knothead

All of you who want to raise fees and think things will get better, I have one question for you. When was the last time a government agency raised their fees and things got better? AZGFD leads the way for creative ways to come up with funds, but nothing seems to get better. We have application fees, buy hunting licenses that very few NR's ever use, loyalty point program, pay for an ethical hunting point, ATV/UTV sticker, raffle limited tag, and other things I am probably forgetting. Do we have more habitat, opportunity, wildlife or anything for that matter that benefits hunters/outdoorsmen or wildlife? No. All they do with these additional monies is hire more people (mostly in the non-game branch), fund pensions and pet non-big game species projects. I support our department, but I want them to be a lean department and do more for big game species and hunters/fishers that pay the bulk of their everything. Conservationist such as hunters and fishermen get bent over all the time and now we have people asking to raise our fees?! If you think they need more money, donate to one of the AZ 501c3 organizations that do more for wildlife anyway. Crazy times.

If you like to fish, bring your fishing tackle & get a fishing permit too. Virtually every tank is stocked with bass. From my experience POP is most popular area for hunters and Malay Gap is #2. I have hunter both and prefer GAP area. What is mentioned above is good advice. I would also bring Extra gas.

Good Luck to those of you that have the SC 1st turkey hunt. Report back after your hunt and let us know how things went. I went scouting in a public land unit I have a tag for yesterday and didn't see or hear anything. My buddy who lives in unit 1 says turkeys are very active right now.

I bet you have been waiting for that. Happy to see I eased your mind. I am actually boycotting Mexico because last time we were there some Pedo tried to Eff with my son when he was only about 8. A Mexican came within seconds from being killed that day.

I had a crown go bad and my dentist is saying I should replace 1 tooth (2nd from last bottom row) with an implant. $7k for one implant! Needless to say I have been chewing my food on the opposite side for last 5 months. I would do the Mexico thing, but I am currently conducting my own personal boycott of Mexico (except for el pato sauce).

Theres also a LH 7mm listed on here.

Moved away from AZ two times. Texas and NM. I will tell you the grass is not always greener. Texas is all private and NM is beautiful but as corrupt and crime ridden as any place I have been. My wife travels a lot and lives in different states from months to years at a time(mostly east of Mississippi river). She has never been anyplace that she would choose over AZ. Most people take our weather for granted. I agree, Maricopa county pretty much sucks but there are far worse places to live. Carry on.

Quite the contrary. We should be doing everything possible to keep fees as low as possible for everyone. We don't want hunting to become a rich man's sport. If the average, working class hunter feels like they can no-longer participate then they will drop out and stop supporting everything that goes with betterment of wildlife or conservation. Some of you may cheer that hunters might drop out, but we need people who hunt and support the North American model of wildlife management to be active participants. Otherwise, all the Karen's who are anti hunters will have their way. I fear Utah's new fees will encourage other states to follow.

Does anyone know if the Arizona Bowhunters Association is still around or even an entity? They have not had their annual bowhunter happening the last two summers and I wanted to know if it was going to happen this year. I know they partnered with another group and had a banquet last year but then nothing after that. Website looks to be taken offline, and Facebook has not been updated in almost a year.

Sheep or exotics have never done anything for me. I dream about hunting big deer & big elk with bow and arrow during the peak of the rut. Would like to get a lion and bear with my bow too.

Not sure about the other places, but I know the circle K no longer sales the permits. When I drew the SC spring turkey tag on the 2nd pass the email said I had just a few days to pay. I clicked on every button looking for where and how to pay. It was very confusing and probably took me 15-20 minutes before I figured it out. The SC online draw system makes AZGF draw system look like it's state of the art IMO. Again, I am very appreciative of SC for allowing non-members to hunt and recreate there but their communication systems are terrible.

Congratulations! You Definitely earned it. Not sure of your skill level but since you have saved a ton of money not elk hunting over the years, I recommend you hire a good guide and make the most of this hunt. We look forward to the pictures and story come this September. Good Luck.

Anything north of Metro Phoenix is bound to be ruined by exponential growth. Although I like the Verde valley area, SE Arizona would probably be a better choice for overall quality of life. As an educator, I can tell you the number one indicator of student success and performance is parental involvement and a loving home. I sure wish I could do this all over again. Good Luck.

I originally received a rejection notice on Monday and then on Friday I received another notice that I drew a 2nd season spring turkey tag in the 2nd round of draw. I didn't even know there was a 2nd round to the draw. I haven't hunted SC since 2019 so it will be nice to go back. I have hunted east, central and west and birds seem pretty evenly dispersed to me. See way more bears on east side.

Back in the day when we could run cameras, I got a picture of a spike elk shedding one side. It's a still picture and the spike is in the air about 3 feet above him. This also the time of year when I had most my cameras stolen. Shed hunters were the worst.