billrquimby

Trout also are not found at the same depth from day to day. Water temperature and oxygen quality at various levels can change daily and hourly, and trout will move up and down to stay in the zones they prefer. There also are days when they're too busy feeding on something else to chase worms. Bill Quimby

I wonder where his friends were. Coatis usually are found in groups. I've seen packs of two dozen or more. Bill Quimby

I've stopped by Chuck Meacham's taxidermy shop five or six times at various hours in the last month and have yet to find him there. There is a "Closed" sign on the wall outside,but no other information is posted. Is he still in business? Has he been ill or out of town? Does anyone know his telephone number? The one in the Yellow Pages is not valid. Bill Quimby

Amanda. Thank you. I went back and read the entire story. Something for everyone to remember: your text is much easier to read when it is broken into many short paragraphs. Newspapers and many magazines, for example, rarely will publish more than two sentences per paragraph. On the screens on which we view internet forums, it also helps readability to add a space between each paragraph. At any rate, congratulations to the shed hunters. What a wonderful day you had! Bill Quimby

Snapshot: At one time or another over the past 60-65 years, I've walked and ridden horses and mules along every inch of all three forks of the Little Colorado River from where they begin on Mount Baldy down to the where the agricultural check station below Becker Lake is now. I truly love that little creek. It is amazing how many types of wildlife live along it -- from bears and beavers to elk, mule and white-tailed deer, turkeys, antelope, and lion, blue grouse, bald eagles, and every type of waterfowl found in Arizona. Years ago, when AZGFD was trying to introduce them to Apache County, I even saw California Valley quail and ringneck pheasants downstream from South Fork. There is no way to guess how many trout it produced for me since my first trip to Greer as a boy soon after World War II ended. Even today, whenever I drive to the end of the road at Government Springs and see the spots where my in-laws and I camped and fished a half century ago, so many good memories come flooding back that it brings tears to my eyes. I've asked my family to scatter my ashes along the Little Colorado, starting at Sheep's Crossing. That way, parts of me will be deposited at a few other spots I remember fondly -- the Grand Canyon, the Colorado River lakes, El Gulfo, the Colorado River Delta, and the islands of the Gulf of California. I've seen a lot of this planet, but I can think of no better places to spend eternity. Bill Quimby

I'm not saying it has happened or will happen. However, with funds from the Arizona Lottery and income tax donations financing an expanded non-game branch, "infiltration" certainly is possible. Bill Quimby

Snapshot. I've also seen bucks between the junction and Hoyer Campground, as well as around the Greer lakes. They usually have been alone and seldom hang around for more than a few days. I think it's a travel route for antelope that are heading higher or lower on the mountain. There's a similar area near Iris Springs that antelope heading to and from the meadows between Carnero Lake and Green's Peak use. I've never seen them at these "crossings" during a hunt, though, and I drive the back roads near Greer at least once a week between May and October. Bill Quimby

"I had to quit reading your original post due to all the jargon and text-type half words, etc." Glad to see I have company. Echo co's great tale of a fine day afield was spoiled by lethargy at the keyboard. Bill Quimby

We used to have to wait three years after drawing an elk or antelope tag before applying again. As bustedknuckleinc and snapshot have correctly pointed out, it did not statistically improve anyone's chance of drawing a tag and the requirement was dropped. Bill Quimby

Didn't draw a tag in Arizona, and I refuse to pay $175 for a turkey in New Mexico. I'm going to Safeway instead. Bill Quimby

PM me with your email address. Bill Quimby

I drew my third choice, a cow elk tag in a hunt near our cabin. That elk will be my 76th birthday present to myself if I can collect it. Bill Quimby

A crash is not always fatal. I had a hardware breakdown a couple of years back and after I spent $300 at a repair shop in Show Low to learn it could not be repaired, a friend was able to retrieve the files from my old hard drive and transfer them to my new IMac. Bill Quimby

Most of Unit One's antelope are in the grasslands northwest of Springerville, especially on the Game and Fish Department property. You almost always can glass antelope from the hill above the Eagar garbage transfer station, as well as from a cinder knoll on the highway about 10-15 miles north of Springerville. However, in your scouting, don't overlook the higher country. The "hidden" meadows around Green's Peak along the reservation boundary, as well as the wide-open country around Wahl Knoll, Pat Knoll, White Mountain Lake and Big Lake sometimes have good bucks. So does the juniper country from Loco Knoll to the Socorro Highway along the New Mexico border, although some of it is private land and posted against entry. Don't know what to say about bowhunting them, but I've shot a few in Arizona and Wyoming with rifles. I try to find and pattern a buck I want, and put him to bed the night before the season opens and get back there before daylight. They don't usually move far at night. If he has moved, though, I go straight to where I know he will spend the day. Scouting is super important. Antelope hunting is a lot of fun, but it also can be frustrating. Good luck. Bill Quimby

That boat is getting crowded. I'm having the same problem. Bill Quimby

The telephone is busy and the website is down. Sounds like it could be a couontry/western song title. Bill Quimby

"I'm not a small guy (6'1"/185) but I have started getting flinchy in the past.Z" It's been my experience that small-frame men and women feel heavy recoil less than I do (I'm 6 foot 3 and 285). I've not seen anything that supports this, except that I do know several guys and a couple of women who weigh 150 pounds or less who shoot .458s and .460s a bunch in Africa. They merely rock with the recoil of these big bores. I get slammed around. BillQuimby

The weight of a rifle also directly affects recoil energy, and lighter is not better. If I were limited to just one rifle, and I wanted something light to use on everything in Arizona, I would choose a .25-06, a 6.5 Remington Magnum, a .257 Weatherby, or a 7x57. These are mild-recoiling (even with lightweight Tupperware stocks, short actions and skinny barrels) calibers shooting 120- to 140-grain bullets at acceptable speeds. The late George Parker, a rancher and international hunter who lived in Amado, successfully used his .25-06 on nearly every type of animal in North America (except polar bear) and every type of African antelope, including giant sable and eland. Roy Weatherby is said to have used his .257 on Cape buffalo, and the 7x57 has killed more than one elephant. The 6.5 Remington Magnum with proper barrel length is a sleeper, with ballistics similar to many of the wildcats long-range shooters are building today. Bill Quimby

RECOIL MEASURED IN FOOT POUNDS OF ENERGY .30-30 Win. (170 gr at 2200 fps) ----11.0 fpe .30-40 Krag (180 gr at 2430 fps) ---- 16.6 fpe .300 Sav. (150 gr at 2630 fps) ---- 14.8 fpe .308 Win. (180 gr at 2610 fps)---- 17.5 fpe .30-06 Spfd. (180 gr at 2700 fps) ---- 20.3 fpe .300 Rem. SAUM (180 gr at 2960 fps) ---- 23.5 fpe .300 WSM (180 gr at 2970 fps) ---- 23.8 fpe .300 Win. Mag. (180 gr at 2960 fps) ---- 25.9 fpe .300 Wby. Mag. (180 gr at 3240 fps) ---- 31.6 fpe .300 Ultra Mag. (180 gr at 3230 fps) ---- 32.8 fpe .30-378 Wby. Mag. (180 gr at 3300 fps) ---- 42.6 fpe The recoil from the .300 Weatherby Magnum is considerable, as the above chart shows. It is nearly three times a .30-30, about 40% more than a .308, and about 30% more than a .30-06. It has been said that about 15 fpe is the upper limit of "comfortable" shooting for most people, and that frequent shooting of rifles having a fpe over about 20 pounds eventually will cause a shooter to begin flinching. A muzzle brake can make a .300 Weatherby bearable to shoot, but brakes present problems of their own. Bill Quimby

Guys: Check the regulations. They say: " Hunt permit-tags and refund warrants (will be) mailed out by April 20, 2012." The agency is being badmouthed for getting drawing results out early in the past. It still is on schedule this year. Bill Quimby

When I am king, hunting TV shows will be banned. It also would be off-with-his-head for anyone who had ever been filmed high-fiving, giggling or snorting after shooting something from his perch up in a tree. TV hunting shows threaten our heritage, and the majority of them make hunters look like idiots. Bill Quimby

My factory-built Model 700 Remington in 6.5 Remington Magnum is ballistically similar to all you've mentioned, and I can buy Remington brass from Midway USA already formed and properly head-stamped. It shoots any brand of 120- and 140-grain bullets tighter than minute-of-deer at any range I ask of it. Bill Quimby

Drawing? You want a drawing? Here are some of mine. Bill Quimby

Craig, I did not mean to hijack your thread. I could not play the videos, but I'm sure those were great bulls. You are correct about our elk. We are quite fortunate that they indeed are a cut far above those of every other U.S. state. Bill Quimby

Yes, they were released in New Zealand, along with red deer, sika deer, white-tailed deer, fallow deer, moose and sambar. There still are reports of moose sightings on the South Island from time to time, but most hunters believe the moose did not survive. All the other transplants were a success, though. Because red deer and elk are the same species, there are lots of hybrids down there. The bull in the photo does not appear to be a hybrid, judging only by appearance. Hybrids usually have smaller bodies, and "crowns" instead of "whale tails." Australia introduced a number of deer species at about the same time, including sambar, red deer, hog deer, axis deer, fallow deer, rusa deer, etc., but as far as I know no whitetails or elk transplants were done. Bill Quimby