AZP&Y

John, Congrats on your pig. It happens that way sometimes, when you are headed back to the truck and there is just one more draw to cross/cover there is your game (waiting) ! Glad to hear both you & the boy filled your javy tags! AzP&Y

OMG - Jim - that things blends so well it's incredible. Not until I really examined the pic would I have ever seen it. Reminds me to SLOW down even more while glassing! Great photo- Thanks for sharing! Doug

Scotty, Sold my house this week. THings could be turning toward the positive, but still hope you move back and we can chase some birds and coues! Doug

Casey, What's the elevation of the ranch down there? Just trying to figure out what kind/type of trees they are? Doug

Coosefan, Thick, appears to be an understatement! Wow ! Great job getting your client on a buck! Congrats! Looks like they need to hire some locals to go in there and clear some desert country to open it up a bit... Thanks for sharing! AzP&Y

Real nice set of pics! I hope to become that proficient with a trail cam some day... AzP&Y

Thought you might enjoy some pictures from Homer,Alaska- taken yesterday. My friend sent these over to me Mt. Redoubt- 10,197 - tallest peak in the Aleutian Chain Outstanding close-ups of eagles ~! AzP&Y Doug

Sunrise Park 3d shoot (competitve and non competitive) JULY 04 , 05 , 06 2008 http://www.sunriseskipark.com/3-d shootout 2008.shtml ** Drawing for a TROPHY WHITE MOUNTAIN APACHE ELK HUNT ( I just got chills typing that) AzP&Y

The tail makes excellent tying material for jigs, flies and streamers. I'll gladly take the tails and pay the postage. AzP&Y (on the fly)...

Great finds for sure! If there is one person that can find them it's JIM AzP&Y Doug

Nice rack on that buck... I found one last Feb , real heavy beamed coues. Did you get that one out of the Huachucas? AzP&Y

WOW!- that is 1 monster shed... Love the chronology of the bucks and pics from 1 season to the next. Must be a great feeling to be that knowledgeable about the deer you are hunting, location , habitat and horns! AzP&Y

Neo, I have been to Alaska 11 times, but never to the Tongass. It is the epi-center of southeast Alaska. As pristine a National Forest as you will find left in the Northern Hemisphere if not the globe. G.W. can't get his paws on the Brooks Range and Arctic National Wildlife Refuge so he settled for the Tongass. If he had his way he would have every oil rig possible pumping 24 -7 - 365 to ease the oil crunch and the floundering economic state of this country. Protection over the land has been a deep battle for more than 7 years! When you do make it to the last frontier, make sure you trek off of any Forest/logging roads and see the Real Alaska... I already have my flight booked for July 2008 - Can't wait. AzP&Y

Points and Mass- All nice coues racks- Looks like a trophy ranch! Congrats! - Viva Mexico AzP&Y

posted it for you so you don't have to open the link! nice deer! AzP&Y

Hunting with friends that make me feel like family. >Larry Moe & Curley. Also glassing the hills because it's never black and white and ALWAYS IN COLOR! AzP&Y

Jim, I know that we had a thread last summer on CWT about the taxi that worked on your coues and my elk. Like you told me, "I'd be proud to have that coues in my house". Great Mexico coues buck! AzP&Y

brocket deer

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/01/2...eral/index.html

Favorite time of the day - early & late... AzP&Y

YH, Great topic, in fact one of my favorite things to do besides hunt is hike some miles. CMC posted some real nice information and you've got to do the same for your gear inventory. What you take on each hunt will vary based on conditions, weather and season. Here are a few items that have allowed me to push 100 miles each year and not break my back (Love the PIC of RR and the serious Steel frame packs!) First is shelter I use the MSR Trekker tarp and insert. It's 2 seperate tents in 1. The insert is fine mesh with a bathtub bottom to keep out sand and dirt and is also water proof. The tarp is the best i've found for 2 men scouting and camping. There is enough room to sleep 2 with backpacks fully underneath the tarp (something to consider). If the bugs arent' thick then just the tarp comes along. MSR trekker Tarp- 2lbs 6oz *Red bag in the picture MSR trekker Insert- 2lbs 3oz*Orange bag in the picture MSR ultralight needle stakes and guy lines - 8oz for 8 stakes and carry bag. Trekking pole - 9oz (this is used in place of tent poles). The purple Naglene bottle (32oz) is so you can see how small each one is. Sleeping You need to find a sleeping bag about 2lbs or slightly more. Bags with no zippers weigh less. Decide if you can sleep like that. I have 2 down bags. 1 is a 40 degree ultralight and the other is a hardcore winter down bag (5 degrees). Go Lite - Featherweight down - +40 degree -700 fill. - 1lb 10 ozs.* black bag in pic Thermarest - Prolight full length -3 season- 1lb 4oz * orange bag in picture Pillow- I stuff clothes into the silicon bag that holds the sleeping bag and works for me Cooking and Lighting As mentioned Iso/Propane/butane is the way to go. More than 1 stove on the market but the ultralight choice is the MSR pocket rocket. Also titanium is the way to go as i learned after many years of carrying steel cookware. The drawback to isopro is that it does not do well in extreme cold weather. Also the pocketrocket does NOT like strong wind. But we use them inside the tent which is better than my whitegas backup which can turn into a raging inferno in seconds if the white gas is spilled. For lighting I take along the New Colemen exponent and Brunton Liberty mantless lantern that runs on the same fuel as the stove. The liberty puts out about as much light as a 60 watt light bulb and is a great source of radiant light. MSR pocket rocket stove- 4.2 oz Lexan spoon - 1 oz MSR titanium kettle- 4.2 oz MSR coffee filter - 2 oz MSR titanium cup - 1.8 oz Brunton Liberty lantern - 8.3 oz 2 iso pro cannisters - 7 oz Coleman exponent backpack lantern ( 8oz) with 4 AA batteries. ** You could leave one of these at home and substitute your headlamp... Water and Filtration I use the MSR drom bags 4 litre and 6 litre. I can carry up 10Litres which is 2.64 gallons. These bags are puncture proof and you have the ability to cache (store) water without worrying too much about critters getting to them. They also allow the water filter (msr miniworks -weighs 1lb) screws right into the cap so you can draw water straight into the drom bag. I also carry water tabs which work great in certain spring fed areas. Hopefully this has given you some ideas and how you may reduce the weight of your pack contents. Usually in March (2008) the backpacker gear guide comes out and tests thousands of products with some great review information. I've left out lots things such as food and you'll find out as many have stated what works and through trial and error find out what suits your individual needs. With that said, - "the basic pieces of equipment above will go on every trip"... Good luck and hope to see you in 33! AzP&Y Doug

Wow! Nice job- you really got into the herd! Neat family hunt experience- thanks for sharing! AzP&Y doug

Grong Orange, I expected to see an icy treestand or some patches of snow on ground, bet it was a nice hunt being down south? Great job and a P&Y buck for sure. Congrats- You've had a nice couple of months hunting coues! AzP&Y Doug

2008 came so quickly this year and before I knew it was time to grab the bows and go pig hunting. I arrived at camp Friday afternoon in time to set-up and meet Atypical (Mike) to talk some strategy to go after the stinky desert pigs. Day 1- Saturday morning came with a passing cold front, wind along with intermittent sprinkles. Atypical's dad met us at first light to hunt with us for a couple of days. He is now in his 70's and moves through the hills like he is 35. Just before our departure to our hunt spot, I decided to pull the bow back and make sure the string was ok. What I failed to remember was my release was attached to the string (anyone else attach their release to the bow string?). Upon drawing down the bow, the release slipped between the cam and string, lodging itself. We did get the release off of the cam fine, but the string came off of the cams all together. We tried a portable bow press but to no avail. Atypical suggested using the come-along winch and I said "no" – I think I'll make the drive to Tucson from Oracle. Made some calls from Oracle and couldn't find a source to fix the string. PSE in Tucson couldn't work on it (not a pse bow) and Saguaro Bait and Tackle/Archery was closed every Saturday in January (probably hunting ) J . I left a message for CWT member Mattys281 (Matt) who called me back 10 minutes later and just so happens owns a bow press. He saved me hours of hassle going back to PHX to try and get someone there to fix my bow. I was back in the field 4 hours later. 3 hours of daylight left glassing & nothing spotted… Day 2- More clouds coming from west to east. We head to a spot that yielded a nice rifle sow for me in Feb 2007. Mike's dad almost immediately glassed and located a nice herd of pigs with some real nice big boars! The plan is that he will get the 1st opportunity by slowly stalking the wash. He gets to within 21 yards and lets one fly! The juvenile Javy goes down! 1 Javy down! The herd scatters with 3 going left and 5 going right up the canyon. Mike is above them now and has a sow standing at 34 yards – He makes a quick squeal and the pig stops. He shoots and the arrow hits the back quarters. Another arrow nocked and flung -2 pigs down! Day 3 – The storm that left 10 feet of snow in the Sierra Nevada's is starting to bear down on southern Arizona. It is only the trailing edge, but the wind is blowing 30-40mph. Not exactly ideal pig hunting weather. We leave the tri-pods behind as there will be no glassing today. Dan, a fellow hunter that we met at our campspot has offered to show us some new areas that he has seen pigs. 4 hours and 5 miles later we have not seen a single critter. Every living thing is hunkered down. Rain spits intermittently, the wind then starts to calm and the sun peaks through the clouds. It's time to head back to the trucks. 2 more ridges and we hear grunts and jaws chopping. Dan nochs an arrow and shoots a sow @ 16 yards. 3 pigs down! (sorry I didn't show Dan's pig, but wanted to make sure it was ok before posting) … I am already at full draw and must let off because there is too much brush between me and the javy! The wash below us is a natural funnel for the pigs to gather themselves and band together. I slowly creep the sides of the wash to intercept them before their departure. I already have an arrow noched from the up and close encounter. I see a group of 5 pigs and a nice large one which it turns out is at 52 yards. I put the 60 pin on him and the arrow flies right over his back and skips into the air up the wash. The group dashes up the side of the wash and vanishes into the cat-claw. There is one last boar that is a bit confused and stands broadside at 28 yards between 2 small palo verdes on the opposite side of the wash exposing his vitals. This time the arrow flies true – double lunger!!!!. He piles up 30 yards and within site in the nearby cat-claw. Karma is a funny thing. Matt killed his first deer,a trophy archery Mule deer the next day. Thanks again for all of your help – getting me back into the field! Good luck to all of you pig and deer hunters in January – Thought you guys might enjoy some serious teeth! AzP&Y Doug

GHCoues Nut, I'd say your 70 pin is right where it needs to be- NICE SHOT- Outstanding Desert Buck! AzP&Y