az4life

Wowiee... Bill, I understand, but do not agree with your opinion on this one. The poor management by the department has made them more of a political group than they ever have been. When they started to worry more about politics, it was the beginning of the end for the quality hunting on open land in AZ. The AGFD has an agenda and have repeatedly and consistently shown they will run over hunters and game unit managers to meet their own goals. Like others have stated, they have skewed and "loaded" surveys, to paint the picture that suits their own agenda. And instead of finding value and merit in using surveys taken by quality concerned hunter groups (like ADA ) using AGFD guidleines, they are dismissed as not scientific or random, Whatever suits them is the rule that has won out. The quality and quantity of big game in the state has greatly diminished in the last 10 years. We have more hunters, yes and we all have to share less tags because of poor predator and range management. So now, Tags counts diminished and we adjust our expectations. When we have been drawn the hunt quality has for the most part not suffered. Selling a bunch of tags in Late summer, early fall in AZ is just stupid since if we do harvest an animal in any place other than road hunting, there is little chance of saving the meat in near 100 degree temps. Not what I would call responsible hunting. There were lots of other ideas for the dept to increase opportunity without alienating their core supporters. Bullheadedly they chose to stay the course they chose. Well, in 5 years I would like to see what good it has done. Americans overall have short memories for major events like this. Well, in 5 years I would like to see what good it has done. Probably will be a lot of hunters wishing for the "good old days" when there were prime tags for USO to try to steal from AZ hunters who cared. I have lived here all my life and can respect that your experience in hunting far outweighs mine. It seems that you have fought the good fight for hunting and hunters over the years and I Do respect that. however.... I would guess your perspective has changed from your younger days. Like you I will likely not hunt in AZ much in the future. This saddens me that what once was a great state for Game, is but a shodow of it's former glory. Hunting for me will continue in other places more "western" in their way of thinking and game management plans. To those who stand for what AZ hunting should be, May you Fight the Good Fight and don't give in until you win! God Bless!

A lot of hunters tend to stay out of the burn areas, but game animals seem to like the new vegetation. As long as the flames are not licking their tails, they are usually in those zones. I think it is like eating regular carrots or baby carrots... new growth is like the baby ones and most folks agree those have better flavor.

Oh yeah.... Pets.. that explains the bag of purina Elk chow I saw at petsmart last week.

That looks like some fun time fishin for sure! thanks for the pics !

Never shot a bow, but sort of want to try. seems like a reasonable price to try.

I feel for him for sure. Mtn lions are not fun if you are not armed. I am surprised it ran with just him yelling though. Did not work for me when I tried it. Bet Lark is right, that Ray is just a tough old dude and that scared kitty off.

AZoneCam You have hit a lot of nails dead on the head in your post above. Great Job! I applaud your efforts to highlight some of the glaring and blatant conflicts between ADFD's mission statement, their proposals and recent actions. The department is turning liberal and we have to step back to see the forest through the trees. Remember how in 2005 the unit manager recommendations all had the same BS statement word for word about shifting tags to create more opportunity. Several of them said they wrote it under protest, but in the end they did write it to save their jobs The political big wheels will not allow dissention in the AZGFD. We need to shine some light onto the conflicts with precise writing and discussions citing exact conflicts like those you found to force the political cockroaches to run and hide. Janet Napoloreno is probably pulling the strings. It is just the strongarm "Butch" style of politics that he is known for! Watch each others backs too!

Great Question! I usually look for a Solid rest on my pack, jacket, over a rock outcrop or tree. I do have a harris bipod installed but never seem to have a perfect position to use it. Downhill, Uphill, sidehill.... etc. Maybe it is time to take it off since I'm not likely to need it for coues again anyway. Shooting sticks seem interesting and I have relatives who use them but they seem to like the harris bipod better. I guess the grass is always greener...

I did not get the survey either. Strange as I am on the Dept Emailing list! Probably tired of my uncooperative non conformist position toward their poor planning and amateur politics. Seems their #1 goals have been adjusted to raising revenues, even at the expense of the game animals they are supposed to be stewards of. Well, I sure feel better getting that off my chest.

Ernesto! WOOOO HOOOOOO You broke the 1000 post mark! Lots of great pictures lately seem to push you over the top. Congratulations! And thanks be for your participation here "my brother"

I was there on Saturday for another few hours. Had dinner too and got out with most of my wallet again! I see new stuff every time I go back. I am running out of notepads though, filling out my wish lists! It was very busy when I got there around 2:30 but after the Steeler / Cards Game was over and the various football jersey'd fans started flowing through the aisles, it seemed to clear out fairly quickly. Parking lot was 30% empty when I left. Next weekend is the Grand opening I think. Overflow parking at the cards stadium and I am sure it will be a packed store! Good Luck to a ny of y'all that try to go.

I stink errr rather THINK I have a new item to patent! Cowpie spray. Ode de Buffalo, Cattle Call... PT Barnum said it....

All these responses at least tell us thes guys are consistent!, and I expect things won't change. The owner must be blind if he had no clue this was going or the staff follows his lead. If he wants to change things, he should post here that he fired the offenders and welcome anyone from the forum to see what he has done! Sadly, Businesses like this are in need of a major attitude adjustment. I bet places like Sportsmens and Cabela's get the blame for them going out of business but the fact is, when you shoot yourself soo many times, you can do nothing else but die!

No one would believe it was an AZ Elk, Definitely looks like a California Pair.

Sweet Sign!

I bet you did a double take on this one when you pulled it off your camera. Animals do the darndest things? Maybe he (errr SHE) is using a fake rack for camoflage and confusion.? If'n that was going on during elk season, you might have a case to take that front one with a cow tag. Really Mr Ranger, that is what was going on.... Here is the picture to prove it.

Ernesto Nice pictures. Thanks for taking us along with you, (sort of). Where else can one imagine getting that variety and qulaity of pictures in the span of a few days! This state is Blessed with so many things like that!

That is funny stuff! I sent it to a buddy who works at the Petsmart corp office and it sounded like it made the email rounds till everyone was busting up over it. 2 guys emailed back and said they would try it if they could lose 50 pounds.

Ernest I am sort of surprised he returned the tag to you too! Just plain Hard to believe unless it was for a unit like 42m or maybe it was a 2005 tag? One great Guy it sounds like!

Awesome! Simply the best!

Well did you get that picture yet? How'd it turn out?

Some of them look like Shads, not Sheds... Nice haul for sure!

Pinto valley mine can be good, but look around "top of the world" too. Often have seen nice WT deer there. Lowlands northwest of superior are often overlooked as they are not easy to get vantage points, but do have some nice bucks too! One good thing to do is get out your maps and find a few water sources then get out there and search for areas around the water with activity. Good luck

I usually get up and head out rather quickly. The previous night I pack a few breakfast snacks and eat them on the way to my designated spotting point. Snacks include, Bananas, 1 or 2, Orange and or apple, Payday bar, Trail mix and usually a couple granola bars. I try to down at least 20 oz of juice before heading out also. Seems like I always return to camp with more food than I needed. Often I will stay out all day, so I pack a sandwich in big onion or potatoe bun. I find A sandwich stays together better than on any bread I have found. But whenever I do plan to return to camp around noon and relocate for afternoon hunting I fix up some eggs, bacon or ham with cheese and salsa and green tabasco sauce into a jumbo gringo brunch burrito! Yummy!

Well Knock my Alaskan Guide Socks off! I am surprised that Cabelas is not # 1 with a lot more of us. Maybe the are too new to the area for us to learn the appreciation factor. Bass Pro will be a good addition on the east side so after they open, we are about covered within 30 minutes from anywhere in the valley for a sportsman. If I had a sportsmans warehouse a few minutes away, I would probably find it hard to drive an hour to Cabela's more than 1 or 2 times a year too. Warranty and customer service means a lot to me though so now that they are here, if I don't get it at walmart, Cabela's will be the place.