Buzz_Saw

Okay, Folks- Please forgive me, but I am brain damaged. Really. Traumatic Brain Injury. BLUF- I do not understand what a nonpermit-tag is and what privileges and requirements adhere. Please explain, somebody!! I own land in GMU 31 up against Coronado National Forest. I really do not intend to hunt the forest, but if I see something through my glasses.... I do understand the there are more options with archery and muzzleloader, but what does an over the counter nonpermit-tag actually do for me?? Here is the trivial stuff... I grew up in Iowa where the only big game was whitetail, and I had to use a shotgun. Hunting was in 10 or 15 degrees below zero. The only shots I ever got were at the enormous coyotes that fed on the farmer's livestock. I did have a wonderful life of pheasant, rabbit and squirrel hunting. Later on, I spent 20 years in the FL Panhandle where I could shoot dear daily during the long season through my bedroom window and occasionally did. I learned that ear plugs were a very good idea, even more so than when outdoors. Of course, I also learned during other training that shooting a handgun from inside a car can easily cause temporary deafness and permanent hearing loss. Was it that or the artillery or the explosions? Or was it cumulative? Don't know, but the permanent ringing in my ears means I have music 24X7 even without an iPod. Then I served a three year sentence in the Socialist State of Maryland and only escaped captivity last year. Know what I mean? You do if you ever worked or served in that area. Hunting on Ft. Meade was a true experience. Hunting in VA is really fun, but I always mistook those little, tiny deer for dogs and never shot at them, much to the dismay of my hosts and hunting buddies. Didn't seem right. So here I am, settled in AZ permanently (I hope), and I find the AZ hunting regs to be the most obtuse of any place I have ever been. Even Europe was way, way more understandable. Heck, there you can shoot game in the middle of the night. If you can see it well enough to shoot it you can. Amazing, really. So, I have missed the regular Spring draw for big game for 2010. I am thinking that since AZ is trying to eliminate all Elk from my GMU,, that bear occasionally wander down and raid people's freezers (I tell you what. Any bear in my backyard will be in the freezer) I decided that I should carry around whatever legal document is required should one just show up in my area. Could be any type of surprise. Coyotes are thick up there, but I don't know how good they taste. I have a rule not to shoot anything I will not eat, unless I, or someone I care about, is in danger. I don't think I can even shoot squirrels, since there is some kind of endangered variety, and I am pretty sure with my double vision that I will not be able to tell a legal one from not. Enough for now. I am trying to learn some new tricks. Thanks all.

Saw two of the biggest, fastest whitetails Thursday last out at the Golf Links picnic area when I took a wrong turn going to the Sportsman Center. And what's up with the crossbow prohibition unless you only have one arm in AZ? It's just a bow with a trigger, that's all

Thanks everyone for the clarification. I have, in fact, read AZ regulations over and over and over. You answered my leftover questions. Speaking of hunting own land, in FL, if you own 160 contiguous acres you can shoot any sex deer during the season about as often as you like. I do have a 1/4 mile of land, so if I had a bedroom with a window, I COULD shoot a deer from said window. Did it exactly once in FL. Same thing applies as shooting a pistol from inside a car. Not recommended. Loud, very, very, loud. That is why well place rolls of hay make great cover and good rests when placed in the back yard next to the pasture. I did not have a grasp of how limited the deer population is in AZ; thus the tag requirement, I guess. I see deer all over the place. I saw two of the biggest Coues I have seen in AZ on Fort Huachuca the other day. All the others, sometimes in herds, have been little bitty buggers. That seems to me to mean they are maxing the carrying capacity of the area. Shoot more, get bigger ones, later? Census off? Is it like bass, if you keep too many big ones, only the small ones get left behind? One thing I have not fully explored is the depradation provision for Elk in Graham County. Seems those elk just love to munch from the orchards, and the pomologists are not keen on such, so AZ is trying to eliminate Elk in our southeast AZ mountains. Kind of sad. I would rather pay the farmers for their losses, so there could be more elk to hunt. I look forward to spending many of my waning years learning the ropes and maybe someday having some of my own earned AZ venizen. Cheers!

Please forgive my ignorance, but I am more than a little confused by AZ Hunting and Fishing Regulations. I did apply for Elk, Deer and Javelina permits for the management area where my land is located in SE AZ. Did not get a tag. Did not understand that buy additional chances thing. I understand there is a first come provision for leftovers, but that is another subject. I cannot find anyone on or off Fort Huachuca to tell me how that works. I am eligible. Tucson AZGFD is not clear. Huachuca is clueless. Someone must know.. But what I REALLY want to know is if I can shoot a white-tail on my own property during the appropriate season without a permit tag, and if so, do I need a tag, and if so, how do I get one? If I do not need a permit or a tag for game on my own land where can I find that information, especially as regards reporting. Having lived in FL where there are lots and lots and lots of white tails that I could shoot out my bedroom window at the farm with just a FL hunting license I am stymied by the perverse seeming AZ system. I do understand the need for game management and support it wholeheartedly, but hey, I lived in MD for several years, you know, that socialist State? There they beg people to do deer hunts within city limits at times to reduce the deer population there. And if you can hit a pie plate at about 25 yards you can hunt on Ft Meade, but I digress. If I cannot shoot a deer in AZ on my own land to put in my freezer, I guess I can eat a lot of jack rabbit. I am afraid to hunt squirrels because there is this one version up in the Pinalenos that is endangered, and it is not enough different looking from the others for me to distinguish. I have only been hunting squirrels for over 50 years. Please help me erase a little of my ignorance. Thanks!