Whatta BULL!

[James Riley]

James not sure if you got my reply, that message seemed to have disappeared from my box

It did not come through. I didn't want to highjack this thread but was just asking if you were a corpsman with Recon. If so, I wondered who you were with and when. I was an 8653 back in the 70s (A.Co.3rd.Recon).

 

[Recon_Doc]

Yes I was an 8247 Special Amphibious Recon Corpsman. Was at 2nd Battalion, then 2nd Force. I volunteered to stand up with MARSOC at it's inception (most if not all of 1st, and 2nd Force were the first MARSOC operators). Did almost 2 years with MARSOC. On my fifth deployment, I broke my back in two places and was medically rolled out at 17 years as a Chief.

 

[Recon_Doc]

8427 excuse my dyslexia. hahaha

 

[James Riley]

8427 excuse my dyslexia. hahaha

Ouch! Sorry to hear about the back. It's a small world so you might know my Doc. He's a chiro at Bethesda and deals with back issues, high faluten politicians, Admirals and whatnot, as well as wounded warriors. Semper Fi.

 

[Recon_Doc]

Semper Fi brother. You may find this interesting. The Foundation hosts a challenge every year. Great time to get out drink some beers and watch the brothers do their thing. http://www.marinereconchallenge.com/

 

[James Riley]

Semper Fi brother. You may find this interesting. The Foundation hosts a challenge every year. Great time to get out drink some beers and watch the brothers do their thing. http://www.marinereconchallenge.com/

I think I've heard of that but I've never been out there for it. I still have limited comm with men I served with via snail mail, email and a unit FaceBook page but that's about it. I joined the FRA years ago but haven't paid dues in forever. S/F

 

[Recon_Doc]

I think I've heard of that but I've never been out there for it. I still have limited comm with men I served with via snail mail, email and a unit FaceBook page but that's about it. I joined the FRA years ago but haven't paid dues in forever. S/F

Well it's good to meet you James. We are a small community. My time with Recon have been nothing short of the best days of my life. I just turned 40, and wish I was 18 so I could do it all over again. By the way are you an Arizona hunter?

Swift, Silent, Deadly

 

[James Riley]

Hey Doc: They were some great times with great, motivated A-type personalities and I got paid to do stuff that would cost a ton on the civilian side, if you could even do it.

I was a hunter long before Recon but I found that hunting helped me more in the transition back to civilian life than anything ever could. Hunting is the true life perspective that so many people hide from themselves.

I have never hunted Arizona or even spent much time there; just driving through, Grand Canyon, Tombstone, etc.

I did go to the Apache Reservation you referred to in your OP and spent the night at a high end resort once. New Mexico, right? I thought it was by Ruidoso or something? It was a long time ago but I remember the architecture was all Apache influence and they had a museum. I did see some pictures of the bulls they kill down there and was told they had a real focus on quality over quantity. I started to get interested until I saw what they charged for a hunt. I decided to stick with my public lands.

I once read that Merriams Elk (extinct) were the largest of all and they came out of that area. Probably some good vegetation down there for antler growth.

 

[sbhooper]

The Mescalero is a great place. I could see the boundary from my house when I lived in NM. My fil and I hunted cows on the res several years in a row. It was an absolute blast. It was fun just seeing all of the big bulls. With the window sticker, you had full run of the res and if you got a cow down, you could drive to her if you could. We drove to two of my fil's cows, but every one of mine came out in a pack. The game wardens were a great bunch of guys, too.

I also cut some firewood there a couple times and their timber people were great to deal with too. The Inn of the Mountain Gods is the hotel that you refer to. They have a casino and that is where there bull hunts are based out of. Nice operation if you can afford the money to do it.

 

[James Riley]

The Mescalero is a great place. I could see the boundary from my house when I lived in NM. My fil and I hunted cows on the res several years in a row. It was an absolute blast. It was fun just seeing all of the big bulls. With the window sticker, you had full run of the res and if you got a cow down, you could drive to her if you could. We drove to two of my fil's cows, but every one of mine came out in a pack. The game wardens were a great bunch of guys, too.

I also cut some firewood there a couple times and their timber people were great to deal with too. The Inn of the Mountain Gods is the hotel that you refer to. They have a casino and that is where there bull hunts are based out of. Nice operation if you can afford the money to do it.

Yes, that sounds like the place. One other thing I remember distinctly was a lightning storm we went through on the way in. I've been in and seen lightening like that but never while I was driving in a car. We were going over a pinon/juniper hill and it felt like the car was going to get blown to pieces. Awesome! I love that kind of stuff.

 

[Trigger50]

Nice bull !

 

[sbhooper]

Yes, that sounds like the place. One other thing I remember distinctly was a lightning storm we went through on the way in. I've been in and seen lightening like that but never while I was driving in a car. We were going over a pinon/juniper hill and it felt like the car was going to get blown to pieces. Awesome! I love that kind of stuff.

Nothing like mountain lightning storms!

 

[Recon_Doc]

White Mountain Apache is in eastern AZ close to Show Low. It's a small reservation compared to places like Navajo, Gila River, etc. Their guides are top notch, and some of the best I've ever seen work. I had the privilege of going on a hunt with a friend from 2nd Recon who is a Native from that tribe. Let's just say there was a reason he was our expert in tracking, and spore for our platoon. The guy is a machine. But, if I had 10 or 15 grand to spend on a hunt I'd be up on Kodiak Island chasing brown bear.

 

[1_pointer]

White Mountain Apache is in eastern AZ close to Show Low. It's a small reservation compared to places like Navajo, Gila River, etc. Their guides are top notch, and some of the best I've ever seen work. I had the privilege of going on a hunt with a friend from 2nd Recon who is a Native from that tribe. Let's just say there was a reason he was our expert in tracking, and spore for our platoon. The guy is a machine. But, if I had 10 or 15 grand to spend on a hunt I'd be up on Kodiak Island chasing brown bear.

Sadly, I don't think $10-15K would get you to Kodiak anymore for bears.

 

[Recon_Doc]

I know a guy who only takes two clients a year on a 10 day hunt for 14k, 85% success rate. Out of state tag is 585.00 But I've seen guides charge north of 20 grand

 

[bobbydean]

If I had the money, the White Mountain hunt would be nice. I just cannot think of spending 20 grand for an elk. But monsters come off that reservation!

 

[Recon_Doc]

Yep sure do. It seems like they get a lot of celebrity traffic there. I know of a few outdoor shows have had televised hunts there. Eastman's were there too.

 

[Larry Landgren]

Navajo res tags for non-natives are about 10 grand. The White Mountain Apache tribe has the largest bull elk in all of North America. They won't let you shoot anything under a 400 class bull. I bumped into George Straight hunting out there a few years back

That's not correct on the white mountain apache. We hunted it out of the maverick camp from 2004 to 2008 every year. Saw lots of bulls under 400 killed over the years there. I know there were a few guides on the west side that would push you to go 400 or better. That was back when john caid ran it.