stanley

Awesome Keven! Glad you had a good hunt down there! I'll look forward to some more stories from Hector when he returns! S.

Not sure if this has been posted here yet, but I saw this story today. Sucks for him! Need to be respectful and safe, and pick-up all casings, bullets, shells, etc.... Not only is it litter, but apparently it's dangerous too! Be safe all! S. http://www.azfamily.com/news/Bullet-buried-in-desert-blinds-Arizona-man-137021548.html

+1 on the Gila and San Pedro river valleys. The washes draining into either of these rivers from the 37B mountains/hills that border the rivers are a great place to look for tracks/sign. S.

Mexico is clearly dangerous if you're in the drug trade or associate with anyone in the drug trade, or are an official or report on the drug trade. Maybe even if you're an innocent citizen. Haven't heard too many stories of truly innocent touristas being harmed/killed though... Does truly suck that so many of the Mexican people are losing their lives! S.

Used electronics are tough to sell...... If you haven't already, maybe try ebay and/or craigslist. Lots more visibility on those sites. Sincere good luck selling! S.

Thanks for posting the links Oak. Very interesting information. elkaholic, there are actually two returns for two different entities. Both for 2009. I'm no expert, but I can read..... Looks like Suzanne got more like $94,000. Again, thanks for posting the public info, Oak. Craziest thread on cw.com in a LONG time! S.

Ugh..... Mi vida loca! Unfortunately, I have a father/daughter weekend event with my little sweetie at Camp Tontozona on Feb 25th. (Though, I'm greatly looking forward to the weekend with my daughter.....) Seems like I've been tied-up for the past several ADA banquets now! I truly wish the ADA good luck on this year's banquet. I think it's a great idea to do it in partnership with the ISE! Maybe will result in great attendance!! Good luck all and spend lots of money!!! S.

I think a lot of guys are shy about posting location, even the unit in a public forum. Unfortunately, in today's world it seems like the concerns are often warranted....... I would suggest that the next time you see a post of a deer that looks familiar, maybe send the hunter a private message. He or she might be a bit more willing to share that information privately. S.

+1 We are not too far removed to remember the Fiesta Bowl and their "administrative" costs. Different arena same corruption The AZSFW board is strictly volunteers initially, each of the beginning few who started the organization back several years ago were required to pony up some significant cash to be a board member. The only person who does get paid is Capitol Consulting, who acts as our lobbyist at the state legislature. I know of absolutely no lobbyist who would ever do the political infighting that has been necessary to carry the water for us who would do it as low as Suzanne and company have done. Thanks for the reply, John. I have a question regarding the wording in your statement though. You mention; "..... strickly volunteers initially". Is that referring to the fact that 'initially' the beginning few ponied-up money? Or is it indicating that it is 'initially' volunteers, but there could or might be paid positions in the future? Or will it always remain strickly volunteer? Again, I only ask because this seems to be a big bone of contention with SFW in other states, at least in Utah. Lark, your point regarding no outfitter response is very insighful. No doubt that local outfitters would LOVE to have more big money tag holders to guide.... S. Wow! So much traffic on this topic!!!! John; I might have missed it, but I don't think I saw a response to my question above. Will all SFW members/associates (Board members, or otherwise....) remain volunteers in the future? Or will there be administrative or executive positions created that are paid/salaried? Again, I only ask this because it seems that the Utah guys have a big problem with this in their state. Also, you mention a meeting being scheduled next week. Will that meeting be open to the public? Or members of ALL organizations that are apparently behind SFW? Or just board members of those organizations or SFW board members only? Thanks for your continued replies to this VERY hot topic! S.

+1 We are not too far removed to remember the Fiesta Bowl and their "administrative" costs. Different arena same corruption The AZSFW board is strictly volunteers initially, each of the beginning few who started the organization back several years ago were required to pony up some significant cash to be a board member. The only person who does get paid is Capitol Consulting, who acts as our lobbyist at the state legislature. I know of absolutely no lobbyist who would ever do the political infighting that has been necessary to carry the water for us who would do it as low as Suzanne and company have done. Thanks for the reply, John. I have a question regarding the wording in your statement though. You mention; "..... strickly volunteers initially". Is that referring to the fact that 'initially' the beginning few ponied-up money? Or is it indicating that it is 'initially' volunteers, but there could or might be paid positions in the future? Or will it always remain strickly volunteer? Again, I only ask because this seems to be a big bone of contention with SFW in other states, at least in Utah. Lark, your point regarding no outfitter response is very insighful. No doubt that local outfitters would LOVE to have more big money tag holders to guide.... S. Stanly and Lark, i am an outfitter and guide and i want nothing to do with this. Besides guys we get hunters every year no matter what so to say we have a lot to do with it is probably wrong--or at least with me and my crew it is. We literally turn people away each year. Just saw this reply..... Point taken, Terry! I guess that I just figured that if there are more 'big spenders' that get tags, that it would be good in general for the outfitting business. You know; supply/demand. Might mean more guys getting into the outfitting business, and the 'top notch' outfitters raising their prices. Just a thought. S. PS: I'm a complete Capitalist, and have NO problem with supply vs. demand! Just making a point.....

VERY cool!!!!!! Thanks for sharing with the site! S.

Awesome, Jim!!! I was stuck here in my office working, so it sounds like a great day of hunting to me either way..... Glad you get to get out there and chase some for yourself every now and then! S.

+1 We are not too far removed to remember the Fiesta Bowl and their "administrative" costs. Different arena same corruption The AZSFW board is strictly volunteers initially, each of the beginning few who started the organization back several years ago were required to pony up some significant cash to be a board member. The only person who does get paid is Capitol Consulting, who acts as our lobbyist at the state legislature. I know of absolutely no lobbyist who would ever do the political infighting that has been necessary to carry the water for us who would do it as low as Suzanne and company have done. Thanks for the reply, John. I have a question regarding the wording in your statement though. You mention; "..... strickly volunteers initially". Is that referring to the fact that 'initially' the beginning few ponied-up money? Or is it indicating that it is 'initially' volunteers, but there could or might be paid positions in the future? Or will it always remain strickly volunteer? Again, I only ask because this seems to be a big bone of contention with SFW in other states, at least in Utah. Lark, your point regarding no outfitter response is very insighful. No doubt that local outfitters would LOVE to have more big money tag holders to guide.... S.

Are the administrators and/or board members for AZSFW paid or volunteers? If so, would the salaries be paid out of the funds generated by these tag sales? Is that part of the 'administrative' costs? Seems like some of the riff in Utah is partly because of the whole 'auction tag' thing, but also due to the fact that some of the admins/board members were making large salaries. I know that the ADA board is not paid, and is volunteer only. How about AZSFW? Just curious..... S.

14 days!?!? Soooo jealous here!!! Glass hard and enjoy the food, Hector! S.

Definitely using it! WAY easier than the paper method..... S.

AWESOME!!! Congrats on a great buck! BTW, I love the 'pack-out' shot! Don't see that method too much.... S.

I suppose my income is (or has been) indirectly dependant on mining, because I'm the son of a copper miner. My father worked as an engineer/geologist at the Ray pit for over 30 years. Born and raised in Kearny..... Copper put me through college, and for that I'm greatful! S.

That's awesome!!!! Good for Mark, and as mentioned already, I know Chris must be VERY proud!!! My nephew finished OCS in Quantico a year or so ago, and now after training he is stationed at his first post as a rookie Marine officer! He's packing his grandpa's Beretta 9MM as his side arm! Hopefully it will bring him luck. Very proud of all Marines!! S.

Several ways to do it good! Looks like Casey and Vinnie have it figured-out. One variable with the 'turn off the oven' method is the oven you're using though. Some ovens cool quicker or slower than others.... My preferred is to blast it at 500 for 20 minutes or so, then back the heat off to 325 for about 10 minutes per pound. A good meat thermometer is key!!! Only go til the internal temp is 120 or so...... VERY easy to overcook if you don't watch the internal temp closely! Then remove from the oven and cover with foil for 20 minutes. Yum! Recipes are like opinions though, I suppose. And you know what they way about that! S. PS: Looks like TJ did it right!

Welcome to the site! Lots of good information and people here! S. PS: Watch-out for Lark!!!

Thanks bonecollector! TJ/Hector, I just cleaned-out my in-box here. Hopefully I can get PMs now! Let me know when you're going hunting down there, TJ. Number is 602-690-2423! Best, S.

Hello All: Those who know me, know that I always try to take lots of pics of the hunts with my children. In hindsight, I kind of dissapointed myself on this hunt, in that I didn't focus as much on pics as I usually do. Not sure why, just happened not to get the camera out as much as usual (Plus, when I got the camera out of my pack for the 'field pics', I found the batteries dead! ). Either way, we had a great trip with loads of fun and love! So anyway, Erik and I, plus my old childhood friend Ken and his son Ethan all drew early Mule deer tags in 36A. The area that we like to hunt isn't known for it's 'big' deer, but that didn't matter to us. (LOTS of tags given for this unit, and the deer get pounded pretty hard......) We were just looking for some fun glassing & chasing deer in the desert! Ken and Ethan set-up camp last Thursday evening, and Erik and I drove down early Friday morning to hunt. Friday was a good day with several bucks spotted, but all at a LONG distance with the Swaros. No shot opportunities, but it was a great day none the less. On Saturday morning, Erik and I chose a spot that I like to hunt that has lots of little gulleys & ridges covered in mesquite/ocatillo/palo verde/cholla/etc. We set-up just after light to glass and immediatly started seeing deer (does/fawns). After just 10-15 minutes of glassing, Erik jabbed my arm to get my attention and pointed at two deer that had come-out of the brush just about 125 yards below us. Quick check with the binos confirmed that they were both bucks! I quick released the binos from the tripod while he slowly/quietly cycled a round into the chamber of his grandpa's old .7MM Mag. I moved the tripod over in front of him and he slid the rifle up and settled it on the steady rest. I was shaking more than him as I whispered to hold steady and squeeze slow. A moment later the gun boomed, and the larger of the two bucks jumped/kicked and dissapeared behind the hill he had just come from. The smaller buck looked confused and just stood there...... I considered shooting it, but really was more interested in Erik's deer so I let it walk...... We gave it a few minutes and walked down and over the little ridge that the deer dissapeared behind. As expected, it was piled-up in the ravine just 25 yards away. He had made a perfect shot, right through the heart! He has killed a doe, a couple of javelina, and a nice bull elk, but this was his first 'buck'! He was VERY happy, and I was too!! Ken and Ethan never connected on a buck, but we all had a great time! Again, I didn't take very good pics but here are a few to share.... Here is the result of letting a couple of 16 year olds go off on a wood run by themselves! :D Luckily the cell phone service was decent, and he was able to call Ken and I for a rescue! Here is the only field pic. Taken with my Blackberry, with a dirty lense!! Oh well, the memory is the same...... Here is one TIRED boy after dragging/packing his deer out! He and Ethan packed it just about 1/2 mile to the road. Did it 'old school' and dragged it by the antlers! They were beat tired!! And finally, a pic of both boys after they got it strung-up in a tree for skinning! S. PS: Check-out the rack on this thing. The left side definitely looked like a Whitetail, with the three points coming up off of a single main beam. Looks like some cross breeding going on there. The ears and tail are ALL muley though!!

Looks like a great time, everyone! TJ/Peg, regrets that I could not be there. My son had a Christmas Choir concert on Friday evening that I wanted/needed to attend. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all! S.

I don't measure anything....... Maybe because I have never killed anything worth measuring , but mainly because it just doesn't matter to me. I love to get out and hunt in the hills with family and friends. Just makes me feel good to be out. Feels like home..... All animals killed are trophies to the shooter! My sweet little daughter killed her first deer on the Kiabab last year. Wanna know what it scored? It was a DOE, and it scored a perfect 10 in my book! That experience with her was priceless to me! I don't care if someone puts a + sign after a score, because I frankly don't care about anyone's score anyway..... I don't begrudge anyone who is interested in the score of a deer's rack, it's just that I'm personally not interested. To each their own. S.