth every drop of sweat and mile we put into him! Huge thanks to my buddy Brandon Emans for putting his pig on the back burner and helping me make sure this buck was out for the count I couldnt have done it without his help! And our pigs!

Get a flatline map they're much better than the azgfd map.

27 late rifle bull tag time to put my new 338 lapua to the test!

I would love the barnes X bullets if youve still got them, should be in tucson march 11-14th

Giant bull craig, good video, thanks for sharing

Well, the 2012 bows are finally coming out and HOYT has released their new models! Very nice as always! Check them out on their website at http://www.hoyt.com/compound_bows/ or stop by Bull Basin Arcery in Flagstaff or Tucson and shoot one! Both of our stores have them in stock and ready to try out!

You're a dumbass! must have forgot about the last one they killed

no bear, buffalo, or goulds for me...... 4th choice javelina.... typical.

Kill, perhaps if you grow the deer on a gamefarm feed it and water it you could harvest it. However I think kill is more appropriate for the hunting the majority of people do.

Armortech's are nice but I think the Spot Hogg 7dp is a better product, tough as nails and bright! Thats why I shoot one!

+1 on Jason, never used him but know some guys who do all say hes top notch, I've used Oro Valley Automotive before and they were awesome, super reasonable, quick and didnt try to upsell a thing.

It's hard for a mount to impress me, all the mounts scottyboy does look very good though, I'm impressed.

SOLD