bowsniper

Better hurry if you want to use the trust for NFA toys. After December the Feds are changing the NFA rules for gun trusts.

Really glad that your pup made it. There is a guy from Tucson that not only does rattle snake training but toad training also. I have had the snake training done but need to have the toad training done too.

The lion was well known by non-hunter locals and tourists. That makes him a "pet". The same thing happens in unit 11M every few years, someone kills the local "pet" elk. If we want to keep hunting, we need to stay out of the lamestream media. That may mean passing on a few well known "pets".

Well said. That pretty much sums it up. Mark

I was thinking about heading up to to fish silver creek near Showlow later this week. Possibly Becker. I have never been up there. I haven't been fly fishing too long, but I sure want to get better at it. Any suggestions? thanks, Mark

1000 dogs? Really? You must trade them in every year for a new model. Mark

Not that you can't get a good dog on the cheap, but with dogs you usually get what you pay for. Not only temperament, but health - hips, eyes, life span. What are your goals with the dog? Family pet, hunting, both? How much time are you willing to invest to make sure that he is socialized with people and other dogs? Do you have time to do basic obedience training so he knows that you are the pack leader and won't destroy your house or yard? Are you willing to make him a pack member with your family and let him be inside with you whenever you are home? (Back yard dogs are a bad situation. German Sheppards are great family dogs, so are labs and short hairs but they can hunt too. Expect to spend at least $1000 for a good reliable dog. Mark

Am I the only one who thinks that gofundme for this is a little weird? Mark

Don't rush it, or your shoulder will be loose and prone to dislocations forever. Get to a conservative ortho doc and follow his advice. Good luck, Mark

As many of you know, bowhunter4life’s son Jared, (17yrs old) was diagnosed with stage 3B Hodgkins Lymphoma. He has undergone chemo treatments for the past two months and must undergo many more because the cancer has been reduced by only 30%. (See more about Jared at http://www.gofundme.com/jznbaw) This has caused not only tremendous emotional strain, but is also an incredible financial burden to the family. Not only for medical bills, but Jared’s dad (bowhunter4life) has missed significant time from work and mom (Kristen) has quit her job to care for Jared. Thank you to all the generous people who have donated to this brave teen and his family! You can make a donation to help Jared get well that will not cost you anything! Jared is a junior at Phoenix Christian High School. You can make a tax free credit donation to the school for Jared’s tuition, and receive your entire donation refunded to you on your Arizona 2014 tax return! If you have not filed your 2014 taxes yet, (and you have not exceeded the maximum donation $1070 for other students) you can donate to Jared and get the entire amount back on your taxes. (Single Taxpayer max $535, Married Couple max $1070) I have done this for several years with no issues. It is part of the AZ tax code. It’s easy, here is how you do it: Go to the ACSTO website: http://www.acsto.org/ and click on “For Donors”; Click on “Donate as a Guest”; Fill in your information for your tax credit receipt; In the “ORIGINAL TAX CREDIT” fields enter the donation amount, “Phoenix Christian Preparatory School”, and Jared’s name, “Jared Ornoski”. Enter your credit card information; ACSTO will send you a receipt; File your taxes on Arizona Form 140 with the ACSTO receipt and AZ tax form 323; Get your refund back for the complete donation amount with your AZ tax refund, and then pay back your credit card; Your donation is applied directly to Jared’s tuition; Note: You cannot use forms (140A) or 140EZ. Also, your donation cannot exceed what you pay AZ state taxes in 2014. (Not a problem for most of us) Please, take a look at the ACSTO website and check it out and get compete info. Thank you, Mark From the ACSTO website: The tax credit laws specifically describe the allowance of a tax credit for donations made to organizations like ACSTO. This is possible because the taxpayer is choosing where to make the donation, not the government, thus allowing private money, not public money, to be scholarshipped for any type of private school (secular or religious). When you give, you are making a donation, and Arizona will grant a tax credit in return for that donation when you file your tax return. That is why we use 'donation' language and do not use 'redirecting' language. Tax Credit #1: The Arizona Private School Tuition Tax Credit Law, A.R.S. Section 43-1089 (nicknamed the Original Tax Credit), allows a single taxpayer to make a donation to ACSTO for up to $528 and a married couple filing jointly to donate up to $1056, and receive a dollar-for-dollar tax credit against the taxpayer’s Arizona state income tax.

Here is a way you can use your AZ tax dollars to help in Jared's fight: http://www.coueswhitetail.com/forums/topic/56034-you-can-make-a-donation-to-jareds-cancer-battle-at-no-cost-to-you/ You can donate and then get the donation refunded to you in your tax refund! Mark

If you have already made the max donation (Single Taxpayer max $535, Married Couple max $1070) for tax year 2014, you cannot get the refund for the tax year 2014. But, you can roll the donation over to your 2015 tax year and receive the refund for the amount when you file your 2015 taxes. Jared does not qualify for the Overflow/PLUS scholarship/ form Form 348. Overflow/PLUS scholarships are for students in special situations. As I said, if you have ready made the max donation for the "Original Tax credit" with form 323 for tax return year 2014, you can still make the donation and receive the refund next year. As always, "consult your tax professional"

Jared has a very important cancer test today. Please say a prayer that Jared's test goes well today! Mark

Yeah, the unit 9 archery hunt is a WASTE of points. Don't apply for it. Won't be anything over 280" left after these 25 guys get done. Are there even 25 bulls in the unit? What do the rest of you guys think about the archery hunt? I have max points. I have heard both opinions: The archery hunt will suck, and the archery hunt will be fantastic this year because it's a week later.

Jared, God bless you, you are a fighter! My family and I pray for you everyday. Mark

HEY!! That's my lion! Good job, Jim!

Sven Eberson. All he does are birds! The very best! 623-451-7836

Is this true? I thought that if the property is not posted (no trespassing or no hunting) you can hunt there unless you are told to leave by the owner. Mark

Ditto on Sven! He is a bird fanatic! He has downsized his collection, but at one time he had hundreds of different live birds in his backyard. All he does are birds, and no one does a turkey as well as Sven. His number is 623-451-7836. Mark

Why?

Thanks to great loyal friends, I was able to fill my 40B Copper/Mohawk desert bighorn sheep tag on Wednesday. I had a bunch of pictures from around the area of some big monsters, but I wasn’t hunting for one ram in particular. I had a family vacation planned over Christmas (more important than the sheep tag), so I did not plan to be real picky and hold out for a monster. Also, my then 15 year old son had the same tag 3 years ago, and we had a hard time just to find two sheep in several days with a bunch of people helping us. I started the hunt with just 3 of my closest hunting buddies. (Thank you to all who planned to come out this next weekend and help.) We are bow hunters, so we were a little out of our element on a rifle sheep tag. We saw one of the other tag holders, and he had a dozen people glassing with binoculars that needed a wheelbarrow, and this did get me kind of worried. But my friends Lonnie, Mike (hoghntr on CWT.com) , and Steve are incredible glassers, and I was comfortable shooting out to 500 yards, so I thought we had a reasonable chance. Also, several people offered to be around later in the hunt, and that REALLY eased the pressure on me. Opening morning we found a ram that Steve had glassed up the day before at about 2000 yards. He was in the 150’s and very pretty. I tried to close on in him to 500 yards and take him, but he bolted up the mountain when we were at 550 yards. We checked on him several hours later and he was still at the top of the mountain. The second day we tried a new area and Steve saw a ram disappear around a wall at several thousand yards. We went out to find him but never saw him again. On the third day we tried yet another new area. Steve unfortunately need to leave for home. About 9am, Mike picked up three rams about 1500 yards out. They were small, medium, and LARGE. They disappeared around a ridge. Lonnie and I started hiking down a wash to close the gap, while Mike held tight trying to find them again. Lonnie and I had been out two hours without finding them when it started to rain. It had been warm and sunny, we were completely unprepared for the rain, so we crawled under rocks to wait it out. Shortly after the rain ended Lonnie found the small ram way up on the mountain. I climbed up a smaller mountain in between the sheep and us for a better look and hopefully a shot. I took a long time to slowly crest the last ten feet and look over. The ram on opening day bolted at 500 yards, and now I was within 300 yards of these guys, so I was being extra “STEALTH”. I glassed up the small ram looking right at me at 325 yards. He had probably been watching the “STEALTH” hunter for the last 10 minutes. I finally glassed up the last two at 225 yards, again looking straight at me. So much for STEALTH. I set up, ranged them, and dialed in the turrents on my scope. The big guy was facing me and would not turn. I knew that I could nail him with a frontal shot, but the medium ram was right behind him. Eventually the big guy started walking and stopped broadside. I was completely locked in with a good surprise break, the shot felt really good. At the same time, Mike was far below with his scope on a big ram. He heard the shot, and the ram just stood there chewing, not caring about the shot. Mike was looking at a different ram, but for a while thought that I had missed the shot. Anyway, after the shot, the large ram started running up the hill with medium ram. I was a little concerned that they were running together at the same speed, but when only one came out from behind a rock wall, I figured he was down. I reached him just before dark. He was several hundred feet up steep cliffs, plus a half a mile down canyon from the truck. We finally got him back to the truck about mid-night. There is no way I could have taken this ram on my own. First an foremost, I thank the Lord for blessing me with this hunt and all the people who helped me! Thanks Lonnie, Mike, and Steve! We had a blast! Thanks to Matthew and Robby for all the info and moral support. Thanks to a bunch of guys on this forum who provided me with tactics and other info. And last but not least, thanks to my wonderful wife, who sent us out with a truck load of great food and encouragement! Picture of ram from last summer. Photo credit: Matthew

They did not say anything. What is the rule? Mark

Redneck channels: FOX News, Military Channel, History Channel, Outdoor Channel. That's about all.

The biopsy tests came back showing some cancer. Jared and his family are seeing an oncologist tomorrow. Please pray for God's healing hand to touch Jared. Also please pray for God to give the entire family comfort, re-assure them of His healing power and grace, and bless them with calmness. Here is a link to Jared's hunt last Fall: http://www.coueswhitetail.com/forums/topic/52656-jared-last-youth-tag/