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New to this site, moved back to AZ

6K views 41 replies 11 participants last post by  Ramspeed 
#1 ·
Hi! I lived in Tucson from 74-87, last century. I moved back last year, after about 10 years in Virginia, and 20 in Colorado. I got started in archery in 1980, and was fortunate to take a P&Y buck in the Tucson Mountains in 1981. I also hunt with rifle: typically in Colorado I hunted archery elk, rifle deer. We ate lots of venison, some elk. I found this site while browsing for info on unit 6A, where I was lucky enough to draw a bull tag for this year. I'm looking forward to getting to know some of you folks.
 
#18 ·
I would have gladly drawn a cow tag: the 300+ bull would be terrific, but I'm not really a trophy hunter. And yes, taking any kind of elk is a lot of work, based on my experiences in Colorado. I've been at full draw within 20 yards of more elk than I can remember, and for one reason or another didn't let the arrow fly. How can an animal that large turn around behind an 18" diameter ponderosa without exposing their vitals? Pretty amazing critters. I'll be a very happy camper if I'm packing out elk meat this September.
 
#19 ·
Yes sir...my question has always been, how can a huge animal walk around a bush and never be seen again! Lmao I’ve done my trophy hunts it’s about meat this year...cows can be harder ya know? I too have my work cut out for me....getting older and can’t jump,run,crawl like I use to. Lol
 
#20 ·
Yes sir...my question has always been, how can a huge animal walk around a bush and never be seen again! Lmao I've done my trophy hunts it's about meat this year...cows can be harder ya know? I too have my work cut out for me....getting older and can't jump,run,crawl like I use to. Lol
....take that back, still can out do these 20 year old kids these days. Lol
 
#27 ·
BW56: thanks. I am long on stories, short on pictures and notes. Here is a short version of one of the stories.
The bull in my profile pic was shot about 8 miles from the trailhead where my truck was. My partner and I had hiked in 5 miles and about 1000' up to a wilderness area where we made camp. 5 days later we got into this boy while he was fighting another bull. he was the loser of the fight, and had serious injuries from that fight, was actually laying down when I shot him. That shoulder injury you can see was from the other bull, and he had a much more serious goring on his upper right side toward the rear that I think had caused spinal cord damage, leading him to only go about 50 yards from the fight location before he lay down. Good for me, but we were also 3 miles from camp and another 1000' up....so while I shot him Thursday afternoon, it took us until Sunday afternoon to pack out 230lbs of meat, no bones, the hide at 65 lbs, and the head/antlers at 45. That was about the toughest 3 days / 48 miles of hiking I've had in my life, and I grew up on a farm where there were a lot of tough days.
 
#32 ·
Just thought I'd drop a note here, for what it's worth. I'll be offline for a few weeks, visiting my dad for his 94th birthday in Virginia, then a week up in Connecticut with a daughter, son in law, and 2 granddaughters. Back in AZ the night of June 11. Will catch up with you guys later that week. Thanks again for the welcome and advice already. I appreciate it and look forward to more discussions.
 
#33 ·
Enjoy your trip, I lost my dad and mom last year 60 days apart, but spent lots of time with them the last 6 months before they passed, he was 94, she was 87, What can you say about grandkids, Ive got a bunch, and great grandkids,and Great Great grandkids, spend as much time as you can with them.You never know the day when you cant spend any more time with them. Have some FUN with the Grandkids, spoil them rotten. You wont forget the times with them and they will not either.
 
#40 ·
Sorry to hear about your loss Ramspeed. Things like that are never easy.
Yeah, I could get this on my phone, and I might, but I will be focused on spending time with my dad, and then with my daughter's family, so probably will let this wait til I'm back in the desert. It's good to know you guys are out there: it's easy to see that you all have built some good relationships here. I tend to avoid most social media stuff, leave that for my wife and kids, but this seems like a good thing, glad I found the place.
 
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