naturegirl

Looks to me like it will be a bountiful dove season. Here around the house I'm seeing a big increase in numbers. Went horseback riding not too far out of town this week and couldn't get over how many doves were out in the desert. It should be a good year! Lots and lots of White Wings here in South Gilbert/Queen Creek - not as many WW out in the desert though.

This is a good question and one I hadn't properly considered prior to hunting alone on a water hole a few years ago. I decided that morning when it was pitch black and I was carrying a cheap light that I would quickly invest in a better one. There were eyes watching me, but my cheap flash light (or my head lamp) wouldn't light up what it was. All I could see was the eyes that kept watching me. I fixed that problem and bought the light below. I use the heck out of it and never hunt without it. LED Lenser T7 http://www.opticsplanet.com/led-lenser-t7-led-flashlight.html?gclid=CKTD_uOQ7LgCFS3hQgod6RoAog&ef_id=UffyyAAABD13CpkW:20130807200428:s

Yes sir I was teasing you. I thought maybe I hurt your feelings....LOL.

here is a link to the video. http://www.coueswhitetail.com/bear_spray_clip.wmv Thanks Amanda! That's the one!

I'm with you. I'm not sure yet if we will use horses on my 6a WT hunt or not, but my husband wants to use them for his 6A late bull archery hunt. He used our horses for his buddys late 6A hunt last year and was glad he did. It really depends on the area whether or not they are beneficial or not. Like the upcoming archery hunt I would not typically take the horses because they are more work than benefit. I would definitely do some scouting with the horses and see if it works. We have portable corral fencing that we take for camp and it works great. This allows us to camp wherever we want.

Here ya go TJ! Decimal (WGS84) : 32.533787, -117.018256 Decimal Minutes (GPS) : N32 32.02721 W117 1.09535 Degrees Minutes Seconds : N 32° 32' 1.6326", W 117° 1' 5.721" Wow, I never expected that. I'll let you know what I find. Thanks! TJ

Here ya go TJ! Decimal (WGS84) : 32.533787, -117.018256 Decimal Minutes (GPS) : N32 32.02721 W117 1.09535 Degrees Minutes Seconds : N 32° 32' 1.6326", W 117° 1' 5.721"

Lion, although I wish it were a jag. Hope you get more pics!

If they are bad, I use my bug suit. I haven't found any spray that doesn't stink too much and I put too much time and effort into being scent free. I do carry a small sample size of bug spray in my pack at all times just in case though. The other good option is to take someone with you who the bugs like more. In my case it's my husband :0)

Good idea to have the dog snake trained too if you are spending much time in the field with the dog. Bite prevention is the 1st step.

Below is from Amanda last year. I'll ask if she can update the link to the video because the link is not working. "I recommend carrying Counter Assault bear spray. To me it's better than a handgun because it sprays in a wide shotgun pattern so your aim doesn't have to be perfect and it ruins their eyes and lungs so they stop and run away. The other reason I like it better is that for the most part you dont' really want to kill the bear, you just don't want it charging you and making contact. For instance, say there is a mother and her cubs and the mother charges you. If you shoot her she will likely die and so will her cubs. But if you bear spray her, she will leave and still survive to raise her cubs. It's a non-lethal way of handling the problem. Here is a video of an AZ highways photographer using the can of bear spray I gave her just in case she had a close encounter while trying to photograph some bears." http://www.coueswhitetail.com/bear_spray_clip.wmv

Last year my husband and our friend were chased by one who had a cub during the spring turkey hunt. She was mighty aggressive. They retreated immediately after she made her presence known, but she kept trailing them for quite awhile as they made their way back to the vehicle. Warning shots were fired multiple times. She was not injured, but she wasn't as responsive to the "warning" of a shot gun as you would expect. They both carry bear spray now.

Bear spray, bear spray, bear spray and the bow and the backup gun. We too have seen a big increase in bear activity and this will be the 2nd year I'll have bear spray strapped to my pack. Unless I'm hunting them, I don't want to kill a bear. Amanda posted a video awhile back about bear spray.

If you want someone to go, ask them and keep asking. They may surprise you one day and say yes!

I like when these types of photos are posted. Good challenge for the eyes. Thx. I found 5, but one of mine was not circled by you. Are you positive there weren't 8? My eyes may be fooling me though.

Leave a note for them, but know it may still mean you need to move from "your" spot. If someone is brazen enough to steal a camera and then replace it with their own, then they may not be the sanest or the most reasonable to deal with anyhow.

Poachers = scum

That was a hard find for me. I had to use the clues, but then again I'm blind to seeing them in the wild so I'm not surprised I couldn't find it in the pic either

Awesome photos! I wouldn't dare sit that close. Snakes that don't have venom ill watch. The ones that do tend to watch my tail end.

Week before for animal location (sometimes even weekend before) because weather plays a big factor in the November hunt. My husband has this tag this year.

Regular "Joe" workout! in past years it was hunt as I am and do my best to keep up. This last year I've made a ton of lifestyle changes, lost some weight, gained some muscle so it's game on! Personally I believe it is something you need to do year round.

Yes there will be a lot of other hunters. My husband & I had the early archery tag last year and my husband hunted with our buddy who had the same tag the prior 2 years (lucky man). The amount of people always frustrates me in 6a, but I do my best to find places where other hunters aren't or I use other hunters mistakes to my advantage. My husband tagged a bull last year and I was not able to recover mine. Congrats on your tag!

I'm taking my 270 and a 30-06 (and my bow). The 30-06 will be the backup. If I had a 300 win mag and was hunting where I thought I'd be making 300+ yard shots, I'd opt for the 300 win mag. This is all my personal preference. What range shots are you typically comfortable with?

Trust is the route my family members went who have applied.

If you don't subscribe to it, the pages show a small enclosure with at least 10 younger lions it. These lions are captive bred on ranches solely to be released on the ranch and killed by a hunter. I'm an advocate for fair chase hunting. This definition can vary from person to person, but for me it is an animal in the wild (their wild) without an enclosure that would limit the animal from running from me if I spook it. I pondered this to think if I've ever remotely done anything like this and then came up with fishing. Some fish are born elsewhere and then dropped into a lake, but a lake is a normal environment for a fish. I've also seen a video a very long time ago of a caged big cat that was released to be hunted in an enclosure and the thing had been caged so long, it could hardly run. I was a definite non-hunter then and I did not like what I saw, but even now since I switched over to the hunting side I still feel the same way. I'm curious if others have any input either way on the subject.