naturegirl

Very nice! Good job.

I'm not all that experienced. Only been hunting them 3 years, but I was out deer hunting a month ago and we had 2 or so straight days of rain here in AZ. There were pig tracks everywhere. Seemed like they were still moving to me. Their bellies will get them moving sooner or later. Bring your rain gear!

it also depends on you. I've sat water for 5 days sun up to sundown a few times. its hard and quite boring in my opinion. im working on the spot and stalk method now. I just don't think I can make myself sit that long again. not to say id never do it but for me its pure torture to sit still that long. have fun and be patient. archery is hard. im over 3 years of probably 30+ days a year hunting and haven't arrowed anything yet. maybe my 7opinion day hunt next week will change the dry spell :0). If not, Ill still be happy just being outdoors.

I think I'm going to improvise and make my own. I can't seem to find anything that fits what I want. Yes, it is an Outdoorsman, but I still want to protect it especially from the dust. I've never had anything this nice before and I just can't see not trying to baby it. Thanks for all the input. I'm surprised there's not much out there to pick from.

Just wondering what everyone uses to protect their tripods? I did search the site for posts on this and couldn't find anything. I was thinking about an old camping chair case, but it will be too noisey. I'd like it to attach to my backpack, be quiet, and protect the tripod especially from dust since I'm on the Rhino quite a bit. I can sew something to my backpack if needed or come up with some sort of attachment. Santa was good to me this year and I got new binos and tripod early so I'll have them for the December archery hunt and I want to take very good care of them. Thanks.

beautiful. looks like a postcard. thanks for sharing

yeah there's really not much you can do. we all want and need to scout for our hunts especially the late elk when everything is on the move. I try my best to stay out of the way of anyone who is hunting.

We have a 6 yo black lab. she does upland and ducks/dove. when she was about 6 mos old we had a guy in the west valley train her for 3 months. money well spent although I had a hard time letting her go. she's a great all around bird and family dog.

Yippee we got turkey and pig :0) Maybe 2012 will be my year!

I honestly didn't think about protecting the tripod either, but it was quite expensive. The place we bought it from suggested it. Makes sense though to try to keep dust out of the moving parts. AzSlim - I'm in Gilbert, but my father-in-law is in Glendale. Do you have a pic of the case you could PM me?

that is a great bull especially for a late Archery hunt. I had a late rifile tag a few tears ago. hunted hard for 7 days and was skunked! very good job!

My birthday is this week. I mentioned to hubby I would like new high end binos. I have a pair of Nikon trailblazers 8x42 which are great for heavy forest hunting but id like something that is a lot better for long distance mountain desert hunting. im not a fan of spotting scopes. I wear my binos at all times when im out and about outdoors even quail hunting in rain, snow,dust, etc. Price isnt a big priority but there's no sense paying for a name if there's something else out there comparable for less $$. I have used Swarovskis once and they were quite a bit better then my trailblazers. Well more than quite a bit. Im also wanting a new red label from santa so I guess I don't want to ask for too much ...lol Anyone have any advice, thoughts, suggestions, etc?

I could say many of the same things as u. I've been bow hunting 3 yrs too. Up until last weekend I've never gotten closer than 200 or so yards. I too have felt like giving up. My 2 early hunts this year had me on deer but just not the deer I wanted. The spikes were in range but I don't want to shoot a spike. I don't have a minimum but I know its not a spike or fork for my first deer (archery or rifle). I got on 4-5 BIG mulies and did everything right on my hour long stalk til I bumped em in their bed. I couldn't see them after they got up the hill. I went right went left and then went straight to a little 5-10' cliff. dang deer bedded down and I didn't look right below my feet. All I saw was deer butt and big antlers running. Was I bummed? Oh yes! But im learning on every single time im out there. Someday everything will come together. Don't give up. Enjoy the outdoors. It is hunting ....not shooting.

Camera flashes or cameras don't stop animals from coming in to drink. I can't get elk and cows to quit screwing with mine...lol. yes it does probably make it anyone's property being in public land but it is still stealing and wrong. The person taking re camera did not work for the $$ to buy it and knows ethically it is not theirs. I would never take someone elses stand, camera, or anything else that I know is not mine. Just my 2 cents.

Great story and great deer!!

I majorly commend you for sticking with it and recovering your deer. I truly hope u get the rack back. It doesn't seem very fair but rules are rules and I think u did the right thing. Its all the ***hole poachers and idiot hunters who make it hard for us ethical law abiding hunters. I've seen poached animals and I don't envy some of the duties of a GW. Luckily I've only met nice helpful GWs so far.

I did the same thing....shot in my backyard for months at 20 yards (until I was consistent) before I went to longer ranges. I too watched videos of others and also watched them at local ranges.. I think it helps a ton to know someone who shoots a bow who can give advice. Not being sure of your financial situation, I started off with a used bow. I wasn't sure id even stick with it. I didn't purchase my Mathews until I'd been at it for a year. My first set up was free from my father-in-law. My second well over $1,000. Also I researched the internet extensively before I purchased my bow. Practice practice practice and practice some more. That's the only way to get better and stick with it. It took me awhile to "grow into" my new bow. It was so far ahead of me with its capabilities and it took me a few months to really get consistent with my new bow. Oh yeah one more thing....consistent anchor points was one of my biggest problems until I got a new release. Fit is everything with archery equipment. Even if u buy used, still go to an archery store to have your draw length checked and pick their brains about equipment and test shoot as many as u can.

Hello! I was in your shoes not too long ago. I've been shooting a bow for about 2 years now. The first year was with a hand me down from my father-in-law that did not fit me at all. Early last year I bought a Mathews Passion. I practiced at least 4-5 days a week either shooting 20 yards in my backyard or going to the range in Chandler or Archery Headquarters shooting 20-50 yards. I had an instructor teach me once and my husband has shot a bow for a long time and he has helped me a lot. I started getting frustrated after about 5 months and I felt that I should be much better than I was. A guy at Archery Headquarters said something to me that really did fit. He said I was now shooting a top of the line bow and I needed time to grow into the bow (basically I needed to develop the skills required to accurately shoot my bow). I'd say it took me about 7-8 months of very consistent practice to actually be very comfortable with my bow and was able to shoot very well. My problem is I'm not the type who is satisfied with hitting a paper plate. I want to hit a quarter. I wanted to shoot as good as my husband. Yes I'm competitive. I also studied a lot online about form, watched videos, etc. I also watched other shooters at the ranges. I don't think a bow is something that is mastered overnight but takes a lot of practice to get good at. One of my biggest problems was consistent anchor points. I used a kisser for awhile to help with this. If you have any questions or need help with anything, feel free to ask me. I'm no professional by any means but I am a girl who shoots a bow.

I don't know the rules of the board if we can pm yet. If not post on here if ur interested. I know the unit. I don't have a tag but could go a couple days here or there with u.

Very nice buck! It's very hard to sit a blind for that many days. Great job!

Feel free to pm me.

Way to go girl (and dad for making sure she was taught good hunting ethics).

I agree. I saw the same type of post on the javelina board and was wondering if that was acceptable practice here. . Its not something i agree with. Glad original poster is going back out. Good call and a definite reminder to give em more time after the shot.

Very Nice!