Credit card hits

[BOHNTR]

1 hour ago, creed said:

I got to looking on the www and there’s actually quite a few studies done. Kind of eye-opening in a bad way.

Just not factual data in our state.  Wish we tracked better.  Mandatory reporting for all hunts would be a good start.

[PRDATR]

28 minutes ago, BOHNTR said:

Just not factual data in our state.  Wish we tracked better.  Mandatory reporting for all hunts would be a good start.

Well there are equal results for firearms too, maybe a few less casualties but the outcome is the same. They are tough for sure. Stinks to loose one but it happens.

[knothead]

It sure does suck and really takes the steam out of a hunt.  At least it did for me.  I had a very good kill ratio when hunting with a bow and arrow for my first 30 years.  Only lost one javelina over that time.  I made a couple bad shots on elk but I was able to find them.   Over the last 10 years I have hit 4 different animals and lost them.  One of them, an antelope, I found the next morning but the coyotes got to him before I did.  I put my tag on it and my hunt was over.  In 2009 or 10 I had a 5B archery antelope tag and it was the first time I ever saw a guy hunt with a crossbow in AZ.  We were pretty much hunting the same 60-70 antelope that had a total of 9 bucks in the area.  Over time we would cross paths in the field and talk.  He told me he shot 5 different bucks and he was finally able to retrieve the 5th one.  I asked him why he was hunting with a crossbow because I didn't ever see anything that was disabling about him.  He showed me two fingers that we loosely taped together and said it may not look bad but he cant pull his bow back.  He was almost apologetic.  One of the bucks he shot out from under me during one of my stalks.  114 yard shot and I couldn't figure out what made them all run.  That was my first encounter with him.  He claimed he didn't see me stalking them. 

 

I think the loss of animals for me has taken away a lot of my drive to kill things.  I love hunting as much as I ever did but the candle definitely does not burn as bright for killing stuff.  A lot of this is personal and I think every hunter has to deal with it the best they see fit.

[CouesPursuit]

Very similar knothead, but 20 instead of 30 years so far. I chickened out on my sheep hunt. While practicing and shooting the greatest archery of my life, I intentionally left my bow in the truck and grabbed a rifle the day (2) I went after my target ram. 

He ended up coming below me 80 yards as scouting predicted he may. Shooting him with a rifle that close was bittersweet. 

I will never know if I'm a chump or if my decision was commendable, but I was terrified of wounding a true trophy animal and having him lost or run on inaccessible (YPG) lands.

I'll try to stay off a high horse but I hate seeing wounded animals and wish shooting and as much real-world prep for the shot as possible was trendy. Critter numbers are declining behind my upgrading optics and experience. 

[trphyhntr]

4 hours ago, wildwoody said:

should be like Alaska, , a wound is a kill. I also herd of a gentleman who hit 6 bulls in one hunt and never retrieved one

I heard it was 7 

[AZBIG10]

G&F doesn’t care why should hunters?  Fair chase is what they coined it. I think it’s a trash mentality to not follow up on an arrowed animal. It happens in archery. There’s no way around it
 

I drew my 1st archery hunt after 15 yeats of not drawn. Broke my leg the year of the hunt I finally drew. I phoned G&F and asked to return and keep my points. I got  a very stern no. I told them I will arrow a bull. My recovery would not be ideal. The dept could have cared less. I arrowed a good bull. Never recovered it. I expressed my displeasure with the G&F. With the departments Inability to accommodate any situation to surrender a tag UNLESS It was military and deployment related. Left a pretty salty taste in my mouth. Not how I pictured my first bull hunt after waiting close to 2 decades to get a tag 
 

 

[Coues247]

19 minutes ago, AZBIG10 said:

G&F doesn’t care why should hunters?  Fair chase is what they coined it. I think it’s a trash mentality to not follow up on an arrowed animal. It happens in archery. There’s no way around it
 

I drew my 1st archery hunt after 15 yeats of not drawn. Broke my leg the year of the hunt I finally drew. I phoned G&F and asked to return and keep my points. I got  a very stern no. I told them I will arrow a bull. My recovery would not be ideal. The dept could have cared less. I arrowed a good bull. Never recovered it. I expressed my displeasure with the G&F. With the departments Inability to accommodate any situation to surrender a tag UNLESS It was military and deployment related. Left a pretty salty taste in my mouth. Not how I pictured my first bull hunt after waiting close to 2 decades to get a tag 
 

 

So you broke your leg, were still able to go and hunt and arrow a bull, but the recovery was the problem? No one could help you recover it? How tf were you capable of shooting one with a broken leg but not recovering it? 

 

I think the problem with opening up tag returns for generalized reasons would open up a can of worms. What qualifies? For how long? How long before the hunt does it have to have happened? Etc. Countless variations of things that can happen to people. And just about every one of them could get a doctor note from somewhere saying they weren't capable of hunting, the same way everyone was getting doctors notes for crossbows. So to make it simple the answer was no to everyone. Point guard is a good mixture of one get out of jail free card. You have your no questions asked bail out but you only get one.

[yotebuster]

1 hour ago, AZBIG10 said:

G&F doesn’t care why should hunters?  Fair chase is what they coined it. I think it’s a trash mentality to not follow up on an arrowed animal. It happens in archery. There’s no way around it
 

I drew my 1st archery hunt after 15 yeats of not drawn. Broke my leg the year of the hunt I finally drew. I phoned G&F and asked to return and keep my points. I got  a very stern no. I told them I will arrow a bull. My recovery would not be ideal. The dept could have cared less. I arrowed a good bull. Never recovered it. I expressed my displeasure with the G&F. With the departments Inability to accommodate any situation to surrender a tag UNLESS It was military and deployment related. Left a pretty salty taste in my mouth. Not how I pictured my first bull hunt after waiting close to 2 decades to get a tag 
 

 

You do realize you could have killed an elk just fine with a broken leg right?  You making a bad shot on an elk has nothing to do with your leg, nor the game and fish’s policy.  

[AZBIG10]

1 hour ago, Coues247 said:

So you broke your leg, were still able to go and hunt and arrow a bull, but the recovery was the problem? No one could help you recover it? How tf were you capable of shooting one with a broken leg but not recovering it? 

 

I think the problem with opening up tag returns for generalized reasons would open up a can of worms. What qualifies? For how long? How long before the hunt does it have to have happened? Etc. Countless variations of things that can happen to people. And just about every one of them could get a doctor note from somewhere saying they weren't capable of hunting, the same way everyone was getting doctors notes for crossbows. So to make it simple the answer was no to everyone. Point guard is a good mixture of one get out of jail free card. You have your no questions asked bail out but you only get one.

You shoot archery with your arms. Pack out is legs. It’s both science and physics.

 

I chalk it up to being a good hunter. My walking cast I was limited to the terrain once he dumped off into the canyon. A Walking cast is rough on flat ground. let alone the steep canyon walls of the matazaals (lol)

 

I had help. CJ from Nutrioso. But conducting a grid search a thoouhj grid search in a remote canyon is not easy when you are in shape.

[AZBIG10]

2 minutes ago, yotebuster said:

You do realize you could have killed an elk just fine with a broken leg right?  You making a bad shot on an elk has nothing to do with your leg, nor the game and fish’s policy.  

I made a great shot. Arterial blood at impact. 

[AZBIG10]

Unlike Most. I ended my hunt on that bull. I had my opportunity. My policy is once you get an opportunity ie shots fired whether hit/impact or a miss. The hunt can be chalked as done because you had an opportunity. 
 

[yotebuster]

Just now, AZBIG10 said:

Unlike Most. I ended my hunt on that bull. I had my opportunity. My policy is once you get an opportunity ie shots fired whether hit/impact or a miss. The hunt can be chalked as done because you had an opportunity. 
 

You’re really trying to go high horse after just telling how you knowingly killed a bull and didn’t recover it because you couldn’t walk?  I would say “most” would have either got help, killed a bull in an accessible spot, or better yet both.   

[AZBIG10]

5 minutes ago, yotebuster said:

You’re really trying to go high horse after just telling how you knowingly killed a bull and didn’t recover it because you couldn’t walk?  I would say “most” would have either got help, killed a bull in an accessible spot, or better yet both.   

Not a high horse. I was grateful for the opportunity. It’s not that deep. I set out to get one opportunity in a diminished physical state and I had done just that. Called for help searching the area we were unsuccessful.My hunt was done. I don’t have an ego in my hunting endeavors.I rarely kill animals. But I hunt a lot. 

 

[AZBIG10]

Bull was in accessible area. Not sitting water. Ambushed in a saddle. He got wobbly after the 1st shot and I watched him for minutes as he stood there. Thinking he was going down. Knocked another arrow connected again just behind shoulder. He bolted. I second guess that shot. May have went down in front of me.

[trphyhntr]

3 hours ago, AZBIG10 said:

 

I drew my 1st archery hunt after 15 yeats of not drawn. Broke my leg the year of the hunt I finally drew. I phoned G&F and asked to return and keep my points. I got  a very stern no. I told them I will arrow a bull. My recovery would not be ideal. The dept could have cared less. I arrowed a good bull. Never recovered it. I expressed my displeasure with the G&F.
 

 

Batman himself wouldn’t have been able to get this story out of me.