TAM

Welcome to the club I think I'm up to 4 stolen and 2 destroyed. Nothing is worse than a dirty theif! Setting and checking trail cams used to be a hobby that my three boys and I enjoyed. Since the out break of thefts over the last year or so I've pretty much had to stop all together. Seems like even when I hike in off roads or trails some rat bastard still finds them and takes them.

Way to pile up the bone!!!

The secrets out.... he lures 'em in with the sweet smell of freshly pumped pooh and a Grong Orange shirt! Now we're going to see huntin rigs driving the forest roads with porta-jons strapped to the back leaking pooh juice riggin for coues!

Here is another reason we don't need more gun laws. I especially like the last paragraph. FBI's Crime Report Bad News for Anti-Gunners Friday, September 19, 2008 This week, the FBI released its crime report for 2007 and, once again, gun control supporters are taking it on the chin. It's not just that the nation's violent crime rate decreased slightly between 2006 and 2007. It's that every year since 2002 it has been lower than anytime since 1974, leading the Justice Department to say that violent crime is "near a 30-year low." Since 1991, violent crime has dropped 38 percent. Murder is now at a 40-year low, lower than anytime since 1966 every year from 1999 to the present, and down 43 percent since 1991. "More guns means more crime?" Only in anti-gunner "La-La Land." Violent crime has fallen as the number of guns has increased 4.5 million a year. There are more gun owners, owning more guns than ever before, and violent crime is lower than anytime since Gerald Ford became president! We can hardly wait to see the Brady Campaign try to spin this one with its asinine "state grades" stunt. In 2007, the major U.S. cities with the highest murder rates were cities with severe gun control. The top three? Detroit (where Michigan law requires a permit to purchase a handgun), Baltimore (where Maryland law restricts private handgun sales and requires a seven-day waiting period on handgun sales by dealers), and the District of Columbia (with its handgun ban and its firearm registration law). Detroit, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and D.C. had the highest robbery rates. In 2007, as in years past, Right-to-Carry states had lower violent crime rates, on average, compared to the rest of the country with total violent crime lower by 24 percent, murder by 28 percent, robbery by 50 percent, and aggravated assault by 11 percent. Further, in 2007, 32 percent of murders were committed without firearms of any sort--knives accounted for 12 percent, hands and feet six percent, and blunt objects four percent. Rifles and shotguns (semi-automatic and otherwise) accounted for three percent each, and typically "assault weapons" have accounted for about one percent. Copyright 2008, National Rifle Association of America, Institute for Legislative Action. This may be reproduced. It may not be reproduced for commercial purposes. Contact Us | Privacy & Security Policy

Thanks J, and glad to see you're back. I know you've been involved/following the rule changes and I'm just curious if you've got an opinion about sitting out a year after drawing a Q or HD tag? It's obvious that G&F is trying to level the playing field, but won't this change push some of the hunts that used to be "almost" Q or HD over the edge? As you kow I'm a NR so my vote doesn't count.... I'm ok with that, but I'm not sure this will have the results that G&F is hoping for either. Won't this create even more demand with the land owner tags? Higher demand means more $$$, more $$$ means more fighting??? If there are normally 5,000 applicants for a Q hunt on the Gila with 500 tags, next year there will only be roughly 4,500 applicants for 500 tags. Will 500 fewer applicants really make that much of a difference in the overall draw odds? I see it as very small advantage at the very best. I know in Utah they also have waiting periods for there limited entry hunts and I don't see them as being one bit helpful. Between waiting periods and bonus points it still takes 10+ years to get a Utah bull tag. I'm not sure I'm against any of these changes, but I'm not so sure they'll have much "real life" benefit either? I guess my hang up is that I'm not real big on the idea of forcing someone to sit out. I know, I know... there not being forced to sit out, they can apply for other hunts, but they are being forced out of the Q and HD hunts. I'd rather let everyone come to the party and at least get a chance to put there name in the hat. That's just my take on things. I guess time will tell how effective the changes really are.

I've found very very few parked at the ends of roads. In fact, I hardly find them parked ever. But I definitely have seen where they've been driven, and not a road in site. You're right a lot of people abuse them, but don't just go assuming that everyone that has an ATV breaks the rules! There are numerous hunters and outdoorsmen that use them properly that don't like being lumped in with those that abuse the privelage. As I said before I don't want to thrash my truck on some of the tough dirt roads I use to access the areas I hunt. What's wrong with that?

I'm just going to post my guess right now. 112 5/8

Why not do both? If we really want our voices to be heard then we should make a comment right now that can be included in the tally, and we should also make a comment after the official comment period is open so our comments can be included there as well. Don't sell your self short by only commenting just once. Also get your spouses and children to send in there comments as well. There voices and opinions should also be included even if they don't hunt. Don't forget that the G&F listens to the anti hunters and tree huggers when they are pushing there agendas. So why not have your non hunting relatives voice there opinions for this issue as well. Also don't forget that this is not an election. There is no law that says you can only vote once. Keep voicing your opinions every day if you'd like! I doubt there keeping track of names anyway. Keep the comments flowing so they know you're serious.

No kidding dude! Some of us would prefer to ride the quad to the end of the road so we don't have to beat up our trucks.

I hope Jason doesn't mind me posting this in a public forum. Jason is just one of the nicest guys I've ever had the privlage of meeting and hunting with. I wish him and his family the very best as they morn the loss of his father. I recieved the following email from him today: Hey Guys.... Let me first say sorry about the email, but it is just too hard to call everybody This is just a quick email to say that my dad passed away on Thanksgiving Night. His passing was very peaceful and he was surrounded by loved ones. I had to come home to Silver City to take care of some stuff and I forgot my charger at my mom's so my phone isn't working, so I will catch up with everybody later. We are not sure when the services will be but please don't send any flowers or food. I will be setting up a scholarship fund in his honor later next year so if you feel the need to send something you can contribute to that later. He would really have really liked that. Once again thank you for all your support.. J-

Way to stick it out and get it done Gabriel!!!! You've got plenty of years ahead of you to go back and find the big one.

Salt pellets that you buy at the grocery store. They come in a yellow bag for about $8 bucks or so. Dig or clear a small depression in the ground to pour the pellets into. Then get a bag of Deer Co-Cain and poor over the top of the pellets. If possible I always tried to pour a gallon or so of water over the salt to get it to start melting a little. Then set up you're camera and keep your fingers crossed that some deer will start hitting it.

I think Utah really saw us coming on that deal. They send us a bunch of dink Parker Mountain goats and a few tukeys and we send them Bighorn Sheep? Won't do much for the awesome genetics we've got here in Arizona, but it will help the G&F out in there quest for more opportunity ..... as far as the antelope are concerned anyway. As for the Bighorn I can't imagine why we'd be willing to part ways with ANY of them being that there are so few of them here to begin with and the trade will just decrease the "opportunity" here in AZ??? Here's an Idea... take any surplus bighorn and transplant them within AZ to areas with struggling populations or no population at all. What I want to know is just where on the Prescott National Forest did they release them? Perhaps unit 8 around Drake?

What is that supposed to mean? I've been on a few guided hunts myself and believe me I hunted hard! Perhaps there was some scouting done for me, but by no means was "all the hunting" done for me. What about states like Alaska and Wyoming that require guides for certain areas or animals. Does it make me less of a hunter because the law requires non residends to use a guide? In Nevada and New Mexico you have better odds of drawing if you are using an Outfitter. Does it make me less of a hunter if I applied through the outfitters draw to increase my odds of getting a tag? There is also no gaurantee with using a guide. Like Gino said it's a "opportunity" business. I've hunted coues deer guided and non guided. It just happens that I've killed my biggest coues with a guide. I've also hunted mule deer both guided and non guided but I've killed my biggest mule deer all by myself. Sometimes you don't kill anything at all and just enjoy the hunt.

I'm guessing that most everyone has seen this map/chart before. It's been on this site for years. My question is how accurate do you think it is for the area you hunt? I've often found myself looking at this map before I scout new areas or after I've had a chance encounter with a coues in an area I didn't think held any. The map is also dated 1990 and nearly 19 years old, so I'm sure things have changed some. So what do you all think? In my opinion the core areas for the areas I frequent are pretty accurate. It's the areas on the fringe that seem more questionable. It seems to me that the areas listed with lower populations in many cases seem higher than indicated on the map.

What a stud... Congratulations!

SBD, sounds like you've been drinking the Kool-Aid again. Time to put down the bottle! Scout'em, you're a lot more politically correct than I would have been and you also know a lot more big words than I do, but you are 100% spot on accurate! I especially liked the the very last word - Accountability! America needs more accountability.

I didn't notice until just now that Ron's signature says "small game, predators, and furbearer Biologist". Doesn't sound like deer and elk are even in his realm of responsibilities. Probably just wanted to sound like a big shot by coming on here and spouting off a bunch of meaningless numbers. With a title like that I highly doubt he has the credentials to respond. Besides his boss probably found out about it and told him to shut his pipe or the commission won't be able to sneak this one in the back door. I'm thinking this one's a done deal. Just like the opportunity versus quality thing. The commission has there mind made up and isn't concerned what the hunters think. They refuse to use good data, they refuse to use equal data, and they refuse to listen to what hunters really want.

I wonder how the "lead ban" and "cop killer bullet ban" are going to work together? I realize that cop killer bullets haven't been banned yet and lead bullets are still allowed in most states, but if we can't use lead bullets we have to use copper bullets which also happen to be considered "cop killer bullets". What are hunters and sportsman going to do then? I also read an article recently, perhaps from this site, where biologists are trying to get lead bullets banned in grizzley conutry as well. Heaven forbid a grizz eat a contaminated gut pile and get lead poisoning and die! The shaft is comming folks!!!!

I said it before and I'll say it one last time....... You're gonna get yourself hooked on Mexico. If you go once you're gonna have to go again and before you know it, it'll be an annual addiction that you spend way to much money on. I'm speaking from experience. Best of luck!!!!

Just like I don't know of anyone that voted for Governor Nappy, yet somehow she still got elected. Either there are a bunch of closet Dem's in this state or they only come out from under there rocks during the elections.

Shane Smith by chance???

Great buck! Congratulations.

Congrats on a great buck!

No exit. Mush! Blood puree! Sounds to me like perfect bullet performance I'm guessing that there was nothing but small bullet fragments recovered?