Is This The Buck?

A reader asked about a buck taken by Eric Gardner with a bow in Arizona scoring 88 2/8. I haven't seen the picture he's looking at, but I believe the photo I took below is the same buck if the Eric Gardner photo is the same field photo I remember seeing (I don't remember the name of the hunter in the photo I saw.)

Blast from the Past! (Jaksick, '93)

Sam Jaksick Jr. hunted with us and took this buck in Arizona in 1993. We named the buck "Righty" - the official score after the 60 day drying period was 93 2/8 B&C. For the original story of this hunt click here for PART 1 or here for PART 2.

Bucks That Got Away - Part 3

This buck didn't exactly get away. The photo below was taken in 2002 and we named the buck Crossover. He was one of our Auction Tag candidates that year along with a buck we named DW (see post below) and JoeBoo (see post below.) We decided that JoeBoo was bigger than DW and that Crossover - being in an archery only unit - would be too much of a hassle, though we thought he might be slightly larger. Jason, the rancher, found Crossover's shed in November of 2002 and gave it to us. The horn, if you doubled it, would have scored 95 6/8 B&C. We took JoeBoo that year and he scored 95 B&C. We took DW the next year believing that DW was slightly bigger than the year before and he scored 94 B&C. Then, in 2004, Arizona changed the rules for Auction Tag hunters and allowed us to hunt the archery only area with a rifle. We took Crossover that year and, though we knew he was much smaller, we thought he'd still score over 90. He scored 90 6/8 B&C. One more year and I'm sure Crossover would have been over the hill and not an option for us on the auction tag - he almost got away.

DW vs JoeBoo

I was going through some old photos and thought this one was amazing! Some of you may have already seen this photo, but I thought it deserved another look. And remember, there was no photo trickery.

For those of you unfamiliar with the photo - the buck on screen left is DW and was taken by Pat Brewer in 2003 on an Arizona draw tag and scores 94 B&C and 97 2/8 SCI and has a broken prong and broken horn tip. The buck on screen right is JoeBoo, the current B&C World Record (tie) taken in 2002 by David Meyer on an Arizona auction tag and scores 95 B&C and 97 SCI.

Arizona Application Reminder

Antelope and Elk applications are due February 12th! Don't forget.

(I'm posting this more as a reminder to myself - otherwise I'll forget ;)