nateNAU

Dang. That didn't take long. That was a good deal on some great traps.

I was just going by memory. 240. I was close.

This is a hunt that I to have tenitivly on the books. I grew up spending my summers between Hamilton and Darby so I will probably hunt that unit when I do, I think it's unit 420?. Really excited to see how it differs from arizona hunting. I have heard that they can be very quiet, especially in units with wolves. Sourdough suggested the big hole. I don't know jack about elk over there but that is some of the prettiest country you will ever see. Also if the hunting is bad the big hole offers some great fishing.

This is one of those subjects that I think will continue till the end of times. The perfect fur friendly round. My best advice is get and and shoot some critters and see for yourself. If you are thinking about harvesting and preparing pelts then you will quickly learn what is fur friendly. My definition of fur friendly is something that doesn't leave an exit hole. No matter what shot angle, your 243 will exit. And that's ok. If you are serious about putting up fur, learning how to sew up and fix holes is an important part. Once you get tired of fixing big exit holes you can experiment with different calibers. The perfect fur friendly round is a kind of mythical unicorn that people chase but I truley think doesn't exist. What if fur friendly for coyote is not so great on fox and bobcat. Is the same kind of mythical beast that African hunters search for. They want a plains game rifle for anything from a 10 lb. Duiker to a 2000 lb eland. Yes one rifle can kill both but none is the perfect fit for both. In my experience, as a general rule any 22 cal that is sub factory 223 velocity is a good start. I have blow up more coyotes and ruined the pelts with an ar shooting factory ammo. My father in law constantly shoots coyotes with a 222 and gives them to me and I have yet to see an exit hole after 20+ coyotes. I use a 204 ruger and again have never had an exit hole to sew up. I have however put pretty good exit holes in fox and bobcat with the 204. If I knew I was going to only shoot a fox or bobcat I would probably choose a 17 cal. To me personally, when I think of fur friendly I like 218 bee, 22 hornet, 204 ruger, 222 Remington, or the 17 Remington.

A big question is are you keeping fur or not. If so I would look at an ar in maybe 204. If not, barrel length in a 223 makes no difference. Even a 10" barrel will be fine. Coyotes are very camoflauged and crafty critters. I rarely am able to pick them up outside of 200 yards and a lot of times it is well within that range on "busy" sets with lots of terrain and vegetation to keep track of. I like a 3-9 on an ar. In my opinion anything more is not needed because long shots in my experience are rare on coyotes.

Great area bit you can't come in from the north right now. The 420 is closed as well as Campbell and the 556. The only way to hunt around there is to walk in on foot

11m has pockets where deer density is high. A little scouting and they are easy to find. No one has shot at a doe here for about 35 years or when ever the last archery any deer tags were issued so the does have very little fear of people compared to the bucks. I would recommend trying to find one of the high density pockets and pattern or just take note of where you see them. I keep seeing the same does in the same places that I did during the august archery hunt. I will be out there to trying to get a buddy of mine his first deer with a bow.

Good luck on your hunt. Here's a little motivation.

I know 7e stays open through the hunts pretty much regardless of weather.

I decided to dust my predator tackle off this morning and try a stand. It was an area that I discovered shed hunting last year and just looked like an awsome coyote spot. Big golden grass fields with a couple knobs to give you elevation. After about 12 minutes of pup distress I saw 4 coyotes working in. Got 2 and missed a third. Taken with my savage 204 ruger. I will be skinning them tonight and I will pay attention to the fur damage to add to the fur friendly cartridge post below.

What a proud dad you must be. Thank you for sharing!

We had some good success this year on elk in 11m. We were able to get my brother in law his cow on the first hunt and I was able to tag out on a nice 5x5 last night on the second hunt.

I use a 204 and I have never had an exit to sew up. Same with a 222. 223 with any kind of factory ammo in my experience is not fur friendly.

I was able to get out a little this weekend. The lack of rain has sure made it difficult to locate good areas that the doves congregate. Did find a tank that they were liking and almost limited out in three hours.

More than likely a mistake on the app. Thank God for point guard. There are still good bucks in 11m and they keep getting better since it went to a draw but still not one deer in 11m is worth 17 points. 160-180 bucks are doable if you work hard and ones pushing the magic number do happen but the genetics just arnt there for anything better than that.

One guy burned something like 17 deer points for 11m archery a year or so ago. Don't understand some people's logic.

I think everyone has pretty much hit the nail on the head. Some change is needed for the deer population in 11m. When 11m went to a draw, it was not based on any science or conservation strategy. G&F were just running damage control on a unit that surrounds a very liberal town, and when the number of deer running around neighborhoods with arrows sticking out of them increased, I think they tried to fix the problem before some ludicrous ballot initiative or something was purposed by the libs in this town. Flagstaff has seen crazy growth the last few years and the amount of college students in this town is staggering. 11m used to see 1000 or more deer hunters before it went to a draw in August and reducing the tags to 120 defiantly changed the dynamic of deer here. One little talked about benefit of hunting metro units is it kind of puts a little fear into them and keeps them out of residential areas and off of roadways. To me it seems like deer strikes on roads have increased around town and might be a contributing factor in creating this hunt.

Haha. I was waiting for this to be brought up. Don't know if this is here to stay or not. 7 got the revolving late archery tag this year and I don't know if going to be like those hunts that rotate units or what. I kind of think it's here to stay. If it's dry it could be an awsome hunt. Hunting deer in the rut/prerut in a unit that never sees a gun hunt.

I was lucky enough to fill my tag on my first javalina on Saturday. I have been some what jinxed with them. I live in flagstaff and to hunt them I have some what of a jaunt. I will say I have seen quite a number up here but never when I have an otc tag in my pocket. With my first tag in a good javi unit a few years back, practically the whole unit was inaccessible due to flash flooding. The following year I applied for the same unit and popped 4 tires on the first day of the hunt. I hunted 37b this year in january and saw over 40 muley and coues bucks, but not one javalina, so I didn't really have high hopes for this 19b HAM hunt. The plan for the morning was to glass south facing slopes but snow and high winds made it difficult and needless to say they were not moving in those conditions. By about 11, my brother in law and I decided to try and search some thicker valleys and came across a big group of pigs. He was determined to get one with his bow, so the plan was for him to shoot one, and as soon as he shot, I would follow up on a second one with my pistol. The plan went moderately well and after he shot a big old broken tusked sow, I followed up on a younger boar. I am glad my bad luck streak was finally broken and am now addicted to these little stick pigs!

Don't remember for sure but probably soon after these regs, 2000- 2001. Because 7 was split into 3 units originally. Anyone else remember hunting 7 metro before it was changed to 11m?

Hunted 37b up toward picketpost for 3 days. Saw tons of deer but no javi.

Was driving in 5bn yesterday and came across big wide 3x3 chasing does in the middle of a road. Almost had to bump him with my truck to get him out of the road. Had no care that I was there. Will be in 37b next weekend chasing them. Hopefully the rut is going as good down there as it is up here.

Oh ya. SCI has a handgun record book. The full book is only viewable online if you are a member I believe but I think you can view all the top 10s not as a member.

The first gun is a sporterized 03a3 in 30-06. W/ weaver scope. $275 The second gun is a Swiss vetterli in 41 Swiss. Has been converted to center fire. $150 Located in flagstaff Nate 9286079588

Sorry for the sideways pic. The first week of the hunt was tough. We still got on elk but there was no vocalization. Second week was better. Bulls were talking and fighting but still not coming to calls. Called in a spike the last morning and was able to but it broadside of my buddy at about 10 yards but he was unable to get a shot. We the decided a hail marry and drive across town and try and hunt for about an hour before we had to get to work. We instantly got into some bull fighting and shot this bull at 37 yards. My advice for 11m is don't get stuck in one area. Rutting can stink in one area and be on fire in another. Be mobile. Someone mentioned A1. If I was hunting right now I would consider following that advice.