New guy from Yuma, AZ

[x_count]

Welcome from the coast of North Carolina!

 

[Ryeboy86]

Welcome from CA. I'll be heading your way soon for the javelina HAM season with my Kentucky rifle.

Nice! I used to know where some Javelina are at.. But they're been farming out there a lot and have changed some of the landscape.. So I need to relocate them or try a different area.. LOL.. What kind of Muzzleloader are ya using?

 

[Ryeboy86]

Welcome Ryan. There’s a black power club out at Adair range that I believe meets on the first and third Saturday of each month. Lots of older folks with decades worth of knowledge and experience.

Thanks for the heads-up! Do any of you guys go there for the meet?

 

[nit wit]

Welcome from Maine
Nit Wit

 

[Slowzen]

Thanks for the heads-up! Do any of you guys go there for the meet?

Thanks for the heads-up! Do any of you guys go there for the meet?

I think mushka does or has. I intended to but ended up going to college while working a full time job and that’s eating up my leisure time.

 

[mushka]

I did attend the shoot Saturday. I do when I'm able. Pm me if you want.

 

[Nuthatch]

Nice! I used to know where some Javelina are at.. But they're been farming out there a lot and have changed some of the landscape.. So I need to relocate them or try a different area.. LOL.. What kind of Muzzleloader are ya using?

Pedersoli Kentucky with a percussion lock & in .50. I put some fiber sights on it this year *gasp!* It helps me see them better now that my eyes are changing some. I'll be running with all homemade components (except the patch material) again. Last year was my first javie hunt and it was fun. We were on BLM land but it felt like a private land hunt because we were able to find a couple of groups without much difficulty & went home early. We've got a group of 4 hunters coming this year so I hope the pigs are still around.

 

[tom mesa]

Welcome from Mesa, Az.

 

[Ryeboy86]

Welcome from Mesa, Az.

Thank ya! I'm about 2 1/2hrs from ya!

 

[Ponderosaman]

Welcome from Cave Creek. To your question about modern muzzleloaders, they are not in the scope of this forum and are even against the rules to discuss. I don’t think most have anything against them, but there are other forums that focus on modern firearms. You will get excellent information about traditional muzzleloaders (which includes replicas) here and if you want to put one together yourself, there is a huge amount of knowledge to keep you on the right track.

 

[Ryeboy86]

Welcome from Cave Creek. To your question about modern muzzleloaders, they are not in the scope of this forum and are even against the rules to discuss. I don’t think most have anything against them, but there are other forums that focus on modern firearms. You will get excellent information about traditional muzzleloaders (which includes replicas) here and if you want to put one together yourself, there is a huge amount of knowledge to keep you on the right track.

I like the old school style.. Longer barrel with a full wood stock.. I need to get one and practice with it.

 

[Ponderosaman]

I like the old school style.. Longer barrel with a full wood stock.. I need to get one and practice with it.

I came on here a couple years ago looking for supplies for my muzzleloading shotgun. The style that you are interested in is very popular. All the cool guys here have a full stock flintlock.

 

[Rancocas]

Welcome.
I was a BPA in Yuma 1979-1986. Did a month-long detail as observer in the helicopter. Jumped out one night on top of Pilot Knob so I could escort a group down the mountain to others waiting below. Flew under the I-8 bridge over the Colorado, at night. That puckered my shorts! Enjoyed the best duck hunting I ever had there on the Colorado. Hiked around Castle Dome quite a bit, and also in the Gila Mountains south of Telegraph Pass down to the border. Some good times, but a lot of bad, too.
I hear the Foothills have really built up since we left.
I was still using modern firearms when I hunted Arizona. Since then I have gone completely traditional black powder. I prefer the eastern long rifle styles. I have both percussion and flintlock rifles and a flintlock fowler. They are all that I have hunted with for over 30 years now.

 

[Ryeboy86]

Welcome.
I was a BPA in Yuma 1979-1986. Did a month-long detail as observer in the helicopter. Jumped out one night on top of Pilot Knob so I could escort a group down the mountain to others waiting below. Flew under the I-8 bridge over the Colorado, at night. That puckered my shorts! Enjoyed the best duck hunting I ever had there on the Colorado. Hiked around Castle Dome quite a bit, and also in the Gila Mountains south of Telegraph Pass down to the border. Some good times, but a lot of bad, too.
I hear the Foothills have really built up since we left.
I was still using modern firearms when I hunted Arizona. Since then I have gone completely traditional black powder. I prefer the eastern long rifle styles. I have both percussion and flintlock rifles and a flintlock fowler. They are all that I have hunted with for over 30 years now.

The foothills have grown A LOT!! We live west of Fortuna about 1 1/2 miles. I like it here, but my wife is ready to move on eventually.. Wants to go somewhere bigger like Phoenix or Scottsdale..

 

[Rancocas]

The foothills have grown A LOT!! We live west of Fortuna about 1 1/2 miles. I like it here, but my wife is ready to move on eventually.. Wants to go somewhere bigger like Phoenix or Scottsdale..

There used to be some desert bighorn sheep around Castle Dome and also in the area of Tinajas Altas in the Gila Mountains. Spook Canyon in the Gila's is interesting. There was a tiny waterhole at the mouth of Spook Canyon where I got some shooting at Gambel's quail. A friend was poking around the old Fortuna Mine site with a metal detector. He dug up a rusted-out tin can that contained a gold watch and several $20 gold pieces. From the mine site, go south and climb up and over the pass. On the other side is a long valley that extends down to Mexico. A dry wash runs down from the pass then turns west and goes through Spook Canyon. Not far down that wash I found a small, shallow cave. The cobblestones in the roof were all alternatively painted red and black. I always wanted to go back and look around there some more, but I never did.
I did most of my AZ deer hunting northeast of Phoenix in the Tonto National Forest, north of Roosevelt Lake. However, I took a real nice Coues deer buck on Mt. Graham in the Pinaleno Mountains southwest of Safford.
My son lives in Tucson. Better town, IMO, than the Phoenix area. His security camera recently pictured a bobcat in his back yard.

 

[Kmcmichael]

Welcome from Dallas. I was in the BP stationed in Blythe from 88 til 96. I lived in AZ so I could put in for AZ tags. I killed some Cous deer and an elk. I put in for everything.
Now I kill the occasional white tail with a flintlock.

The Kofas have Desert bighorn sheep. They are around in that area. I’ve seen the all the way to Havasu as well as the CA side.

i think most of us on here are more traditional in our guns.

 

[Ryeboy86]

There used to be some desert bighorn sheep around Castle Dome and also in the area of Tinajas Altas in the Gila Mountains. Spook Canyon in the Gila's is interesting. There was a tiny waterhole at the mouth of Spook Canyon where I got some shooting at Gambel's quail. A friend was poking around the old Fortuna Mine site with a metal detector. He dug up a rusted-out tin can that contained a gold watch and several $20 gold pieces. From the mine site, go south and climb up and over the pass. On the other side is a long valley that extends down to Mexico. A dry wash runs down from the pass then turns west and goes through Spook Canyon. Not far down that wash I found a small, shallow cave. The cobblestones in the roof were all alternatively painted red and black. I always wanted to go back and look around there some more, but I never did.
I did most of my AZ deer hunting northeast of Phoenix in the Tonto National Forest, north of Roosevelt Lake. However, I took a real nice Coues deer buck on Mt. Graham in the Pinaleno Mountains southwest of Safford.
My son lives in Tucson. Better town, IMO, than the Phoenix area. His security camera recently pictured a bobcat in his back yard.

I do most of my hunting out by Tacna. I would love to get out and explore more areas, but I don't wanna go alone in case something happened. There is a levy that goes from Tacna to Welton and there used to be a lot of game in that area! Over the past few years farmer's have been changing the landscape, removing habitat and cover.. I have gone out to Dateland and have seen Sonoran Pronghorn, Javelina, Coyote, and a lot of Mule Deer.

 

[Ryeboy86]

Welcome from Dallas. I was in the BP stationed in Blythe from 88 til 96. I lived in AZ so I could put in for AZ tags. I killed some Cous deer and an elk. I put in for everything.
Now I kill the occasional white tail with a flintlock.

The Kofas have Desert bighorn sheep. They are around in that area. I’ve seen the all the way to Havasu as well as the CA side.

i think most of us on here are more traditional in our guns.

I would LOVE to draw a desert Bighorn Sheep tag! That's a once in a lifetime draw.. I've also been putting in for Antelope, Elk and Bison.. No luck for the past 3yrs though

 

[Rancocas]

I would LOVE to draw a desert Bighorn Sheep tag! That's a once in a lifetime draw.. I've also been putting in for Antelope, Elk and Bison.. No luck for the past 3yrs though

I'm enjoying the reminiscing. Okay, just one more. Since you mentioned Tacna.
I was hunting quail along the Gila River near of Tacna. The brushy areas beside a field on the other side of the river looked good, so I took off my boots and waded across the knee-deep stream. My dog ranged ahead of me, and since my feet were wet, I didn't immediately stop to put my boots back on. I continued on barefoot.
I caught a quick movement under my dog as it ran forward and heard a loud Hsssss. Diamondback rattler!
My dog heard it, too, and turned back to investigate. I shouted at my dog to "Hup", while I brought up my 12 gauge and fired at the snake. I killed it. Big diamondback about 5 feet long, without the last foot or so of its tail. The rattle was gone. The field had recently been harrowed, so my guess is that the snake didn't quite get out of the way of the harrow. Good thing my dog disturbed it before I walked up to it barefoot.

Besides the diamondbacks, sidewinders, scorpions, tarantulas, and cholla cactus, there is the extreme heat and lack of water in many areas. Add to all those natural hazards, beware of smugglers of both people and drugs coming up through remote areas both sides of the Gila Mountains and across the desert. Just be careful out there!

 

[Kmcmichael]

i killed an elk in Area 9 In 91. It was easier to draw there at the time