catclaw

The indians have a special permit just that exact scenario. Black Rock and Goodwin wash are both in the CLOSED area (D) so you cannot even stop your truck to take a leak. Stay on the road and get off the rez and you are ok. If you are on other parts of the rez that are not closed, you can trespass with other permits such as a small game, predator or even a fishing license. Not so in unit D.

I don't think next year will be a good year for that- two bad winters in a row.

I am looking for a new tripod to replace my current aluminum Bogen. I want the quick release leg clamps and a high quality Carbon fiber lightweight/magnesium legs. I will use a medium Manfrotto ball head on it. I can't really afford a Gitzo. There are no camera stores in Arizona, to actually look at a real tripod I have to drive to LA, LV or NY. I will probably have to buy one online or fleabay. I would like to get one that a hunter has actually used if possible but that is proving to be a tall order. I need it to be at least 163cm tall (without the head) and under 3#. I don't want to spend more than $350 on the legs. The head is another $70. Any of you guys used one that meets these criteria? Thanks

I retired from the Police Dept 2 years ago this month and moved out of the valley to Prescott- had enough of the heat and traffic. I started a trucking company to service the landscaping companies up here and no mostly do service work on equipment. I'm mostly retired though- My wife says I need to get a real job again- rats I spent the past year building a new house and just got moved in before my archery elk hunt started. I have pretty much hunted and guided every day since Sept 1st of this year.

I drew a 27 Archery pig tag (my only choice) and the early turk tag in 8-10. I average one turkey tag every 4 years- it's like drawing a Dec whitetail tag!

Never realized that a feeder got one quite so aroused

My tripod is plenty heavy duty enough to shoot off of- especially with a pack or something under the buttstock- that would be stable! I had time to build a bench rest out of flag stone a couple of years ago- stacked them up and set my pack on them for a sitting, bench rest shot. Had a big bull at LONG range and just as I went to trip the trigger, saw that his main beam was busted so I didn't shoot. I had a rock steady hold on the bugger though. A good shooting platform can't be overstated!

Great stuff Amanda and Scott!

I have never been able to get the blood STAINS off of mine. I have tried cleaners, car wash etc. I gave up. Hydrogen peroxide might work now that I think about it!

There have been some good suggestions on here. I got this little rest from a vendor at the SHOT show one year and it was only a prototype at that time- don't know if they marketed it or not, but I think it was $5 or thereabouts. My son have killed untold pest birds off of it and I used it on an elk hunt for a guy to make a long shot as well. I haven't used it myself on a big game hunt yet. Maybe I will get a chance this year. I weighs only a couple of ounces as it is made of some type of dense foam This is the only link I could find for it. http://www.oegmag.com/PhilsHuntingAccessoriesriflerest.html The Jim White one that Amanda sells is probably just as good and priced right.

OK, I got to use my new tripod on two different week-long hunts; one in Nevada and one in NM. I got to use a Jim White head again on this trip as well. I think the JW head is very well made- I don't like how the adjusting arm sticks down so far- it's just not my style. The guy who had it said he bought it because Jim helped him a lot with his unit 8 elk tag a while back and wanted to patronize him. He is ambivelant about it and doesn't prefer it to his other heads. I bought a Velbon El Carmagne 640. It is a 4-section leg design so it is real short for putting in my pack. It is quite light and very sturdy. It came with a pan/fluid head that is too bulky for my uses and I switched out for a Bogen ball head and will use the Velbon head for videoing only- or possibly photography when I don't have to pack it in. The Velbon is easy to set up and didn't "vibrate" in the wind. It was a pleasure to use compared to my 15-year-old Manfrotto. I got it for just a shade under $300 from a distributor in Scottsdale. Considering it came with a head, this is a real bargain. As I looked in some camera mags I see there are a few "house brands" that look pretty good as well. Gitzo has some company now! To those of you who have the lighter ones- I wish you well. I like the sturdiness of this one when I am standing. Most are decent while sitting. I like to glass both ways-especially in the tall grass. There are very fet trripods out there that will let one stand and glass without stooping over. Hope this helps someone out.

I believe ALL the jurisdictions in Maricopa and Pima county are required to enforce this new law and come up with their own in their jurisdictions. However, it is NOT county wide but limited to certain areas deemed to be problematic. It is a mandate from the Feds because we didn't meet our air quality standards in 2006. The senate passed this law in a hasty manner and it doesn't allow ANY travel on a road that isn't paved or covered with a dust eliminating material- in Scottsdale it's 4" of gravel I believe. There are apparently some roads that you can still use, but it is illegal to pull off the road to park so you can hunt. They are working on changing the language to allow for hunting but I haven't heard if they have passed it or not. The 4x4ers in Scottsdale wanted to lynch the city council over this thing. I guess everyone jumped the gun- especially our legislators!

Maybe the birds are tripping it in the day buy I am getting the ghost pictures again- a complete "green" out?? Anyone had these type of photos? I guess I'll have to post one when I am back at my computer.

How many have them? Any opinions? This is my first digital trail cam so it is a new thing to me. I wanted to figure it out before I set it somewhere too wild so I have it hanging from a tree in my back yard where I feed birds. (I feed them peanuts on a large rock) The first time I checked it after about 2 days it had upwards of 170 pics on it already and almost none of them had anything living in them. About 30 of them were completely green or black like negatives! I turned the sensitivity to low and don't get as many spurious photos. I got quite a few jays and last night I got a coon! I had no idea we even had them around here! An odd thing is that while checking it a couple of days ago, I found that among my still photos were two video clips! I have no idea how they slipped in there! i'll try and add a pic

I am headed out tomorrow to NM for a hunt that starts Saturday. Just got back from guiding a hunter in Nevada where we killed a 31" deer (the only kind they have in Nevada ) Hope this one goes as well- best part is that I have the tag this time!

Awesome!

I don't think he specialized in the types of rifles most of us on here use! Another one if you want to stay in AZ is Danny Pederson in Prescott. He is also a first-rate barrel maker. There are a lot of guys who will take your money but only a few who have reputations that can't afford to be sullied. David Miller will build you a new custom rifle for $20K but unless you are buddies with him, I don't think he will do any barreling work for you. Here is Danny's website Danny Pederson- Classic Barrel Works

Depends on the velocity. I saw a antelope buck hit with a 150 @ 3600 fps (muzzle) and it totally destroyed the guy's cape- entry hole was pie- plate sized! My buddy used one on his buck in 24A a couple of years ago and at 400 yds, was picture perfect! Are you hording buckets of IMR 4831? There are better powders these days for hunting that are less temperature sensitive and will probably give you 50fps higher velocities.

The camera is securely fastened to the tree trunk. I have a large boulder that I set peanuts on for the jays. I was getting a TON of empty photos but it could be that a bird tripped it and the shutter speed on this camera is no Nikon D3! I aimed it lower and this seems to have helped. It SEEMS that the sensor and the camera are not pointed at the same place. I got a coyote on it last night, but only the back half as he passed through- did not even touch the bait. Once I get a good enough feel for it, I will put it somewhere that I can get some bigger critters and from further away. And incidentally, the camera is pointing basically north. Why is this a big deal? most of the stuff is at night anyway!

Ask Casey- I think he knows a good one

Catclaw, what is it about the Jim White tripod head that you don't like? It has been a while since I used it but it was too heavy, didn't pan the way I like and the angle of the handle sticking down was awkward for me. Then there is the price tag. I have completely switched to ball heads for glassing- I can move more freely and don't seemed to get fatigued as easily as with the pan/tilt.

I haven't blown any seams in the Santiams, in fact, the uppers look quite nice, but the midsole has broken down and the bobs have all torn off. The fit is terrible. I think they used ET's foot for the last pattern! The Meindl Perfekts are not the same as the heavier ones, They have a one-piece-sole and are comfortable but don't hold up in rough country like the Alaskans, Canadians or Denalis. Cabelas will stand behind them though.

I have used a lot of them. I have used the Outdoorsmans as well but too heavy for what I want. I have never seen this vibration problem that Floyd is talking about. CF actually resists vibration better that AL, so it surprises me that he would draw this conclusion. I don't care for the Jim White head and most of the people that I know who have one don't use it anymore either. I am completely converted to ball heads. I will never go back to a pan head for glassing. Now for videoing- the pan head is much better. The pistol grip heads are terrible too (but I guess, they are technically a ball head!) I ordered a Velbon this morning and we will see if it is what I want. I am going to Hong Kong in may and if the Velbon isn't what I want, I will find something in Hong Kong- I here there are bargains to be had!

Floyd has two tripods and neither one are CF. His are "proprietary" and typical of everything else over there, way over priced. I heard Tempe camera has some stuff but not really a full line. According to the only camera store in Prescott, the nearest "real" camera store is in Las Vegas. I am going to Hong Kong in May and might wait until them, but I am going to Nevada for two weeks to guide and have a Dec WT hunt coming up here and would like a new one for that hunt but could probably make my old one do! Doug, I have been looking at the Manfrotto stuff online. I am tempted to order the 055CXPro3 or CX3 but not just yet. These are tall enough and more robust than the 190 series (better in the wind I am sure) I haven't found a single other tripod that specs how I want except the Gitzo Mountaineers!