HaYen

Seeing a buck that big gives a guy hope in the upcoming season. Wait did you say 400 miles from Phoenix? Was that even taken in the State?

LOL. I submitted an application for the 2010 Deer Season. But work was so crazy, my cousin gave me the hunt numbers of which I didn't keep. So put in, I just don't know for what unit. I'm guessing its units 8,9,10 in no particular order. Woohoo yeah for me. I crack myself up.

So one of the guys in the office today passed around a link to a website that searches "open" databases for personal information. The site is called Spokeo. I found my wife and myself. If you do find yourself and wish to have your information blocked, copy the URL of the page with your information. Go to the home page (www.spokeo.com), on the bottom there is a privacy link, select it. You'll paste the URL in the first box, an email address in the second(see note below), and an contents of an obscured image key. An email will be sent to the provided address with a link to confirm removal of your information. Now you will have to give them an email address. Some feel that's just another way for them to collect information on you. This could certainly be true. If you are worried, use an email account that has very little accurate or completely bogus information on you. Also, the site will only allow 1 block per day per workstation (PC) per day (unless you kill your browser and clear you cookies or have an email address with a .gov domain) -BJ (ooops I wasn't suppose to say that)

Below is a quoted response from Ken Dinquel, Operation Game Thief Program Manager, Arizona Game and Fish Department. I only know Ken by emails but he sounds like a really great guy and is fighting for us hunters and our rights. Two interesting things I took away from Ken's response. First that is very important we never interchange the words hunter and poacher. Some public option is that all hunting is poaching and should be ban. The other is penalties for poaching in AZ vs. other states like Colorado or Utah. The poll responses show that there is a lot of anger over what had happen and through all that anger there were still individuals who felt that either the punishment fit the crime or may even be too harsh. No matter how you feel personally, two things are certain, this crime can not go unpunished and the sentence has to be harsh enough so as to deter poaching. I was invited to hunt pigs in Georgia at a friends place. He said let me know a couple of weeks ahead of time and I'll have my dad start throwing slop. I said, "well when is the season and how much are the tags?" He said there is no season and the price of the tags are more than the poaching fine. The fines were less expensive then the tags, I passed. Thank you Ken for you responses and thank the fellow G&F employees for their hard work. BJ

+1

Good luck

From Hodgdon's website: The full article can be found here. They also have a PDF document with load and velocity data. Click this LINK and they'll ask you to check box the disclaimer first. Triple Seven Magnum is not listed. I'm told BH209 has about as much energy as 777 Magnum and Black Mag 3 (a.k.a Black Dot) although Alliant is playing with that recipe.

Final question requiring a statement answer. What reasonable civil actions should the AZGF Commission take in penalizing first time poaching offenders? Multiple offenses?

Easy 270. Knowing his name won't bring those sheep back. We're all pretty upset. Have a great day BJ

Below is a press release that was emailed to me by someone at G&F. Here is how we can help. G&F is looking for "massive exposure in the media" regarding this case as it pertains to the message below: This crime was performed by a poacher not a hunter Hunters are in fact wild life conservationist Violators will be punished If you're a member to another blob (sorry Amanda); know someone who knows someone in the media let them see the press release. Unfortunately, the media has a way of spinning a story so it has to reference the comments by the G&F in the article.

Is that all pellets on the market?

Here’s what the Wildlife Manager Supervisor from Region 6, Tim Holt, had to say about the 2010 sheep hunt in Unit 24B North. "We are still going to have the hunt in Unit 24B North. Recent surveys (Fall 2009) indicate that the removal of two rams in this poaching incident may impact but will not likely adversely impact the Unit 24B North sheep population or the availability of rams for the hunt in Fall 2010."

Which rifle(s) did you take?

I've been trying a lot of different projectiles (Sabot and Conicals) out of my CVA Optima Elite. It too has very tight tolerances. Sabots have their pluses and minuses. On the plus side, for a 50 caliber ML they are usually .45 cal (.451), thus lighter, faster, flatter, you get the point. On the minus they don't get as heavy as their counter part and some feel the Sabot is just another point of failure (I've seen a guy shoot a Saboted bullet and watch the berm to his 9 o'clock get hit). Some feel the Conicals bullet-to-bore nature give them an advantage (theory by the guys at Bad Bull Muzzle loaders) Here are a few I recently shot: Thor bullets are conicals formed by (made by) Barnes for Thor. They use to send out a sample pack of sizes ranging from .500 - .506. Their latest offering is slightly over-sized, but coated for easier loading. I haven't used these new ones yet, but the folks that have said to give them a good wack to get started down the bore and you're good to go. The .501 original Thor hit exactly where I was aiming. Oh and there non-leaded. Parker Productions makes a Traditional Hunter and HydroCons conicals. They also make Sabot bullets; more on those below. I really like these conicals with 100grs of Pyrodex. At 60 yards, I clover leafed a 5 shot group. Swabbing the barrel every other shot. These were special cast to .501 by Bob Parker and come with their own over the powder wads. Powerbelts are great for the tight barrels. No fuss no muss, but I would caution using 120grs of anything with them especially the newer BPS. Over push these bullets and they will fail. Hornady makes the FPB in either 350 or 300grs. These conicals look like SST's without the Sabot. I can't speak on their performance, as I was told they are slightly larger than .501, thus why try right? The last conical I've tried is the lightest this company offers for a 50 cal and comes in at a mere 460grs. Its by a company called NoExcuse. Now I will say that I'm still trying to find a load for this conical. I've tried it with and without an over the powder wad, with 100grs of Pyrodex and 2 pellets of White Hots. So far the White Hots gave me ... a group. Also, it seems the first shot out of a cold barrel is a flier and it doesn't like the barrel to be swabbed after every shot only after every other shot. The over the powder wads I have (made of felt) leave a crust ring on the inside that makes it difficult to seat another bullet. Next I'm going to try 80grs of BH209. By the way, even though your ML is rated for 150grs, the guys over at Western advise against going over 120grs of BH209. As for Saboted bullets: Barnes groups are nice and are 50 State legal. I shoot the MZ/TMZ. Their hard to get down the pipe but do kill. Parker productions also sent me some HydoCon Saboted bullets. The Sabots made getting these down the bore difficult until Harvester sent me some Crushed Ribbed Sabots and right down the pipe they went. What a beautiful group; just one really big hole. The guys at Max Muzzle Loader perform independent test on ML equipment and they really like these bullets. Speaking of Harvester, they sent me some of their Saboted PT Gold bullets along with some spare Sabots. Again, these bullets shot a really tight, large hole with 100grs of Pyrodex. Finally, I recently purchased (can you believe it they made me buy them) some Extreme Elites from the guys over at MuzzleLoadingBullets.com in Canada. So far so good. I did have to special order them with the three pedal Sabot for easier loading. And they sure were easier to load. There are so many good offerings out there. Of the ones I've tested I really can't tell you which one I'll use on my next hunt. For Javilina I'll go with one of the lighter 45 caliber offerings while big game will probably get 460grs of McLovein if I can find a load. There are a ton of other projectiles out there. Some I've tried and didn't mention them about because I didn't have much success with them others because I just haven't tried them. As a side note, Traditional vs In-line. I don't really put them in the same class. They both have their advantages and disadvantages. I love them both. Good luck on your hunt!!! Post pics when you get back BJ

a game manager once told me about a guy who shot an Elk on the other side road (violation 1). The road also happen to be a Unit boundary (violation 2). He drugged the Elk back across the road . When questioned by G&F about the drag marks and blood in the other unit, the guy fessed up. First he had to face a criminal court for shooting across a road, then he had to face the G&F Commission. Now keep in mind, this was the Phoenix G&F Game Manager. Maybe he was telling me this to scare me into never violating the law. The guys guns were confiscated and he was banned from hunting in the Western States for 10 years. Now what he didn't mention (or maybe he did and I was still in shock after the 10 year part) was that he got any jail time. Now that was for poaching an Elk. I'll be real curious what this kid gets.

Emb I had an embarrassing day at the range last Saturday. While still trying to find a load for the 460 No Excuse Conical’s, I was shooting 100grs of White Hots. The first two shots were hang fires. I cleaned out the flash hole with a welding tip cleaner; loaded the third charge and conical; pulled back the hammer and pulled the trigger. Nothing … poof. What made it worst. I was just telling a couple of guys watch how little smoke is generated. Oh yeah, very little smoke. I swabbed out the barrel and soaked the breech plug. BANG!!! Finally ignition. Loaded the last primer with another 100grs and 295gr Powerbelt. POOF!! Nada. Possible problem? I’m thinking primers or powder. I purchased both the With Hot’s and Winchester 777 primers about a year ago. I’ve also shot both combinations without incident. In fact, I’ve had more problems with BH209. I’ve kept them both out of heat and exposure to direct sun light. When I can make it back the range, I’m going to try some Federal 209 Magnum primers. If I still get the failure of ignition, I’m discarding the powder. Someone at the range recommended a small charge of Pyrodex (25grs) and then a 50gr White Hot pellet. I’m guessing a 50gr pellet from a new batch in front of an older pellet would fall under the same theory. Although the theory sounds good, I’ll still dispose of the remaining pellets safely. I also have a 10oz bottle of BH209 I’ve never opened. I’m hoping that will still be good. If not the Pyrodex is the newest bottle and has been igniting without incident. And if the problem is the powder has just gone bad, I’ll have to make sure I always have fresh powder especially if I get a hunt.

Switched over to Federal 209 Magnums and had great ignition. Now the problem was a soot ring in the barrel. The ring was formed from an over the powder wad. I'm shooting a 460gr NoExcuse conical and I wasn't happy with the grouping (or lack there of) when used with Pyrodex (with or without the wad). On a positive note, I did get a group with the White Hots about an inch at 60 yards. Blackhorn 209 is next.

LOVIN the trophy room!!!!! Thanks for sharing

The 7MM and 243 NIB would go for $628 to $779 at Buds Gun Shop. Around $400 - $500 on Auction Arms. Gun broker had a few in the $300 but those are auctions so I think those prices are a little low. The 243 (.308 case) is temping for a rechamberd 260. BJ

A long time ago I popped into gun store in Sacramento called Brenden's. About this time is when I got married and my wife and moved in together. She made a comment that I had too many guns and didn't need any more. (he he he) Anyway, while at Brenden's a young attractive woman behind the counter offered to show me a Kahr K9. To which I said "Nah, the wife said no more guns" (cut me some slack I was newly married to the love of my life). To which she replied, "that's why you need a girlfriend. You could store all your new toys at her apartment." Sixteen years later, I'm still married; have more guns; and no third party storage :-) Anyway, all of the aforementioned calibers will work just fine. The T/C is a good option if he can get away with purchasing barrels. It also offers the option of a single shot shotgun/slug gun/muzzle loader. If not, for the money (pennies to performance), I would go with the Savage M16 (Accu-Trigger\Accu-Stock, SS, Weather Warrior $770 NIB) and ammo. The barrel nut design would also make it easier and less expensive to re-barrel in the future. In theory, if this person reloads or had a friend who could reload for him, I would stick with the calibers with the easiest and least expensive components to obtain (i.e. 308/270/30-06). Just my two cents. Have a great day BJ

WHAT?!? A refund? TOTALLY forgot about that. Since I can't go till next Spring ... hum? Maybe a Cerakote treatment for my 06? Put in the bank (earning a half of a half of a percent) till next years Elk draw? LOL Have a great day folks!!!! BJ

+1 on Timney. Walked in with my Stevens M200 and a 6# trigger walked out with a trigger just shy of 3#'s. John did the install for me.

Nice bull. But lets not discount the little trophy room you got going on there; the CWT and Bear next to your bull.

Yer right. If I would have put in with my buddy, I'd be hunting this year. I still may help out over his Saturday / Sunday. I've decided not to put in for Deer this year (just purchase a point). Its a busy election year and I'm blowing my vacation days to attend a wedding back home in August. So even if I did get drawn for Elk, I'd probably be looking for a new job Congrats again to everyone who got drawn. BJ

Here is the amended version that got signed. hb2543h.pdf