Lawnboy
Well-known member
Hey Newhab I'd of jumped in one of your bags had I known you were going it alone. I'm getting to the point where I'm sick of the lawn gig. I'm kinda missing the night time jokes and harassing of cameramen. Good luck.
Arizona Elk - God, I love this place!
- Thread starter Big Fin
- Start date
See how you are? Check your phone. I called twice yesterday, hoping you wanted a break and would show these Arizona elk how ol' Lawnboy plays the elk whistle. Nope, you see it is me and turn your phone off. That's alright, everyone else does the same thing.
I am picking up the camera guy at the airport tomorrow afternoon, so it still isn't too late.
Heard some bugles in this canyon just before dark. Was sure it was some guy playing his elk horn. Just too much racket. Well, it wasn't another hunter. A nice bull. Given Mrs. Fin sent me out the door with standing orders to shoot the 300" bull I see,and that guy looks like he would make the mark. Only elk I saw or heard, so the day ended way better than it looked earlier.
Went into the places where we saw the most elk sign last year on Larry's hunt. Nothing. No tracks. No scat. No rubs. Ouch. I was thinking I could go to school on what we learned last year. Place looks like a wasteland. Figured since I had walked in 1/2 mile to the waterhole, I may as well place a camera there. Will check it in a day or two and see if things pick up.
Gonna be putting on some miles tomorrow, trying to find more sign before it opens Friday morning. Things don't look too bad for moisture. Water in every tank, which may be a bad thing. Not as green as last year, but still plenty of grass to go around.
Time to go get some grub. Hope to have a big report after the morning charge.
zfountaine55
Active member
Good luck Randy! I would trade anything to be chasing elk right now instead of fixing cars, but I suppose I will have to like the hunt vicariously through you until Saturday, just like the rest of us with jobs not nearly as cool as you have!
Lawnboy
Well-known member
Liar, Liar pants on fire! Don't screw around and go shoot that bugling bull you heard.
Dude, look at your phone log - 4:30 PM on the 27th. You are better off trying to arrow a big Montana bull than to be down here in the dust and cactus, hoping for some stray bull.
Now, go kill one, would you, so if I strike out, I don't feel so bad.
Lawnboy
Well-known member
I had one a 30 yards this morning. The only problem was he came in straight on and I had no shot or way to draw even if he'd turned. Maybe I should switch to horseshoes, seems my M O is just getting close.
Dude I have no record of a call but then again switching to Verizon has been a little sketchy with the coverage at my house.
Now quit playing around and go shoot something. I want to see a post about you yanking whistle teeth by this time tomorrow.
Randy,I don't post much as you can tell but I visit OYOA forms almost every day especially when you start your hunts! You are the "MAN" when it comes to telling your adventures on the forum. I'm stuck in a wheelchair due to MS and love to hunt..the 2 don't mix very well and I get so much enjoyment reading about your day to day victories and failure in the field make me feel like I'm there with you. Good luck my friend and keep telling all of your wonderful stories...
Heard one bugle this morning. He is on state land that is posted more than any private I have seen here. Called Game and Fish and left a message to let them know I intend to hunt it. Not sure if the landowner will try to tell me to leave, but if so, he might want to find another tree to bark up. Thousands of acres of state land behind all of their signs.
Maybe you can post state land in AZ, if you are the lessee. If so, the regs say I can still hunt it. Plan to do that. Looks like the kind of place most guys would stay away from due to all the signs and the fact that it is a good mile and a half walk just to where the decent country starts. Be my luck I will hoof it in there, only to discover half the tagholders drove in from a different side.
Season opens in the morning. Need to figure out what my strategy will be. Picking up a camera guy this afternoon and hope to get some more scouting in this evening.
Gonna grab a bite to eat and then go shoot my rifle. By the looks of my airline case, either they don't like my luggage, or they needed something aluminum to brace the cargo ramp at Denver Int'l. Better judgement suggests that I go do another check on my rifle's zero prior to the moment of truth.
Maybe you can post state land in AZ, if you are the lessee. If so, the regs say I can still hunt it. Plan to do that. Looks like the kind of place most guys would stay away from due to all the signs and the fact that it is a good mile and a half walk just to where the decent country starts. Be my luck I will hoof it in there, only to discover half the tagholders drove in from a different side.
Season opens in the morning. Need to figure out what my strategy will be. Picking up a camera guy this afternoon and hope to get some more scouting in this evening.
Gonna grab a bite to eat and then go shoot my rifle. By the looks of my airline case, either they don't like my luggage, or they needed something aluminum to brace the cargo ramp at Denver Int'l. Better judgement suggests that I go do another check on my rifle's zero prior to the moment of truth.
Working on that. Great news is that the nearest town has a DQ. Not sure why NM has such a scarcity of DQs. Thinking a chocolate extreme blizzard with chocolate ice cream might make for a good mid-day snack. Plan to work it off my beltline while packing out my bull tomorrow.
stillkickin
Well-known member
Fess up, that fancy new phone of yours has a DQ app!
Damn, busted.
smarandr
Well-known member
I think I've shared this story before, but I have a BLM friend that I go bird hunting with on occasion and we came on some posted BLM ground one time. So knowing it was public we hunted it, and on our way out the adjacent land owner was there to "greet" us. You should have seen him slink away when my friend told the landowner that he was a BLM employee and he had illegally posted the land. I hope you obtain some similar satisfaction.
Heard one bugle this morning. He is on state land that is posted more than any private I have seen here. Called Game and Fish and left a message to let them know I intend to hunt it. Not sure if the landowner will try to tell me to leave, but if so, he might want to find another tree to bark up. Thousands of acres of state land behind all of their signs.
Maybe you can post state land in AZ, if you are the lessee. If so, the regs say I can still hunt it. Plan to do that. Looks like the kind of place most guys would stay away from due to all the signs and the fact that it is a good mile and a half walk just to where the decent country starts. Be my luck I will hoof it in there, only to discover half the tagholders drove in from a different side.
Season opens in the morning. Need to figure out what my strategy will be. Picking up a camera guy this afternoon and hope to get some more scouting in this evening.
Gonna grab a bite to eat and then go shoot my rifle. By the looks of my airline case, either they don't like my luggage, or they needed something aluminum to brace the cargo ramp at Denver Int'l. Better judgement suggests that I go do another check on my rifle's zero prior to the moment of truth.
Lawnboy
Well-known member
Newhab is packing that new gps with ownership maps and I suspect he'll use it to the full extent. We already blew a chance at a great deer one year wondering if we were on the public or not. I'm not believing signs or fences anymore. If the hand held says public I'm banking on it's accuracy and going for it.
Should hear some whistling in a couple hours
Should hear some whistling in a couple hours
Though it's probably not all that big of a deal, but before I would bet my hunting future on a GPS I would double check with the land management agency to see if there have been any land trades. If so, I would then check with the provider of the ownership maps to make sure that the most up to date information was on them. Doubt it'd ever been an issue, but I do know land trades happen and often times is takes the agency a LONG time to get accurate paper maps published. I know of some trades that don't show up on the 100K maps for No. UT. as they were printed 15yrs before the trades happened. Areas that are shown as BLM are no longer BLM.
Hate to see someone get a sensitive mammary gland caught in a ringer...
Hate to see someone get a sensitive mammary gland caught in a ringer...
Pointer - what you mention is my biggest concern. Talked to some locals. They said the ranch posts all land they own or lease from the state. If there was a trade, it was a big one. I would bet there are twenty sections that have that, or a similar sign on it. I think it is like some states, where lessees can post state land they lease, but hunters can hunt it. Still waiting for a return call from G&F.
Gotta love small towns. I went and shot the rifle again, just to make sure. It was now almost an inch and a half low at 100. Never had that happen before. Left to right was good. Then I realized I forgot my micro allen wrench that allows you to reset the CDS turret for your new zero.
So, I go to NAPA. They don't have what I am looking for, but an employee is a hunting and shooting nut. He runs home, gets his gunsmith tools and is back in about ten minutes. He has just what I am looking for. Three quick returns of the screws and my 100 yard zero is reset. The guy was very excited that he could help. Wouldn't take any money. Will pay him back, somehow.
Shot 15 rounds to make sure that it was off. Given I did not have a bench to shoot from, I thought it could be operator error. Every shot in the first two three-shot groups was low. Put it at 180 on the dial and the next nine shots were all plus or minus a small distance from zero.
Glad I checked. If only a 200 yard shot, it would not have been a problem. Beyond that maybe an issue.
Off to get the camera man. I am ready. Not sure I will find a Pekin-sized bull, but hope for a decent six point. Gonna have to cover lots of miles with vehicle and boot to find them in this highly roaded area with such low elk densities. Will let my new 80mm Leupold spotter do some off the walking for me.
Gotta love small towns. I went and shot the rifle again, just to make sure. It was now almost an inch and a half low at 100. Never had that happen before. Left to right was good. Then I realized I forgot my micro allen wrench that allows you to reset the CDS turret for your new zero.
So, I go to NAPA. They don't have what I am looking for, but an employee is a hunting and shooting nut. He runs home, gets his gunsmith tools and is back in about ten minutes. He has just what I am looking for. Three quick returns of the screws and my 100 yard zero is reset. The guy was very excited that he could help. Wouldn't take any money. Will pay him back, somehow.
Shot 15 rounds to make sure that it was off. Given I did not have a bench to shoot from, I thought it could be operator error. Every shot in the first two three-shot groups was low. Put it at 180 on the dial and the next nine shots were all plus or minus a small distance from zero.
Glad I checked. If only a 200 yard shot, it would not have been a problem. Beyond that maybe an issue.
Off to get the camera man. I am ready. Not sure I will find a Pekin-sized bull, but hope for a decent six point. Gonna have to cover lots of miles with vehicle and boot to find them in this highly roaded area with such low elk densities. Will let my new 80mm Leupold spotter do some off the walking for me.
noharleyyet
Well-known member
Future garage sale item...hmmmmm?:hump:
Monteman11
Member
- Joined
- Jul 31, 2011
- Messages
- 192
Fin, what gps system are you using? This may be a newbie question for the forum, but hey, I am a newbie to the forum.
Garmin GPSmap62st with the Arizona map chip from www.huntingGPSmaps.com
Future garage sale item...hmmmmm?:hump:
Garage sale, no. Estate sale, maybe.
Lawnboy
Well-known member
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