Flatlander

So much for that hope. UA just took a belt to them.

3c and 22 were the toss up for my 2nd choice, do you think 150 tags for 3c will affect much IMO 150 tags is not bad at all for 3C. It hasn't been producing 400" bulls like it did 10 years ago, but I would say that is just because it has gotten more popular. It borders the rez so you will always get some giant bulls that crossover. I would say this hunt is probably very similar to 27, but without the remote southern half, although I haven't ever spent a bunch of time in 27.

I spend a bunch of the rut in that unit every year. I would say the top end for bulls is as good as any unit, but densities over most of the unit are not what you would see in 27. The 25 tags is great but on any given Sat. in Sept. you can expect wall to wall tents and RV's throughout the northern 1/3 of the unit due to its proximity to the valley. Everything from the boy scouts, atv/rhino & lifted truck crowd, hippy hikers, church campouts, family campouts, you name it they are up there. They aren't hunting so that helps but there a lot of recreators. In regard to the terrain, because this is south of the rim, its more like the southern portion of 27 than the northern. There are a few areas that are pretty flat, but for the most part once you get off the road the country is a lot of big canyons, there is plenty of wilderness but you don't have to hunt it if you don't prefer. There is a bunch of private ground that you have to be careful with. Most of the country is not tall pine stands with lots of big water tanks. Many of the elk here get water from streams so sitting waterholes may be less effective. Chasing bugles is tough because of the terrain and all the canyons, so glassing is your best bet, since there aren't a lot of pines this can be effective. Sometimes you have to glass from the rim and then move down below either the next day or later in the afternoon. It can be a good hunt, but its definitely not like hunting any other unit in the state. If you draw the tag, you will really want to go up for the whole hunt because it can take a while to get the elk figured out.

Looks like you did good. If you ever need someone to come dispatch one, I would love to help.

Didn't your mom teach you anything about counting your chickens before they hatch? HAHAHAHAHA! Now, let's go Trojans!

This was pretty funny . . .

Well look who showed up to play UCLA . . .

ASU is notoriously full of , left leaning, liberal.......kool aid drinkers. And Tucson is a conservative stronghold? Is that why you clowns elected Barber? Universities are full of flaming liberals, whether they are located in Tempe or North Nogales. And Casey since you decided to go there with the Obama thing you should probably take a look at this election result map of AZ. Four counties in AZ went to Barack Hussein, and guess what Maricopa wasn't one of them, but guess what was??? If you said Pima county then please come to the front to claim your prize!!! http://elections.huffingtonpost.com/2012/results/arizona Now since we decided to carry this argument on into basketball season let me say this, UA is typically better at basketball, that's a point not worth arguing. But in my mind that is sort of like being better at bed wetting, who freaking cares?

Anybody been on these hunts the last few years? I am wondering how crowded this hunt gets and if it is wife/girlfriend friendly. My wife and I would like to find a hunt we can take our boys (5,4) on and find a few elk while staying out of the line of fire from others.

Looks like a ton of fun. Always wanted to hunt with horses.

That intact side is HUGE! I have the same problem, you are in good company.

Super Bowl bound! Its been a long drought.

Joe - You and I have agreed on many points in the past and I would hesitate to call you out but what you just stated is a gross generalization that is incredibly off base and insensitive. I am surprised that you would make such a statement when Coach clearly just stated that this is a problem his family struggles with. Mental illness is real, and its a HUGE problem. There is a definable difference between a kid who is active, energetic, hyper, etc and a person (of any age) who is diagnosed with a mental illness. I agree that some doctors likely over-diagnose and that the medications can have powerful side-effects but that doesn't disprove the problem it compounds it.

I'd call that buck a stud. As for the extra tine I would probably refer to it as a cheater or hook. I usually say drop tine when it comes off the main beam at an angle less than 0.

Dang, I think for my tenth birthday I got a Ric Flair action figure. I still have it, but I'd rather have a sheep.

Amazing. Big congrats.

Amazing. Congratulations and a tip of the hat for a job well done.

Well now that hunter's trailhead has gone "Member Only" I think I may have to pony up and buy a membership to a draw odds information provider. I really liked HT because of the ease of use, and their methodology was pretty straightforward. They covered all the states I apply in, so they were pretty much meeting my needs. Their subscription is $25 / year. The others I am aware of are Huntin Fool and Eastmans. I like those cause you get a magazine with your membership, and they provide extra scouting/unit reports for states that I haven't ever lived in but my primary need is just the draw odds. I have had Eastman's memberships in the past and really enjoyed it. With all that said before I decide I figured I would get everybody elses suggestions or opinions on the ones I have not mentioned.

I have never hunted unit 10 a day in my life, but this is a true disappointment to me. Arizona has long been a shining example in the West of private landowners and sportsmen working together. Game and Fish has done a great job of maintaining good relationships with private land owners and not giving in to those seeking landowner tags. Slowly it looks like we are watching these opportunities erode. Thanks Don for taking this head on and getting people informed. I have admired your efforts in many arenas for a lot of years, the work you do for AZ sportsmen is commendable.

You would hope out of all those tags you would end up with something. Hopefully not multiple units during the same time frame.

Uhoh, now the left is going to label anything with a scope a sniper rifle and take it away. Seriously though, this technology is amazing.

Is the Liberal Tucson media trying to sabotage the rally by publishing the wrong date? http://tucsoncitizen.com/in-the-aggregate/2013/01/17/arizona-2nd-amendment-rally-saturday-february-16th/

Or at least it probably wished it would have been this morning when it was 22 degrees. We started out this morning back in our usual spot looking for pigs and deer. We found some about 8:30 and the stalk was on. Well everything that could go wrong did, wind swirled all over the place, a cow spooked and ran right through the herd, a coyote chased a jack rabbit all over the hill they were on. Needless to say when we got to where they were, they were no longer. We setup the tripods and got started looking for them. We glassed up the pigs and a buck about the same time and there was a decision to be made. Well the buck slipped into a wash so we decided the pigs were a better better bet, but by this time another hunter had closed in on them. After watching for a few minutes we realized he had no idea where they had moved to so Mike took off to see if he could cut them off while I kept track of them from our hill top. As Mike headed out I settled in to watch the show. Before long I could see the pigs scatter and I realized the other hunter had stumbled into them and flung an arrow. Fortunately the pigs ran right into Mike's lap and after a couple of tries a pig stayed in front of one of his arrows long enough to get stuck. The hit was low and the blood trail was long. While working the blood trail we met up with the other hunters who turned out to be some acquaintances Mike has met down there hunting before. They were kind enough to help us out and after a couple hours we were able to find the wounded pig holed up in some mesquites. Mike got another arrow in her and she only went another 50 yards or so. All told it took us about 3 hours to recover the Javi after the first hit. This was a great day and ended a couple year drought for Mike.

Did you ever see those letters or emails? I never did. Did they ever read them? We have no idea because there is no accountability. Any time that we can get a small portion of our tax dollars back from the black hole (feds) then that is a good thing. Above all guys lets remember that we are all hunters here. If we don't support each other then we can kiss all of our opportunities goodbye. Guns, tags, forests there are people out there who want to take all of it. We have got to find a way not to kick the chair out from under each other all the time.

Thom - Don't be coy, we all recognize that UA is a better team. I also recognize that they are OVER-RATED. I will bet you they finish outside the top 5.