bowsniper

Get it cold and then frozen fast as possible. A taxidermist will charge anywhere between $200 -$400 for velvet preservation, formaldehyde or freeze drying. Freeze drying works well, don't know about formaldehyde. You can try to freeze it and tan it yourself with mixed results. The artificial is by far the cheapest, but personally, I don't like the way it looks. Mark

I always take a sandwich for lunch, but I never eat it. I'm too excited to eat! Mark

My son, kidbowhunter, saw one last January. Mark

I heard the tail end of a news story today, I did not hear the whole thing, so I am not trying to start a rumor. Basically, there was either a house or senate bill that would impose a federal $50 tax on all guns and rifles. You would have to declare the firearm and SN on your tax form, and then pay the tax. Has anyone else heard about this, or hopefully I'm just hallucinating? Mark

Cool! Thanks! Mark

Mike- I am so sorry! I sure hope my messed up loan had nothing to do with it. I know that you trust the Lord and have faith that he will take care of you. I will be praying for you and you family. Mark

That's a bummer, glad she is ok. My first bow, a pse, blew up when I was in full draw. It takes a while to get over it. Mark

I have a very simple one. I goes over your neck and shoulder, and has two loops at the ends to grab the cams. It's great! Once you start using one, you will never go out without it. I never had any problem with the string being exposed, although the cover would be good if you going through the thick. Mark

I have had the same experience, big bucks cross my trail an hour later and don't seem to care. But, all the eastern whitetail hunters I know won't leave their truck without rubber boots. Maybe it's a eastern whitetail thing? I do use scent lock, but I am not sure it works. All scents has a cumulative effect, so I use every precaution that I can. Mark

This is what I carry when I bow hunt....... Mark

What's a rifle? Mark

Bummer Clay! Someone that leaves a treestand up all year should have no expectations of a reservation on the water hole. I'm sure the guy who left it thinks differently. Be careful with this one, the guy is either lazy or a jerk. Either way, the guy is not too smart. UVs degrade nylon straps quickly, and that stand is unsafe. I probably would have set up my blind, but you should probably have a plan B. Good luck and keep us posted. Mark PS: If you see the guy, even if he is a jerk, warn him about the treestand strap.

Speaking of illegals...... I just read the President Hussein's "health care program" will also insure illegals. We sure are generous! Maybe we should start a "world health care program" and the US could provide health insurance to everyone on the face of the earth! http://www.onenewsnow.com/Politics/Default.aspx?id=620898 Mark

Glad that your dog is ok! Yotes don't like dogs! A few years ago when our neighborhood was new, some lady was walking her little dog. A yote came up and ate muffy off of the end of the leash while the lady just stood there screaming. Mark

After many years of trying (no shots taken) for a long range buck, I finally rifled killed a mulie at 565 yards. The next day I bought a bow, and haven't used a gun for hunting since. I was extremely lucky and killed a 108 coues on my first archery hunt, and was hooked. All my bucks since then have been smaller, but I just can't stop! My memories of that hunt are peeing in pants! Mark

Because the new world non-typical was taken "up there" last December, a lot of guys are expecting the place to be complete zoo in August. My advice would be to try another unit. Mark

This is Big Brother using cameras to "make things safer"! Com'on guys, don't you want to give up your rights to make things SAFER! These things are hazards, all they do is make drivers slow down and then speed up again. If these things were effective, you can bet that the Peoples Republik of Kalifornia would use them, but they don't. Traffic in Kalifornia is so precarious, the traffic engineers don't want to mess it up anymore than it already is. What a bunch of crap! I saw a stat on the news that said of the hundreds of thousands of photo radar tickets that have been mailed out, only 20% were paid. I got one in March at I-17 and Indian School doing 66mph. That is where the speed limit is 65 and drops to 55 right before the camera. I did a lot of research and here is a summary: By AZ Revised Statutes, you have the right to be personally served. When you get the letter, they give three options, all of which include your signature. When you sign any of the options, you wave your right to be personally served. They don't tell you that you have a fourth option, which is to do nothing. There are two judges in Maricopa County that automatically throw out all photo radar tickets. They might serve you, but probably not. If they do, it only adds $26 to the fine. If they say that you have been served, but you were actually not served, things could get messy. Keep checking this link to make sure that they are not saying that you have been served. http://apps.supremecourt.az.gov/publicaccess/ The statue of limitations for this expires after 120 days, so you can completely forget about it after then. The second letter I received was very threatening. My wife read it and freaked out. But if you read through all the legal mubo jumbo, all it really says is that if you don't respond, they might come and serve you. My 120 days expired and I have heard nothin else about it. I was on the 101 last week doing 65 in a 65 zone and the evil red flash took my picture. I'm still waiting to see what all that was about. Two things I am considering to do: Put a President Hussein mask on every time a drive by a camera. The other is to duck before it flashes, I'd love to see a picture of my truck driving itself down the freeway! Here are a few more links that maybe helpful: http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/26/2671.asp http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfev..._enforcemen.php Mark

Kent and Cheryl, Someone once said that Heaven is kind of like embroidery. From the bottom, all you can see is bunch of confusing loose threads, going every which way, not making any sense. But from the top, the plan is clear, and it is very beautiful. Someday, we will understand God's plan. I can't imagine the pain that you are feeling. I am praying that the Lord will guide you through this. Mark Lucas

I was pretty disappointed that there was a MAP showing the area within the unit! Wasn't the unit number enough? Maybe GPS coordinates next time? Clay, I hope that you have honey holes in the next unit over, because 24a is going to be a zoo! The out-of-state hunters probably don't realize that there are big bucks in other units, they are just going to focus on the MAP! Sure, I have spots in other units, it's just that those mountains are my favorite place to be, bucks or no bucks. In all my years hunting there, I have never had a cam stolen or a stand messed with. Those days are over. Mark

I always have the best results by having the camera point to the North. Less sun glare and less false trips (depending on the type of sensor in your cam). Also, if your cam does not have a laser pointer, they can be very useful to aim the cam. I use a small square aluminum block with a tight hole for a $10 pointer to aim the pointer at a 90 degree angle to the cam. Good luck and be careful, this can become addicting. To keep your cam yours, avoid water holes and near by roads. Having your cam tampered with or stolen is usually a not a question of "if" but "when". Also remember that unless we all hammer the commissioners with email this Fall, using salt and other bait will likely be illegal next year. I will keep you posted. Mark

Awesome buck Ramon! You have a great hunting future ahead of you! Keep careful watch over your dad, he needs you to keep him from hurting himself! Mark

Bummer man. You might be right, he might be trying to discourage you. Water holes are risky. It kind of makes you want to hook up claymores to a motion switch on your camera. Game cam theft is like termites in Arizona: it's not a question of "if", but "when". Best of luck to you guys. Mark

Not only salt, but grain too. The anti's can shut down your favorite water hole for your season just by dumping a few bags of grain around it. Not only could you lose your animal and be fined, but you would lose your hunting license for 5 years. The commission has really clamped down on violations, and are revoking hunting licenses for 5 years for almost any violation, from poaching an animal, to taking one too many quail, to littering while hunting. You can check it out for yourself: http://www.azgfd.gov/inside_azgfd/meeting_minutes.shtml under License Revocations. The point is that even if you don't use salt, or even if you use salt but not feed, any "baiting" rule will affect us all. If you only hunt water, think about how all the hunters that can't use bait any more will descend on "your" water hole. We can't let G&F divide the bait users form the non-bait users, they conquer us all. Mark

Unfortunately, it has not gone away. All state rule changes have been on hold until Gov. Brewer could get her appointees into their jobs. On June 30, the hold is over, and G&F will start working the bait issue again. The rumors are that they plan to re-write the ban slightly to clarify that it does not apply to water, and then present it to the commission for a vote in October. The kicker is that G&F is not legally obligated to publish the re-written rule before it goes to the commission for a vote. G&F is saying that they "might" post the re-written rule on some hunting websites a week or two before the vote. It will be a short fuse to fight it, but if you guys can crank out the emails to the commissioners like you did before, we might have a chance. Stay tuned. Mark

You guys should show some respect for Mike. He has been on this forum for along time and is always helpful and friendly, not to mention that he has killed bigger bucks with his bow than a lot of you have just seen through your binocs. Mark