Jimmer Negamanee

I suffer from paralysis by analysis quite often. In non-hunting contexts, when confronted with a choice between A or B or C, I analyze the problem and if the "correct" answer does not emerge I just pick one and wait for cognitive dissonance to kick in to convince me I made the right choice. "Things happen for a reason" and "If I hadn't made that choice I wouldn't be or have [insert place or thing here]" are two of my favorites. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance But huntin' is different. As soon as I sit down and start glassing and don't see anything I can imagine with incredible detail the giant buck in the other place I was thinking of glassing. But running back and forth between the two doesn't make any sense. I agree this Snapshot's analysis: "Pick a spot. Go hunting." There are deer all over the the place you are thinking of hunting. And you only need one to step out at the right time. Bottom line: You are not alone. Thanks for posting this.

It is my understanding that the Defensive Driving Program (DDP) is a diversion program where 1 civil charge (usually a moving violation which carries points) can get dismissed if you successfully complete the class. (Just remember that sometimes there are multiple civil traffic charges on a single ticket but only 1 charge can be dismissed for DDP.) You can attend DDP no more than once every 12 months (date of violation to date of violation). CDL holders are not eligible for DDP even if in their personal, non-commercial vehicle when the violation occurred. If the ticket is for running a red light (28-645A3A) a finding of responsible carries 2 points and a fine PLUS mandatory Traffic Survival School (TSS). If TSS is not completed, MVD can suspend your license. So, despite the DDP cost being about the same as the ticket, to get that a red light violation charge dismissed by DDP is a big deal because you avoid the TSS assignment. Finally, I don't know how an insurance company would know that you had a ticket dismissed for DDP because it wouldn't show up on your MVD record. I'm not saying they won't know. I'm just saying I don't know how they would know. (But there's lots of stuff I don't know. : ) Good luck!

Wow! Amazing. Thanks for posting.

Looks like a Canyon Treefrog. Below is a link to my go-to resource for reptile and amphibian ID in AZ. I have it saved as a favorite. Go to Amphibian section and then the Treefrog (Hylidae) section and check out the pictures. Let us know what you think. http://www.reptilesofaz.org/

I guess it depends. Will you be glassing open country until you glass up a bear then bail off the hill to put a stalk on it? If that’s the case, I don’t think there’s an issue if your buddy has dog at your glassing spot. He and his dog can just stay behind while you stalk. Will you be still-hunting through the timber or doing some varmint calling? If that’s the case, I could see a dog being a hindrance because they are an extra source of noise and scent. I’ve never taken a dog on a hunt but I love having my dog with me when I’m on hikes. I love watching her because she is so exuberant when in the outdoors. It’s like having a front-row seat to happiness.(She’s the dog in my avatar and that pic was from our first outing.) I believe one of our members (who goes by the handle Coues’n’Sheep) hunts or at least scouts with his dog but it’s HIS dog so he knows it’s disposition, training and how it will react in certain situations. If he sees this, maybe he can chime in with advice. Let us know what you decide and how it worked out.

Plus Healy Arms has great customer service. I had to order some ammo for a range session on short notice that no one else had. Mark got it ordered, drop shipped to my house, and called me personally to give me the tracking number and delivery details. Thanks Mark!

Marry her forthwith. If she likes hunting with you and doesn't complain or slow you down, who cares about anything else? Buy her the best hunting stuff. But to prove you're not a misogynists who thinks she needs the handicap high end gear to hunt at your level, buy yourself high end gear too. It's a win-win.

Wow. Amazing man. It very cool that you fulfilled his wish for a custom casket. Great work too. I'm sorry for the loss to you and your family.

Welcome to the best site on the Web Jeff! Mature bucks are great but any coues buck is a trophy (and delicious). Maybe it's not an "either/or" proposition. Maybe you keep building your points but look into a tag on a reservation or in Old Mexico. Regardless, I'm looking forward to the pictures of your first hunt!

To argue against wolf reintroduction by arguing against woolly mammoth reintroduction is to make a straw man argument. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_man To argue against wolf reintroduction because our wolf of the Southwest is not genetically pure (the cur dog argument, for lack of a better name) means that if it were proven that the subspecies being reintroduced was just as genetically pure as the main species of the gray wolf or, perhaps more likely, there's no such thing as a "pure bred" wolf in North America then you'd have to withdraw your objection (because I don't know that you could find a gray wolf in North America without a coyote gene in somewhere in the wood pile). https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/28/science/red-eastern-gray-wolves.html So I suggest we ask ourselves if we are "anti" reintroduction, what are we really against? If we are "pro" reintroduction, what are we really for? Then, let's argue that.

Good for you for asking for information to be used in a civil and rational conversation. We could use more of those nowadays. We are each entitled to our own opinions but we are not entitled to our own facts. Some ranchers don’t like wolves because wolves occasionally eat a cow or a calf that the rancher is running on our public land. Some ranchers don’t like elk either because elk are grazers (like cows) and are therefore compete for forage with their cattle that they are running on our public land. So the cattle growers associations lobby, quite successfully, against wolf reintroduction and for issuing more elk tags (especially cow elk tags) to reduce pressure on the range. Some hunters don’t like wolves because they think wolves reduce elk populations and thereby reduce hunting opportunities. But they don’t see the role cattle grazing plays in that equation. You can see how this issue gets triangulated pretty quickly. I’m not a dirty hippie, but I will say that one of my coolest outdoor experiences was canoeing on a little lake outside of Lutsen, Minnesota as the sun was setting. My buddy and I had a stringer full of walleye and had just started to row back to the cabin when we heard the first howl. Soon it was a chorus. Every hair on my body was on end. I thought about the dawn of our species when wolves and people were more evenly matched. (Okay, that last sentenced seemed pretty hippie-ish.) I like the idea of managing wolves like other wildlife. Maybe issue one tag a year (at first) to make them a monetarily valuable resource (for tag or guiding fees). Then we may realize that the SSS crowd is stealing something monetary from all of us. Sometimes the answers to life’s problems are binary, a 1 or a 0, black or white. But mostly I’ve found the answers to life’s problems to be on the gray scale. That’s why life is so interesting. Thanks for bringing this up.

Beast! Thanks for posting.

Love the deep forks! Thanks for posting and welcome to the site!

So sad. "Fences are an abomination unto the Lord." Book of Jimmer, Chapter 12, Verse 13

Wow! Looks prehistoric.

I second DesertBull's suggestion of Von Hanson's. I love their summer sausage. http://vonhansonsmeats.net/ I called The Meat Shop off Lower Buckeye Rd., just south of downtown Phx and although they don't do any game processing at that facility, their west side facility does. (I called them and they said they did but if you go this route be sure to call and confirm for yourself before you make the drive.) Here's their info: West Valley Processing 1015 E. Monroe Ave. Buckeye, AZ 85326 Telephone:(623) 393-8488 Good luck and let us know who you pick and if you like the sausage.

I have one of these and like it a lot. You can get new replacement flaps for them and then they look like new.

I have a Costco ASU hoodie that's been hardly worn and is in excellent shape. I'll give it to your son if he wants it. I think it's an XL but it might be L. If you PM me your mobile # I can text you a picture of it to see if it's the same one your boy lost. If it is and he wants it, it's his. (I'll try to PM you too.)

I own two Canyon Coolers and a Cabela's Polar Cap. I've been happy with both. All the rotomolded coolers with a decent seal are good. I bought the Canyon's because they are an AZ company (although I think they are made in Vietnam but not sure) and CWT.com sponsor. I bought the Polar Cap because it's made in USA, which is a big deal for me and they were ranked #1 by Field & Stream in their cooler review. Here's the link: http://www.fieldandstream.com/articles/fishing/2016/03/ice-chest-throwdown-12-top-end-coolers-ranked-and-reviewed I also like the handles on the Polar Cap which may take up a little more room but help in heaving a full cooler up into a vehicle. I'd look at Orca Coolers too. Bottom Line: All rotomolded coolers with decent seals will keep stuff cold for a long time. And it is a distinct selling point for me to find one made in the U.S. I'll happily pay a premium for that. Bonecollector's tip about frozen water bottles (or platypus containers) is an excellent one. They freeze solid, won't soak your food/meat when they thaw (they may get a little sweaty but a towel takes care of that) and you drink the water as it thaws!

Great find. Great pictures. Thanks for posting.

These guys are just south of Payson. I don't have any experience with them personally: http://www.fourseasonmotorsports.com/

We stayed at Happy Jack Lodge for the Jr elk hunt. I thought they'd be booked but we got a reservation pretty late. They also have camping/RV spots. It's just a little bit west of SR87 on the South side of FH3 (Lake Mary Rd.). If you haven't tried them, it might be worth checking out. Heber's a long way from there. Here's the website: http://www.happyjacklodge.com/

Great pictures! Thank you for posting.

I'd check with AZGFD on this but I think the answer might depend on where you live. If you mail it today (from the Phx. metro area at least) it will be delivered on Saturday (probably through a mail drop). I've done that before thinking if it got there on Saturday they'll just start opening mail and issuing tags first thing on Monday but I was rejected. From memory, they informed me that the apps needed to be received in Monday's mail to be included in the draw. That would mean (again, if you live in the Phx. metro area) you should make sure USPS picks up the app on Saturday. This didn't make sense to me because the AZGFD would basically be saying "no" to money but maybe they were trying to be fair and avoid being inundated with mail before they start issuing left-over tags. Check it out. Let us know what you find out.