Coach

Disposable latex gloves. Right up there with the baby wipes.

Not to get off subject, but I kinda like the new Badlands Approach. Just bought a monster fanny pack in it. I do think it's interesting how successful these high-end hunting clothes have gotten. A piece here and there is fun, but I can't imagine doing a whole outfit in it. To each their own.

My son cuts wood as a side job and is looking for a good used saw - something like an older Stihl 440.

Thanks guys. I know he was looking at one at the Hub yesterday but it sounded like it was pretty beat up.We'll keep our eyes open.

As I get older, seems I sleep less. I got up around 3:45 this morning and was doing some reading on my iPad. Unfortunately, I had my reading glasses on, and I saw this incredibly bright light in front of our house. I assumed it was my oldest son coming home to get ready for work since he has a big light bar on his truck. A couple minutes later, there was a huge BOOM and the whole house shook. I grabbed my flashlight and went outside to see if something had gotten hit by lightning or what in the heck just blew up. Apparently the bright light was a meteorite that actually struck around 40 miles SW of Show Low and the giant boom was the sonic blast as it entered the atmosphere. Anyone else up at 4:00 this morning to witness it? I know my buddy thought his boat had blown up - lol.

Excellent footage of a fantastic buck. Thanks for putting this up.

Thanks for sharing this. IMO IMR4350 and H4350 sc are some of the most versatile powders out there. Anything from 25 - 30 cal, even magnum loads, best all around "go-to" powder to work up a load with.

This speaks volumes.

I sure hope so. We prepped for evacuation while planning our annual vacation. I live right on the rim and depending on how this fire goes, I could be one of the first ones hit. Our house got one of those coveted "red" tags meaning they aren't sure they could do anything if it did come to us. Let's hope and pray that the lines stand.

PM me if you want help with the pix.

This time of year there are a lot of cicada and grasshoppers hitting the water. To me nothing is more fun than getting them to hit on the surface. A rebel craw is perfect - toss it as close to the opposite bank as possible, work it like you would a dry fly keeping your line up stream then as soon as it starts to get pulled, do a fast retrieve and try to bounce it off the rocks. In the afternoon, a lot of times if you put it in still water they'll come up and take it within a second or two. Glad you are getting out there - it's a special place.

Great looking buck. Huge congrats.

Can't remember the last time I boiled up a bunch of nice 'dads. Looks like you got some big ones there. I've always enjoyed the meaty portions but never really got into slurping the body portion. Thanks for sharing.

Looks like a guy free-jumping with a gnome (or elf - hard to distinguish) on his back facing backward and a banana peel for a left leg. Other than that, I've got nothin'.

I think the first time I burned my hand by grabbing the doorknob from my garage to the outside, while living in Cave Creek was when I decided it was time to move to the mountains. Now I only have fires to contend with.

Very creative. Excellent wood work too. You might consider some slide-outs for more floor space, if that's possible with wood construction. Kudos.

Very clever, and while the department got a kick out of it, I hope it raised some awareness of what it feels like to be on the "other side" of all these fees.

Looks amazing! Huge congrats!!!

^^^ I'd like it twice if I could.Absolutely spot on.

Whatever the cause it, there's certainly a lot of people on edge up here. Pre-evacuation notices have been issued for Show Low, Pinetop/Lakeside, McNary, Hon-Dah, Fort Apache and surrounding areas. Forestdale is already being evacuated according to the link Doug provided. The good news is, the wind has subsided, giving crews a good shot at back-firing it tonight. I saw a lot of air support and crews up and down my road all afternoon. All we can do is hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

Been packing and preparing for evacuation all afternoon. Here's the view from our front yard. And from the Wal Mart parking lot:

Bump for two really awesome guns.

Anything can happen on the strip. When I was doing some research up there I heard everything. One story was a guy who lived and ranched up there his whole life. When he finally got the tag he used horses and all means available to him (obviously holding out for a giant) and came home empty handed. I've also heard of several guys who stayed in town and did nothing but drive main roads ending up killing monster bucks. One buck I know of well over the 200 mark was being watched by a very well known guide up there for months before the season, only to cross over into the adjacent unit and get shot by a guy out taking "nature break" not 50 yards from his camper. If there's any take-away, luck still plays a big role up there, as does weather and timing. I'd like to say the hardest working guys get the biggest deer, but like all hunting it's being in the right place at the right time, whether by hard work or luck or a combination of the two. There's a great quote out there, that's actually more of a paraphrase as nobody seems to know its true origins - mostly attributed to Samuel Goldwyn. "The harder I work, the luckier I get". May or may not apply to hunting on the strip but there it is.

The smell of breakfast on Saturday and Sunday when all my boys are home. The way my wife tells me I'm her best friend after 22 years of marriage. The blue of the sky over the white mountains, and the promise of my Lord, Jesus Christ to carry me through the rough parts of life I couldn't navigate without Him.

I think the 25's are pretty perfect for coues. 257 Wby Mag in the accumark, just about anything 6.5 - I'm partial to the 6.5x284 norma, I also like .300 WSM and .270 WSM. If I were to build one today, it would be like Doug's (Red Rabbit) 6.5 WSM. That has just about everything I like in a gun out west. But you have to hand load, lol. No stopping in at Wal Mart and picking up a box of 6.5 WSM,