Hunting pictures thread (possibly gory)

[cornstalker]

Pretty thin on tags this year.

1/3 on bears. Took two first time bear hunters from Oklahoma out. One had a chance but missed the shot. The other cashed in on his first bear. It's fun to watch a seasoned hunter come apart like a kid killing their first deer. Will never forget the moments.







I killed this little morsel straight away on opening morning. 355 yards, slightly quartered away.

[Catshooter]

Nice bear.

[Odin Bravo One]

Having a pretty solid year so far, though a buck moratorium is likely going be enacted prior to the season ending. We’re averaging around a 40% success rate each day, with lots of first time hunters filling tags.

[SteveB]

I finally made it back to Africa this year, after aborted trips in 2019 and 2020. We were hunting Cape buffalo in Limpopo, the far north of South Africa, up near the Botswana and Zimbabwe borders. My hunting partner and I were fortunate to take a bunch of plains game, but it’s the buffalo that focus your attention.

[03RN]

No go so far on deer. No bear But doing pretty good on squirrels so far. I only took a couple pics.

[03RN]

[RoyGBiv]

Guaranteed your spouse will not be pleased if your kid decides to hang on to that varmint to replace the yellow stuffed animal.

Great pic!

[03RN]

Guaranteed your spouse will not be pleased if your kid decides to hang on to that varmint to replace the yellow stuffed animal.

Great pic!

They've either been fried up or stewed up. It was the first time she's ever had it fried and really liked it. Charlie passed but he's in a pb&j, hotdog, or chicken nugget stage.

[NPV]

Picture is terrible but it was a fun day even in 37* rain

[Borderland]

Coues whitetail hunt this week.

In Arizona, we get tags by lottery, and it is it unusual to get a hunt during an inconvenient time, or to not get a tag at all. Bucks only for deer, except for the Kaibab youth hunt.

Our herd management might be a little off.

Anyway. I got the late November/early December hunt this year. The last time I connected on a deer hunt was in 2015, but I have gotten a couple of tags that went unfilled in between then and now. One was during grad school, and I got out to hunt one day that year. The other, I also wasn’t able to get out too much and just never saw a buck. Except for one smart old guy hanging out in someone’s yard.

This year, I got a new M70 Winchester, and used it.

The hunt started the day after Thanksgiving, and all of my planning went out the window because of the holiday. Instead of camping in a distant area of the hunt zone and starting hunting before first light, I stayed home Thursday and did the things SWMBO needed me to do. So I went Friday to a canyon I love near our home. It was slammed with hunters. I left and went to another canyon. Much less pressure, but still a lot of hunters. I saw does.

Saturday, I felt lousy, so I didn’t get out till the afternoon. I hiked a mountain in another favorite canyon. I saw a lot of does, and only a few hunters.

Sunday I stayed home, Monday I went to work. Tuesday, I went back to the canyon I’d seen so many does in, but there were a lot more hunters and they were already hunting where I’d been before, so I went to a different branch and hiked a mountain.

I saw a few does, both while feeding and in shelter belts. Just in the last few minutes of shooting light, I finally saw a buck, but he was small and far away. I relocated twice to get closer, but he moved into a shelter belt and I didn’t see him again.

Hiking down that mountain in the dark was a little bit treacherous.

Today, I went back to the same place as Tuesday, and saw a couple of does. But then one of them had a spike buck following her up a wash and into a saddle. I tried to get an angle to make a shot, but it wasn’t to be. Momma wanted him off that ridge and into shelter - she knew I was there.

20 minutes later, he was back out eating, and I made a shot I’ve never had an opportunity to make before while rifle hunting in Arizona: 130 yards, animal broadside and motionless, me standing with my rifle resting on top of my binocular tripod.

Slam dunk. 110gr Sierra Prohunter cut his heart, shredded lungs and part of the liver. He ran 8 yards, spun out, and was laying on his back tangled in some deadfall.

Yeah, he’s a spike. Any Coues is a trophy, though. They’re hard work. I hiked a lot of mountain miles to get him, and had a long hike down a mountain to get him back to the Durango. His momma was calling for him while I was carrying him out. That was a little bit strange feeling.

Taking a break from cutting to rest my back.

Attachment 64014
Entry
Attachment 64015

When I was in HS we used to hunt on a ranch NE of Douglas just north of the border. Our neighbor (Marion Fairchild) still owned the ranch but didn't live there anymore. Usually never bumped into any other hunters. One year I remember we did and it was two guys that I knew in HS and their dad. That was around 1965. We usually were able to get at least one deer in that area every year.

I lived in Mesa AZ in the 70's and we hunted Mingus Mt near Jerome. Lots of deer and lots of hunters. We had one hunt where we had 3 nice bucks by 10 AM on opening day but it was crowded. I'm still not sure how we did that.

Back in those days it was all bucks with at least a fork. No does or spike bucks.

I can't imagine what it's like there now.

That's a nice buck. congratulations.