cwnova

I am a new hunter and also new to the forums, and this is also my first time posting. I am interested in starting to hunt unit 19a during one of the two cow seasons that are offered. I am intrigued by this unit for a few reasons. While I live in Tucson now, I am from Prescott and still have family there. I love the environment around the prescott area and feel comfortable in the nearby terrain. If I get drawn for elk this year, it will only be my third time. I was successful (lucky) in my first hunt ever, for cow elk in 7 west back in 2013. In 2014 I covered a shitload of ground in unit 8 but came up empty handed. Ever since I found out that unit 19a issues a small number of tags each year, I am becoming more and more interested. I am young, and in good shape, and I don't mind putting the miles on my legs. I would rather have a tough hunt in seculsion rather than a tough hunt being surrounded by guys on atvs. Does anyone here have any experience with unit 19a? I hope to do a scout of the area in spring, and If i like what I see i may also attempt to start hunting deer in the unit (this year will be my first time applying for deer). From what I can see it doesn't look like the area has too many access roads, thus preventing atv hunters. I also am assuming not many atv hunters would even apply for a hunt with a low elk population in the unit. Am I right in making this assumptions? I appreciate any comments or insight, thanks!

you're an idiot

I recently got my tax return and i'm looking to put some of it toward my first bow. I have never shot a bow, nor do I think I've even held one. I'm not entirely familiar with the many components of a bow and arrow set up, so I'm leaning towards getting a ready-to-shoot or ready-to-hunt bow. I'd like to get everything I need so I can take it home and start shooting right away and would like to spend around $600 although i'm sure a smooth talker could get me to part with a little more money. I was set on PSE primarily since it's a local company and manufacturer. Any reason to go to Bull Basin in Tucson over the PSE shop? I'm assuming prices are pretty identical between both shops? Anything I should know that bow shop employees won't tell me? Thanks in advance for the advice.

I went to Bull Basin and got a PSE Stinger X and set it up from there. PSE factory is full of morons, Bull Basin is full of good people. Cheap bow but it seems more than adequate for a first time archer like myself. I was shooting in my yard quite a bit when I got it and was having a great time. That being said, I didn't feel I practiced enough to go out for August OTC Archery. I got a nice surprise with a late bull tag and a general deer tag so those two hunts have been occupying most of my free time lately. If I wasn't excited enough for my elk hunt, I am excited to pick up the bow again this winter. There is still a lot I need to learn though.

I have this pack. I got it almost three years ago now although it looks to be the same as the image you linked. I used it only for a short while and it is now buried in a closet as I have two other packs I enjoy more. It doesn't have load lifters, although it seemed to hold weight okay since it's an external frame (I never packed out an animal on it though). With the foldout shelf on the bottom, you can really fit a lot of stuff in the pack and on the frame and it does compress down kinda nice for smaller loads. The main pack detaches from the frame and I once rigged up a smaller day pack to rest on the frame and that worked out pretty well actually. I did find a small rip in the mesh that is wrapped around the frame and tied to the shoulder straps so I don't know how it will hold up to heavy use. It's a somewhat versatile external frame pack although as others have said and will say, it doesn't hold up to more expensive packs. That being said, unless someone wanted a huge pack under $150, I wouldn't recommend this pack, but if that's your budget, then it does give you a lot of options for the money. I love both packs I have now and would recommend either (badlands and mystery ranch) and I seriously doubt that I will ever use this full pack again, although i'm sure the frame itself will come in handy one of these days.

I'm all for a cashless society, although that has to be the silliest reason of all to go cashless. Enjoy your plastic

First bull elk tag for me! Late season in 6b. Was expecting to log on to the portal and see a cow tag

Lots of good replies here. I'm not looking to get a higher end bow as I don't see the use for it as just a beginner. I will likely try out several bows in my price range and pick the one that feels the best. There is always time to upgrade down the road. At first, my bias towards PSE was simply that they are based out of Arizona, although I am certainly not ruling out other manufacturers. Thanks again for the replies.. just about everything that has been said is new information to me so i'll take it. I'll be paying a visit to Bull Basin Archery this weekend.

Am I more likely to get a deal at PSE? So far based on the two replies it looks like Bull Basin will be my first visit.

My first deer season ended with tag soup and I'm more than anxious to get out in the field sooner rather than later. I would like to pick up small game hunting down near the Tucson area. Right now I'm content with chasing rabbits and maybe some squirrels if I can get into the right area. Of course during the appropriate seasons I would also like to go after dove, quail, and ducks. Currently the only gun I own is my big game rifle. For the sake of rabbits and squirrels, is buying a $100 pellet rifle sufficient for the time being? Clearly a shotgun is the way to go for quail and dove, so I will have one eventually, but should I just skip the pellet gun and go right to a shotgun? Regarding a shotgun I will probably be looking for one in the sub $450 range. Maybe the Remington 870 or a Benelli? Thanks in advance for the input

Thank you everyone. I don't think I'll be spending any more time looking at pellet guns and will start narrowing down which shotgun to purchase for 2016! I have only used shotgun once and it was a Benelli SuperNova I believe. I like the look of the 870 a little bit more but I want to do more overall research on all my options, not to mention the 12 gauge vs 20 gauge debate.

My brother recently ordered and received his Icon Pro 7200 pack. Last night we were packing it up and he pulled up the Kuiu video on the Icon Pro 7200 that shows off all the features ( ) In the video, which was published in 2013, there are two buckle compression straps on the bottom of the bag that can be used for attaching a sleeping pad or something similar. On my brothers Icon Pro 7200, he doesn't have those straps on the bottom of the bag. He is also missing an internal zippered pocket that is shown in the video as well. He called up Kuiu today and asked for an explanation and they assured him that the new model, which he received, had those features taken off in the last update a couple years ago. I find it odd that the straps on the bottom of the bag would be removed since I would think everyone would want that feature. I also find it odd that Kuiu would have an old model of the pack still in their warehouse. Does anyone have a Kuiu Icon Pro 7200 that has those straps on the bottom? My brother has the non-camo, phantom colored bag if that means anything. Also, I have a couple items of clothing from Kuiu myself and have nothing but good things to say about them so far. Thanks in advance

A lot of good comments came in! I appreciate all of them, every bit of feedback helps when I am trying to choose a unit in a specific part of the state! I felt comfortable in what I learned about unit 8 this past season so that may be at least one of my choices. Looks like I still have some thinking to do regarding 19a. Good luck for everybody looking to draw a tag for this year's season. Thanks again

Thanks for the reply. Being a new hunter and having no hunters in my family and circle of friends, azgfd has been my only source of information. I'm not particularly interested in people giving up secret spots - I understand that issue; I was mainly hoping for some feedback on the area and possible past experiences in the area that someone has had. Given that I live in southern AZ and have a fairly busy schedule, I am not opposed to getting out and scouting the area, I just can't get out and do it on a whim. I'll try to remember that new hunters shouldn't ask for feedback on a unit as their first post..