Renegade Hunter

I actually had an experience with a doe and a house cat this year that I watched. Had a doe coming down a ride. She was about 40 yards in front of me. This house cat comes out of nowhere and jumps the stone wall from the field into the woods. The doe heard the cat and vise versa. The doe is looking through the brush to try and pick this thing out, the cat is low to the ground, kind of in a stalking pose. They played a 5 minute game of trying to figure out what each other were before the doe turned around with her tail in the air and walked stiffly back up the ridge. She went about 60 yards when the house cat finally scooted off, so I tipped my can a couple times and she slowly made her way back through and to the field. Pretty neat to watch.

Saw a post on FB saying the bucks will be moving more today and even more tomorrow due to the moon phase. Get after them gents! good luck to all.

hahaha

Yea I got thinking about it.. like that wouldn't be the buck I killed. And I think it gives him great character and makes him unique to me. He was a brawler and I can dig that haha

Hey ladies and gents, I was fortunate to take this buck opening morning. My biggest as of yet so I'm getting him mounted. He would have been a beautiful 8 but he broke off the front of his main beam and his G3. At first I was thinking about getting him fixed so I could see what he looked like in his prime.. But after talking with friends and the taxidermist, I decided to keep him the way he is. He was either kicking ass or getting his ass kicked, broken tines and damage to his right ear, I think it gives him a lot of character. Still would love to see him with all tines though.. What do you guys think? Would you fix them up or leave them how they are? Anyone have pictures of mounts done with broken tines?? Thanks in advance.

Had this guy come in at 8AM and lay down 30 yards from me. My biggest buck yet. Couldn't be happier.

The other one looks to have a bit of white too doesn't it? Very cool. I don;t think I would shoot her, given the opportunity.

Thanks, Guys I appreciate the info and support. I head out tomorrow! It will be the fourth time driving across the country. I will be sure to hop on here and post some pictures if I get the opportunity to see some cool stuff. I hear the fishing in the Colorado river is pretty good too! only about a 40 minute drive for me.

Thanks, guys! I am looking forward to it and beyond excited. I think a nice long range rifle is definitely in order

I love to hunt with the bow! Lots of stalking involved out there. It will be a lot different than just climbing in a tree and sitting I'm sure. I will just have to ask around and see what zones do sell the OTC tags. I know "The Strip" is pretty famous out there for monster mule deer. I like the snake mount. My dog got bit right between the eyes while out in California. Swelled her face up beyond recognition. I shot the thing with my .22 mag and brought it to the vet with me where they classified it as a sidewinder. Funny story, they wanted me to give them $3,200 that night to save her. (anti venom alone was $800 plus the stay a few days, etc) I looked up a bunch of home remedies, mainly people from Texas. Ended up paying $300 at the vet for antibiotics, an IV and pain meds. Got a box of Emergen-C from the local grocery store and mixed it in with wet food three times a day and in with her water. Apparently Vitamin C really does the job because she was completely normal in less than 48 hours. EDIT: and the vet told me before I left that she would most likely die if I didn't let them treat her.

Thanks for the feedback. Yes, I was stationed in 29 palms which is about 3 hours from Kingman. So I am used to the dry climate and rapid flooding when the rain does come. I visited Kingman just once while I was out there to meet up with the wife's family. I'm definitely excited about the gun shops and gun laws alone! I read that they passed a law in 2010 that makes it legal for anyone to conceal carry if they can legally purchase a firearm... Not sure if that still stands. I believe the whitetail are cous whitetail?? and how did you hunt the mountain lions? With a predator call? I do have one and am bringing it with me. I hope to have better success with coyotes than I have had here. Already sold the lawn mower lol, will pick up a rake when I get out there to make the "lawn" look nice. I just hope I'm not waiting around for years to be able to hunt the mule deer. I could wait for the elk but do want to do that at some point.

I read that only 10% of permits go to out of state.That's real tough.

Thanks guys. Lawdwaz, I was thinking about that also. Might be something to look in to because I will definitely be back to hunt. The elk definitely seem to be abundant up in that mountain range. I have watched videos of people interacting with them right in town. That will be a trip for the first week I get there! I have heard of units in Arizona that offer OTC tags for mule deer but I am not sure 16A is one of them. I don;t think it is as I found on their site where it says 450 permits were issued for 2014. Hopefully it doesn't take years to draw. In the meantime I can always just get to know the area and animal watch. I'll be sure to post some pictures from down there if I have any luck spotting them!

Hey, everyone. I am going to be moving out of New York State, headed for Kingman, AZ March 31st. Wife has family out there and I'm not completely upset about leaving this state to be honest. What I am learning though, is that we have it pretty good up here in terms of how easy it is to hunt! Buy your tags over the counter, know the season dates and regulations and have at it. I have been trying to research and it seems out there, there is a lot more to it. I have tried looking up regulations on the unit I will be in, 16A (Hualapai Mountains) and I can't for the life of me figure out if I need to apply for a permit for every season, archery and rifle/muzzleloader, for mule deer. The Arizona site is not very user friendly. Anyone have experience hunting out there? I am pretty excited as I have learned they have mule deer, elk and javelina in that mountain range and it's right there next to where I will be living. Also, I have lived in the desert before and coyotes are like deer out there. Thanks in advance!

Hell, if I wanted to walk up to an animal and shoot it, I would start hunting cows or high fenced deer! Not much of a sport if you ask me. At least the beast died fighting..

O, I agree with you completely. But again I guess it refers back to, "to each their own." I love my .270. But the post was about the AR platform and I think it could most def be used on deer no problem. Just need to pick those shots more wisely. I def plan on building one for yotes. Pretty excited about it.

I have seen many a deer killed with a .243

When using a caliber like the .223, of course you will choose your shots a little more wisely. But when you are talking of using a ballistic tip round in that caliber the results will be devastating with a good/decent shot. The round will enter and fragment, turning all the vitals into a sloppy mess. That's what they are made for. Not like your conventional power point that enters and mushrooms. Putting more of a thump on the animal that ripping and tearing like a ballistic tip. (I myself would probably go with an AR-10 with the .308 though). As for the look of the AR and wanting to use it? I agree, to each there own. I really want to build a NYS legal AR-15 throughout this year to use on yotes next winter. I'm a military guy so I am naturally drawn and just comfortable with this platform.

He's grown up to be one stud buck. Pretty cool you have those pictures to watch him grow

I don't think they are necessarily needed. If you desire to manage bucks then go for it. My uncle has managed his land for the past seven years or so. Killing nothing but mature deer. The rule used to be nothing smaller than a six. Now the rule is nothing smaller than a wall hanger. And there are plenty of them to be had. We don't go on the land unless it is scout/hunting season and we don't kill small deer on the property. We have been consistently taking good bucks off it for a few years now. Below are a couple from this year. The tall tined buck, I shot high through the shoulders during gun and he made it 250 yards to where my buddy was sitting and he put him down. Bummer but I did end up getting my buck of the year a week later on some other property. 18 1/2" wide 8 point taken this year Nice 9 Point. 9" G2's taken this year (the one I shot first) My uncles buck taken Last year. And there are others that I don't have pictures of on the computer. Nice 10 and 8 points. All wall hangers. We see big bucks consistently. Great genetics. IMO the proof is in the pudding. If you can manage your land then do it.

The matter is... It's illegal. Pretty much. I honestly don't think I could do it.

Buttt... I think some of us would be hard pressed not to knock down a mounter buck after wasting your own tag on a four point. That's why you pass on the little ones!! you never know! Or even if you shot a big one and saw an even bigger one! Make a dis-honest man out of a few of us I think.

Well that solves the problem. I was up for the hunting after sun down debate but I think killing another buck and having to slap someone else's tag on it pushes past my limits. .

Is it against the law to do it? Just wondering. I myself don't see an issue with it.

Haha I thought so. It looks damn near 30 inches wide