BML

Thanks for taking the time to get on here and speak your mind. My brother is on a crew stationed in Happy Jack. He's been the only engine in his district so they haven't been called to the Wallow Fire yet. Another engine gets back tomorrow so he's hoping like heck they get the call. Just about everyone in the FS that I've talked to wishes they could be on that fire and do whatever they can to help. He tells me a little of what you guys have to go through to get the job done and it's pretty disheartening to hear people just bash away when they really have no clue. Thanks again to everyone fighting this fire. Stay safe out there.

Lark, If you seriously think that the Forest Service makes the decisions to let things get brushed up or not allow logging you are not well informed. All the tree hugging hippy a-holes are the ones making those decisions. The beurocratic red tape is a mile long every time the FS wants to plan a prescribed burn. Logging is the same. If there's an ant the might lose a home because of logging those hippy idiots will spend millions of dollars to put an end to it. That's the #1 reason the eastern part of the state is as thick and nasty as it it. There's dozens of years of fire suppression over there that has just been waiting to light up and become a catastrophe like it has now. If indeed they decided to sit on this fire, I will agree, it was a bonehead thing to do. Similar to lifting the fire restrictions before the memorial day holiday. I can't say that everyone in the upper echelons of the FS is bright, but I think overall the men and woman of the FS do a fantastic job protecting the resources that you, I and everyone else enjoy so much. I just think they get a lot of bad rap for crap that they really have no control over. Remember, most of those same "idiots" with the forest "circus" are the men and woman on the ground right now saving entire towns from going up in flames. IMO they all deserve some credit for jobs well done, regardless of how or why this fire got as bad as it is today.

Thanks for saying this. There are many of us in the Forest Service that would like to see things managed differently but our hands are tied in so many ways. I am definately not saying the Forest Service makes all the right decisions but there are many of us that agree that logging, ranching, and prescribed burns are crucial to replacing the low intensity fires that would naturally reduce the fuels every few years before we all came along. I know the Forest Service is not popular on this site and I can understand some of the reasons why but please know that there are fellow hunters and lovers of the outdoors within the agency that are really trying to make a difference for the good. Brian, Thank you for all you and the rest of you guys' do. I was finally able to get a few texts in with my brother today. He's with the FS up in Happy Jack. I've been telling him about how a few guys are really bashing the work of the FS and how it was really starting to agitate the heck out of me. He basically told me to just let it be. There is so much beurocratic red tape and hoops to jump through any time the FS wants to do anything like a control burn or thinning that the majority of the time they are told no. He said 99% of the people will never understand it and will just take the easy way out and blame the FS. Just something they deal with every single day. Thanks again man. Stay safe out there.

Thanks for all the kind words everyone!!! Except for you Casey, ha I appreciate it.

I want to take my 4 year old daughter fishing this weekend, but could use some tips. First off, I rarely ever fish anymore. Used to do it a ton with my dad and brother when we were little, but not much anymore. One of the worst things I remember when going is being bored off my arse sitting all day with no bites. I really want to get my daughter involved with it, but don't want her first experience to be a bad one and put a bad taste in her mouth. So really all I am asking is if anyone knows a good lake that I can take her to for a couple hours and maybe catch some bluegill, sunfish or anything really. I prefer to stay up here locally, but wouldn't be opposed to heading down to the valley and maybe doing the urban lake thing, or even heading north to one of the Williams area fisheries. Let me know if you have any tips on where to go. I appreciate it.

Which Tasco camera are you using? I've been thinking about picking a couple up. How long are the batteries lasting? Great pictures. Thanks for sharing.

Wanted to send out a very big thank you to everyone that gave me tips and advice, either here or via PM. A little late at posting the report, but we headed out last Saturday morning. I had barely even sat our gear down and Ryanne was already digging through the worm bucket getting her bait! I was a little surprised to say the least. She picked out the "cutest" worms, according to her. Too funny. She almost immediately started getting bites, but it's been so long since I fished I couldn't get them hooked. After losing 5 or 6 fish I decided to go to a smaller hook and switch rods with her. Didn't take long and she had her very first fish!! She actually reeled this one in all alone too. She was so happy she started yelling and screaming "I caught a fish"!! The guys across from us were rolling laughing. Again to my surprise, she said she wanted to hold it and release it back. Final total for the day was 2 small catfish and 10 rainbows. I probably lost close to 30 fish throughout the morning too. The bite was awesome and never really stopped. It was just her and I all day, but I was able to talk a fellow fisher into taking a quick picture of her last fish of the day before we left. Thanks again!!

I had the same blind before it was stolen on last year's archery deer hunt. Great blind, but my zipper sucked too. It got stuck half way after the second day I used it and it never worked right again. Other than that, it was a great blind and I will probably get another one.

Cut some of the surrounding brush, trees, bushes etc and place them up against your blind. That's pretty much it. Make sure you get inside it and look out, checking to see if any of the brush might block your shooting lanes. Some blinds will actually have places where you can weave stuff into the blind to hold the brush on. What you really are trying to accomplish is breaking up the outline of the blind, much like camo clothes break up the human body outline. Accomplish that and you are set. Good luck!

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This is really why I want to get some ideas before I head out! haha. My daughter won't last long if something isn't going on. She's been asking me to take her for a while, but I really want to try to at least improve my odds a little before we go. It's not really the end of the world if we don't do well. We'll still be out enjoying our time together!! Thanks for the tips guys.

I drew a one of the rifle cow tags. I haven't hunted elk with a rifle in 10 years. This should be fun!!

Got my book in the mail yesterday. Haven't had time to really look through it completely, but just flipping through it was impressive. I was even pleasantly surprised to see that a couple of my antelope fawn pictures made the final cut!!

Daryl, Congrats on taking the plunge! As far as gear, it depends on the style you like. Every workout can be done using the resistance bands. If you don't like the bands, you will need a set of dumbells and a pull up bar. How much weight is up to you and your goals. I use the plate style weights, but if I could afford it I would much rather have the fixed weight dumbells. Much more convenient since you don't have to stop and change weights all the time. Most of the exercises are done with little or no rest in between so having to stop to change weights kind of sets me back. I have enough weights to go from 10 pounds all the way to 35 and use all of them, depending on what I'm doing. Also, depending on how flexible you are (or aren't) you might need a yoga block or two. There are a few awesome stretches in yogaX that can be tough to do safely without a block. Nutrition is critical with this program to really achieve good results. They claim that their products are specifically designed for the P90X program, but I have been getting great results without them. I use supplements, just not theirs. A good multi vitamin and recover shake are absolutely critical. The rest is really up to you. Good luck and keep us updated with your progress!

Hey Marvin, How do I find out if I have already ordered the book? To be honest, I thought I ordered one when I entered my antelope, but can't remember. Thanks.

ggpwr. Congrats on being a 3 time graduate. That's pretty impressive. Mark, Thanks for the tips on the cook book. I will have to check Barnes and Nobles and grab it. A quick update on my progress: I just started week 5 on Sunday. I have followed the nutrition plan nearly to a T and it shows. I took my 30 day pictures Sunday and compared them to my day 1 pictures and was very surprised to see some great improvements. I can't say that I have bulked up really, but my body fat percentage has gone down considerably. I am pretty excited to see how much more I can improve in the next 4 week phase of the program. If anyone out there is looking for a program to get fit, this is the one. It's intense, but if you can dedicate yourself to it, you will see amazing results!!

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Website looks good! Do you guys sell guns by chance??

Great video Jack!! I had a similar thing happen to me in the exact same spot as the very first buck in that video. My truck was parked there in plain sight, but the buck was so thirsty he came to drink anyway. I snapped a bunch of good photos of him. He was a pretty good buck, too, with a broken horn tip. Thanks for sharing!

53000 miles right now on the original brakes. Haven't taken the tires off to look at where they are though. Between the overdrive and the engine braking system, I rarely ever have to use my breaks when towing. Not hard braking anyway. The truck downshifts just like a manual would.

That's hand calculated. My console readout is usually a touch over 1 mpg on the high side.

First off, I had a Chevy with that 6 liter and it was the worst truck I ever owned. I had a 7000 pound trailer and got pretty much the exact mileage and speeds you got. Traded it in and bought a 2008 Dodge quad cab diesel 4x4. It's the new 6.7. I tow a 27 foot toyhauler, fully loaded at 11,000 pounds. I can go up sunset at whatever speed I want to really, but I rarely tow faster than 60 mph. The true test is the hill on HWY 260 from Camp Verde to Payson. Top speed for me when I am fully loaded is around 45-50 depending on traffic and if I have to give up some momentum. Only issue I've had with my truck is the diesel particulate filter keeps clogging up. This is simply because I don't drive my truck everyday and when I do it's just down the road and back to pick up my daughter from school. Have to drive it like I stole it every now and then to burn the particulates out of the filter. As far as fuel economy it's ok. If I keep my speeds down around 60-65 on the highway, I will get close to 20mpg. If I cruise at 75 it drops considerately to 15-16 or so. Right after I bought it I took it to WY for and antelope hunt. It had 5000 miles on it already when I bought it and I averaged 18 mpg for the entire trip. When towing, I am right around 13 on most trips. I have seen it go as low as 11, but only once. I should also mention that I run 33 inch KM2 mud tires which will affect fuel economy some.

I used a similar version of the zebu decoy when I killed my antelope a few years ago on the archery hunt. I know a couple guys that have used the zebu successfully. I'm trying to talk my brother into using the ghost blind this year. It really looks like an awesome product. I also have a similar product to the montana decoy. Biggest problem I have with mine is the wind. It's very hard to keep steady in the wind. I've been able to hold bucks with it while I snuck in, but never been able to actually get one to come to the decoy. Biggest tip I can give is when to actually show the decoy. If you get into a group with a really rutted up buck you don't need to show it right away. Make sure all the does are looking the opposite direction and then throw it up. The buck will see it and if he's fighting mad, he will come in charging hard. I've never really had that opportunity in AZ, but in WY the hunt is timed just right with the rut. I couldn't believe how many bucks came running at the decoy. Only problem was, they would run so dang fast I could never get a shot off with my bow!! haha

Chris, I skipped the fat burner phase when I started and went directly to phase 2. I agree with you. I think I am too skinny, but you have no idea how hard it is for me to gain weight. Last summer I hit the gym really hard. I was eating 4k+ calories a day and it took me 4 months to get from 160 to 170. Problem was, it was 10 pounds of fat. I had some life issues and a minor injury which didn't allow me to work out for a month and I immediately dropped all 10 pounds back to 160. I am pushing myself as hard as I can right now with P90X. I choose weights so that I fail between 6-8 reps. Some exercises I am failing at 5-6. I do all my pushups and pull ups to failure. Even after all that, though, I rarely get sore afterwards. I get a little stiff, but that's about it. I drink EAS Myoplex recovery shakes within minutes of the end of my workout. The first 3 days I started, though, I didn't have the recovery drink and I was very sore. I figure the recovery drink was why I am no longer getting sore. The only thing I have never tried is Creatine. I am going to get some tomorrow and give it a shot. Quick question for you regarding post work out. The recovery shake I drink right now has 26g of protein. Should I consume more protein than that right after? Youngbuck, Thanks for all those tips. You've pretty much suggested everything that I am currently doing. I eat a minimum of 6 times a day and finish the day with a Casien shake before bed. I like the ON products as well. Right now I also supplement with a mass builder shake from SEI. It's pretty good, but not cheap. I take a multivitamin every day as well. It wasn't that long ago that I had the metabolism that your friend has. I managed a fast food restaurant for 8 years out of high school. I ate fried food and drank soda all day long 6 days a week and never tipped the scales over 140. I can still eat that way if I wanted to, but I just don't feel very good when I eat like that anymore. It won't add an ounce of weight, but I have no desire to eat that crap anymore. It's just me and my daughter in the house, so staying on track with eating really isn't that difficult for me. My biggest problem is that I just hate to cook and I need new food ideas. I'm one of those guys who has to cook from recipes with specific instructions or who knows how it will turn out!! haha. How do you have enough energy throughout your day eating so few carbs? I am in the delivery business, so I am pretty active for 8-10 hours a day at work. Then I come home and work out. I also run 3 miles a day, 3 times a week. If I didn't eat carbs I would never make it. In fact, there have been days where all I want to do is nap and I know it's on days where my meals were low carb meals. Thanks again for all the tips, guys. I appreciate it.

The GFD should be sending you a map of the unit. I know they do for the archery hunters. If not, I would call and request one. It's a great map that really tells you exactly where all the public and private land is. If you have questions regarding a specific area, let me know. I live in 19A. Congrats on the tag and good luck.