thegunsmith2506

Saw you on the way home from work just nort of Cordes Jct. Just wondered who it was.

That was a great story! Nice looking buck too. Thanks for sharing

That's a great looking bull! congrats!

congrats! thats a very nice buck!

When I found out I had drawn a Unit 21 Antelope tag I set my goal on an 80in buck. I have never been a trophy hunter, and I never get hung up on scores. I just wanted to make sure I shot a nice mature buck, and I wanted something that would look nice on the wall. My strategy was scouting all the out of the way places I could in hopes of staying away from all the other hunters. Most of the summer months, I scouted at least 1 or 2 days a week. We did a ton of hiking with little to show for our efforts. When August rolled around I started scouting hard every weekend. We looked over dozens of bucks and I started to realize there are not too many 80in bucks in this unit. With 2 weeks left to scout, we looked over all the bucks we had seen this summer, and I picked the 4 bucks I thought looked the best. We focused on finding those 4 bucks. We never did find #1. I believe he may have been killed during the archery hunt. We did however find a new buck that was quickly added to the list. I was very fortunate this hunt to have my dad, wife, and huntin buddy Jason all with me for the first 3 days. I was very excited to have them all there. The day before the hunt found my dad and I glassing for the buck I wanted to kill. We watched him and his 6 does for several hours before heading back home to get out of the heat. The afternoon was spent prepping gear, and shooting the rifles. That evening we checked a new spot, but only found a few antelope. Finally it was opening morning. We were up at 3:30 and left the house around 4:15 for the 40min trip to our glassing spot. It was hardly light enough to see and we had the buck located about 800yds in front of us. I took off down the hill only to realize there were several hunters all around the basin looking for this same buck. I am not sure exactly how everything happened, but someone bumped the buck and everyone took after him. He ran by me at about 400yds, but I decided to pass on the running shot. About 2 hours later our chase ended when 4 guys on quads cut us off and started chasing the buck. I have never been on a hunt with some many people after the same animal. That was enough of that! We got caught in the rain on the way back to the Jeep, so we headed home to dry out. That evening we hunted another area only to run into more hunters. I was amazed at how many guys were driving cross country looking for antelope. It was a real shame to see. That evening we watched 3 guys on quads with rifles ready, ride within 200yds of a bedded buck. They had no clue he was there, and he never got up. He wasn’t big enough to shoot, so we hiked out and made plans for day 2. On the morning of day 2 we hiked in to a canyon that I knew help a good buck the week before. After a few hours of glassing we had only spotted a herd of 3 does. With lots of hunters in the area, I figured this buck may have already been killed. About 9am I decided to make a change and head for a spot I thought would get a lot less pressure. By 10am we were hiking some big hills and glassing several big basins that were a ways off the road. My plan was to stay on the top and move from basin to basin all afternoon. It was getting hot, very hot. I stopped in the shade as soon as I got to the 4th basin of the day. I put up the binoculars just in time to see a buck stand up, stretch, and lay back down. The 4 of us crammed ourselves into the shade of a tiny little Juniper tree and set up the tripod. We all looked over the buck and decided he was worth a closer look. We decided my dad and I would make a mile long stock while the other 2 watched the antelope from the shade. Once we determined the antelope was not going anywhere we headed out. It took us about 40min to get to the edge of the bench they were bedded on. The wind was swirling all over the place so I tried to stay higher on the hill, but there wasn’t much cover. It was great having my wife and Jason spotting for us. They let us know when to sit tight and when we could move. When we knew we were close we began glassing every few steps. I was just about to leave the cover of a Juniper when Jason came on the radio and said the antelope were on the move. One had turned into 7. The six does were up, and headed right to us. He had warned me just in time. I had just enough time to sit back down as the lead doe came into view. A few minutes later I had the buck in the 15’s at less than 300yds. My first thought was to shoot. I settled down and looked the buck over for a few minutes. He looked nice, but just didn’t seem to be as big as I had hoped for. After a few minutes of debating in my head, I asked my dad what he thought. He said he thought the buck look nice, but he couldn’t see him very well. I only had one more morning to hunt with everyone before I was going to be on my own. Everything had worked out so perfect. I decided to shoot. Of course that is when the buck fever kicked in, the wind swirled, and the buck decided it was time to leave. He started heading for his does as I was getting the rifle rested on my tripod. I got the crosshairs on him just before he made it to the Junipers. The shot felt good, but I couldn’t see if it hit. I looked back at my dad and he said he thought I missed. I ran 20yds down the hill and set up again hoping for another shot. Just as I sat down Jason came on the radio and said I got him. They got to watch the whole hunt unfold through the binos. Without their help we never would have got him. The .243 had done its job well. The buck made it about 75yds before falling over. He isn’t the biggest buck, but he is a great trophy for me. It’s always better to have family there with you. Thanks to everyone for all the memories! I would also like to thank TLH for answering a ton of questions for me, and offering lots of good advice.

thanks for the replies!

awesome! congrats on a pretty bull

nice job! thanks for sharing

I have a rifle tag in 21 this year as well. We have been scouting hard all summer and have not seen a lot of bigger bucks. The ones we have seen are getting a lot of pressure from the archery hunters right now. I doubt the few big bucks in the unit make it past noon on opening day. I am not very good at judging antelope, but I don't think there are very many bucks over 80". My goal was to try and shoot an 80" buck, but I think I might have to settle for something smaller. It doesn't really matter tho, I have my whole family coming up for the hunt. I will be happy with any nice looking goat. Good luck! Hope you guys can find a big one.

Only found a few this last weekend, but it was still nice to get out. I never put trail cameras on water close to a road, but I risked it for 2 weeks and it almost paid off. I had a cow elk come in and move my camera after only 2 days. I did manage to get a few Antelope on trail cam before she moved it.

I just started using Strelok to get me close, and then I dial things in on the range. It has worked pretty good for me out to 650yds. That is as far as I have tried it.

Here are a few from 2 weeks ago.

Here are my biggest. 38lbs, 39lbs, and 44lbs.

We just got hit for deer tags this morning. Or at least that is when the charges showed up.

I always hunt the first week when I have an archery cow tag. I think most of the hunters only hunt the weekends and the woods really clear out during the week. The elk seem to settle down during the week and go back to their regular habits. Just my opinion.

Braved the wind and the snow flurries to get out and do a little scouting. Here are a few pics. Sorry about the quality but I had to zoom in a lot on a few of them. Total we saw over 40 elk, 35 antelope, and 10 pigs.

For the first time since 2005 none of us drew an elk tag. Last year our 2nd choice had left overs, so it was kind of a surprise. The good news, I drew tag number 15 for unit 21 rifle antelope. I only had 9pts so I am pretty happy about it. Can't wait to get out there and start scouting! good luck to all still trying to get through!

The wife and I are getting away this weekend for a trip to Alamo Lake. We are mostly interested in trying to catch a few catfish. I am not a very good fisherman, and have never fished this lake before. I have looked at a few maps but I don't really know what I am looking for. Anyone willing to offer any advice on this lake? We will be stuck bank fishing since we don't have a boat this trip. Thanks in advance.

It was a lucky picture, there were carp jumping all over for part of the morning.

Well we finally got a charge for a lope tag! There are 5 of us that all put in seperate, I can't wait to see who got the tag!

Thanks for all the tips! We didn't catch any catfish, but we did catch a few others. The wind was pretty crazy on Saturday which made for some tough fishing.

Thanks for the tips guys! I can't wait to get out there and see what we can do.

I usually hunt Javalina during the archery hunt, but this year I just couldn't get the time to go. I really had no intention of hunting during the rifle hunt, but my wife talked me into it. My wife and my sister decided that we should all get leftover tags. Next thing I knew, my sister was calling from G&F needing my sportsman ID. All said and done we had 5 tags to fill. Me, my wife, my sister, my sister's boyfriend, and my dad. I was shocked when I found out my dad had bought a tag. I guess his only daughter was pretty persuasive.My dad hasn't hunted big game in the last 15 years. When I was growing up he hunted with my Grandpa every year, but he lost interest after my Grandpa died. I continued to hunt, and he tagged along on a couple of hunts, but never seemed into it. As the hunt approached I found myself more and more excited. I knew this was going to be an awesome hunt no matter how it turned out. Thursday night found the wife and I headed to Tucson. We arrived late and hit the hay for a few hours before we had to leave. I woke up at 5am, loaded the truck, and went to pick up my dad. I don't think his old Winchester had been out of the case in 10 years. He dusted it off and checked the bore. I brought him a box of Barnes 130gr Triple Shocks for the old .270. We filled the ice chest and headed over to pick up the rest of the crew. Five of us piled into the truck and started the hour long drive to our hunting grounds. Sun up found us glassing the hills where I grew up in Unit 32. We saw a few deer and a coyote before the wind got really bad. The 2 mile hike had us all ready for an early lunch, so we headed for the truck. We found a spot out of the wind and enjoyed a great lunch the girls had prepared the night before. A plan was made to move to an area we had killed pigs several years back. It was a dusty, hour long drive. We spent that afternoon and evening glassing, but never saw a pig. Day 2 we were a little slow getting started. Then we took a wrong turn trying to go in the back way. We finally got on the right road and headed toward our spot. It was just light enough to see, and I spotted a bunch of pigs on the edge of a big hay field. It was my sisters first hunt so we decided to try and make a stock for her. Just a few feet into the stock, we realized there were 2 other hunters already stocking the pigs. We backed out and watched the show, They made a shot, but missed, and the 25 pigs high tailed it out of the field. We were back in the truck and headed for our spot by 7am. I pulled the truck off the trail and started to glass a ridge about 250yds away. In less than a minute I had 3 pigs picked out. They were moving away from us, and seemed to be moving fast. I told everyone to head out after the pigs and I would pack up and lock the truck. Jason and the girls headed up the ridge opposite the herd, and my dad took off down the bottom of the canyon. My dad has the uncanny ability to be in the right place at the right time. I thought he was nuts heading down the canyon, but off he went. I packed the truck, and headed out after Jason and the girls. I was only 200yds from the truck and I spotted a lone pig trotting up the other side of the canyon. I sat down and got the scope on him. I looked over my shoulder to see the girls aiming at the same pig from further up the ridge. I passed on the shot in hopes they would take it. When I caught up to them they had lost the herd in the thick brush. We now had a big nasty canyon between us and a herd of fast moving pigs. It was decided that the girls would stay and Jason and I would go after the herd. The chase was on! We bailed of the side of the canyon and were huffing and puffing by the time we got up the other side. I could hear the pigs in front of us, but it was too thick to get a shot. The wind was perfect, so we just took our time and eased in closer. It seemed like an hour, but was probably less than 10min, when I finally spotted them. Two pigs stepped into a clearing about 100yds from us. I pointed them out to Jason and we both got ready to shoot. When the bigger of the two turned broadside, I touched the trigger on the .243 Ackley, and sent an 80gr Barnes through both shoulders. Pig Down! A half second later Jason's .243 barked, but he hit some brush and missed. I instantly got on the Primos "Raspy Coaxer" and started screaming. All heck broke loose! We had pigs running everywhere! Several pigs came within 20yds of us, but Jason was focused on a few that were farther out. By the time I got one of the closer ones pointed out, it was 20ft away and closing fast. We had to take a few steps back before Jason could finally get a clear shot. At less than 5ft! He hit a little far back and the pig took off down the hill. He took off after it. Next thing I know, 3 shots ring out down the ridge from us. Like I said before, my dad has an uncanny ability to be in the right place at the right time. When he heard me shoot he crossed the canyon and waited for the pigs on a fence line. Sure enough they came right to him, and he hit all 3 shots. Not bad for a guy that hasn't shot a rifle in 15 years. I hiked over to my dad and helped him drag his pig over to where mine was. We found Jason, and after a quick follow up with the XD his pig was down. After a few pics we all headed down the canyon with a pig in tow. By 11am we were headed toward Tucson with an ice chest full of boned out Javalina. My dad had the biggest at 50lbs. We didn't weigh the other 2, but they were a lot smaller. All 3 were boars. We hunted Sunday morning to try and get the girls on a herd, but didn't have any luck. There is nothing better than spending time in God's creation with family. This is a hunt I will remember forever. Sorry for the long read. Here are a few pics.

SOLD

I really haven't had many chances to get out and do much calling this season due to work and other hunts. We finally got to hit the hills for a couple of days this past weekend, and had a great time. We had a few coyotes come in, but just wouldn't come in to shotgun range. At about 9am on the first day we were exploring some new country and found a great looking dry river bed. It looked like the perfect spot for a fox. Sure enough, less than a minute into the bird distress and I saw this pretty Grey running through the brush. She checked up at about 25yds in the only shooting lane I had. One shot of 3in lead BB's and she went down hard. On the second day we had to be back early so we hit some of our favorite spots close to home. It was the same story as the day before. Coyotes were there, but stayed out of shotgun range. At about 9am we discovered a great looking stand that we have passed by many times and never even knew it was there. It took about 15min of DGS Cottontail, and we had another pretty Grey running towards the call. I think she caught me lifting my gun as she cleared the last of the brush. She stopped at 37yds and looked like she was ready to bolt. It took a load of 3in BB's and a follow up shot of 3-1/2 #4 buck to put her down for good. This was the biggest fox I have killed yet. She was 11lbs and had awesome fur. I can't wait to get back out there..... Day 1 9lb female New stand from day 2