Stallone A.

Wow, What a day to remember. My dad on Christmas day asked my cousin John and I if we could get off of work and come help him get a buck. Of course how could we say NO to the guy that got us into hunting in the first place. A little changing of the work schedule and it was set. We planned on leaving for Tucson at 3am Tuesday morning. My youngest Son wanted to tag along so he jumped in the truck and we were on our way. Three and half hours later we finally got to our spot. It was a short hike to the mountain about a mile from the trucks. We went to a spot that my cousin John and I had hunted since 1999. My cousin said today we are going to see a lot of bucks. Sure enough not 2 minutes of him getting his bino's ready he had deer. I hadn't even got my son or myself set on the Bino's and it was on. First it was a couple of small bucks fighting then he see's two 80in bucks running around chasing Doe's. We get the radio's on and off they go. I stay behind to glass telling him what the bucks are doing as he approaches the area to shoot with my dad and son. As they almost get to the spot to shoot they spooks up 3 Doe's and a 95in Buck. The deer run up the mountain to the right of the other deer. Wow close call but John decides to go after this buck. He tells me on the radio where they ran to and bam I leave the other bucks and I am now glassing for the 95in buck. Sure enough the buck did not go far about 600 yards from where they were. So I explained where they were at and the stalk was on. They got about 450 yards from the buck and my dad takes a shot and misses high. Takes another shot and misses just right. So everything gets spooked out from the shots and we head back to the truck. My dad was so happy that he got a shot off and was able to locate the deer in the scope. Its been tough for him to locate the deer in the scope especially in this type of terrain. So we go back to the truck and eat a little Italian lunch, chicken cutlet and salami LOL... My dad at this point was a little disappointed that he didn't get the buck but was excited to get the opportunity to harvest one. So my cousin John says lets go to another spot and lets see if we could find another buck. As we are driving to the next spot we see a couple of hunters on the side of the road gutting out an animal. My cousin stops the truck and says I think those guys are gutting out a Mountain Lion. So my son and I turn around and go see what they had harvested. There were two young guys around 20 years old and they were gutting out a nice Lion. They said they were on a stalk on a Mule deer and were in the wash when the cat was staring them down. One of the guys was carrying a rifle and shot it. They said it was pure luck and that they had only seen one before while hunting. So we ended up taking a few photos. This was the first time my dad or son ever seen a mountain lion besides in a Zoo. My son thought it was the coolest thing ever and still has not stopped talking about it. So we head to the second spot and within minutes of getting there my cousin finds another group of bucks and Doe's. This is the second time I didn't even have time to get my Bino's from my bag to start glassing and he has already got eyes on deer. Its nice to have a professional hunter in the family I guess LOL. So the second stalk is on, however this time he says we are going to get in close. Instead of taking my gun that my dad was use to shooting he said I am going to have him shoot with my new 300 RUM rifle. (This rifle was custom made for him with a carbon fiber barrel) It ways only 5 pounds at max where mine ways at least 17 pounds. So he takes my dad and son again on the stalk to harvest this buck. The buck was probably 680 yards bedded from us however it took them over an hour and half to get set up. My cousin had got my dad 350 yards from the buck but my dad could not see him through the scope. So he Tells me he is going to get about 250 yards from the deer and to tell him if he starts to look at them. As they get into position a heard of Javelina start to cross right above the buck. At this moment I think the buck was going to get out of his bed and move however he just sat there looking at them as they passed. Then out of the corner of my eye I see two Doe's heading towards the buck. Dam in my mind I was thinking he is going to get up and chase the doe's but he just sat there looking at them. I keep radioing to my cousin telling him what I was seeing. Not 30 seconds after I told him about the Doe's he said we are set to shoot. Next thing I see the deer is jumping out of his bed and blood running down its side. Then 2 seconds later I hear the sound of the shot going off. I here my cousin on the radio you hit him good. I radio back and say Buck is down, Buck is down. This whole day I had been behind the glass and to see this all go down was epic. I couldn't believe my dad shot his first Coues buck. Not only was it his first Coues buck but a very nice one I might say. It is a non-typical 5X4 with some crazy swords. The best thing about the hunt was that my son was able to experience the whole thing. He was so happy for his NONO he started tearing up. My cousin radio's me to come bring them the pack and game bags. I make the hike up to the mountain and get to see this buck up close and personal. I have no clue what he scores and could not care about numbers. He is an awesome looking buck more than we could of asked for. Hope you enjoyed the story. Thanks for reading, Anthony If you want more info on my cousin just look him up his name is John Stallone from Days in the Wild. He also has a podcast interviews with the masters on iTunes. http://www.johnstallone.com https://interviewswiththemasters.podbean.com

Best of the west 300 RUM. It has a Proof Research carbon fiber barrel, even the muzzle Brake is carbon Fiber. The Stock is Carbon Fiber and the bipod is carbon Fiber. Its INSANE... The heaviest part of the whole gun is the scope...

My stupid A**.. LOL Its a tack driver. Never had a rifle shoot so good at any distance. Its killed my last 6 deer and also 2 more for friends. Its not fun to hike with but the best shooting gun I have.

Thanks for sharing your story. Great buck...

Great story, thanks for sharing. I love the smile on her face, it says it all.

I want to say thanks for the story, Just reading this got me all fired up for my son's hunt this coming week. Its alway nice to see how everyone comes together for hunt. Great Job... Congrats to you and your boy...

These are probably the best Bino's for the money. Great price for a good set of Bino's.

All PM's answered

I bought this jacket from BassPro probably 3 years ago and its been sitting in my closet ever since. I was suppose to go on a whitetail hunt to Illinois however it never happened. The material on the jacket is very quite, water proof and comes with a accessories for bow hunter. I did have the full set however the pants fit my son now, so jacket only. Size Large. Asking $65 Firm. Anthony 602-326-9680

tikka t3 .243 best gun straight out of the box IMO...

Just PM you. Tatum and 101 Desert Ridge

BLACKS CREEK ALL AMERICAN LUMBAR HUNTING PACK (Great Day Pack) 1200-1400 cu inch. It has 14 Pockets and can carry a bow. Also it can hold 100L of water. I had a seamstress reinforce the straps after a little tear was starting. Pack is in great condition. It has just been sitting in my closet for years never being used. Asking $70

I just sent you a PM. If they fit my 02 Xterra I will take them.

Good Job, nice looking buck. I love getting my bucks on the first day. It makes me relax and able to glass better for my hunting partner. No shame in shooting a good buck the first day, it just payed off for all the times you hunted 7 days and did not see one good buck.

Thanks for sharing your adventure with us. Great Bucks Congrats to you all.

Great story, thanks for sharing. A lot of determination and hard work always pays off in the end. God bless you and your family.

Congratulations. Great looking buck.

Jay, Thanks for having Duwane Adams on your podcast. He is the best... Its been a long time since I heard him do a podcast with someone. The last time I heard him speak on one was about 7 years ago, if I could remember correctly. I got to say you asked some great questions. Thanks for all your hard work. We appreciate all that you have done for the hunting community. Keep up the good work.

I am trying to build up my 11 year-old son's .243 Tikka T3. I was wondering if anybody has used a Mountain Tactical Picatinny Rail 20MOA? It seems like it very well built and it has recoil lug that many other companies do not offer. Any other suggestions will be appreciated . Another questions is about loads. My son is going on a Elk hunt in Dec and has been practicing with a 58gr varmint load that is very accurate up to 200yds. Now that he has been shooting with 100gr the gun does not seem to like this load as much. Anybody here has any experience with a Tikka .243 making loads that can take down an Elk thats accurate? If so I would love to buy 2 boxes if that is possible. ( I might want to ad this before I get a lot of bad comments about .243 being too light of a load for an Elk. He has been shooting my .308 for anything pass 200yds. However if the shot is close and needs to be quick he will need to have his rifle in hand. My rifle is to heavy for him, it will be used only for prone shooting or on a tripod. ) Thanks

Zeke-BE, I know you are asking for Steiner or NightForce however if you want a clear scope and in my opinion one of the best glass on the market for the money I would look into Valdada IOR. Not to many people know about them. I have it on both my rifles .308 and 300 RUM. You can look them up on SWFA.com . My cousin and I have been shooting with this scope for the last 7 years. I have looked through many high end scopes and I think the clarity of this scope is better than the two that you mentioned. Especially when you are shooting long range on a hot day. ( I am not saying the two scopes that were mentioned aren't great scopes but on a hot day in AZ you will see the difference). Just something else to consider. The only bad thing is that you really can't find these in the store. I would be happy to let you look through one of mine. Also go with the FFP I wish I did. Good Luck.

TTT

Mathews Switchback This has been the best bow I have ever owned. I will probably regret selling it but I need the funds to pay some bills. It has a 7Pin Spot Hogg Cameron Hanes series bow sight. Fuse quiver 6 arrow and Fuse stabilizer. Whisker Biscuit rest. Also comes with 7 Easton Full Metal Jackets 340G Arrows 27inch Draw Length or 27.5 Newer Strings and Cable (Winners Choice) I believe this is it. The only thing that is wrong is that the quiver is a little cracked by me stepping on it a long time ago. (This does not hurt the bow at all) I will through in an old Tru Fire Release as well. Not the best one but free is always good. Asking $495 Price Drop $450 Thanks Anthony, 602-326-9680

LOL, I know I am already regretting posting it but the kids always come first. In the past when another member was selling his Switchback I said the same thing. I took it out the other day and shot a group at 80yds. I haven't shot this bow in a year and it is still spot on...

Price Drop $450

TTT