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naturegirl

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Everything posted by naturegirl

  1. naturegirl

    my first turkey and a 10" beard!

    Hope these pictures help to age my bird. Honestly, I'm just curious as to his age, but I really don't care if he's a jake or he's 5. I'm just thrilled that I even got to see turkeys let alone take a tom!
  2. naturegirl

    Bear defense

    Very good suggestion. I would never want to shoot one, but of course if I absolutely had to if it was a choice between me or the bear, I would choose me. I've spent so many years out in the field and have never come across one in person, but after my husband's scare I would like to be prepared.
  3. naturegirl

    my first turkey and a 10" beard!

    his spurs were short and very very dull/rounded. looked nothing like the pics I've seen on here. its the first tom any of us have seen ip close. not sure what his spurs mean? do they get dull with old age? his beard was long and all black except maybe 1 or 2 burgundy colored pieces. I don't think he was really young to have a dark long beard. are his spurs deformed? I couldn't tell u but maybe u guys can tell me??
  4. naturegirl

    Some CA Birds For You...

    great pics!
  5. naturegirl

    still gobbling

    husband is up hunting this weekend. they are gobbling again after they shut down last Sunday. not sure if it was the weather front that came in last week that shut them down. its about 7000' where we hunt. he's going back out in am and hopefully he will get lucky.
  6. naturegirl

    thoughts on new coconino road rules

    on my turkey trip last weekend nobody seemed to be following closures. I agree and my husband was told the same thing about it being liquid still but I don't think 1 person can change it. we all need to work together. 30' off a road for camping is very dangerous. I still can't fathom that one.
  7. naturegirl

    my first turkey and a 10" beard!

    Pics attached and story updated! Finally had access to the home computer.
  8. naturegirl

    thoughts on new coconino road rules

    sycamore....sorry im not posting detailed info but its there. taking the horses this trip.
  9. naturegirl

    Opening Weekend Reports

    I can't wait til tomorrow when we go turkey hunting. hopefully I'll get my first turkey this year. lots of good feedback here. thx!
  10. naturegirl

    thoughts on new coconino road rules

    well got my map and it's the same. their estimate of road closures is wayyyy off. one area has so many roads closed its now bigger than many of the quiet/wilderness areas (appx 30 sq miles without roads now). makes no sense to me unless they had no closures in some areas but it just so happens the areas I know well were all closed.
  11. naturegirl

    Shakey Meadow Bull (video)

    ill take me one of those come my September hunt. sure did have a lot of eyes on you toward the end. did u bust em?
  12. naturegirl

    thoughts on new coconino road rules

    hubby just got off phone with coconino. BS. BS. BS. said they only closed 15% of the roads. im going to wait to get paper map but the online map has WAYYY more closures where I hunt. also said she is sending us a phone number where we can call to request roads be reopened. I will post this number as soon as I receive it. if we all are vocal maybe they will listen. she said they want input and feedback. write down road numbers and reason why it should be reopened and call them. this doesn't sound like a closed door yet. she also said it will be warnings unless its something blatant like the person is holding a closure map.
  13. naturegirl

    thoughts on new coconino road rules

    nothing by me was said about being lazy. I hike my rear off from sun up to sundown on every hunt I go on and not only do I hunt but we like to drive around and look at the beauty in the forrest. my father who recently passed was handicapped and walking (let alone hiking ) wasn't an option. he loved being outdoors. once again I agree with some closures but feel the amount of closures was excessive. and I feel their education about the closures needs improvement.
  14. naturegirl

    Laws and Faqs

    I asked the GW in one of the units i hunt this exact question last year and his answer was yes for personal protection. I always carry my LCP when im archery hunting. I hunt a bit by myself and I've come across some very strange people.
  15. naturegirl

    It has been bugging me…

    I can only speak for myself. I will NOT take a shot that im not 100% comfortable with. See my javelina story on this forum. I predominantly bow hunt but have hunted with a rifle. I personally call BS that you can't get closer than a half mile for a shot. we bow hunters do it all the time. of course to get closer it takes time and the chance of losing the animal but it is the right thing to do. the exception to this is an EXPERT marksman with ALL the right equipment, years of experience with LR shots, etc. I took a pig at 260 yrds with my 270 (heart shot) on a rest but that is a shot I had practiced 1000 times. i took a pig at 10 yards with my bow even though my buddy was encouraging me to shoot when it was running at 40 yards. I did not shoot until I knew I could make a good clean kill. Im one of those people where it will kill me if I can't recover an animal. I've passed on many many many shots because of this. there are many people who are hunting who absolutely shouldn't be. im super thrilled about my upcoming early bull Archery hunt but my ethics will not change. unless im comfortable that I will make the absolute best shot I can, I will not shoot PERIOD!
  16. naturegirl

    coconino forest changes starting in may

    im a little upset by the closures and yes I guess I should've voiced it earlier during the public comment time period. I could kick myself for not. I 100%have agree that some roads needed to be closed. I just looked at 6a map where I typically hunt and camp. Im estimating 90% of the roads are now closed. im shocked. my 1st reaction is screw this. I know ill be using my horses a lot more now and ill probably be one of a few following the new rules. if they don't physically close the roads, people will continue to use the. safety is also a concern. all the quads and vehicles were dispersed over say 5000 miles and now will be condensed to say 500I miles. there will be an increase in vehicle accidents I am sure. ugh I am just plain pi**ed right now! my turkey hunts in 2 weeks. now my plans are all screwed up and I face the issue do I follow the new map pr wait to be fined. I can't imagine how many officers would be needed to patrol 5000 miles of old roads. I pay for these forests and now my access to it is restricted by 90%. just seems very excessive to me
  17. naturegirl

    Early vrs Late Season Hunting

    success rate (all what u feel is success ie the hunt or the kill). late season big bulls are hard to find. many have been bumped or killed. weather is a big factor. have the elk migrated/moved to lower elevation? of course early hunt major plus bulls are with cows thus easier to find and they are vocal...another plus. they just don't think as cautiously when the rut us going on. late season they are holed up alone and much much harder to find.
  18. naturegirl

    Early vrs Late Season Hunting

    success rate (all what u feel is success ie the hunt or the kill). late season big bulls are hard to find. many have been bumped or killed. weather is a big factor. have the elk migrated/moved to lower elevation? of course early hunt major plus bulls are with cows thus easier to find and they are vocal...another plus. they just don't think as cautiously when the rut us going on. late season they are holed up alone and much much harder to find.
  19. naturegirl

    6A Archery Bull September hunt

    this is the tag I drew also this year. u can find areas without other hunters. stay off roads!!!! at least half seems to road hunt or hunt close to roads. I also drew late rifle 6a three yrs ago. everybody and their mother was at stoneman then. I couldn't do it. we moved camp to where I knew less people would be. I ended up passing on some smaller bulls, missed a shot on a so so bull on day 6, came home empty handed. I still would do it the same again because I hate tripping over other hunters. I know parts of the unit very well (especially early season). there's many areas other people forget about or overlook and that will be where ill be in September. my husband "guided" the same couple 2010&2011 (lucky people drew early archery tags 2 yrs in a row) was on big bulls almost every day without many other hunters. get out as much as u can. like someone else said it's good to have multiple areas in mind.
  20. naturegirl

    23 Late Archery input

    3 yrs ago I had late bull rifle 6a. got skunked fpr a big one but had passed on spikes. any late hunt requires lots of scouting in the 1-2 weeks before the hunt because everything changes as the weather changes and the big ones go into hiding. scouting done months in advance means very little and i avoided the lower areas where there were what seemed like 1000 other hunters although that is where the most success was that year. I just don't like tripping over other hunters all day long.
  21. naturegirl

    Change of the Rules

    I totally agree with a one year wait. I had a buddy who drew early bull archery 2 yrs in a row with his girlfriend. I was bummed. it was 3 yrs for me but 7 for my husband. I think a year is a fair wait
  22. naturegirl

    Post you results

    6a early archery! Yippee Yahoo! I've never had the pleasure of hunting during the rut! I can't wait!
  23. naturegirl

    Draw results out on phone

    Looks like I'll be getting up in the middle of the night. I've tried and tried like all of you since about 2 pm and nothing but busy signal and website down. Hope I can get them about 1 am or so. So happy I'm drawn but killing me to know if it's the early or late archery hunt!
  24. naturegirl

    changing the subject...horses

    does anyone hunt elk with horses? if so can u share the good, the bad, the ugly? we've acquired horses since our last elk hunt and are thinking about giving it a whirl. we are taking them up this weekend for some high country trail riding. we've been told that elk do not get spooked by horses. im guessing the horses will get spooked by the elk at least at first. just curious if anyone has any experience with hunting with horses.
  25. naturegirl

    changing the subject...horses

    lots of great information! thx to all!! now let's get some draw results sooner !
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