Noel Arnold

Lark, Great response.Just to stir the pot a little more I will say that auction tag's are like legal poaching(taking a animal in the off season) Noel

Michael, I do not know if all of the money goes to a good cause or not.I do know there are better way's of getting that money.Like raising the tag fees.That was probally not a fair comment I said about the money going in to the fat pocket's.Because I have no evidence of that myself. Shortpants, I have to support the game and fish financially because I am a law abiding citizen.This does not mean I have to agree with every thing they do. Jack, I never said they waste the meat.But to say they are not after the big horn's is crazy .Also if they want a tax write off they can donate all the money they want to all the game orginizations.

I guess we can agree to dissagree.

Michael, The million dollar question is do the wildlife really benefit.Or is this money absorbed by fat pocket's.I hunt for the meat and close bonding between family and friend's.Yes I have been fortunate to have taken some very respectable animals.But when I see our animal's sold to the highest bidder for horn's alone.It worries me about the future of hunting. Hunting

Michael, I guess I am confused.Are you telling me you agree with the auction tag or not?.You said you got your tag by a raffle.It is not a issue with me as how much money You ,me or anybody else has.This is a moral issue for me.If you had the money to buy the auction sheep I could care less.Like I said above,I have a problem with the people who give these tag's out.

I have no problem's with the hunter's or the guides that guide them.My problem is with whoever is in charge of giving these tag's out .When I hear the word public land it make's me think that the general (public)has access to the resources.When you sell the resource for hundred's of thousands,then you take the word public out of the equation.There are ton's of private ranches here in the U.S., Mexico and Canada where spending this kind of money is good.As far as the comment's above about the money that is generated as opposed to the general tag.I would give a extra $5 dollars a tag if it would stop these tags. Noel

As somebody else said,this was the auction tag.There was a thread a few month's back about the auction and raffle tag's.I will say my opinion's again.The auction tag is selling our game to the highest bidder.This is wrong.How would a guy feel that has put in for the strip for 15 or 20 year's with out getting a deer tag in Arizona because there dream is the chance of shooting a huge non-typical.They finally get drawn this year and have been watching this buck.Guess what?because of money the guy will never have the chance.I know some of you will say that the money is needed. Well my response to that would be that I think the 60% to 70% increase next year for resident tag's would be enough.I have no problem with the raffle tag's,as long as they limit them to one per species.Just my two cent's about the future of our hunting. Noel

I think some of the buck's will not stop growing until the middle of september. Noel

For many years I have heard the rumor's of certain high proflie people getting very hard tag's year after year.I do not know if there has been some corruption in the dept. over the years.But if you made a person wait a few years after getting a tag,then at least you might be able to control that corruption during that waiting period. Noel

I have got the the answer.Take over Mexico,move have of our population to mexico.Then we will have plenty of area's to hunt.(Just kidding) Noel Have (half)

Stanley, There are ton's of area's up there that I want to explore. Another pretty area is Fish lake to the north. The only drawback is it is farther from Arizona.I am having withdrawl pain's this year because we can not go this summer due to other vacation's. Noel

Stanley, Sound's like you had a great time. We usually do the same trip every summer. Last summer we camped around Panguitch Lake. There is a part of the creek below the lake and above the town,that you have to walk in.If I remember correctly the resident's called that part(the Gorge).There is some great brown trout fishing.We used to do the southern Colorado trip,but I like Utah better because you can find place's to get away from the big crowd's. Noel

It rained 1/3 inch at our house in wittmann last night. Noel

Downthebarrel, I think as mentioned above,it is not all gloom and doom.I hope my comment's did not get you to down. There is still some good hunting out there to be had. Noel

Sun Devil, If you read my post,then you know that I have been hunting coues for year's.And thank's to my dad's training I have alway's used high quality optic's. Although I hate to shoot at a buck that I have jumped out because of ground shrinkage, I still do it on ocassion. Two year's ago I did it on a buck that I was thinking was a 100 and he ended up being 106.He would have been 109 if he had not broke off a point.I had about 5 second's to make the decision before he went over the hill.If you talk to any coues hunter that has hunted them a lot of year's , I would think that they have had at least one time were they jumped a very large buck and had to make a spilt decision . The more I think about antler restriction's on coues the more I question it. One possibility might be restricting spike's,I would think most people could tell the difference. Noel

Deerslam, The more I think about it the more I think it would not work for coues.There horn's are so small anyway's it would be hard for people to judge.Even harder when you jump shoot them walking from one glassing spot to another.I can not tell you how many time's in the 32 year's of hunting coues that a buck jump's out with a big frame the look's in the 100's , I shoot him and he end's being either a 2x3 or 2x2 that score's in the 90's. Noel

Welcome to the site. You have a valid concern about population growth in Arizona. Although we have a lot of public land in Arizona, I think there is a chance the population of Arizona could double in the next 15 years.If only 5% or 10% of these new people were hunter's then that mean's a whole lot more competition for tag's.I am 43 year's old and wished I was born 20 year's before I was due to better hunting and fishing. I feel very sorry for your generation. Noel

Jason, I have to disagree with your opinion about draw odd's for some people.Living here all my life I know a lot of people who hunt here.Some of the peopleI know have better luck at drawing then other's. I do think that Arizona's way of drawing could be better. And I agree with somebody else's statement about that $5 fee is some motive for the game dep. not making people wait. Noel

It might be a good thing.Although you would also be letting some giant two point's keep passing there gene's on.But I probally could live with that if the average age size was older.One other thing that would be a negative is that there would be plenty of two point's shot and left for the buzzard's because people thought they were three point's.So the more I think about it I do not know if it would be good or not. Noel

Nice looking rack,although I do not think it is coues. The rack look's to smooth to be coues.Although I could be wrong. Noel

If we do not get good rain this summer,you will not have to worry about sitting stock tank's.They will all be dry as a popcorn fart. Noel

I am Another native. And for all the reason's above I Love my home state.My only fear is that when my Wife and I are looking at retiring in about 15 year's, the population of the state is going to be so large that we may have to move out of the state we love.Both of us are third generation native's and have lot's of realative's in Arizona. This will be a hard choice that I am not looking forward to making.I am curious if any of you have the same fear's that I have ? Noel

Good job.Bring's back old memories when I was in high school in the late 70's and early 80's . My friend's brother's, and I would hike the verde and catch a lot of good channel cat's.And get into big flathed's every now and then. Noel

It was common years ago miner's would put there claim info in a prince albert tobacco can. I used to have one ,I do not recall were it is now. My Wife's family were miner's in Arizona and they have a lot of them. Noel Arnold

Stanley, Your right it is all just are feeling's about thing's. I do realize that the raffle take's away a trophy also.And I would rather they not have those also.I know the money is for a good cause. It is hard for me to agree with any hunt that allow's a hunter to hunt for month's at a time over the rut and before the season's start in early fall.I would rather we get that money from someplace else. Somebody told me in some state's they add on a extra fee for habitat restoration .I think that would be a good idea for Arizona. Noel