Outdoor Writer

Here's the link for the ONLINE course. -TONY

The above is a key element to the concerns about youngsters. It would be difficult to pass an exam if they don't grasp the concepts during the online portion. We should hope parents would serve as pseudo instructors if they elect to have their kids do it online. -TONY

Okay, I'm not familiar with that area. I hunted 'lopes north of Miles City about 15 years ago, and the terrain was like a moonscape. Though it was pretty in its own sort of way, it was ugly at the same time. -TONY

I started a new thread in this section from the one we were having in the Auction Hunt thread in Other Big game. So refer to that one for the earlier discussion. I had a discussion about this thread with one of my contacts at AZ G&FD and also mentioned the suggestions I made concerning elimination of ALL the special tags and replacing them with surcharges and/or a special habitat stamp that everyone pays. He said he could easily support such a move and told me to write it all up and e-mail it to the director's office to be distributed to the commission as a starting point. BUT...he also suggested such a move will get strong opposition from the various self-interest alphabet groups who will claim it will hinder their ability to raise funds at their banquets. I don't think the latter will happen, however, except for the actual money raised through the raffle/auction of the tags. And of course, the whole idea is that the surcharge/stamp revenue will replace that. I did mention that opposition might come from a couple guides, however. Comments??? -TONY

That does not sound to good for you Jim. Shortpants might find a mid 60's bruiser for ya. Jim, Congrats. Where abouts in the state? Anywhere near Miles City?? -TONY

Here's snippet from the article I did for Petersen's Hunting about that bear hunt. I had killed the smaller one on the first day. -TONY On the second day of the hunt, Pattison and I checked an area where he had seen a big bruin during the previous week. The bear had been feeding on a winter-killed moose close to the edge of a logging road. We arrived about two hours before dark and parked the truck about a half-mile away. Of course, because the road was gravel, Pattison insisted we leave our boots at the truck. This time, however, I was ready; after the experience of the first day, I wore two pairs of heavy socks. We walked about 200 yards before I saw a movement in the brush a short distance from the road. I stopped and grabbed Pattison's arm. He saw why almost immediately. "Geez, that's one of those chocolate grizzlies. Shoot him." I dropped to one knee and looked through the scope. "It's a black," I whispered. "No way," Pattison countered. "He's too big for a black. Shoot." The boom of the .338 shattered the eerie quiet, and the bullet penetrated through the willows, striking the bear behind the shoulder. The animal wheeled around and bit at the spot. "Shoot him again before he gets into the trees," Pattison yelled. I already had worked another cartridge into the Browning's chamber, but getting a good shot at the spinning bear was nearly impossible. I aimed at the middle of the whirling blur and fired. Again, the bullet hit with an audible "whap.". Pattison already had started toward the spot at a slow trot. "He's down, let's go." I chambered another round just in case and caught up to the guide. When we got close, we slowed to a careful walk. I held the rifle ready just in case the bear decided to be beligerent. But he was quite dead. Pattison looked at the motionless mound of fur and shook his head from side-to-side. "You were right. It is a black. Look at the size of that son-of-a-gun, though!" We skinned the big black the next morning. The hide measured 8 ft., 1 in. from the tip of its tail to the nose. Pattison estimated its weight at 500 pounds.

The lifesize bear is from British Columbia, as are the hides that are in my old trophy room. The rug on the wall in the old room is an AZ bear, however. I killed the latter during a spring hunt for turkey on the White Mt. Reservation near Cibecue in the 1960s. I guess you mean the lion hide on the trunk in the old room, no? If so, it's from AZ. I killed that on a horseback hunt many years ago with Josh Epperson's dad, Randy, in the Sycamore Canyon Wilderness Area. Here are some photos of the BC bears and the lion. This is the one I had mounted lifesize. Killed in 2003 just north of Prince George. Spot-&-stalk; one shot with 140-gr .264 Wmag. This is a better pix of the mount after I had just got it home. I built the roll-around base to match the woodwork in the house, and the mount and landscaping were done by Marc Plunkett at Wildlife Creations. The next two are bears I killed on my first hunt in the same place. The green hide of largest was 8'1" from the tip of the nose to the end of the tail. The other was 7'6". Both killed with .338 WM 225-gr. bullets from a Browning A-Bolt. This is the lion in the tree, and the 2nd is Randy Epperson with my lion.

'Nough said. E-mail me when you come up with a date. I can probably spend a couple days as long as you feed me good. -TONY

Okay, this thread will contain several messages describing my 10-day hunt in South Africa in 2003 with John X Safaris. Enjoy -- TONY On the first morning, we traveled about 5 hrs. north from the main lodge and stayed at another lodge. After checking our rifles on the range, we hunted gemsbok that afternoon on a concession that hadn't been hunted in years. Here's the result. Back to the lodge for a hearty dinner and a second night for my hunting partner Troy Morzelewski and me to ease the jet lag from the long flight. Next morning we went to another concession about an hour from the lodge to hunt springbok. There were hundreds of them, and they were about the fiddgitiest (is that even a word??) critters I’ve ever hunted. We spent a few hours glassing and trying to get close to several good bucks, but some other 'bok would always spook the herd. I finally told Ed Wilson, my PH, that I was perfectly comfortable shooting out to 300 yards with my .264 if necessary and suggested we just set up under a tree somewhere and wait for something to wander in range. Soooo...that's what we did. After about a 20 min. wait, a small herd that was about 1/2 mile distant started moving our way. We surmised my hunting partner and his PH were probably near them and unknowingly acted as our drivers while we were set up like stump hunters. I was already in a sitting position with my SnipePod, and as the herd moved parallel to us, my PH ranged the biggest buck at just over 200 yards. The 140-gr. bullet passed through, and the buck ran about 30 yards before he tumbled butt-over-tea kettle in a heap. I was quite pleased with both the length and lyre-like shape of the horns. After my partner killed his a while later, we took the photos, caped the animals, packed our gear at the lodge and then drove east to the lodge and concession owned by Troy's PH, Ray Kemp. When we arrived at Lalapa Safaris, we still had some daylight left so my PH and I went after a black wildebeest while Troy and Ray chased a blesbok. We glassed bulls in three different herds before I shot this one.

Ok, will do. Just don't count on it happening within the next few days. I have cases scattered all over in boxes, etc. So it will take me a while to take inventory, but I might have close to 200 or more. Hang loose a bit. -TONY

Yup, it was a VERY big cat. Hide measures nearly 9' from nose to tail tip. Not sure where it stands now, but I think it was the largest Randy had ever taken. The sad part is I never got to have it mounted and even lost the skull to a somewhat unscrupulous taxidermist. After I had the hide tanned, I stored it -- along with a bunch of other hides -- in black plastic trash bags in a closet until I could afford to have them mounted one at a time. I had the life-size lion and two black bears (in the pix above!), whitetail & blacktail deer capes, a 1/2 javelina and a life-size blackbuck. BUT...I kept them that way too long, so the tanning oils dried out. When I had Marc Plunkett mount the whitetail, the hide tore to pieces when he wet and stretched it. So he found me a replacement. He tested the lion hide by wetting a foot and trying to stretch it -- same result unfortunately. So now it's draped over a coffee table in my trophy room rather than the trunk as in the photo in the other thread. I had given the skull to the first taxidermist so he could have it "beetled" for me. He kept it in his freezer for a long time, then went out of business. He did give me a frozen and wrapped skull, but it was from a much smaller lion -- likely the one his son killed just months before. I didn't realize that until months later when I went to clean it myself. It was quite easy to tell because my lion had a chipped tooth and that one didn't. By then, getting any satisfaction would have been fruitless. -TONY

Anyone here shoot a .264 Win mag that also reloads for it?? -TONY

A reread of my mesages will reveal why I asked if anyone reloaded, as in: "Anyway, the reason I asked the question is because I have a LOT of brass, most of which is once-fired that I'll part with for a reasonable price -- once I find it all in the places I have it stashed." The reread will also show that I quit reloading myself more than 10 years ago. Thus, I settled on the factory 140-gr. load. It happened a bit east of the Mississipi, but the one below travelled from brisket to butt on a blue wildebeest at 250 yards. I didn't recover any of the others from the rest of 9 one-shot kills with the .264 in Africa because they were all pass thrus. -TONY

Doug, You spent way more time and energy than I was willing to expend on explaining why I long ago settled on the 140s for everything. -TONY

Great. I have a couple hundred feet of hoses. Now, is it gas or electric, and if the latter, will you have electricity run or a generator?? -TONY

Thanks for the input. The M70 in the photo, which I've owned since it was new, is 43 yrs. old. And...I'll be sure to tell the dozens of critters hanging on my walls that they shouldn't be dead because I used the wrong bullet. -TONY

Do you own an air compressor? -TONY

And that is exactly why I see the need for change. I bet the farm the non-hunters who saw that photo and read that article have a lot less love for our sport now more so than ever. And it is the non-hunting public that has the reins as to the continued existence to what we "loves so dearly." For reference, check all the voter-pushed initiatives that recently passed here and in several nearby states. Lastly, I do see a huge difference between the examples in your message with your buddy and the way the hunts are now conducted for many of the special tags, especially elk and deer. It's the equivalent of having an occasional beer to being an alcoholic. Regardless, this is the last comment I'll make on any of the controversial issues that seemingly crop up here on a daily basis. It eats up too much valuable time and accomplishes little. Have a great weekend. -TONY

You obviously reload then. If that is the case, I have lots and lots of empty brass, much of of which is once-fired. If I can locate it all where i've stashed it, I'll make you a smokin' deal on it. -TONY

I am ALL for the special permits. The groups that sell or raffle these permits attract a lot of support form people who might not otherwise spend their money on our wildlife or in our state. These permits bring a bunch of out-of-state money here.... all, or most of which will be gone if these tags are gone. If you all want to raise more money I am for that too. But, one incident does NOT constitute a need for a sollution.... I am disapointed that we are still talking about this and still beating a dead dog.... Right, wrong, or indifferent..... this ONE incident does not make the whole concept bad!!! We could find our entire hunting sport in jeopardy if the anti's could use one hunting accident, or one game violation, or hunter argument against us all to change laws...... Lets get back to SUPPORTING OUR SPORT instead of proving amunition..... the rest of this will be settled by the laws that we already have in place. Done deal. CnS Maybe everyone else is, but I'm not basing anything on "this one incident." It just happens to be another odorous incident to what has become a perverted system, one that has changed drastically from the original concept and design of these special tags. Originally, they were set up with something like six week seasons, then it went to six months and then it became a year. Hunting is now done by committee with extravagant "finder's fees" further perverting the concept because the almighty dollar reigns supreme. For the tag holder, his hard-earned trophy is but a mere phone call away. Of course, that's only after he approves of it by reviewing the video tapes. I have been around since the beginning of these hunts and have written articles on several of them. The many interviews I've done with the "hunters" -- used loosely -- and guides have revealed many of the nits involved with those hunts. On one such hunt several years ago with the mule deer tag, the hunter, who could barely walk because of severe arthritis, spent a few hours in AZ on his "hunt," then went home with his trophy, which he bought for about $135,000 total. Just recall a few years ago when a law was passed banning this sort of hunt for mountain lions and ask yourselves why that happened. Granted a lion in a tree might be a bit more captive than an elk in a subdivision or a mule deer on the Strip being watched constantly by 10 people, but the end result is the same. Most of you might not have seen the article I did on another trophy mule deer, where I also covered the subject of chute planes extensively and how THAT particular hunter refused any help from those who offered to use them. When I wrote that article, I contacted G&F to see how many complaints they receive. The previous year, there were two. After the article appeared, complaints started rolling in, and eventually flying during the seasons became history. If my article had anything to do with that, I'm tickled pink. Oh, and I interviewed one very well known elk guide who was a big chute plane user & proponent at the time, but I never included anything he said in the article because he would only agree to be quoted anonymously, i.e. no credibilty. I won't mention his name, however. If anyone wants to read it, just send me a PM with your e-mail address. Whether this latest incident has legal ramifications or not has little to do with it other than reveal greater stupidity. And if true, all it will do is add a stronger stink to odor. -TONY

Keith, Reread my previous messages here that answer every question you asked above. -TONY

Not quite sure what you mean. G&F already owns that property and has since its inception. They had leased out the operation aspects for while, but now they also operate it. -TONY

Holler at me when you're ready. The only time I'll be gone for sure is Oct. 8 thru Oct 22, when we head down to our timeshares in Mazatlan. Are there building codes that you must adhere to in that area?? -TONY

To further illustrate how much some type of $5 habitat stamp might raise, here's another short item I wrote for the NSSF's HuntandShoot web site, where I do short items on 10 western states every two weeks. This one isn't exactly like the one I have in mind, but as you can see, it raises more than $1 milion annually. Of course, we already have such with the Kaibab $15 stamp for those select few that hunt there. -TONY Encourage The Purchase Of Habitat Stamps The New Mexico Habitat Stamp Program (HSP) is a joint venture between sportsmen and the agencies that manage wildlife and their habitat. Each year, licensed hunters, anglers and trappers who venture on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) or U. S. Forest Service (USFS) lands must purchase the stamp or validation from the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish (NMDGF). The federal Sikes Act authorized the program, which accounts for about $1 million worth of HSP stamps annually sold to sportsmen. These funds go toward habitat conservation and rehabilitation projects, more than 200 of which are in New Mexico each year. Because funding is not available for all projects, they are reviewed and prioritized by a regional Citizens' Advisory Committee (CAC) and, ultimately, by the State Game Commission. Members of the CAC represent sportsmen, public land permittees, wildlife advocates and other outdoor enthusiasts and are responsible for establishing project priority lists. After public comment, the committees set project priorities, which go to the New Mexico State Game Commission for approval. Project work is completed by the responsible agency. Numerous volunteer organizations and individuals contribute expertise and labor during the work phase. Some organizations donate funding to projects to increase its effectiveness or magnitude. The New Mexico Habitat Stamp Program is not just for sportspersons. Anyone interested in New Mexico's wildlife and wildlife habitats is encouraged to purchase the validation and participate in "Helping Wildlife Where it Counts . . . Where Wildlife Lives."

Yup, NM and I think ID does it, as well. I know WA does it because I wrote this little snippet for the NSSF's HuntandShoot web site, where I do short items on 10 western states every two weeks. But they levy a fine rather than deny a license. Reporting Harvest Is Easier Now The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has made it easier for hunters to report their harvest with a new automated system. All hunters with deer, elk, bear or turkey tags are required to report their hunting activity by Jan. 31 to avoid a $10 fine. Reports must be filed even if the hunter was unsuccessful or chose not to hunt. Reports are used to monitor wildlife populations and set future hunting seasons. Hunters can file their harvest reports online or by calling toll-free at (877) 945-3492. When I used "reporting harvest," that also includes reporting the lack of it. Although I haven't seen what archery hunters must now report, the regular hunt survey cards already have an option to check if one didn't kill a critter. It also has one to report wounding an animal. In either case, it takes all about 30-45 secs. to fill out. Geez, if I recall, it's even postage-paid. -TONY