CouesWhitetail

Mark your calendars: The Arizona Elk Society has scheduled two excellent work projects in northeastern Arizona. #1) the 2nd annual Burro Creek Fence Removal project around Big Lake May 18th-20th 2007. We will remove another 5+ miles of un-needed fencing for the benefit of wildlife. As usual we will supply great meals and snacks and we really need your help to make this a success. Last year we had over 50 participants. #2) the 2nd Annual 26 Bar Adopt a ranch Project June 1st-3rd 2007 in the Springerville area. We will complete improvements on two springs to improve flow/storage for the benefit of wildlife and the ranch. In 2006 we had excellent turnouts for both of these events. All in attendance enjoyed the great meals, well organized projects and camaraderie. We got a lot done and had fun in the process. Please keep posted on the details on our website (link below) and hit the "Help Wanted" button. For those of you who helped last year we hope to see you again and if you have not joined us before we hope to see you there. Please call if you have questions, or send me an e-mail. Tom Schorr 602-431-4131 e-mail: thomas.schorr@fcssw.com Web link: http://www.arizonaelksociety.org/ Please check out our website for other upcoming events and projects!!!

They generally allow people to speak before they vote. You fill out a speaker card specifying which topic you wish to address and turn it in to the commissioners so they know there are people waiting to speak on a specific topic. I think the official "Call to Public" is to give the public a place to address the commission on items that may not be on the agenda. If you look at the dec commission meeting minutes there is public comment included in the segments where hunt regs are discussed and then there is a separate "call to public" where other issues are discussed. Someone correct me if I am wrong on this.... http://www.azgfd.gov/pdfs/inside_azgfd/min...mMtgMinutes.pdf

The commission meeting to set hunt regs is this weekend at the Glendale Civic Center. It's really important that as many hunters as possible attend. I know it can feel like you have no impact and I certainly can't guarrantee that things will change, but I know it won't change without the commission hearing from hunters. Many of you have already emailed and called which is great. But if you can also attend the meeting and speak up to the commission that really goes a long way. (unfortunately, I won't be able to make the meeting due to a prior committment with a girlscout troop). There will be several board members from the ADA there to present the official ADA position on this stuff, but it's become very apparent that this commission doesn't have much respect for sportsmen's groups and that individual hunter input is important. Don't just assume that because you agree with the ADA position that you are not needed at the meeting. here is a link to the agenda for the two day meeting. Saturday the 21st is the date for the hunt recommendations to be discussed. http://www.azgfd.gov/pdfs/inside_azgfd/age.../April20-21.pdf Amanda

Thanks Guys! I really appreciate the support! Thanks for all the nice comments. I am starting to like this thread I enjoy being a part of this community and seeing the way the forum brings people together to share their passions. Thanks to all of you that make this such an interesting place. Amanda

Bowsniper, Leonard said last night that they will be giving the input received from hunters to the commission. I asked him what the options were for remedying the overlap and he said they could truncate the archery deer season a week or move the archery deer season ahead a week. Of course the ADA and I assume most other sportsmen's groups are not interested in shortening the season and would be more in favor of moving it ahead a week. Leonard is evaluating options for remedying the overlap so that if the commission directs him to, then he will know what is feasible to fix it and what the repurcussions are. Believe me, Leonard is hearing the concern from hunters about the overlap. However, the dept is under direction from the commission to set seasons a certain way. That direction comes in the form of the guidelines the commission gives them. Leonard said they are going forward with the recommendation that includes that overlap of archery deer and elk because to do otherwise would mean they are not following the commission guidelines. As I understand it, the dept can't just change things if they would violate those guidelines. So the dept proceeds with the recommendations but brings to the attention of the commission that there is a lot of criticism of the overlap. So please don't think that your comments mean nothing just because the dept goes forward with their recommendations. The commission can and has in the past directed the dept to change their recommendations based on hunter input. That is why attendance at those commission meetings is important. Amanda

Mills Ridge Water Catchment - April 14-15, 2007 Tonto Basin The AZ Deer Association will host a steak dinner on Saturday night and a Sunday breakfast of green chili biscuits and gravy for all attendees. This new water catchment project is the result of an ADOT mitigation action to decrease or eliminate the number of deer being killed by vehicles on Hwy 188 as they move towards Roosevelt Lake to water. Two 18' x 3' fiberglass ring tanks will be installed with a 3' fiberglass walk-in trough set at the same level. Above the tanks, a 24' x 96' steel collection apron will be assembled to provide both quality water to the system, and protect the underlying tank components. A perimeter steel pipe rail fence will be erected to provide access to only wildlife. Much of the excavation work will be accomplished with a backhoe prior to volunteer arrival. Volunteer work will primarily start on Saturday morning and consist of the installation and backfilling of the plumbing, masonry work in the trough, assembly of the collection apron, and installation of the pipe rail fence. Any remaining work including raking of the entire site will be completed on Sunday. Volunteers arriving before Saturday will be given other associated preparatory work tasks to complete. For more information, visit www.azdeer.org

Desertbull and Coues n Sheep, I posed that very question to the commission and Leonard last year and was told that the alt management plan provides quality hunts for WT in the Dec hunt structure rather than providing specific units. Unlike for mule deer (which has designated quality units), the WT hunt units have a Dec hunt which provides for low hunter density hunts. I tried to argue last year that it would be nice to not manage all WT units the same. I thought it was great having good draw odds for a dec hunt, high success rates and low hunter density in units like my home unit of 24A. Then there were other units that had higher hunter numbers, high draw odds (90-100% for Nov hunts), and lower success rates. To me that was some great management and provided hunters with excellent and varied hunting opportunities, but that has all changed. Anyway, those of you interested in discussing the hunt recommendations should come to the ADA meeting tonight. Below is the info for the meeting. Just a reminder: The AZ Deer Association meeting is on Tues the 17th, 6:30 pm. Anyone may attend and we will be discussing the hunt recommendations with Leonard Ordway that night. Come and ask questions or just listen to what he has to say. The meeting will be held in Room 109 of the University of Phoenix Campus on 46th street and Elwood. The building address is 4635 East Elwood St., Phoenix, AZ 85040. This is the 3 STORY BUILDING. This is the building on the EAST END of the campus. From the WEST SIDE take I-10 East to 40th Street. EXIT 40th turn Left to the Second Right. This is ELWOOD. Turn right and follow to the UOP campus on the RH side. There are 3 large red building we will meet in the last building if coming this way. From the EAST side, take I-10 to the State route 143 Exit. Take the 143 north to University. Exit University turn left onto University to the first stop light which is about 1 block from the freeway. Turn left and follow this to the UOP Campus. We well be meeting in the first building if coming from this way. Parking is avalible all around this area. Please email me if you have questions or needed further directions.

Hunt recommendations are out. here is a PDF of them. Look them over and if you have concerns or comments call Leonard Ordway, AGFD Game Branch Chief. He is willing and able to answer any and all questions you might have of these hunt recommendations. Leonard's direct line is 602-789-3350. 2007_Big_Game_Memo.pdf And you can also voice your opinion by attending the April 21st commission meeting. here is the news release from AGFD: Arizona Game and Fish Department NEWS RELEASE For immediate release April 9, 2007 2007 hunt recommendations are now posted online Are you interested in the 2007 hunt recommendations for deer, bighorn sheep, javelina, turkey, buffalo and mountain lion being considered by the Arizona Game and Fish Commission during its April 21 meeting? If so, you can now view the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s proposed commission orders online at azgfd.gov. Hard copies were not distributed. You may download a copy or you may request a mailed copy by calling (602) 789-3374. The Game and Fish Commission will be discussing the department’s hunt recommendations during its Saturday, April 21 meeting at the Glendale Civic Center, 5750 W. Glenn Drive (one block north of Glendale Ave. on 57th Drive). The meeting starts at 8 a.m. You can also peruse the commission’s meeting agenda by clicking here. The Game and Fish Commission will also be considering population management seasons that the department is recommending. The hunt guidelines adopted last year were for a two-year period and were used to develop hunt recommendation this year. New hunt guidelines will be developed with public comment later this summer.

I think my husband and I will be able to make it. Just for you Casey! Amanda

Here are a few pics from the project this past weekend. What a ton of fun! If you guys ever get a chance to do a project like this, jump on it. You get to meet some neat people, get some good exercise and do some good for wildlife. I got to visit with a few other CW.com'ers there (Dan Hoffman, Terry Herndon and Jed Nitzo). There were also many other volunteers there including several ADA board members and their friends. We also had a hunter bring his two teenagers and it was great talking with them! The ADA provided a steak dinner on Friday night that was delicious! and then some great biscuits and gravy on Sat morning. The basic plan was to provide water for mule deer on the SW side of the highway so deer don't have to cross the highway to get water at Roosevelt Lake. I heard that up to 60 mulies are killed in that area on the highway annually! Wow. What a pointless loss of deer. Hopefully this water project will help with that. AGFD personnel worked up there for days before the volunteers got there to help out on the weekend. They dug a hole big enough to bury two large tanks that can hold something like 5500 gallons of water a piece (hope I am remembering that figure correctly). There is pvc pipe running from the tanks to a trough that the deer can drink from. An apron of sheet metal catches rainwater and funnels it into the underground tanks. The drinker and tanks are exactly level so that the amount of water in the drinker is equivalent to the amount of water in the tanks. I forgot to bring my camera, but luckily TLH did and he took some pics on Sat. Unfortunately, I don't have pics from Sunday when there was water in the drinker. They pumped water into the tanks from a few loads of a water truck. Very satisfying to watch that water flow into the drinker. Here are a few pics. The last pic shows Dan, Jed and I hanging out in the shade. It's great to meet folks who love this website! Got to hear about all kinds of hunting adventures Jed has had. Jed is an avid archer.

Thanks for the report Redman. I too dropped my swaro 15s on my deer hunt last year. One of the objectives landed on a rock and chipped slightly. Fortunately, it doesn't bother me at all when I look through them, but it's nice to know they can get fixed fairly easily. Amanda

Great idea Jim! Bowsniper, if you need some jackrabbit spots out my way I can get you into a bunch. Amanda

Thanks for posting the obit. Sounds like an interesting man. Must be amazing to get lions, jaguar and ocelots! Amanda

Thanks for the review Doug! sounds like perhaps it needs an adjustment to fit those leica's perfectly? Jeff, didn't you talk to Jim White at the ADA banquet about that? He told me he could make an adjustment to the tripler so it would fit Minox 15x's. And just an FYI - Coosefan will be doing a review of the tripler also. And I think he will be able to try it out on a couple diff binos and also compare it to the swaro doubler. That should really help folks get a good idea of whether they want this tripler or not. Amanda

Wow!! Great looking buck. If you can't figure out downloading that video and posting it, you can always send me the tape and I will do it. Amanda

I also use the thermarest prolite and love it! For a sleeping bag I got a Montbell down superstretch bag rated to 0 degrees. I get cold easy, so I needed a good bag. I think it weighs about 2 lbs (but you can get a lighter version if you don't need a zero degree bag). It packs down very small and when you open it back up it fluffs up to like 7-10 inches of loft. Nice! It's called super stretch because it has elastic around parts of it that allow the bag to stay tighter around you when sleeping but also allow you to sit up cross-legged inside the bag since it stretches. I LOVE this bag. here is a link to info on the bag. http://www.backcountrygear.com/catalog/bagdetail.cfm/MTB388 For a backpack tent I got a Big Agnes Sarvis 2 with event. This is a fine tent that weighs about 4 lbs. Big Agnes makes another similar model which is more popular called the Seedhouse2, but the floorspace of the Sarvis is a tad larger so I went with that. And it has the rain fly built in so you don't have to mess much with it. The only thing I don't like about this tent is that the midline pole has to be threaded through a nylon sleeve, which is fine when pushing it through, but pulling it back out to take it down is a bit touchy. (the seedhouse doesn't have that sleeve I think, so you might like that better, depends on how much room you want) here is a link for info on the tent: http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/ba..._announced.html For a stove I have used a Primus for probably the last 15 years. It's an awesome stove, but I don't remember the model name. It's lightweight and has a built in ignitor. I can screw it onto the little propane canisters and it fits in the palm of my hand. here are some pics. This first pic shows my tent, sleeping bag and sleeping pad all rolled up. (they can pack a little smaller if you take more time packing them) There is a 13 inch ruler in the middle for scale. The tent with tarp and poles are in brown bags on left and then just right of ruler is my sleeping bag and then the pad. Stove shown in front. And here is a better pic of the stove And another of my tent setup, but sorry it doesn't show a side view.

WOW! Amazing looking buck! I figured you would come through with a pic Josh! Amanda

Great find! Anyone ever heard or seen of a WT with two double beams? I don't think I have. Seems like it only happens on one side. Amanda

Great idea Lance! Not sure I will be able to make it up there, but sounds like fun. How many CW.com'ers live up in Flag area? Jim White lives up in Williams. He might come and bring some of his optics, tripods, and tripod heads so you guys can check them out in hand. Once you guys settle on a date, I will let him know. Amanda

I don't even know what article CHD is referring to....I certainly wouldn't call myself a coues deer expert either...just an enthusiast. Maybe I need to read a copy of that article. Anyone got a copy they can scan and send to me? Don't waste anytime with a response. Like some of said earlier....it just fuels the fire. Guess I will never understand what motivates people like CHD. Thanks for the support guys. I appreciate it. I just got back from spending the weekend building a water catchment to help keep deer from crossing the highway to get water at Roosevelt lake. Neat project. Got to meet some CW.com'ers out there. It's always great to meet people who love this site. I forgot to bring my camera, but some other people took some pics and maybe I will post a little thread about it. Amanda

Hi Guys, I finally finished writing up my hunt story about my hunt this Jan in Mexico. I got a really cool buck and my friend got an absolute toad! Check out the story.... http://www.coueswhitetail.com/hunt_stories/akm_mex_07.htm And also, keep in mind that the outfitter that I went with is donating a hunt to the AZ Deer Association auction to be held April 7 in Scottsdale. Anyone interested in bidding on that hunt, should get a ticket to the banquet. www.azdeer.org for more info. Amanda

I posted the minutes along with the part that addresses the overlap of the seasons. Or at least it addresses that they moved the archery elk season. I posted it on page 6 of this thread this morning. Here it is again (from the Dec 2006 meeting minutes) "The only substantial public input received regarding elk hunts since the last public guideline and recommendation process was that the early general bull hunts were scheduled too late to take full advantage of prime rutting behavior or bugling activity . As such, the proposed package deviates from Commission approved guidelines by adjusting the early bull hunts (general, archery and muzzleloader) one week earlier to address public desire relative to the prime elk rut hunt opportunities ." I assume that is what Brian and Leonard are referring to... Amanda

I wasn't aware of this...thanks for posting it. Amanda

Second Shot, You may want to be careful picking up heads that still have hair on them. There are legal issues related to this. It's not all that cut and dry, but I think you could get cited for something like that. You may want to call the local game warden and let them know about it and find out their interpretation of the rules. here is an old thread where this was discussed: http://forums.coueswhitetail.com/forums/in...c=3463&st=0 Amanda

Ok, here I finally found what I think he is referring to. from the meeting minutes: "The only substantial public input received regarding elk hunts since the last public guideline and recommendation process was that the early general bull hunts were scheduled too late to take full advantage of prime rutting behavior or bugling activity . As such, the proposed package deviates from Commission approved guidelines by adjusting the early bull hunts (general, archery and muzzleloader) one week earlier to address public desire relative to the prime elk rut hunt opportunities ." Amanda