bowsniper

Glucosamine works great on dogs, and my vet said it is safe. Use it every day, toss it in with the food. Costco has the cheapest. Mark

I'm a little worried that the FS isn't giving this fire much attention because there is no "harvestable board feet" for timber sales in the area. Mark

+++++1! Mark

Why waste time with the unit? Just have him post a color map with the GPS coordinates. Mark

I spend at least 5 or 6 days scouting for every hunt. It's hard for me to imagine hunting without field scouting, unless I were going out of state, and had a friend or guide scouting for me. You can look at all the maps you want, (I use them too) but without putting your foot in the dirt before opening day, you really reduce your chances significantly. Good Luck! Mark

I don't know much about turkeys, but I always thought that long beards and big spurs went together, and short beards and small spurs went together. So a couple of weeks ago when I arrowed what I thought was a jake, with a thin short beard, I was pretty surprised when he had one inch spurs. But not as surprised as I was last week, when my son, kidbowhunter, arrowed a big gobbler (24 lbs) with a thick 9" beard, that had 1/8" nubs for spurs. Somebody, please educate this confused, displaced coues hunter! Mark

Thanks for the response. Yeah, both birds had full fans, no shorter feathers. Mark

LOL! Funny how that works! I have the same problem, I can't sit still at work, no problem in the blind!

Way to go, Troy! I am one proud papa! It was hard to find that downed bird, but the Lord lead us to him. I am amazed how you can sit still in a blind for 13 hours! It was interesting to see you get buck fever for the first time two weeks ago, I was beginning to wonder if you were normal! But you came back with a great shot! Dad

Inconsistent and confused is one way to desribe it. I lean more toward shady and greedy. As far as OTC youth tags, I think it is great. Mandatory harvest reporting would be a great managment tool. If the kids start wackin and stackin then adjust the draw tags accordingly. I think they should do the same with deer. Not OTC but load up the Juniors and cut the Adults cause AZGFD doesn't give a rats butt about proper managment anyhow. You're right, I was trying to be politically correct for once. I won't let it happen again! Mark

Way to go Grant! You nailed him! I have seen quite a few yotes come in when trying call in a gobbler. I always thought it would be fun, if you didn't get drawn for a tag, to practice your turkey calling and whacking yotes at the same time. I've never done it because I was worried that G&F would try to ticket me for hunting turkeys without a tag, even if I were using a centerfire. Mark

It's a great idea!! We need more opportunities like this to engage our kids into hunting. What I don't understand, why not mandatory kill reporting reporting like OTC deer? As usual, G&F is inconsistent and confused. Mark

Here is an update on the "Bait": Because of the Governor's delay, G&F will not restart the rule making process until May 1. In May, G&F will be "re-writing" the bait ban rule. In July, the director will approve it, and the commission will vote on it August 7 or 8. The new rule would be in place around December. I was told by G&F that they were "not required" to publish the re-written rule until the commission meeting on August 7. This concerns me, and I do not understand how they can withhold the new rule until the commission meeting. I was told that they (G&F) "might" post the re-written rule on "some web sites before the commission meeting". Mark

Which commissioner is he replacing? Mark

Dick King and others have been pushing this for years. Two years ago Leonerd Ordway's reason was that "G&F" did not want create more obstructions or roadblocks for hunters. Gee, thanks Leonerd! I always suspected that G&F did not want good data. Good data would be more difficult to manipulate. Mark

I'd like to hi-jack this thread and change the subject to wolves or cows on public land, something less controversial. Any takers? Mark

I just placed an order for ammo at: http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/browse/...dex.aspx?k=ammo They had some of the best prices I could find and seemed to have a good stock. Use coupon code SG255 for $10 off on orders more than $99. The code is good through March 3, 2009. Mark

Hey Clay, What brand of form do you use for coues deer?

Ammo has been in short supply the last few years, but the election really finished it off. Your best bet is over the internet. Good luck! Mark

For once, I am speechless. Mark

I received this email from Commissioner Martin: February 11, 2009 To all who have contacted me regarding the baiting issue raised in the Article 3 Rule Review: Please forgive my use of a blanket response for all of your unique concerns. I am responding this way in the interests of giving the necessary time to all of the many issues that come before me. If any of you feel that your comments are not adequately addressed in this response, please send me a follow-up e-mail requesting further dialogue. I will be happy to look at your individual concerns in more depth as necessary. My considerations are the following: 1) Fair Chase I am not entirely comfortable regulating for fair chase. I feel that this may be more appropriately viewed as an individual style choice on the part of every hunter. My primary concerns when considering big game hunt regulations are population sustainability in the context of harvest numbers and ethical/humane treatment of wildlife in the context of allowable methods. I see fair chase as being outside of these two considerations. What constitutes fair chase is subjective, which is one of the reasons I feel uncomfortable regulating for it. One hunter may view use of scents as giving too much of an artificial advantage in the hunt and not being appropriate from a fair chase perspective while another may find it perfectly appropriate. The same can be said of using calls, hunting over water, etc. I am concerned that in regulating these decisions we may be requiring adherence to values that are better left to personal choice. I view humans as natural predators. Humans are exceptionally intelligent predators, and use of bait seems like a natural step for such an intelligent predator to take. While I haven’t researched the history of the use of bait, it would not surprise me to learn that prehistoric tribal practices included use of bait, and baiting has certainly become a traditional practice in more recent history. Unlike advantages that have evolved with technological advances, baiting seems to me to be akin to natural methods used by intelligent predators. 2) Hunter success rates vs. maximizing hunters in the field This practice has become a significant management issue in some units that may result in fewer tags being allocated in the future. Considering the well-known decline in hunter participation and the fact that a primary reason for that trend reported by hunters is lack of opportunity to hunt, reducing tags is a very unfortunate step to be forced to take. This scenario is well worth avoiding. I would like to solve this localized problem with minimal increased regulation from a state-wide perspective. It may be that the best way to solve the management issue we are facing without unduly restricting hunters is to allow the use of mineral attractants, but restrict the use of artificial food sources. Despite my discomfort with regulating for fair chase, there is a management issue that must be addressed, and I want to address it without reducing tags. 3) Disease transmission Disease transmission at baiting sites is a valid concern. Use of water catchments as a management technique is often criticized and potential for disease transmission is referenced, but it can be argued that since water in an arid climate is localized and catchments provide more water sources across the landscape, risk of disease transmission may actually be reduced. Food sources reflect the opposite situation. Forage is naturally spread across the landscape, and baiting sites focus feeding in one area. While we lack data to show that disease transmission will occur, if we wait for such data to emerge, effects on local populations could be devastating. Again, allowing the use of mineral attractants but restricting the use of artificial feeding could alleviate this concern. 4) Law enforcement Many of you have voiced concerns regarding the potential for citations to occur outside of the intent of the language. Our rules are written in collaboration with our law enforcement staff, and this a wordsmithing issue. I am confident that we can identify the intent of this rule clearly enough to eliminate the potential for erroneous citations. These considerations reflect my views at the time of this writing, and should not be viewed as predecisional. Compelling arguments may be presented to me as this discussion continues that could change my thinking on these matters. In light of the moratorium on rulemaking, we have time to discuss this issue and take all viewpoints into consideration. Thanks to all of you for taking the time to contact me. Public input is invaluable to me personally, and critical to the Commission’s decision-making process. JM

Sounds like a good solution, and G&F still get to sell lots of tags. A win/win. Mark

It sure seemed to me to be much less crowded than normal for December and January deer. Anyone else get the same feeling? I was think it was the economy. Mark

Governor Brewer’s Management Directive will do 2 things: 1) The baiting issue will be moved from the April 17 G&F meeting agenda to the June meeting agenda . 2) It will give us two more months to write letters to the commissioners! The public comment period for the rule is over, but I think it is even more effective to write the commissioners! We can keep writing them up until the June commission meeting. Keep it up. One commissioner has already said that he has received comments on this issue than any other issue during his term. Lets get them all so they can say that! If you haven't written them yet, it is very easy to do on the G&F website (link below). If you have already written to all of them, do it again in March, April, May, and June! Lets not let this issue die out until the June meeting. I saw one email from a commissioner saying that this no baiting rule was not initiated by the commissioners, but by G&F enforcement officers. If this is true, the commissioners are getting lots of heat about an issue they may not care too much about. Keep up the heat so the squeaky wheels get greased. http://www.azgfd.gov/inside_azgfd/commission_members.shtml Mark

You guys that are NRA members (even if you are not): Commissioner Martin has a close association with the NRA, and the NRA opposes restrictions on baiting. I have seen responses from all the commissioners except Commissioner Martin. Please send a quick email to the NRA asking them to contact Commissioner Martin to oppose the bait ban. The email address is: ila-contact@nrahq.org Here is the email that I sent to the NRA: Dear NRA: The Arizona Game and Fish Department is preparing to pass a new rule that would prohibit the use of bait to aid in the taking of big game. This rule would include the use of salt, salt based products, feed, and possibly, depending how the new rule is interpreted, even water. Arizona Game Commissioner Jennifer L. Martin has a close association with the NRA and has not publicized her position on the bait ban. The commission will meet on April 17, 2009 to vote on the ban. Please contact Commissioner Martin and encourage her to oppose the ban on baiting. Also, please update your NRA-ILA Arizona State Alert page to provide information about this issue to encourage members to contact the Arizona commissioners and oppose this new rule. Contacting the commissioners can easily be done through this link: http://www.azgfd.gov/inside_azgfd/commissi...rs.shtml#carter Thank you, Mark Lucas NRA Member # XXXXXXX