Coach

Tom, I wish I had you do my roof. Now it is what it is. There's very little I've contracted out. I rebuilt this whole house - tile work, plumbing, the list goes on. Young guys, own your house, do your own work. If you don't know how, learn it, or hire it out to only those guys you actually know will do it correctly, and learn from them.

I think NM does a pretty good job with their application system and mandatory reporting. Plus, if you ever call NM G&F with a question, you get someone who is generally very helpful and knowledgeable.

BAM! - one elk tag for sure!

I hope the best for you. You've obviously done your market research, and I truly hope you succeed.

Have no idea what you just said, but it may be the longest sentence ever written.Or question, I just can't tell.

I'm just reading these last 5 pages and coming up to speed. Let me just start with, I admire what you guys are doing, turning your love of hunting into something you can be passionate about and make an honest business out of it. Here's my take, and I'll be brutally honest. Most outdoor companies start with quality gear - packs, tents, optics, coolers, hunting clothing, guns, bows, coffee (BRCC) , the list goes on. Then, they use the success of their brand to sell tertiary things like tee shirts, caps, coffee mugs - AKA Logo Wear. Unless I'm missing something here, the goal is to jump right to the logo-wear, without any real gear to back it. That's not necessarily a bad plan - lots of retailers do exactly that with great success. Abercrombie & Fitch, American Eagle, a list too long to enumerate. But, the thing that differentiates your target market from the afore-mentioned companies, is that you specifically target the hunting community, not so much high school and college kids. Sage Muleys, as a brand, is only going to resonate with hunters, and with no actual hunting gear to back the brand, you would have to really do something special with your apparel to make it stand out and be appealing. From the perspective of your target customer, I don't see anything that would make me want to purchase and wear these items. I'm not trying to be overly harsh, because I'd love to see you guys do well - call it constructive criticism. Best wishes, Coach

From the regs. I'm not seeing a lot of "Youth only" bull hunts or rut deer hunts. So, if the problem is putting your wife or a grandparent in for a trophy hunt with the sole expectation that the tag, if drawn, will go to a youth hunter - I can see where that could be a source of frustration. Maybe those of you who don't like that part of the system should lobby G&F to limit the types of tags that can be passed down to youth hunters. But that would require that certain hunts be designated as "trophy/premium" hunts. Kind of like NM does. But, as soon as G&F creates that distinction, I guarantee there will be a "premium" price tag associated with those hunts. Or, conversely, suggest that no tags can be passed down - that's the way it used to be, and there's obvious support for that shown in this thread. Personally, I'm fine with that. To Toby's point, if you are in situation where taking your kids hunting ends up with them not getting involved - that happens, and it's time to find them a different hobby. Best wishes to all of you in the draw this year - with the much needed water we're getting, and coming off a couple of "slump" years, this could be a stellar rebound year. I'm betting there will be some awesome bulls and bucks killed this year. Good hunting, Jason

Pretty sure that's exactly what I just said.

Correction - it's not going to make everyone happy all the time. Better?

So is the question, "Do kids quit hunting because they aren't drawn" OR " Do kids learn to love hunting because they are drawn"? From my perspective, and I have 3 sons that have done very well over the years. If it weren't for our state's youth hunts, they wouldn't have had the opportunities and successes they have had. I'm all for youth hunts - from the perspective of a dad, and that of someone who wants to see the next generation understand and relish what we sometimes take for granted.

The draw is an imperfect system. Sometimes people with tons of points don't draw. Sometimes people with low or no points draw - even hard-to-draw tags. That's just how it is, but it doesn't help anyone to try and make it seem unfair. Each year we wait on the draw results, and either we're happy with the outcome or not. Being smart, reading the rules, using the information supplied by G&F to bolster the odds of you or someone in your family getting a tag is just being proactive in the draw process. Of course there are a lot of opportunities to get a tag if you are a youth hunter. That's a good thing.

Nice job - congrats! They sure are fun to hunt.

Nice job!

Pretend you're hunting deer - pigs all over. Pretend you're hunting pigs and deer will be all over the place.

Snow happens. I am glad we're getting the much needed snow pack up top. The rivers, lakes and streams all need it.

Yeah, it was 06 or 07.

S'no beers around here,

One of the biggest I've seen was late March - 06 or 07. Think someone already had pix of it. Nobody was expecting it. It was a warm spring and out of nowhere we got about 3 feet in a weekend. I've got some pix around someplace. I always hear about the big storm way back when folks in Hon'dah were making tunnels. Can't corroborate it though.

Nice shootin' Tex! I used to take a Hawaiian Sling down there and a snorkel and could clean up on triggers around the point, but that is way cooler. Thanks for sharing.

It's been snowing most of the day, but we have only gotten a few inches of new accumulation. This was around noon today.

Gunbroker has lots of stripped lowers under $50. For example: https://www.gunbroker.com/item/800603763

Maybe just me, but usually when we get advanced warning of 20-30 inches of snow, it never materializes. They've already cancelled school here for Thursday and Friday in anticipation, and you can't find a bag of wood pellets anywhere on the mountain today. Not to mention crazy lines at Walmart. We'll see - it's supposed to start at 4:00 Am and dump a bunch of snow through Friday. I hope that's the case because we need as much snow up top as we can get. The lakes and streams need a good run-off spring, but it's a clear night so far. Got the snow-blower ready, let's cross our fingers.

One Christmas a long time ago we bought 3 of those Chinese quads. The smallest one was barely more than something you'd buy at walmart. The kids drove those things endlessly. Of course, we made them wear helmets, but I'm thinking they were 12, 10 & 7 around then. Maybe a year earlier. We've carted them around in a ranger since around that time as well. Helmets & seat belts go a long way. Have fun and keep them safe.

FWIW, bet thread title EVER! I don't have anything else to contribute.

I've always been a huge fan of your calls. I always carry one in the turkey woods. They're not just beautiful, they sound amazing - like AZ birds. Best luck in the contest.