Swivelhead

Nice!

All things being equal, the larger field of view the BTX/85mm combo provides would be my choice. I like the concept of a dual spotter/bigeye set up however IPD and collimation issues temper my enthusiasm. That being said, I have acquired two Swaro 30X SW eyepeices just in case I decide to proceed with a dual spotter setup.

I came up with 67mm for the 95mm objective. There are other factors in play however. The point is the BTX needs at least the 85mm objective IMO.

Where have you heard such discussions? It would certainly work. I'd give up all my points toward a rocky mtn sheep tag and I"ve got quite few points. I"d probably lose out to the guy with 29 javy points however.

https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/azgfd-portal-wordpress-pantheon/wp-content/uploads/archive/Individual-Bonus-Point-Report-as-of-8-29-2019.pdf Many people with a lot of points.

Yes

The rib AND the buck look to be world class .....

Lens cleaning should only be done when one is properly prepared to do so properly. There are a number of methods. IMO, best practie is to: 1) Use a lens brush and LIGHTLY remove loose dust & debris. 2) Use a liquid to (I prefer distilled water or better yet, DI water with 3% alcohol although lens sprays are OK) to "float" additional debris from the lens surface. Shake off excess. 3) Lens paper or optical alcohol wipes to DAB the lens surface dry. Rubbing your lenses is a dicey practice. 4) Finish with a CLEAN microfiber cloth made specifically for optics. The cloths will eventually "load up" and need replacement. Change them often.

Although it's been a long time since I hunted over a gundog, coyotes had never been an issue while in the field. Javelina can be a problem. Especially when the whole herd takes up the pursuit of an offending canine. Often the gundog will come running to it's handler with the whole herd bearing down on both. Can be exciting. Doubt AZGF will buy a javelina DLP shoot.

Being a lefty, I have been considering a CZ Drake Southpaw "cast on" O/U in a 20 gauge. I've got an old Winchester 101 that I inherited from my brother. Had Brett Hall bend the stock to "cast on". What a difference. No question, fit is everything for shotgunning.

Great looking ram. Love those red horns. Congrats to you!

Day 1: Zero jig strikes all day. Stopped on a kelp @ 8:00 am, wide open rat yellow tail (4-6#) for about 15 minutes. Left them biting. Boat stopped on a breezer of YFT, scratch fishing for 2-3 hrs. Bite stopped, found another breezer and again, scratch fishing till near dark. The boat landed 70+ YFT 15-25#, 3-4 BFT 25-45#, not sure how many YT were landed, I did not participate. Day 2: Zero jig strikes all day. Spent the bulk of the day chumming breezers that would sink out and not stick. Not a single hookup. About 3 pm, "Old Glory" (who had a scratch bite going) had run out of bait and was leaving. Their captain graciously allowed Excalibur to slide in and keep Old Glory's bite going. The grade of fish was 40-50# BFT. Scratch fishing till dark. I'd guess we picked up 15 fish. Most of which took well over 30 minutes to land as it seemed to take light gear to get bit. The youngest member of our group (a 12 year old who was quite a fisherman) had a fish hanging for 1.5 hours before it came unhitched. Quite a few fish were lost due to light gear. It was a great stop provided by the captain of the Old Glory. Excalibur: Nice boat! A/C worked well, slept cool. Big bunks. Galley was large enough to seat all 30 of us at dinner. Head/shower (2) are spacious and clean also an additional head with a urinal + handwash. Big bait tanks although I felt a few more handwells would ease crowding. The crew did a good job, the captain is a riot and should consider a career in standup comedy. Food - It was adequate but I am used to being spoiled at sea by cooks working in a tiny galley producing outstanding food. Adequate is the key word, nothing to rave about. The fishing platform is large, my only concern is the fish hold hatch covers, the got very slippery when blood soaked. Nobody fell but some type of high friction coating ought to be applied. Conclusion: We had a great trip. My son in-laws won 1st and 3rd in the jackpot with their BFT. The son in-laws are hooked! In all, we brought home 12 YFT and 3 BFT. Plenty of fish for the next year. We had good bait. Areas fished looked like a parking lot, the whole fleet was there along with numerous private boaters. Light fluoro and small hooks got bit way more. The bite never went wide open. Although I got my BFT on 20# I switched my son in-laws to 30# fluro as they were breaking off with 20# fluoro. Photo of son in-law with his jackpot fish.

I know the chunks missing cost score but absolutely love the character. That is a badass ram!

Congratulations on a fine ram.

Congrats to your dad. Did I miss your lope thread?

Great bulls! Welcome to the site.

Really nice old battler. Congrats to you. I'd say 10.5 and 171

Whopper buck! Nice write up. Congrats to you two.

Nice buck. Excellent 1st post. Welcome to the site.

Rock & Roll!

Bavispe

Barbs House of Labs donated a chocolate pup for auction at the ADA Banquet this year. Very calm dog considering the mayhem that was going on. Planned on bidding but the 1st bid was my max and it took off from there. Looked at their website, IIRC all the breeding dogs are OFA certified for most all the maladies the breed suffers from. Good luck with your search.

Assuming one lives <500 miles away, the strip is doable, many go unguided. DIY in Kyrgyzstan or the Zambezi Valley are "impractical as it gets". BTW, are you done trolling yet? This thread is way beyond hijacked. Nice buck posted by the OP. I'd take him in a heartbeat. A mature desert buck is a special deer.

I believe he is referring to a guided hunter, as in "hand held, there he is, shoot him." IIRC, the books are about honoring the animal. Unfortunately, the books stir many to compete. There are many reasons to use an outfitter/guide, most of them good. DIY is obviously more fullfilling but not always practical.

I know there was a permit required archery hunt in the Tucson Mountains in the 50's.