Ron G.

I picked up a Pentax adaptor for mine. I think it was about $20. It works, but it's kind of tall so you can't keep it on there all the time and it's a screw on type so it's somewhat a pain to put on and take off all the time. It works though. Most any adaptor should work.

Looks like you had an awesome time! Thanks for sharing. Ron

Great pics! Thanks for sharing!

15 miles N of Clints Well on 87 got a little over 1/8" on 6/26. They're getting some up north, but it's all very localized. Every little bit helps though.

Here's some pictures I've gotten recently off my trail cam. Elk Another elk Coyote Bear I'll try and post more later... Ron

I posted these on AZSJ forums, but thought I'd post them here too. Finally got some more pictures off my camera. I had put it out near the end of May and had my dad check it a couple of weeks later. It had a 'check flash' error and he told me it only took pictures for the first week before the error. Bummer... But then he told me there were 557 pictures on the card. I finally got a disk of them this past weekend. I figured I'd share a few. Here's some more...

If I were applying for the 'trophy' units I think I might be all for this, as long as the waiting period was for bull tags only. The units I put in for I can probably expect to be drawn every 3-4 years, and hopefully more often if putting in for cow elk. I'm putting in for archery only. I was drawn for archery bull last year and this year I am only putting in for bull first choice, then all cow hunts after that. In a few years getting a nice bull might become more important to me. Right now I'd rather have the opportunity to be out there hunting, gaining experience, and putting meat in the freezer. Ron

Congrats Bill! You've earned the honor! Ron

Another native here. Things I like best is the bio-diversity of the state. Very few places you can go from desert to an alpine environment in a few hours. With the exception of the extreme heat (it's a dry heat!) we don't have any major weather issues (hurricanes, tornados, etc). I currently live in the desert, but would really rather live up in the mountains. I like all the public land here. I remember being stationed back in North Carolina and looking for a national forest to visit/explore while there. Went to a national forest near the coast. It was tiny, and all the trees were in rows. Nothing like I was used to back here. Biggest thing I don't like here (besides the heat, give me cold weather any day) is the size Phx metro has gotten. I remember going target shooting up off Cave Creek Rd a few miles past Bell Rd. There's lots of houses there now. To go hunting or dog training you have to drive at least an hour to get away from all the city congestion. Someday I'll get out of the valley, but would really like to stay in AZ. Ron

I currently shoot the Blackhawk Vapor arrows too. I've found the Vapor arrows to not be that tough of an arrow. A couple of times I've missed the intended target and the arrow has hit rocks/dirt and broken into several pieces. I know, the solution to this is don't miss... I also would like a little heavier arrow. Will probably be upgrading to Easton Axis arrows. Ron

I purchased an online license when putting in for spring turkey and still had to put my license number in while applying for the fall apps. Ron

Truck was a little dusty, but here it is... Thanks for the sticker Amanda! Ron

Desertbull, great pics! Thanks for sharing. 300WSM, I'm using a rechargable battery in my moultrie game spy 200. I think I've had it out there for >3 weeks and it's still had 99% when I picked it up. I've read on some forums where people were having issues with the batteries dying in under a week. You might want to call Moultrie customer service to see what they say. Ron

It's a Moultrie Game Spy 200. I'm pretty happy with it considering what I paid for it. Trigger time is somewhat slow compared to higher end cameras. It does better over water or salt than just over a trail. That bear however was just walking by. Here's some more pics: Ron

I have a Badlands superday and the Eberlestock J104 'just one'. Really like the eberlestock. Can shrink it down to an oversized daypack, or load it full for an overnighter. Both brands are well built packs and there's things I like about both. If possible, check them both out before you buy and see what fits you best. That's probably the most important aspect of a pack you're planning on carrying serious weight in, imho. Ron

Here's a couple I had handy... Kaibab deer hunt last year. Pheasant hunting in KS this past year. Ron

Very nice! Hopefully someday I'll have the pleasure of taking one that nice...

I also use the NG topo. I haven't used any of the others. There's a few things I think Topo could do better, and I wish the maps were more current, but it works well. As was said before, I can take my gps out, come back, and download my tracks and waypoints. The updated version (3.3, I think) allows you to put notes and embed pictures in the notes. I pretty much use this for scouting now. Just upload pictures taken of an area or things found/seen at a certain area. If there's someplace I want to check out I can just make waypoints and such and upload them to my gps. I tend to wear out maps quick, so it's nice to be able to print out maps and not have to worry about destroying a $4-$10 USGS topo map. I like to overlay the UTM grids on the maps also so that it's easier to determine position on the maps while out in the field. I have an older GPS (Garmim GPS12) without any mapping capability. If I'm going to be driving around a lot checking things out while scouting, I can hook my gps up to my laptop and have it track my current position. This is handy for going to completely new areas or just going for drives in new areas. It helps to identify what road on the topo maps you are currently on. In regards to swapping out cds with Topo, I just put the cd's I most often use on my hard drive. It's much quicker and does away with swapping out cd's. Ron

Made it up north with my daughter this weekend. Spent as much time as possible looking for antlers and scouting for my upcoming turkey hunt. Didn't see or hear any turkeys, but did find fairly fresh tracks. Came up empty on finding antlers though. Haven't found any the couple of times out. Usually happens to me when I'm specifically looking for them. Talked to a G&F officer who said 5 mins before I stopped and talked to him had seen a nice 6x6 still packing. Maybe I'll find his while turkey hunting... Did find this while out looking though. This was taken from where I spotted it. Darn near stepped on it. Wouldn't have found it except I wandered up to see what my lab had found. He'd found a piece of the jawbone. 100 yds before finding that I found this. Then less than a 100 yds later I found this. The legs seem too fresh to me to be kills from this past years hunt. Not sure though. Makes me wonder what's up there killing critters??? Here's a few that my dad has found the last couple of weeks. The base of the one on the left. Hopefully I'll be able to fill my turkey tag and then spend some more time looking at the end of the month. One last pic. Here's my daughter and I while out looking for sheds. Ron

Thanks for the compliment on the browning. I've had it for a lot of years. Here's the pics of the leg bone with the broadhead in it. I'll leave them big so the detail can be seen. Hope there's no dial up users... Dog with the leg before I noticed the broadhead. Close up of broadhead in leg Broadhead (sorry it's not in the best focus.) It was an expandable. Didn't take the time to figure out if it was a right or left side leg and what side the broadhead was in. Ron

Talked to my dad yesterday and he said he'd seen a flock of turkeys from the highway with a tom in full strut. Can't wait till the end of the month! Ron

I've used my lab to pick up antlers before. It wasn't really until this year that I've done any specific training for it in regards to searching them out and bringing them back. In the past I've just used him to retrieve elk antlers I've found that are across or in creeks down in the bottom of canyons. He found a couple of Coues sheds for me this past year while quail hunting, but it was more that we stopped to take a break and when I looked up he was standing over them. Someone else must have found them before me because they weren't but 10 inches apart. I took him out last weekend but I think we were up too high where we were looking. He found several real bones, and one leg with a broadhead in it, but no horns... He loves chewing on the antlers. He's chewed up several at my parents up north. I think that's his main motivation for finding them...