savagman

It is a bit longer trip but Lynx Lake is just outside of Prescott, has water and restrooms, nice camp sites, and a small fishing lake. The weather is also warmer than the rim country. The best part is that town is about ten minutes away yet you are "in the woods". Have fun!!!

First big game animal - first Javi First Mule deer First and only Elk - still hoping for a bull tag...

Any luck? I was in the Park Link/Owlhead area this weekend and saw some fresh sign but no actual javi's. Planning to sneak away this week if possible.

I am new to the use of game cameras. I put two out for the first time last week and was happy to get some pictures. I got a few that I am not sure what triggered the camera but look like they may have eyes glowing in the background. What do you think? If they are critters how do I get better pictures? This is fun and I think very addictive.

Thanks to all of you. The insectthing makes sense - one picture almost looked like it was snowing - might have been bugs. I will try the photoshop idea.

Did a bit of Rabbit hunting last weekend and shot a cottontail and a couple jacks that had lumps on them. Two were smaller than a golf ball but one of the jacks it was larger than a baseball with a hole in the middle. Anyone seen that before? Did some research about Bot Flies but didn't see anything that large.

Great pictures - the largest one was very similar. A hard lump between the muscle and the hide. It didn't seem to hinder the rabbit any. Hope G&F can shed some light on the subject.

I appreciate the posts. I have hunted this area for several years and have never seen anything like it. All the rabbits, jacks and all, have been tasty. I crock pot the jack legs with onions and garlic til tender then brown them up on the grill and baste with BBQ sauce. Tender yummy eating. The loin gets cut into steaks and pan fried with eggs for breakfast. I guess you just have to get over the bugs and lumps. I will copy the reply I get from G&F when I get one.

My brother has been roofing for 20+ years - tell him Eric gave you his number. Denny 480-234-2728

Bill, I have seen the small warbles before but this was huge and I left that rabbit where it lay. I am concerned about the meat of the other two. I have pictures on my phone and plan to post them and send them to Game and Fish. I just need to figure out how to get them off the phone. Eric

Had a tag for the Navajo Res last year. There is a small strip of tribal land adjacent to unit 9 and Grand Canyon Nat. Park. Hunted two weekends and saw sign the first but no elk. It snowed on our way out Sunday and dumped 12-18 inches on the area. The next weekend 6 to eight inches had remained. Saw elk Friday and had a couple cool stalks that didn't work out. I passed on a 400+ yd shot due to the wind and the nasty area I would have had to pack a mature cow out of. First thing Saturday morning I shot a cow at about 200 yards not too far from the road. Seems that the snow got them moving more plus fresh track was easy to find in the snow. The area I was in is north on the 64 (road from just before Cameron to Grand Canyon?) - first 5-10 miles are unit 9 (if I remember right) and then reservation. The elk were feeding in sagebrush and then moving into the juniper. Good luck!!!

SW Meats has my top vote. I have taken several Javelina and deer there and always been happy with the meals. Family owned, hunters, give back to the community, and nice people. I have used Von Hansons but have had issues there. This year I dropped off two mule deer and they were to use trim from both for the sausage I ordered. (They make great summer sausage). They screwed it up and used practically a whole deer for the sausage. I am disappointed at losing the sirloins and roasts. They realized their mistake after processing the 2nd deer and I got a great big bag of "trim" which included the sirloins and roasts from the 2nd deer. I didn't want more sausage so I took the bag home and salvaged some steaks from it. The meat they were ready to gring into sausage was poorly trimmed, dirty, and contained quite a bit of hair. Overall I was highly disappointed. Similar problems with an elk last year. I quartered it and took care of the neck meat, rib meat, tenderloins, and backstraps myself. Took everything else to Von Hansens and had quite a bit of burger made. I was shocked at how gamey the burger was. (The rest of the meat was gamey but not near as bad) Now I realize why - you can't just grind suspect meat, connective tissue, hair and dirt into the meat. Tried Rhonda's Butcher Shop in Flagstaff with my Kaibab Buck. Excellent link sausage, delivery to the valley, and quality cut and wrapped meat. Also had my order done in less than a week. Her jalapeno and cheese sausage links are to die for. I know that most of the responsibility for good meat is with the hunter. I dress and skin my game as soon as I can. Let it air cool or get it on ice ASAP depending on conditions. And keep it cold until I reach the processor. Sometimes it's and old tough critter - nothing you can do. I hear good things about Casey's in Flagstaff and another place in Tucson (don't remember the name). Good luck and hopeyou enjoy the meals after the hunt.

Thanks for all the congrats and positive feedback. I am getting a shoulder mount done and am proud of this hunt and the buck I was fortunate to harvest. I am thrilled with my deer and enjoyed doing it alone. I stayed home over the weekend to enjoy Halloween with my kids and certainly would have enjoyed family and friends in camp. It just wasn't possible. I will be in 36A this weekend hoping to help my neice find her first Coues buck. Anyone with tips or suggestions is welcome to chime in or join us for muley brats and a beer Thursday evening in camp.

This should concern all of us. I included a sample letter to your Senator a the bottom of this post. Please let your elected officials know how we feel. By Rob Sexton, Vice President for Government Affairs One of the most openly animal rights supporting bureaucrats is about to be confirmed to a position in the White House, and the hunting, farming and research communities have hardly fired a shot. I am writing about Cass Sunstein, a close friend of President Obama’s, and his choice to head up the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. This position is otherwise known as the “regulatory czar”, a person with authority over rules and regulations coming from the executive branch which includes the Departments of Interior and Agriculture. So what is wrong with Sunstein? Mr. Sunstein claims that, “we might ban hunting altogether, at least if it’s sole purpose is human recreation.” He has also indicated support for allowing lawsuits on behalf of animals, a right currently only extended to human beings. These quotes were of concern enough that two Republican US Senators, Saxby Chambliss of Georgia and Jon Cornyn of Texas, placed a temporary hold on the nomination. But for reasons not completely understood, both removed their holds, clearing the way for the nomination to proceed to a vote. I think I know the reason. The Senators are not hearing from sportsmen…or farmers about why this nomination is terrible for our country and the future of hunting, conservation and farming. We have no right to expect these Senators, both advocates of hunting, to walk the plank when our own community is largely silent. Oh not completely silent. We’ve issued press releases and on line alerts and other such obligatory hand wringing. But seasoned senators know the difference. They know that if this nomination were really important to us, they’d be hearing from hundreds of thousands if not millions of sportsmen and farmers. So what’re we waitin’ for? President Obama appointed Eric Holder, an openly pro-gun control attorney general. He appointed former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack to be Secretary of Agriculture. Vilsack vetoed dove hunting legislation while Governor. He tapped Lisa Jackson, fresh from her campaign to shut down bear hunting in New Jersey to be the head of the Environmental Protection Agency. None of them have openly written about shutting down hunting. But Mr. Sunstein has. None of these others have written about lawsuits by animals. But Cass Sunstein did. Worse, it is bantered about Washington DC’s political inner circle, that Mr. Sunstein is under consideration as a future Supreme Court justice by President Obama. How about the prospect of the first openly animal rights judge on the nation’s highest court? One explanation I have heard for our community’s silence is that Mr. Sunstein is going to be confirmed regardless of our opposition, so why use up valuable political capital? I guess my answer is this: Why have political capital in the first place if not to use it to try to block an animal rightist from being seated in a high level White House position? Further, I don’t believe that people and national, state and local sportsmen organizations give their hard earned money to the US Sportsmen’s Alliance to see us only get involved in the easy fights. So this past week, USSA circulated a letter for organizations to sign on opposing this nominee. Fifteen organizations joined. The letter will be sent to Senators this week. Although a step in the right direction, we need more than just a letter. So this week, USSA is calling on these fifteen organizations and the rest of the sportsmen’s community to fire up our grassroots supporters and turn them loose on the US Senate. To ask our contributors and members who give us money to fight the tough ones to join us by calling each of their two US Senators, asking them to oppose the nomination of Cass Sunstein as Regulatory Czar. [/color]Sample letter. I am writing to express my concern to you over the nomination of Cass Sunstein to serve as the head of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). Mr. Sunstein is a dedicated anti-hunter and avid animal rights supporter. He has argued in favor of allowing animals to sue people in court and stated that we “we might ban hunting altogether, at least if it's sole purpose is human recreation.” If confirmed by the Senate, he will be in a central position to block or overturn regulations that protect hunting, fishing, trapping and conservation in general. Please oppose the Cass Sunstein nomination.. I hope that you will be able to help and look forward to hearing your response. You can find your Senators contact information here http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_info...fm.cfm?State=AZ Eric www.ussportsmen.org

Just wondering when the elk start bugling and how late they usually bugle. I have a tag for a limited opportunity hunt that starts in Oct. I figure getting out early and listening for them might be a good scouting plan.

I have the Oct. 16 - Dec. 13 L.O. hunt in 15,17, 18, 19, 20. Thinking of checking out 19B and 18A first and then going from there. I have a cow tag so I am willing to share notes with anyone - I am sure I will see all the big bulls...

Perhaps they should shift tags from general hunts over to youth hunts? My neice put in for elk and deer youth hunts and was not drawn for either. She is new to hunting and enjoyed being out with kids her age last year. With so many left over tags why not open up more youth tags and reduce general tags? A quality hunt with reduced hunter density and pressure makes for a more relaxed hunting educational experience. Without hunter recruitment our sport will die. I picked up a left over general tag for her in 36B. We hope to not have to deal with the potential border issues. Take a kid hunting and fishing.

I will be out there for the Late Novemeber - Early December hunt. I have never hunted the unit and hope to scout throughout October and into November. Have you hunted this unit? I am willing to share information and if the timing is right meet and have a beer in camp while scouting or hunting. My niece has the tag and after two does she insists she is ready for a buck. I sent her a text today letting her know I got her the tag and she went nuts. She cant wait to go to the range and get out scouting. PM me if you want to talk more.

Didn't get drawn for a Coues tag My neice didn't get drawn for elk and now deer But I hit the lottery and got a 12AW early rifletag!!! My strategy the past couple years was to put in for trophy units with low odds as my #1 and less popular units with great odds as my #2. That way I get to hunt and have a small chance of getting lucky. It worked year 3. I took my neice up there last year for the youth antlerless hunt and she shot her first big game animal. We saw some nice bucks and one very special monster buck during the three day hunt. I hope he hid well and made it through the season. I can hardly wait for October!!! Hope everyone has good luck in the draw!!!

I hunted the October hunt in 34A last year and shot my first Coues. He was a little guy but after 4 days of hunting hard I was happy to fill my tag (not to mention the meat has been tender and delicious). During that hunt I took a short hike into the wilderness area and saw some promising country and the biggest bear I have ever seen. I put that hunt as my 2nd choice this year as draw odds are very good. If I get drawn for this unit I am thinking of backpacking into the wilderness and setting up a small camp to hunt out of. Anyone have any tips, trails to hike in on, or experience hunting wilderness? I plan to do a fair bit of hiking and scouting this summer and would appreciate any information that will help me get started. Also have some questions about trail cameras. Is it ok to place them and return a week or two later to retrieve them? Anyone had theft or vandalism issues? I would like to hike in and place a few on springs and retrieve them or replace batteries in a week or two. Thanks, Eric

Anyone have any experience hunting elk on the Navajo Reservation? It is an awfully big place and my cow tag is good anywhere on it. Any ideas where to start scouting?

Curious how things worked out? I drew a tag for this LO hunt this year and plan to scout all summer. Might spend some time scouting and shed hunting this spring as well. I am looking at starting with either the Music or Peacock Mountains. What do you guys think? Anyone else have this tag and want to share scouting information? I drew a rifle cow tag so I won't be competing for your bull.

Thanks guys. I shot a nice cow at 175 yds at the top of Navajo unit 9. Double lung shot with my .270 did the trick. Weather was great - even enjoyed the snowstorm as I am a desert dweller. It was kinda cool to quarter and bone out the meat and be able to lay it out in the snow to chill. That was a first as I am usually rushing to get the meat into ice chests. Not alot of elk and they seem to move back and forth across boundaries. Guess that is why they give you a month to hunt.

I hope they are not facing economic trouble. The first thing retailers try to do is reduce inventory and increase inventory turns. They often (pardon the pun) shoot themselves in the foot. Being out of stock certainly doesn't help sales. I noticed the same thing at Cabela's and Bass Pro. C'mon retailers - stock up on dove loads in July/August, then waterfowl/deer/elk loads all fall and winter, and hangun loads in time for the HAM hunts. Didn't need a Masters in business ti figure that one out. Sad to see these mega stores putting the family stores out of business. Can't beat the internet if you plan ahead...

strange that they would not define it. I was curious and searched both G & F and Arizona Statutes. Nada. According to Websters a handgun is defined as - Main Entry: hand·gun Pronunciation: \-ˌgən\ Function: noun Date: 15th century : a firearm (as a revolver or pistol) designed to be held and fired with one hand And according to the IRS - 2) DEFINITION OF HANDGUN- Section 5845 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to definitions) is amended by adding at the end the following: `(n) HANDGUN- `(1) IN GENERAL- The term `handgun' means any weapon (including a starter gun) which-- `(A) is designed to or may be readily converted to expel a projectile by the action of an explosive, and `( has a short stock and is designed to be held and fired by the use of a single hand. Clear as mud. I have used a T/C pistol with a 16" barrel. Hope I was legal. If you find an answe please post. Eric