billrquimby

Thanks, everyone. Looks like listening to elk bugle from our cabin's back porch and watching them walk through our yard is a thing of the past. Someone bought the big meadow across the road from us and is cutting it up for homesites. A couple of weeks ago he brought in some heavy equipment and dug an 8-foot-deep trench (we were told it so he could drain the meadow) all around the area where our little herd was entering the meadow. I support his right to develop and sell his property, but I sure will miss our elk. The good thing is I don't have to go far to see other herds, though. Bill Quimby

Those of you who have a few years before retirement can ride this so-called "correction" out if you or your employers can stay in business, which is looking doubtful after today's vote. Those of us who rely upon our retirement funds to meet daily living expenses are in deep doo-doo already. We have no choice but to sell shares of our mutual funds at 1990 prices. This has resulted in the money my wife and I saved all our adult life for our "golden" years shrinking more than 45% since November ... and our money was invested "conservatively!" Bill Quimby

Sorry, but it is my opinion that Ted Nugent and his dumb "whack 'em and stack 'em" attitude has done more in the past two decades to turn the non-hunting public's perception against us than any single person alive or dead. I know he does what he does for its shock value, but it often pushes someone who has not yet made up her mind about us into falling off the wrong side of the log. Bill Quimby

Don't remember a Calvin Moore (or any Moore in Yuma for that matter, but then I graduated 54 years ago). I have a brother who graduated in 1956 who probably knew him. Bill Quimby

Nope. I'm old, but the camels that were brought to Arizona/California for hauling U.S. Army freight were long gone before I was born. I have a copy of the 1909 Arizona hunting laws somewhere that says camels could not be killed, so there apparently were a few feral camels still around by then. There is a monument in Quartzite, if I remember correctly, to Hi Jolly, the Arab who was involved in the experiment. Have you seen it? Bill Quimby

I remember when our public lands truly were overgrazed, and I never felt that mule deer or whitetails avoided pastures or changed their habits when cattle were present. Elk are another story, though. This past August I was seeing more than 300 elk every time I visited a certain knoll near Greer on my weekly elk-counting jaunts. When 50 or more herefords were turned out there, those elk moved overnight. Bill Quimby

Who is your dad? I graduated from YUHS in 1954. I may know him. Bill Quimby

When I was a boy in Yuma in the 1940s and early 1950s they were all over Arizona, and we were encouraged to shoot them on sight. My father and I shot a few in the Sand Tanks, Castle Domes and Chocolates. The Yuma Rod and Gun Club used to hold an annual burro barbecue (the meat is good) and wildlife managers used to brag about joining the 500- and 1,000-burro clubs by shooting that many. The most I ever saw in a group was about fifty. Their trails to water made it look as if 10,000 ATV riders had set out to destroy the world. Bill Quimby

They certainly are! What I've not seen discussed is the effect of not doing anything on us retirees. I worked since I was a boy and began saving and buying properties beginning in my thirties and until I retired in 1999, thinking I would have enough money to see me through to the end of life (sometime long in the future, I hope.) Then along comes this subprime mess, followed by panic fueled by media in the hopes that it would help their Democratic candidates, and I woke up one morning to learn our so-called "conservative" IRAs had suddenly shrunk 30% and our properties were worth only half of what they were worth a year ago. All the talking heads say for Americans not to worry because we will recover eventually. As retirees, "eventually" can mean after we are gone. When we withdraw $1,000 a month from our savings today to supplement my wife's retirement and our paltry Social Security checks, we're actually withdrawing $1,300 from what we had in November and our savings are evaporating through no fault of ours. I had planned to stop writing books and sell some of our properties this year, and then do nothing but watch the trees in Greer grow and maybe do a couple of hunts out of the country, but nobody but a fool would sell real estate now unless forced to do it. That leaves me no choice but to find another client who wants me to preserve his memories in print. But even the wealthy are in trouble. A guy who had all but signed a contract called last week to put off his book for a year or so because his business was bad. Others I've talked with lately have backed away when I quoted my fee. Just a year ago they would not have quibbled. At any rate, America has no option other than a bailout. Without it, the entire economy will collapse and a lot of you younger guys are going to really suffer. Then in a few years, when the recovery kicks in and you have jobs again, the money we retirees saved for our final years will be long gone and you're going to have to support a whole bunch of us. Bill Quimby

I just returned from sighting in a pretty Remington Model 700 6.5 Rem. Mag. I've acquired. Although I ordered 100 rounds of unprimed cases from Midway, I also bought two boxes of Remington factory ammo in the event I wouldn't have time to develop my own load before my deer hunt. While shooting to get the scope where I wanted it, I was shocked to find that one of the live factory rounds would not chamber! (The bolt closed easily on all of the 39 other rounds when I checked.) It will take someone with a micrometer caliper to find out what is wrong with that case. Although it appears to be no different than the others, it obviously must be oversize. In more than 60 years of shooting I've never experienced such a thing. Bill Quimby

Glad to hear you're healthy, Lark. I went through a similar scare several years ago. I had a sore throat that wouldn't go away and after my primary care physician looked inside my mouth she sent me to a ear, nose and throat specialist. The specialist took one look and announced that he was certain I had a large, cancerous growth but would have to take a biopsy to confirm it. He then proceeded to yank (not cut) two pieces of flesh out of my throat without bothering to anesthetize it! After smoking for 50 years I was certain I soon would either die or (if I were lucky) lose my ability to speak, and I fell into a fit of depression that lasted more than the month it took for the lab and doctor to lose my test results. I called that doctor's office so many times to get the results that he had his people stop taking my messages. Eventually, I got tired of the runaround that @$%%$! quack was giving me that I used some skills learned from my newspapering days and tracked down the lab technician who did the work on my samples and found the growth was not cancerous. What I had was an impacted molar, and when it was pulled my sore throat went away. Bill Quimby

"Outdoor writer" left the forum under similar circumstances, except the posts weren't deleted. Bill Quimby

>>>>>>Anyone here ever arrow a bird? What did you use for broadheads? Anyone ever use bait? What kind? I am going to try my hand at Rio Grandes in Texas, and as I understand, the method commonly used is baits and blind. No shotguns -- just archery in the fall, but baiting is legal. (Hmm-- restrict the hunt to string and stick, but allow baiting. Why does that have a familiar ring?...)>>>>>>> I have shot only one turkey with a bow. It was a hen, and it was in unit 6A south of the Apache Maid Lookout back when they held "smorgasbord" hunts -- if you drew an archery elk tag, you could also buy tags for deer and turkey and also hunt squirrel at the same time. I used a Ben Pearson "Javelina" recurve bow with a Herters Port Orford cedar arrow that I had fletched myself with turkey feathers. The broadhead was a stamped "Bodkin" that I sharpened with a file. Wish I could say I made a great shot, but it was just dumb luck. My arrow went low and short, skidded a bit, then bounced up and hit the bird. I was young and fit then, and I ran her down and wrung her neck. Bill Quimby

I bought mine from the Department of Civilian Marksmanship through a NRA-sponsored program in the 1960s for about $7.50 (if I remember correctly). I'm in Greer and the rifle is elsewhere, but I intend to see who made it. Its stock looks like it went through two wars and a John Wayne movie, but its metal parts and bore were in good shape. Bill Quimby

That article is biased from beginning to end, especially when it ignores that Alaska's game department scientists and the majority of the state's voters support aerial wolf control. Bill Quimby

SunDevil: The problem is they're called "left-over permits," which apparently makes you feel that people do not want to hunt there or that there is insufficient game in those units to warrant the number of permits that were authorized. Wrong on both counts. They're not "left-over." They just weren't issued in the first drawing. You also have the word "opportunity" confused with something else. In this instance it means making it possible for more individuals to hunt without increasing significantly the number of animals killed, a number that the professional wildlife biologists we've hired have deemed can safely be removed from that area's population. You're one of those individuals this year because you know how to work the system. Although many hunters aren't as smart as you, it does not mean they shouldn't be allowed to go hunting if the resource isn't negatively affected. Bill Quimby

Are you saying the tags that weren't issued in the first drawing should be canceled and the number of permits authorized in those units should be reduced in Arizona's hunting lottery next year? Bill Quimby

>>>>>>>The question of the day is ,should I take my gun to a reputable gunsmith and have him tear the gun back down again and re bluebrint the whole action and barrel over again.I am only concerned, because this gunsmith is not very known for building long range shooters and I was not inpressed with his shop ,his place looked like my son's bedroom and I have always heard a great gunsmith you can tell by his shop and his tools ,were thrown every where like my 16 old neighbor working on is car.I am thankful he got the bullet out , but still concered.<<<<<<<< Roy Dunlap has been dead for many years now, but a few of you may remember him as the author of "Gunsmithing," which has been in print since the mid-1950s. I don't know of any other book on the subject that has sold anywhere near the copies as his book. Roy built rilfes for many Olympic, Palma, and metalica silueta shooters. The tools and supplies in his shop were all over the place, except when when he needed a photo to illustrate a magazine article. Then he'd clean up the areas that might be seen in the shot. >>>>>>>> .Gunsmith think's that I used a old casing that was not shot out of my gun, when the bullet got stuck >>>>>>>>> Sounds as if you did not full-length resize the case, which had been fired in a maximum-size chamber of another rifle. To force it into the chamber you must have pounded on the bolt with the heel of your hand (this exerts a heck of a lot of force, even though you really aren't pounding hard). Then, when you couldn't completely close the bolt, you forced the bolt open (again by pounding with your hand), and the extractor slipped over or tore through the soft brass cartridge rim, leaving the case jammed in the chamber. Another scenario could have been the case needed trimming before you reloaded it. A brass case stretches each time it is used, and some new and unfired cases also are simply too long. If the throat of your rifle's chamber is on the short side, it could fold the case back and jam it in the chamber, too. Check the case the gunsmith removed. The extractor markings on the rim should provide some clues. It shouldn't happen again if: 1.) you check the length of all cases -- new and fired -- before you reload (there is an-easy-to-use tool for this), 2,) you follow the instructions for full-length resizing that came with your reloading dies, 3.) your sizing die actually prepares cases for a minimum chamber. (Have someone check your loaded cases with a micrometer.) Bill Quimby

Scottyboy: I've taken all the major and most of the minor antelopes of southern Africa, plus zebra, warthog, buffalo, lion, wildcat, caracal, jackal and I've forgotten how many other lesser creatures. Haven't shot an elephant yet, but have seen hundreds of them and have been mock-charged by a few. I've also accompanied friends on their elephant hunts. Early on I wanted to shoot one but eventually decided to spend my money on other things. What I've learned in 25 years of going down there is that the itch never goes away no matter how many times you scratch it. If you've made four trips, you'll make eight, and then you'll start planning more. After elephant, buffalo and sable, you'll be fascinated by lion, leopard, bongo, lechwe, kob, the various sitatungas and dwarf buffalo, and only God knows what else. I'm negotiating a book right now with a man who made forty safaris! I suspect he felt he'd get enough early on, but found out differently. He's 80 years old and just got back from Mozambique, where he shot a huge buffalo. You obviously are doing it right. For the past 18 years I've moderated a "Your First African Safari" seminar at SCI's conventions in Nevada. I and the other panelists have always recommended that members book their first safaris in South Africa or Namibia, and work up to the wilderness hunts in Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Mozambique. From there, there is Burkino Faso and Cameroon, and on and on. SCI founder C.J. McElroy used to say the only person he envied was someone going on his first African safari. I envy anyone going on safari when I'm not. Bill Quimby

Got mine. Thanks, Amanda. Nice job. Bill Quimby

Congratulations, Scottyboy, but it is obvious you have bitten by the African bug. They say that once you drink the waters of that wonderful continent that you must return to drink again, and again, and again. I know. My first trip was in 1983 for Cape buffalo, kudu, warthog and sable in Zimbabwe followed the next week by gemsbok and springbok in South Africa. I've been back 22 times, including as recently as last year when I was in Namibia and South Africa to work on a book I'm ghostwriting for an outfitter there. Those of you who think you must be rich to hunt in southern Africa should attend a day auction at an SCI convention in Reno. Africa is within reach of anyone who really wants to go. Seven-day hunts in South African including trophy fees for four or five antelope often sell at auction for about $2,000, and sometimes even less. Airfare from Arizona to Johannesburg is about $2,200. Tips and travel incidentals will add $1,000 if you are careful. Try finding a fully outfitted multiple-species hunt in Alaska or Canada for anywhere near $6,000. If you have a couple of $12,000 ATVs in your garage and an $1,800 trailer to haul them around, a $40,000 4x4 crew cab truck to tow them to where you're going to hunt, a $2,000 rifle that you might use to shoot just one animal a year, $2,000 in optics to find that animal, and another $2,000 in other assorted gear, you've got your priorities ALL screwed up. You could be hunting an elephant, a lion and a leopard -- and a truckload of other game -- right now. Bill Quimby

Jim: I support the changes outlined in the article. If we are to protect our tradition, hunters need to welcome changes that bring more people into our fold. One day (I hope it's long after I'm gone) whether or not to allow us to hunt will be on the ballot. Without numbers, we will lose. Bill Quimby

It's 8:52 pm and I heard bugling outside my cabin a few minutes ago. I suspect he is courting a small harem in the meadow across the road, but it's too dark to know for sure. The rut isn't in full swing yet, in my opinion. A friend watched a herd with about 30 cows and calves for 45 minutes this morning, and there wasn't a bull in sight, he said. Bill Quimby

Don't know if the weather service will agree, but my little rain gauge says we had six inches of rain in the past five days here in Greer. Bill Quimby

They're rutting in Unit 1 near Greer right now. Bill Quimby