kwp

7 or 8 years ago I saw one near Escudilla Mtn in unit one. Probably over eight thousand feet elevation. I definitely believe you that they are around Payson

That sure is exciting that you saw some signs that the rut is starting. These frigid mornings we've been having lately sure make ya think of being out in the hills. Can't wait till the 16th, my stick and string are ready Good luck finding one of your rams

I have to agree with wklman, Buckhorn, and fatfootdoc on this one, where would our wildlife be today without cattleman. How many deer would have actually survived the drought of the last two decades if it weren't for ranchers Sure, as in any group of people, there are some bad ones that often get more publicity than the good ones that quietly work as hard as anyone to take care of the land. Where my brother and I hunt coues there is little to no natural water during the driest times yet the deer population is through the roof (we see on average 80-120 deer everyday even in the summer when it is hot as heck) There are multiple springs (both gravity fed and pump fed) that the rancher still upkeeps even though there has not been a single cow on his allotment for over ten years. Ungrazed grass has the ability to take over. On the Audobon ranch near Sonoita, the environmentalists that run it stopped grazing over 15 years ago and the grass is so thick and tall that the antelope herd, which is struggling to survive, has completely left. The thick grass won't even allow any of the forbs to grow that antelope like. The environmentalists are actually thinking about grazing it just to see if it will bring back the forbs and antelope. Don't even get me started on the unreal amount of predator control that ranchers do!

I just hope kids listen to their parents more than anyone else, especially these nut jobs. When I was little I thought that PETA stood for People for Eating Tasty Animals and believed that it was a real organization. It wasn't till I was quite a bit older that I found out who they really were.

Is this the one?

Great buck! I'm guessing 90-92"

I have been wondering the same thing about what they consider a "premium" hunt. I, and I think a lot of people on this site, would consider a December coues hunt in S. AZ one of the best hunts in the world but my gut feeling is that they are only considering the carp hunts north of the river. As far as elk, is a Premuim hunt all bull hunts with cow hunts being non-premium or do they only include the rut hunts or only rifle rut hunts. I just saw where they say "No more than five percent of the total elk/deer tags in any calendar year may be Class A tags" so it sounds like they are limiting the number of hunts that they are classifying as premium but I would still like to see some actual hunt dates and units that will be considered premium or Class A

Finally we have a legitimate sporting goods store here in Tucson. I went to the new Sportsmans Warehouse and must say I was pretty impressed. I hadn't ever been to one so I didn't know what to expect. I'm still really excited to get a Cabelas in AZ next year because I went to one in Nebraska and it was amazing but the Sportsmans Warehouse is way better than anything else in Tucson. Amazingly I left with only spending $20

Word is that the same guy killed this hog on the same high fence ranch Hard to tell in the pics if it is the same guy but he definitely looks pretty similar

Rumor I've heard is that it is from a high fence ranch in Idaho. 1200 lb live weight makes me think that they were giving it the same steroids as Barry Bonds.

It opened Sep 29 but the official grand opening will not be until Oct 8 Sportsmans Warehouse in Tucson

Great bull Do you think that they could have been struck by lightning?

I remember that elk rack that Lark made. The cool thing about it was that the curves of all the tines and the ratios of mass and length of the tines looked perfect it was just 2-3 times bigger than lifesize. Gotta admit, you did a nice job on that. Seems like that thing would always be on one of the floats for the RV homecoming parade.

I never have and don't plan to ever sit and hunt a salt lick. I would rather sit at a vantage point and glass where I could see the salt as well as other areas and then either spot and stalk with the bow or take the shot with the rifle. I mostly built my salt licks to possibly attract more deer to the area and I hope that those valuable trace minerals will help the deer be healthier and the bucks bigger

Bowsniper, I can see how your point would be true for some circumstances but I think that for others it may not be true. I use the granulated salt in a bag not becuase it lasts longer but because it works quicker. Deer don't actually eat the pure salt granules or lick the salt blocks they eat the soil after the salt has leached into it, regardless of where it comes from. Cattle and other stock will actually lick a block but deer won't. This is why when you find a block that a rancher or hunter has put out it appears that it is on a little pedestal with the soil around and underneath eat eaten. Using the bagged salt does not always mean that the lick will be permanent. I only put a small amount of salt on at a time and have to replenish it multiple times every year. Because I do replenish them regularly, they have probably become somewhat permanant and I don't know how long it would take for the deer to stop using them. A small amount of salt mixed into the soil and some water poured onto it will usually start to work within the first week. Also, if someone does their homework, a permanent salt lick isn't a bad thing. Before building my two licks I spent a lot of time in the field, determined where I thought the best location was for the licks, and searched the area to make sure that there were not any licks that were already in the area. I like to think that the deer get used to using my licks and that I could possibly pattern how often they use it. Someone else could possibly build another lick in the area but since my brother and I are usually out there at least a couple times every month of the year, and don't ever see anyone else, except during hunting season, their licks probably wouldn't last.

#1 in my book. I think that one of the best things is that it only caters to a small portion of the hunting cummunity (because relative to other big game species, coues are somewhat unknown) I like that the site is small enough that it still seems somewhat personalized but large enough that there are many, very knowledgable members

Andy, I guess I know the real reason that you are going to college and studying what you are. Not to better your opportunities for getting a good job but to learn more about wildlife and to better yourself as a hunter. lol At least you have your priorities straight. And you can also teach the rest of us about the importance of the different minerals in a deer's diet and other good stuff like that

Got my film back from my trial cam this last weekend. These pics are from about three weeks ago and are of the same buck as the five sheds that I have. I'm hoping that he will continue to grow a little more so that he will eclipse his biggest year. Sorry about the poor quality, just a cheap 35mm cam The pics of the sheds are on page 11 of the sheds gallery

Yep Andy (littlebear) was the one who told me how to build the salt licks and also got me interested in them. I gave you props in one of my last emails. It'll be up to him to tell you how he builds em and he could do a better job of it too.

It's just the basic granulated trace mineral salt that you can get at most feed stores

Yeah, the deer dug that hole. I built the salt lick a little over a year ago so they have been working on it for a while. I've replenished it a couple of times since then. It seems to me that they have hit it the hardest this summer. I don't know if it has to do with the heat, all the rain, or if it is just now really getting established and they will be visiting it a lot more frequently now. Before we went to check my camera we glassed the area and as well as seeing a lot of deer out feeding, there were three does that spent at least 30 minutes at the lick. That was really cool to watch. When we got to the lick it was obvious that they had been digging at it and there were a couple of wet spots where it looked like they had been licking (didn't look like pee spots)

My brother and I went out this weekend and I found another shed from the same 4 point buck. This brings the grand total to five of the six sheds from the last three years off the same buck. I posted the pics of the first four sheds this last may. Here they are: I don't have a digital camera so hopefully I can get one of my buddies to take a pic of the latest shed and then I will send it to Amanda. It was out on an open south facing slope so it is already farely white but it is the match to this years shed. Hopefully I can find the sixth shed and then kill him this October.

Thanks a bunch Amanda

It's been raining since about 3 am here in Tucson and not just a sprinkle, some pretty heavy stuff. The National Weather Service is reporting that the Santa Cruz River is overflowing it's banks with over 12 feet of water. Gotta love the rain, as long as everybody stays out of the way downstream

I was out this last weekend and saw a few. Saw one nursing. They're still real little and not yet as active as the adult deer so I imagine that we will be seeing a lot more as they get a little older. Didn't see any that I could confirm as twins but I'm sure there were some. It's real green, with a lot of tall grass and brush in S. AZ right now and it's also wet enough that the deer aren't having to travel very far for water. I would think that all of those things would help the fawns survive their first few months.