Coach

Hey HOSS, thanks for posting. I also have some questions about San Carlos bucks. A while back I was fortunate enough to hunt the San Carlos 2 out of 3 years. Both times I was in a group of really hard-core coues guys, and while we saw a few good bucks scouting, almost everyone went home empty, with the exception of one guy taking an OK buck late in the hunt. Don't get me wrong, we were looking for strictly 100+ bucks at a minimum, and saw a few in that range but we thought we'd see multiple 115+ type bucks. I missed a really nice buck that I'm guessing was around 110, but that's a whole story in itself. Let's just say I was broken down and living in the Taco Bell parking lot over Thanksgiving waiting for Checker or AutoZone to open. LOL. I met an old rancher who told me exactly where to go, and exactly where to look, and viola, there he was, I just tanked the shot. Two years later, I met up one night with an old trapper, probably 80+ years old, driving a beat up white VW beetle. It was obvious, this man has spent many a night on a bedroll on the Rez. We BS'd a bit by the fire but eventually he started talking about how few big bucks he had seen in the past few years, compared to the "old days" as he described. Not trying to stir anything up, but he implied that poaching big whitetail was a major factor over the past few years. His premise was, that more woodcutters on the reservation were killing more and more WT bucks over the years, whereas in the past they were killing more does (out of convenience) strictly for meat. Well, no one on the San Carlos gets deeper into the woods than the local woodcutters, so what he told me made a lot of sense - not to mention he was old enough to forget more about hunting big bucks than I'm likely to ever know. I just thought I'd see what your take was on this. I love the San Carlos, and I'd hunt it every year if I could afford it. I would just like to understand it a little better. Shoot me a PM if you get the chance. There's some areas I'd like to talk about. If you are into picking up sheds, I found a honey hole a couple years back. I couldn't take any, so I'm sure there are still a lot on the ground.

I've got an older Nikon that constantly amazes me. The thing has been battered, torn, lost and found...Even with dirty lenses, etc, it still does a great job, and I have to force myself to replace the batteries. It can go literally years of hard use and never show a low battery indicator. That said, I've heard nothing but good things about the Leica, very little about the Zeiss - I'm sure either of those, or the Swaro, will be hard to beat. On the other hand, Nikon, Bushnell and Leupold have made strides in lazer rangefinders as well. I like the idea of angle compensating rangefinders that Leica and Zeiss have not fully embraced yet, but I don't know how they perform in the field. I was told a couple years back at SHOT show by a Leica rep that Leica was the only brand that does everything "in-house" and they hadn't found a way to truly incorporate angle calculations - inferring that the other brands were not as accurate as they claimed. For what it's worth, if you go with either of the brands you are considering, you'll end up with a quality piece of equipment. But IMO, if it's not built into a set of binocs, it just seems like a lot of money to drop for a stand-alone range finder. I'm still hoping Vortex will partner with the companies behind the other Asian manufactured range finders and come up with an affordable binocular/range-finder combo that has the optics of a Vortex and the range-finding abilities of a Nikon/Leupold for under a grand. Sorry, didn't mean to derail the thread. If you want the best range finder on the market today, buy the Leica. You won't be disappointed.

Congrats, Ryan. Awesome buck, and that smile across your face says it all. Great job!

+1 on the beanie, aka, night cap. I wear one even at home when it gets chilly. Guess that's what happens when your hair migrates down your neck, across your back...well you get the picture. I guess it's somewhere around 80-90% of your body heat that escapes through your head. If you're blessed with curly locks, that number may drop a bit, but if you're bald as a cue-ball, like me, a little headgear while sleeping cold goes a long way. As for heaters, I know the catalytic heaters are "supposed" to be safe...I won't sleep in any enclosed area where anything is burning. Don't mind starting up the Buddy Heater or whatever once awake, but I'd rather bundle up warm and not take any chances with carbon monoxide poisoning. Stay safe out there guys.

Sounds like a good time none the less. Sure is fun, just to be out there. Of course, we all want to wrap that tag around some horn, but just being "in the hunt" is enough to make it fun. Thanks for sharing your story.

Congrats Matt! Outstanding job, and kudos to Dad for getting you out there hunting.

Wowzer! That's one heck of a season! Great job putting some awesome bucks and bulls on the ground.

+1, I do all my own processing, so there's nobody to blame but myself if a screwup is made. Looking at some of the pix on the website linked above, all I can say, is I would *never* accept some of those animals if I were a processor. Rank, spoiled, horrible hair covered and pine needles - Blech.

Wow, what a "jaw dropper"! I hope you get a chance to put an arrow in him.

I'm glad you found a better fit. I've never worn the Kenetreks, so I can't say how these will compare. I know that my pair of Perfekt Hunters are the best pair of boots I've owned. The cork footbed will conform to your foot after a little use, like Birkenstocks (errrrg, hippie sandals), and the Obenauf's wax will take care of any creaks or squeaks. Let us know how they work for you tromping around the low desert.

Awesome job. I just love seeing those youth hunters. Kids with dad smacking deer = great memories for all of you. Congrats, and good job dad getting those boys out there.

Joeeden, I think I'll have to toast to that. Just cracked a fresh one, with a decent cigar...Uh oh, I'm a fugitive now

Great job! She'll be good eatin' this winter!

I was watching a show on Discovery or History channel about medical pot in California. They were showing the inside of some of these "dispensaries" that legally sell pot for medicinal purposes. It was kind of funny how careful they were to only describe their product as "medicine" and their customers as "patients". Yet everyone milling around in there deciding what "medicine" to buy was just a bunch of regular old pot heads. I don't think you even need a formal prescription, like you would for other regulated medicines. Just a note from a doctor, who I'm sure they have standing by to provide. There's no doubt that "medical" marijuana is a stepping stone to full-blown legalization for recreational use. Just look at the measure that almost passed in CA a couple weeks back. Personally, I'm not really either for or against legalization of pot. Anyone who wants it can already get it with a simple phone call, and our "war on drugs" hasn't made a dent. Seems just a few weeks back the feds found a tunnel from Mexico to AZ and confiscated some crazy amount of pot - like 20 TONS or something silly. That's just one load intercepted - think of how many tons of Mexican pot are making their way into the US every week. Not to mention the folks who grow their own, buy domestic pot, etc. I don't smoke it, haven't for over 20 years, and even back in college days had roommates and friends who smoked it daily, and I gave it try or two, but I never really got the appeal. Just not my thing. That said, I'm not a believer in prohibition either. It has never worked and never will. Simple economics 101 proves that where there is a demand, there will be a supply. It just creates a black market that lines the pockets of murderers and gangsters with cash. Not sure where I end up on this one...You can walk into a Circle K and buy any kind of alcohol you want in any quantity (until they run out). Many people call pot a "stepping-stone" drug, but I'd argue that the first "stepping stone" drug is tobacco, followed by alchohol. Yet both are legal, taxed, and have widespread legal use. I tend to lean more toward personal liberty and personal responsibility, which leads me more toward legalization, but where do you draw the line, or do you? Dunno. Hard to tell people they can't smoke pot and lay around eating cheetos, but they can drink all the alcohol they can afford (often leading to domestic violence, drunk driving, etc) - like one is OK and the other isn't.

Knowing our system, the dude will sue and end up buying a nice 200 acre ranch in S. AZ...

Get a rope...

I'm glad to see so many responses to this post, with such a wide variety of contributors. I think Super Jumbo may be on to something. G&F reduced the rut tags across the state, and in some cases doubled or tripled those tags in October and November. I've been on my share of late December hunts, and a few November hunts. In my experience, a late December hunt, when the rut is in full swing, is certainly no guarantee of even seeing a congo buck. They definately do move more, which makes the chances of seeing a buck during the "slow hours" improve...That said, most of the bucks I've seen bird-dogging at mid-day during the heat of the rut weren't the big bruisers - they were the smaller bucks trying to get a chance at the does. November is even harder, IMO. The bucks seem to move infrequently, they aren't being led by the desire to breed. They seem to occupy a tiny bit of landscape and spend most of their time bedded. Maybe more mature bucks are making it through the early hunts, by moving little, if at all during daylight, with substantially less pressure during the rut is what is allowing 3-4 year old bucks turn into 6-7 year old bucks.

Wow. Amazing buck, and story...Thanks so much for sharing. That is really freaking awesome.

This year there are a lot of great bucks are hitting the ground - both coues and Muleys. Lots of good (great) hunters working hard, learning more efficient techniques, good equipment, etc. I started a related thread earlier - on the one hand, it seems like G&F is issuing way too many tags, and in my favorite hunting unit, it seems to be having a negative effect. On the whole, I'm seeing bigger deer, and way more exceptional deer being taken, than ever before. It makes one wonder if the quality of deer is actually improving, if it's just a function of more hunters working harder and thinking "outside the box", or maybe we're just more connected these days, and we get to see more of the deer that our hunters are tagging. Whatever the reason - AZ hunters are taking some amazing deer this year, as they have for the past several seasons. It will be interesting to see if the trend continues. Congrats to all of the hunters out there taking amazing AZ trophies. I hope you have made a lifetime of memories hunting AZ with family and friends.

I'm happy to report that the story had a happy ending.

I didn't find the deer - but I just saw this on another forum and figured I should post it here. http://forums.bowsite.com/tf/regional/thre...=1&state=AZ

Looking forward to the story of your hunt. Good Hunting!

"a horse in a corral"

Congrats on a great looking buck!

Nice to see that game meat getting taken care of right! I've been eating jerky, backstrap, summer sausage, italian sausage, way more meat than I am used to, for the past several weeks. My family was blessed this year with 3 elk - one bull and two cows, and we have been working really hard to put the meat to its best use. You guys that tag out on elk, deer, whatever, and aren't sure how to make the best of it, speak up here. Lots of people on here know how to make the best of every bit of a harvest. I have had a hard time getting my family to eat wild meat. I've found that the more I make jerky, snack sticks, sausage, brats, whatever, the more they want to gobble up. LEM makes great seasonings, and I've gotten lots of compliments on some of my beer sticks that are nothing more than cleanly trimmed deer or elk with LEM Snack Stick seasonings out of the Jerky Cannon, and dried in any dehydrator. I'll toss this out too - those lovely backstraps and cleaned "roasts" of back quarters. Don't be afraid to cut them into strips around 3/8 inch, toss on a little Cavender's or Montreal seasoning, then dip them lightly into some flour before crisping them in really hot olive oil. Seriously, some of the most tender, most flavorful, and most appealing game meat can be prepared this way.