Shedhunteraz

Great story, nice buck guys. Congrats to the hunter

I am in for the gilbert or mesa, chandler chapter

I thought you found em all in your stoppin grounds already! LOL! James Really james? You know my wife. She has radar and will find buttons if it comes down to it. Im sure we all know when the az ones drop

Was out today. These are older, but hey still a shed finding day!!

First of all I have to truly thank god for the success of this hunt. Also my best friend in the world, the love of my life my wife holly, and my brother in law Jason aka( averagejoe) who with out any of them none of this would not have been possible. Well as some of you know my wife is addicted to shed hunting and just enjoys being outdoors, so when we found out that my brother in law and were drawn for bull tags in the same unit, me rifle and him archery we all knew it was game on. We have been watching and waiting, glassing hiking and running trail cams for the last 6 months. Had bulls in our front yard, during the rut so we knew it was going to be a decent year for bull in our unit. Well rut comes and goes scout some more, check trail cams. Low and behold everything we have been seeing is broke, on top of that the rut ran way late in our unit. Jason's (bro in law) hunt starts, make a good plan to get him on a bull. First day does not go as planned. Found good one, spotted him. Stalked the most amazing stalk, over 2.5 miles in the nastiest terrain gets to 87 yds, wind shifts bull runs off. Not seeing any bulls due to the awesome snow storm we got a week prior and just messed everything up. So plan b. Go to where we have seen them for weeks now. Needless to say he walks in not expecting anything, peaks over the ridge and heard of bulls 40 yds from him. Arrow flys, bull down. So far 1 for 2 on our bull hunts. I take off home for the thanksgiving holiday have dinner, come right back up thanksgiving night with the family. Wife and I head out next morning to do some scouting. Found few bulls, not what we were expecting. Lots of cows no bulls. Do the same sat and sun. Head back home sunday. WIfes bday on Monday. Decide I need to go to range Tuesday on way out of town. Didn't want to but just had feeling god wanted me to make sure all is well. Meet Jason there. FIre a couple of rounds, everything looks good. Bam. Gun wont load or extract. I look up and said are you serious? Everything happens for a reason. Run over to Accuracy Speaks. Talk to marty there. Extractor is broke on a very new gun. Ok says he can have it done by weds. I say ok. Take off to cabin, Jason is going to pick gun up on way up. Weds rolls around. gun still not done. Thinking I really don't want to shoot my 270 on an elk hunt. Thurs rolls around gun finally done. Jason grabs on way out of town. So I scouted from Tuesday till Thursday night. Saw tons of bulls. Some good, some busted. I knew if I wanted to fill my tag i'd have to get down into the canyons where they are hanging out. Finish up glassing Thursday night with my father in law that came up to help. Spotted good looking 6x at about 4 in the afternoon. Decent spot to get to him and get him out. Watch him bed, ok have a good night buddy see you in the am. Friday morning rolls around off and running opening day, 400 am head to our spot hour and half drive in 30 min walk. Myself and Jason on one side of the ridge and wife and father in law on the other side. I thinking ok, this should be over with as soon as the sun pops up. I have been watching this area for weeks, and the prior 2 days glassed up 30 plus bulls a day. Sun comes up, nothing. Heard about 4 shots around us. Nothing close, few miles each way. Glass and Glass, still nothing. Wife and dad head off to same spot I glassed up the bull night before. Nothing. so its 1030 anything that was up is surely bedded by now. I failed to mention the AWESOME full moon got the pleasure of having right at the start of the hunt. With no overnight cloud cover to help. Anyways Jason and I take off up this ridge, me dragging my tail up, Jason running up like a crazed maniac. He told me ill get up there glass take your time. Of course I took my sweet old time, found a spike shed on way up. Thinking this must be a sign. Get up to top. Found the most amazing glassing point on rock ledge. (pic below) Got set up, took turns glassing and taking cat naps. So at this point we are just to left of a water hole (dry one) that the bull we glassed up the night before. Well around 2pm Johnny road hunter decides to drive right up on the water hole gets out, looks, parks his ranger right on the edge of it. Gotta love AZ hunting. Watched him walk into his spot the whole way. Man it is funny the things people do when they have no idea someone is watching them a mile away. Anyway. Sat and glassed for rest of day. Nothing. Get ahold of my wife, Jason and hike back down the mountain. Wife picks us up and head back to the cabin. At this point I am pretty disappointed. Between my wife and myself. We have been scouting for the better part of 5 months. I guess this is why they call it hunting and not catching. Well day two rolls around. We wake up have some coffee. Kiss the wife. Then she tells me I had a dream last night. I think oh great I know how this one goes. She says no not like that. Your going to get you bull today. I had a dream you would. You will see three bulls and take the six point. Well hun I hope you right. Make a little later start. Made a somewhat plan with Jason the night before. We get to the spot that we are going to hike in. Holly and dad go one way, Jason and I go the other. First mile wasn't bad, knee deep manzanita, off a ridge. Down through a creek for half mile or so. Then strait up again. Then the familiar voice (Jason) tells me, hurry up I am going to run up and glass try to hurry this time. Im like great, the last thing I want to do is let him down. He has busted his butt up to this point to help me out. Half way up the hill I wanted to give up so bad. i have asthma and i should have been in better shape, but at this point i was not going to give up. Finally make it to the top. Jason is glassing not seeing anything. He tells me lets go let hit this last ridge which was like strait up again and glass like we discussed. In the back of my mind i am saying oh heck no am i going strait up in the air again. I turn around looking while he is putting his 15s away. I see a yellow dot. Hey Jason what is that. Glasses them up. Three bulls. In my mind i am over joyed. On the other side i am thinking how in the world did my wife get this one right but failed to get the correct numbers for the powerball on wensday? Something the good lord just wants you to have more than the other. So we glass them up 1200 yds three bulls. 6x, 5x, and long rag horn. He turns to me, you gotta go run up there and get on them and i will watch as you stalk. Well in between me and the ridge i need to be on was a nice little canyon. We pack up take off down the hill, i am sliding down on my butt using my foot as a ski. Hit the bottom, rest, and then take off up the hill. Now this one was about 10 times worse than the one i hiked up the previous day and the one an hour before. Once again Jason says take you time but you need to hurry, we haven't seen anything for two days and they are going to bed soon. I struggle to get up there after Iron man blazes a trail up the mountain and finds a spot. I finally get up there half dead, hitting my inhaler about five times. Ok where is he at. Knee deep in manzanita, Jason says he is right there with the others. Get your pack off and get set. Mind you this is my first elk hunt. I only shot my first muley last year. My wifes family got me into hunting, now i hooked. Anyways, Im struggling to find a spot. Throw the pack down. Jason says 625 yds. I say what? I have never shot over 300. In my mind i am thinking don't blow this. You have hiked you tale off, Jason has done everything to make it happen. Just done screw up. Ok got him in the scope. Then oh my gosh, the adrenalin set in my heart was pound so hard i honestly thought i was having a heart attack. Scope is shaking, gun wiggling i almost peed my pants. Jason's yelling shoot him, his broad side. Lost him in my scope i was moving to bad. Got him back in there. He decides to bed down. Awesome. Its 930. So with Jason behind me glassing, takes a digiscope pic (see below) i am laying prone bull in scope we wait. 20 mins go by. Jason decides to find a better spot. Comes back, he says ok i found a closer spot. I say ok how good. He says its 600 on the nose. Awesome, right in my wheel house, not. So we move, set up and wait. I sat on the ground for 2 hours prone (pic below) for him to pop up. At this point i have taken the shot in my head 500 times. Slow steady breaths easy trigger pull. 1130 rolls around. Rag horn behind decides to get up walk around so my bull pops up. Jason barks at me he's up. Shoot him. I say ok here we go. Set cross hairs 2 in back from shoulder about 5 below spine. Click boom. i don't see anything because i am sideways on a hill and gun jumped. Jason watched shot whole way. Vapor trail streaming across the canyon and right into the bull. Hit him square in the lungs. As i peak up all i see is bull fall down, trys to get up and falls again. I jump up, scream and yell, hive five Jason so hard about knocked us both over. Little did i know my wife and dad were on the ridge down the way and heard the shot and saw the bull go down, having no idea where we were. Having no radio communication or phone service i had no way of tell them. Sent a text to my wife bull down. We take off to recover what i call our trophy. Back down the canyon (pic below) to another ridge we make it there in about an hour. My wife and dad see us walk up to him and begin yelling across the canyon. Long story short they got the radio on wrong channel. They high tail it back to ranger. get to where we are at an begin to hike down. When i got to see my wifes face and hug her it was the greatest close to an amazing hunt. We get him all quartered out and start the nasty pack out strait up the hill. One or two more nasty trips up and back and it would be over. Finally we get him all up and in the ranger and head home from a well deserved bull. I cannot thank my brother in law enough for all the hard work and crap he had to put up with of me on this hunt. I can honestly say he may be younger than me but the best hunter-sportsman i know. I love him to death and would not have been able to do any of it with out him. And my wife, the love of my life. One her first hunt, absolute lover of animals i didn't know if she could handle it. I will be the first to say i was dead wrong and under estimated her. She has been my biggest supporter of all the time i spend in the woods out hunting or scouting. There is something about the woman you love in camo helping you pack out your first elk in some of the hardest country in the state. I have a new level of respect for her and want her by myside on any hunt i am on. Thank you again Holly and Jason i love you both, i could not have not have accomplished any of this with out you guys and a little help from god. Thanks again

go on tines up. He has some good ones

Really? There is noting in this article that says anything about what he did or didn't do. Your going to start one of those threads that does no good for this website or the men and women that do work for the game and fish. If your going to bash someone or some group on false or non existent information, take it to another website.

Nope but we entered ours in yesterday, not sure what hunt Jason put us in for. Should be a fun one.

Well that explains it. Thanks

Are you sure the AES is March 23 in Mesa. Is that the one you are talking about?

Which one are you heading to? The ADA?

Sold Today

Looking to sell our 2012 Ranger Crew 800 EPS. We spend about 250 days a year in the forest scouting and hunting. It as 4600 miles and 435 hours. I am very religious about the maintenance on this unit. Always on the 30 hour and 50 hour marks. It comes with a 4 year warranty that I bought when original purchase. I want what I owe on it. $8800. Its not in perfect condition, has normal wear and tear. Crack n front floor board and one in the rear.Email me with questions. We are getting rid of it because we bought a 2013 in November. Plus it has the coues sticker on it.

Let me start off by saying none of my hunting and accomplishments this year could not have been even possible with out the blessing of god to harvest his animals. Second my amazing wife holly, I went on and on about her in my first elk I took in nov, but she is just that special and meaningfull to me in my life. Well 2013 archery came upon us and I wanted to give it a shot to take my first deer with a bow. We arrived the day after xmas to our cabin to a nice 20 inches of snow. We wake up the following day to an additional 16 inches of snow. Thanks weather man for calling for 3 to 6. With spirit somewhat down we still wanted to give it shot. My wife the beyond avid shed hunter wanted to check our cameras to see any glimpse of a one horned bull to get her season off and running. We scouted all our go to spots and honey holes and plenty of sign but no visible animals. Discouraging yes be we trekked on. Opening morning brought freexing cold temps and deep snow no matter where we went. The days went on and saw tons of sign but never could get on anything. We wake up Friday morning to a bone chilling 7 degrees as we left before light. Get to our spot and sit and wait. We could see they were there but were eluding us. I could here them below me but never could get a beat on them. We sat and walked all day and still nothing. We head for home around 515, come around turn where they have been known to hang out and low and behold nice 4x4 with two other bucks chasing some does around. So I stop the ranger, my father in law head down the ridge to try to get a shot off the nice 4x I get out grab my bow and take off above him with my son in tow. My father in law gets to 40 yds, no shot deer is standing butt facing him and not a shot to take. The deer was to busy watching me from above, I get to where I think is close enough and range him at 70 and all of sudden he turns and takes off. Then the rest scatter. Lost opportunity. As angry as I was, it was not in god’s plan for us at that moment. We head off home to regroup. Following morning we head off, my son and I one way and my wife and her dad the other. We sat till around 11 and nothing. We could hear them but never could get a good beat on them. We take off for home grab some lunch and plan for the evening. My wife decides to stay back this time, our youngest son was missing us not being there and bored with hanging out with his older sister. So myself and my son and father in law head off around 3. Temps were at a high of 50, the most it had been in a few days so I was hesistant they would even be moving. We park the ranger, my son goes one way on the ridge and Jeff and I head off to our spot we had seen them the previous day. No more than 30 yards we see 2 does strait infront of us up on the ridge. We did the staring dance for a few mins and they wandered off to their left. Jeff heads off to the opposite ridge and I took the road to where I was going to set up. 50 yards from my start I hear the best sound, a mean nasty buck snorting like crazy. I couldn’t get a beat on him so I get down on my knees and crawl thorugh the snow. Still snorting I peak around some scrub and there he stood. The 4x we say the previous day. I range him at 97 and wasn’t comfortable with the shot. He winds me and bails off. Another lost chance. So I continue on and sit down in my spot. I have one doe come 20 yards and never see’s me. Well its 445 and my rear end is frozen solid and I was bored so I head up to back side of the ridge I saw the two does earlier. I get to top wading in 2ft of snow I see a deer super highway. Sit for a few to catch my breath and catch something out the corner of my eye. The two does I saw earlier. Well they start to move down the hill almost to the spot we were glassing them from the other side. They never hear me because I snow up thighs, quite fun. So they now cross the road and stop look back and see me. We do this dance again and the first walks off and then the second. Then the buck steps out that I never saw. At this point he is half behind a tree and staring right at me. Bow in the left hand I pull an arrow out and nock the arrow, he puts his head back down and eats. I inch forward pull my range finder and I have him at 77 yards. Feeling very confident I draw back. He steps forward quarter turns toward me. Tink, I let the arrow fly. All I see is my lighted nock flying through the arrow and thump. I hit him hard. He jumps up takes off. At this point I don’t know how well I hit him, but I knew I hit him hard. Extatic I take off down the hill trip and fall in the knee deep snow. Finally get to the road call my dad on the radio, no answer. I try like mad to get my wife on the phone. Finally I get her, I tell her head down here with the other kids. I start whistiling and no response. At this point I am about to pee my pants I am so happy and no one to share it with. Finally my son come running down the road and I told him I hit one. He was hit hard but not sure. I head over to the scene of the crime and see where he was standing and where he took off. Look alittle farther and see my arrow all lighted up in the snow. I was thinking crap I didn’t get him that good. I had noticed it was shorter than normal. I grab another arrow and measure up. He had 9 inches in him still. I am thanking god at this point. So I look down the hill and I see what every hunter loves to see on an archery shot, blood trial o plenty. I run back to road to find my dad, I find him. He’s like what in the heck are you whistling about? You scared the buck I was on and coming right towards him. I apologized and told him I got one down. With head lamps lit up we head off down the hill to follow the blood trail. 30 yards from the shot I had fallen down and got back up. Blood trial good we keep on slow down the hill. Get to about 50 yds past that and I see him there piled up plowed into a snow embankment. I immediately high five my father in law about know him over and the joy begins. This has truly been a year of a lifetime. I got my first elk this year with my brother in law, my wife and my father in law. And now I got my first archery deer with my son and father in law and wife. I honestly could not have done any of it with out my wife. Between the miles she puts on her boots shed hunting and me scouting it all came together. With out her none of I would have meant as much as it does. I thank my family and my kids for the support and hours we both spend away hunting gods creatures. Holly once again I cannot thank you enough for all you do for me and the kids in life and our hunting adventures. Well we have an archery bear tag and then we are done till oct when my brother in law and I head to Wyoming to speed goat hunt and do some mule deer there also. Thanks for reading.

Someone has to want one of these. Those who pm me answer your phone

One out and one pm wont answer the phone. Still available

pm average joe. We are heading there in oct to hunt goats and maybe muleys. He knows the region pretty well.

Its a great bow, I have the same one with the same set up as yours. I run a carbon express blue maxima with montec broadhead and I ran 326 out of it. Dang good bow. Allowed me to get my first archery buck on Saturday from a distance.Thanks for the information.

I called you back and left a message.

Call me today and lets make deal 4802858586 Kevin

How about if one of the office staff had a concealed weapons permit? And just by chance was carrying his or her hand gun of choice on that day........ outcome may have been much different and that person would be deemed a hero.....

Congrats to you Jay and your hunter Dan. Great looking bull.

We often get james to put a gilley suit on and run around behind our cabin. Quite funny when he has had to many to drink. LOL

We have a 2012 ranger crew with 4800 miles on it and 450 hrs and runs strong never eaten a belt or frayed one. Just maintenance on the hour. Also have a 2013 ranger crew that is a month old and 1k miles on it and runs stout. FYI the 2012 is for sale with a four warranty still on it if anyone is interested.

Very nice story on a late hunt. Congrats to the hunter on a nice looking bull and meat in the freezer. Nice job guys.