Red Sparky

How long have the national forest and BLM land been owned by the Fed's? Yes there has been some mismanagement but for the most part it has been good. The Valles Caldera here just went under National Park management but is kept open to hunting. Will see how long that last, maybe not long maybe forever. The difference is there is a board of trustees for the Valles Caldera, not one agency. Now the state land we have here goes to the highest bidder. Land that is open one year is closed due to a new lease where other, less hunting desirable, state land is opened up. Or it can be checker boarded where there is no access to it. So I don't trust either form of government but I do trust the fed's more than our state. Here I think our G&F said there were about 160,000 applicants for tags. So that is a voice of 160,000 but if the land is kept under Federal agencies that is all 50 states so a voice of millions of outdoorsmen and women. Much harder to close public land. The flip side is you have millions who want a say in how to manage the land. I do not live in AZ but I did voice my opinion on the poll to stop the Grand Canyon from being put under a different land manager. I thought it would hurt hunters in your state and me if I ever put in to hunt there. I will start applying now to hopefully have a tag in 30 years. If the Grand Canyon was under state control I would not have the opportunity to do that. So I am only basing my opinions on my state government and not any other states. What we, as hunters, need to do is follow what Colorado has done on it's PR campaign. I read about it in the last edition of Bugle and it sounds great. I think Michigan or Minnesota is trying to follow it with the re-listing of the wolf as an endangered species. PETA, HSUS, etc. need to put the money to helping wildlife instead of waging war against hunting. They won't do it so we need to show the average person what will happen to "all the little animals in the woods" without hunters and fishermen and women. We pay for all the outdoor resources under something called the Pittman/Robertson act. How much money has any "animal rights" group put forward to rebuild the habitat for the animals? Time to go on the offensive rather than the defensive.

Talked to AZG&F. They are going to post during the next 26 days by randomly pulling a letter from the alphabet each day. If your last name starts with that letter you can check your results so everybody is not calling and checking the web crashing their site and phone banks.

What Vossy has posted does show an application number. If anybody had their application number they could definitely say their not drawn, if showing, was for this year. Bonus points will probably not be updated until the draw is posted. I get to wait until April 29th at 10:00 am.

Something along the lines like this came up this year here in NM. Luckily it got buried in committee and was never voted on. I agree if it ever comes under state jurisdiction access will be lost. I don't trust the Fed's but I trust the state less.

I bet they get posted when they get posted. Not before and not after.

Trail cam or action cam?

Cool story and pics. Is that a radio collar on that one ram? Looks like it to me but I could be wrong.

I see exactly what you are talking about. How would they change it if a cc did not go through and they gave the tag to someone else? I think they might have a reserve pool of maybe the top X number that have a chance to get a tag if a cc does not go through. So if there are 500 tags for example, draw 1st- 600th are not notified drawn or unsuccessful. Everybody else are notified not successful. Everybody will be notified when finalized.

Some of that probably has to do with the volume of applications.. Arizona's population is something like 7 million.. I would geuss new mexico is south of 2 million people.. I don't really know, but just a guess.. They may have issues, but are not visible when your talking about order of magnitude lower total numbers.. You mean you have 7 million people applying for tags? Holy . We have for all hunts something like 60,000 tags and about 160,000 applicants (res. and non-res.) according to our G&F. Yes we are so small they run deer, elk, antelope, orxy, ibex, bighorn sheep, and some I am sure I am forgetting, all in the same draw.

I hear you. You all are lucky in one sense but not the other. You all apply and when the draw happens your cards get hit. So you are not charged until you buy the goods. Yes you get hit with the non-refundable fee but you lose it anyhow if you don't get drawn. Then if you draw and there are problems with the card, your G&F attempts three times to contact you to get it straightened out. Now come to NM. You have your card hit as soon as you put in. The tag and non-refundable fee. Our G&F does not contact you if there are problems you just get denied the hunt. This would only apply to those waiting until the last minute to draw if the card did not go through. If you pay the charge off, or use your bank account you don't pay any interest. G&F might get the interest or it might go into the state fund, who knows. It is like you said where they are holding about $500 of mine until the draw happens, two months after I applied. When I get the money back, if not drawn, it goes back in the hunting account for next year. That way I get interest on it for 10 out of 12 months. Reading all I have, our draw does not have as many problems and we have a definite date on when the draw is posted. Everybody in the draw has paid so there is not the time lost trying to fix cards. You either draw or not. We are 100% online draw and it is not done in state to my knowledge.

I signed

Who said I was upset about it? I brought up the whole post and it wasn't just shooting trout with a shotgun. I said I did not think it put "hunters" in the best light, in my opinion. I have shot numerous p. dogs with my .222 rem, I know exactly what it does, I just don't video and post it. I never said they would become murderers, I stated and pointed out that 16 is old enough to have consequences and age is not an excuse for doing dumb things. Also bringing up hunting accidents shows what can happen when you have your hua and make bad decisions. Age is not an excuse, many 20-80 year old people prove that every day. As it has been stated many times "Not even bailing wire and duct tape can fix stupid." So if you think I was upset about it I will let you go to the next autopsy with me on a .40 S&W Gold Saber contact wound to the head. I will even bring your lunch just tell me what you want, I recommend lasagna.

ctafoya---I grew up in Santa Fe, worked in Belen for four years. Seldom Drawn---I would send you my SSN but for the fact of identity theft. I did have to go through a background check for my wife to get a top security clearance for KAFB which was not a problem so I guess my two speeding tickets weren't too bad. Even those don't show up anymore on the last background check run by Belen PD when I was a civilian employee for them. Nothing shows up on my concealed carry permit because there is nothing there. So I don't think you can run a better background check than what has been run. Yes I call her my wife but I have never cheated on her in 28 years because I RESPECT her, I RESPECT myself, and I RESPECT my daughters. That is what is missing these days is RESPECT.

So does that mean you got the muzzy hunt before the archery hunt?

I think it is funny and good luck to you all in the draw. I know I have a deer tag for me and older daughter. We just have to wait for elk results. If she doesn't draw I will buy her a youth encouragement when they come up. If I don't draw I will see about buying a late bow elk tag for myself when they come up.

So you all will have to quit asking............ April 29 Big Game Draw License results are available online, by telephone or at NMDGF offices Do I get the DB trophy now?

idgaf--Mine is a 78 with the 258 straight 6. Parents bought it in 1980, second owners, and been in the family ever since. Top off, windshield laid down covered in mud was a girl getter in high school. I agree with your hunting opinions totally. I was getting tired of shooting deer at 500 yards with the .270 and my dad and uncle started with muzzle loaders at that time. The draw was also a factor in our weapon switch. Hunted with the muzzle loader for around 20 years, both side lock and inline, and then the wife said the best thing she could have. "Honey you have $1000 to spend on any gun you want". I could not think of a gun I wanted as the gun cabinets are pretty full so I got a bow. Love bowhunting! I have a 70 yard range set up in the back yard. So I still enjoy shooting long range and would not pass up a shot long range if I was 99% sure I could make it. It is just ones choice on what fulfills them is all I was trying to say.

Not that I know of but posting the video does not shed great light on the hunting community, in my opinion. I have never shot one with anything bigger than a .22. Then again I never knew my grandfather because he was killed in a hunting accident before I was born and my father worked as firearms examiner for NMSP so I got to see plenty of pictures of what guns do to humans. Yes these "kids" made bad choices, many kids do and get prosecuted for them if illegal. I did not make the best decisions and have the burn scars to prove it. Two of the "kids" I knew growing up started hanging out with the wrong crowd and made one bad decision. Their sentence was 30 years to life for murder, they were 16 and 17 at the time. So did they do anything illegal? I don't know, possible waste of a game fish. I will say they were wrong and make us all look bad. I think at the least they should apologize.

Different strokes for different folks. I love my CJ-5 but I don't like quads. Been on a deer hunt with cousins back east where they use dogs. Not my thing but it is theirs. I shot both side lock and inline muzzle loaders. To me side lock with open sights is more challenging but I feel I can kill more effectively with the scoped inline. Bow hunting with a compound vs. recurve or long bow is the same argument. I just started with a compound two years ago and love to shoot and hunt with it but for me personally I will not use a crossbow. Nothing wrong with a crossbow but we all make choices on how we want to hunt. We satisfy ourselves and as long as it is not illegal and we are not beyond our personal abilities, nothing wrong with it. We as hunters should strive for as quick and humane kill as possible. How many buffalo were killed with Sharps rifles back in the 1800's? They were quite effective at long range and basically the market hunters wiped out the buffalo to help control the indians. Technology has advanced and hunters attitudes have changed where we are more involved with conservation and having a renewable resource. We all work for the game we love to hunt and the way we hunt them.

When I was 16 I was driving, had a part time job, and going to High School. I guess I was just raised differently. And it wasn't just trout with a shotgun. Three jack rabbits with I think a 300 Win. Mag. I still have the video that was posted but not the stills. To watch the video I had to download it to my computer to view it.

Must have. Never saw posted pic. but did read some so it must have gone bye-bye. That or it is being used for evidence.

Look at how well trained that dog is to find such a big pile. Nice finds.

Sounds like you do a better job than AZG&F from what I have been reading.

I don't know when the date to delete your application is. I would figure today by 5, when the draw closes. Yes you lose the non-refundable fee. Here is what I found. CHANGING AN APPLICATION I want to withdraw my application, how do I do that? You may delete your application from the draw, but doing so will forfeit your non-refundable application fee. To delete an application, log in to your account. Choose “Draw Hunt Applications” then choose the application you want to delete and click “Review.” On the review page, in the top right-hand corner, there will be an option to delete. If you delete yourself from an application you may submit another application for the same species, but you may NOT re-attach to the application from which you were deleted. Deleting an application does NOT affect the other applicants. If you have submitted payment for an application and then choose to delete it and your original payment was by credit or debit card, you will be refunded automatically. If you original payment was with an electronic check, or over the counter with cash, you will be refunded during the normal refund process, when draw results are announced, late April or early May. Might as well stay in it because you never know what will happen.

Practice constantly. I have my rangefinder with me when hiking or just walking around the neighborhood. I try to use 20 yards to 100 yards in 10 yard increments. Then I can walk off the distance or rangefinder it. If something is between the 50-60 yard mark judge halfway to know 55 yards. If the object is closer than halfway you know it is between 50-55 yards and if it is past halfway you know it is 55-60 yards. The time I have the hardest judging distance is like across a canyon. I have a hard time trying to figure out where the range increments are without a ground reference. This is where hiking during the summer helps for hunting season.