Dick

The last day for on-line registration is July 21st. Check out the ABA website for details. For on-line registration click here! This is a simple form, pay by credit card, save yourself the hassle of standing in line to register at the shoot!

Doug listed the Bowhunter Happening as 24th-25th-26th, It is only a two day shoot this year so no one has to take off work to shoot competitive! Saturday the 25th and Sunday the 26th. Registration starts Friday at noon! If you choose to shoot the AM flight on Saturday (competitive) you have to be pre-registered by closing Friday evening or via on-line registration on-line registration All who register on Saturday will shoot the PM flight. Thanks for the post Doug! Dick

The Bowhunter Happening, the final leg of the Western States Triple Crown is July 25th and 26th at Sunrise Park Resort. There is a link to On-line registration on the ABA Website.

We pray for you and all the troops safety and for your family during your deployment Jeff. See you in a few months!

I am going to ask a favor of some of you guys. It is always a challenge to get the word out on events going on around the state. So, I have a way that you could help me and the ABA that will take very little effort! Go to this link poster , print out a few copies and drop them by your local shop or hangout! This would be very helpful especially in the out lying parts of the state. We have the valley covered pretty good! I really would appreciate your help! Dick

Hey Jeff, Good to see you still can check in! We are going to miss you up there this year. Exactly where are you, what is it like and when do you get to come home?

Glad to hear that you're ready Dallas, I promise that there will not be any snow this year! With the great participation we saw in the first three shoots, we are expecting a great turnout. The last weekend in July should be a great time to escape the valley heat!

I didn't realize that the totals were not showing until someone emailed me! Late nights I guess! I updated the file! Now you can see the leaders without doing any math! Sorry.

Combined scores from 1st, 2nd and 3rd legs are posted on the ABA Website Thanks for all the support and hope to see you all at the BHH, July 25-26 at Sunrise Park Resort. Dick

That is a great motivational piece! I have a bull tag this year and I love to hunt tree stands! I only hope!

Hey, I know how your dad feels about missing with a shot gun! That's what stories are made of. Good job on the bird, 1 1/8 spurs are huge!

Hey June? There were 191 comp shooters and the reports that I have heard have all been favorable. Good weather, good shoot, good lookers in the jeep? The scores are posted on the ABA Wesite

To fill you all in a bit, the numbers are correct. I think reported harvest in 12A was 17%, and 0 in 12B and 12BW. They were very tough hunts for sure and the department actually received some complaints about the facts that they even had those hunts. The recommendation for this year was to combine the units and offer 1,000 tags. Myself representing the ABA and David Myrick representing Desert Christian Archers opposed the recommendation at the Commission meetings, our argument being that the Department has set a guideline of 20% for archery success and combining 12A-12B and 12BW, harvest was only 16%. Therefore there was no justification in taking away the 90 tags that had been in 12B and 12BW and they should be rolled into the combined units. The Commission agreed with us an voted 5-0 to I believe to restore those 90 tags. Sometimes it pays to be present guys, we have never quit fighting for every tag possible but we don't always win! But, we do always show up!

Mike, I think there is a video of the PSE Crossbow in action at the ATA Show. Go to their website and see it if it is there. It is scary impressive!

Dallas, Thanks for posting this info, I have been out of town for a week and just got in this evening. I had linked the registration form on the ABA site and didn't look it over close enough. Now I realize that there was no contact information for the Apache Bowhunters! Thanks for being on top of this. Dick

I wanted to let everyone know that the ABA Banquet is scheduled for April 18, 2009 at the Phoenix Mountain Preserve Reception Center. There are tickets still available. If you have received your ticket application in the mail, or go to our website and print one I will honor all the early bird specials all the way up to the banquet. We have some great raffle items, silent auction and live auction items. Inclusive of Bows, Guns, Hunts, 3D targets, Prints, Calls, DVD's and numerous other items. The ABA is a total family banquet, every child that comes will win a raffle prize. We have a ladies table with some great items on it. Cost to the banquet is $50 dollars per adult and $20 per child. Get a group of your friends together and get a corporate table for $600 dollars with $300 dollars in free bucket raffle tickets. I hope to see some of you guys at the banquet. Carl Brashears Chairman Arizona Bowhunters Association PS: There were 262 shooters at the 1st leg, 211 at the second leg. Everyone had a great time, this is a chance to give something back to the organization that represents you as a bowhunter at every single Arizona Game and Fish Commission meeting. The ABA is responsible for nearly every archery elk,deer, and antelope tag that is sold because someone from this organization represented you during the last 30 years! Dick King Arizona Bowhunters Association Game and Fish Liaison

Thanks to all who showed up last night to support bow hunting in Arizona! We had a great evening of fun and I always get a chance to visit with a few people that I recognize from shoots etc: but never get to know! There was a lot going on this weekend, the juniors turkey hunt took a lot of would be attendees out of town to spend some time in the woods with the kids! I had two close friends that that were not at the banquet because of that, one of them was apologizing to me via cell phone for not being there! Believe me, those who chose to take a youth on a turkey hunt this past weekend made a very smart decision. There will always be banquets and fund raisers but this was the first ever youth turkey hunt in Arizona, I for one am proud of the people that elected to skip the banquet to introduce a newbie to turkey hunting. But, I hope next year they aren't on the same weekend! Another big event in town was PIR races! That thing draws a crowd man! On another note, yesterday was the hunt set meeting for the fall package including archery deer. There were not a lot of changes proposed from last year. There were a couple issues we had though, one was the Kaibab where the Department had proposed to eliminate the boundaries (for archery deer) between 12A, 12B and 12BW and decrease the total tags from 1090 to 1000 which is the number that was in 12A last year. Because the harvest reported for last year was below the 20% objective (17% for the 2008 season) we were able to convince the Commission to add those 90 permits back into the archery allocation. So yesterday was a good day for bowhunting, a great banquet and evening of fun and we were able to salvage a few of our permits.

ABA Newsletter and Banquet Items Come join in on the fun! Call Carl @ 602-361-0213 before Friday evening and get 25 free raffle tickets with your $50 dinner ticket!

Just a couple days left to get your tickets. Check the abawebsite for a list of all the items for the banquet. Hope to see some of you guys there!

I never claimed to be a pro with a camera but these are some pictures from the shoot and of the awards winners. It will give you a feel for what it was like if you weren't able to make! Slide Show from Rumble in the Rocks

I have had a couple emails requesting individual photos from the shoot. If there is one in the slide show that you want emailed to you, let me know.abanews@q.com

David, If you open up the link below, all the information is there for raffle tickets, call or email our banquet Chairman, Carl Brashears 602-361-0213 or cbrashears@shellvacationsllc.com . If you contact him before April 17th (Friday before the banquet) he will give you the early purchase incentive pricing! Raffle ticket or banquet ticket form

The scores from the 2nd leg "Rumble in the Rocks" have been posted on the aba website.

I should have the scores posted today, but it will probably be late. Work still gets in the way.

Thought I would post a couple photos so that you guys that weren't there can see what it was like. The first is in front of the Saloon where everyone was waiting for assignments on Sunday morning. The second is from one of the shooting stakes on course #1. This was typical of most of the shots on this course! Dick