Ran across these while out scouting today....

Well the bulls are starting to bugle and wallow and things are starting to heat up! I watched a couple big bulls first thing this morn then decided to go for a walk. I'd been wanting to try a new area were I believe Big J sheds his antlers and since I have two of his sheds so far, I was hoping to run across the other sides. Plus, this would give me an excuse to check the rubs and wallows in this area in anticipation of the upcoming hunts. About a 1/2 hour into the hike I ran across a bunch of javelina. I never pass up an opportunity to stalk in on stink hogs and I quickly found myself in the middle of about 20-25 javelina. I got the video cam out and gave them a few squeaks to get them all worked up. I had pigs of all sizes within 10 yards and as I was done messing around and was in the process of putting my camera away I noticed a couple odd looking pigs coming towards me. I got the video cam rolling again and captured these twin yearlings. Not quite albino but as light as I've ever seen. They had more of a vanilla look to them. This is as close to an albino pig as I've ever seen.

These pigs might be better off when the snow starts to fly!!!

About an hour laters as I was making my way through the thick junipers I finally stumbled across a good shed. This shed has all the characteristics of the bull I was looking for and quite possibly could be his shed from about 3 years ago. I spent another 2 hours looking for the match with no luck. This shed is a beauty. Long tines that are still intact and great mass. I measured this shed at 175 4/8". Another great horn to toss on the bone pile.

"As it lays" Got lucky and caught a glimpse through the brush..



Check out the tine length!! Measured at 175 4/8"

Want to see what makes me pay attention to every step......

Even though it wasn't a rattlesnake, it sure made me watch every step for the rest of the day!!

ENJOY THE PICS!!!

One and done!! Opening day success in AZ's 2011 Archery deer season

Mossback AZ Guide Arthur with his opening day 2011 Archery deer

Ha ha!, it's gonna take me as long to do this post as it did to bring my archery deer season to a heart pounding start.  Since I spend so many days in the field chasing bulls, I'd figured out the bucks in this area but had yet to scout them this summer. Thursday night I made up my mind to start in this area as I have chased some nice bucks in the past. 15 minutes after first light, I spotted a nice buck feeding on a ridge 300 yards out. Knowing that he'd feed my way en route to the thick ridge behind me, I slowly kept myself in line with him. He was traveling with a spike but since he was leading the way, I thought my chances were pretty good. As luck would have it, he feed right up to me and I was able to get an arrow in him at 35 yards. Unfortunately he jumped my string and I ended up hitting him just a touch back. Knowing he needed time to bed, I backed out and went to pick up my wife and boys so they could help me track him. After 3 hours we picked up the track. With good blood on impact but a rapidly diminishing trail, I figured he was gonna need time. I tracked him right up to his bed and was able to get another arrow in him but I hit low on the shoulder and he sprinted off. Fortunately he ran right back towards my wife and boys so they were able to keep track of him as he walked over the hill. We left the area again to give him time to bed again. 6 hours later and with the help of a good friend Mike, we took up the trail again. Slow but persistent tracking led us right to  where the buck had bedded for the last time. I spotted the buck laying beneath a juniper so I had the boys follow the track until they found him, giving them a great thrill to find dad's buck. I was very tickled to harvest this deer as this is the first year in a long time that I did not draw a rifle tag. It also gives me the opportunity to hit the hills again in search of giant bulls. Enjoy the pics

My boys trying to drag the deer out!

Gonzales Family photo!!

Mike U. came out to help on the final track. Thanks Mike.

Future hunters!!!

HUGE 2011 AZ BUCK..Congrats Robert Kay

Here is a picture of Robert Kay with his 2011 AZ Buck.  This buck is a 13x14 that is 35" wide and scores 283 5/8".  Tory Brock and Team Mossback assisted Robert with this buck of many lifetimes.  Congratulations Robert and thanks for what you do for wildlife conservation.

Another GIANT AZ Bull!! Congrats to Pete Shepley!!

 



 



Congratulations to the 2010 Arizona Super Raffle Elk Tag holder Pete Shepley.

Well what can we say, the smile on Pete's face says it all!!

Pete Shepley, a resident of Tucson, AZ, and owner of PSE Archery was fortunate enough to have his name pulled from the Arizona Super Raffle barrel last year and has had this elk tag in his pocket for just shy of 365 days. To say Pete and Mossback AZ put their time in and deserved a bull of this caliber would be an absolute understatement. Pete tallied over 50 days in the field in pursuit of bull he felt was worthy of this once in a lifetime opportunity and was willing to hold out "Until they turned the lights out" (These were his exact words). Mossback AZ guide Jay Lopeman located this bull in June and instantly recognized him as the caliber of bull that one would be happy to hang their tag on opening day of a year round tag. However, this bull Jay dubbed Corky, proved why he has been able to elude hunters long enough to grow a set of "drop-jaw" head gear as he took Mossback AZ and Pete on a 3 month long game of cat and mouse.

In an attempt to pattern Corky, MBAZ guides sat water, slow stalked ridges and valley bottoms, glassed, and scrutinized every topo we could get our hands on just trying to figure out any type of pattern this bull would have. Unfortunately this humbling experience continued week after week. Jay was able to get trail cam photos and videos but finding this bull in daylight seemed to be impossible.

                                                                                                  Mossback AZ Guide Jay Lopeman and Pete Shepley 

  

Throughout this chase, Pete passed many absolute giant bulls with bow in hand. One morning, Pete had a bull we've named Donkey come in to water. Unbelievably, Pete had the will power to hold off on this estimated mid-390s class bull while he drank 25 yards away for several minutes. Even though thoughts of doubt crept in as the hunting continued to get tougher, Pete remained persistent and patient while waiting for the right bull and the right opportunity.

As these bulls are now beginning to rub, they all head to the thick cover and are rarely seen in open country in the daylight. These bulls are starting their big moves to their rutting ground and will spend countless hours rubbing their velvet off and strengthening their necks. Over the last few days, Jay and Pete seen very little elk and even went 2 entire days without seeing a bull. When most others would have settled for lesser bulls in order to fill a tag, Pete kept hunting with his bow, but with only  few days left in a year round season, he now began carrying his rifle for that "Just in Case" moment. Well on the morning of August 11th, 2011 that moment finally presented itself. On  a hunch, Jay decided that he and Pete would approach one of Corky's water source from a previously untried angle hoping that this would provide an different outcome from the countless unsuccessful previous attempts. As daylight crept in, Jay's jaw just about hit the floor when he spotted Corky with two other bulls. Pete had seconds to get set up as the wind swirled and the youngest of the bulls caught Jay and Pete's scent and went into full alert. As big bulls usually do, Corky and his other giant buddy did not stand around long to see what had the younger bull nervous. Pete made a split second decision to get behind his rifle as Corky made his way back into the heavy timber. Call it fate, luck, curiosity, or whatever, but Corky made the fatal mistake of pausing for a fraction of second and Pete wasted no time is dropping the hammer. Pete said everything happened in the blink of an eye but the end result was exactly what Pete Shepley, Jay Lopeman, and Mossback AZ had set out to do almost a year ago, have an exciting, rewarding hunt with the chance to hang this special tag on a special bull.

We had score estimates from the high 380's up in to the 400" range but despite having trail cam photos and video clips, this bull was a very tough bull to score. From certain angles he looked 420s then he'd turn and look 380's. Now that we get to compare the real deal with photos its easy to see why he was difficult to judge. Look at the size of this bulls body. He's an all around giant. His body was so big, it made judging antler size tough. Range conditions had Corky in prime condition and the amount of body fat we encountered while field dressing this bull was incredible. Hopefully this means more giants will fall if body conditions are any sign of what the rut may hold in store. Once again, a huge congratulations to Pete Shepley on harvesting a true AZ giant bull. Pete spent more days in the field on this hunt than most folks have done in a lifetime of elk hunting. Enjoy the pics and we'll update the blog with more pictures in the near future.

 

Corky's body was huge making him a difficult bull to judge.