Coach

Thank you all for your responses. I really appreciate all the advice you have given. I'm going to start with a letter to the judge - maybe talk to a lawyer. This was a long time ago and I thought it was water under the bridge. I shouldn't have been there plain and simple. And I've regretted not fighting it harder since it happened. I hoped the court would toss it based on the facts, but they didn't. Knowing my luck, or lack thereof, I didn't want to take the chance. I should have fought it harder - I know that now. A couple of days ago, after submitting a volunteer application to coach little league I got this response basically saying I'm a poacher. So yeah, it does show up on background checks. If there is one funny side-note to all this, I also turn up by name as three different registered sex offenders in various states I've never lived in or have ever visited, all with ethnicities and physical characteristics that could never be confused with me. i.e. I'm a 350 black man who lives in Virginia. Can't a man of color get a break around here? LOL. Life is strange for sure.

Honestly, Brad, it's not typical of G&F at all in my opinion. I've had very few encounters with AZ G&F over decades of hunting and fishing. Those few have been very supportive. I spent one morning picking up beer cans with a unit manager who was trying her best to keep access open to an area that was being mistreated. I'm old by most standards, middle 40's - been hunting and fishing all portions of this state since I was a kid. Every time I fish on the rez, I have the appropriate permits. Every time I hunt or fish anywhere in this state I do it legally, with knowledge of the laws and regulations. Prior to this situation and in the years that have passed, I've never violated a single game law. In this case, it was a simple lack of awareness, to which I have taken 100% responsibility. But to be labeled a poacher or game thief is just something that isn't me.

Saaaa - Wheeeeet! Huge congrats to AJ. Look at that smile on his face, says it all. You rock man!

Nice job. You did a great job adapting to them. In my experience, that is absolutely key. Call, listen, adapt. The two of my boys still eligible for the youth hunt did well in 27 this year. http://www.coueswhitetail.com/forums/topic/57196-youth-turkey-2-fer/

Well, it may not be the best, but has to be the funniest I ever heard. A guy I know whose sense of humor cannot be understated, is one of those guys who likes to hunt, but is really an amazing chef, and more about the experience than the kill was on an antelope hunt with his father a few years back and they made a giant, black cow disguise with one of them as the front legs, holding up the head portion and the other in the back with a bow acting as the back legs. The story of stalking up on goats in their tandem "be-the-cow" decoy is the stuff of legends. They had both "had a couple" as they approached a herd of goats, and incorporated squirting from a water bladder and various ad-lib sounds. Unfortunately unless you hear it next to the campfire with all the shenanigans, it can't be fully appreciated.

Nice! Way to spend a family weekend - really impressive.

Booyah! Great job. 3 in a row, just AWESOME!

That is AWESOME! Great calling. That's what we all want - that strutting tom coming all the way in. Nicely done.

Great pix. Thanks for sharing.

I will take the qad rest.

These guys really hike their butt off. I've got a salt lick 2 miles from the nearest road and I have pictures of bulls dropping their horns next to it, and within 2 days a guy shows up and picks them up. Kudos to him, I picked up 5 sheds there a couple years ago - found nothing this year because he found the spot. Hard work, boot leather, get there first. The guys on quads gridding an area out do strike a nerve with me, but those on foot have my respect.

Great fishery, but it isn't like the old days, for sure. The way they manage the water isn't conducive to creating pools where minnows and leaches and all the food sources that used to grow huge trout have changed things a lot. The fish are long and weak because they are literally starving.

Wow - that's awesome.

Politics aside, when McGraw autotuned "Lookin' for that girl" I lost all respect.

I bought exactly the same 870 youth for my boys and it has been a turkey slayer. I got it a little close to the first turkey hunt and all I could find was a full choke tube, but eventually put on a super full/turkey tube and shooting federal #5 shot turkey loads it has done a fantastic job. I don't think they've ever hit and lost a turkey with it. Just make sure to remind your son to aim for the neck at the base of the head. Sometimes, when they get excited, they want to aim for the body. Best of luck to you. I'll be up there with 2 youth hunters this weekend as well. Shoot me a pm if you need ideas on places to go.

Ammon definitely makes great calls. His slates are hand-made with exotic wood and a variety of surfaces with nice hand-made strikers to match. His diaphragms all have a clean sound with varying degrees of rasp. Kind of hard to go wrong with someone who hand-makes calls for AZ birds based on years of local experience.

A couple of things stand out to me in the description. It's 17 years old with only 650 miles?? And if the body is only in decent shape after 650 miles, where did the wear-and-tear come from. Was it left out in the weather all this time?

Great pictures, Dan. I fish the Black every spring. Broke my shoulder there this year trying to get an early jump since it was so warm and I thought it might turn on a little earlier. The sidearm thing, I have a friend who contacted the San Carlos tribe and was told it was perfectly legit to carry - but here's where it gets sticky - it all depends on who you talk to. One person will tell you one thing, but that won't always jive with what the LEO you encounter perceives. I always carry a pistol down there. When other people are around, it's very discreet. When nobody is around it's more out in the open. As for fishing, I don't think the fires hurt the actual fishing that much. By that I mean we've been there year after year catching lots of fish and some really big ones. The biggest impact is the muddy ash-rich soil build up. It seems to make it harder for the crawfish to breed along the edges of the river, and the crawfish are what makes the smallies down there so awesome. That dense, protein diet makes them grow fast and fight hard. When the slack water with lots of river rock fills up with silt, it's harder for the crawfish to breed. They get forced into deeper water with less silt but more predation.

Honestly, I don't have a problem with anyone looking for some guidance. I have 3 sons and try to put them in for areas that they will have an opportunity to go hunting. That means sometimes it's in areas I'm less familiar with. The people on this forum have been extremely helpful in getting us in the right general areas on many occasions. No guarantees, but when you hunt a lot and have confidence going into an area you aren't familiar with, you can tell pretty quickly where and how you want to hunt it. It sure beats going in blind. At the same time, I do my best to repay that by helping out others to the best of my abilities. I don't divulge specific honey holes because that would wreck them, but just last night I spent around 4 hours sending out maps and strategies to some members here who asked for advice. I really like to see these guys be successful, especially the ones taking their kids out. My hope is those who ask for help and get it will learn from the experience and want to help others out later.

From everything I've seen, very little winter kill. Should be lots and lots of young birds, great conditions after the fire for hens. Places in 1 that usually have a decent to good populations look like a chicken roost in terms of droppings and tracks. I can't wait to get the boys out next weekend, use some of Little Creek's calls and get some birds on the ground.

Dang, you shoulda put in for someplace that has some elks in it. Iffen one wanders in there I figure you'll catch 'im 'fore he heads back on the rez.

Found this on another forum and liked it. Since I don't know how to "like it" on facebook or tweet it, or pin it, or any of that other BS, thought I'd just share it on the campfire.

IMR 4350 or h 4350 if the h4831 doesn't work

A guy I know who's an eye doc has one of these. Put a muzzle break on it topped with a Zeiss Scope - very sweet shooting rifle. Great trigger, he upgraded the recoil pad as well. You'd never know it was magnum until you started shooting further out. I already have a 300 WSM, and too many projects going on or I'd be first in line. Bump for a really good deal on a great rifle.

Sweet rifle.