 If the above newspaper isn't a fakery (and there's no reason that it should be) then it looks like the Land of Enchantment nixed their grand idea of only allowing a hunter to draw a tag every other year. This is great news!
 Alright, we have about 50 votes between the two sites I posted this on.
The average of the 50 votes was 5.55", the median 5.5". The longest guess was 7.5" and the smallest guess was 4". There was almost no deviation between the two different sites; AZ Hunter had a 5.52 average and Hunt Talk had a 5.57 average. The official score of this buck is 97-4/8" SCI and the buck currently ranks #2 in their record book. If we use this SCI score and use the buck's left prong (the closest one to us in the photo) then I guess we could say that NOT A SINGLE PERSON guessed the prong length correctly. The buck's left prong is listed in the SCI record book at 7-7/8". I think we can also safely say that if this prong is 7-7/8" then I'm Ronald McDonald!  The SCI Reno Convention is almost upon us! It's a great time of the year, it's icy cold in Reno, and I can't think of anywhere else I'd rather be than in a gigantic building filled with millions of awesome animals and thousands of hunters. The dates are January 20-23rd.
We'll have several World's Records in our booth along with many other giant 90 inch bucks! Stop by and see us... We'll be in the lobby in booth L32  The following was copied and pasted directly from the AZG&F website.
Regulations anticipated being online after Dec. 16 The Arizona Game and Fish Commission set the 2010 elk and pronghorn antelope hunt orders on Saturday (Dec. 5) during their regular meeting, authorizing a grand total of 952 pronghorn and 26,702 elk permits. The full regulations are anticipated to be available online at the department’s Web site after Dec. 16 at www.azgfd.gov/draw. Once the regulations are posted, hunters can begin to submit their applications for the drawing process. (Note: There is no online application process.)  Tony Grimmett and Sam Jaksick Jr. with Sandstone in AZ, 86 4/8 BC In 1992 Sam Jaksick Jr. bought one of the two Arizona auction tags and Robert E. Petersen bought the other one. The total bid for these two tags was $21,700. Jaksick elected to hire Pronghorn Guide Service once again while Petersen chose Larry Heathington of Sheep Ltd. for his first foray into the Arizona antelope country. Sam and Tony hunted Unit 10's infamous Coconino Plateau at a time when there were well over 100 tags being issued for the unit. Early in the hunt Sam passed a buck near Farmdam that was later taken by a friend of Tony's, Steve Hopkins, and scored 91 6/8 B&C. Sam passed because he was enamored with the look of another buck that Tony had found - the Sandstone buck. Sam decided he was the one he wanted. As you can see from the photos Sam and Tony didn't have an easy time putting Sandstone down as it took them all day to do it, but Sandstone officially scored 86 4/8 B&C and was the second largest buck entered from Arizona in 1992.  Steve Hopkins with Farmdam in AZ, 91 6/8 BC  Robert E. Petersen in AZ Petersen took his buck in 17B. I don't believe Petersen entered any of his heads into the record books (except the two he took in 2000) so I asked Larry Heathington awhile back what all of Mr. Petersen's bucks green scored. According to Larry this buck scored 88 6/8.
 Only a couple days after I post 5A as one of our best units I hear a rumor from that unit. My sources are telling me that a 94 inch buck was taken from 5A this past season. I have no other information. If anyone has any info regarding this rumor please let me know in the comments section below or in an email.
In 1991 Arizona auctioned two statewide antelope tags. Art Dubs bought his second one in as many years while a newcomer out of Reno, NV named Sam Jaksick Jr. purchased the other tag. Combined, both tags brought in $8,100 in revenue.
Both auction tag holders hired my dad, Tony Grimmett! To my knowledge never has this happened since this time where two different statewide auction tag buyers hired the same guide. (Since the inception of the Super Raffle in 2006 it has happened twice) Art took his buck on the lonely and desolate Plateau once again. His buck finished at 87 1/8 SCI and 86 4/8 B&C. Sam took his buck right before dark in 18A and won the award in Arizona for biggest buck for the year. Sam also won the B&C award for largest buck taken during the 3 year period between 1989 and 1991 at B&C's 21st Awards Banquet. Sam's buck scored 93 SCI, and 92 6/8 B&C. You can read the story about Sam's hunt HERE.  This is another unit we listed the last couple of years as one of the 5 best in the state. It makes the list again this year and with a BANG! In fact, I believe 5A was at it's very best in 2009 for trophy size and looked to be doing very well in regards to the number of bucks we saw versus the number of tags G&F issued. The Hopi own a large chunk of the antelope habitat in the unit, but they allow access. All you have to do is sign in with them at their office in Winslow and you'll get your month (or so) pass and combination code for the locked gates. Once you're on the Hopi 3 Ranch the first thing you'll notice is that there aren't any antelope! Ha! The antelope are far and few between and sometimes very difficult to locate (and relocate). The Bar T Bar Ranch covers nearly the rest of the unit and is also very good for antelope, though you'll run into more trees and even fewer antelope. It isn't because there aren't as many antelope here, it's just that the trees make them harder to see sometimes. So far in the last few years of scouting 5A we haven't run into any access issues. In 2006 the AZG&F transplanted antelope from Unit 19A into Unit 5A. Several of those tagged animals are still alive, bucks and does alike. I'm not sure if this transplant is yet having any effect on the trophy size - it would seem that it would be too early for the new genetics to kick in. Hopefully the two gene pools were meant for each other and we'll see the fruits of this merger in the next few years. If this happens 5A may be on this list for quite some time! |
