Dodger2

Spotted parked at a corral in 33 today (1/19)...has an "Any Tag/Any Time" sticker as well....

Need some help/advice if possible. I'm fairly new to reloading, and got a couple questions/problems... 1. Neck resizing vs. full length resizing: I've recently been neck resizing only lately, but used to only full length resize. When do you need to do one vs. the other? 2. Today I went and shot two batches of reloads. Both were neck re-sizing, trimmed to the specs, and under my recommended COAL...the only difference was one batch was Federal brass the other was Winchester. The Federal batch chambered without a problem. The Winchesters wouldn't until after I shot the Federals. What causes rounds not to chamber? Is it the re-sizing or bullet depth? I measure each of my rounds, but still get some that chamber fine, need a little convincing, or won't chamber at all... Thanks

Winchester Model 70 7mm WSM with a Zeiss 4.5-14x50

Its not a 300wsm...its a 7mm WSM. I thought it was weird too, and also knew there would be a difference since the two types of brass are different. I only have about 20 Federal brass and can only find Winchester brass (which is what I have the most of anyways). But wanted to see how the two would shoot (not chamber) differently. Just thought it was weird that one would chamber and the other wouldn't. And they were all loaded at the same time/session.

I can tell you that the route used by the UDAs runs up from Horseshoe canyon in the south...up over Monte Vista peak....down into W Turkey Creek via the Pole Bridge Trail then back up towards Raspberry Ridge running north through the higher terrain and the monument. However, having spent my entire life down in those mountains I have not had an encounter yet with any illegals. We have had numerous break ins when our cabin was still standing prior to the Horseshoe 2 fire and I've had trail cam pictures of them. We now camp since our cabin was burned down and haven't had any problems (knock on wood). You will be south of I-10 so there will always be the possibility of having a problem with UDAs/smugglers. We have hunted Unit 29 for many, many, many years. Good luck this year.

If they are out on Monday, April 1st...that's April Fool's Day...just sayin'

Were they small black quills? We call those "Spanish needles" (don't know if its right or not)...my daughter walked through a patch of them last weekend and yelled, "Daddy help...my pants...I look like a porcupine....." The flowers they come from are pretty, but when I see them during the summer I know what's gonna be waiting for me in the fall.....

I'm not on here as much anymore, work schedule etc....just saw that...big congrats to you and your wife!!! Glad the rain, wind, etc held off long for you guys to celebrate that afternoon!

Casey, That was me...if you had time you should have stopped by and said hello....

After some close calls almost tumbling down a mountain I'm thinking about getting some hiking poles or a staff....any recommendations

There is my experience from craigslist through work....guy offers to buy/sell something...a meeting is arranged...buyer or seller then gets robbed at gunpoint for the cash or item....just another reason I won't use craigslist....

Just came across this post...Great pictures for sure!! I wish I had some pics of my grandfather's deer that he shot with his model 99 300 Savage back then. Unfortunately my grandfather passed away before I was born, but my dad speaks of some big deer that he shot. On a side note, my dad grew up in Warren....

Sweet buck....and I like the license plate...congrats!!

That's a hunting adventure right there...my brother and I have contemplated the backpack hunt, but know my luck it would snow, etc. Congrats on a great buck!

When we first found him night before I told my brother to go ahead and take him since I shot the last one a couple of years ago. My son was with me on that hunt as well, but I had to take him home the night before. When I found him the next morning having my son there was one of the reason's I shot the buck and my brother didn't. I haven't had the chance yet to see my father take a deer and he told me this year that he only has a couple of more seasons left. This deer was special for a couple of reasons. I don't think my son understands it yet, but he will in the future. He will be 10 next year so it might be his turn. Of course my 6 year old daughter wants to get into the action now, so I've got some pressure to live up to....oh well....I think thats something I can live with.

Thought I would share some of the details of a great late November hunt. My hunt didn't start until Sunday due to work schedule and travel on Saturday. My 9 year old son went down with me and was staying until Monday. My brother was able to get down for an afternoon hunt on Saturday and called telling me he was watching a good mid-80s buck and a 2x2, but was having a hard time locating them due to looking directly into the sun. Those two eventually bedded down and my brother let them be for the night. The next morning we headed to one of our regular canyons and found it loaded with other hunters. It was understandable due to numerous locked gates, etc. We did a morning hunt there and found a few does. We then headed back to camp for lunch and discussed our options. During one of my scouting trips, I was able to locate a good looking canyon that wasn't as accessible as other areas and we figured there would be fewer hunters. We decided to head there for the evening. The hike in is up a pretty steep, long hill that takes about 30-45 min to reach the top of the ridge. Once at the top we locating a good glassing spot to allow us to glass a north face. This was our view.... After about 30 minutes I picked up a smaller buck in some trees. We watched him for awhile and then noticed movement above him. That's when we saw a better buck that we could tell had 4 points on one side. He stayed in the thick stuff and eventually bedded down behind a boulder giving us only a view of his head. We discussed the options for the evening and decided to head back to the same exact spot in the morning. Monday morning found us in the exact same spot. I had been behind my binoculars for about 15 minutes when I found the buck again. This time he was up feeding in the open. My brother kept an eye on him while I tried to find a good shooting location in the rocks we were sitting in. I eventually located one and ranged the buck at 339yds. Once he stepped back out into the open I squeezed the trigger. The buck dropped in his tracks and then rolled down the mountain, over two rock faces. Here he is... My son and me... The rest of the hunt was just as eventful as I attempted to help my brother fill his tag. We went back to the location where he found the nice 3x3 on Saturday and located him immediately. My brother second guessed himself with the distance and shot directly over him. After two more follow up shots were taken, the buck was able to move out of range. We ended up finding our way back into the Wilderness Area and man what a difference. The first evening found a good buck, possibly 100", on a ridge about 800yds away. He was just inaccessible due to the time, location, and distance. The next morning located two smaller bucks and a beautiful sow bear with her cub. That was neat to watch the little cub running around the mountain without a care in the world. That evening located two more big bucks about 1000yds out, but again we got caught in the time crunch with sunset. We tried to locate them again on Thursday morning, but the wind beat us and apparently blew all the deer off the mountain because we didn't see anything. Unfortunately, my brother was not able to fill his tag. Even if I hadn't filled my tag, the hunt would still have been a success.

Haha!! Thanks for the compliments on the buck and as far as the hat goes here is another pic with a different hat...before it warmed up climbing that mountain....yes it says "ARIZONA" Bear Down!!

Pretty sure we called that first one "child of the earth" or something like that when I was younger...its a Jerusalem Cricket. That scorpion is needs to be called a "flat backed" scorpion after its stepped on....I HATE THOSE THINGS!

Congrats on the buck! My last coues buck was about the same size and my son went with me on my hunt...he wasn't able to be there when I shot my buck, but I hung the antlers in his room since that was his first hunt he was on with me. He thinks its the coolest thing ever!

Its a border unit and has its issues with all the other border units. I've been going down there my entire life, and I can say that I've seen a steady increase in activity in the last couple of years. Most of the traffic seems to be up high in the mountains since bp is pretty thick in the valleys. I've seen one "dump" site in my trips down there. Prior to the fire we were having issues with the UDAs breaking into our cabin and stealing canned food, blankets, etc during the winter months. I was down there on Monday, and while I was there I saw a total of 4 trucks along the road I was on and 3 of those were bp trucks. I've seen UDAs out in the valley along the roadway, but I've never seen them out in the hills. I've gotten trail cam pics of them up in the mountains. From what I have heard from talking with ranchers and bp agents is that the Chiricahuas are a dope highway, which is what concerns me the most. There is always a lot of people camped out down there though and I've never heard of any issues. After the Horseshoe 2 fire we had issues with "tweakers" stealing all the copper out of our burned cabin. I expected that and after speaking with Cochise County Sheriff Deputies, they said that type of activity is typical in that area. The last two times I've been down there I've seen bp doing their job...they were out in force near the Kansas Settlement Rd looking for someone/something and then I found myself in the middle of a bp high speed pursuit on I10 just east of Benson on Monday. I will be camping out down there this year since we lost our cabin...I will cautious but not overly concerned. I'm not going to let it ruin my hunt!

I'm not an expert, but I think your 2 full turns, etc is gonna be a bit much. 1 click is 1/4" at 100yds...so at 200yds 1 click is 1/2"....300yds is gonna be 3/4"...and 400yds is gonna be 1"....so keeping it simple without having to use fractions and etc...using your 400yd elevation would mean 19-20 "clicks"...thats just over 1 full turn....Your talking about Minute of Angle (MOA) there and as you go out in distance your adjustments are gonna get proportionally larger (magnified).

Here is an update on unit 29...re-opening on 9/24...I was down there on Tuesday and the mountains look great. The areas that were "torched" are green on the ground, but the areas that were low to medium intensity burns are hard to even see any signs of a burn. Mother Nature is amazing.... http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/coronado/documents/D1Opensweb.pdf

Vortex Kaibabs hers (also have a pair of Swaro 10x42 SLCs)...my brother uses the 15x56 Swaro's....

Access is only allowed to those that have access permits to rebuild/repair structures. The forest is closed until 10/15. USFS law enforcement is out down there and will cite if you are in the forest without a permit. The roads are barricaded with notices.

Nope...the forest is CLOSED. Couple of weeks ago my family was advised (by USFS LEO) that we would be cited if we were anywhere in the forest other than on the road to/from our cabin or at our cabin/well etc. Permits have been authorized for property owners only. The roads are posted with notices. There are certain trails and roads that are open (Coronado Nat'l Forest website). 29 is a "no go" for the archery season right now. The closure is in effect until 10/15 at the latest. Trust me...I have that tag and have been hunting down there my entire life, its killing me not being out there in those hills right now!!