Alpinebullwinkle

340-350 Nice bull. A shooter this year for those luckier than me to get a tag

Sounds like this year was different and most of the credit card hits took place in one day verses three days or so in the past?

Yes and I've viewed the sewage running in the streets of Peru and into the tributaries

The following is what I found in my hunting book about the most severe winter storm in my memory. "The winter of 2009-2010 was the most severe winter in 43 years (since 1967). We had over 14' of snow with +8' coming in less than a two day span. Our cabin experienced damages exceeding $23,000 in value due to the heavy weight of the snow. The wildlife didn't fare much better than my cabin as many were stranded in the deep snow and some did not manage to migrate out to lower elevations to survive the severe winter. There were stories heard that when the snowplow made its way to the Beaverhead ranches there were hundreds of elk in a herd that walked by vehicles to gain access off the snow bound mountain." Additionally my wife and I were snowed in for 4 days before we could get out of the cabin........ but luckily we had food, fire and stored water. The power was out off and on for about 4 days. Contrary to what I would have guessed, the horn quality that year for my archery hunt was disappointing. I guess most of the superior nutrients on the ground went into restoring their bodies from the severe winter, and not to exceptional horn growth. It was a fun 4 days at the cabin though with my wife being snowed in. Wish she was still here on earth to have shared this last storm with me in Alpine.

Very profound Jimmer!!

I don't like the semantics that is used for this issue. Climate change......obviously been happening since the dinosaurs disappeared and is very legit. Climate change will continue to change regardless of what us humans do. Global warming.......data communicated seems to verify either global warming or global cooling depending on what snapshot of time is used. Kind of like what our politicians do to justify their viewpoints. What is definitely legit in my mind is the catastrophic fires that we have experienced in the last 10 years or more due to the mismanagement of our forests in Arizona, Colorado, California and other western states. Those "abnormal" catastrophic fires without a doubt are caused by humans mismanagement..........many years of Smokey the bear suppressing normal fire occurrences. Without a doubt this issue should cause human created warming impact. Add in all the human impacts from new infrastructure construction of roads, buildings and concrete that go with it........ no doubt that has to have a warming impact on at least the west. But you don't hear anything about these legit impacts ironically.......only the carbon side of it which has become highly politicized. That is why I am skeptical about the whole global warming issue due to the dishonesty particularly by our politicians on the left, and also many left leaning scientists. Semantics and communications about this issue need to change to get me and many others on board with what needs to be done....... or can effectively be done about this issue.

NTS the year I was referring to was earlier than the picture you provided. I'm thinking about 25 years ago based on the age of my kids at the time that are now about 40. The banks at Hannigan Meadows were 8-12' tall after the plows went thru.

Quartz rocks but it does look like a touch of blue chryscola which means copper related

NTS you must be referring to the year a herd of about 200 elk followed the snow plow out of the Beaverhead Road from Sprucedale Ranch

Now our politicians on both sides of the isle are arguing whether "number of beds" should be limited to 49,000 verses 40,000. Ridiculous argument. What does that argument tell you about legitimacy of the issue? Without question common sense tells me this is a huge issue with long running and potentially serious consequences that one party seems to be ignoring for their personal gain. We currently live in a scary world of absurdity when it comes to politics. Our politicians need to get to work on the root cause of our immigration issues. It is much more than simply throwing money at a wall and physical barriers.......even though I support that effort as part of the solution.

I wish whoever retrieved the fallen tree would donate it to one of the town establishments in Alpine so it could be a monument. Everyone's comments on here endorses how special that tree is. Perhaps its place should be in front of the Forest Service building since it was USFS property that we all own after all.

Republicans should be advertising that recording on TV of what you posted NTS. Haaa.

We need a combination of both physical and technological barriers. It's common sense that the "left" has to agree with and possibly would if not hung up on the semantics calling it a "wall". But even more so the root cause of the immigration issue is our laws.....many that are outdated, and need renewal....and many that are just not enforced. The "left" has a good reason not to cooperate fixing the root cause. Illegal immigrants=democratic votes and socialistic behaviors which the "left" has recently come to favor as a party platform. That is why it will not be resolved like it should be....not until some politician can communicate a politically correct explanation of the issue better....... so that "common sense" can become part of the solution. Unfortunately common sense was eliminated about 10 years ago.

What extremely bothers me is all the wolf feeding stations (with processed elk meat) that the reintroduction group maintains within a one mile radius of residential areas. That should be a crime and those participating in that irresponsible action should be held accountable and go to jail! The last feeding station I tripped over even had an Arizona Game & Fish trail camera at the location.

I agree that technology improvements have impacted harvest statistics for both deer and elk. However for units 1 &27 that I spend time in I have to say that the Wallow Fire has had a greater impact on the statistics. Without the trees 500-1000 yard shots are now more prevalent resulting in more wounded bulls and unclaimed animals. Used to be a 340+ bull in the late gun hunts were monsters and since the fire even 400 class bulls are harvested. Improved sighting due to the fire and longer range rifles

Agree Wilks has been a tremendous disappointment and doesn't deserve to return next year. Suns are also a big disappointment but I will give this highly regarded coach another year to teach these one and done "stars" how to play defense. I know........the NBA doesn't play defense. But they need to be able to turn it up at the end of the games to win and most of the one and done Suns never learned defense with one year of college. The 3rd coach that should be on the ropes (after just one year) is my alma matre UofA football coach. Terrible pre-season and Pac-12 season with some above average talent. When they were killing ASU and then the coach put them in the defensive mode of playing "not to lose" (which historically turns into a loss in all sports) with more than one quarter of the game remaining...........the coaches lost a game that never should have happened. I'm surprised the U of A offensive coordinator and even the head coach are still employed after that debacle!!!

........and I might add that I think the program is totally irresponsible to have feeding stations for these government dogs within 1 mile of many residences......one of them being mine!!!

Don't flatter the so called "environmentalists" that support this program by calling these animals wolves. More appropriately they are "government dogs"

You folks have been very helpful with your responses to our search for pellets for my 54 cal Knight gun which is very much appreciated. Seems that a debate has arisen as to whether we are better to set up with conventional powder or continue the search for limited availability pellets. This will be my son's first time to shoot a muzzleloader and it is for a highly valued bull hunt in September so we want to minimize problems and optimize our chances for a great bull. So what is everyone's recommendation how we should set up my 38 year old son and I as a novice with a muzzleloader ? Conventional powder or pellets???

I always carry one additional 16 ounce can of Budweiser with the twist off cap so it can give you an extra boost at numerous rest stops. Popeye has is spinach........... but us geezers need our hydraulic sandwiches to make it back to the truck!

San Carlos Indian Reservation has some fantastic coues bucks

Curious what everyone thinks about the archery hunt in units 1 and 27 this year? From what I saw in town around Alpine it appears the elk won the war this year. We saw very few bulls harvested this year compared to former years and most bulls killed were young rag horns.

Sorry to hear this. I lost my wife of 43 years last November to brain cancer after she fought a courageous 2-1/2 year battle with the terrible disease. Enjoy the time you can share together even though it is a challenge and not the most desired way to go forward

I have elk on my property pretty much twice per day. I also routinely have deer, wolves, coyotes, fox, raccoons, skunks and a few other animals occasionally like javelina. I "take" pictures of them pretty much daily with my trail camera set up. I do not shoot them. I fail to understand how anyone can stop me from "taking pictures only" on my property.......even though I have a stock tank on forest service property only about 200 yards from my property!!

Unit 27 has had a significantly higher than average quality bulls harvested since the 2011 Wallow Fire talking about just that specific unit. The big difference I believe is the late gun hunt producing 350-400 class bulls, whereas prior to the fire, a 340+ class bull in the late gun hunt was something really exceptional. Better sighting with long distance cross canyon shooting is the reason. A greater percentage of unclaimed dead bulls is also another negative consequence of the long distance shooting. IMHO the unit is in significant decline considering horn quality due to what has been harvested the last few years, particularly in the late gun hunt. But there will always be a few exceptional bulls due to the rough terrain that separates the men from the boys.