Awesome Place to Hunt in History

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  • AZBackcountry
    Bloodstained
    • Nov 2016
    • 78

    Awesome Place to Hunt in History

    It is where you're hunting, who you're hunting with, what you're hunting for, challenges of the hunt and the weather. I was hunting with my adult son and a good friend for varmints. My son and buddy both brought shotguns for close shots. My son paired his with an AR 223 Wylde. My buddy packed his antique Ruger bolt in 220 Swift. I just grabbed my AR Aero Precision JP Supermatch barrel 6.5 Grendel with Leupold AR Mod1 4-12X40 Mil Dot loaded with Hornady 123gr SST's. I was hunting for a mountain lion or bobcat. Our buddy had never harvested any varmints since moving to AZ a few years ago.

    We were at our 1st setup before daylight and were greeted with 20+mph winds as the sun rose. Hike 1/2 miles back to the truck, drive 20 miles into the canyons out of the heavy wind. 3rd setup we had 3 coyotes come into range at 340 yards. My buddy kept looking into junipers and skipped them out in the middle of a 100 yds diameter grass flat. He did a large hand movement and finally spotted the last yote as it barked at us from 647 yards. On all the setups our buddy got the front, my son the sides and I took the downwind.

    On the last setup of the day I talked them into going to Stehr Lake. It was at the center of the Childs and Irving hydro power plants flue and pipe systems along Fossil Creek. Stehr Lake was an amazing place for a hundred years, man made, teaming with fish, and a riparian like no other in the world. Endangered AZ Bald Eagles, Endangered Brown Pelicans, Ospreys, Cormorants and all sorts of wildlife made Stehr Lake their home in the arid mountains. Years ago I harvested a Coues White tail 1/4 miles north of the lake.

    Today environmentalist convinced the power company into abandoned the hydro plants and remove the water by-pass that powered them. The plants where barely paying for themselves. It was the dumbest thing ever. The damage to the environment was horrific. Today Stehr Lake is dry, the leaks in the flue aren't watering thousands of hidden pockets of safe water surrounded by forage. 10,000+ animals died or left.

    After 5 minutes of the FoxPro screaming dying rabbit my son switched to Platinum Grey Fox fighting. From downwind the male grey fox came in at 35 mph up the old road and flew by me 12 feet away then turned 45* up the hill for a last chance view of the FoxPro fight before going in. I swung the Grendel around as fast as I could and just as the cross-hairs crossed him he stopped for a split second as I squeezed the trigger. Perfect lung shot and he ran 30 yards to a stop just 30 yards from the historic over 100 years old head gate at Stehr Lake.

    I had never shot such a small animal with my Grendel before. In the excitement, I forgotten that I didn't have the 223. I was so relieved to see only a 2" exit that only pealed open the pelt. My buddy was so excited that I got a fox in such a historic amazing place that he suggested I have Wild Heritage Taxidermy do a full body mount. The next day My Wife and I went to Young AZ.

    Fox Grendel Pack at Stehr Lake resized.jpg
    Life is fun when your ammo budget is more than your house payment.
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