BizCT

Yup, I probably lost like 7lbs the 1st day of my hunt in Arizona....we had to drink from streams to stay hydrated and almost had to the spend the night in the woods. It was 80 degrees during the day and under 40 at night....after that first day and 13+ miles in the thin air, my face was sucked out, all my water weight was gone i guess...my hands were all cut up, etc....everything in the arizona mountains has prickers....during the summer they see and kill 6+ rattlesnakes a day....forget that!

Raccoons dont outsmart dogs and humans like cats....no comparison whatsoever. Like I said, I'm done going back n forth. I'm sure your baited bear hunt was very very similar to people who hunt whitetails over food plots....."if you build it, they will come".

100% success rate fenced deer hunt = the same as cat hunt that could be unsuccessful? You can't spot and stalk cats or sit in a spot and hope one walks by....you're crazy man. Full Mounts where I go: Bobcat $895 Lynx $895 Mt. Lion $3,400 A lot cheaper than the hunts, flights, licenses, etc.....full mount is the only way to go if you actually get one. This was just a post about some hunts I'm going on, not to go back and forth about canned hunts. If you shoot a fenced in deer can you enter it into B&C record books? NO If I shoot a record book cat on any of these hunts, can I enter it into the B&C record books? YES I think that answers everything. I'm done with this subject.

Yea, I risked my life in Arizona when I went. Forget about the rattlesnakes, I'm talking about running as fast as I can to keep up with the dogs on ledges 2 feet wide, with 100+ feet drops on the sides....one wrong move and I woulda been dead. That is the type of experience that does not happen during a canned hunt. Maybe someday, my views will change and I'll go on a canned hunt to PA, shoot a 300" inch whitetail deer from a shed haha........DOUBTFUL!

If these were fenced hunts, then I would have gotten my mt. lion already. When I was there in february, we chased a lion that would have made the minimum to make the record books in Arizona for 3 days. Problem is there was no fence so we never caught this lion. I'm sure you can hunt cats inside of fences. I know you can for wolves. My Dad went on 5 wolf hunts before getting one, I have been on 2 so far without seeing one. I found places that are 100% success on wolves, they are fenced in. I would never do a fenced in hunt, hunting for animals that are essentially hand fed. Everybody is entitled to their own opinions....I think hunting whitetails over a food plot is a joke, how can you not get a deer? Same goes with a tree-stand, I dont see the need for it. I guess I'm old school when it comes to deer hunting. I always taught to sit in a spot from dark to dark and move as little as possible and I would see deer.

The Mountain Lion in Arizona is dry ground with dogs. I went in February and unfortunately did not get one. The dogs stay in their crates on the back of a truck, while the guide and I ride quads looking for tracks. We check the same spots everyday looking for a tracks that werent there the day before. Horseback is an option, it's up to the hunter. You cover much more ground with quads so I chose that route. However, it can be a lot of walking sometimes. The first day we 13 miles on foot in over 7,000 ft. elevation, I was exhausted. I only want a mature Tom, I passed on smaller Toms & females. The guide has very high success rates so offered me a good deal to go back so I am going back end of October/early November. Additionally, I applied for a deer tag since there are a few 1 week deer seasons while I am. It's a lottery so we'll see what happens. Any deer would be bonus, I just want a Lion! The Bobcat Hunt in Northern Minnesota is with dogs and they need snow, not ice. I was suppose to go between Xmas and New Years this past year, but they had no snow! The outfitter was nice enough to take my deposits and put it towards this year. Hopefully we get snow! We will travel by trucks/snowmobiles/quads/foot looking for tracks. The Lynx hunt will be in Northern British Columbia with dogs in snow. Travel will be done by snowmobiles/trucks/foot, etc.

Looks like I might have a shot at completing the North American Cat Slam. I am very close to booking a Lynx Hunt in British Columbia, Canada over New Years 2013 into 2014. I am already booked to head back to Arizona the last week of October 2012 in hopes of getting a Mountain Lion after coming back unsuccessful in February. I am already booked to head to Minnesota in December 2012/January 2013 in hopes of getting a Bobcat after my December 2011/January 2012 hunt got cancelled due to lack of snow.

awesome looking dog!

A brand new one is $2600 if I remember correctly without optics....this is brand new one with optics for $2,400....sounds like a good way to save $750+ after tax and optics is included, no?

He's not trying to make money on them....They just sit in a gun safe, if they sell he'll take the $ and go on a Grizzly or Mountain Goat hunt. If the price isn't right, he won't sell them. They were his Dad's guns and the 300 has my grandfather's name engraved in it and everything. He won't give them away for less than they are worth. This was a free way to put them for sale. No big deal......the pics do these gun no justice, I took the pics on my cell phone. These guns are flawless. I dont know much what guns are worth, etc....but simple research I did shows that brand new guns of these style cost more than he is asking and there is no difference between a new gun and these guns since they have barely been shot. In fact, these guns come with pretty decent scopes as well.

Wrong, I know quite a few people who have taken nice bucks in PA with crossbows that were 35-45 yards away.

No problem. They are my Dad's. The 1967 one is like brand new and includes all the customized engravings, etc. When bought in 67', they turned in 3 weatherby rifles and paid additional cash. I know my Dad is offering less than what they were appraised at, by Gun Dealers, etc. But your opinion of $2500-$3K taking both? haha, thats ridiculous. A brand new Mark V Lazermark is like $2500+ without a scope, etc. So the 30-06 at $2400 with a scope is a pretty good deal. It's never been in the woods!

Thoughts?

Great pics........proof there are no mt. lions in NY or this guy would have them on camera! haha

Pics attached.

I have an Excalibur Vortex and the safety is quiet and cocking 200lbs with the rope aids is simple.

It's not my mule deer anyway.

Here's a mulie with a big neck.

you get what you pay for sometimes. I'm going to Wyoming in October and there's no way I'm having it mounted out there. I will have my taxidermist here in NY (Kurt Fox) do the mount.

Sawbellies (alewife)

Usually if injured on 1 side of the body, the opposite sides antlers get a little wacky. I know my Dad shot a few deer with 1 side typical and the other side non-typical. In all these cases, the deer had a bad scar/injury on the the opposite side. See pic below. Zoom in on the deer on the left. The Deer's right side was a typical 4 point side. The left side has 3 points on the brow and 2 regular points. Also, you can't see but there was holes within that left side as well. This deer has a giant wound that was healed over on his right side. Might have been shot actually?

I will go to my Dad's house this weekend to take pics.

What grade did you get? Lots of grammar and spelling errors. "I stopped when reach the trailer" < is that a russian accent? lol "30 degrease" < degrees "When I walked in I thought it colder in here then outside, I turn on the heat and finished unloading the car." < HORRIBLE LOL. How about this, "When I walked in, I thought it was colder in here than outside. I turned on the heat and finished unloading the car." "and ready it along" < ? ? Thats just the first paragraph....I'm afraid to read the rest! haha

There are sooo many mt. lions in NY, yet nobody can ever shoot one or get a good pic of one on a trail cam, or find a dead one. I JUST DONT GET IT? HERE'S A TIP: LEARN HOW TO FCUKING I.D. AN ANIMAL! Recently, I heard a guy in Pine Bush, NY got a mt. lion and a wolf on trail cam pics. Still waiting for those pics to surface. My bet is, they never will !

I didn't mean these specific deer. I mean deer of this quality. Seems like you have a ton of monster deer, have you taken any recently?