Coach

Great advice above, especially getting a guide. When I fly-fished AK the first time I thought I knew what I was doing and my dad is an excellent fly-fisherman. Hiring a guide to teach us little tips and tricks on the Russian was key. Each river is a little different and the right guide can help you save time finding out the right technique. Best of luck, and please share some photos of your trip. rclouse79 - great photos!

Good thread. I grew up shooting a recurve, but haven't shot one in a long time. My dad gave me his Howard Hill longbow. It's a great setup with cedar shafts and turkey vanes, bear broadheads. I would love to shoot something with it.

That's an awesome smoker. I have the same one, and they work great and are easy to use. Bump.

I see a lot of people collecting mushrooms off the roads around big lake in the fall, but I don't know AZ mushrooms well enough to tell what is what. We used to pick coral mushrooms in Oklahoma, and they were delicious (deep fried, of course). I've seen a few out here that look the same but haven't had the guts to try and eat them. Apparently there are plenty of poisonous look-alikes in the fungi-world.

We were fishing the Black today near Georges Basin and had to leave early because of a good sized fire just across the river on the San Carlos side. The only info I can find about an active fire on the San Carlos is the Basin Fire - anyone know more about this fire? It was a little spooky watching huge plumes of smoke from a wildfire only a couple miles away with pretty decent winds, and we didn't see any slurry planes, helicopters or other evidence that it was being contained.

Very cool! Nice find.

I did a write up of the story a while back. It was a backpack trip. I'll try and find a link.

A $5 roll of cloth camo tape fixes shiny things.

Awesome write up, TJ. That had to be an amazing hunt to be on. Great people, looks like some great food and some absolutely beautiful birds. I'm really happy for you, Peg and Amanda, and getting to share it with good friends making memories that will last a lifetime. Pretty much sums up all the great things about hunting in one trip.

Lost my Garmin 60csx on my boys' turkey hunt. Man that sucks. Ended up buying another off ebay today for $173. I guess that's part of taking toys in the field.

I've gotta try this out. Looks like a lot of fun.

I think you'll forget about the silver outside when you shoot it. IMO, the best ML scope out there, and for that price, very hard to pass up.

What kind of scope is on it?

Sounds like he just verified that it is.

These aren't real wolves as much as feral dogs. I don't see them having a big impact when managed properly - by us.

Yeah, what he said.

Nicely done - with a bow. You rock.

Thinking of heading out too. It's too bad that an OTC archery tag for late spring can't be carried over to the fall OTC archery hunt if unfilled. That would make it a no-brainer (and probably mean more tags sold for AZGFD). Just a thought.

I'm pretty sure you can already hook up a go-pro to them and view the video real-time via an iPad or similar device. My guess is AZGFD will update the wording regarding the use of aircraft to locate game for hunting purposes.

Thanks, Amanda. I saw that too, but worded a little differently. This one looked pretty hot. I rounded a bend on the Black and saw the smoke plumes just one ridge over, and we decided we should get out as fast as we could - it was that close. I'll post some pix when I get a chance, but that fire with the wind on the Bonito Prairie has the opportunity to cause some real damage. I was particularly worried about the guys at ID Ranch. Looked like it was moving in that direction.

That's awesome, Brian. Looking forward to the story and pix. Huge congrats - I know you were going bow or nothing, and that's a huge challenge with Merriams. For Goulds, you definitely brought your "A" game. Great job.

Wow - that's LOT of horn right there. Great job.

I'm not sure, I've found a little info on the "Basin Fire" but no maps. http://www.azein.gov/azein/Lists/Announcements/DispForm.aspx?ID=3425

Ya know, around a real campfire, two guys who just can't get along usually respect the camp and walk away. Nobody is going to change the other's mind in this case, no sense in back-and-fourth jabs. Maybe time to call it a night, agree to disagree, and respect the forum we have here.

I'm sure you've already done this, but the first thing I would check is the scope mounts to make sure there are no issues there, then swap a scope over from one of you other rifles that you know is solid. If you are still getting wild groups with a scope you know is good and the mounts are solid, then you know it's an issue with the rifle or ammo, but that gun shouldn't shoot 6 inch groups with any ammo at 100 yards.