Coach

I just posted about this on another thread (the huge sale of tags thread) so this might be a rehash. But, It seems to me we are basically funding, through our tax dollars, very long driveways to some remote ranches. If a road is publicly maintained, it should not be subject to closure by the land owner. That's just my opinion, but I think G&F and the Forest Service has bent over backward to accomodate some of the private land holders, only to see them "flex" their limited muscle to treat the public land beyond their boundaries as their own private playground. I'm all for any means of putting this arrogance in its place. While I do understand the damage some idiots do to private property, I don't think anyone has the right to block access to public land off a public road.

Wow, this has to be the most active thread ever on CWT. Glad to see so many people are taking an active interest in what's happening in our state. Great discussion and I'm glad to see it remaining civil. Personally, I'm very leary of any legislation that takes tags out of the general pool and makes them available via auction or yet a second lottery. The argument for these types of tags has historically been that they will raise more money for game management than if they were left in the general pool. My issues are: 1) Since the early days when there were only a couple of these tags, to today when there are many more, I'm sure there has been some money spent on pet projects, but I haven't seen a direct impact on any of the hunts the average hunter will ever encounter. It seems like an empty promise of how much better things will be once we generate more dollars by giving up more tags. The dollars have been generated and spent, but I don't see the results. 2) This particular legislation wants even more tags set aside for high-rollers and the occasional lucky schmuck who wins one in a raffle. The proposed benefit is a larger, better funded "Sportsman's Expo" which is supposed to benefit Phoenix businesses, and oh yeah, they'll try to gain more access to areas that are currently inaccessible due to private land issues, through the same negotiating techniques that have so far failed for AZGFD. I don't see a single benefit for the average AZ hunter by funding a "bigger, better" expo. And as for access to public lands that are currently land-locked, that same $200,000 wasted on a single lobbyist could bulldoze new roads right around a lot of private ranches into the land they are denying access to. But that's a last-ditch effort. We should be able to persuade the state to stop using public money to maintain any road that is blocked by private property. Essentially, we're all paying out the nose for someone's really long driveway. That's just wrong, and should be dealt with. Long story short, the G&F commissioners voted unanimously against this bill, and from what I've seen it has no better support from the hunting community.

Awesome job - piggies with a bow are a ton of fun. 53 yards is a good shot on a javi too. Mine was about the same distance, but he turned right as I shot, so instead of hitting behind the shoulder I hit the front part of the shoulder and the arrow exited through his opposite cheek. He dropped like a rock and the broadhead never hit the ground. I can add some pix, but they are a little graphic, and I don't want to hijack your thread.

That is fantastic. Great story, and the picture is awesome - love the huge smile.

I've had the Cabela's Meindl Perfekt hunters for couple seasons now and they are still going strong. Great boots. I've heard nothing but good things about the Kenetreks too - just take a little while to break in.

Great story and write-up! That's awesome that you two are still hunting together.

The best thing you can do is find someone here who knows the state, the animals and how to hunt and is looking for a hunting partner. Trust me, I've done it the "hard way" as a transplant from Oklahoma. Doing it 100% solo is a really tough, slow way to learn to hunt out here. It can be done, but it takes years of failure to finally start feeling comfortable out West. I'm sure you'll get the feel for it if you stick with it a while, but just having someone you can learn from will ease the learning curve dramatically.

2011 was a fantastic year. Best adventure? Well, I'd have to say the whole year was a great adventure and here are some of the moments we captured on film. Starting in January of 11, the older boys had youth javi tags...

Everyone has to gauge each hunt by their own personal objectives. For me, a spot and stalk mule deer in the desert would have very little to do with antler size. I've tried it, over and over again and just have not been able to connect. I've had good success with rifle, archery and ML coues, archery and ML bull elk, lots of javi skulls and only one mule deer - a high country, Navajo velvet 3x3 buck with a good frame. Stalking hard-horned mule deer in the desert with a bow is daunting for sure. For me, it's the next big challenge in AZ hunting. But when you come on this forum, you see guys killing HUGE muley bucks, better than any I've seen while out hunting, and they do it year after year. There is definately a skill set that takes practice and hard work to achieve when it comes to hunting mature mule deer in the desert. Sounds to me like you are putting in the ground work. You are into deer regularly, passing on smaller ones (shows patience and persitence) and you are learning their habits and habitat. IMO, that's 80% of hunting with time in the field and, frankly luck, making up the remaing 20% (15 and 5 respectively). Time in the field sounds like something you've already got covered. The last 5% reminds me of one of my favorite hunting quotes. "The harder I work, the luckier I get" -- Samuel Goldwyn. (although the quote was not originally related to hunting, it is spot on). Good hunting. I look forward to seeing you posed next to a desert mule deer. Just keep doing what you're doing and be patient. It will happen.

Totally agree with Mr. Quimby and others. I don't think it's necessary at this point to cut permits or increase fees. Our trophy quality across the state is fantastic, and our generous allocation of cow permits has not seemed to hurt the herds at all from what I've seen. I really feel AZG&F has done an outstanding job of managing our elk herds and hunts. While I don't agree with every game management stategy from AZGFD, I would give them an A+ for elk management.

Wow - that is just awesome. A great desert muley with a bow - and a great shot. Huge congrats!

Hey TJ - Great story. I really enjoyed it. Congrats on yet another Javelina - you are a machine. I've got to say, crawling hands-and-knees into a thicket at dark tracking a wounded pig takes some brass.

Wow Gino! That is an awesome looking buck. Congrats and way to show how hard work really can pay off. Just a gorgeous deer.

Nice job - a great story to go with it! Sounds like an exiting hunt. I agree, these guys are some of the most fun critters to hunt anywhere, especially with a bow. Next year I might just try the flintlock thing - something I've always wanted to do.

Huge Congrats, Dewey! That is awesome. Great write-up too!

Nice Job Clay - Great pictures!

That is awesome! I would love to get back into traditional archery. Great job.

Saw the pics. Nice pig and buck, you guys are doing awesome.

Sounds good, Good luck to you. And to you. I hope you find a nice herd tomorrow, and maybe some deer to chase too. Shoot me a PM if you want to bounce ideas in the mean-time.

I played "hookey" today to do a little deer hunting and pig scouting in 24A. For the first time I can remember, I spent the entire day hiking, glassing, checking out new country and saw not one single deer or javi. I was checking out one of the few places in 24A I hadn't yet explored and found some country that seemed like it should be crawling with coues, mule deer and javelina. Thinking maybe it's just the fact that we're right in between cold fronts maybe things aren't moving today, I still can't account for the lack of sign. This place had it all - plenty of food, water, forage and cover - even seclusion. Some of these spots can't be glassed from above without a lot of hiking, and I saw not one shred of evidence of hunting pressure. No beer or tuna cans at prime glassing spots, no human tracks, not even an old gum wrapper. I've had slow days before, but that usually means a few spread out does with fawns, but I can't remember in many years of hunting, not seeing a single deer or pig - given the amount of country covered and some serious glassing. This place isn't remotely in a spot that gets "hammered" but seemed like a moonscape. Aside from a couple bunnies, I didn't see a thing moving that didn't have feathers. I even went back to an old stand-by place that always has pigs and found only coyote and what appeared to be a huge bobcat sign. Not a single confirmed pig track. Anybody else seeing a bizarre lack of game, or was this just an off-day?

I love seeing guys pushing new territory, expanding beyond their comfort zone and trying new things out. Seems the 6.5MM has been a long-time favorite Euro round that never gained traction here in the states even while we were widcatting everythign in the .25 - .308 range. The six-five has a lot going for it and it's probably the one "niche" round American gunmakers and reloaders tend to overlook. Having .308NUT behind the wheel, I feel confident that we'll get a real good assesment of how it compares to the rounds most of us are more comfortable with.

Yeah, I'll be headed out tomorrow. Taking the whole family (at least that's the plan) but since it's new years some might want to sleep in. But I'm going out for sure and I'm sure at least one of the boys will be ready to go chase pigs. If I don't connect, I'll PM you and maybe we can meet somewhere Monday if you want.

Awesome picture - I agree, the way the hunters and the animals stand out is amazing but you can tell it's an old photo. Thanks for sharing.

Very cool pix and story - great day for sure!

Welcome aboard - +1 on a great first post. Great looking buck in what looks like some tough country to stalk.