Rembrant

Yep, report them every time. Never know when you're gonna have crosshairs on your back. Bastards are making money by making our youth (and a lot of adults) brain dead. You can argue this fact if your senses have been dulled and you have a need to defend your own bad behavior. That's all I'm gonna say about that. Mike

Ernesto, Thanks for sharing. Neat snake! That is something other than the Western Diamondback. I'm thinking Western Rattler AKA 'Timber Rattler'. Cool stuff! Mike

Anyone notice that all the evidence of deer, as of late, from unit 23 is in the form of skulls? It's a sad, sad affair I tell ya. Mike

Bass, Coues bucks off Rd. 151? Someone told me they saw a Coues buck off Hart Prairie Rd. a long time ago. Interesting. Mike

Got cat food? Got cats. Mike

I wish I could hunt Colorado, but I can't afford it. Is that Colorado's fault? I wish I could hunt Utah, Wyoming, Canada, and Africa, but there ain't no way I can find the money to do it - so I won't get to. Shall I blame someone other than myself? Maybe I can write an African country and tell them their hunting fees are unfair, after all they are depriving me of unforgettable experiences that should be shared between myself and my sons! Or maybe I should write the airlines. I can't afford a trans-contenental trip and it's not fair! I applied for six hunts this year in AZ. and got drawn for only two. THAT"S NOT FAIR!!! I must blame someone... let's see... oh yeh, the Game and Fish! It's a conspiracy! I know it! And...and... those hillbillies - greedy slobs! and PETA, and, and those dang out-a-staters. I know USO's gotta have something to do with this, and I'm sure some rich guy is buying my tag right out from under me - 'cause of that crooked game dept.! But wait a minute. Hold them horses. Last time I checked, this whole world was not all about ME. Maybe I can't afford these hunts because of other selfish decisions I have made in my life that have held me back financially. And now that I have my thinking cap on, I'm realizing that I really do have it pretty darn good anyway. Got a place to live, my wife loves me, my family is healthy, ain't hungry, and when I get hungry I'll eat something that's at my house or go and get something else. I am truley blessed! I don't get to hunt elk, antelope, sheep, or buffalo this year. That didn't bother me at all when I woke up this morning and realized I've been granted another day. I want to live this day to the fullest! I'm glad I scheduled some time to help a few folks this evening. This is gonna be a great day!! Now, what was it that I was complaining about earlier? Must not have been important. Mike

I just looked at the stats for a quality hunt: Unit 10 archery bull. 150 tags and 2679 applicants. If nobody can get drawn again until everybody gets a tag (and the same people put in every year), then it will take 17 years for everybody to get a tag. OR, if everybody that gets a tag has to sit out 2 years, then instaed of there being 2679 applicants there will be 2379 applicants for the 150 tags - whoopie! The stats are public domain - do the math, and you won't like standing in line (preference) idea. I don't like agreeing with Lark too much (gives him a big head) but he's right - there is no answer. TOO MANY PEOPLE, FOLKS! Mike

Lark is right - there is no answer. There are just too many people these days. Most of these posts are suggesting different ways to wait in line. THE LINE IS TOO LONG! The Dept quit making successful applicants wait 2 years after drawing an elk tag because statistically it did not make a hill of beans difference in anyone else's chances. TOO MANY PEOPLE! So you guys want to have the unsuccessful people get drawn before a tag holder gets drawn again? How many years you got left in your life? The lottery sucks (because of too many people), but its better than the hard cold math. Get rid of the lottery and you won't like the guaranteed wait. At least now, we have a chance every year. Mike

Canyon Creek is Unit 23 right? No deer. No turkeys. Man that unit has gone downhill!! Looks like we gotta find greener pastures. I hear the 40's are lookin good these days. Mike

I think most of us suffer from Arizona-couesdeeritis, a condition that causes the afflicted to hold binoculars tightly to their foreheads for long periods of time while not believing that there could possibly be a coues buck any closer than 500 yards distance. The chances of picking up antlers and rattling them to attract a buck while under this dillusion are nil. Seriously, azbarehunter, most of us don't know squat about this because we rarely ever try it. A few of us may know a few things. The before mentioned advice to check out the archives is good. Between the "did it once", "aint seent it", or "got a reaction, but can't figure out what it means", there are a few good observations. Just to be clear about this, I don't know squat about it either. I rattle quite a bit from a tree blind and I'm not sure I'm doing more harm than good. I hope you try it and have good results! Mike

Apache 7mm, Great drawing! That would be really good on a t-shirt. And nope, I ain't sat down to put together any designs for Amanda yet. I would like too, just busy! And it wouldn't bother me a bit if someone else got 'er done. Just one thing, We 'd better be really carefull about using someone else's monster deer - unless we have permission from the owner. I think using known trophy bucks is a good way to go, yet we don't wanna get into a sticky situation. Get Dan King's permission, and that would make a great t-shirt. Mike

Fires, lions, and poaching cowboys killed every last deer in that sorry unit. Too bad you didn't do your research before putting in. It's really too bad because a guy used to be able to hike into countless roadless areas that the unit has to offer to get away from the crowd. Like Allen said, Cherry Creek used to be good, the entire front of the Anches - facing Roosevelt Lake used to be good, and then there are lots and lots of area on top all the way to the rim that hold (I mean held) really good potential for whitetails. It used to be that a guy could bust his butt scouting and have a few different honey holes to hunt. Sure used to be good. What a shame. Mike

Anybody care that 6B is burning up?

Amen brothers!! No structure has been lost in the Brin Fire yet. If I had a wish list for areas to burn, I just got one in my top 5. I'm with you 111, let 'em burn. There are timber bucks dying of old age in them trees. A wildlife manager named Bob Barsh gave a talk at a Mule Deer banquet in Flagstaff a few years ago. He made a very interesting statement. He said that whitetailed deer were 7 times more likely to visit a spot that had been burned than a non-burned area. This was discovered as a result of deer surveys. Interesting report about unit 21, Youngbuck. Simply put, fires release nutrients that have been locked into inedible forest canopy and allow it to be transformed into edible shrubs and forbs - deer food! At the same time dense cover is opened up. Sometimes the fires are so intense that little cover is left in some areas, but usually the randomness of fire dynamics allows for adequate cover for the animals. Nature has always taken care of itself. That's what she's doing now - cleaning house. Mike

My congrats to you also Bill!! The world is a better place because you are in it. Good work, and thank you for all your input to this forum as well. I hope you are blessed with a lot more years to poke keys with your fingers for all of us. Mike

The Dept quit doing that because there are so many elk applicants that having the permit holders sit out for 2 years made no statistical change in the draw odds at all. Mike

This is a good thing. It will seperate the men from the boys. Kind of a drunk test. If you can't do this simple thing, you can't hunt next year. AZ should do the same, except if we did, the complainers would have a riot and cry conspiracy!! Mike

Scottyboy, Hopefully that tradition you will be keeping alive in your family is the one where people allow God to be the senior partner in the marraige. I'm thinking this because Grandpa built the church. And I think you misspelled a word: It's not horror, it's honor. Mutual submission under His headship baby! And the selfishness of divorce will never curse you. You are making a good move. I wish you the best. God bless you and your wfe and your life together, Mike

I'm a lousy hunter, so I just draw pictures. Mike

I'll do it. If I'm literate enough to apply for a big game tag, and big enough to drive a truck, find my around in the woods , shoot a deer and then find my way back home, then I should be competent enough to fill out a little bitty survey. And the guys that aren't on the ball enough to get 'er done won't be competing with me for my tag next year. I'm in! Mike

Again, I applaud the ADA and all of the work that went into the survey. The problem here is not the survey or the game dept; the problem is the apathy of the sportsmen. If 60,000 people were contacted to participate in the survey, and 6,500 (the ones who care), actually participated, then 53,500 of the sportsmen that were contacted - DON"T CARE! That translates to 53,500 sportsmen not caring if the game dept went through with the proposals. Of course the dept. wanted to implement their own proposals. These numbers aren't gonna change their minds. This is not difficult for me to understand. The closed mountain lion season should be a wake up call to all sportsmen. The dept will make decisions to appear politically correct. I hate political correctness. But I tell you what; if 53,500 sportsmen actually cared and joined together as a force (instead of 6500), then the dept would have a clear view of what is correct. But as for now? Looks like nobody cares. Mike

Dave, Your last sentence just wigged me out. It's not all about you. You are one of the guys on this forum that makes sense, does homework, and cares. You ain't going nowhere. We need to stick together buddy. Mike

Thanks Desertbull, I appreciate that. I hope you get your tags too. Region 6 (central) doesn't have the deer numbers that Region 5 (south) has. The Dept knows this. I don't believe there will ever be three wt hunts in the central units. I like Dave's idea about the ratio of tags in the central units between the early and late hunts. This is the same thing Doug suggested in his letter to the Dept. Now if folks get more active (me included) we can probably work things like this out with the Dept. Mike

Not taking long to mend is it? The Oct hunts will be really good for anyone who will put the effort into it. Some of the biggest bucks ever have been takin in Oct/Nov because they were scouted early and they haven't started running around pre-rut yet. They can sometimes be re-found. I started scouting with this in mind when I first heard the proposals. Watch: there will now be more tags, but the overall percentage of getting drawn won't get any better. The amount of tags can never keep up with the state's population growth. But really, I think the guys that were up in emotional arms should keep putting in for Dec. because Oct is too hot, there will be too many people in the field, Oct. can't possibly provide a quality hunt, etc., etc. You guys should put your money where your mouth was. Mike

Desert bull, Great idea! Please don't put in for anything this year. If all the survey folks get ticked and boycott the hunts, then I'll have an almost 6% better chance of getting drawn! I like the math. Thanks for pointing that out. Bet you will put in. Bet you're just blowing steam. Read Daves posts. He's got a good cool head. Times aren't changing - they've changed! To save our hunting heritage we've got to get off our fat butts and become involved. Thousands of sportsmen - involved. Peace. Mike