Snapshot

I don't know much about lion hunting, but I do know Unit 27. Since the top 1/3 of the unit burned in the fire, I am not sure how much wildlife is currently in, or around, the burn area. I would concentrate efforts below the rim, down in the canyon country. Lots of Lions to be had, but lots of hard work. You could always talk to some ranchers down in the Blue River area. I bet they would be more than happy to share some info. Same goes for Eagle Creek. The Juan Miller road will take you east to the Blue River, lots of good country in there, especially the remote stretch of country along the New Mexico border. This is Unit 27 lion info from the G&F regs Mountain Lion Overview: Mountain lions, also referred to as cougars, can be found throughout Unit 27. Annually, an average of 10 lions per year are usually taken through sport harvest. Roughly half of the yearly harvest is with the aid of hounds. While lucky hunters occasionally locate lions by still hunting or glassing, the most successful methods for hunting lions involve the use of predator calls or hounds. Mountain lions may be called in using predator calls in the same manner as is used for calling coyotes. Longer calling sequences, up to 45 minutes, are recommended. Set up calling stands in rough canyon country with good visibility to spot approaching predators. The most effective method by far for hunting mountain lions is trailing with hounds. While few hunters can afford to keep a pack of lion hounds for recreational hunting, many professional guides with seasoned hounds are available for hire for the hunter that is determined to bag a cougar. A list of licensed outfitter-guides operating in Unit 27 may be obtained by calling the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests at (928) 333-4301. Forest Service maps can also be obtained by calling this same number. Areas: To get to Unit 27, take Hwy. 191 south from Springerville, or, for hunters coming from the southern parts of Arizona, take Hwy. 191 north from Clifton. Good areas to find mountain lion during the fall and winter months are located below the Mogollon Rim, or along the upper Blue River. Along the lower Blue River, excellent areas include Wild Bunch Canyon and Mud Springs Canyon. The canyons below Rose Peak also have good lion populations. Basically, any area that holds concentrations of deer or elk are prime locations for finding lions. Two areas in the unit provide opportunities to harvest multiple lions annually. These areas are remote and rugged, and will require a hunter to work hard to gain access. The Bear Canyon and Pipestem areas of Unit 27 have multiple bag limits to facilitate the reestablishment of bighorn sheep into these areas. These areas are in prime lion country and can provide the hunter with a great opportunity. Special Regulations: Lion hunters should be familiar with the following laws and regulations prior to going lion hunting. All hunters must contact an Arizona Game and Fish Department office in person or by telephone at 1-877-438-0447 within 48 hours of taking a lion. The report shall include the hunter’s name, hunting license number, tag number, sex of the lion taken, management unit where the lion was taken, and telephone number at which the hunter can be reached to obtain additional information. Within 10 days of taking a lion, the hunter shall present the lion’s skull, hide, and attached proof of sex for inspection. If a hunter freezes the skull or hide before presenting it for inspection, the hunter shall prop the jaw open to allow access to the teeth and ensure that the attached proof of sex is identifiable and accessible. A premolar tooth will be removed during the inspection. Successful hunters are encouraged to contact the nearest Department office by telephone to coordinate inspections. Most of Unit 27 will have a season of August 19, 2011, through May 18, 2012. The exceptions to this rule are the Pipestem and Bear Canyon multiple bag areas, which will remain open year-round. Refer to the current regulations for boundary descriptions and bag limit numbers. Due to a hunt guideline change, the mountain lion season will be year-round, unit wide starting July 1, 2012. Legal lion is any lion except spotted kittens or females accompanied by spotted kittens.

Even if hunters only represent 7-14% of the population, I bet we own a majority percentage of the firearms. I am sure the anti gun and hunting groups got that figured out. Get rid of hunting and they can start working on the guns.

Nice!

Wow. Those are fantastic. What I wouldn't give for a ride in one of those bad boy's!

Good point. Maybe one of the money guys funded the whole thing but they had to split it up into smaller amounts because of campaign finance laws. Either way.....a guy got paid and a bill gets sponsored and slipped in under the radar a few weeks later. if that is true, and I'm not saying it is, then someone is breakin da law. Sounds like something that John Junker with the Fiesta Bowl would do. I wonder if there is a way to get a Political ethics committee involved? Seems like back door bribery too me! WHose not to say there wasn't anymore cash payout under the table.

Thanks for the info. I was not sure if out of state paid more or not. Looks like a fishing trip maybe in order soon.

Since I left Arizona for a year and a half, I will not be an AZ resident again until late April. Does San Carlos charge the same fee for fishing, regardless of your status? I want don't want to buy a non-res state license, when I will soon buy a resident one.

Nice! She's so Fluffy!

I am searching craigslist for a dog, that will eat my neighbors dogs.

$424 is a weird amount. But since they have been trying to stay off the radar anyway, doesn't surprise me.

Wow. All those sheep getting burned alive. What a waste of a great animal. Thats a bummer!

"The plot thickens"

This might be a little off topic. But in 2005, I was elk hunting up in unit 27. My Dad and I took a drive down the little dirt road from the Sheep Saddle campground. At the end of the road was a Wolf holding enclosure. There was a small trolley cart that suspended on a cable avove the pen where they would put parts of the carcasses in and dump into the pen to feed the wolves. There was all kinds of bones, and skulls, lying everywhere. Inside the cage and out. Cattle bones and skulls and other types of animals? It had kind of a weird feeling about it.

I think it was 1988, and a friend and I were hunting deer in unit 31. We hiked out of camp the first morning and started going up a dry creek bed in the canyon we were camped in. We could smell something awful up ahead, and we came across a dead cinnamon colored black bear laying in creek bottom. My buddy wanted to salvage the skull. I told him I didn't think it would be legal, and the stench was so bad you had to hold your breath just to get close. It was nasty. I found a G&F warden the next day and told him about our find. He said he already knew about it, and thinks that someone may have shot it ilegally. This last summer when I was up in Montana. I was driving down the country highway next to Hebgen lake, and I saw a nice trout fall out of the sky and go sliding across the road. I looked up and saw 2 eagles that must have been fighting over that fish, and one of them dropped it.

Awesome statement from AWF.

I haven't stopped by there in a long time, so I probably have the same number you do. I know Chucks Dad passed away in 2010.

I doubt it. HB 2072 is nothing but a big stinky Turd, and PBJ ran out of ways to try and sugar coat it.

Persistent and self serving. No consideration for anyone else except themselves. I can't believe the audacity in which they blatantly disregard the publics input. Disgusting. Yes indeed. Persistent and self serving seems to be at an all time high in the good old USA. Obama is a prime example. If they can't get it honestly, then they lie, bribe, and cheat to make it happen.

They are all very nice, but I really like te sunrise pic.

They are not going to get $200,000 each. Most of the tags are not year long tags, they are the same tags we would draw. I don't think anyone is going to pay $200,000 for say a 2 week unit 9 archery tag. They could get 5 figures for it though. Maybe. The $200,000 tags are the gov tags that last all year and are legal in most units. Even if they got 25% of that amount, it will still be a chunk of change going into AZSFW coffers.

If they get 54 tags too auction, at lets say $200,000 each equals $10,800,000. a 10% admin fee would mean $1,800,000. Heck, maybe I should start my own conservation group and make a nice living.

Sure, it would be great to file a lawsuit. But where will the money for legal fee's come from? A case of that magnitutde could cost a couple hundred thousand or more.

That is incredible.!

From what I have heard, almost everyone including BPJ thought this was a dead deal. Weiers withdrew his support so who was going to sponsor the bill? When I listened to the ADA board, most everyone there said they were not in favor of this bill. My understanding is that Suzanne Gilstrap is trying to drum up support. What a better way than to convince the Governor. I think the focus right now needs to be on AZSFW and in my opinion stopping them AND getting rid of them. Mark AZSFW has now pissed off alot of Sportsman, as well other organizations that may have supported them in the past. If the donations and membership money dries up, a last ditch effort of getting the bill passed may give them an influx of needed cash to stay alive. Cut their support, and they will fall.

They are thinking about $$$$$$$$$$. Lots of it!