Coach

Totally real! Duh! Everyone's heard of the "Elliot Lake" moose. An average sized E.L.M. stands 12 - 16 feet tall at the shoulder. What the heck to do you think Big Foot rides?

I've been hunting and fishing the San Carlos reservation for years - and the Fort Apache side. I've also hunted the Navajo res. Each time I've had an encounter with one of their officers, it was cordial and professional. They were even very helpful and offered advice and information to help out where they could. As far as the San Carlos reservation, I know they are fighting a tremendous battle against poaching - not to mention the grave robbers and other opportunists looking to make a quick buck on jewelry, beads, pottery and whatever they can scavenge. Truth be told, I'm surprised they are as accomdating as they are. The majority of G&F officers you'll encounter on the San Carlos are absolutely stand-up guys who aren't looking to single out non-members. They are just good folks trying to hold on to something sacred and have shown nothing but professional courtesy to me or my hunting partners over a number of years. I think this particular incident illustrates how there may be situations that come up in the "grey areas" of hunting the areas bordering the reservations. Personally, I can say that the San Carlos, the Fort Apache and the Navajo reservations comprise some of the best outdoor experiences available, and none of my encounters with their law enforcement agencies have lead me to believe that they have a bias against non-tribal members. Of course, there are situations where you encounter a single individual with a slightly different perspective than the organization they represent. I've seen this first hand OFF the Reservation, on public AZ hunting lands. In (approximately) 25 years of hunting in AZ, I have encounted dozens of G&F officers in the field - on and off the reservations. Almost every one has been very positive, but on occasion, you meet up with a guy with something to prove. I had an incident near the border of units 1 and 27 where I was in a compromised situation. I was planning to hunt an area in 27 that had closed the day before (a new change I should have known about), while camped in unit 1 that was still open. My bow was in the back of my truck, inaccessible, and I was driving. I met up with an officer and told him my intentions to go hunt a particular area. Turns out that area had closed the previous day due to differing seasons between unit 1 and 27. That was enough - I got cited for "taking game in a closed area". Of course I hadn't taken squat, and was simply en-route, but boil it down how you like, I should have known the specific rules and dates. My bad, I fessed, and went through the system just as if I had knowingly shot a deer in a closed area - without having ever left my vehicle in persuit of a deer. I could have lied and said I was hunting coyotes, but I'm not a liar. I messed up and I dealt with it. Although I never technically hunted or persued game in a closed unit, the way the law reads, and the way the prosecuter in Springerville saw it, I had crossed into illegal territorry. I guess the point is, LEO's enforcing game violations are always walking a very thin line, whether they are on a reservation or in forest service or trust lands. And for every accidental mishap, there are probably a hundred blatant attempts to break or exploit game laws. Every legitimate reason is met by a hundred lame excuses or lies, and these guys have to sort it all out. You hunt enough, chances are you might find yourself in a compromising situation, regardless of your intentions. Know the law, be informed, and in a situation like this, be prepared should you have to defend yourself, and most of all, even if you get a hot-head, keep your cool and know when you have accidentally crossed the line and when you haven't. In this particular case, the regulations are clear. You need an access/tresspass permit for very specific roads on the San Carlos. The road in question was NOT called out in the regulations as requiring a tresspass permit. You did nothing wrong.

Totally awesome buck - congrats! That is a stellar deer. Those big muleys truly are the "wise ones". You did something most of us only dream of - one heck of a buck and a great story to boot. A big, hearty congrats goes out to you on sealing the deal on a beautiful trophy mule deer.

Awesome to be headed out there with your dad! Good luck - that should be a really fun hunt!

I'm not in Maricopa County, but I would love to see someone out here in the sticks enforcing a few dog laws. I'm sick as heck of shoveling someone else's dog's left-overs, but can't quite bring myself to shoot the SOB's dogs that roam our neighborhoods all day. In my case they're pure bred bird dogs, and from what I hear quite well trained. Maybe they'll get these laws in effect here and I can build a nice little "humane dog trap" and haul them to the pound. Make my "good neighbor" think twice about turning his bird dogs loose all day while he goes about his business. Jake - no offense - I can see the occasional accident - dogs have a mind of their own. But there is also a mentality out there that you can just turn 'em loose - daily - and call 'em back in the evening with no sense of responsibility about what they're doing all day.

Nice double! Welcome to the site. Thanks for sharing the photos and story.

Sorry to hear about that situation. I was under the impression that in AZ, an employee could be released for any or no reason with no compulsatory explanation or compensation - outside that already earned. It sounds like you followed the letter of the law and did what you could to make for a peaceful parting, but the judge is "creating policy from the bench" - a true Sotomayer protégée, for sure. The good news is, you have the info to appeal - the bad news, it may cost you more to appeal than to concede. Nothing I can do but give my best wishes. I hope it works out with as little pain and cost as possible to you.

Got a final score on that bad boy yet? I'm feeling bad for lowballing him!

Dang - I've used that road on several occasions also. I can see requiring a permit for some of those long stretches of dirt roads through the reservation that people use to access some remote FS land, but that's a VERY short, paved road. It's almost like saying we have to have a permit to drive through the Salt River canyon - but only if we're planning on hunting somewhere off the reservation that day...I just don't see how they can enforce it if you don't leave your vehicle while on the res portion, but if they DO update the regs, that will stink.

24A archery piggies for me - the boys got the youth 6a/6b javi hunt.

Awesome story - man, that is hard-core!!!

No disrespect RR, but I've heard "rumors" Toyota will have diesel Hi-Lux for sale in the US for ... well coming on two decades. Still hasn't happened so I'll chalk this one up to "I'll believe it when I seen it".

Great job Marcy - already voted for you, but you rock. I sure hate trying to cyber-guess a score without having the rack in my hands. It's unusual for a buck's G3s to beat his G2s so it's even more complicated. My first impression of this buck is 96-ish. Given the main beam length and symmetry, I'd say it has potential to go 102 befor deductions. So those of you with benefit of the tape - what's the shake-down?

I'm very sorry to hear about that. I hope you get the deer mount back.

The GL2 is a very good camera. I think it's kind of the "standard" do-it-yourself camera but I'd also look at offering by Sony and Panasonic. If you are looking at the GL2, I assume you are looking for a pro-sumer 3-CCD camera. I did months of research in this area and ended up buying a Panasonic AG-DVX model that did better in low light than the GL2 or comparable Sony offerings in the same price range. However, I think in this range of camera, it's more important to understant the capabilities/limitations of each model. Most do only OK in low light, NONE have adequate built in microphones for semi-professional hunting videos. If you just want to video your own hunts and your family, you can do just as well with many of the smaller - even tiny - hand-helds. If you are trying to compose something for professional applications, the GL2 and others in its class *might* do, but you'll have to spend some extra cash on an external microphone and top-notch video editing software. Long story short - if you just want to "capture the moment", get a good compact with an emphasis on image stabilzation. If you are looking for commercial results - you're probably going to have to drop some serious dollars on a true, professional grade camera with pro-grade sound capabilities. The fault in most pro-sumer cameras is not the picture, but the sound. Add-on microphones are a must, but then you have to learn how to edit out background sound which typically requires lots of hardware and/or software.

Either gun will do fine - the trick with coues isn't shooting them, it's finding them. Make sure you have good glass, and more importantly good information about the are you'll hunt and the right expectations going in.

Thank GOD you all walked away with minor injuries. You have your whole lives ahead of you, and it could easily have turned out much worse. I'm extremely glad it didn't. Sorry about the truck, but when it comes down to it, the most important thing is that you and your friends all made it home OK.

Lots of great scopes out there, but I have to plug the Cabela's Alaskan Guide series. I have two mounted on my favorite rifles. One (going off memory) is a 4-14 and the other is a 6-20 both in 40mm with mil dots. I think I paid between $275 and $325 for them, and for the money, they are fantastic. Both guns (both inexpensive) will outshoot me any day. The other scope I'd look at is the Vortex Viper or Diamondback - great optics, great price and a the VIP warranty - hard to argue with that one. Of course, if money is not a big consideration, Huskemaw, Zeiss, Swaro, upper-end Leupold etc are all great rifle scopes for sure - but IMO, there are plenty of great scopes out there that cost a lot less then the "best of the best" and do the job very well.

You'll never believe this, but I was listening to our local "tradio" (radio classifieds) a couple weeks back and an older lady was selling a '59 Land Cruiser - all original - with the straight-six - still running - for get this, $800. I can hardly post this it's so painful - but my situation was such that I couldn't do it, but somebody got one heck of a deal. I'm still kicking myself - when I lived in Houston, a badly rusted, hacked-together FJ with NO redeeming qualities was selling for $8K in Galveston. BTW, Amber rocks! I rebuilt an '87 4Runner with all the bells and whistles - solid axle swap from an '84, big lift, big 35" Wrangler MTR tires, full-time locker in the back and air locker in the front with dash-mounted controls. A custom "swing-out tire carrying rear bumper that held the spare and two jerry cans on a 1000 lb trailer spindle. I even durabak'd the entire outside with a desert-tan/black speckle, and inside with all black - and when I took it on a San Carlos hunt, I was amazed how the absolute "scratchiest" horse trail I could take 'er on, not a single scratch to the outside was to be seen. That was one heck of a truck. I know the "labor of love" it took to make that beast of yours happen - heck I had to learn to weld, spent every waking hour when not at work for two full summers getting that truck to where it was. It's no small feat, and you should be proud as heck to have created such an awesome mule. I ended up selling my "baby" to a really nice guy in the LA area - a vet - so I'm at least I'm glad she got a good home. Just for old time's sake I have to post a pic of my old "beauty and beast".

I live right across from Show Low Lake. If you want to meet up, I can either give you directions to my house or meet up somewhere close by. WallyWorld, Lowes and Home Depot are all right off the Show Low Lake road, and < 5 minutes from home. Let me know.

I have an Eberlestock J105 that I've only used a couple of times. It would be in "like new" condition, but a dang mouse or chipmunk chewed up a portion of the gray mesh. I'm saving up for a Kifaru pack, and quite frankly I just don't use this pack very much. I have some add-on pouches that are just the right size for 15x Swaros and a range finder. I want to post it on here, but I honestly don't know what a fair price is. It's an extremely well made pack, but I generally carry either a heavy fanny pack with shoulder straps, or go full bore on a full-sized internal frame pack if I'm going on an extended backcountry hunt, so I don't end up using this pack as much as I thought I would when I bought it. It has the gun scabbard and long side pockets for spotting scopes and full sized tripods. I'll post pix if anyone is interested.

Pictures for those interested. May as well start with the mouse-damaged portion - the only thing that keeps the pack from being in "as new" condition. Ok, on to the good stuff... Fully extended Fully compressed Compressed with pouches visible - the big pouch can hold 15x Swaros, and the small pouch can hold most range finders. Inside - you can tell it's basically brand new. I also have the orange panel that zips across the gray mesh if you are packing out game and an extra pack of "strap handlers" that keep the loose straps confined. Not sure what to ask, but the J107 is about $330 new WITHOUT the extra pouches. I'm thinking $250. Sound reasonable?

Wow!!! Those are some great looking bucks! Congrats to you all - some very fine hunting there. Thanks for sharing the stories and pictures with us!

Nice job - gotta love those "left-over" tags. Thanks for sharing the pictures and story.

Nice, but don't let my wifey see those foxes! We have them all named here - Farrah Foxit Mgr. (the alpa female), Ms. Sexy Fox (the slim, shy female), Foxy Foxy (the alpha male), the "kids"... they all come into the yard and play with footballs, climb into feeders...like a bunch of wild pets. Nothing but kudos for your trophies, but they sure are beautiful animals!