IA Born

Yes I do.

How big are the gongs and for what caliber/cartridge are they rated? I was thinking of buying the materials to make my own for high caliber rifle/long distance and was looking at either 8" or 10" plates.

Definitely a beaver. I've got a skull from Colorado that I found several years ago if you need a comparison.

Congrats on great birds! I've gotten three Easterns when I lived in Iowa, but Rios are my nemesis! I've made two trips to south Texas chasing them. Missed one bird and had one hang up at 60 yards. I want me Rio from Texas!

I absolutely have to brag as a proud dad and hunter. Many of you know how active in the NWTF I am. I received a call about 90 minutes ago from our NWTF Regional Director letting me know that our daughter, Sydney, was selected as the NWTF JAKES Hunt of a Lifetime 2017 turkey hunter in Kansas! She submitted an essay in December on her hunting heritage and now I get to accompany her on an all-expenses paid turkey hunt in El Dorado, KS! She'll be home from school in about 20 minutes and I'll get to tell her! I should be getting an email in the next 2-3 days detailing everything she's won, and I'll be getting a call from the National NWTF JAKES coordinator to work out the details. I can't wait to see the look on her face when I tell her!

Absolutely awesome job!

Road hunters (people who just drive roads looking and listening) irritate the holy he!! out of me. Shooting out of the window is not road hunting. Its poaching/illegal, unless the hunter has a CHAMP permit. Granted, this yahoo probably didn't know Mr. Healy was down there, but to go chasing after a turkey that way? In all the years I've been turkey hunting, I've never seen that work out. I've sat in horror as "hunters" in the vehicle in front of us tried this instead of quietly driving past and setting up ahead of the birds. I was in a similar situation recently and, if not for standing up and waving my arms/whistling, my daughter and I were in the direct line of fire from a trigger happy hunter who had no intention of identifying my decoys. At the same time, I've been driving from Point A to Point B and happened across our quarry and put on a stalk. But I've never just left my truck running or parked in the middle of a road. And if I ever stumble across another hunter in that endeavor, I certainly won't start yelling and cussing at him/her. I will (have, actually) apologize for messing up their hunt and move on with my hunt.

So. Frickin'. Jealous!

I love it when they happen easy for a change! Congrats!

Pics added during lunch break

I'm still so darn giddy about that!

Arizona Wings Taxidermy sponsors part of the youth turkey hunts, and donates a mount every year. They do good work and have locations in both Flagstaff and Peoria. If you were in Flagstaff, I'd have another good recommendation.

Syd and I got back from her Kansas trip yesterday and we're still spinning. Its 9am and she's still sleeping. You'd better be there! Its about time you quit slacking and start mentoring! Seriously, though, I'm glad you decided to mentor this year!! We were at the camp and listened to your daughters story from Kansas. You should be proud. That Kansas hunt seems like it was a blast! Were you able to get on any birds? We were able to get on birds every morning, and roost some every night. They just didn't seem interested in our calls and as soon as they hit the ground they went silent. Maybe a gobble or two after they hit the ground. We didn't hear a single gobble after 7:00am all weekend. We saw a couple birds out and about, but couldn't get it done. They just weren't too interested. Thanks! I'm definitely proud. Beyond proud. She went into this hunt more determined than I've ever seen her. She did quite a bit of the hunt planning and calling after we found the birds, which was great, especially because she planned pretty much like I would have! We got on birds Friday and Saturday, with Saturday being the best. I ended up calling in a hen to 8 yards and kept her talking just enough to bring the gobbler in eventually. He came in to 70 yards, fanned out once, and both hens out in front of us just packed up and walked off with him. There was nothing I could do to convince him. All we needed was 40 more yards! And that was the norm for a lot of hunters I spoke to. This was the most birds I've seen brought in to camp, though. It was great meeting you and talking FH! Let me know if you're up in Flag and hopefully we'll see you at camp again! Thanks! I'm definitely proud. She went into this hunt more determined than I've ever seen her. She did quite a bit of the hunt planning and calling, which was great, especially because she planned pretty much like I would have! We got on birds Friday and Saturday, with Saturday being the best. I ended up calling in a hen to 8 yards and kept her talking just enough to bring the gobbler in eventually. He came in to 70 yards, fanned out once, and both hens out in front of us just packed up and walked off with him. There was nothing I could do to convince him. All we needed was 40 more yards! And that was the norm.

Did we meet up and talk? I know one guy came up to me after my daughter's talk about her Kansas trip. I spent the whole weekend in 5BS with my daughter and one other kid. We saw elk, including bulls every trip out. I can point you in some directions if you want.

The Antiquities act was signed into law in 1906. Passed by Congress and Signed by President Roosevelt. You cannot "executive order" it away. The EO says to go back and review all NM created since 1996 that are more than 100,000 acres and see if there is benefit into returning it to public land (IE BLM, National Forest, etc) No where is in this EO does it say to transfer any land or to even reclassify it. https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/04/26/presidential-executive-order-review-designations-under-antiquities-act THIS!!! Except that it was already public land prior to NM designation. The National Monument designation just (in a nutshell) adds another level of scrutiny and protections.

So is this executive order good or bad? That's the million dollar question that I purposefully tried to avoid, Phil. I have to be very careful when I weigh in on these issues, but, at the same time, I feel like I owe the American People I work for the best, correct information that is out there. Everything I said above, can be vefired; I just didn't have the time or desire to look up every Federal Reg in the CFR or under the ARS for ASLD. I want people to know that the correct information is out there, they can find it, and then form their opinions. I deeply apologize for this highly bureaucratic answer, but I love my job and want to keep it. I've always considered myself to be one of those Feds who takes my job working for you very seriously and that you (collective you) deserve nothing less than the best and absolute honesty. Now, if you're ever in Flagstaff and want to catch me when I'm off duty and allowed to express my personal opinions on these matters, I'd be happy to share them with you.

I'm hesitant to jump into this and weigh in, but there is a great deal of misinformation going through this entire thread. I'm simply hoping to clarify a couple of pieces of misinformation and help everyone form a more informed opinion and path forward, whatever path you choose. Our office is getting daily updates/briefs about the EO. The EO is authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to back through two decades' of National Monument designations and determine whether they should be overturned. Most of those NMs are on BLM and NPS managed land, and a few are on FS managed land, but all are mostly on Federal land and were from the moment the designation was official. The Federal government does not have the authority to designate State Land as a NM; however, checkerboard pieces are often lumped into the boundary just because of ease of drawing said boundary. There is absolutely no seizure of state land in the process. Those pieces of State Trust Land are still under the respective states' management and not the Federal land management agency. If National Monument status is overturned, those Federal lands will revert back to status-quo Federal lands managed by the Forest Service, BLM, or NPS and will not go to the states to be sold off. It takes an act of Congress to convert Federal land back to state management and that is not a part of the EO. I will not get into the pros and cons of national monument status on Federal lands, but I encourage everyone to read what each NM proclamation allows and doesn't allow under that designation. I will only say that I've yet to work with a NM in Arizona that hasn't retained hunting, fishing, and ranching as a part of the proclamation. That means that those activities are allowed to continue in perpetuity. Most national monument designations ensure that the habitat for the game we like to hunt will be managed even closer in perpetuity. Yes, it adds an extra layer of paperwork at the bureaucratic level, but it helps ensure habitat, wildlife, and hunting will continue in even better quality. As far as the idea that the Grand Canyon-Parashant NM or any monument is inside the Grand Canyon NP, that is far from correct. The GCPNM is a completely separate piece of land in NW Arizona and has not ties to Grand Canyon National Park, except for the words "Grand Canyon". The southern portion of the GCPNM is NPS land that was part of Lake Mead NRA (NPS) until monument status was designated. The majority of GCPNM is BLM managed land. BLM has the majority of land management responsibilities, but GCPNM is co-managed by BLM and NPS. As for Bears Ear NM, that land was Federal land to begin with, as described above; therefore, the state can't sell of that 1.4 million acres. Utah could only sell what is SITLA (equivalent to state land in AZ). And to the comment that AZ passed a Senate Bill last year to allow the sale of state trust land, Arizona State Trust Land, similar to SITLA in Utah has always been designated to be sold for the highest profit for the good of the state, particularly the education system. I've lived in Arizona since 1999, but that was one of the first things I learned when working in wildlife/habitat management. Arizona State Trust Land is not public land and it can and will be sold to the highest bidder in order to get the most profit for the State of Arizona. Same for Utah. I can't speak for other western states, but I'm pretty sure that's the case there, too.

It just gets better, Phil. At the banquet that Friday night, the guy who paid for our flights and hotel room (he does it every year for the JAKES essay winner), bought a quail print that was donated by the landowner where Syd hunted. Syd asked me to bid on the print, but when it started at $300, I knew I was out. This guy paid $1300 for the print, donated it back, and then bought it again (missed that price). After the banquet he asked for our address because he wanted to send it to Sydney as a gift for her grades (I was sworn to secrecy)! He emphasized that it was because of her grades (straight As) with all she has going on. Last night, as we were wrapping up her 14th birthday celebration, I happened to notice a huge box on our front porch. I'd forgotten about everything, until I saw the return address of KS and it being addressed to Syd. She opened it up, saw the print and a note that said "...the gift was in appreciation of her grades because her grades are the foundation for all of her future successes. He anticipates and expects big things from her in the future and signed it "Your friend..." I told Syd she had to go on my Goulds hunt to call for me! And she's already decided that she's using her current 7-08 for her bull hunt, but definitely wants the new one set up for any deer hunt! Need to go water the money tree so I can get a scope on that thing!

Beat me to it, but he's 100% correct. How many tickets would you like, PRDATR??

My son would LOVE that SA-08, just because of the stock! Not in the cards right now, though. He's really hoping to win the one we'r raffling, although it doesn't have that stock...

During the youth turkey hunt this weekend, my daughter found a Motorola Talkabout 2-way radio in the middle of a road in 5BS. If you lost one and can tell me the color and where you lost it, I have it. We'd love to get it back to its owner.

I use Midland, so it doesn't do me any good. Even if I did, I'd rather find its original owner, although I know that's not likely. Have to try, though.

Good point and I realized how that sounded after I typed it! I was hoping someone would give me a general area. We were near Hutch Mountain when we found it.

I have 17 cards left in the deck. Let's get these sold and raise some money for great turkey research in Arizona! Who hasn't gotten their chance at a Governor's Turkey Tag yet?

My daughter just killed two turkeys in Kansas with her 20 gauge. Many a turkey has fallen to a 20 gauge over the years and some of the newer 20 gauge turkey loads are out-performing 12 gauge loads. Having said that, I agree with Yotebuster in that if she's tall enough to handle a semi-auto 12 gauge with a 24-16" barrel, that's the route I would go. I'm going to have my daughter try one of my Rem 1100s to see how she can handle it and then will be (hopefully) looking into a semi-auto 12 for her if she can swing it and handle it nice enough.