Flatlander

I have lived in this state long enough to accept this as a fact of life. There are just too many DUMB people out there and it's too dang risky to leave our forests in their hands. Just look at the way these jack wagons leave the forests after a holiday weekend. Yes a lot more needs to be done to maintain the forests and prevent build up of fuels but in the end, the general public just has too many slobs in it who won't play by the rules.

Some are real good. Not sure what has leftovers. Fish lake, Monroe, Pahvant and se desert are all decent but I would be surprised if those have leftovers at least for the bull hunts

Do not be deceived by Nate Simmons and Ryan Hatfield in Idaho. Those guys live and hunt there every year and hunt way back there. Not to be a downer but I lived there for 3 years, hunted 20+ days and heard 3 bulls bugle in that time. There are places where you can have a great hunt, just don't go there expecting an AZ like rut experience and be prepared to do lots of research, lots of hiking and lots of climbing. I loved my time there and definitely got better at it, but it is a tough hunt. For what it's worth if I was going OTC I would go to ID but that's because I have some starting points and a lifetime license. I also lived in UT and depending on what is leftover that could be very tempting. Those hunts are pre-rut and can be very water centric. Their water sources are centered around creeks and streams not tanks so tht helps keep the crowds spread out.

Trying to figure how many times 1 goes into 500? :-) Nope I'll leave that to the UA grads.

Anybody got their eye on one of those 14 December muzzleloader tags in unit 5?

My deer app is in. Got some math to do before putting the sheep app in.

Happy Birthday to one of the good guys!

Be sure to post up sme pics when you have it mounted. Do you also have a ML antelope tag?

As you can tell by the countertops I am more of a function over form kind of guy and I don't think that silver scope atop my black muzzleloader is going to bother me one bit. Can't wait to shoot this beast.

+1

You realize the bonus pass for the tag you have been chasing crept another point. Sitting on 9 pts and starting to lose patience. Its been WAY too long, I am starting to pass up some pretty decent tags to keep chasing this specific dream. OK, I am done venting.

Funny you should say that, I lived in ID for 3 years and never drew a tag there either, but was still able to hunt the general units OTC. I have a lifetime license in that state and each and every year I apply knowing that each and every year I will have 3% chance of drawing a tag. Each and every year they get a $15 app fee (3 of them actually) and I get no closer to getting a tag. Our system is frustrating, but I will take it over no points every time. At least here I know that there is an end to the suffering.

We are going to need some pics of that.

Well the good news is I got extremely lucky in the draw and drew this tag with only 10 points. The bad news is that this unit has some big time access issues. I am willing to do the leg work and knew that this was a challenge prior to applying, so now it's time to get started. Can anyone answer the following questions for me: Is there any point in contacting the Big Chino Ranch? Is there still access available west of hwy 89 between Chino Valley and Prescott Valley? Has anyone hunted between I-40 and Rt 66? Is there enough antelope here to hunt effectively? Same as above only referring to unit 17B off of Camp Wood road? Does anybody know of ranches that will allow access for a fee? Thanks for your help, I usually don't post specifics but with the difficulty of drawing antelope tags I figured if other hunters find this info later on, good. I will burn a ton of petro and rubber this summer figuring out this hunt but any help anyone can offer to get me headed in the right direction is more than appreciated.

I will wait and see how it looks. So now the question is what mounts are everyone using?

Well not my top pick for color but I pulled the trigger on the Silver Leupold, to make it even better I found a coupon code for free shipping and paid exactly 189.99 for a 3-9 SABR Ultimate Slam. Can't wait to get it mounted up and try some loads. Hopefully I get to settle that ballistic reticle just behind the black patch on a big ole speed goat this fall.

This is a way better value than the elk or Muley tags. If I could have one wish it might be this tag. Chasing coues from Aug to March, this might be what I save for to do my first year of retirement.

Yeah, don't think I can justify the extra $100 for a black one and I haven't found anything with reviews that are close.

Stud buck.

Glad to hear some good news coming out.

My gun is black synthetic stock w/ blued barrel so it won't match but who cares.

Could he have been referring to the Carmen Mountain subset?

Ok I found a great deal on the Leupold Ultimate Slam SABR. Brownell's has them for 189.99 but they are silver. I don't care about the color but have any of you guys had trouble with the silver finish holding up or with the silver being too reflective?

That is a giant fish!

Maybe it is and maybe it isn't. What business is it of yours. If the guy wants a guide then that's his prerogative and nobody asked for your opinion about it. If you want to rant about it start another thread.