bradne

I have to second the already mentioned Wiggy's. Most bags are pretty exaggerated regarding their temp ratings. I have a 0 degree bag from Wiggys and have been in those temps ( or at least single digits) and stayed warm. I also like the fact I can get a long bag from them. If you are over 6 feet you will need one. Before I went and bought my Wiggy's I always stuck out of the top of any bag I ever owned. I do insist on a good bag anymore. I had too many years of surplus military bags (which I am positive were stuffed with chicken feathers). Wiggy's usually has a sale of some sort pretty often (20% off plus free shipping right now), so while it may seem like a steep price, it is well worth it. They only deal in synthetics which has its plus's and minus's, but I have backpack hunted with mine and manage to get it rolled up pretty small.

My Dad has an identical one (in fact I shot my first deer with it a lot of years ago). I was with him in Cabelas in Phoenix and they had one in their "fine gun room" and they wanted close to a grand for it (if I recall correctly). I have no idea why. It took quite a bit of convincing on my part to keep him from taking his up to them to try and sell it.

Were both brands of brass new or previously fired? If they were previously fired in another rifle, then they could have been "fire formed" in the chamber of the other rifle. No two rifles are exactly the same. So if the original rifle had slightly looser tolerances, and the current rifle has slightly tighter tolerances, previously fired brass may not chamber easily. As mentioned above, once the chamber gets warmed up, it expands and the round may chamber while its warm. Personally I full length every time, usually out of habit and the fact that I tend to pick up a lot of brass and dont always know its history.

I use 10s. After a couple of minutes though, I just am not steady enough so, like GBA, I am using a monopod instead of a tripod. I just use one of the cheap "shooting sticks" from wal mart (unscrew the yoke and there is a 1/4" stud for your adapter). Since I am usually backpack hunting or at least a couple of miles from the truck, the monopod is way lighter than the lightest tripod. With the monopod, I can sit on a ridge with my 10s and glass for hours. It doesn't replace a full size spotting scope and tripod, but it is definently more portable.

If you have not played with it, the new mapping program on the G&F website is actually pretty good. It has standard topo maps plus sattelite imaging. You can add your own notes (draw routes, add GPS coords etc..). You can then save it as a jpeg and print it out at your convenience. http://www.azaccessmap.com/ Its not as user friendly as I would like, but once you get the hang of it, its not bad. You can print out any unit or area in Az that you want. Another one that I have been playing with is CalTopo www.caltopo.com . It has a lot of the same maps as the G&F website (among others) but also has some historical maps. I have spent quite some time looking at the older maps and find them pretty interesting. Caltopo does not have 100% coverage of their historical maps, but it has a bunch. Both of those are free so I would invest in some waterproof printer paper, or just use regular printer paper and put it in a gallon zip lock bag to keep it dry.

That is definently Mexican Military. You are saying that they were 3/4 of a mile from the border then they were just on the other side. Were they on the north side of the border or were they always on the south side? The last picture shows them at the top of the hill just south (presumably) of the the border monument. Its pretty common for the Mexican Military to do foot patrols in rougher terrain, and as everyone knows they do stray north sometimes.

As the title says, I am looking for some advice from any experiencd AC technicians. I have a 4 ton AC unit. Part of it is located in the house (integrated with furnace) and the other part is outside. I had to call an AC service today because I noticed that it was not cooling correctly and there isn't any other time in the next few days that I will be home for a tech to come out. Obviosly the companies that are willing to come out on Saturday are going to charge more. I expect that so I am not too upset about that. I am a bit concerned about what he had to say though. I told him that about a year ago I had a tech from the same company out and at that time he added some freon since it was low. He didn't do anything else except clean it at that time. I was having the same problem then and after he added the freon, it worked good unti the last couple of days when I noticed it not cooling as efficient. When the tech showed up today, He inspected it and told me he thought it was low on freon since it was not cooling and the lines were freezing up (I agree with that). He checked and added three lbs of freon. He did give me a bit of a price break on the call since he told me the other tech should have checked for leaks. He did add some dye to the system and will be back on Friday to look for a leak (says that small leaks take time to show up). My concern is the fact that he told me that more than likely he could not repair a leak on the coil and every time he tries to solder them, he burns through destroying the unit. He then told me I would more than likley have to replace the unit for about $4000.00. This is a worst case scenario, since he has not yet found the leak and is just guessing. I am not wild about plopping down 4 grand for an AC, especially since it seems to me that if these things were soldered when they were built, I don't know why a skilled repairman could not do a repair without destroying a unit. If they do determine that the leak is "not repairable" I will have another company come in and give me a quote, but I am trying to get my ducks in a row here. I did some reading and realize that if it could be repaired that all the freon would have to be removed first. I am sure that would be significantly cheaper than replacing the unit. I am just trying to make sure that am not being suckered to buy a high price new AC from the same company that is "unable" to repair my current one.

The tech won't be back until Friday to take a look for the leaks. With all of the junk I have around here, I don't have a "black" light to look for a leak and I am not seeing any oil with the naked eye. The good part is that the AC is chugging along and cooling just fine for now.

This is why I love Coueswhitetail. The only question I can't get answered is "What are next weeks winning lottery numbers?". I am in Sierra Vista so Tucson is not far away, maybe further than some AC techs would want to go, but still not too bad. , This AC is 12 years old and if it is not repairable then I am OK with that. The tech seemed like a pretty good guy, but I have the feeling that some of these guys are pressured to be salesmen also. That is my concern.

As mentioned above, the Sportsmans Center would have all the info for hunting on base. There are some very nice Coues running around there. As far as waterfowl, the only duck hunters I have ever run into around here were shooting ducks off of a cattle tank (and yes they had a couple). I don't know if there are many ducks on the ponds that are scattered around the base, but again, the Sportsmans Center would have the info.

Years ago, when my wife and I were first married, we had all of the cheap Walmart/Kmart furniture. After realizing that every couple of years we had to replace some piece of furniture because it would simply fall apart, I figured out that if you buy quality, then you will save in the long run. Quality usually means made in the USA (there are a few exceptions though). Now, I go out of my way to buy Made in the USA products and I find it difficult to impossible for some things. Especially electronics and appliances (I havn't seen an american made TV in a long time). Even if someone started a factory in the US to make TVs, all of the components would more than likely come from China. We have a lot of natural resources but our manufacturing plants are either closing down due to the economy or the increase in taxes. I don't blame some companies for moving their operations to Mexico, they simply cannot afford to do business in the U.S. Companies such as Ford and GM will build part of a vehicle in the U.S., put it on a train and send it to Mexico to put the interior or other parts on it and then ship it back (then say its made in the USA). I have no idea how much it costs to put a vehicle on a train and ship it accross the country, but obviously its worth it to the auto companies. The savings in labor apparently makes up for the cost of the train trip. The same thing applies to a refrigerator. How much are the companies saving in labor and taxes to build that refrigerator in Korea, put it on a ship and send it to the other side of earth? With all of that said, even if someone decided to start a manufacturing facility here in the U.S., where would the skilled labor come from? How many kids any more actually learn a trade (or want to learn). All of them want to just do something with computers (I am having backflashes of my father ranting about the same thing 30 years ago). The vocational schools where someone went to learn how to run a mill or a lathe don't exist. The skilled people that can repair refrigeration, or do plumbing are dissapearing. I know of a copper mine in New Mexico where they CANNOT fill open employment slots. There simply are not any qualified applicants that are able to be welders, electricians, haul truck drivers, etc.. They actually are willing to train some people fot these slots (apprentiship) but the applicants cannot pass a drug test or a background check or they don't have a HS disploma or GED. This is a sad revalation of what our labor force has become.

Ash canyon is pretty much moonscape since the Monument Fire. It will be a couple of years until there is enough growth to attract any coues. There are plenty in Miller Canyon, but they don't call coues "ghost deer" for nothing. A guaranteed place to see some is Ramsey Canyon. Unfortunately a lot of the area is private and the residents are feeding them, but I can't think of too many times I haven't seen any deer in that canyon when I go in there. Just don't hit one driving in there.

neb, Sorry about your experience with the guys that answered the phone. Check your PMs please.

Although I was born and raised in New Mexico (in Silver City in fact) I now live in Az. I did a lot of hunting and fishing and all around running around in the state when I lived there. Unless something has drastically changed in the last few years, the same types of idiots live in New Mexico as in Arizona (along with the rest of the U.S.). When I lived there, I saw a lot of "native" New Mexicans throwing garbage out, illegal off roading, poaching and generally giving sportsman a bad reputation. The fact that you are classifying everyone that lives in Arizona in the same boat shows your ignorance. I can take you to a lot of places in the southwest portion of the state that are trashed. I seriously doubt you can (in all seriousness) say that those also are the results of people from Arizona. I am going to give you the benefit of the doubt and guess your bad day was the cause of your rant. Its pretty hard to offend me, but I can tell you that getting on the internet and chewing the @ss OF THE ENTIRE STATE is not the way to start making friends.

I have a Sprint workphone and a Verizon personal phone. Hands down, the Verizon is the winner. It has much better coverage. The sprint will drop calls randomly and quite often even though i have a bar or two, I cannot make a call, and I end up using my personal phone to make work calls. As far as cost, the sprint is pronably a better deal. I have dealt with several people visiting the SE part of Az that have AT&T (they are mostly from phoenix where i guess it is quite popular) that have no service at all. I always thought that with roaming that you should be able to get service regardless of the provider, but apparently thats not necessarily true. When the iphone first came out several years ago, a co worker bought one and started showing all the amazing things it could do. He was right, it could do everything except make a phone call.

I am not sure what the article meant when it said spent ammunition was also dangerous. As mentioned already, there are a lot of places in both the mountains and deserts of Arizona (and every other state) that is nothing but a garbage dump due to people hauling out their old tvs and refrigerators and shooting them up. Unfortunatley this gives a lot of credibiltiy to the people and organizations that would like to restrict our ability to shoot on public lands (we already cannot target shoot on AZ state land). Then you have some idiots that place live ammo in a fire pit which caused somebody to lose an eye. I have picked up thousands of pieces of good reloadable brass from sites like this. It alway amazed me how someone could leave that stuff laying around. Even if they don't reload, they should be able to find someone that does to give it too. Sometimes sportsmen (and I use that term loosely) are our own worst enemy. I have made it a practice that if I target shoot on public land, to bring back more than I take out and throw it away. I encourage all shooters to do the same.

No thanks. I will keep my ethics and my job. You can keep the sixer. As a matter of fact, I will buy the sixer if you're down in my neck of the woods.

Im calling BS on this. I am not saying it never has happend, but I work in the Riparian area EVERY DAY. I have NEVER seen a off duty BP, Sheriff or BLM employee in their personal vehicle hunting behind locked gates. Also those keys are accounted for pretty hard (I have one that is inventoried pretty regularly) so I doubt they are being given away to their friends. I do know some that hunt it, but they walk in, just like you or I. The reason that there is so much vehicle traffic in that area is because smugglers use those areas to drive around the checkpoints and the SD and BP work the area to partol the area for them. Yes, it is true that occasionaly BLM will allow biologists or others in there in their private vehicles but I personally cannot comment on that. If you ever see a BP or deputy or BLM hunting either on-duty or off duty in their private vehicle, I would suggest that you call BLM dipatch or their respective agency and they can be held responsible for it.

I have been around copper mines all of my life. 40 jobs makes no sense (the Rosemont website says 2000+ jobs will be created, of course who do you believe). You need a lot of people doing a lot of different trades. You need surveryors, geologists, demo men, shovel operators, haul truck drivers, loader operators, other heavy equip operators, mill operators, welders, electricians, mechanics, tire shop men, security guards, admin personnel, and a whole lot of other trades that I am not thinking of. Right there is 14 different jobs that must take place on site. Every one of those will be more than one position and should be at least 10 or more (for a small mine). The ore does not come out of the ground simply by one person pushing the button on a computer. There are entire towns in Arizona and New Mexico that came to be due to a mine just like this. Towns like Bisbee, Douglas, Ajo, Morenci, Silver City, and Tyrone are almost completely mining towns. Those mines employed thousands of people. If you didn't work for the mine company directly, most likely you worked for a company that supported it. If you look at the history of Arizona, copper was what brought many people to this part of the country (my family included) and was one of the major contributors to developing this state. I personally don't know anything about the company that is wanting to open the Rosemont mine, but unless they have a mine operating somewhere that is closing down and they are bringing in their unemployed miners, then most of the above mentioned jobs will more than likely come from the local area. I completely understand some of the opposistion to the mine, but I grew up less than three miles from a copper mine ( I could see it from the driveway of the house)and it never bothered me, plus, they provided a pretty good living to my familly for a couple of generations.

I am a huge believer in the BLM Mustang Program for BP. Some excellent horses are coming out of that program (I deal with the program very closely). No one is saying to go and exterminate all of the mustangs. The problem is that even if you issued every BP agent a horse (give him two even), you have barly put a dent in the feral horse population and it still does not deal with the problem of starving domesticated horses and no place to put them. You indicate you have some horses. Are they adopted from BLM? If not then I encourage you to look into the program. When we get to the point of being so short of working horses that we are working cattle while riding pigs then I guess we will have to let the breeding stock of feral horses build up.

As mentioned above, there is no difference in slaughtering beef and horses. I will say I love horses. Unfortunately there are way too many of them in some places. Check out craigslist and you will see quite a few people trying to get rid of their horses. This is due to the high cost of feed right now and the fact that not many people have enough pasture to keep a "retired" horse. Unfortunately when the bills need to get paid, the horses are often the first to suffer. Right now there are very few "horse sanctuarys" that are willing to take in older horses. The state of Arizona in the last few years have had a significant increase in "starving horse" cases due to these issues. I am sure that most others would agree that putting the animal out of his misery HUMANLY is much better than letting it starve to death. As someone else has mentioned Unit 1 has a lot of loose horses. While they are officially "wild mustangs", in reality they are feral horses. They are not really native to the area (in the last couple of thousand years at least) and are the decendents of ranch horses that either escaped or were let loose years ago. Back in the 1800's the U.S. Army let loose a lot of draft horses in the western states in an effort to let them breed with the existing horses on the range. The idea is that the offspring in the future would be slower and in turn would allow the calvary to keep up with the indians that were using these horses (very long term plan). Mustangs were always considered a "smaller horse". I have seen "mustangs" that were almost 17 hands high due to their breeding with the draft stock. They were also extremly nimble and fairly quick which goes to show you that the best laid plans sometimes backfire. If you hunt in an area where there are a lot of feral horses (like parts of Unit 1) you will notice a lot of range destruction. These horses do basically nothing but eat grass (competing with the elk) and dropping manure all over the place (there are literally huge piles of it in places), they tend to cut their own trails in places which in turn leads to erosion. Most of these are bands of mares led by a stallion. The stallions can be pretty mean if they consider you to be a threat to the mares. I have had them stand outside of camp and whinny, call and stomp because they were upset at the "intruders". I am sure that these horses will still be protected by the Wild Horse and Burro act and will not be sent to the slaughter house, but that it is the same attitude that keeps these animals overpopulating the range. Again, I love horses, and I am sure that there will be some that disagree with my view, however I recognize that there are times when we need to thin the herd and if run humanly the slaughterhouse is a good way to do it.

I saw that recently and if it lives up to what the advertisement says, it should be pretty spectacular. I would like to get one, but I think I will wait a bit to see what the reviews say. I would be willing to bet that SPOT will come out with a competative product in the near future. The cost is insignificant considering what the Delorme is able to do. SPOT will lose a lot of customers if they don't stay competative with a similar item.

Scooter, Im here in the same area and am pretty familiar with the Huachucas. Give me a PM if you need a hand.

I don't know if this is what you are looking for but Zodi makes a heater that blows air into a tent. http://www.zodi.com/Consumer/zodihotvent.html I have never used one, but I have one of their showers and it works pretty good.

Lots of good advice above. Many years ago I worked for a truck body company that built and installed flat beds, utility bodies etc.. One thing to keep in mind is that a flatbed, regardless of what it is made of will weigh at least a couple of hundred pounds more than a stock pickup bed. A stock bed doesnt weigh more than a couple of hundred pounds. Any flat bed will add significant weight. Add the tool boxes and tools or whatever will add even more weight. As mentioned above, springs, airbags and tires are all going to have to be connsidered. The big issue will be the cost of steel, which is ridiulously high right now. If you have the tools and the time, I would say build one yourself. If you can find one the right size (There are a lot that are built 10 feet long) and are able to modify it to your truck, thats probably the easiest and maybe the cheapest. A lot of flatbeds are mounted to the frame using big U bolts usually with a wood spacer between the frame of the truck and frame of the bed. The better ones are mounted by using a bracket that bolts to the frame of the truck. As mentioned above never weld a bed on (you should never weld to the frame of a truck between the axles anyway). If you find a truck body company willing to sell it to you, you can buy the prefabed side and end rails as well as the cross members (Bed kits are made by a company called Fleming in California). You just weld it together.