recurveman

This is my guess. I would bet there is quite a bit of private land and it is difficult to hunt because of access issues. I don't know that for sure but that would be my guess. I've hunted 30A before and access is an issue. Just my guess, recurveman

I still think it is unit 22. I think it is a kick trying to play detective and find out where he is talking about. Personally, even if he did tell me where it was at I wouldn't go try and kill it. I see to many critters that I want to shoot without trying to get his too. Here is another example of how I believe a guy should be. I was in unit 9 last year hunting elk. Another guy I was camping with (but didn't know before the hunt) said he wanted to hunt this big bull(we both figured it would gross close to 400). I asked him if it was the one behind camp that looked a certain way. We shared some details and we both had seen the bull on several occasions before the hunt. I told him to go and shoot it and I would go some place else. I never hunted in that area the whole hunt. I wanted to but didn't think it was right. The only bummer was he didn't get the bull either so I didn't get to see it on the ground. I guess even if some of us do find out where someone has a nice buck........it doesn't mean we will be a "WALLY". Unless of course you go home and I happen to be up there on a Tuesday. Then all bets are off. Later, recurveman

That is what I thought. The reason I said it shouldn't have been your third choice is because you don't get your third choice until everyone has gotten a shot at their first two choices. It just didn't make sense. Now that you say it is your 1st choice that makes a ton more sense. Plus, that should be your first choice. It should be a great hunt and you should do very well. There are a ton of nice critters to shoot in the unit. Good luck, recurveman

I don't see how 36B was your third choice. I had 36B as my first choice and didn't get it. I would have had to have gottnen my first choice before you got your 3rd. I would check and make sure that you got the tag you think you have. Plus, that would also mean that 36 B in december was a 100% draw. That would just about be impossible. Usually it is around 10% or so. Either way if you want to learn about the unit I would start with the game and fish website. Look under hunt unit reports and that will give you some general directions on where to start. We all have our favorite spots. I'm sure you will have your favorite spots by the end of the hunt. I will tell you this. I saw some monsters in January so they should still be alive today. If they make it through the first two seasons you might even get a crack at them. Later, recurveman

Treestandman - I have a little advice for you. Stop calling people. Just wait until the roads are open and go get your camera. I do my best to not contact anyone that write me a citation of any sort. I knew one guy that wanted to comply with OSHA. He called them up and asked if he could find out the regulations. Over $100K later he was up to code and trying to keep them out of his shop. I know that sounds kind of funny but it is a true story. Stay off of their radar and you will be happier. If you really want a citation then keep calling them. Give them the location of the camera and your home address. I'm sure they can mail you the citation. Later, recurveman

Grande bear - I love my Pentax. I'm sure there are more expensive glass out there but they seem to work great for me. My buddy has a pair of 8 or 10 power Nicon's that I think are the best glass out there. But he told me they ran in the $1600 range. I can get a pair of pentax for 10% of that. I guess it just depends on what you want to spend your money on. The pentax aren't as good in low light conditions. I think the main reason is the power. I have a pair of junk 10X 50 bushnells that work much better in low light. But I would doubt you would be able to shoot when I can see through my bino's. I love looking through binos on a tripod. I don't see how people look for coues without a tripod. I just seem to pick up the small movements I can't see when I'm just holding the bino's in my hands. Later, recurveman

Well this is my guess. I think the pics are real. If they aren't real then you should spend as much time scouting as you do into making those pics look that good. I think the pics were taken by a person and not a camera. The angles are all different. I'm not sure that a stationary camera could have taken all of those pics. Though I could be wrong. If there aren't supposed to be any deer in this unit and you were scouting elk then my guess for a unit would be the 15's or 3B. I'm guessing the 15's. But then again I could be wrong. I think the buck would score very good. I'm going to guess it would be around the 115 give or take a bit. Either way I think you should pass it and look for something bigger and let me take care of the "grunt" work. I'll let you know what it scores. It probably just photographs well and is only in the mid 80's. I bet he has got a camera in unit 22 and wants us all to think he is somewhere else. By the way. Nice trick tank. Nice buck. Maybe you should be hunting deer instead of elk. Just a thought. Later, recurveman

"average"is different for everyone. The key is to stay with in your limits. For me it is pretty simple. I'm pretty comfortable shooting at any range where I can hit a pie plate. If I can hit the plate them I feel I can hit and kill the animal. My only problem is I can hit a pie plate from a longs ways away and the animal isn't there when the arrow gets there. So I really try to limit myself to the closer shots. I've taken the long shots but really don't think that is part of my game anymore. I would have to say I would limit myself to no further than 60 yards on elk and much closer on everything else. The other thing you have to think about is what critter you are hunting. The whitetails are a ton faster and smarter than a Mulie. So you might want to get quite a bit closer so they don't duck the arrow. Pretty much 35 yards and under. If you are hitting the pie plate then 35 is fine. If not then get closer. Plus, if you can't get that close then you really didn't win even if you do kill the critter. later, recurveman

Heck I got so many tags my hand got a cramp just signing them all. Thank god I didn't get another elk tag this year. I don't think I would have had time to go. Not to mention my wife almost got a cramp in her hand too. It will take a few days to recover and off scouting this weekend. I would say we did pretty good. I put in for 6 critters and got 3 tags and my wife did the same but only got 2 tags. Not bad. I guess it makes up for all the years I got the big fat NADA. Later, recurveman

I have to say I'm a huge fan of hunter orange. I look at things a bit different that most of you guys do. I want others to see me. I don't think they will go to where I'm at. But I think they will see me and go the other direction. I wouldn't worry about the drug runners seeing you either. They run drugs at night for the most part. It is rare to see drug runners during the day. Most of them during the day are wets. That is what the Border Patrol agents have told me for the most part. The deer can't see orange anyways. Back in Michigan I used to wear a full orange suit from head to toe. I would have deer walk within spitting distance and never see me. The first time that happens you are shocked that they don't see you. I always felt like I was glowing. But they never saw me. I normall just wear an orange hat when big game hunting and a hat and a vest when bird hunting. I do a ton of dog training and I will tell you a person who wears orange has a much better chance of not getting shot. It just sticks out like a sore thumb. One last thing. Turkeys can see color. I don't think I would want to wear it when I was turkey hunting. They will pick out any color that isn't in the woods naturally. Later, recurveman

I have a pair of Pentax 16X60. You sure could spend more money but they work good enough. I also bring a tripod too. That is the only way to glass for deer. I have a spotting scope to but I don't care for them at all. The biggest problem with them is that you can only use one eye and the other eye gets tired. So I use one pair of binos. I used to carry my tripod but it seemed like I never really used it. If I see a buck that I want to score I always try to get closer. If the buck is big enough for me to think about scoring him then I want to get close enough to shoot him too. Not to mention it is easier to score an animal closer. End result. High power bino's and a tripod work great for me. Later, recurveman

This is the first time I've been able to hunt this unit in december. I'm hoping someone could point me in the right direction of give me a few pointers. I've hunted WT before in these units with a bow but they don't have a season for archery in December. If you have any suggestions I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks, recurveman P.S. I'm looking for a buck that scores somewhere in the high teens. No not 119 but 19. spikes will do just fine.

You have a hellofatag there. I actually got to hunt unit 9 last year. How shall I put it. I saw more 350+ bulls than most hunters will see in a lifetime. They were like rabbits last year. This year should be even better. I was up there a few weekends in April and the grass was coming and the ground was soaked with water. I would tell you where to go but I would be doing you a disservice. I taveled quite a bit and so did the elk. If you go a morning without getting into them then you need to move to a different location. There are two ways to hunt in unit 9. Tree stands or call. The reason you have the tag is to sit a stand. This is the best unit in the world to sit a stand. There isn't a ton of water and the critters come to it like you wouldn't believe. The second way is to call. I never even thougth about sitting a stand last year. The reason why. I love to hear and see those big boys sceam. Tree stands are very boring but very productive. I would drive until you hear bunch of bulls screaming and then get on that heard. Notice I said "a bunch" and "screaming". Last year I would get out of my truck and just listen. NOT CALL JUST LISTEN. This way they have no idea you are even around. You need to find that really hot group anyways. Just listen for about a minute and if you don't hear them going absolutely nuts then just get in your car and leave. It is that simple. You will know what I'm talking about when you get there. Email me and I will point you in the right direction. snydely@hotmaill.com Last year we had 5 people in camp and we all killed 6 points. I couldn't even tell you how many book animals I passed. It was a ton. One last thing. Don't get in a hurry. The later the hunt goes the better it gets. The first two days are WOW JUST GREAT!!!!!!!!!! Then they shut down a bit for a few days. By the middle of the week they will go nuts until the end of the hunt. The last few days will be the best. Remember. As the hunt goes on you loose hunters and all the helpers that come with them. Be patient. There are monsters in there. I saw 2 that were huge and are still alive today. Trust me. If someone killed either they would be next to the guy that shot that bull in 8 last year. Later, recurveman