billrquimby

What no one has mentioned is that wealthy trophy collectors -- that's what they are -- who set out to fill their trophy rooms with the best specimens can hire someone who can take them by the hand and show them a free-ranging trophy buck within rifle range. If enough money is there, someone will devote enough time afield to find what he wants. If there's a whole lot of money and the guy wants a super super buck ... well, let's just say we don't want to know what might be done in the course of getting the high-roller his trophy. Is this better than hunting behind wire?

"....us wage slaves should be afraid, due to rising health care costs." Thank God for insurance, whatever it costs. I was hospitalized five times in the past year and the bills my insurance company paid would have kept the war going another five years in Iraq. It cost $680, for just one example, for an ambulance to drive me from my hotel to the hospital four blocks away in Reno. Part of the reason health care costs are so high is that for every insured patient there is another who is not insured and is incapable of paying anything, and hospitals and doctors cannot (and should not) turn them away. A huge number of the uninsured, I suspect, are illegal invaders. Bill Quimby

Bob: I agree. Sudden mass deportation would cripple our economy, at least briefly. As I said earlier we need a way to keep the achievers on this side of the border and rid ourselves of those who are draining our resources. Even without mass deportation, inflation is assured with the minimum wage legislation recently passed by states and soon to be enacted nationally. It's something they taught us in Econ 101 more than 50 years ago: When government demands that hamburger flippers, window washers and floor moppers be paid more, their shift supervisor wants more, and so does their store manager, and the regional manager ... all the way up to the CEOs and stockholders. Spread higher labor costs across an entire industry, and the prices Macdonald's pays for buns, soda pop, pickles, sauce, meat, and other "raw materials" also go up ... as does the prices of Big Macs, houses, clothing, food, cars, schooling, gasoline, computer programming, etc. and etc. Nothing changes. Because of inflation, except for a brief period after a minimum-wage increase, lower-level jobs will never pay a "living" wage in a free-market society. The real losers from inflation are we seniors whose pensions and savings are fixed and are able to buy less and less. That's why I'm changing my investment strategy. Increasing the minimum wage also attracts more illegals to come north. It's hard to blame them when they can make more in an hour than they can in a week down south. If we are sickened by what's been happening to our favorite hunting spots along the border, all I can say is we "ain't seen nothin' yet." I wish "W" could stop or slow what's coming, but I won't hold my breath. The voters have spoken. We've been told that his tax cuts are going to be rolled back, too. Higher taxes at the upper income levels leave entrepeneurs less money to invest in businesses that create new jobs, and this ultimately increases unemployment and reduces productivity. Today's record state of the economy proves he was correct. Back to the reason for this thread, though: I fear the criminals invading our country more than mountain lions, and not just because they might attack me and/or steal my stuff. Bill Quimby

"As for other economic problems, I'll give you one I've seen first hand. ... We crank out "graduates" year after year that are funcionally illeterate and have 8th grade level math skills. ... People can't balance their checkbooks, let alone solve a problem that requires trigonometry or (God forbid!) calculus. Another problem is credit spending. The average household credit debt is over $25k now & average income is still less than $40k. That's credit cards, not counting your car or you house. " Mattys281: These certainly are problems, but they are not measures of the U.S. economy. They may one day affect our economy, but at the moment all indicators, especially the DOW, are setting records. What will happen after new faces with new agendas move into Congress in January is anyone's guess (I'm guessing, and changing my investments accordingly, that we'll see the beginning of major inflation, rising unemployment, and a measureable drop in the GNP by this time next year), but our economy has never been healthier than it is today. I'm more concerned with literacy and business acumen than math skills when it comes to our graduates. Some of us who forgot everything we were taught about math the instant we received our degrees have done well without it. Please don't take this wrong, but it should be "that" for things and "who" for people. I mention this only to point out that knowledge (or the lack of it) is not a measure of the person. Bill Quimby

"Bill, I like that (leaving the door of your mind open for the possibility of a God), yet there is no PROOF for evolution. " I am not leaving the door of my mind open for the possibility of a God. I am convinced He exists. However, using the standards you have applied to evolution, there is no real proof that He does. Why does the possibility of evolution frighten you? Bill Quimby

<<<<<<<“Seriously, everyone knows that the millions of people entering this country illegally are a burden & bring some problems with them, but that's just a drop in a bucket full of problems our economy has.” -- mattys281>>>>> What economic problems does our country have other than that caused by an invasion of criminals? The GNP is up, unemployment is down, inflation is bearable, and our tax rate is not as obscene as it surely will be soon. “And, as I recall, people are allowed to reside here in this country for a certain time period (which I don't know the length of off the top of my head) with a visitors visa, during which time they can apply for green cards so that they can stay legally. Some stay too long & then apply, but others are well withing the legal limit. -- mattys281” Holders of a valid visitor's visas and green cards are not criminals. Those who stay here after their permits expire as well as the many hundreds of "mojados" who walk across the border each day are. Bill Quimby

The culprits may be related to the *@#! jerks who stole our camp in Chitty Creek in about 1965. It was a long way from a decent road, and we felt it would be OK to spend the night at the lodge in Hannagan Meadow so we could shower and clean up after a week of deer hunting. When we returned the next day, they had taken two tents, four sleeping bags, our extra clothes, all of our food, two Coleman stoves, three ice chests, etc., etc. -- everything. If we hadn't raked the spot (they stole the rake, too) before setting up the tents we would have thought we had camped someplace else. We were lucky none of us had shot a deer yet, because they would have stolen it, too. Bill Quimby

"My girlfriend is an immigrant from Argentina & works closely w/ the hispanic community. One of the services she provides is preparing documents for undocumented people to apply to become legal residents. Since I've dated her (almost 3 years now) I've had the opportunity to meet a lot of these people, and from what I've seen, most of them really are hard working people who want a better life for their kids." Only in America! We provide "undocumented people" -- criminals who are violating our laws -- a way to become legal residents instead of jailing or deporting them. It would be wonderful if every illegal alien in this country were like a family we know. The oldest son was number three academically in his large graduating high school class in June and has gone on to college. He wants to be a doctor, and I'm sure he will. His younger brother and sister also are achievers. Their parents are hard-working people who pay Arizona and U.S. taxes, refuse welfare programs, and are contributing to our society. They have been in Tucson for about fifteen years. To send them away would be our loss. Unfortunately, this family is not typical. Many illegal aliens view the United States of America merely as "Mexico North." Our costs of health care, education and law enforcement are obscene because of them. I don't know how to separate the desirable illegals from those who should be deported, but I do know the invasion must be stopped. Bill Quimby

I agree. The proof that evolution is more than a theory is all around us. But why must this abundant evidence of evolution rule out the presence of a supreme being? Bill Quimby

"Unfortunatley, the bags of money found in the plane in the Rincons was rotted and no good. The guy who found it was pissed, because he had seen the glare up there on the mountain for a couple of years before he decided to hike to it. If I remember it was like $80,000 worth of rotted bills....." I read something a long time ago about a government department that inspects rotted or even burned currency and pays out fresh money. I have not heard about the crashed Cessna with drug money. However, quite a few military planes from what now is Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson crashed in the Rincons and the Galiuros during the training of pilots in World War II. Human remains and valuables were already removed in those I've seen, for which I still am grateful. Bill Quimby

Two hours later after dropping in its tracks? I doubt that any animal could survive a 150-grain 7mm Nosler partition bullet punching a hole through its liver. I can think of two possibilities: 1. The bullet passed through meat high on its back without hitting bone, but knocking out the deer. I have had this happen several times and each deer dropped instantly, only to run off seemingly not injured at all as I approached. I once shot a Texas Hill Country buck as it was jumping a fence and it fell like a bag of beans. As I walked over to it, it jumped up and ran straight at me. It was only confused, I'm sure, but at the time it sure seemed as if it was charging me full tilt. I missed my next shot as it was coming at me, but killed it as it turned broadside just a few yards away. 2. Two hours is a long time. Any chance that you did kill the deer you shot at, and the deer you saw run away was a different buck? I've had bucks explode out of nearby cover as I approached one that I'd killed. Coues bucks often bed close to each other, and are especially good at holding tight until they're almost stepped on. Bill Quimby

Shoot whatever ammo your rifle likes best. Don't knock the 7mm Remington Magnum. I have taken everything from pygmy African antelope the size of a jackrabbit to moose and eland with mine. It's more than I need for deer the size of a Coues buck, but I'd still use it. Bill Quimby

Bret: I drew this especially for you and Brian tonight, so you won't forget what they look like! Bill Quimby

There's more where that one come from. I saw a group of at least 17 or 18 the day before I closed up the cabin for the winter last month. BQ

You guys need to look at the complete skeletons of the stags dug out of peat bogs in Ireland and re-assembled. Theoretically (there, I said it), these monsters -- theoretically, ancestors of today's 180-pound fallow deer -- had 8-foot-wide antlers and weighed more than 2,000-pounds. Theoretically they adapted to living in marshes (death traps for such huge animals) by evolving into a smaller size deer. Then take a look at the large deer that range across Eurasia. As you move east from Britain across Europe and enter Asia red deer begin to take on many of the characterists of elk. By the time you reach China and Mongolia, they ARE elk, identical to those in North America. (I defy anyone to tell the difference from a bull I shot in Mongolia and those I've shot on this continent.) Chromosome studies show red deer and elk are the same species ... except the red deer forms bellow (roar) like brahma bulls while elk bugle, squeal and grunt. Red deer antlers typically are different from elk. Elk have straw-colored sides, yellow rumps and dark brown manes and legs. Red deer are basically a single color and lack the manes of elk. Say what you want, but IMO these deer are theoretically adapting (evolving) to a variety of environments. If you check a gazillion million years from now I suspect our North American elk, which theoretically came from Asia across the Bering Land Bridge, will look nothing at all like they do now. I think humans will be different, too, thanks to the blending of Asian, African and European races. That's just my opinion, though. Theoretically I could be all wet. Bill

"Where did you put in for hogs Bill? You're in charge of lunch on my turkey hunt in May" Bret: I wanted to hunt some land I own near Nogales. It's loaded with pigs. I guess I got demoted from local guide to sandwich maker. Be happy to fix lunch, though, but first you must learn to eat sandwiches made with croussants. I don't feed the uncouth. Bill Quimby

I did not break what apparently is a trend. My applications for turkey and javelina were both "unsuccessful in drawing." The year 2003 will go down in infamy as the last year Bill Quimby drew a tag in Arizona for anything. Bill Quimby

I will not debate creationism vs. evolution. I leave that to people much smarter and skilled at persuasion than I. My own belief (for what it is worth) is that our Creator created everything according to His plan; however. I also believe evolution is not a theory but just one of the tools He uses to implement that plan. Be that as it may, I would like to point out that there are dark marks on each side of the lower jaws of a great many of the world's deer species, including white-tailed deer, mule deer, black-tailed deer, elk and moose (but not caribou, for some reason). It's been my opinion that these marks are holdovers from when deer had tusks. It's been a long time since I could look at a deer's head and not immediately notice those marks. They are positioned exactly where tusks would be. It's just my opinion, though. I have never read or heard of anyone attempting to explain why so many different types of deer all over the world are similarly marked. Bill Quimby

I am afraid it's a matter of economics, not ethics. There obviously is a demand for this, or else such places wouldn't exist. It takes a large investment and at least ten years to develop a deer operation. Whether or not it's "canned hunting" depends upon the size of the enclosure and the terrain. If that entire 6,500-acre ranch is high fenced (with no interior high fences) and has the typical terrain and cover that Coues deer inhabit, the deer inside that 10-square-mile area would never know they are inside a pen Finding an individual deer would be damned tough in something that large, so it's safe to say they have a much smaller enclosure if they're guaranteeing various size antlers, up to and exceeding existing records. The original Sanctuary in Michigan, which pioneered intense management of deer farming, consists of two enclosures, each about 640 acres, and each containing about 1,000 deer -- 600 or more of them bucks. The owners constantly cull inferior deer and annually remove roughly the same numbers of deer that are born. Each year there is an effort to catch fawns and mark them with small colored tags behind the ears so that guides will know from a distance exactly how old a buck is. Bucks are not shot until they are at last 4.5 years old. As can be expected with that many deer confined to a relatively small area, there is a lot of fighting among the bucks during the rut -- and a large number of large bucks are killed when other bucks run up and jab battling bucks in their vitals with their antlers. In the early years, the Purina Company stationed a biologist/nutritionist at the Sanctuary to develop special pellets to feed the Sanctuary's deer for maximum antler growth, based on the site's unique natural mineral content. With that many deer, the natural browse has been removed from the ground up to the height that deer can reach. I suspect the owners of the place in Mexico have followed the Sanctuary's lead. Bill Quimby

"Bill, you are wealth of knowledge!!" RED DOG: Thanks. Other hunters go gah-gah over sheep. Not me. Deer are my favorite all of the big game animals on this planet, and I've spent a half century reading as much as I can about them, and hunting as many species and subspecies as I could afford. Bill Quimby

Ooops! I forgot that there are two species of deer called "huemals" in South America that have canine teeth. That means 14 -- or 35% of all the world's deer species -- have tusks. Bill

You don’t have to go back into pre-history or look for freaks to find tusks on deer today. Almost one third of the world’s 40 deer species have tusks. All 12 are indigenous to Asia. The five species of muntjacs found from India to southeast Asia have tusks as well as high, hairy pedicles and small antlers, as does the water deer of China. Then there are three species of musk deer and three species of tufted deer, and all of these have tusks -- but no antlers. You don’t have to go all the way to Asia to hunt free-ranging deer with “fangs,” either. Muntjacs and water deer that escaped from private collections years ago have become pests in some parts of England. Bill Quimby

It's bullet placement and not caliber that you should worry about. Years ago I hunted southeast of Ajo in Sonora on a friend's ranch. His workers had a single-shot .22 rifle with which they killed everything up to unbelievably huge mule deer. However, the ideal rifles for animals the size of a Coues deer IMO are: .223 .222 Mag .22/250 .220 Swift .243 6mm Remington .257 Roberts .257 Roberts improved .250/3000 .25/06 .257 Weatherby Anything larger is overkill. That said, if I had a permit to hunt this weekend I'd take my 7mm Rem Mag, even though I have eight of the above rifles in my gun safe. It just "feels" better and it works. I point it at something from a duiker or javelina up to the size of moose or eland, touch the trigger, and it goes down. Bill Quimby

I have never read anything about it, but I've always felt that deer that are not hunted much need to identify us by at least two of their senses -- sight and scent, or sight and hearing, for example -- before they get concerned enough to be spooked. I've had several different types of deer see but not smell me, and only stand and stare instead of running off. We've all walked downwind and walked up on deer that certainly must have smelled us coming. When they've already been spooked by other hunters, they seem to rely on just one sense. A case in point happened with Spanish red deer. The rut (they call it "the roar" in Europe) had just ended and at least twenty hunters had hunted there before me. I had a devil of a time getting a shot by spotting and stalking. No matter how careful we were, those deer would see us and bolt long before we could get in position. It was amazing to me how good their eyesight was -- we had only to expose our heads at 300 yards to get them running. Another example: two of us walked up on a large herd of caribou in open county from downwind without even attempting to hide. We held our arms up and waved them from side to side, trying to imitate having antlers and were able to get within 75-100 yards before they got curious and started to circle us. They ran off as soon as they got our scent. We were on the Arctic Circle in the Northwest Territories and I would bet next month's Social Security check that they had never seen a human before us. Bill Quimby

This is true of all the different types of deer that I've hunted. A little forked-horn Texas Hill Country whitetail buck really proved it many years ago. I was sitting on the dam of a shallow tank when the buck came in to drink. I sat as still as I could as it approached the water upwind from me. It wasn't until after it was through drinking that it noticed me sitting motionless just 20-30 yards away. It snorted and stamped its feet, trying to make me move, and I wouldn't. It eventually came around the tank, stopping every yard or so to stare at me, until it actually sniffed my boots, jumped back, moved away a few yards, then stopped and stared at me for the longest time before leaving slowly. It kept stopping to look at me until it finally got out of sight. I don't think it ever figured out what I was. I was trying to decide whether or not to tell my friends ... I was sure they wouldn't believe me ... when the ranch owner walked up. He had seen the entire episode! Bill Quimby