Becker

I am a huge fan of swaros. I did win a set of vortex Binos at a banquet. I'm not sure the model. The main thing I notice with them is that the depth of focus is very small. Basically I have to refocus them constantly. Seems just a 100 yard change in distance requires a finger on that focus knob. They give me constant eye strain and a quick headache. I rarely have to touch the focus knob on my swaros unless it's a drastic change in distance. Say 50 yards to 500. But more than not I sit down focus them and pretty good to go all day without adjusting. Just my 2 cents on one of the biggest differences I notice between the top end and lower end that I don't hear much talk about.

^^^^. You always here about javelina hunters seeing big bucks on does. Generally speaking the does that don't get bred come back into cycle and can be a great time to catch a giant out after the last does to breed. A little hit or miss though depending on the rut that year. Some years are drawn out rutting activity while others are short and sweet. I haven't paid much attention as to which ones produce more February rutting vs the other but it's definitely proven that bucks can and will be chasing hot does through February. Just not as predictable IMO.

Depends on the taxidermist Bob. I have a woodworker that makes my (wood) bases for me. You can order the pedestals (wood cabinet) from some of the big taxidermist supply companies. The habitat portions tend to be more custom although the longer time goes by the more pre-fab portions of that you can get. The biggest problem we as taxidermists run into is a guy bringing in a pre made base to add a mount to. They usually lack the proper support or the base not made for correct access etc. making a base for an already mounted animal also has it challenges although generally speaking a good taxidermist can make a pre-threaded rod or whatever type of adapter to make that easier. Usually expectations/measurements/and anything else tends to make for the most challenging parts of mixing and matching a mounted animal to a pre made base. Not sure if that makes sense. The littlest things like the angle of the flat portion of the brisket not matching the base makes for problems. Just some things to think about that generally a taxidermist has in mind when mounting and prefab Bing bases to match the mount.

I've seen the opposite. Been out the last two mornings. Saw a total of 25 deer today. 5 bucks. No rutting at all. 4 bucks were hanging out together. Yesterday saw a total of 13 or 15 deer. Only 1 buck. He was one of 11 deer on the same little hillside. Minding his own business feeding for 2 hours. Never even sniffed or approached any of the does.

I Haven't killed a coues with a bow???? I agree on the stream aspects. Although I bet if you took an electroshock back pack in to your streams you fish you'd be pretty dang surprised at what fish are actually there.

IMO big browns are just like big coues. Both are out there and there a quit a few of them. The problem is most people don't know how to catch big browns. Same with finding and consistently taking giant coues. You guys saying everyone should practice catch and release is no different than if I came on here and said no one should be shooting coues under 100 inches. I want to be able to go out and see a 120 every time I go out. It's just not going to happen. I have a little honey hole on a small creek where myself and a buddy have caught the same brown a couple times. The fish has a very distinct pattern in its spots on one side. Given the time of year we catch the fish it weighs anywhere from 3 lbs to 4.5 almost five!!! Summer time low flows it is just stuck in its hole and turns into a big headed skinny ugly looking thing. I don't think that fish will ever get any bigger. Just doesn't have the water room and food availability to get any bigger. I fish that hole on the regular yet I hardly ever catch that fish. She's there but doesn't always bite. Our lakes are a different story. Could they be managed better for trophy fish. OH YEAH. The problem is the cost. Other problem is the demand. We have lakes that have lots of trophy (24" or bigger Browns) fish. But I sure as heck don't see many people putting in the effort to catch those. 95% of the people are there with cheap poles, lawn chairs, and a couple cans of power bait. They are completely content catching stocked rainbows all day long. The last 3 times I have fished trout lakes I have caught a brown that weighs 4lbs +. Would I like to catch a lot more bigger fish. You bet. But you are going to have to come up with some way to keep everybody happy. I think G and F does a pretty good job of feeding the fish I wanna catch.m with those stockers. I don't have much of a complaint about being able to chase trophy browns. It could be better but I don't think bad mouthing people that like to keep and eat some of their catch is the right answer. I know I enjoy a long day of fishing with a fresh fillet to finish it off.

Nothing better than a big ol' brown fillet!!!! My mouth is watering as I type!

No. Strip buck!

This isn't my deer but it's one of my favorite mule deer mounts I have done!

^^^^^yeah but your still stuck riding in a dang jeep!!!! 😱. While it may get there I hope you are the kind to pull over when I come up behind you and let me by. Although I'll bet there are places I could go that you would not in your jeep 😜 Hahahaha

I would be comfortable putting 4 quarters up there. Not sure about an entire elk. I always cut them up anyway so never has crossed my mind.

We went with the 4 seater rzr 1000. The suspension is absolutely phenomenal. My neighbor has a new big ranger and I have to say the ride in mine is way better. . I have added a lot of items to it (not cheap). Polaris accessories must be made with gold cores. Lol. With the homemade rack on the top and the small bed it has plenty of room for 4 people and gear to hunt out of. The back seats are a little tight for 6' plus people but it's doable. With the better suspension I bottom out less than I did in my original 2 seater rzr. Only really have bottoming out issues on bigger water bars or really rough rock crawling stuff. General roads and two trackers not an issue clearing everything. Way more power and speed than needed but we also like to just go cruising and trail riding (which you can do in them all) but the high performance sure makes the "fun" rides and hot rodding fun!!! I have no complaints other than price. Going to add a heater here soon since I have the enclosed cab. Will be putting 30" tires on it when the stock tires wear out. And possibly a winch although that might tempt me to really go where I shouldn't. I'll probably also put a bench seat in the back so when I have company the "little one" can ride in the middle and we can have 5 in there TIGHT. Anyway not sure if that helps but it's what I have done. I am really turning into a "vehicle" vs a UTV.

As mentioned above hard to say without more knowledge on the particular deer. Some Coues deer rut close to their "home" range. Others have been documented moving upwards of 4 to 5 miles to find hot does. Lots and lots of variables. Usually pretty dependent on doe densities. Obviously if there's a lot of does the bucks don't have to move very far to check them and opposite in the other scenario. I have been haunted by a couple different bucks I have seen during the rut that I have never been able to turn up again. Good luck!!!

Be "MORE" sneaky on your stalk 😎

Waaaay cool video. I think lots of animals chew on them. I had some trail cam pics of a cow chewing on one I left in front of my camera. But I seem to have lost it.

Don't wanna high jack your thread but you can't receive pms. Inbox must be full. I was just curious what loads you are using in yours to get out to 500 yards? I also have an ultimate so curious....thx in advance

I don't have to "warm up"!!!! Always good right outta the gate. When you're good you're good. Bwahahahaha. JK. Couldn't resist

I am not sure that there is any set method, style, technique, or whatever you want to call it. Probably a mixture of everything wrapped into one. Simply put IMO there is no wrong way to glass. Your looking through binoculars at a chunk of country trying to find deer. Simple as that. What I take from your post is are you supposed to be slow and methodical vs fast, and looking at/for something in particular to look at. My answer to that is NO. My general thoughts.........A deer can be anywhere. Steep rocky stuff, low rollers, thick, open, you name it. At the end of the day I have found simple as it sounds, "Deer are where you find them" I mean they could have been bumped out of their normal stuff up into something nasty, or feeding on some new blooming plant that sprouted up from the last rain somewhere where they don't normally hang out. There are sooooooo many variables. I hunt a lot with 2 friends in particular. If you were to look at us 3 on a day to day basis. Some days I glass up the most deer some days I get my butt kicked. Why? Is it because one was not as good of glasser. NOPE. Just they looked at the right places that day. My one friend glasses super fast. I don't know how he sees anything but he always does. He also glasses stuff that I normally wouldn't look at much right off the bat and picks up deer that I probably wouldn't have seen. My other friend could pick out an antler point literally a mile away, just cause, blows my mind how he sees stuff. It actually pays to have a good hunting buddy or two. You will help each other in the long run by finding deer the other wouldn't have and visa versa. expands your knowledge of places you might look because you have seen deer there before. Another key factor is realizing that you can only see so much of the country. Trees, rocks, grass, hills, etc. Just because you didn't see a deer in there that day doesn't mean there weren't any. Plus deer are sneaky, eg they know how to hide. If you were going out time and time again and never seeing a deer I would be thinking you're doing something wrong. However you "ARE" seeing deer so you are doing something right. Like mentioned above you can't see deer if they aren't even there. Knowing how deer act, what they are feeding on, times of day they are going to be active, where they are watering, just general deer habits in generally will greatly aid in sightings. I am not sure that you can teach that without going out and seeing it for yourself. Some people have a knack for finding deer, others struggle. Just have to stick to it a be open minded to learn every time you see a deer. Like I said sounds like you are on the right track.

Every gun is a little different. My edge max powder charge is 87.5 to 88. Just be careful and start low and work up.

Typically the browns spawn in the fall and rainbows in the spring. Browns in the white mountains will spawn from end of october through thanksgiving. Depends on the year, weather, etc. Since most of the rainbows in the lakes are stocked I have noticed that a lot of them have their wires crossed and you can find them with eggs in the fall trying to spawn along with the browns. Typically the browns are a little harder to catch when spawning as they aren't really focused on eating as breeding but they are aggressive and generally speaking its a great time to catch a monster thats not laying low. The rainbows will be sucking up anything they can thats egg colored making for some awesome fishing. Have had days where every cast before my secret bait hits the bottom you get a bite. Typically they will be spawning on shallow rocky points, inlets of small creeks, and some shallow rocky coves. Like mentioned above a little pre-scouting usually turns up some spawning locations.

As mentioned above I don't think rifle cant changes anything. Just scope cant. You essentially can shoot a gun upside down. It all comes down to the path of the bullet in flight. Basically we all account for the bullet going straight up and down as it moves down range (as the diagram above shows before canting the gun AND scope). You can achieve that like I said "upside down" if you like. Think of your vertical post in the scope as the up wards movement of the bullet until it reaches the highest point in its trajectory. Any ways doesn't matter how you hold the gun as long as your scope is level!

Beast of a buck!!!! Congrats again!!!

Awesome ladies!!!!!

Tht mass is unbelievable!!!! What a buck!!!!

Nice buck!!!!!!