javihammer Report post Posted March 29, 2012 Too funny.... Big Johnson gets on here and calls people out and fails to recognize all of the assumptions he made himself. All I said was... "I think it is important to contrast the differences in how auction tag hunters hunt compared to how Average Joe meat in the freezer hunters hunt. The people I have spoken with have responded very well to this information." He "assumes" I am pitting one hunter against the next. I didn't say it, he did. I didn't even criticize one over the other, why would the general public be critical of auction tag hunters when they keep so many teams of outfitters employed all year long chasing the big ones through the forest? He then extends my comment to include existing auction tags auctioned by legitimate wildlife groups and tries to infer I am against these tags as well. Once again, another assumption. Let me make it clear. I have no real position on current auction tags distributed by legitimate wildlife groups as long as the auction occurs in ARIZONA. I do not buy auction tags personally and know they have their pros and cons. As long as they sell for CRAZY big money and represent a very small population (no more than 2-3 tags per species total) I am not too worried about them. If these tags present a gateway for the acquisition or abuse of future auction tags I would not have a problem seeing them go away, that said, I am neutral to them right now. Let me address one thing about raffle tags. The raffle tags being requested for these expos (like the 300 tags mentioned in HB 2072) generate very little money. I calculated the average gross generated for these tags in the Utah expo and it is clear these tags only exist to support the claims by SFW that their expos draw people other than a handful of wealthy auction bidders and the outfitters to guide them. The Utah expo raffle tags required applicants to verify their hunting license onsite at the expo in order to apply for the raffle which allowed the SFW to claim higher expo attendance and participation. The SFW then makes wild swag projections about travel and fuel costs in the counties surrounding the expo so that they can support ridiculous economic impact claims to justify future expos. THE PURPOSE OF THE RAFFLE TAGS IS TO TRY TO SHOW THE WORLD THE REGULAR PEOPLE SUPPORT THE EXPO, the problem is that regular guys in Utah have been so ripped off they have almost no choice but to buy the stupid raffle tickets. The really crazy part is SFW gets the locals to think they are doing them a favor to get another "chance" at a tag. That would be like me asking you to buy a one dollar lottery ticket to win $1000 and then lowering the big jackpot to $900 so that I could sell you another $1 ticket for a $100 side raffle. There are people in Utah that think the SFW is actually doing them a favor by collecting extra entry fees to get a shot at tags that should already be part of the big jackpot (otherwise known as the public drawing). The SFW then claims all that gas that the locals had to burn to get to the expo for the raffle is a positive impact to the economy and the locals hardly realize they have been pickpocketed even further by this group. Kind of like a shell game, put money under a shell and try to figure out where it ends up after a bookie shuffles it around...I hate those games. The SFW has lots of shells and very few have any prizes underneath them. The expo in Utah is so worthless, less than 10% of the outfitters (and half the exhibitors there are outfitters) come from the four corner states that surround Utah. Without forced raffle tags the Utah expo would be a room full of outfitters watching their own bugle videos. There are lots of other problems with the CONCEPTS behind the HB 2072 raffle tags for private expos, the primary one being what it would do to the non-resident tag allocation, it would be hard to keep the 10% max in check with 300 raffle tags. I think 300 raffle tags would also drive down non-resident hunting license revenue which would directly impact the AZGFD budget. Bottom line, raffle tags for expos are bad for hunters and conservation opportunities for wildlife. That said, I fully support the Big Game Raffle offered by the Arizona Game and Fish Department. The tickets for the Big Game Raffle are attainable by most Average Joes and are still expensive enough that the odds to draw are somewhat realistic. This raffle is also run by AZGFD and there is no risk of funny business with the proceeds from a private organization. That said, I don't think adding many more tags to this raffle would generate much more money and wouldn't support a significant increase in tags for this program either. So BJ, it is nice to see a counterpoint every once in a while and I did get a chuckle out of your intentional misspelling of my website handle (that was a good one....honestly). I am going to take the high road since dueling with you on this thread would be like holding a basketball over my head and watching a five year old try to jump up and swat at it. Good luck in the PUBLIC draw, results should be out soon, unlike your buddies at the SFW, I don't need to see your W2 to wish you the best in the draw. Ryan Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Snapshot Report post Posted March 29, 2012 How much money has Hamberlin and crew spent on this deal so far? If they are so gung-ho about wildlife conservation, why didn't they spend that money on it? They have much more in the agenda then simple wildlife conservation concerns. Where does unity among sportsman, as well as fair play, factor into their plan.? Guess what, it doesn't! All you supporters of this abomination of a bill can sugar coat it all you want. We all see it for what it really is. If it looks likes a turd, smells like a turd, it probably is a turd. Lets say AZSFW gets their greedy mitts on these 300 tags. How long is it going to be before every type of ORG in Arizona is going to want some tags. How long will it be before we all get to sit home and watch the rich guys hunting on the Outdoor channel cuz they got all the primo tags. This tag grab deal is like the welfare system. Give some to a few, and pretty soon everyone has their hand out. Please sir, may I have some more? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ringer Report post Posted March 29, 2012 Just got an email from Crystal cruz and they are going to try to air the story at 9pm tomorrow night. Hope you guys wore clothes and put your teeth in. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Snapshot Report post Posted March 29, 2012 And....a big personal thank you to the people working hard behind the scenes , and making this TV interview happen. You certainly have my respect! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
donniedent Report post Posted March 29, 2012 That's what I'm screaming... Very impressive guys. You got free air time... Hamberlin purchased 2 more lobbyists. I think we got the better deal. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AzHuntingAddict Report post Posted March 29, 2012 Posted on the web for all concerned to see. Awesome job fellow Joes!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
coueshunter Report post Posted March 29, 2012 Show airs tonight at 9:00 then it will be put online tomorrow according to Crystal Cruz....channel 3 T.V........Lets hope we as regular joe AZ hunters are put in a good spotlight......Allen Taylor......... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ringer Report post Posted March 29, 2012 Show airs tonight at 9:00 then it will be put online tomorrow according to Crystal Cruz....channel 3 T.V........Lets hope we as regular joe AZ hunters are put in a good spotlight......Allen Taylor......... Allen-good job and thanks for fighting the good fight for all of us. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
azpackhorse Report post Posted March 29, 2012 thank you Allen Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
coueshunter Report post Posted March 29, 2012 The guy we need to thank is ZIM off monstermuleys. He got channel 3 to get engaged and ZIM set up the interview. I cant thank him enough. The t.v. interview, RMEF writing their letter against HB2072 and all of us flooding our politicians with opposition to "sale of big game tags" should hopefully kill this legislation. Fax your opposition to the Govenors office...602-542-1381............Attention Kevin Kinsel/Govenor Brewer............Keep it up you guys..........Thank you..........Allen Taylor............... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bonecollector Report post Posted March 29, 2012 Thanks and good job. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Elkhunter1 Report post Posted March 29, 2012 I just talked with Channel 13 and they are talking about this bill in their meetings. I was told they are digging into this issue and would get back to me on it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
krp Report post Posted March 30, 2012 Nice job Allen... figured they would keep it short. Kent Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chef Report post Posted March 30, 2012 Super job guys! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
javihammer Report post Posted March 30, 2012 My hat is off to Crystal Cruz. Given the short amount of time for the interview and the large amount of documentation she was given she managed to get all the important parts in. Allen and Bill did a great job as well (including some others behind the scenes). Oh, and thanks to Zim from MM, without him this interview may have been an after the fact kind of thing. Thanks a bunch sir, you have a spot at the good guy campfire . Ryan Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
