PRDATR

Between the Heavy Metal and computerized effects it gets old pretty fast. Many don't realize how good we have it here, even with the draw system. States like Texas, Pennsylvania and Alabama have very little public land to hunt on. Add in the dense forests east of the Mississippi and tree stand hunting, boring as it is, is unfortunately the only alternative for some when the area available to hunt is measured in acres. A lot of Texas is flat and full of scrub which makes our style of spot and stalk ineffective. Actually one or two shows a year about AZ Hunting is all I want to see, sssssshhhhhh. I'd rather not see an influx of out of state hunters. As for Barta, well he has a lot of moxey and I pray he makes a full recovery. Other shows I enjoy are Jim Shockey and Larry Csonka. No craziness and high fives every time someone farts.

Like Kaibabhunter said, they are there throughout most of the unit from the Ponderosa by Morman Lake all the way down to Clearcreek and practically into Camp Verde. Pick an area that best suits the type of vehicle you drive and go camping for the weekend. Drive the roads at sunrise and sunset and you will see them.

That is a great bull. Congrats to the hunter, I wonder how many times he went afield looking for this bull before me finally pulled the trigger? My guess is that the bull probably had some broken tines last year so he waited for them to regrow. Either way he sure looks like a happy camper to me and my hats off to him.

I spoke to a hunter near the lake in 07 or 08 and he told me that he and his wife saw that cat walking down the road a few miles south of there. No pics though.

Very respectable buck. My son and I have that tag this year and will be doing our best to scout and learn the area before the hunt. Good buck and Good Luck!!! Good, have them send the dinks (8x8's 6x6, 4x4's) our way. LOL Two of my buddies finally drew it...after 12 or 13 years of waiting... They are SOOOO Stoked! There will be an all-star cast of hunters in their camp and it will be "Big or Nothing"... Hope I get to go up for the first few days to help out...and I hope it is Colder than a Well Digger's Arse!!! I can't imagine waiting that long for a tag. I have been vey fortunate and have been drawn for the Kaibab 3 out of the 4 times I put in over the last 30 years. I agree, the colder the better and two feet of snow on the plateau the week before would be sweet but we all know that isn't going to happen. JUst wish I put down 12A for 1st choice instead of 12BW. What the heck was I thinking? LOL

Definately insure them (and take a picture)and send them off to Bushnell. Turn around time is usually just a couple of weeks. If they can't fix them they wil probably give you a chance to upgrade them at little to no cost. Techincally we still in the "off season" so don't wait too much longer or turn around time might increase.

In 6A about 1990 a buddy and I were archery deer hunting and scouting for an up comming Elk hunt when we wandered into a bedded Elk herd. They spooked but only ran off 30 yards or so. I sat up against a tree and soon a calf bedded back down and the rest came back. A raghorn started heading my way and came so close he was toe to toe with me. This lasted for a few minutes before I movd a foot enough to spook him. Last year in 6A my son spotted movement which turned out to be a 5X that was broken off on one side. He had a few cows with him so my son waited for an open shot but missed his opportunity and they disappeared into the junipers below us about a hundred yards away. So off he goes in pursuit and after about 10 minutes I hear movement and assume it is junior headed back. Wrong, it was the heard and there headed directly to me. I was standing on a boulder so I turn to face away from them and they make their way feeding right up to me, within 5 feet, taking their time because I had the wind to my back they knew something was up but meanderd off. My son was besides himself when I told him what happened. I can't remember how many times I was almost nailed by hawks comming into a predator call. Last time was in Unit 29 while I was calling for spring bear. We were up on the side of a mountain about 10am calling into a canyon when movement caught my eye as I looked straight ahead. It was a Red Tailed Hawk about 10ft away coming in for the kill with wings outstreched and talons in front of him. When it realized I wasn't lunch he veared off at the last second and landed about 30ft away in a snag. I don't know who was more suprised. A few years before that I was back in camp, again in 29, after slipping in the snow and hitting my scope on a boulder which let the charge out when a clump of snow fron a Pinyon branch landed in the bell at the same time making the scope unusable. I made a sandwich before grabing my spare rifle and was sitting in a chair when I heard what sounded like a dog fight coming from the mountain across from camp a few hundred yards away. As I looked up here comes a black wolf in full stride hauling butt for the canyon. I never did see him again on that hunt which was back in the late 80's. The year before my buddy and I were back in 29 and hike up and over a mountain a mile or so from camp and ended up in the clouds for the last hundred yards or so. When we crested the top we gazed down into a huge bowl shaped canyon and started to class. After a fwe minutes my buddy says, what the heck is that a Corsican Ram? I glass it up and it turns out to be an all white Coues buck that looked to be a heavy 3 or 4 by. Wasn't much we could do as he was close to 800 yards away.

Very respectable buck. My son and I have that tag this year and will be doing our best to scout and learn the area before the hunt.

I've loaded lots of 7-08 with IMR 4064 using that powder measure and never had a problem with clogging even once. Just get into a rythm and move the handle firmly on the up and down strokes.

I have 234K on my Y2K F250 which weighs almost 4 Tons; 1. 235/85-16 E Goodyear, came on truck got about 35K, quiet street tire. 2. 285/70 -16 D Dunlop Rover, barely made 25K, quiet, center tread wore too quickly (Discount) 3. 285/70-16 D Discount Tire house brand BFG AT clones traded up to BFG AT when I got a failure and it took 5 days to get another. Reason was they were phasing them out and could not find a replacement. 4. 285/70-16 D BFG AT got about 45K per tire but had flat spots after sitting overnight for the last 5K, good tire and had a few replaced under warranty due to cuts and such driving offroad. Handled well except in snow. 5. 285/70-16 D Brigstone Dueler 45K plus could probably go to 55K, Held up well against rocks, quiet but too much sidewall flex at highway speeds on turns (high pucker factor the first time). (Tire Pro) 6. 305/55-20 E Nitto TG. Best of the bunch so far, no sidewall flex, soft compound, quiet. I have been running these for almost three years and had one last upwards of 55K. (BIG O) I like the look of the Hankook Dynapros, not too soft and a good pattern. My son was looking at them for his Colorado. IIRC Walmart also has them. Discount Tire by far had the best customer service and warranty support. BIG O was a not as good and not all of the stores could get the Nitto when I tried to have one replaced under warranty as some are independently owned. The BIG O stores were more of a challenge to get a tire replaced even with the road hazard warranty and nit picked too much.

I discovered Smart Wool socks last year and will never go back to regular socks. My feel sweat a lot but I have found that using Right Guard spray stops that and for foot odor I have settled on Gold Bond foot powder after trying everything I could get my hands on over the last 20 years. Before I put my socks on I spray my feet and then wait half a minute and then put on the socks. I just sprinkle soem foot powder inside the boot and shake it around a bit. After over two decades and a resole my Rocky Boots had the heel blow out this spring so I was forced to get another pair of boots. Cabelas had the Chinese Danner Pronghorns on sale for a good price and I bought a pair. The extra wide is still a bit tight for me but they broke in within an hour of wearing them. I have found some of the Smart Wool socks for $12.99 at Sportsmans Warehouse which IIRC were the mid calf hiking socks. I also have some others but they were $16.99. I recently wore some elcheapo Red Head hiking boots on a hunt and my feet were soaked from the wet grass after the first half mile, including the socks. My feet never got cold and the socks never matted and remained comfortable until the grass dried out a few hours later and I then took off the wet socks and rang them out and put them back on, just damp and they felt fine. I now prefer not to have any leather on boots because any waterproofing will prevent them from being breathable and not let moisture like sweat escape, at least in my experience. The only reason I got the Danners was because I was in need of a pair of boots that fit and they were as close to what I was looking for that I could find after looking for close to a year. I would love to have a pair of boot custom made to my specs but that is never going to happen.

SOLD

BTT

I hate to do this but these don't see the light very often. 1. Ruger Super Redhawk, Target Grey finish, 480 Cal, 9" barrel. 225 cases of once fired Hornady brass, factory case, manual, rings, lock. like new $475, bought used about 4 yrs ago SOLD 2. Thompson Contender, Blue finish, 223 cal, 14" barrel no front sight, 2.5x7 TC Scope, wood forearm with wood/rubber insert grip, Uncle Mikes Shoulder holster, 95%, a few dings in the wood. $400, bought used about 3yrs ago 3 Russian SKS Circa 1953. Manufactured in the Tula plant in 1953, milled reciever, Chestnut stock with varnish finish. Original condition, not factory refurbished. This has been sitting in my safe for the last 16 years. I have shot about 30rds through it since I bought it. It has the blade bayonet and Weaver K4 Wide Angle scope on an after market mount with Weaver Rings. I have the original bolt cover. Wood has a few scratches from being in the safe. $400

Try; http://www.gunpartscorp.com/catalog/Produc...spx?catid=11940 or http://www.gun-parts.com/remingtonstocks/

Thats a great story. Congrats to you both.

Poor little homless guy.

I have used it but use soft points and not varmint type hollowpoints. I have also used a TC in 223 when I took my first one about 20 yrs ago. Both my kids took their first deer with the 22-250 too using a 62gr Trophy Bonded Bearclaw.

I'd be in deep kimchee if I lost mine in the field as I keep my wallet and truck keys in it. I took it off in 27 earlier this year along with my boots to get in closer to a Tom who quickly left Dodge upon hearing me sucking wind as I closed the distance. It took me about ten minutes to find them after I returned to the spot and I only went about 75yds. Report it to G&F.

Agreed. Nice to know he has been passing his genetics along.

I travel lite with my frame pack and just bring the necessities out from camp each day. My pack is waterproof but I also carry a trash bag and a game bag. All Coues get boned out on the spot. I carry a skinning and a boneing knife. I have a wyoming saw but don't use it for Coues. A few cuts into the spine with the boneing knife is all I need to sever the spine. I start by skinning the deer on one side and fold the hide up off the body. I then slice the meat off the bone starting at the knee adn work to the hoof. Then using the boneing knife, I make a cut on the inside of the leg at the knee to the bone and yun the knife tip against the bone all he way to the hip socket. Then I slice up and around the hip and work the knife slicing lengthwise along the leg bone (femur?) and remove the meat in one big piece. I basically do hte same for the front shoulder. The I take one backstrap and lay the hide backover the deer and roll the deer over and do the same to the other side. Depending on if I am going to keep the head I skin/tube the hide around the neck and remove the meat. I put the game bag inside the trash bag and that gets put into the pack before I start to dress out the deer. When I am done I leave the trash bag open to vent out the heat as I go back to camp. I do not gut the deer during this process which helps to keep the flys down if it is warm out. This can take anywhere from 30-60 minutes to do and you end up with about 40% of the live weight of the deer. I came up with this on my own after killing a deer far from camp and hunting alone. I have also taught a couple of others how to do it. It helps to have some 3/8 rope along if you hunt alone and shoot a deer on s steep hillside. I forgot to mention that this is done with the deer laying on the ground since tthere are usually never any trees around to hang these little buggers from.

Keep your finger off the release trigger until your pin is on the target.

Charters are also pretty cheap because of that and most people just want to catch fish and don't want any and can't take care of it. The Captain will usually give you some if you ask for it and your Motel can cook it for ya. I've paid as little as $650 for an all day charter and caught YF and Marlin. The islands are basically mountains with the peaks sticking out of the water. You can be a few miles offshore and in 5000' of water. You haven't seen anything until you see a local and his 8 yo daughter come back into the Marina on a Jet Ski draging a 150# YT with them caugh on rod and reel in three foot seas. Some very tough people and dang proud of it too.

Then again, they are creatures of habit. Water can/will get absorbed quickly in most areas, especially this time of year when temps still soar during the day. Last week I was in the Sierra Anchas and there was a thunderstorm and heavy downpour on my way back to camp in the afternoon. Lots of rain and hail for 30 minutes. Poured buckets! 15 Minutes after it stopped there was no standing water except for where the road was rutted out. By 10:00 the next morning temps were approaching mid 80's and everything was long dry, except for the rutted areas in the road still holding water. Jackrabbits can get enough moisture from what they eat but deer are much larger and need an ample supply of water, preferrably from an area where they feel safe and have escape route they are familar with. Food, shelter, water. Patterns usually don't change unless there is a reason. No water, food supply diminishes, pressure increases.

I had to Google Rain Suede and found it on Cabelas site; As usual for Cabelas it gets good reviews. http://www.cabelas.com/p-0057309932922a.shtml