daryl_s

I would have no problem going to any of the taxidermist that advertise on this site. The only mount I've ever had done was done by Wellers and I was and still am extremely happy with their work. Great people, too. Price was good and turnaround was right at 9 months, just like they promised.

It seems like in the last few years the action in the trail cam thread has gone way down. For whatever reason people just aren't putting their pictures up like they used to. My dad and I just started getting into trail cams for the first time about 6-7 months ago. Anyways, here are some pretty cool(at least we thought so) pictures that we have gotten recently. I wonder what the record for most javelina in a single trailcam picture is????? Everybody wants a drink all at the same time! If you love big two points or really tall eyeguards then this is the buck for you. We have had this camera in this spot since about April and this is the first time we have seen this buck. My dad has the late November hunt in this area and with cameras and many scouting trips since early in the year we haven't seen anything to write home about. However, my dad and I both think this a VERY cool buck and he would be very happy to tag this guy. Thanks for looking.

So I have been thinking about how a lion hunter with dogs goes about finding a good starting point. We have some trail cams up and 1, maybe 2 lions have been coming in quite frequently. We are planning to spend some time early this Fall to do some calling in this area. I know that calling in a lion is very difficult, but we are going to give it a shot. We have a lot of different deer coming into this same camera and now some fawns too. There are 2 bucks in particular that have been hanging together all summer. I have a camera a few ridges over that they have been coming to also. July 11th was the last time they came in together. The bigger of the 2 bucks came in 6 or 7 more times between the 11th and the 30th of July, but no sign of his buddy. Makes me wonder if he didn't become lion food. So my point is this, if we try and are unsuccessful at calling in this lion, is it a normal thing to just call an experienced lion hunter with a starting point??? Would any of you that run dogs want to give this a shot??? I will put one of the trail cam pictures up in the trail cam section.

And in case you didn't notice, he was there on the opening morning of the first rifle hunt.

The sad thing is that any time a true TOAD gets killed there is always a handful of people that start throwing out all kinds of accusations of every sort and try to take away from the hunter. I had a friend at work who had a monster non-typical on cam last year and he had the pictures on facebook with the name of the unit it was in. I saw the pictures myself and this thing was over 110" in the first week of July and was easily over 130" by the time he was done growing. Needless to say, the pictures came down off of facebook REALLY fast. It's ridiculous the lengths people will go to to try and find out where a world class buck is. I don't blame anybody for not wanting to put pictures up, if they have them. That being said, I would be happy for any of you guys to find and kill this buck you're talking about in the southern part of the state.

+1 I used them last year and they did an excellent job.

A friend of mine picked up a leftover 36B tag for this hunt and we headed out Thursday evening. It looked perfect. Sometime during the night the wind picked up and Friday morning was pretty tough. When we got back to camp on Friday I found that the wind had torn up my good Eureka tent. Snapped some of the fiberglass poles, tore through the rainfly and even tore some of the pole connection snaps from the tent itself. We did manage to find 9 deer on Friday morning, 3 of them being decent bucks. Never got a shot. We ended up hunting only Friday. I've hunted down south for over 15 years now and that was the worst wind I've ever experienced down there.

Ernesto, primo, cuando me llevas??? Just kidding. That's awesome that you guys had so much success and you all got to do it together.

I have seen less activity overall on full or close to full moon days also. On at least one occasion I had nothing going in one of my really good spots first thing in the morning but then saw 10+ deer get out of their beds between 7:30-8:00. Seemed like they just stayed bedded a few hours longer. I definitely prefer little to no moon.

AWESOME!!!!!!!! Count me in.

I am one of those people that couldn't care less about numbers. To me it's more about how it looks than any kind of score. I think that's a great looking buck that I would love to put my tag on. Congratulations!!!

Is your local the same as the Phoenix local for sprinkler fitters/pipefitters??? I work for Rosendin Electric out at Intel. Harder, DSI, JB Henderson are all union shops that have a lot of work. Plus, with Fab 42 not even built yet there is a LOT of work for years to come. I don't know how you feel about moving or possibly doing some commuting, but that might be an avenue for you to look at. You probably already know all this but thought I would throw it out there. I went through a similar dilemma in December after some unpaid time off for surgery and I sold some hunting stuff that I really did not want to sell. It paid the bills and for that I don't regret losing that stuff. It can always be replaced later.

I like it. Fast and very easy to use.

Thank you for posting the link, Tony. I clicked on the link and was done applying less than five minutes later. Very easy to use.

Anthem Merrill Ranch, just a tad further southeast.

I always really enjoy your write ups. All the details make it play out like a movie in my head. It takes a lot to stick it out like that when things are going tough. Way to hang in there and get it done. I couldn't help but think of your story from last year and what you went through to recover your buck. Must have been nice to find him so quickly this time. Congrats on a beautiful deer.

In my limited experience, most of the coues I have hunted stay in a very tight pattern. I can go to certain spots I have spent a lot of time in and year after year find deer, bucks included, in almost the exact same spots. I got my deer first thing opening morning last October and the other bucks were back in the exact same spot 3 days later. IMO the only time that this will change is during the rut or if food or water becomes scarce.

+1 They did an excellent job with my deer last year. Snack sticks and summer sausage w/jalapenos and cheese were the best I've had.

Andy, this lion has been in the area for a few months now. There are a LOT of deer in this spot, too. Earlier in August we got him on the same camera 3 days in a row. I have been in contact with Jake and emailed him a lot of the pictures. I talked to him specifically because I know you are good friends with him. If he hasn't already, ask him to forward the pictures to you.

I have never bear hunted before and I have been looking through the regulations to make sure I follow the rules. I am planning on hunting Friday in 24A. It mentions that when the annual female harvest limit is met for the calendar year then that unit is closed for the current season and the future season in that calendar year. It says that we are supposed to call the day before we plan on hunting to make sure that the unit is open. Do we have to call before the opener this Friday??? The reason I ask is because of what it says in note 10: The Annual Female Harvest Limit is comprised of any female bear killed by a hunter or the Department. I just want to make sure that I follow the rules and do it right. Thanks in advance for your help.

Congratulations and great job on the write up, too. I really enjoyed reading the story.

We just went and checked the cameras yesterday and it seems that the deer are quite a ways behind other years as far as antler growth at this date. Is anybody else noticing this in the areas they hunt? I have seen some of your trail cam pictures and noticed the same thing in some areas but not in others. I am not a trophy hunter but it would seem it would be weird to harvest a deer that is still far from done growing. Is this going to change opening day/weekend plans for any of you??? It is for me. I am going to spend opening weekend trying to call in a mountain lion that has been hanging around a lot in this area the last few months.

I'm going to stay in this weekend, but not because of antler growth. Unless you are in the pines, it's just too d@mn hot to be out hiking around in the desert this week. Labor day weekend probably won't be too much cooler, but it will be my last chance before the Fall archery season closes. I have never shot a deer with a bow, not for lack of trying, and would be happy to shoot any buck. Congrats to those who have filled their tags and good luck to those who are still working on it.

Congratulations on a beautiful velvet coues. That buck is going to look great on the wall.

Congrats on a great bear. Next to the truck makes it all the better. I"m guessing 24A is going to close. I guess it's back to focusing on deer for the rest of the year for me. We got rained on when we tried last Friday and didn't have any luck.