billrquimby

Hey Lark: I thought we fought this thing out to a conclusion many months back. You should know by now that the "eastern whitetail" is a mythical beast. There are 40 whitetail subspecies on this planet and not one of them carries that scientific or common name. Bill Quimby

If you want my book and would like to have it autographed, PM me. I have a couple of copies here at the cabin. Also, if you'd like to read about hunting in Africa, I suggest you start with J.A. Hunter's bookls, as well as Use Enough Gun by Robert Ruark. There are lots more, but these will get you going. Bill Quimby

You beat me to it, Lark. Great minds obviously share common brain waves. Bill Quimby

Using a booking agency such as Cabela's is a good way to book a hunt, if the companies they've lined up offer all the species and services you want. A better way, I think, is to attend an SCI convention and visit the booths offering South African hunts and ask those who impress you most which agents represent them. This way you'll get to meet the people you will be hunting with and see photos of their facilities. They may be reluctant to steer you to their agents, though. Like travel agents, it costs no more to use a booking agent. The hunting company pays them, not you. If the hunting company folds, which is not rare at all, you'll get your deposit back from the agent (if it is a member of the booking agency trade association, so ask). Bill Quimby

if it makes you guys feel better, I don't watch outdoor videos and had to Google Rick Clunn and Michael Waddell to learn who they are. If Jim Schockey hadn't been giving seminars at SCI conventions the last few years I wouldn't have known who he is, either. As for getting paid to hunt and fish, outdoor writers were doing it a long time before there were videos. Bill Quimby

Jim, Tony: I may be wrong, but I think the “Jess Burke antlers” are the same antlers that hung for years in Beaverhead Lodge and were acquired by the UA when the lodge was dismantled/burned. It’s encouraging to know that their DNA is different from Wyoming elk. However, it was my understanding that those antlers had been around so long their exact history was uncertain. As a boy and young man in Yuma in the 1950s, I must have heard at least three or four different stories about where that elk was shot and by whom. Elk antlers from mature bulls get handed down through generations and sometimes are transported long distances. Typically, they must be in awful shape before someone throws away or destroys a big set of antlers. There was a lot of interest in elk after the Merriam’s race allegedly vanished from our state, and this makes me wonder why so very few pre-1900 elk antlers were preserved in Arizona. It will be interesting to know what the DNA study of the Nelson specimens from the Museum of Natural History indicates. Edward William Nelson was a respected naturalist in his later years but in 1886 he was just 31 or 32 years old, and was known mostly as an amateur but experienced ornothologist. This was an era when men interested in natural history rushed around, trying to collect and describe as many “new” species and subspecies as possible, and shenanigans that would put today’s record-book cheaters to shame were not unknown. I’m not saying Nelson was a fraud early in life, but it was reported that he was suffering from tuberculosis and had a heart condition while living with his mother in a tent in Milligan Valley near Springerville and Eagar in 1886, This was the same year that Geronimo was captured, bringing a brief hiatus in Arizona’s Indian wars, but he probably would not have known it when he reported finding elk on Mount Ord. And that begs still another question: If there were large numbers of elk in the White Mountains, why would a seriously ill young man have to travel all they way to what could have been a very dangerous place (Mount Ord) before finding elk? He was living in what is prime elk country today and should have been able to shoot one from his tent if elk were present in the numbers some claim. If the elk heads and skins he reportedly personally collected do prove to be related to the Jess Burke antlers, that would make it seem likely that there were elk in the White Mountains prior to 1900. However, it would not explain why so few elk bones, teeth and antlers are in the archaeological records here. \Bill Quimby

"The native elk that inhabited the state was known as the Merriam's elk. Large herds, often numbering in the hundreds, gathered in the cienega's to feed on lush grasses. In early fall the distinct, high-pitched bugle of the majestic wapiti pierced the quiet of frosty mornings, issuing a challenge to other bulls who dare trespass on his harem. Unfortunately, a drastic change took place, and the Merriam's elk disappeared. Records indicate the last sightings occurred in the late 1890s and early 1900s. No one has been able to pinpoint the exact reasons why the Merriam's became extinct. Yet historians have long held to the theory that indiscriminate hunting over many years might have been the major cause of the animal's demise. The historians readily point fingers at the miners, soldiers and settlers. In their quest for survival, they considered the elk as a bare necessity to provide food and clothing." Tony: Where can I find literature mentioning "large herds, often numbering into the hundreds" of Merriam's elk? Other than Ben Avery's ramblings about the Beckers of Springerville allegedly paying hunters to slaughter elk for meat that they then sold to the railroad in Winslow, and similar undocumented stuff from Bob Housholder, I've found nothing that convinces me that we had elk in Arizona before those Wyoming elk were brought here. As far as I know no petroglyphs depicting elk have been found anywhere in Arizona and no more than a very few elk bones have been found in archaeological digs, at least not in the numbers that might be expected if elk actually existed here in any numbers. The few elk bones, tools and teeth found here could have been traded, much like the sea shells from the Gulf of California found in digs all over the state. Yes, there are heads and skins that are purported to be Merriam elk allegedly collected in Arizona, but the guy whose name is attached to them may or may not have visited our state when he claimed to have shot them. There also was a set of antlers that hung at the old Beaverhead Lodge for many years that allegedly were from a Merriam's elk, along with another set of ancient antlers someone found nailed to a shack on Mount Lemmon. I've heard of no other "Merriam elk" antlers here, but there may be a couple more. It would take DNA studies to learn if, in fact, these were from Merriam elk. Unfortunately, if they were, who's to say they were shot in Arizona? My point is, IF there were Merriam's elk here in great numbers, wouldn't Indians have chipped their images on rocks and scattered elk bones all around their villages as they did with our deer, sheep and pronghorn? Wouldn't they also would have used elk antlers and bones for tools, and wouldn't these have been found at every dig in elk country? Wouldn't more than just a few sets of pre-1900 elk antlers have survived, too? Also, considering the few roads in Arizona before 1900 through our rough terrain, it seems darned near impossible to me for a relatively few guys armed mostly with single shot rifles and a few lever-action repeaters to kill every last elk in Arizona in such a short period of time, even with year-around shooting of every elk encountered -- especially when early on the slaughter would have taken place in "hot" areas during the last Indian wars. Yes, I know the wolf and the grizzly bear were extirpated in Arizona, but neither was as abundant as elk would be, and both were relentlessly pursued and trapped because of the bounties paid under government programs. I don't know if the Merriam's elk existed here or not, but I would think there would be a heck of a lot more hard evidence and not just the anecdotal stuff originating with guys like Avery, Housholder, et al who wrote about what they were told by a friend of someone who had been told by his grandfather's uncle's cousin's brother about seeing great herds of elk in Arizona. Bill Quimby

I did that same trip in a raft with a group of reporters and Sierra Club members during high water and again in 4x4s with a Jeep club during the dry season many years ago when there was a controversy over whether to declare the Gila Box a designated wilderness and ban motorized travel through the Box. On the Sierra Club "show me" trip, a helicopter landed at our camp with John and Cindy McCain aboard. They spent the ngiht, listening to the Sierra Club proposals, then flew off the next day. No dignitaries showed up for the Jeep club trip. The columns I wrote for the Tucson Citizen said there should be no conflict between motorized travel and rafting. When there's water, it's a great place to raft. The rest of the year, the dry riverbed is a great place for off-road travel. I lost track of what happened after that. Did McCain "protect" the box and ban motorized travel down the dry riverbed? Bill Quimby

I won't know about the dinner until I learn if I need to check into the hospital. I'll get in touch with you if I need a ticket. Bill Quimby

Last August, there were more than 200 elk living on that hill abpve Crescent. Bill Quimby

Scotty: Can I buy a ticket at the door? I'll be in Tucson to take care of some business and visit my cardiologist that week, and I would like to go if he doesn't suggest changing my pacemaker and another laser procedure while I'm down there. Bill Quimby

Hi Scotty: It takes us a bit under five hours from Tucson to Greer, and our Tucson home is on the north side of town. Nonetheless, you might want to consider coming up here. We have three lakes, and the Little Colorado River runs through the village. The Hoyer and Benny Creek campgrounds are across from the lakes, and there are lots of places outside the Greer Recreational Area where you can camp anywhere you choose. There are no bluegills, but there are Apache trout in the lakes and river. They're not the easiest for a 3-year-old to catch, though. It's been my experience that little children have a short attention span, so the river (creek) would be a good place for her to explore when she tires of drowning worms. Let me know if you decide to come up. My daughter and her husband will be here over the July 4 holiday, but I may be of some help at other times. Bill Quimby

On a flight back from SCI's convention in Reno Saturday, I sat next to a German gunmaker who was flying to Tucson to visit his son at the UA. When he said he wanted to hunt something from horseback in the American West, I suggested he hunt a mountain lion. I couldn't recommend anyone because all of the lion hunters I knew in my lion hunting days are either dead or retired, but I said I would try to find a couple of names and let him choose who he wanted to hunt with. Any suggestions? Bill Quimby

With my Mac, I just type forums and my two favorite forums are just a click away. Bill Quimby

I like your new avatar, Amanda. Bill Quimby

Joshua: I sent you a PM and emailed my outfitter/PH friend in South Africa. Have a great hunt! Bill Quimby

Tod: I'm not certain, and for sure you should not bank on it, but I don't think you need any permit to possess a bow in South Africa. I do know someone who can arrange a one-day to more than a week of hunting at short notice, though. Bill Quimby

Quinton: I repeat: please do not lose your enthusiasm for writing. My intention was to help you, and to emphasize that proper spelling, grammar and syntax are everything when you write. Bill Quimby

Quinton: Please realize that I would not bother to say anything about your essay if I thought you lacked talent. Unfortunately, the only way you can grow as a writer is to know what is wrong with your work. I hope you understand that I only want to help you when I say: 1. “Coues” should always be capitalized. It is the name of the man for whom this deer was named. 2. There are Coues white-tailed deer, Coues whitetails, and Coues deer, but there is no such critter as a “Coues.” 2. The words may sound alike, but there is a big difference between “there,” “their,” and “they’re.” You used the same wrong word six times in your essay. 3. It is “weigh,” not “way,” when speaking about weights. 4. The plurals of buck and doe are bucks and does. You cannot make a word plural by adding an apostrophe S. Apostrophes are used only to make words possessive or indicate a contraction (such as don’t, won’t, can’t, etc.). A few words are both singular and plural, but most require an S or ES to become plural. 5. The Coues deer is found only in Arizona, New Mexico and northern Mexico. 6. In very long articles with complex themes, it can be good for the author to tell readers what he will say, then say it, and then remind readers what he said. It becomes redundant in a short, 350-word piece, however. Please don't let this tired old editor dampen your enthusiasm for writing. Keep writing and learning. You could be our next Hemingway, Ruark or Capstick. Bill Quimby

http://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/fo...43/m/3921099231

I've used the same stick for at least 20 years, and would hate to part with it. Bill Quimby

Poaching is terrible, but jail time and felony status should be reserved for crimes against humans, especially children. The fines he surely will pay in criminal and civil courts should be enough to punish him and make him change his ways. Bill Quimby

Lots of us have been using "Moses sticks" for at least 30-40 years, ever since the late taxidermist John Doyle and his friends Seymore and Jim Levy originated and promoted them. No need to spend any money or to get fancy with them. Just strip a sotol stalk of its chaff and cut it so it comes to your forehead when standing on level ground. The thin end goes down, and you can put a rubber cane tip on it if you want. These sticks are good for steadying yourself when coming off a mountain, but they also will do wonders for steadying your 10X binoculars. They need to be forehead height to use them when standing. Bill Quimby

Does a town council have the authority to manage wildlife and regulate what citizens do on state and federal lands in New Mexico? I can understand a county entity attempting this, but a town council? Bill Quimby

I spent May3-8 at the cabin, attending a couple of homeowners' meetings and hoping to get out to look for a turkey. Unfortunately, for the first time ever, the altitude got to me and I stayed in bed with headaches and shortness of breath most of the week. Greer was virtually deserted, and I didn't have to go far to see wildlife whenever I drove around. Elk were everywhere. A herd of 150 or so were feeding around the big cabin across River Lake at first light Tuesday, another 50 or so were hanging around Tunnel and Bunch lakes most of each day, more than 30 cows and calves crossed the road near Greer Mountain Shadows when I drove to Springerville for groceries, and 17 marched through my yard every morning and evening and spent each night in the meadow next to the Tin Star Trading Post. One of the biggest black bears I've seen in a long while was messng around my pumphouse when I drove up at 3 p.m. that Monday. There still was snow everywhere from that weekend's freak storm, and my yard was covered with fresh elk and deer tracks. I didn't see a deer, however. It was a great time to be on the mountain, and I can't wait to get back up there. Dang it, though, but I'm stuck down here in Tucson undergoing medical tests for at least another week! I just wish I could have used my turkey tag. My neighbors said they were seeing birds everywhere they went. Bill Quimby