GotBowAz

Looks to me like the new Rage Extreme and Rage Hypodermic have collars on them. I'm not sure if they call them a shock collar or not, appears to me to be a retaining collar. As for blades opening in quivers you should never force the blades on any mechanical into a quiver. Make room for them but otherwise yes, Rage would pop open with very little pressure and often open in flight. Stalking with them was a pain as it didn't take much to have them pop open on you. It looks to me like they have finally addressed that issue. time in the field will tell. GBA

I love my wife but I don’t want her to go. Last time I took her (10 years ago) we were glassing for deer and pigs. I found a herd of pigs and while I was watching them she was watching a HUGE buck coming right to us. When he was about 20 yards away (or less) and staring us down she taps me on the leg and points. I look up just in time to see a big white flag with a huge rack in front of it bouncing away! She told me she watched him come in from the ridge about 200 yards away. I asked her why she didn’t say something so I had time. She said he was too pretty to shoot, that she didn’t want me to kill him. She doesn’t mind my hunting or maybe I should say tolerates it but she doesn’t want to see me shoot anything. I do have mounts, she hates my pigs but loves my Elk. GBA

Vowell, pm sent

One other note, the no-see-ums (tiny little biting fly) are out in full force in the high dessert areas. I got chewed up last weekend forgetting about them nasty little beasts and im still paying for it!! if your not high in the pines you might consider a good fine screen head net and keeping your body covered which really makes for a hard hunt in the heat. The noise near your ears alone from them will be enough to drive you nuts. GBA

There are those that prefers or enjoy the taste of gamey meat. I have a buddy of mine that prefers it over beef. My buddy does not consider it gamey yet I can barely choke it down. I have given him the meat I took care of and he didn't believe it was venison. He felt it had little to no flavor and to me it was way better than beef or any venison I ever had from him. The difference between us is I get the hide off ASAP and I debone and get the meat cooled just as quick as I can. So for those that say the meat tastes great I can see how they can think it. Back East it is customary to hang your deer with the hide on for a few days. My mom wouldn't touch deer, she couldn't stand it. Then I killed one and only had a few hours to get it butchered and taken care of. I asked her to try it and she liked it a lot. So for those that say leaving the hide on makes no difference I can tell you from experience that it can and will taste different. That’s not to say the meat is bad, its not bad…its gamey and some people like that flavor. GBA

I bumped into a young couple last night at Sportsmans that shot the Mormon lake Bow Happening this past weekend and they mentioned they heard there was another shoot in a couple of weeks up at Happy Jack. I tried to Google it (not exactly my strong suit) and only came up with a 2009 shoot they had that Red Rabbit had posted. Has anyone heard of another shoot coming up in August? The Mormon lake shoot was a blast. My grandson and I had a great time. We didn’t stick around for the band but Arizona Bowhunters Association set up some great courses and they are some friendly great guys to talk to. We will definitely be back next year. Does anyone know if they just contact the winners of the raffles or do they post them too? GBA

Flatlander, he does have a little camo, his bow has camo on it, he was hiding behind it, ha ha ha LOL Very cool Rabid Apache! Nice buck!! GBA

Thanks Viper!! GBA

+1 RIFLEMAN. I have also noticed gamey meat by leaving the hide on for any length of time. I get the meat on ice as soon as I can and I have never had any meat dry out in pillow cases and tied off it keeps the fly's out. You have to watch for cutter bees though. They can and have bored a hole in my pillow cases a couple of times but generally if they are around I will keep a bone close by they can pick at and leave my hanging meat alone. I have also noticed wild game taste like crap on or near the bones too. The longer the bone is in the worse or gamey the meat taste's. Ever tried BBQ elk ribs? I did and they are NASTY! yuck! I cut what little meat there is out between the ribs and turn it into burger now. Bones stay in the field for the critters and I never touch the guts. By the way, if you really want the liver reach in a little deeper after putting the tenderloins out and pull the liver outside the cavity, then cut it off. works real slick and again you not messing with the guts to tant the meat. GBA

I hope its a great turnout. I have to wonder if the rain is going to run a few people away. 40, and 50% chance of rain but all look to be in the afternoon and worse case only for a couple of hours. Im headed up right after work. GBA

Good one Pine Donkey...I believe your right! LOL I was in Archery Headquarters at the beginning of this week picking up some filed points and a couple of hip quivers. A new face helped me out and I briefly wondered if he was the young man from here on CWT. I was in somewhat of a hurry otherwise I would have asked him. He was a very helpful young man. Sure hope they can fill another position from someone here on this site. GBA

I put a 53 lb block in my backpack and hit the tredmill at a 15% grade 3 times a week about 3 months before any hunt but Im not carrying any critter out whole. Gutless method, skin, bone the meat and stuff in pillow cases. If time is permitted I like to let it hang high in the shade for a day then pack it out. I do this with all my critter including elk. To me its more important to get the meat cooled down as quick as possible as can hide hold heat for a long time. Im with Flatlander when it comes to the head. I let my taxidermist take care of that but for me id be more afraid of screwing up the cape trying to do it myself so i will the the pro's take care of it. GBA

Thanks for the heads up naturegirl, I didn't even give the rain a thought. I will be dragging my rain gear out tonight. GBA

Flatlander, its a great bow, your boys will love it and grow with it. My grandson is shooting really well with his, well enough I will be taking him to the Mormon lake shoot this month. Awesome young men you got there. I wish they had this bow around when my own son was their age. GBA

You might want to look at the 2013 Diamond Infinite Edge. I just picked it up for my grandson at Bass Pro and what a sweet little bow that can last him the rest of his life if he chooses. Draw weight from 5 pounds to 70 pounds, draw length, 15 inches to 30 inches. IBO 310fps, it is hunt ready with 3 pin sights and octane pro 3 brush capture rest, and peep sight. $349.00 plus tax. total weight is 3.5 lbs They have them in camo black ops and pink. I may pick up a pink one for my wife. GBA

I heard in the news this was possibly human started, anyone know the skinny on that? Someone just had to have a campfire maybe?? I just don't get people sometimes. Go ahead and camp, enjoy the outdoors, you don't need a campfire to have a great time. Prayers go out to the family's and ththe well being of their homes and property's in that fires path. GBA

For anyone interested this is the reply I got from the president of Arizona Bowhunters. The courses open at 7. The cost is $65 for a family and $40 for individual. This is for unlimited shooting Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This is a fun shoot so there is not a competitive course or any payouts. We will have a couple of novelty shoots that will have prizes for the best shot/highest score. Hope you can make it and let me knowing you have any other questions.

All great questions, id like to know them too.

It's a Siberian husky which are normally big ole babies. Cool Dogs. They make the greatest pets for the whole family including being around kids they don't know. Id be more concern that someone would hit it with a vehicle or maybe even take it rather than trying to find the owner. beautiful animal for sure. GBA

I guess maybe I see things a little differently than the average Joe. No offence to any Joe’s out there. Everyone has a different interpretation of premium hunts I’m sure. I guess I like everything the hard way as for me it “IS” about the pressure, out smarting the pressure/hunters and the challenge of out witting my quarry. In other words it’s about the hunt and what I put into it more than going out a dropping a good/trophy unpressured animal I found out at 300 yards. Not that I'm saying anything is wrong with that, I just would not be as satisfied with the hunt. My last bull in 2010 was taken after the 8th day of the season with tons of cow and bull hunters chasing animals all over the creation. It took me the evening of the 7th day to figure out how to get within bow range of these hot and heavy pressured animals. He isn’t a monster but that hunt was and still is the most rewarding hunt I had ever been on. I did see and pursue much better bulls and I passed up a bunch of lesser bulls but I wouldn’t trade the outcome of that hunt for a non pressured 370 bull. One last note is I spent a lot of time in the field and saw and chased some true monsters I might not have seen if I had the opportunity to kill an unpressured bull on the first day of the hunt. Over all, to me, it was a premium hunt. GBA

Hey, I got a sticker on my rear window with the little boy "Piss on work...Gone bow hunting.... anyone offended by that? ha ha ha LOL GBA

I'm gonna go out on a limb here…ha ha, get it?? Duck Dynasty duck blinds are not one of a kind. I’ve never even duck hunted but I have seen blinds just like those all over in Michigan and it is of the norm. Not only that they are building them on their own PRIVATE property so unless its public land no-one has a right to say a blind cant be built however one would like to build it. Anyway that stand sure looks like composite wood and not real lumber. That stuff is very expensive but it will last for years. Seems to me these fellers plan to be back but I do agree, it is trashy looking for sure. It’s on Public land and needs to be removed. Maybe leave a note and it might just make them uncomfortable enough to remove it. GBA

I cant stand the vision restriction from a ground blind but then again I've hunted from a tree stand all my life. I try to get between 15 and 20 feet off the ground, sometimes a little higher when there isn't much cover. I have a couple of reasons for the height First off, regardless of wind draft up or down I have never been busted by smell unless I was even with the deer as he was coming down a hill directly down wind of me. I try to avoid tree stands on steep hillsides as a result. But the big reason I like them high is because when the deer looks up at you he is mostly looking at your feet and a small portion of your upper body. Deer always sense something wrong and look up at you. Just don't move and they calm down quickly and go back about their business. The draw back is a smaller shot in the Killzone and you need to practice a lot at those steep down hill shots otherwise you could over shoot him. Just my 02 Oh and whenever possible I have a camouflage umbrella (made for tree stands) that I put above me to help blend me with the tree when the deer looks up at you. Works great for shade and rain too. GBA

A heads up for anyone thinking about doing this. I recently lost the young white and brown goat with the white patch on his face which is why you don’t see him along on the trail pics. I found him hung in my back pasture from his collar on an orange tree branch. He apparently stood on his hind legs to get to a leaf and got caught on a limb. I felt so horrible about the whole thing and it still bothers me, he was a great pet and would have made an excellent packer. As a result from that lesson all collars have been removed until we go on the trail. But now with this insight I am very watchful with them around trees or brush when on the trail. It was a freak accident which may never happen again but I'm not taking any chances. These guys are now my pets as well as my working buddies. I learned with the black female that she will tell me if someone or a goat is hung up on the trail or is lagging behind. This includes myself. I let my grandson go ahead of the pack and lead up so I could take some pictures. As long as I stayed up with the pack everything was good, but as soon as I stopped to take a picture she would turn around and talk to me to get moving. Once I caught up she would fall back in line. Funny how quickly they excepted me into their pack/herd. I recommend pack goats to anyone who can do it. It’s pretty awesome. Side note, I will most likely not hunt with them. I will have them haul a camp in and stash it then bring them back out depending on the hunting I will be doing. Then after that hunt reversing the process. If I get something down I will probably hang the meat high in a tree to cool and pack some of the camp and return with the goats to retrieve the rest. If I can have my truck at camp then that may be another matter and I may have a hot wire set up or a stock trailer to put them in. GBA

Thanks Vowell, they have a half acre of burmuda grass andabout 10 nnavel seedless orange trees in thier pasture. So they eat the leaves and oranges nearly every day. Gice them a great veriety to go along with a good diet. GBA