Coach

Great thread! For those ready to stop doing business with those companies that are sided solidly against gun ownership, hunting, etc., Here are some more to avoid: Bank of America - I'm guilty on this one, gotta find a new bank. Very anti-2A. Plenty of evidence, start with McMillan, here in AZ. GEICO - don't let the cute lizard fool you. The name is an acronym for Government Employees Insurance Company. Do your research, they are very far left. Progressive Insurance - At least they don't hide who they are - it's right in the name. Google Peter Lewis and see if you want your money going where he wants it. That's just the tip of the iceberg.

I hunted with my boys 2 mornings in Unit 1. Lots of action but no shots. I was able to get them talking, but they kept hanging up out of range. Standman and another buddy took my oldest boy out to 3C and were able to find some birds and get close but still no turkeys taken. I'm hoping to get out before school a little bit this week.

I sold my Swaro doubler a while back. My buddy has the JW and doesn't find it useful either.

Well done. I love making boxes for cams. It's fun to find ways to make them hard to get into.

Yup. This happened to me. One year I applied for just the bonus point but didn't include my hunting license #. They kept the $7.50, no bonus point and lost my loyalty point. Just the way it goes.

This isn't really new. The elder Kim Jong- did this over and over to get billions from the international community. What's new in the equation is his son (Kim Jong-Un) has stepped up and made these threats. To me, that's the scary part because he has to prove to "his people" that he means business. So either he goes before the NK people and says, "look how scared they are of us, they gave us billions not to attack", - OR - he gets his hand slapped by the US and others and does something really, really dumb to save face. Of course, North Korea isn't the real issue here - they always overplay their hand. The question is how China will react if this escalates - on the one hand they have a traditional alliance with NK, on the other they have TRILLIONS of dollars in US interests.... Personally, I hope this passes like a fart in the wind, because if a shooting war starts out on yet another front with bigger players than we are currently facing, it's a losing proposition for everyone.

I'm taking the family down to Roosevelt next week for some R&R, and hoping to get in some good fishing. Generally I'm a decent catfisher, coming from a long line of Oklahoman's that trot-line, jug-line, limb-line, and when that fails, just dive in and pull them out of their holes under the banks of muddy rivers. But catfishing AZ lakes is a bit different - all rod and reel, and my results have been spotty. My tactics out here have basically boiled down to this: Fresh cut bait (usually carp) is better than smelly bait Deeper isn't better - rocky points with 15-20' water close to shallow coves seem better than deeper drop-offs (with some exceptions) At night, I usually do as well with bait under a lighted bobber, maybe 4-6' deep produces more, but smaller cats than bottom fishing Most of the biggest cats I've caught, or at least hooked into and lost, have been crappie fishing in the brush with light line and small jigs or minnows. But like I said, the results are only OK given the number of cats I know are in these lakes. Anyone have any tactics that work that you're willing to share?

Addressed this on another thread, but BofA spanked up 3 out of 8 applications, causing the "loyalty" point to start over for all 3 of my sons. Time to find a new bank. But the fault doesn't just lie with BofA, the vendor being used by G&F for online apps is unbelievably bad. If any real business used these guys for e-commerce, they would be out of business.

Nice gun! I've got a Rock River and love it. IMO they build some of the best ARs out there, and the National Match 2 stage trigger is awesome.

Any tips on loading up on bluegill during the day? I'm taking a minnow seine in hopes we can pull out some small carp around Tonto Creek, but we can toss worms at bluegill in the brush and rock piles too. Thanks bowfishAZ, I've always found flat heads feed exclusively on live bait, the bigger the better. As always, thanks for the replies.

If tour talking about "tinesup" he has been here for a few weeks. There have been a couple people just join today and comment on this thread just to reccommend an outfitter. I have never been on a guided hunt before but if I were in your position I would have to go with Mullins or Jay/Darr. I dont know either of them but I do know that Amanda does a lot of research before she lets just anybody sponsor her site. Either one of them could of said "pick me pick me" but neither one did and they both gave you recommendations on what to look for in an outfitter. Good luck on the hunt and have fun. +1

I've seen days where carp are up on the surface in huge schools and just shooting into the school could produce 2, sometimes 3 carp on a single arrow. The next day, they are deeper, in murkier water and just hitting one is a challenge because of the depth and low water clarity. For what it's worth.

Nice find! Time to hit the hills.

The good news is, there is no shortage of guides in this state that really "live to hunt". The responses provided here by some of the guides mentioned in the "short list" should be re-affirming. These guys are respectful of each other, know their areas and know the animals in them. From what I've seen, they also know how to match their client to the best possible opportunity to achieve their goal - let's face it, not every client has the same abilities, and part of being a great outfitter is recognizing this and tailoring the hunt to him/her. The bad news is, you have to chose only one, LOL. Best wishes on the hunt.

Yeah, I've used the same card year after year, and this is the first time this happened - but clearly it does happen. For those who are advocating paying in full, up-front, I understand where you are coming from, but personally I like being able to put myself and all my kids in for all kinds of hunts, and only paying for what we draw. I'll put it this way, when I first started putting my sons in for elk and antelope, there was no online system, so you paid it all up-front. I ended up putting them in for only bonus points for antelope, since it just became too expensive. On the other hand, pay the $7.50 up front for the app fee, and then whatever gets drawn, I can put them and myself in for more hunts. I know there are pros and cons each way, I'm grateful for the ability to pay the app fees up-front, then for those tags we actually draw.

B of A was diligent about noting that they saw what they deemed to be fraudulent activity with my card before shutting it down. However, the confirmation from G&F came before B of A became involved. I'll just say, this is a very new thing - I have applied using that card many times, even given the shortcomings of the vendor G&F is using, and had never had a problem. In defense of B of A, there have been several occasions that they successfully recognized purchases that were suspect, and notified me immediately to either verify or decline the charges. LOL, guess I answered my own question there. The real fault lies in the vendor G&F is working with, as we all can surmise, isn't their first choice either.

Same thing happened here. First B of A considered some of my applications to be "duplicate charges" and rejected them because they came from the same vendor for the same amount in under 15 minutes (Thanks to G&F contractors for that), they then suspended the card, and issued a new one. I updated my info with G&F and wouldn't you know it, for the first time in years, not a single hit. So my boys all lost whatever antelope tag apps I've put them in for over the years just to build loyalty points, plus they didn't even get a chance to draw for the rejected apps & lost loyalty points - I don't know why I'm still with B of A. They are rabidly anti Second Amendment, now they are hosing up my kids' apps. Not to mention what a loser the new online draw process is - in this day and age, to have such a P.O.S. online application system is beyond belief, especially given the revenues that G&F gets from having such a system. Coming from a software engineer with around 2 decades of experience, the online draw experience is a case study in everything you could possibly do wrong. I truly hope some undergrad is writing his or her thesis on how government subsidized software blows chunks, and uses the current online app system employed by G&F as the crown jewel of their findings. 2 or 3 freelance developers could build a better system over a long weekend. 3 - 8 monkeys with proper training could fair as well. OK - rant over.

This is probably a weird question, but I've always wanted to take a turkey with one of my black powder guns. Have any of you experimented with using a normal .50 cal muzzle loader shooting shot?

Nice job looking for the owner.

Nice looking calls - would love to hear them.

Happy Birthday, Scott!

All good points.

I'll take the monopod - can you send it with Garrett's bow?

Man that is awesome! I didn't know Havasu had smallies like that - those things are chunks! Best eatin' fish IMO. On the other hand, I do know what Havasu is famous for during Spring Break, and I'm surprised you got any fishing done at all! LOL. That's awesome that the guy helped out so much - I love it to hear stories like that. Really shows there are a lot of good folks out there.

Best of luck to you, and congratulations on the promotion! Just do us all a favor and don't start talking like a Jersey native, lol. Give my regards to J-Wow and Snookie.