Swivelhead

Hunterdan makes a valid point, there are a number of variables when it comes to the sheep draw. A number of max point holders are only eligible for rocky mtn rams. Suspect the current max point pool will remain a few more years as the remaining participants are likely to be very picky. 20% of available permits are issued in the bonus pass. Even though you are not currently in the max point pool for sheep, your application is assigned a random number for the bonus pass. It is possible to draw in the bonus pass without being a max point holder. has not yet happened in the sheep draw to date but suspect it likely happened in the 2020 fall draw cycle. From the AZGF website: How do Bonus Points work in the Big Game Drawing? There are 3 phases to the Big Game Drawing – the Bonus Point Pass, the First-Second Choice Pass, and the Third-Fourth-Fifth Choice Pass. For each phase of the drawing, a random number is generated for each application plus additional random numbers for each group bonus point (which includes the Hunter Education and Loyalty bonus points) credited to the application. The lowest random number generated for an application is used in the drawing process. If you are drawn for a species, your bonus points for that species are zeroed out; however, you will retain your Hunter Education bonus point, if you have one, for the next drawing and your Loyalty bonus point for that species if you continue to submit valid application for that species.

North side of Mt Ord burned in June of 1972. Looks about the same this time.

Congrats on the cat. The mount is impressive.

I'd shoot big ol' gnarly bucks like that but think they taste bad ........... yeah, that's my story .........

^^^^ This. Amazing bucks.

Getting trapped by high flows is no fun. Crossing in darkness will get your hackles up especially when its been a year since the last time you used a particular crossing. We used to call SRP and talk to their hydrologist to get a dam/water release forecast.

If @ Sheep bridge use the Tangle creek reading, aka "into Horseshoe." Below Horseshoe, utilize the SRP dam release reading. As far a fords go, 300 cfs or less is ideal. Till you get familiar with the crossings, I suggest going in warmer weather and wading prior to crossing as you are liable for any "problems" that occur when fording. The "old" crossing @ Sheep bridge used to be downstream of the bridge at the downstream end of the big pool, it is now deep and swift, people are fording slightly upstream of the bridge. I suggest you check out youtube. Also, these roads that go east "flirt" with the wilderness boundary. I'd suggest you GPS a waypoint on each of them to make sure you don't violate any laws. Have fun, good quail hunting across the river but too much cactus for dogs.

Nothing yet but I am optimistic till about mid afternoon on Saturday. Been tough so far, most of the people I know are without CC hits.

Outstanding write-up. Congrats to your daughter.

Big Lake road east of Williams Valley.

Blue Ridge Resevoir and the pipeline were constructed to replace water taken out of the Salt/Verde watershed at the Black River Pump station. Water from Blue Ridge Reservoir is dumped into the East Verde. The water diverted at the BR pump station is used for the Clifton/Morenci mine. Likely a heavily litigated water rights issue. IIRC, the copper @ Morenci was considered critical for the WW2 war effort. I'm a little foggy on the details, others may have more specific information.

Photo is of myself, my father and my older brother. We lived on Litchfield road in Goodyear, the house is still there. This is sometime in 1957. Dad passed last year, my brother four years ago. Miss them both. Dad was stationed at Luke at the time. He was raised in Iowa but fell in love with the desert. He was a great provider and was always there for us. He left big shoes to fill.

Insane bucks! I've never in my whole life seen Coues bucks that big. Good to know they exist.

High ground seems to benefit from wildfire. My experience with burnt desert is that it is less utilized by wildlife for a very long time. In the desert, invasive species seem to recover much quicker than native plants.

Curious, did you photograph Mt. Ord from your home on the NE side of the McDowells? If so, tell us how you did it.

It was a good one and I'm sure someone will find it. Blake sure can dance.

Another issue: Forest Service is slow to react to many things. The exception is closing FS lands to public access after a fire (which I understand to a point). The closing off of fire affected areas for health and safety issues will put a lot of people pressure on areas that do remain open. After the tragedy @ Cold Springs a few years back I'd bet FS is going to be dilligent with their closures. Among others, suspect upper and lower Sycamore will be closed for some time.

The debris flows that will occur when the summer rains come will be another catastrophe in the making. Hopefully, no fishkills in the Salt River lakes but I'd bet a few bridges on the fire perimeter will be lost. Bad things on the horizon.

Recent posts to this thread is a reminder of how most of us were played by a dishonest individual. These last few posts are a fitting end to a thread that likely started his downfall. I say, "touche." BTW, I got a life.

I agree with 120. Monitored internal temperature every 10 minutes. Internal temp rose more than I expected during the last 10 minute span.

Digging in a deep dark crevice of my chest freezer, found a roast, burger and a few steaks left from my sweethearts January 2019 bison hunt. Thought we had used all of the meat some time ago. Due to time constraints, we used Carl's Custom Meats in the Verde Valley to age & process the animal. Normally, we process our game ourselves. I feel obligated to plug Carls Custom Meats. All the meat (including the burger) is free of freezer burn after 18 months. The meat was well trimmed, wrapped in plastic then paper. Never found hair, bone chips, etc in any of our packages. I'd use them again without hesitation. This roast was done on my BBQ, took it off @ 125 degrees and let it set. Top tier table fare.

Wow, huge fire. Thanks for posting the photos.

Nice buck, nice mount. Congrats on your success.

There are a lot of fires going on right now. Rains are 3-4 weeks out, lots of lightning prior. This is not good at all.

I've got an aluminum version of the 055. Great tripod however when fully extended, still not tall enough to glass standing with a straight spotter or binos mounted on a tall Outdoorsmans adapter. Fully extended tripods are unstable any kind of wind. BTW, I am about 5'10" tall. That being said, 90% of the glassing I do is from a stool or chair of some kind so a tall tripod is not critical in most situations.