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2 Full Curls

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  10. Posted · Report reply

    I just picked up my 2013 Javelina mount from Clay at Mogollon Taxidermy… and I still can’t get over how awesome it is. I had this mount idea in mind for a long time, and Clay made it come to life with his artistic talent. It has my arrow from the hunt, and even real cactus. Thanks again Clay!

    I’ve included my hunt story, field photo, and of course photos of the completed mount. Hope you enjoy….

     

    Story:

     

    It was the last weekend of January, and Dad and I were making a day-run from the valley. We turned off the highway and rolled the truck windows down. The crisp winter air nipped into the cab, and we enjoyed the early morning still of the Arizona desert. For ten miles we rolled along, listening to the iPod shuffle through Jack Johnson, Chris Young and even a little Eddie Arnold.

     

    We pulled into our launching spot at 7:00 a.m. and unloaded the quads from the trailer. Iced down for the day, we crawled up the four-wheel drive road that ventured out behind our truck. Thirty minutes later we were at our ‘spot’, and ready to glass for javelina.

     

    After pounding the sunny slopes, glassing the prickly pear patches, and sitting two call stands, the sun was directly overhead and we still had not spotted a herd. At 12:00 pm, we decided to head back to the bikes, and continue further down our road into some country that we hadn’t hunted before.

     

    At 1:00 pm, we crested a canyon ridge and stopped to do some midday glassing. In our field of view was a half-mile stretch of rolling grass ridges, sprinkled with prickly pear and juniper. The ridges fed down into a deep canyon that held perennial water, and the canyon edges were laced with bluffs. The terrain just looked ‘piggy’.

     

    After 20 minutes the wind started to gust and our faces got cold fast. Dad packed up his binos, and loaded his bike…time to keep moving. I followed suit, but threw up my binos to sweep the prickly pear one last time. And I’m glad I did.

    I spotted a group of pigs 800 yards out. They were moving fast through the pears and were headed towards the deep canyon. We knew we had to make tracks. The heard was down-wind from us, so we needed to get slightly ahead of them to backtrack into a cross-wind.

     

    We grabbed our packs and bows, and rushed towards the pigs. As we got as far as we figured we needed to be, Dad and I split up 100 yards apart and slowly stalked down into the prickly pear.

     

    After 200 yards, I caught movement up ahead and watched a pig dart out 150 yards up. I motioned to Dad the direction it was headed, and we proceeded further. It wasn’t but a couple minutes later, and I caught more movement; this time closer. It was the lead boar and he was walking away from me 100 yards ahead. I whistled and motioned to Dad, but realized the pig had heard me whistle too.

     

    He planted his hooves, whipped his head around, and looked in my direction. Understanding their curious nature, I let out another soft whistle and watched as he started on a trot straight towards me.

     

    As he went from 100, to 90, to 80, and 70 yards I barely had enough time to knock my arrow let alone range find my immediate surroundings. At 60 yards he stopped once more, and I gave him the same whistle one last time. He started again, but immediately turned at a diagonal into the wind trying to catch the scent of the unfamiliar sound.

    I knew my time was limited and he busted me at 40 yards. I was ready and sank an arrow in his chest right before he broke.

     

    It was a great day and I guessed my boar to weigh an average 35 lbs. Miller Southwestern Processing made him into some delicious snack sticks and Clay at Mogollon Taxidermy completed a beautiful mount that I have always wanted to have done.

     

    Thanks for reading

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    • Like 2

  14. Posted · Report reply

    Use to run the wranglers with Kevlar like flat lander. Almost indestructible but caused vibration on my lighter Chevy 1500. Dad runs BFGs on his F350. Michelins on the duramax. I switched to the Toyos last year and love them. Nice tread, quiet, and no more vibrations. The first couple hundred miles will be a little slippery... While they break in... But I'm sold on them now as a more affordable alternative to the michelins (which you can't beat if $ isn't an issue)

  15. Posted · Report reply

    I'll take any win over Northern Mexico, whether it's football, Lance's club hockey league, basketball, or a wing eating contest.

    With that said the Cats play way more like a team than ASU. We go through stretches of solid play and then it's the J Carson show. Bottom line they romped us in Tucson and it took us 2 OTs to barely get them here. ASU is nearly a tourney lock and will end up as an 8th seed if they go .500 the rest of the way (6th seed if they finish stronger). It frustrates and embarrasses me to see our fans act like idiots and throw stuff on the court, spit on opposing coaches, etc. Too many 'bros' in Tempe

    • Like 1

  18. Posted · Report reply

    Great thread.

     

    I have had the Outdoorsman's pack for 3 years now, and like it more every trip I take. I bought the pack for the following reasons:

     

    1) I really like the idea of an external frame. I use to run a soft shell backpack and had a pack frame that I would leave at the trailhead if I needed to pack meat out. I wanted to be able to get my deer out in one trip. The pack is robust and can carry a lot of weight if needed. The other benefit to the external frame is it has a rifle shooting notch built in (pretty cool if you need to get off the ground higher than your bipod will reach).

    2) I also figured I could use the external frame in an emergency situation in case I injured my self. For example, say you fall and injure your back and herniate discs (which I have done). You can take off the bag, cinch the frame on for support, and athletic tape yourself to it if needed and maybe walk out with a little less pain.

    3) I liked the belt setup on the waist straps. It makes it easy to carry my range finder, sidearm, and flashlight.

    4) I liked supporting Outdoorsman's as a local business. Good guys over there who are serious about western hunting.

     

    A couple of things to consider though:

    1) It took me a couple trips to get use to wearing the external frame, after having been use to a softer/padded backpack. There is a trial by error process to getting the pack straps adjusted on the frame such that they fit well to your body size. If you get through that you are golden.

    2) It is not water proof. I used it for 15 days on an AZ antelope hunt last year and had it in the rain often. It is water resistant but some of my stuff inside got wet for sure. I picked up the rain cover for it this Christmas. Its a perfect, lightweight solution.

     

    I just bought my Dad the Eberlestock Just One pack this Christmas. I did A LOT of research and talked to several guys who LOVE the pack. Like the Outdoorsman's it runs about 7 lbs. dry (so it's not an ultralight pack) but it is well made IMO. Very well padded (more so than the Outdoorsman's). My Dad was not interested in an external frame pack, and he really likes his so far. Eberlestock has a lot of attachments that you can get to spruce it up also. The Just One is comfortable enough to be a good day pack, and strong enough to haul out a deer from the wilderness area.

     

    With all that said, I am currently looking for an ultra light pack that I can take deep into the Wilderness for 5-7 days. Like Becker said, losing 3-4 lbs. on a pack can make a big difference. Mystery Ranch, Kifaru, Kuiu, Kelty are all packs that I recommend you research. Lots of information out there. Packs are like women's purses for men.... can't have too many and you can justify a situation where each is just right.

    • Like 3

  19. Posted · Report reply

    We all have our best hunting stories, and have shared "this happened to me" on other great threads, but what about those family hunting stories? Those that were told to you around the campfire when you were young....You know the story that you always wanted your Dad or your Grandpa to retell when you were a kid.

     

    I suspect that, like myself, you'all have several favorites. So let's share them and give us all something to enjoy reading at work the next few days. It's possible this thread already exists and I didn't see it, but let's start a new one regardless. If you have pictures that's awesome, and if not, let yours be legend and lore.

     

    I'll start.....

     

    My Dad's Bear Story:

     

    I personally think my Dad's best trophy is his AZ black bear. It was harvested without dogs, bait, or calls and I've never seen another bigger. It's the story that I always ask him to tell around the campfire.

     

    My Dad started hunting AZ in the late 60's and has plenty to say about the good ole' days. Back in the 80's and early 90's, he and my Uncle were hooked on harvesting a big AZ black bear on the San Carlos. They did everything from horseback trips to one-nighter's, and devoted some serious time into chasing big bruins. Over the course of several hunting trips neither was able to shoot a big bear... the one they were holding out for.

     

    Then on a hunt in the early 90's it all came together. My Dad and Uncle had a special spot that they liked to hunt. An area that included gnarly canyons, forested with oaks and jack pines. To hear him tell it, it was remote as can be and they had it all to themselves.

     

    Late one afternoon my Dad and Uncle made rounds to check out several stock tanks that sat on the ridgelines. They would check the tanks for fresh tracks to see what was hitting the water. As they dropped into the bowl that held the last tank, they both stopped. Through the boughs of the pine trees ahead, they could see a black dot out in the middle of the tank. They threw up their binoculars and saw a big bear. What caught them by surprise was not only its size, but that it was chest deep in mud, in the middle of the tank. The bear was eating up the rear of a dead cow that had recently died by getting stuck in the mud.

     

    My Dad shouldered his 7mm and let one fly... mis-judging the distance (back before rangefinders). My Uncle quickly realized that it was about 500 yards away and tried to get my Dad to not shoot. In a brotherly gesture, my Dad told my Uncle heck no. My Dad let another round go, and the bullet kicked up the dirt in front of the bear's body. The bear did not here the first round, but was startled by the second. He pulled out of the cow, raised on two legs, and wheeled to turn. As he did, my Uncle shouted "that boar's 500 yards away!". My Dad came to the realization and raised the sights and let one fly.

     

    Not knowing where the last bullet finished, and seeing the bear run into the distance, they walked down towards the tank. According to my Dad, my Uncle was not too pleased with him :) As they approached the tank, my Uncle went to where the bear had been eating and saw blood. As he did, my Dad walked up the ridgeline. As he busted over the first hump and crept through the oaks, he saw the boar up the ridge ahead.

     

    The bear had been hit in the chest by my Dad's last shot and had run full bore through a barbed wire fence. The fence and gunshot made him woozy and he was wobbling behind a big juniper tree. Another 7mm round and he dropped on the spot.

     

    The bear was enormous and my Dad and Uncle had a hard time rolling him over to field dress him. It took all night to skin him, and he had 3-4" of fat around his whole body. They couldn't wrap their arms around the boar's chest he was so fat, and they broke a brand new come-along winch that night when the tried to hoist him into a tree to skin. The winch was rated for 350 lbs. The bear squared 7'2".

     

     

  24. Posted · Report reply

    +1000!

     

    I'm done with the show, as is everybody that I know! Dropped A&E a letter, and I circulated it to friends so they could also send. If you do some reading, multiple articles are alluding that this isn't the first time A&E has tried and suppress the cast. Very recently Phil himself is said to have had it out with the network because he refused to allow them to 'bleep-out' Jesus's name from their dinner prayers. This network started this show with the intent to make a mockery of 'country folk', to the amusement of coastal-leftist-hollywood, and were dang shocked at its success. It's the most watched non-fiction cable show of all time, and it's because there are still MILLIONS of Americans who center their lives around family, God, and hard-work.... a Christian lifestyle. I'm disgusted at the news; couldn't agree more with Phil's comments; and hope to heck that Willie, Jase, Si and the bunch tell A&E to shove it next season

    • Like 2
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