IA Born

That is correct. We are patiently waiting to hear what they say about next year's applications.

As long as you or your kid are between 12-17 years old, you can still participate. I haven't seen the announcement for the 2020 contest yet, though. Its good to see the announcement because it has the exact requirements. The essay subject changed after my daughter won, so you have to pay attention to details.

We spent opening weekend in and out of toms. My daughter should have been done at 6am Friday morning, but her dad, a supposed turkey hunting veteran, made a rookie (ie, excited dad) mistake. My son was determined to stay the course and today, April 22, 2020, is a day of days. A day I'll long not forget. Jacob decided he wanted another chance at a turkey, so we took off last night packing light for the one night and morning we had available this week. I'm swamped at work, and he's now teaching Taekwondo classes to other kids his age and younger (I love that he's a black belt now). We were in our sleeping bags early and up at 4am this morning. It was cold, but we got dressed, ate breakfast, and made a plan. As we hiked up Plan A canyon, a bird gobbled over in Plan B canyon. We took off cross country, cutting distance and relocating the bird. That bird turned into what we thought were 3, maybe 4 birds up in front of us. A lone gobbler fired off up above them, followed by a gobble down to our left. Good odds, right? I let them know we were there, and simulated two different hens flying down off roost. That's a new tactic for me, but one I'll definitely be incorporating more. One more gobble and the woods went dead quiet. We were about to move somewhere else, so we stood up. I gave one call before we walked out to get the decoys, just to see what would happen. The whole flock gobbled at once 50 yards away. We had to scramble to sit back down! The woods got eerily quiet again, and I was figuring they busted us sitting down. "I can see them!", Jacob whispered. Lessons were learned (Friday morning), so I sat back, patiently waiting for the birds to come in directly in front of us. They didn't come directly in front of us, but in from my hard right. I saw two or three sets of legs and then, 10 or 12 total jakes came strutting in and they lit up when they saw the decoys. I was nervous waiting for one to separate away from the group for Jacob. "Shoot when you've got one separated." I purred one more time, heard the shot, and saw the gobbler on the ground! It was 5: 58am. Jacob had his first turkey on the ground. It was a 12-lb jake with a 4-inch beard, and very worn spurs. The coolest part: I used the slate call he built himself last year to call those birds in! "Dad, can you use my homemade call? It would be so cool for you to call in my bird with a call I made myself!" Tell me with a straight face how you say no to that! We are extremely blessed. 16 years ago right now, my head was spinning after losing my dad on April 10, 2004, while waiting for my daughter to be born (April 25, 2004). Neither of my kids knew their grandpa and he loved turkey hunting and fishing. A good friend up here has become a grandpa-figure to both my kids and he took us to this spot this weekend. He stopped by the house today to see the bird and hear the whole story after we told part of the story via text. Rubberband Man came on SXM as we got to town. Yes, we rolled down the windows, talked about "Stripes", and cranked it! He's addicted to turkey hunting and I'm an extremely proud dad! I wish these pics would post normal! GRRR!

Loved getting that pic last weekend as much as I loved sending you mine this morning. Congrats, fellas!

I was contacted last May to represent the NWTF in Arizona to be interviewed for a short video being produced. Jason Tarwater, the NWTF Regional Director from Montana came up with the idea to travel around the western US and hunt on public land within NWTF-funded habitat restoration projects. He was going to film every hunt and talk to NWTF, FS, and State Wildlife Agency representatives along the way. He hunted in CA, MT, AZ, and NM. Jason and is crew stopped by our house in Flagstaff last year on their way to the A-S to hunt. He interviewed me and my kids, both of whom are very active as JAKES memebers in our NWTF chapter here in Flagstaff. Here is the two minute teaser video of the AZ hunt. The full 9 minute video is supposed to be released at 4pm MST today. Maybe this will help get blood pumping for the upcoming turkey seasons! Enjoy and good luck out there!

Full AZ Beyond the Strut video just released! Proud to be apart of this project, especially with my kids!

Ammon is spot on. I've called birds in successfully in the wind, but they weren't very talkative. Gobbled once to let us know he was there, and then came walking in, taking his own sweet time. I suck with a box call, but they can be good for cutting higher pitched calls into the wind. I usually go with my diaphragm (my go to, anyway), followed by an aluminum pot call on windy days. The copper pot calls Ammon makes are also great for windy days, too. I need to get one!

I'll definitely post the full video after its released. I have a TKD training session via Zoom at 4, but will get it out after that!

I'm debating between 5A (if roads are open), 5BS, or 5BN. A buddy, who is helping us this year, roosted some birds in 5BN the other night and that interests me. But I know more areas in 5A and 5BS

Will this set up work for pistols at close range? We built it for rifles at 100 yes and beyond, obviously, but want to try something different to make pistol shooting a little more interesting, especiallyfor my family. I figured I'd get some (hopefully) expert opinions here before I find out the hard way and put my family in danger. The plate has an angle away because of the way I set the bolts/hanger.

Thanks! Between your insight and AZ Free Man's, I'm thinking this is a no-go for the family. I can already hear their reactions to "Bundle up so we can protect ourselves from bullet fragments!" My son would probably be in, but not so much my wife and daughter.

Bump

Thanks!

Varget has been spoken for already, assuming we can meet up next weekend during the youth turkey hunt. Are you friends with Christian? I can get him the turkey loads and saw to get to you. Should see him next weekend, too.

Thats good to know. We'll be shooting fmjs and probably lead round nose in my wife's Uberti .45lc. Do you shoot frangibles, or will we be ok with fmjs/l rn? And we don't ever shoot without eye/ear protection. Thanks again!

I'll trade you for a Sig range finder if I can hike in and find it!

Overall, its been a lackluster winter for snow, but March is typically our wettest month (snow/rain). That last big system that pushed through over spring break certainly dumped a large amount of needed moisture, but we're still in an overall deficit. If FS26 (know it well) was too muddy, that certainly says something!

We'll be in the same unit for my kids, unless I get a whim and end up in 5BS. Yes, the roads typically open before the youth hunt, unless there is a crazy amount of moisture. Last year, there was still a couple of feet of snow in most of the turkey hunting areas of 5A, so the FS didn't really have a choice but to keep the roads closed. And those that weren't snow-covered were extremely muddy. That is far from the case this year with the lackluster winter we've had in northern Arizona.

I love seeing the "free to youth/teen" stuff like this! I was blessed to have a friend give me his kids' hunting clothes when my daughter started. I've been able to hand those down to my son as she outgrew them and, as he outgrows them, I give them to a buddy's son, who is a couple of years younger than my son. Good on you!

My daughter and I just got back from freezing our butts off at Lower Lake Mary to help maintain our sanity. We didn't catch any fish, but watched four osprey catch 8 total fish, including one 20 feet in front of my daughter! My kids have the youth turkey hunt in 5B or 5a (haven't decided yet) and my son and I have leftover 12A tags, so we're in the same boat as you, but with a shorter drive!

The closure order is not overly clear, but I just called the Flagstaff RD. The Coconino NF's website spells it out very clearly, too. Developed campgrounds, day use areas, visitor centers, heritage cites, and some hiking trailheads have been closed. The rest of the forests are open for hiking and dispersed camping, including the upcoming turkey hunts. The currently closed forest roads are anticipated to be open by early/mid April, which is standard procedure every year, weather dependent, of course. And, yes, groups of more than 10 appear to be banned for now.

I remember when the previous owner of BBA in Flag opened the shop in Tucson. He opened it and hired folks to run it exactly like he ran his shop here. Top notch. The current owner of BBA in Flagstaff has maintained the same principles for the Tucson shop. You definitely can't go wrong with BBA in Tucson.

I'll take my chances with Abaco. The place we stayed at in 2017 in Treasure Key is doing well, too. I recently told some colleagues on a conference call about me moving to Abaco permanently. They mentioned the hurricanes. All I said was "The last we saw him, he was in the middle of a double haul!" That's how I want to go out...

I cleared 10 inches from our driveway in Flagstaff this morning. Thinking about social distancing on Andros Island or Abaco Island for the rest of my life...