cmc

Ok... I'll bite... Name a few of the cases please... cmc

Exactly. This past weekend I finally got to test my Kelty tent in the rain so while out archery deer hunting and spent the night on a hillside in the rain down south about 3/4 mile from the jeep. The tent did great, my new jacket doesn't breath as well as I'd hoped but did keep me dry from the elements. I can't imagine camping like that Amanda in just a bivy without a tarp. Wow. Ultra light. I've tested just about everything once, if not twice before I got out on a very long trip. cmc

I guess although I have a list of gear I never gave details of some of it. Kelty Teton 2 tent. Mountain Hardware Clouds Rest 5 deg down bag for cold times. SlumberJack 10deg bag for warm weather (don't let the 10deg rating fool you it's only good to 30 if that) Brunton Raptor folding stove (cuz it has a self igniter which is a godsent over my MSR Pocket rocket) Thermarest Z-lite for ultralight or quick trips InsulMat air mattress pad for comfort trips or space an issue. Kelty Coyote 4750 Internal Frame pack. Platapus & Camelback 100oz blatter (one is a spare) UnderArmor Cold Gear

I got a mountain just like that down south that did it to me. The week after I was home is when it hit me to change things up. Cameron Haynes has some good ideas on the subject. I'm re-reading his book this week to keep the motivation going. My hat is off to you for running in the rain. I'll hunt in just about any weather but thus far I'm a fair weather exerciser. No bike or run in the rain yet. I'll be out running tomorrow though as other things are keeping me from riding in this week. cmc

I seemed to have picked up where you left off Audsley... That must have been your yard-sale I bought that coues hunting map at... now things are starting to come together. Once the meat is down on the ground it is the number 2 most important task in your life at that point, with your life being always at #1 level. What good is meat in the freezer if you're dead! That being said, skin fast, quarter and get into a shady spot. If at all possible let the wind be your friend. De-bone the meat next and get it broken down in size this also helps in dispensing of heat. Do your best to ward off critters, urinate in the area, change your socks and let hang near the meat, although with my feet I'm not sure that's a good idea. If you hang meat think about how the sun will move. Might be shady now but how about in 3 hours or in the AM if hanging in the dark. Hate to get back there the next morning and see it's been in the sun for the better part of the morning. Next it's time to figure out how to pack it out ASAP if it's warm. Figure out if you can leave gear and come back the next weekend to get it? Sometimes like Audsley said pack part to a point then go back and get the rest tag-teaming till you get the whole thing out. Try to have coolers with blocks of ice back at your vehicle. Coues deer you should be able to debone pack out meat, hide and head in all one trip. Should be able to is the key word. It's going to hurt but hey... you can rest in the off season. Right? Or should be due to being in good shape... This is where physical conditioning comes in to play and preseason training will pay off big time. Light weights, get in a ton of cardio and stretch as often as you can. Do something every day!!! As I shiver my butt off at 5am each morning I get to bike ride 13 miles into work in the dark I question why.... well my motivation is an 80lb pack full of camp gear and bear meat on a 10 mile pack out to the truck come end of March.... and not being tired doing it, that there is the key! Not dieing while doing it. Want to figure out how to drop 10lbs on your backpack hunting weight... try loosing those love handles. Training in the off season is by far more vital than weight reduction of gear in your pack. And for the most part it costs a lot less too with far longer payoffs than just hunting. This years bear hunt I'm already 20lbs lighter on my boots and my pack weight will be the same as last years. That's a big perk over last year and my knees are loving it. I suggest you run if you can, if not then jog, if not then just walk, hike with or without a pack just do it. Bike, lift weights, swim, stair step, WHATEVER... just do something for 1/2hr - 1hr each day.... every day you can for 3 months before the hunt! Toss in eating right and (gulp...dare I say it) cut out the beer till after the hunt is over and I bet you'll thank yourself 10 times over when you get back home and feeling great. My recovery time after a hunt is not near what it was the past 3 years. Why... I got chubby... ok flat out FAT. But that's changed as I built back some stamina and dropped a few pounds and the hunts don't hurt like the use to. I also stretch like all get out not because I like to but I have to. I have almost no cartilage in my knees and the only way I can fend off the knee pain is to keep the legs limber by stretching, should be every day but I slack off at times and only get in 2-3 times a week. It's makes carrying a 50lb pack for hours on end go a lot easier when the back is loose and not aching tight from the strain the weight. Dare I mention how it keeps you from pulling up lame part way through a hunt. Oh and for those new to stretching I suggest you try reading a book titles "Stretch to Win". It's an awesome read and proven program to get you limber and ready for hunting. It was refereed to my by a professional personal trainer with of over 15+ years experience, an AZ hunter and a who also happens to be my brother. (shameless plug if you don't mind but he owns JDM Personal Training in Phx. (http://www.jdmpersonaltraining.com/) so if you know someone looking or you are... hit him up.) Back to packing meat out.... If possible you can also make arrangements with someone that has horses to come in and pack it out for you. Some places offer cell service from top of the mountains, I've been surprised where I get cell service back in the boonies. Maybe your packer can bring in an extra mule to haul you out too.... Just make sure to work out all the details before hand with them leaving no unanswered questions to what each party is responsible to do. Hope that helps some. cmc

I've seen that truck in 27 before.... I think I know who it is but not saying in case they were skipping work or don't care to have their lic. plate advertised on the internet. You might want to hide that plate out of courtesy to the owner. cmc

Congrats on a trophy of a lifetime!!! What a hog!!!! Gee I thought all those G&F folk were out there to only write tickets... Again nice ram and please post photos of the mount when it's done. cmc

After thinking a bit more.... Figure out how you'll pack your trash out. Ziplock bags worked well for us. Speaking of ziplocks... pre package each days alloted food into one big bag. This will then allow you to easy see what you get to eat so that you don't over eat but even more important you don't under eat. Also gives you a trash bag for each day and lastly if you leave camp setup you can quickly just grab a days worth of food in one bag and not have to divvy up each day from large supplies. Try eating for maybe three days straight at home & work a few weeks before your hunt the same food, and only that food (no cheating) you'd be taking on the hunt. I learned a few things by doing that. I can't eat the chili mac Mt. House meal as it's not nice on my tummy. Second I figured out what utensils & bowls I needed and didn't need. Even better is to give things a trial run on a camp trip or in the back yard in your tent so that way you can figure out how you can eat in your tent in a rain storm. Boiling water in a nylon tent, nylon sleeping bag, and polyfoam sleeping pad surrounding your burner seems easy at first but then figure in how extremely flammable everything is it's best to take your time and give it a trial run. I found out the mess kit I was going to take didn't do to well in transferring boiling water over to the Mt. House bag and require a heavy glove but even then the chance of spilling was high. (read that as 3rd degree burn in the boonies is not something to laugh over, let alone a soaking wet sleeping bag) Hashing out a mess kit before was a smart choice as I changed things up a few times before I got a nice working setup. Find a setup that allows you to store things inside one another to save pack space. Plan on a bowl to eat hot oatmeal, a pan with handle to boil water w/ a lid if possible (helps boil faster), a cup to drink from & a spork (spook/fork). I also recommend taking Emergen-C and some sort of power electrolyte mixes. Figure two per day. Morning and evening. They will help you recover quickly when hiking hard in a day. cmc

I don't recall if I ever put up my pack list items from our hunt last year. This was what mine looked like before we left. There were some things subject to change depending on weather and or who was going to take what. The one thing we did, and will do again this year is to spread the load depending on who has to carry the rifle and other things. Younghunter I'd shoot for putting a ton of money into a tent, bag, and tripod to get the lightest possible, at least the tent and bag. Figure once you make camp you won't be carrying those around each day unless you plan to. I'd really try to keep that pack weight under 50lbs or just at. Ya your young but having destroyed my knees at your age listen to those that now suffer for not tending to them years ago. Ya you can carry it but it's going to take a tole that's just not worth it. Besides you'll enjoy the hunt that much better. I can not stress how important proper food and water consumption is on a pack in hunt. It can make or break you, but preparation with physical training can do just as good. Learn to listen to your body and eat before you get hungry. Don't over do it out there and rest when you can. It's not like you can easily say I'm done and exhausted and it's time to head home. The pack out is going to be just as nasty as the pack in was if not worse due to you'll be more tired. Plan on what you'll do if you harvest an animal. Think about having coolers with ice back at the truck. Think about multiple trips to pack things out, leave camps as the last thing. Have some gear at the truck in case you pack out and need to stay the night there, say a sleeping bag and MRE. Think about first aid all the time. Think about what you'd do if you broke a leg, an arm, something bad. Think about that as you are about to jump across a stream vs. stepping over, or as you cut a piece of rope with a very sharp knife. You put a nasty gash in your arm back in there and it's going to be worse than cutting off the finger at home. Many hours to the ER room vs a quick phone call and sitting and waiting. Get some trekking poles they are a god-sent!!!! They will help more than you can imagine. I double stress finding out about reliable water sources before you even set foot. Call G&F & FS to see what they have to say. Make sure you have necessary permits (FS/State/BLM) if any are needed. Go with someone you can put your life in their hands. Make sure that if you go down they have the smarts to get the two of you out alive. Think about a SAT phone if you got the coin to drop on one. Get and take more maps of the area than you think you'll ever need. Topo, FS, State land, BLM. Make copies of each and divvy out to who ever is going with ya. Upload routes, trails, every possible water source and stream, into your GPS. Notify the local G&F WM and FS personal of your plans and what time they need to get worried if they see your truck at the trail head days after you planned to get out. Give them numbers to call and see if you're out or let family know somethings wrong. I hope some of the info helps some and now that I've wrote it all I'm extremely excited to get back in there for Packers bear hunt in a few months. It's a blast to pack in hunt. cmc

I glassed up two lions a few Sundays ago, a huge tom and a female. Observed the same hunting styles you noted. I have a tag a storm came in before I could get them called in. That is way to freaky to be blowing on a call with only a bow in your hand and two lions on the way in.... I questioned my sanity quite a few times. The Strom rolled in and fogged us in that I could only see 15yds. I opted to not make my wife a widow and backed out as it was turning dark anyways. It was an awesome rush though. Glassed them up twice while moving closer to them probably for about a combined 45mins I got to watch them. That makes #8 and #9 lions I've seen in my lifetime. They are majestic and I can not wait to tag one some day. cmc

what a toad!!! Awesome job and big congrats to the hunter that harvested him. That little kid with the deer picture is great. Too cute. cmc

Sweet looking buck and what a story. Archery none the less.... I'm jealous to say the least.

First welcome to AZ and CWT. Second... you're not allowed to complain till after your 5th year. I've been bow hunting coues for 15+ years and have yet to tag one so I can't take pitty on you. And I'm not holding out for any 3x3. I won't shoot a nubby but a decent spike better watch out. Just stick at it and never give up. cmc

The way Joe's brother told it to me.... uh... pure luck. :D But he, like me, was bitter this being his second monster with a bow in I think 3-4 years. Some of us are working on just killing their first with a bow. cmc

Your other uncle sent me that via email.... I had a few choice words (jealous ones) for Joe but wished him congrats in the end. Tell him he better get some lotto tickets one of these days at the rate he's killing bucks with his bow. cmc

I need to trade or sell my Encore T/C Encore 15" .308 stainless barrel. T/C Adjustable sights before HAM season. Barrel only! $200 Or I'll look at trade for a smaller round (.243 or 44mag) Encore pistol barrel. Or what I really want is stainless Encore 50cal muzzy barrel. cmc

Sweet looking buck. Congrats. cmc

AZP&Y I'd love to hear more on your bivy setup. PM would work if need be. I'd probably do that every year but hunt with friends and family that don't, so I opt to do the trailer thing for those hunts. cmc

If anyone comes across ranches still having land owner cow elk tags available for this years fall hunts I'd like to know. PM or email me. Thanks cmc

Any one have a line on cheap land owner cow elk tags in NM? Non guided, rifle or archery it don't matter. cmc

I love it. Nice one Lark. just hard to take from a guy using a computer to post on the internet... cmc

I break out my video or still digital camera and take a few pictures at where I shot to. If alone I'll write down in my note pad some of the key features and where to go. Maybe draw a small map. Then I'll view the photos and make sure I can make out where to go from landmarks. So far I've done that with great success but have got a few new tips here on how to recover from a long range shot. Some times it's not so long of a shot but across a nasty canyon that you have to go almost a mile out of your way to get across that's a bugger. That's when you've forgot all about your land marks, which makes the photos and mini map all worth the while. cmc

you'd be surprised how much more of this takes place than what folks see. Talk with some of the WMs regarding this subject and I bet you'll be appalled by the response. I myself have seen it many times on an early archery elk hunt where the animal is being driven to Phx or Tuc. with it's hide still on. Makes me sick. Unfortunately is seems to many that once the animal has bee killed the hunt is now over. Sad to see. cmc

Ya... what bryce cayon said... so what'd the dog get? Nice cat by the way. cmc

hunting coues down south with my father in law years ago. We drive in on a 4x4 road for 7 miles and are hiked in another 3 miles. We climb up to a ridge top and bump into some old timer out with an old miners hardhat and headlamp on searching for old mine shafts. This guy looks to almost dead from the hike up and plops down on a rock to smoke a cigarette. I miffed that some guys out here messing up our hunt but figured at least he wasn't hunting so not much competition. We walk up to the guy and I say hi. He says howdy to me and then looks over at my father in law and shouts out his name. Turned out these two guys hadn't seen each other in over 25 years and they meet up in the middle of no where!!!! Chit chatted for a bit and parted ways. I got another one that involves a film crew, Pima County Sheriff and TV commercial being filmed while out bow hunting years back. That goes down as one of the funniest hunts of my life. When time permits I'll have to post that one. cmc