TAM

I live in Prescott and had the 19A muzzy tag last year. Should we assume that since you posted this in the rifle section that you have a rifle tag? There are still quite a few antelope in the unit, but as was already mentioned, the numbers are down. There are four main private ranches in the unit. The Fain Ranch, The Perkins Ranch, The Deep Well Ranch, and The Granite Dells Ranch. Almost all of the unit is private with a few public areas that hold some antelope. However, the Deep Well Ranch and the Fain Ranch allow public access as well. The Fain Ranch is walk in only and you do not need to make contact with the ranch for permission. The Deep Well Ranch is run by a guy named Bob Burris who will usually allow access if you call him and ask for it. The Perkins and Granite Dells both charge for access and they do limit the numbers of hunters they allow each year so if you want to pay you better call them now. I have contact numbers for all of them if you want them, just ask and I'll PM them to you. The total number of tags offered for the archery, muzzleloader, and rifle hunts in this unit are way up which means the trophy quality is way down. I wouldn't expect to find an 80 inch buck in there this year and if you do the chances of an archery or muzzy hunter killing it first are pretty high. You shouldn't have any trouble killing a buck but I would think that mid to upper 70's will be pretty realistic this year. Good luck!

Arrest them all for truancy!

Nappy is like a bad rash that won't go away!

No problem Mark! Nice to finally meet you as well. Sorry it didn't work out better, I'll keep my eyes open and let you know if I see anything else. - Tim

Mark I just sent you a PM.

Comparing a drivers license and a CCW license are apples and oranges. Driving a car is not a "Right" that is protected in our Consitution. The two are not even close to the same.

FWIW there was a new law passed and we are now allowed to carry concealed in National Parks.

That is one of the reasons I put in for unit 10 and lucky for me I pulled the archery bull hunt. Although I don't have much experience with the unit I knew back when it was application time that we were having good winter moisture which should mean big bulls. Lucky for me I live in Prescott and will be able to get plenty of scouting in. Hopefully we'll get a little spring rain to help finish off the bulls top ends and then a good strong rut with lots of bugeling! You are right... so far all the makings for a perfect storm!

I am also a CCW holder and I support this law. On the one side I do agree that the class is very informative and does give a person a better understanding of the law, but way more important to me is the fact that we are actually getting some of our 2A RIGHTS back! It's not very often these days when a persons rights are restored... especially concerning guns. Our country has been going backwards for a long time and in my mind this is finally a huge step in the right direction!!!

Back in October I was fortunate to go on my second mountain lion hunt with Randy Epperson. As some of you may recall we were able to harvest a real nice size tom with some rather unusual skull deformations. I'm still not quite sure what caused this, but in my unprofessional opinion it's more of a birth defect versus some kind of healed up injury. Perhaps someone on the site has seen this sort of thing before and can explain it? Thanks again to Randy and his dogs for another great time! In these next few pic's I've photographed the deformed skull next to a normal mountain lion skull that I killed with Randy Epperson a few years ago for comparison. Notice the bananna shape of the head, the pointy bone growths on the back of the skull, the curved jaw bone, and that only one tooth ever grew in the lower left jaw. I think Mother Nature goofed up on this one! For what it's worth I used a place called Western Skulls out of Peoria to have beetles clean and whiten my skull. This is the first time that I've used this company or this type of service. To say the least I'm very happy with the quick turn around on the finished product and the quality of the results! In the pictures you can even see that the normal skull is a little yellow and dingy compared to the perfectly white deformed skull cleaned by beetles. I'm sure I'll be using them again in the future.

i like AZ draw but its not going to stop me from Complaining I guess you can't argue with that!

Not to start an arguement, but generally speaking I don't think waiting periods usually have much of an effect on increasing draw odds. Look at states like Nevada and Utah which both have waiting periods and their odds are no better than Arizona. In fact in many cases they seem worse! I think New Mexico was going to try and start something like that this year and after looking at the data they decided that it wasn't going to create much of an advantage. I would also bet that many of the hunters that are drawing elk tags in consecutive years are not applying for high demand hunts. And on the flip side of that the guys that are waiting the longest are usually applying for the most difficult draw areas. I apply in 6 states every year and in my opinion Arizona has one of the best drawing systems. Perhaps the only way I see making it any better would be to do like Nevada and square your points so that 5 points means your name is in the hat 25 times and 10 points means your name is in the hat 100 times. But even without that Arizona has a very solid drawing system. Best of luck to everyone on the deer and sheep draws!

The last time I drew a bull tag was about 9 hours ago... I drew my first archery bull tag in unit 1 with 8 points. My second archery bull tag was in unit 8 with 6 points, and now I've drawn my third archery bull tag for unit 10 with 8 points.

My company just ordered me a new hat... That was sure nice of them!!!

Unit 10 archery bull tag for me

Bill, your point is well taken and I appreciate your point of view. You have much more world wide travel experience than I ever will and I do respect your opinions. I think we also agree that there are a lot of dangers in Mexico. Even though you may disagree, my only point is that while there is a lot of bad stuff going on in Mexico it is no different that here in the US or other parts of the world. I have lived in parts of Washington DC and Baltimore where I felt my life was in much greater danger than I have ever felt at any time while traveling in Mexico. In fact I have never felt any less than a welcome visitor while in Mexico. The people, the police, and the military have been nothing but good hosts! I haven't had any encounters with any of the drug cartels while in Mexico so I can't say what that would be like. At the same time I've been to LA numerous times as well and I haven't had any run in's with the Bloods or Crips either. Any way you look at it there are always risks to traveling. Thats all I was getting at.

YIKES! I guess there wasn't enough money in the budget to get a little better looking model for the new hats? I was just thinking to myself today that I needed a CouesWhitetail hat and despite the close up of Gino's mug I think I'm gonna have to get one. Thanks to everyone for working on them they look great!

No name calling here. I likend Bills actions to the actions of Chicken Little. I did not call him a chicken... there is a big difference! If you are not familiar with the story of Chicken Little you can learn more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sky_Is_Falling_(fable) There is no doubt Mexico can be a dangerous place... but so is the good ole USA and just about every other country throughout the world.

Ernesto: I grew up in Yuma and have spent much of my life all over Sonora, Sinaloa, Chihuahua, and Baja California Norte y Sur. I've also visited D.F., and four nearby states down there. I still love the country and most of its people. I cherish the memories and friends I made down there. In all my time in Mexico I only felt personally threatened once, and that was when my friend Alex Jacome and I were returning from Bahia Kino in the mid-1980s. We were forced off the road near Benjamin Hill by a pickup truck loaded with federal agents, one of whom kept jabbing me in my stomach with an automatic rifle. Alex tried to explain that we were good guys with important friends, and had in fact had breakfast with the governors of Sonora and Sinaloa before leaving Kino Bay that very morning. They paid him no attention and went from one end of Alex's truck to the other, searching for guns and drugs. One guy took an immediate dislike to Alex and kept waving a .45 semiauto in his face. I had a big box of salt water fishing lures, which they dumped on the clothes they had taken from our suitcases and thrown onto the side of the road. Finding nothing, they let us continue on. When we reached Santa Anna, the same guys had a Mexican man on his stomach on the ground. One of the agents had his foot on the man's back. The barrel of his rifle was jammed against the poor man's head. Meanwhile, the victim's wife and kids were being frisked at gunpoint as we drove past. For the first time in my life, it was really hammered home to me that the rights we American citizens enjoy up here mean zip down there. I've returned to Mexico many times since that incident, but have never felt comfortable until I had crossed back into the USA. The present war between the cartels and the government is a real war, and in real wars there is "collateral damage" -- innocent bystanders get maimed and killed. I don't want to be one of them when this war escalates, which it will. I'm convinced we haven't seen anything yet. To compare what is happening in Mexico to drug-related murders in the U.S. is not worth commenting on. I've been in other places that the U.S. State department considered "hot" and was advising Americans to avoid. I spent three weeks in Zimbabwe's Matabeland when Shona bandits with AK-47s, flame throwers and hand grenades were running around conducting atrocities against the Matabele people and anyone who drove "their" roads at night. I visited South Africa many times when the Zulus and Xhosas were running amok, jamming people onto sharpened stakes, burning them inside gasoline-filled tires or hacking them to pieces with machetes. I walked across Tiananmen Square just weeks after Chinese troops opened fire and massacred more than 2,000 protestors at that very spot. I am not a Chicken Little, as someone here has accused me of being. Nonetheless, I intend to stay out of Mexico until the war down there is over. Bill Quimby If your are not a Chicken Little then why do you stir up fear in peoples minds? Isn't that what Chicken Little did by saying "the sky is falling"? Even you admit in your own post that "So far, no tourists (that I've heard about) have been caught in the cross-fire" Every year there are thousands of "tourists" including myself that travel to Mexico without incident. Why stir the pot when there is no meat and potatos to boil?

I'll bet I've sent Ann Kirkpatrick a dozen emails over the last few weeks... She didn't listen to me either! I sure hope hers is one of the seats that the Dem's loose in the house this fall. I think it's time for our represenitives to learn about something called accountability!

Bill you can put down your Chicken Little book. I just got word from reliable sources that the sky is not falling! The only part about going to Mexico that scares me is coming back and having to deal with our own US Customs Agents.

I am the original owner of this quad and have taken good care of it for the past 8 years. Always garage kept with regular oil changes and replaced air filters. Everything works great and the motor runs strong. All plastic, bumpers, racks, and seat are in good shape with no cracks or tears. Rear tires were recently replaced with Maxis Big Horns. Never wrecked or rolled. Very dependable! Only 355 hours and 3,933 miles. Located in Prescott and asking $3,250 Tim 928-533-8807

ttt

NEVER LET IT RUN ALL NIGHT!!! Every year there is always a case or two where people die in their sleep from trusting a heater like these to run all night. It's not worth risking your life... pay a little more and get a heavier sleeping bag if you get cold at night, but leaving your heater on is a very bad idea!!! With that said I love my Mr. Buddy heater! I've taken it on numerous hunts and it has performed very well. I have the smaller version and can usually get 4-5 hours on a can of propane running it at full blast.

Of course you didn't find the matches... Bust out the Grong Orange and I'll bet you pick 'em up in no time! Congrats on the bone.