AZJR

As usual Tony has the info from the AZGFD at the ready, good job Tony! The only thing I will add, and only because there are often misunderstandings about it, is that it is NOT necessary for the applicant to have completed Hunter Education prior to applying for a permit; only that the Hunter Education Certification needs to be obtained and carried in the field at the time of and during the hunt. Good Luck to all! Jim Rich MV, AZ

Jim Zumbo is back. He pens the back page column in Petersen's Hunting Magazine; perhaps not every issue, but frequently.

My son had an archery bull tag in Unit 8 last fall, he wasn't able to arrow a bull. It was quieter than we'd have liked and certainly much quieter than most of the other rut timed hunts for elk I'd experienced previously. There was decent water levels in the tanks we checked and hunted around. What's the tank water situation in 8 this year?

Congrats young man! Beautiful buck, fine eating ahead for their family and a super cool mount for his room!

Tragic for his family and community of friends who will miss him terribly. I pray the peace of the Lord and their faith will comfort them through their loss. Hopefully those closest to them will follow through and take those boys hunting and continue to foster the keen interest the young fella obviously shared with his Dad for the hunt and all things outdoors. If ever a kid needed a faithful mentor at this time it’s him.

All sold out as of Thursday morning according to Cabela's rep at the phone # listed with the national advertisement.

Good to see a serious hunter among the successful business folks on the President's committee to open the country in Jimmy John Liautaud.

I would like it if they had a cart that all the purchases dropped into and then one aggregate charge for all items in the cart.

Hoping you have a full recovery soon!

Great thread RR, thanks for starting it. We're likely close in age as John Wooters was quite the guns/hunting writer when I purchased my first centerfire rifle too. The two writers I read without fail were Jack O'Connor and Wooters. JOC was the Win M70 .270 Win man, Wooters was commonly shown with his Sako Forrester in .308 Win with the full length mannlicher stock. I compromised and bought a Sako bolt rifle in .270 Win, with a pretty blonde stock and a Leupold 2X-7X in the heavy Sako rings that came with the rifle. I purchased it at Andrew's Sporting Goods in Long Beach, CA in 1984 IIRC. Can't remember if Andrew's had changed it's name to Turner's Sporting Goods at that time yet? Loaded up Sierra 130 gr Boattail bullets with war surplus H4831 powder; it was a fine load in a very accurate rifle. I wish I still had that rig, sold it because it "was too heavy" after lugging it around the Sierra Nevada Mountains for a few seasons. I replaced it with a push-feed M70 in .270 Win built by Brown Precision. I still have that rifle and prefer it over everything else acquired over the years.

Photos taken in Unit 10

For AZ pronghorn I have used: .270 Win M70, 140Gr Nosler BT, 120 yards . 45 cal Knight MK85, 490 gr home poured lead slug, 95 gr Pyrodex Select, 75 yards . 45 cal, same rifle & load, 125 yards . 50 cal Knight Wolverine, unfilled tag, was real picky and didn't take my target buck .270 Win M70, 140Gr Nosler Partition, 150 yards

What about this one? Looks like a wolf to my eye.

It's tough drawing bull tags even if you are an AZ resident. I have applied for elk every year for the past 34 years as a resident and have drawn a total of 7 elk tags, 5 of which were bull tags, all early archery tags. That's an average of nearly 5 years per tag. If I were 71 (not there yet but it's off in the not so distant future now) and had a hike or two or three left in me I'd be dang happy with an archery bull tag in 7W. It's super pretty country with varied terrain, lots of space to find a fine bull and have an adventure. Hiring a guide would increase the likelihood of taking a better bull I'd think for a NR archer not familiar with the unit, but 7W is doable DIY if necessary. Wherever you end up applying for, I wish you good luck in the draw and go find a bull that fulfills your dreams.

A remarkable story, wow! Topped off with the young lady taking a ram of a lifetime, congrats to her and you all. She is on her quest for the Grand Slam now.

Shared adventure no doubt makes it all the sweeter, that's a terrific ram, congratulations.

Taking the ram you picked out from preseason scouting must give you extra satisfaction, well done. Congratulations on a fine sheep!

That's one fine ram, well done!

Beautiful Ram congratulations to the Hunter and those who helped out. How many days did he end up hunting to harvest his pretty ram?

Great ram, tip of the cap for your effort to get him, congratulations!

Beautiful ram, well done, I am sure it was an adventure!

I hunted the unit last Fall and also have AT&T as my cell provider. I had service throughout the area for text and calls with no issues. Good luck on your hunt.

We have seats available for two Online Field Day events in AZ Region III as of 7/31/18. The first event will be held on Saturday, August 18th, 6:00 AM - 10:30 AM @ the 7 Mile Hill Shooting Range / Mohave Sportsman's Club in Golden Valley, AZ. The 2nd event will be held on Sunday, August 19th, 6:00 AM - 10:30 AM @ the Tri State Shooting Park in Fort Mohave, AZ. Both events are posted in the Hunter Education portion of the Department website/portal...azgfd.gov Scroll down to Education, Hunter Education, Find an Online Field Day and look for the two dates. Specific info about the events are detailed at the registration point. According to Department stats, there are lots of successful youth applicants who have not yet completed their Hunter Education Requirement for the upcoming Fall hunts. Good Luck this coming season! Jim

The age to complete Hunter Education in AZ was moved to 9 several years back. From your post it looks like your son would have taken the class approximately 12 years ago, hence the instructor providing a Participation Certificate at that time. Situations like yours was why the Department changed the rules to allow for 9 year olds to participate in our Hunter Education Courses.

Congratulation on the tag BigTub, have a terrific adventure!