azhuntnut

Based off of my last years figures, I will end up spending $1300.00-$1600.00 more this year than last. Plus business is slower due to other companies cutting back. It is going to cost me $72.00 to fill my truck today(diesel). I wish they would come up with a bio-diesel that isn't so expensive and hard on my injectors. Diesel cost the least to refine, but they are charging to most for it right now. It has been costing me a ton to go back an forth to Flagstaff scouting for my elk hunt. David

I almost spit my drink all over the computer when I saw it.

Well now my question is, how have you gotten drawn that many times? What is the secret? What type of blood trail did you experience with the Rockys? I went and looked at the Wac em's and Stingers last night. I really like the design of the Wac em's. I don't see anyway this tip could curl back or have any problems with penetration. I think I am going to give them a try. I am also going to pick up a pack of Stingers and see how the fly. David

I ended up taking my shafts to corner archery and letting them put some of the blazers on. So far I am very happy with these. They are quiet and seemed to help my arrow speed. I am shooting a 485 grain arrow and needed all the help I could get. David

I have some carbon express arrows I was thinking about using this year for my elk hunt, but some of the fletchings on some of them are torn up a bit. Is it hard to change these out? Do I need to have a fletching jig just to change out one on each arrow? David

In my recent Bugle magazine, they went into great detail about how the wolf packs in Idaho and Montana are extremely out of control. The elk herd has dwindled so much, that there isn't even a late hunt in Montana anymore. At one time (about 6-8 yrs ago) there were thousands of elk coming out of Yellowstone into Montana, now they are only seeing hundreds if that much. Soon they will have to start killing the wolves in order to maintain pack numbers. Plus, wolves don't always kill to eat, sometimes it is just for fun. I am sure it would generate plenty of money for the state as well to have a season. David

I bought one of those moultrie digital trail cameras from walmart today and took some test pics outside my house. You can pick up a 128mb sd card at walmart for $20.00 and a six volt battery for an extra $6. This will allow you to take about 300 picks and have 2-3 weeks of use. I have a small portable tv I can take into the field and check my pics or just switch out the disk. The camera costs about $100.00. The pictures were without the flash on. This camera will also take video, but I would step up to a 256mb sd card if you are taking video. David

They look like they have been eating pretty well. All the wildlife I have been seeing near Flagstaff are chunky. I even saw 23 turkeys on Saturday. I thought for a second I was on the res. Good luck on your hunt.

Has anybody had the chance the hunt the area North of Winona in unit 7m? I heard that some good bulls hang out in the cedars, but I have never been in the area and don't know the best place to access it. I am going up to scout again this weekend and was considering checking out the area if it is worth it. Thanks for the help, David.

The two fawns I saw a couple weeks ago were as fat as pigs. It seemed like they had a hard time gettin those legs goin. Plus I have been seeing two calves with cows this year. David

Looking for a good meat processor in Flagstaff to take care of my elk after I shoot one in Sept. I usually use four peaks, but they will be down at happy jack. I would rather use somebody closer to my hunt area. Thanks, David

Thanks for all of the replys. I am going to check these guys out this weekend and make a decision. David

Kenny, I don't think I have ever seen it rain this much and so hard up there. I almost got my new truck stuck on a pretty decent road. I broke my quad about two weeks ago, so I had to use the truck. I am going back up this weekend to check my camera and try to get some video on another herd. David

Has anybody had an opportunity to try out Rivers West Apparel H2P system? I want to get a new set of waterproof pants and jacket that doesn't make any noise, plus keep me warm and dry, but not to warm when I am hiking. This seems to be exactly what I am looking for. Check it out. David http://www.riverswest.com/

Jacket-$125.00 Pants-$140.00 Shooting a 350 class bull on my archery hunt and staying warm and dry. PRICELESS I bought some at sportsmans warehouse on Sunday. This stuff is exactly what I was looking for. It is very quiet and has a stretch to it. The jacket has zippers under the arm to cool you down. I figure it should last me at least 5-7 years, so it only cost me a little bit each year. David

Here is a picture of the camera after my camo job(stick on).

These are a 1.3 megapixal and I have it set on fine. I figured I would run out of battery before I take 150 pictures. The boxes seem ok for security. The case can be locked and the top part of the case can be secured with a cable. If you set them up pretty far from trails and roads, you shouldn't have any problems. My buddy walked past mine about five times this weekend even when he saw the salt pile, he had a hard time locating the camera. I camo mine a little and paint the locks and cable flat black. I then add a few small branches around it to camo it a little more.

Super easy. I already like it better than my moultrie 35mm. Now I can check my pictures in the field and just put in another disk and I am on my way. My other one requires 10 batteries.

Here are some pics I got of some elk I followed all morning while scouting for my archery hunt. I got some real good video, but I don't know how to post it. There was a 9x8 in this bunch, but I had a real hard time trying to score him. Plus he was a little camera shy. One 5x5 in the group scored over 310. Enjoy, David.

Bass, I was hoping you would stop and talk for a while at the country store. One of the 6x6's in the group wasn't real long, but he had MASS all the way to the end. The video I took shows it pretty well. I also have a huge 7x7 located, but still need to get him on film. Hopefully he will say hi to my trail camera this week. I have some more groups located, but not enough time to film all of them. Next time I will get closer. I had to belly crawl about 200 yards just to get within 50 yards of these. The forrest service has clear cut everything by Flagstaff, so there isn't much to hide behind. David

I just dropped mine off on Thursday to get it ready for elk season. I have used them since they opened here and have had good luck. A gentleman named Darrel in the archery department(I-17 and Yorkshire) seems to be pretty knowledgeable and friendly. Ask for Clint if you go to the one in Goodyear. David

He looks more like a 320-330 bull in the second pic. He isn't that long on his firsts and seconds, thirds and fifths. He will be a nice bull next year with that symetry. David

Thanks for all of the replys guys, this should really help me out on my quest for a big boy. I am going to head up there this weekend and try to get my camera set-up and drop some salt. I should be able to get at least six weekends of scouting in before my hunt. If anybody has anymore ideas, feel free to pass them along. Your help is greatly appreciated. David

Well I got lucky this year and drew a 7m archery bull tag and want to get started scouting this weekend. I haven't spent much time in this area, so I don't know it very well. Does anybody know if there are some camping areas around the Mountainaire area? I am towing a 32ft fifth, so I will need plenty of space to turn around and park. I thought this would be a good spot to get started looking for the BIG one. Second question; Is there a place up by Flag that I can store my trailer and won't have to worry about it? I will probably leave it until the season is over. Thanks, David.