Facebook

For anyone looking for me on Facebook I believe this is the link:

http://www.facebook.com/people/Eli-A-Grimmett/710073017

Twitter

I'm on Twitter. Still trying to figure out it's place in the hunting industry, but it could be cool. Perhaps being able to update the world from your cell phone the moment a giant buck is taken will provide some fun and excitement!

Find me on there - user name: EliAGrimmett

Oregon Tag Again

According to Oregon's website the antelope auction tag sold for just $5,000. Still not sure who bought it.

Oregon Auction Tag 2009

The Oregon Statewide Auction Antelope Tag was auctioned last night and we did not have a bidder for it. I'm looking into who purchased the tag, but as of right now I don't know who bought it or how much it auctioned for.

The Best Online Maps!

ACME Mapper

Check it out, I think you'll agree.

Not only do you get to see everything full screen size, but it also has MAP, SAT, HYBRID, TERRAIN, TOPO, DOQ, NEXRAD, and MAPNIK!

This is the best online free map service I've found so far.

The Arizona Hunter Forum

For those of you who read this blog, but don't visit The Arizona Hunter Forums I wanted to let you know that I post a ton of photos on that site. Terry, one of our guides, runs the forum so it's kind of like my "home" forum. If I'm not posting on here, I'm usually posting on there and vice-versa.

If you haven't yet, you should definitely check out the antelope forums on the site:
The Arizona Hunter Antelope Forum

Arizona Draw Results!

The draw results for Arizona were made public sometime today around 10 AM. Unfortunately, you have to call G&F for your results right now. They should be online sometime soon, though. The G&F phone lines have been busy all day, so I have no idea if I drew a tag yet.

AZ G&F:
602-942-3000

Wyoming Freak is Official!

This information was taken straight from B&C's website.

New Wyoming Record
March 25, 2009

Photos of this heavy horned pronghorn have been circulating under a heading "Monster WYO Antelope."

As it turns out, this buck is now tied for the Wyoming state record with an official B&C score of 91-2/8. It was taken by Michael Wheeler on 10/3/08 from Natrona County. The other record pronghorn was taken by Bill Boatman from Fremont County in 1988.

The largest base circumference (9-2/8) on record is from another Wyoming buck taken in 1966. Wheeler's buck has base measurements of 7-5/8, with 2nd quarters of 9-1/8 and 8-5/8. Horn length is 14-2/8 and 14-5/8.

Update

I tried to update our website recently, but for some reason none of the photos are showing up. I'll try to get it squared away soon.

2nd NM Combo Auction Tag Sold!

The 2nd NM Combo Auction Tag was just sold at the Dallas, Texas RMEF Banquet last Saturday.

It sold for a measly $60,000!

Amazing. This tag brought in about 170K and 140K last year and even the 1st tag this year brought in 135K. On average that's about 60% off retail price! The prices of the most recent tags reflect the state of the economy pretty well and it reminds us that almost no one is exempt from feeling the heat.

The man who got this beautiful deal: Mike Gallo. I believe he will be hiring us again for the antelope portion of the tag. I can't wait to go scouting!

Antelope Transplant Canceled

The antelope transplant in 19A that was supposed to happen has been canceled two years in a row now. It's my understanding that it was canceled both times due to weather problems. Hopefully we can get part of this herd moved before anymore houses are built and the population decreases further.

1st Arizona Auction Tag 2009

The first AZ auction tag sold at the AZDBSS Banquet last night for $21,000 to Bill Dunbar. Bill purchased this tag in 2007 as well and took an 89-inch (roughly) buck out of 19A with his guide Larry Heathington. I assume they'll be hunting together again this year.

It's interesting to note that this tag hasn't sold for a price this low since 2000 when one of the two tags was bought by Robert Petersen for $16,000. And before that you have to go back to 1997 when Robert Petersen bought one of the tags for $20,000.

We didn't attend the banquet but I imagine it had a lot of people scratching their heads!

Print Prices Slashed!

I talked to some folks and they convinced to slash the prices of the prints...so I did! Now, you can get a beautiful print of your favorite buck for as little as $59 for an awesome 16x24. And still, because I don't know what I'm doing there are no tax or shipping charges!

To access each print you can click directly on the link of your favorite buck at the top right of the page.

And remember - the little pics online are rubbish compared to what they look like full size on photo paper.

Arnold Print

Print Options

16x24 Matte $59.00 20x30 Matte $79.00 24x36 Matte $99.00 16x24 Canvas (5/8") $179.00 20x30 Canvas $239.00 24x36 Canvas $279.00

Here's one that I particularly like of the buck we hunted with Dr. David Meyer on the 2008 Arizona Auction Tag. This was the very first time we saw this buck and we were quite surprised by where the buck lived as you can see parts or a city behind him!

This shot shows off the larger of the two horns and in a pose that suggests that Arnold may be watching over the city.

Doc took this buck on August 15th and the buck officially scores 97 5/8 SCI and 94 4/8 B&C - making it the number 3 buck in B&C and number 2 in SCI!

King Kong Print

Print Options

16x24 Matte $59.00 20x30 Matte $79.00 24x36 Matte $99.00 16x24 Canvas (5/8) $179.00 20x30 Canvas $239.00 24x36 Canvas $279.00

Here's a photograph that I've always thought was pretty amazing. It's of a buck we named King Kong. We found him and hunted him in 2007 with Roy Lecy, but he escaped onto a private ranch and we "settled" for just a record book buck.

Roy was fortunate in 2008 and drew again! Fortunately King Kong made it through the season and this was one of the hills he liked to hang out on top of. We had him better patterned this year and closed the deal opening morning.

King Kong officially scores 93 3/8 SCI and 91 B&C.

The Prints are Here!

Let me start by saying that this has been a dream of mine for a long time! I think I've finally racked up enough great photos to pull it off.

It's going to start small and hopefully grow from here. I have several prints I'd like to unleash, but I'll be starting with the one you see at the bottom of this post.

This is a buck we found in 2007 on one of our Gold Hunt ranches. We didn't name him then, but thought he'd score about 86 even though we only believed him to be about 14 inches long (maybe even shorter).


We relocated him in 2008 and were amazed by his growth in one year. We thought he'd easily top 90 inches and we still thought he'd be under 16 inches long.

We tried like crazy to get good video footage and good photos, but we didn't have much luck early in the year. Then we got lucky!

We spotted him behind some trees and I started stalking while my Dad waited at the truck just in case the buck went towards him instead. I only got about 75 yards from the truck when my Dad quietly yelled out to me, "He can see you. Stop." I stopped and got behind a tree. I waited for about 30 minutes and the buck made his way all the way over to us. We both got great looks, me with my camera and my dad with his camcorder. The image below was taken at about 35 yards and unfortunately was one of the few that I got from that distance. I first got a side shot, then he heard the shutter, and I got a couple front shots. And then he split!

We named him Titanic because of his EXTREME MASS! He officially scores 92 5/8 SCI and 92 B&C.

And the FIRST PRINT EVER offered by Eli Grimmett and Pronghorn Guide Service is: TITANIC

Print Options

16x24 Matte $59.00 20x30 Matte $79.00 24x36 Matte $99.00 16x24 Canvas (5/8) $179.00 20x30 Canvas $239.00 24x36 Canvas $279.00

Nikon P90

For those of you who have always wanted to take close up photos of your favorite pronghorn...this might be the camera you've been waiting for!

Nikon just released it and it's got an incredible 24x zoom ratio for an equivalent 26mm to 624mm focal range! To my knowledge this is the longest focal length offered in any non-DSLR camera.

For comparison, most of the photos you see on here (or on the forums) are taken with a 500mm Sigma with a 1.6x crop factor for an equivalent focal length of 800mm. At 624mm with this camera you wouldn't be far behind and there may even be a 2x teleconverter you could add to stretch it out to 1248mm!

I have no idea what the image quality is going to be like - I'd imagine it won't be quite as good as a real DSLR with a real BIG LENS, but I'm betting it's still going to be pretty darn good. And with a MSRP of only $399 it will be a tough camera to beat.

1st NM Combo Auction Tag for 2009

The first New Mexico combo tag was auctioned in Salt Lake this last Saturday in conjunction with the MDF and FNAWS convention. I'm not sure who bought the tag, but it sold for about 135K.

The Arizona Deer Tag sold for 137K and guess who bought it... Doc. :)

The Utah Deer Tag sold for 205K! They must have bigger deer than we do. Either that, or somebody knows something (I'm guessing the second one (and maybe part of the first one)).

That's all I know so far.

Plowboy

Hunts Available!

We still have a few GOLD hunts available for this coming season. If you want to get in on a chance to take a world class pronghorn, now is the time!

Last year on these ranches we took a few 90 inch bucks and several in the mid to upper 80's.

If you've been thinking about it, but putting it off...remember...with our new president hunting may be gone soon... ;)

Call 623-566-8708 for more info on our GOLD hunts.

Disclaimer: PGS is in no way affiliated with any politcal statements posted on this blog.

(even if we did post them...just kind of ignore it if you're offended because it's probably just a joke...maybe.)

MIke Little's Buck

This is Mike Little with his buck from 2008. The buck scored 87 5/8 SCI with horn lengths of 16 4/8 and 16 5/8. Dave Brown was his guide.

19A Pronghorn Capture Details

This is straight from the G&F website:

Trap construction and Pronghorn Capture

When: Feb 7-8, Sat-Sunday trap construction Feb 10, Tuesday trap construction Feb 11, Wednesday capture Feb 12, Thursday trap breakdown, if needed

Where: Prescott Valley, AZ. Specific times and directions will be sent in a later email.

Description: This project involves the construction of a pronghorn corral trap on Sat, Sun, & Tues (Feb 7, 8, 10) and a pronghorn capture on Wed, Feb 11. Trap breakdown will follow the capture, if there is enough daylight, or occur on Thurs, Feb 12. If you are interested in volunteering for the pronghorn capture we ask that you attend a construction day. Special notes: This project involves building over a mile of fence and a corral trap with working parts. It is labor intensive and may involve some heavy lifting. Gloves and closed toed shoes are suggested Dress appropriately for cold temperatures or rain showers. Several layers are suggested. Volunteers will be transported to the capture location; vehicles will be left at a parking location. Volunteers will need to pack lunches, snacks and drinks for themselves, these items will not be accessible once at the capture location. Last year this capture was cancelled due to weather, so please check your email before leaving for the project.

Contact: Erin Riddering, Game Specialist: eriddering@azgfd.gov (928)692-7700 x 2330

AZ: Unit Review 2009

In 2008 we had listed the 5 best units in Arizona as Unit 10, 5A, 18A, 19AN, and 4 A/B.

The only difference this year is the removal of 19A from the list.

We guided 3 hunters in 19A last year and had good success, but it wasn't without headaches. The private ranches are sometimes difficult to work with, but there are a couple main factors in our decision to remove 19A from our list for 2009:

1. G&F allowed 80 archery hunters into the north side of the unit - something that hadn't been done in years and by doing so a lot of extra bucks got taken.

2. Word on the street is that there will be another transplant where G&F will remove a large portion of the population and place them elsewhere in the state. I'll double check this when I can to make sure I have my facts straight.

3. This is one that 19A's historic genetics may be able to overcome, but, then again, maybe not - In 2007 after the seasons were all done there were probably 20 bucks left standing that were over 84 inches. In 2008 after the seasons were over there were maybe 2.

As for the other units:

Unit 10 definitely stands alone at the top! We guided 3 hunters in that unit last year and they all took bucks that gross scored over 90 inches. The year before we were 2 for 4 on 90 inchers with the other 2 bucks scoring about 88 and 85. It would be almost impossible to do that in any other unit. The only caveat is that it's a very difficult unit to hunt and scout for some people, especially out of state hunters. Mostly because the antelope are few and far between and the amount of country to cover is enormous. Prepare to spend a couple full weeks if you want a giant. And then don't be surprised if 10 other hunters are camped on your buck opening day! Ugh...

Unit 5A is great for a few reasons. One is that the country is beautiful and fun to hunt with almost unrestricted access. Another is that there always seems to be a bruiser hiding somewhere. Finding the big bucks is another matter altogether.

Unit 4A/B is similar to 5A.

Unit 18A is one of those units that is tough to put on this list, but also tough to keep off the list. It's riddled with private land in much of the prime antelope country, but also home to some of the most beautiful antelope country. The trophy bucks seem to be alternating the years they show themselves, but with the 4 distinct hunt areas within the 18A boundary there is usually at least one boomer to go after. Planning and scouting are major tasks for an 18A tag if you want to cover all 4 areas with any type of thoroughness. Unfortunately you can't narrow down the 4 areas without actually scouting them because all 4 have produced 90 inch bucks in the past - which is also a good thing!

A unit that could take 19A's place...how about 19B? Huge bucks are showing up there once again, but access is possibly even more difficult than 19A. Maybe 17A? Great access, but a very small area to hunt. You will run into the few other hunters in the unit. Good bucks, but not usually the top end. Maybe 18B? A 90 came out of there last season and the unit could definitely be hunted by 1000 people and still there could be a 90 incher that remains hidden. Unit 9? Always a great unit with tons of country, but perhaps one of the more difficult units to dissect. For some reason very few 90's have been taken from this unit - probably due to the difficulty of finding and then relocating bucks. Dylan Woods 95 incher came from here though. Unit 7? I wouldn't put in for here if someone paid me, but that's just my personal opinion. Big bucks are in here somewhere, I know they are. Unit 3A? Nice unit, but some private land and roads that all seem to dead end - very annoying. Unit 1? Someone likes this unit, but it isn't me. Unit 5B? Rumors of giants every year make me wanna go and look...the roads make me change my mind.

Personally, I'm applying for Unit 10 rifle first choice and Unit 10 archery second choice. I think my Dad is applying for Unit 10 and 5A rifle.

New B&C World Record Pronghorn

We were informed that Dr David Meyer had his Arizona auction tag buck scored yesterday.

The official B&C score is 94 4/8. Unfortunately, it's not a New World Record.

Random Bucks Usually Aren't This Big

A couple live photos are posted below in Ty's story. Here are the field photos.




Remember when Mark Norris was hunting with Dave and I showed Dave several bucks right before dark that I thought him and Mark would be interested in? One of them was the same buck that I saw while talking on the phone with Ty, but that night, because of time constraints, we opted to go after the buck Mark eventually got. Ty opted to hunt a different buck as well based on the photos and information I gave him the evening before the hunt.

Weird side story - we were hired by another hunter who was willing to wait until after Dave or I was done guiding to be guided by us. I was in contact with him each day for several days before opening day and relayed to him the evening before opening day that I thought Ty would be done around 9 O'clock and that I'd be giving him a call and hopefully meeting up with him around noon.

After I dropped Ty off I couldn't reach him on his cell phone so I wandered around until I found him. He and his sons had already killed an antelope. They found one they thought was good and went and got him. The buck was about 78-79 inches. I congratulated them and decided that I would try to find Dave and Mark as quickly as I could now that I had several bucks and no one to hunt them. What happened with Mark's hunt is below.

The night Mark killed his buck I slept in the back of my truck at Dave and Mark's camp with Rocky and his son Travis. I headed home early the next morning under the assumption that Pronghorn Guide Service was done in Unit 10 for 2008. And we had had a great year taking two 90 inch bucks.

Now, I don't remember all this exactly so I'll just post what I can remember and if it's incorrect, oh well.

Mark's buddy, a taxidermist named Patrick Newman, showed up at Dave and Mark's camp either that second day or maybe the third day of the hunt and he was bummed. He said he couldn't find any good bucks and only saw very few antelope. Dave, being the incredibly nice guy that he is, decides that since Patrick isn't having any fun and can't find a good buck, takes him to hunt this buck that both Ty and Mark passed on for various reasons.

When they get there they park the truck and wouldn't you know it, another guide pulls up right behind them. Since Dave and Mark and his buddy were already out of there trucks walking they just continued to do so, but another minute longer and this other guide would have been the one to hunt this buck.

We have no official score and my Dad and I never actually got to see the buck as the hunter took it home. Dave said it would have been over 90 inches and you can see that from the comparison photos with the buck sitting next to a 90 incher. This buck clearly has more mass, but a much shorter prong.