stanley

I've met a few good folks from this site. Always fun/interesting to put a face to the screen handle. A central meeting place would be nice. Another idea would be to connect it to a volunteer event? Arizona Hunters Who Care sponsors a ranch clean-up in the 36's in the spring that is a blast. LOTS of folks turn-out, and it is a great cause if folks don't mind taking the drive south. It's really not that far; only a couple of hours south of Phx. This is where I've met a couple of CW folks already.... S.

Outstanding story and pics! Memories of a lifetime for sure..... Thanks much for sharing. S.

Great topic Doug! Good story Dotshot! Very cool that your boy now is using the rifle.... My first was an Winchester 1894 30/30 that my dad handed to me (it was his...). I killed a couple of deer with it prior to 'moving-up' to a .308 I bought myself in college. The 30/30 actually has an interesting history; My father was a geologist/engineer for the Kennecott copper mine in Ray (Kearny). Back in the early 60s before I was born, he and some other guys were cleaning-out an old storage shed and came across a crate of un-touched Winchesters. They were apparently purchased by the mine in the early 1900s to defend against a possible attack by Pancho Villa. Well the attack never came, and the rifles sat in storage for decades. When my dad and the other guys found them, they turned them into the Controler and he didn't really know how to account for them, as well as the fact that the corporation had absolutely NO use for them at that point. Well, they let my dad and some others purchase the guns for $20.00. This was in 1962, I think. It's an awesome model with the full buck-horn sights, etc. Outstanding condition since it sat in the crate for 50+ years.... I still have the gun today, and will never let go of it. S. PS: My oldest now hunts with the .308 that I purchased in college. I've moved on to a .7MM.

Rifle for me. Not proficient enough in my stalking skills, and don't have the time to put into the scouting necessary for a tree stand set-up. I envey guys like you though Mark! S.

Awesome Mark! Wish I would have seen this yesterday and I would have congratulated you last night. I echo what Kevin said; It was nice meeting you & your son at the clinic. Good luck to your boy on his Junior hunt this year! As mentioned last night, be sure to get in touch shortly before the hunt and I'll pass along any late info I have. I suspect if you check-out the areas I showed you though, that he'll have a good hunt. S.

Easy Marshal; When there is a gate, there is no cattle guard (otherwise there wouldn't be a need for a gate...). Usually you'll notice a gate beside a cattle guard so the rancher can take the cows or horses through that way. S.

Good deal Doug! Thanks for jumping-in and joining. With the majority of the junior hunts being scheduled during the same time-period this fall, we'll need all the help we can get to try to cover the camps. The help is sincerely appreciated. If any of you '36' fans are looking for a good time in late November, please consider joining us down in 36A. We'll have a great time camping and helping-out with the youngsters on their hunts. The hunt overlaps with the second weekend of the general hunt, so I know some of you will be in the area anyway. I'll be there, as my boy has one of the junior tags. Hope to see some folks come out. S.

Nice pics Christian! Thanks for sharing... With all the prep-work you're doing for your hunt, you're sure to get some action. I was down in 'C' this weekend. A buddy of mine and I hiked into a drainage we are going to be hunting towards the north end of the unit. Found some awsome tanks, WAY back in there. Saw several deer, and three decent bucks. I don't have the set-up to take good long range pics though. Scott, you're right about the bugs. They were driving me absolutely nuts! I think we might have spotted more deer, but it was miserable sitting behind the binos. Just couldn't get relaxed.... Again, thanks for the pics. S.

I'll be in 36C with a buddy on Saturday/Sunday. Leaving Saturday afternoon after my boy's football game, and hiking in for an over-niter up a drainage we're going to be hunting. Hopefully we'll glass-up some deer in there bright & early Sunday morning. Maybe we'll see you along the highway somewhere on Sunday on the way home Christian. Good luck! I hope you fine some more bucks! S.

I went out this morning. Didn't get into huge numbers where I was hunting, but was able to eek out a limit of birds before getting to work for a 10:00AM meeting I had to attend (hunted until 8:30ish....). I'd rather be hunting quail or deer, but it's always a good feeling when the dove opener comes. Kind of kicks-off the hunting season.... Taking the kids out tomorrow morning for some more fun! Good luck all. S.

Hey Amanda, I've never tried the pear fruits. I'm taking the kids out for doves in the morning, so maybe we'll take a detour and try to find some pears on the way home. Is the juice sweet, or do you sweeten it with sugar prior to drinking? S.

I attended the Wildlife for Tomorrow banquet on Friday night, and was fortunate to get to shake Bill Quimby's hand and congratulate him after he received the honor of being inducted into the AZ G&F Hall of Fame. His acceptance speech was as anyone would expect; eloquent with props given to his time in AZ and kudos to his family. I'm glad I got a chance to congratulate you in person Bill. A true honor..... S.

No sir Bill, the honor was mine. You're too humble. The years of experience we younger ones (I'm not THAT young...) have ahead of us are worth nothing if we can't hear and understand & learn from the experiences of those who have gone before. Though you may envy the younger crowd, I know the majority of us envy you. Sincerely, S.

What will I do? Depends on whether they kill a pig or not. If they end-up killing one, then I'll likely congratulate them and be back after the deer the next day. Do I think it will happen? Rarely.... my $.02.... Will the hunt be a failure? The only hunt that is a failure is one that is not enjoyed. I hope I won't let that 5 minutes of the hunt dictate if I enjoyed my precious time in the field or not. My friends and family will make the hunt, not the one guy who is out there after a pig. As you say though, maybe only time will tell.... S.

It may seem like a lot, but 24A is a fairly big unit. 36B has 1000 coues permits + muleys for the early hunt! 36A has close to a 1000 total as well. With only 175 muley hunters in your unit, you'll likely not encounter any problems with them crowding you. Like Amanda said, the muleys & coues generally hang-out in different areas. I suspect the muley hunters will stick to the muley areas, and vice-versa..... Get away from the roads, and you'll likely have a good quiet hunt either way. S.

Great pics Christian! Thanks for sharing. I was down in 36A yesterday scouting with my son for his November junior hunt. We didn't see as many deer as you, but we got a good look at some nice country. We've not spent much time in 'A', so it was more of a 'get the lay of the land' trip. Nice & green down there! S.

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I don't know DesertBull. I see where you're going, but I don't think he's the same guy. Although both have stellar senses of humor, it seems to me that they are coming from different angles.... I'm thinking BHD is a little more light-hearted than who you have in mind. Although the 'three initial' handle (BHD vs. XXX) is quite coincedental... S.

Yep, a good time was had by all. In addition to the class & swimming, there were bluegill & bass to be caught in the pond and stream, as well as lots of running around 'kick the can' style after dark. The kids had as much fun after the sun went down as they did shooting, swimming, and fishing! I'm sure you would have been a strong contender in the flop contest Lark, though you would have had some steep competition based on some of the antics I witnessed while there. Notice my boy about to bite his tong upon landing in the 3rd picture from the bottom.... Nothing like doing a face plant on a pontoon.... S.

Some of you might have seen this on AZOD, but I thought I'd post it here as well. This past weekend, the Arizona Deer Association sponsored a 'Hunter Education' weekend. This was basically a 2 1/2 day event where the participants got the entire Hunter Education class curriculum, instead of stringing it out over several weeks. There were about 18 participants in the class. It was held at a private ranch north of Verde Valley that was GENEROUSLY donated for the event. Thanks much to Larry Kindred, Bill Hill, De Wane Tabbot, Matt Pierce, and the other volunteers for doing this. These guys & their efforts are the ones really making a difference for our youth! It was also nice to meet the new ADA Youth Chairman, Terry Herndon! Thanks again for driving-up for the evening Terry! Here are a couple of pictures from the weekend: Getting some good instruction on the shooting bench! Taking a few shots. Instruction during the 'range day' to finish-out the course. Keeping a watchful eye on the shooters! In addition to the official class instruction, there was also some time for other forms of fun & recreation. There was a great swimming/fishing pond that the kids (and some of the adults) thoroughly enjoyed! I always like to see the older kids act as mentors/leaders to the younger ones. Here is my son Nick (on the right) getting some pointers on the proper way to do a cannon-ball off the end of a dock! And here is his attempt.... Hope you all enjoy the pics. S.

My gawd Lark, you always make me smile!!! S.

We understand that the site has been unstable on & off for a while now. Please PM me if/when you experience issues and I will repair things as quickly as possible. Unfortunately for me, I have a day job that keeps me from getting on things as quickly as I would like sometimes. Thanks for the patience all. S.

Outstanding Jeff! Glad to see that he got that big boy mounted! My son was looking through some old copies of the ADA Deer Times last week, and we were both admiring Riley's buck! Nice mount. Hopefully we'll run into you guys down in 36A this November (you to Allen...). I talked to Gabe, the WM for the unit, this week and it looks like we'll be planning a Junior Hunters Camp during that hunt. I was down that way last weekend, and it is green, green, green! S. :-)

Welcome back Chistian! Can't wait for the pics & stories!!! S.

Desertbull: The groups do not keep the money. The money goes back to G&F in a special fund that is to be used for projects specific to the species that the money was raised for. No direct benefit to the ADA (or the other groups). I think in some states, the organization that controls the auction/raffle gets to keep a certain % of the loot, but not here in AZ. S.