IA Born

Thanks! We'll take a look at that one. He's now teaching me how to do it. I can vouch that anyone who gets one wants one of his flies and not mine!

Jacob has his blue with red stripe now. In February, he'll test for his red belt. In June 2019, he'll test for his red with black stripe, and in October 2019, he'll test for his black belt. All of this, of course, is assuming he doesn't make any mistakes during interim stripe screening where he shows he's learning his new forms, kicks, blocks, etc along the way. At this point, he has ZERO room for mistakes.

That's a great 6B buck! Glad it worked out for you!

I also wouldn't hesitate to get a Savage Axis II youth in 7mm-08. I bought my daughter the original Axis youth in 7mm-08, not wanting to drop a big chunk of money if she didn't stick with it. Its one of the best rifles I've shot. Its great with factory ammo, but lights out with hand loads. I had to replace the factory trigger with a Timney, and it only got better. I got our son the 11 Trophy Hunter youth model in 7mm-08 and I'm just as infatuated with that as I am my daughter's Axis. Only reason I didn't get him an Axis II is that I couldn't get the Axis II with an accutrigger in plain black. Neither me nor my son wanted the Muddy Girl pink camo Axis II just to have a 7-08 with an accutrigger!

^^Good people right here. If not working with Doug (Red Rabbit), I have the small Slik tripod that my kids use. I forgot the model, but I can get it. Its small and light weight, but very sturdy. Got the tripod with panhead for under $100 at Bull Basin here in Flagstaff.

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If I have a Douglas RD CNF map at work, you can borrow it if that will work. I won't know until Monday, though, so if that's too late, I understand. I may not check back here since its another father-son weekend, so PM me to get my attention if you need to let me know something.

My son and I took off this past weekend for a father-son fly fishing trip to the San Juan while my wife and daughter were on a girls trip. I haven't been to the San Juan in 11 years and its always been bugging me to go back, especially to get my family really into fly fishing. We've all fly fished a couple of small streams here in AZ and Jacob has landed a YOY rainbow w/par marks, but that's it. We got to Abe's about 1pm Friday afternoon, got checked in, license purchased, and some local fly patterns. I was nervous about Jacob wading since he's the skinny kid who has to dance around in the shower to get wet, but he did great. I had a life jacket for him to wear, but the guys at Abe's put us in a spot where he wouldn't need it. When we got there, I asked a guy if we could squeeze in downstream or if he'd prefer we go somewhere else and he graciously offered Jacob his spot. Its nice to see (especially for Jacob) that kind-hearted people are still out there. We started off close together with him upriver of me and me not fishing until I knew he was ok wading, getting his casting game on, and knowing what to look for when a trout takes his fly. He was amazed at all the big trout swimming within a foot of him and he fell into a groove. After an hour or so, the river started clearing, so we moved up to the next good looking spot. I re-rigged his set up, removing the weights so the emergers acted like true emergers and, after 20 about 20 minutes, I hear "I got one!" I coached Jacob on how to use the rod and we were able to net his first real trout on a fly rod. It was a fat 15" bow and I could tell by the look in his eyes that he was completely addicted to flyfishing. That was the only fish of the day, but we stayed for the hatch. Jacob said "How about we stay for 30 more minutes." when the hatch started. Three takes and three misses later, an hour had gone by and we finally worked our way back to the truck. He made it clear that he LOVED dry fly fishing! As we were walking back, I turned around to snap a sunset pic, and I saw a 10-year old boy walking with the swagger of a seasoned fly fisherman. Jacob's first real trout: 15" fat bow Kid with swagger (can't get it oriented right) We got up early Saturday morning, had breakfast, and were on the river by 8:25. It didn't take long for Jacob to hook into another bow, then another, and then he had some real fun. He hooked a 15" fat brown and figured out why I've always said I'll take a 15" brown over an 18"-20" bow any time. I managed to finally get on the board with a smaller bow, but I was finally on the board and giving Jacob some competition. We took a quick lunch break and short nap back at the truck and then decided it was time to get back to our spot, hoping someone hadn't come in. During our lunch break, I reemphasized his casting technique to work on because I spent a big part of the morning undoing wind knots and/or changing leaders because the knots were so bad. That worked and his casting came back solid. I noticed several fish rolling subsurface, so I took my weights off and, after missing a few takes, I ended up landing a 15" fatty bow, too. Jacob and I both played that game off and on, after I set him up with the same flies I was using and removing his weights. We stayed until the hatch went off and I managed to land two bows on my brand new TFO 4wt. Jacob missed a couple of more takes, but is definitely loving this new addiction. He asked me several times on the drive home when we're coming back to the San Juan. Yesterday, we finally set up or fly-tying bench and organized our kits. He was off school for a fall break day and he ended up tying four flies, following the instruction book. His elk hair caddis (#12) needs work but its a great start. His beetle, wooly bugger, and nymph were all pretty solid. He's loving this whole fly fishing thing and I'm loving having a fly fishing buddy! 15" brown Lunch Break My 15" bow Jacob's fly tying

I'm debating on what to do with one particular shotgun, so I thought I'd get some insight from others who may be or have been in this situation. I'm thinking about selling a shotgun that I don't use and probably never will. The money will go towards a rifle build for my son when he outgrows his current youth/compact rifle. The shotgun is a Remington 1100 12 gauge and was my maternal grandfather's. It has the 28" modified choke barrel and 26" improved cylinder barrel. I originally got it from my grandpa's collection after he passed so I could give it to my son; however, he now has a modern Tri Star 12 gauge w/ screw-in chokes. That shotgun will do anything and everything he wants it do and should last him a lifetime once he grows into it. I was all set to sell my grandpa's 1100 a few months ago, so I called Remington to run the SN. The SN puts it as a 1963 shotgun, which is among the first runs of Remington 1100s. The shotgun works great, but is not in pristine shape (not horrible, either) and the action is definitely loose. I haven't seen anything that really puts it as a collector's item, but I could be missing something. This shotgun is one of five 12 gauges that I have (not including my son's future 12ga), but is probably the one I have the least sentimental attachment to and will probably never use. My grandfather and I were close growing up, but we fished together more than we hunted together, so I only really know the shotgun from being in his gun cabinet, me having my own 1100 12ga (magnum), and me trying to buy the 26" barrel from him many years ago. Any thoughts? Would you sell it to help fund a build or keep it because its an original 1963 manufacture, knowing you'll probably never use it.

I"m already trying to figure out how to tell my wife we need to sell the second, smaller, safe, and get a bigger one! Thanks again for the perspectives on this. In the end, the idea of having a 1963 version of my favorite shotgun rules the day. I have three other guns of his, that I actually cherish more. My grandpa was a meat cutter for most of his life in southeast Iowa. He had the slaughter house outside of town, and the meat shop in town. I spent a great deal of time with him at the slaughter house and I have the old Ithaca M49 single shot .22 that he used to dispatch cattle. I'd like to get that one functional again. I also have his Remington 572 pump .22, which I didn't know he had until he passed. I jumped on that one. The most-prized one, though, is an old H&R Topper 148. It was one of the few with a receiver strong enough for both shotgun and rifle cartridges. It has both 20ga and .30-30 barrels. He kept that one on the shelf in the back of his truck camper for "turtle control" at the farm ponds we fished. I never saw him use it, but I was always infatuated with it because I was around it so much from fishing with him all the time. The barrel is worn down with no bluing from being dragged in and out of his truck (carpeted shelf) all the time. Every time I see that firearm, it takes me back to the farm ponds we used to fish. That's the one I most want to refinish and make sure it works properly.

I can't get the idea of having an original 1963 1100 out of my head. After my grandma died, things changed between me and my grandpa, but everyone was right. I'd probably never forgive myself for selling that shotgun. That's why this Mossberg is the one to go to help fund my son's build!

Those are amazing, Doug! Thanks for capturing the beauty of our home!

I have a friend here in Flagstaff who is thinking about selling his son's youth .243 now that he's outgrown it.

And congrats, too!

Imagine that. What doesn't she win/get drawn for? Luckiest person I know! 😃 Congrats, Kathi! Daughter and I have archery pig tags and my son has his youth pig tag!

I hadn't thought about the rings, but I'd let the rings go. How about $150 for the scope and rings? The bases stay, though. I love the DD bases and can get new rings easy enough when I get the new scope. PM me when you get back and we'll coordinate the meet. My office is on the south side of NAU campus, I live in University Hts, but can meet you just about anywhere.

Thanks for the perspectives, fellas. I've been a huge fan of 1100s most of my life, so that, along with it being a 1963 original, are why I'm hesitant to get rid of it. The more my son gets into hunting, the more I think he'll appreciate what that shotgun is. I'll try to get some pics of it this weekend. The action isn't sloppy, but its not as tight as my 1100 from the mid-80s. My guess is that its a result of the original spring being in there and it being 55 years old. I definitely remember my grandpa hunting pheasant with it the few times I went out with him. I think my biggest problem is that, even though I probably spent the most time with my grandpa hunting and fishing, he favored my cousin (uncle's son), who had the same last name and was named, in part, for our grandpa. It always bothered me that he never acknowledged any of my accomplishments or asked me about anything I was doing but, every time we were together, I always had my cousin thrown in my face. I also get what you all are saying about family heirlooms. One of my most-prized shotguns is an H&R Topper 152 single shot .410 that was my paternal grandpa's. He gave it to my dad for me to start hunting with when I was about 10ish. Its the first gun I ever hunted pheasants with. After my grandpa died, my dad's stepmom asked for it back so she could give it to her new husband. Dad reluctantly did, but was so angry and hurt. About 9 years ago, or so, I learned that my dad's sisters were having an estate sale since their stepmom (mom to them) had Alzheimers and her husband died of cancer a year or two prior. I called my dad's oldest of his two younger sisters and asked about that shotgun. She said their younger sister had it, so I called her and plead my case. That phone call didn't go well and my greedy aunt wasn't pleased that I called her. Long story short, I got the shotgun back against dad's younger sister's wishes, thanks to my other aunt. Something along the lines of "You will give him that shotgun. Its his birthright!" I'll figure out another way to finance that rifle build, I guess!

I'm right there with Hoss. I went the cheap route once and bought the first run of Danner Pronghorns back in 2004, not realizing they couldn't be resoled. Every other boot since then are recraftable for the very same reason Hoss says. My wife barely bats an eye now when I ether get new boots or have to have a pair resoled because she knows I take care of them and they last for years. My only other suggestion is to make sure and take care of them. Treat them with beeswax or other non-animal products. Mink oil will wear out the leather and cause the stitching to rot. I learned that (not the hard way) when I got my first pair of boots for wildfire work. I had a seasoned firefighter/mentor pull me aside and tell me that because he learned the hard way. I've heard nothing but good about the Crispi boots. If I didn't have three pairs of Danners and my custom-fit Whites Smokejumpers, I'd get a pair of Crispi boots. As it is, I'm about to send my 10-year old pair of Whites in to get resoled. $140 for a pair of $400+ boots that are my absolute favorite boots in the world. I don't fight wildfire anymore, but I use them for all of my spring/summer/early fall hiking hunting.

Ammo is SPF

Ammo is sold

They want be hard to find, but I'll work with you!

Need em? Might cut you a deal if you can remember the importance of ATP!

$130 for scope and $130 for rangefinder.

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Ammo is sold. Thanks, everyone!