Coach

I hope this .mov file works. This guy was munching acorns in my backyard right next to my archery target. IMG_0264.MOV

Dang, that is awesome! I know there were opportunities at bigger bulls, but you guys got to have some amazing close-up experiences together and that is HUGE in my book. Great job, what amazing footage! Thanks for sharing and congrats to your son and you!

That's awesome!

I'd contact the police as well. She can't sell things that belong to someone else just because they're on her property. That's theft and they should be able to track down the buyer, and hopefully charge her for it. Dang man - I feel for you and hope you find them.

Congrats! That Tessa sure does get it done! Amazing job guys.

This is my neighbor's rental. I have no idea what it costs, but it's very nice and centrally located. https://thewoodpeckerbarn.com/photos

Great job! What an amazing bull! Congrats!

Here's a couple more from different angles

Thanks everyone!

What a stud buck! Way to stick with it!

Another thread got me thinking about old stories, and since this is the campfire, what better place? I'll start. I moved from Oklahoma to AZ when I was a freshman in HS back in the 80's. My dad worked in forestry and was working for the WMAT at the time. We went quail hunting in the fall and did a lot of ice fishing and just fishing in general. I had only hunted small game before moving here. A couple mornings in a tree stand for deer but hadn't even taken a shot. My first hunt in AZ was unplanned. A guy in one of my classes invited me to come along on a deer hunt. I didn't even have a gun, so I borrowed one from my dad. I don't remember all the circumstances but I found myself driving a ford escort to Alma NM, and following a hand-written map with scribbles and drawings in the middle of the night with a big ol' moon. Somehow I found their camp and settled in with a pop up tent and sleeping bag. We were just barely in AZ around Maple Peak. Being young and starting out I didn't have a backpack or even binoculars. So first morning we set out hiking, I had no idea where we were going. I had a pocket full of sunflower seeds and some water. We saw tons of deer but no bucks. Around lunchtime I spotted a white rump sticking out of a mahogony bush. I said "hey I've got a big buck here" and my buddy says "don't shoot until you see it's horns". I replied "it's nuts are hanging to it's knees! It's gotta be a buck!" and he replied again - "don't shoot it until you see it's horns". Right about then, it raises its head - it's a bighorn ram, and a big one. All I could think about then was a giant fine if I had shot it before identifying it. Again, young and just learning to hunt in the desert. Later that evening just as the sun was going down, we were hiking back to camp a little dehydrated and hungry. I looked across the canyon and right where it was a stark line between the shadowed part of the ridge and the brightly lit portion stood a big 4x4 muley. I was shaking with buck fever, and he was a good distance away. This was way before range finders and my borrowed gun was zeroed at 100 yards. I steadied on a tree limb, aimed way over his shoulder thinking he was 400 yards away and fired. Nothing. I didn't see where I hit so I just kept trying - and missing. Eventually, the buck just walked off and I was out of ammo. We went back to camp empty-handed. And so went my first ever Arizona hunt. Eventually I learned the ropes and started out small with javelina, an old pawn shop PSE bow and cheap binos. It was several seasons before I actually learned how to glass and hunt out west. Hope you enjoyed, and let's keep the old campfire stories going.

Wow! What an amazing buck - congrats, that is so awesome!

BTW, Chris down the road does awesome work with velvet bucks,

Dang Brian, that is one heck of a buck, and I know how hard you work for them. Great job finding him.

c'mon guys and gals. I know all of you have a story to tell.

Guess I'm old school, but Optics Planet used to be a great place to buy from. I have noticed that lately they sell everything under the sun so maybe it's true that they're acting more as an intermediary now.

This looks like a smoking deal. Same configuration as my Sunset (at least from what I can see from the outside). Even if the whole AC needs replacement. Some pix of the inside would be helpful. Good luck with the sale.

Very nice looking rifle. GLWS

Going back to 2000. My first coues, and my first deer.

Great looking buck! And 35 hours on the stand, that's a hard-earned trophy! Congrats.

Fantastic buck & great pic. Congrats!!!

I'd love to check out some of the old spots. Honestly, after the rule change where they started making that unit an "opportunity" hunt, I haven't been back except to add extra eyes on friends' hunts. Some of the guys I grew up with hunting that unit have gotten tags and know it really really well, have gone weeks without seeing a mature buck. If ever there was a unit I'd like to see back to the 80's it's 24A. Man I used to spend so much time in there. Pinky's ranch, Haystack, Dripping Springs. I ran into an old rancher a long time ago when my oldest boy was just 5 (now 25), and he took us to some indian ruins and told stories about the old times there. He had a pet albino bobcat, and a coues deer that lived in his place over by Seneca. He was convinced there were a small subset of tiny coues that were dog-sized but had full racks. I picked one up on Picacho Colorado one year that was 3x3 but would fit in the palm of your hand. It's supposedly debunked but I've seen enough sheds from 24A and the rez that I still think the "fantail" exist, or at least used to.

They made it in Wordpress. 🤣 Didn't even change the icon.

IMO 24A for sure, 27 was absolutely crawling with deer, 23 was better too. In unit 1 you'd see 30 deer a day just driving up to Big Lake and on to Buffalo Crossing. Dirt road to BL back then. Just my personal experience.

In Lakeside, this has been one of the best monsoons we've had in a while. Raining almost daily and the ground is soaked. Got a Unit 1 bull tag and for sure the tops are going well.