Red Rabbit

Pretty nice buck. Do you have a story on how his demise unfolded?

No, the wind was horrendous the whole short season. We hunted Crow Mesa. Friend took a 3x4 on the last day. Doug~RR

Ultrahunter, Welcome! I have hunted NM 23 for rifle coues, but not 24. I hear the country is a little thicker with tree and the population a little less dense. You might try glassing to find a buck chasing does, then putting on the stalk. Look at the south feeding slopes early in the morning, and north beding areas during the day. If you lose them during the stalk, then possibly try to rattle and grunt. I would think that just rattling anywhere without knowing a buck is in the area may just get a bunch of fruitless calling stands due to the low densiities, unlike eastern whitetail. If you find a good trail through a saddle, you might consider SLOWLY still hunting along side it. You might consider the scouting services of Tommy Maldonado's Gila Wilderness Hunting Service http://www.gilawildernesshunting.com/ Have you talked with the wildlife manager for that unit? I was lucky to draw a 2C tag as a NR several years ago. Nice country. Doug~RR

What methods have you and your dad used to hunt the elk and deer? What times during the day relative to sunup & sundown are you in position?

Tony, How did your hunt with Keith go? Doug

It has been mentioned that it would be a great tool to have with youth hunters (even old geezers) who have difficulty in finding the game in their scope. You could line it up for them and have the rifle locked in with the Claw in the right direction for them to get behind the scope and see.

I need to figure how to attach a winch to my rock crawlers.

Don't forget to add the donated game burger in Minnesota that x-rays showed to be contaminated with lead. Another stepping stone for the path to ban lead bullets. I wonder how we are surviving after having eaten food from aluminum pots and pan- bare or teflon coated? Hope the coating inside the soda cans is not cracked. I even grew up riding my bike without a helmet and played with the quicksilver from broken thermometers. Now you break a thermometer, they have to evacuate the school it seems.

Might compare how a Weatherby Vanguard feels to you compared to the Rem SPS.

Specs say 1.2 sec Looks like a nice trail camera.

Josh, Best of "grong" luck to you. Hope you have a super trip all the way around to make it a great experience. Doug~RR

These bonus point reports will give you a clue to where your 5 BP can best be used next fall. Definitely consider the late Dec Coues hunts. http://www.azgfd.gov/eservices/pdfs/2008Bo...port1-2Pass.pdf This report gives data for the first and second choices on the application. http://www.azgfd.gov/eservices/pdfs/2008Bo...t-BonusPass.pdf This bonus pass report indicates results for those in the 20% set-aside for those with the most BP. You can see if 5 BP was needed for your chosen hunt.

Here is a lock box for the Scout Guard. http://www.opticsplanet.net/hco-scout-guar...curity-box.html

Kyle, Terrific buck! If you had seen that rack n trash in the scope, I bet the case of buck fever would have been HUGE. Congrats on a great buck. Doug~RR

15 yard penalty!!! Unsportsmanlike conduct. TAUNTING. Enough is enough guys, you're throwing gas on a fire. Good stories and pics. Relishing the first mearns trip to come. Doug~RR

Larry, What reticle did you get instead? Did they have an explanation for the cause of the defect? Enjoy shooting tomorrow. Doug~RR

Chef, Any more recent range results to post? Doug~RR

Bob, Here is a camera site that gives some useful camera reviews. http://dpreview.com/ The only problem I have with the FZ20 is that the shutter button is sometimes "catchy" on the first push. I have heard it is an internal spring.

Lots of shots were fired on this Unit 9 Bull hunt. However, I came home with all my bullets as the shots were taken with the Nikon. I drove into the area early Thanksgiving afternoon with about 1" of the white stuff on the ground. The tracking compound quickly became liquid as the day warmed. After a Thanksgiving dinner in Tusayan of pizza pie and a Kiltlifter beer, I headed out again to be ready for the morning opener. Roads became slippery with the moisture, the truck slid into the deep ruts, and the low spots becoming wallows. More inclement weather was in the forecast for that night and Friday, but just a light drizzle occured. Dawn broke with clearing skies, but no elk out feeding. This one particular clearing was said to be feeding grounds for a large bull. Many evenings and mornings were spent awaiting his appearance like Santa on Christmas eve. Like Santa though, he was not spotted. A solitay raghorn was busted on a travel ridge while trying to stillhunt opening morning. Two mornings were spent above a watering spot, hoping for him to stop by for an early morning toddy after a night of feeding, but alas, only the sun made an appearance, along with a few yodi dogs and birds. Morning horizons broke into a plasma glow above the water. Like lichen and sage on limestone, Rica and I spent the day overlooking the watering spot, hoping he would come for a quench. Besides the coyotes, just 8 javelina stopped by for a grunt and swig. More evenings were spent glassing the edge of the clearing, but only the crescent moon joining the evening planets made the view. Mornings were cold and frosty. One of the final evenings was spectacular as the sun did a flaming crash. The final day of the season broke with frost crystals on the windshield. Worth a moment with the Nikon before the defroster melted away their glory. All the marbles were placed in this particular area, as this bull would be worth it. Some 320 six by's walked past in hopes of the big guy, but in the end, all days were blessed by the companionship of a good hunting dogand time spent outdoors. in Gods' elk country. He left us with his final sunset from his Heaven's handiwork. Doug~RR

Chris, I was hoping that one of those 6 points would again step into the clearing the last evening if the monster bull that was in the area did not. But alas, only a road hunter drove into the clearing 15 minutes after sundown . This was a trophy hunt for muy grande, as two 331s already grace the wall above my desk. I was going to mail that bean back to you, but the post office would not accept any hazardous materials Doug~RR

Bob, That lucky bean remained at home for this trip. You are probably correct in that it should be made into a sacrificial burn, but then there would be toxic fumes and ashes and would have to file a report with the EPA . Until recently, I have been using a Panasonic FZ20 to take all my pics. It is 5 MP, 12x zoom (36-432mm). Right before this years coues hunt, I bought a Nikon D90 with the 18-105 kit lens from Joel at Camera Land NY. I will need to save a few bucks to get a 300mm f/4 for the wildlife pics. Unless you count 2 years as a high school yearbook photographer, I am not a professional. I did read a few books and magazines 20 years ago about photo composition that gave some different photo ideas. An SLR always was carried on my summertime backpacking trips to Glacier and Yellowstone. Doug~RR

Jim, A friend was hunting in the southern part of 9 and saw 56 cows and 1 spike. Everyone i talked with was having a hard time seeing bulls. Doug

Congrats to your dad on his first bull. That snow certainly does help spotting elk in the burn. It is nice to have a comfortable glassing spot with a corner fireplace also.

Had one awesome sunset during the recent elk hunt.