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Flatlander

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About Flatlander

  • Rank
    Premier Member
  • Birthday 07/12/1983

Profile Information

  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    Gilbert, AZ
  • Interests
    Hunting, Camping, Hunting, Hiking, Hunting, Football

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25,676 profile views
  1. Flatlander

    High School Students and Knives

    Gilbert High School has a meat processing class that students can take as juniors and seniors where they get to slaughter and butcher livestock and game. Great program.
  2. Flatlander

    Mid December - Unit 21 - 2023

    That tag is still good for 11 more days. You can donate it to a charity and they can get a kid or vet out for the remainder of the hunt. Eddie Corona at Outdoor Experience for All can help. +1 (480) 529-8340
  3. Flatlander

    Some 3A BS

    Please do and keep us posted. This is all about creating a solution that provides good outcomes for everyone. I understand their position and why they did what they did. But I think better options can be developed.
  4. Flatlander

    Some 3A BS

    Part of our license fees go to the land trust. That’s why you can access and hunt it with a valid hunting license. It’s not luck, it was designed that way.
  5. Flatlander

    Some 3A BS

    No, he locked his gates and doesn’t allow anyone on paying or otherwise.
  6. Flatlander

    Some 3A BS

    Update: Carlisle reached out and informed me that his gates have been locked for a few years. He previously had allowed A3 exclusive access but no longer has that in place. Therefore no need to include their ranch in your comments to AZGFD.
  7. Flatlander

    Some 3A BS

    When I spoke to Despain during Summer of 2022 he was the one who told me all the ranchers were going to lock their gates if AZGFD didn’t convert everything to OTC. As far as I know his land is still open to the public.
  8. Flatlander

    Some 3A BS

    This is why it’s BS: Prior to 2022 ranchers in 3A and 4B banded together and started complaining about all the elk on the ranch lands north of the forest boundary. The hundreds of elk in the juniper country are eating them out of house and home. There is legitimacy to this, there are lots of elk in places they hadn’t been for several years. AZGFD responds by creating a bunch of new draw hunts starting in July and running through December in 2023. Success is pretty high. Game and fish also runs a BUNCH of pop man hunts which are also pretty successful. Not even halfway through 2022, before the draw hunts even start, the ranchers decide everything north of the forest boundary has to be OTC. They threaten to lock their gates and deny access to ALL hunters if their demand isn’t met. Sportsmen contest this but AZGFD concedes and converts everything to OTC starting in March 2023. Carlisle had already locked his gates due to a dispute over a AZGFD violation years before. He had at one time given A3 exclusive access, but that agreement is no longer in place. Elkins locked his gates and refuses hunters access to remove the elk. At some point Elkins sells exclusive access to Big Chino Outfitters who has a similar arrangement on a large ranch in western AZ. They advertise hunts for $8500+. So essentially, the ranchers used their ploy to get OTC tags as a Trojan horse to create land owner tags that they can sell to the highest bidder. The have unlimited supply and the most generous seasons in the state. This was never about elk eating grass or drinking water. This was always about ranchers maximizing their return on the public’s resource while simultaneously flipping the public the bird. That is why this is BS. Please write to AZGFD and ask them to discontinue the OTC Zeniff hunt area seasons until Elkins enters into a public access agreement.
  9. Flatlander

    Some 3A BS

    I know we are right before the holiday and mid-season on a bunch of hunts, but there is an issue in Unit 3A that needs immediate attention. Below is a picture of the hunt recommendations for 2024 Elk and Antelope. Included in the recommendations is a modification to the boundary description for 3A that changes the hunts or area for draw tags to that portion of the unit within the Apache Sitgreaves NF. The remainder of the unit was converted to OTC at the insistence of the ranchers in the area. With the OTC designation, the Elkins ranch has entered into an exclusive access agreement with an outfitter who is selling OTC hunts for $10k. This privatization of hunting and commercialization of a public resource is not in line with the North American Model and is a disservice to all hunters. Please submit a comment to AZGFD to close elk hunting in the Zeniff hunt area until these ranches create a public access agreement similar to what other ranches in the state have done. Submit comments to: AZHuntGuidelines@azgfd.gov
  10. Flatlander

    Outdoor Writer

    For those who have not heard, Tony Mandile aka Outdoor Writer on CWT passed away yesterday from complications related to COPD. Another AZ legend has returned to the dust. Rest peacefully my friend.
  11. Flatlander

    Razor 20-60x85 HD $650

    Check your PM’s.
  12. Flatlander

    Antis at it again. Lions and Bears.

    I don’t know why this never occurred to me. I wish we had bear baiting. We should ask them for it. If all it takes is a bunch of public comments let’s get started. 2 can play this game.
  13. Flatlander

    Antis at it again. Lions and Bears.

    There are two very problematic assumptions in your statement. 1. AZGFD’s mission has nothing to do with hunting. From their website: To conserve Arizona’s diverse wildlife resources and manage for safe, compatible outdoor recreation opportunities for current and future generations. If you are relying on a government agency to protect what you love, you are in for disappointment. 2. This point has been made, but in AZ, you do not have a right to hunt and fish. We have that opportunity because the so far the public has supported it. The second that changes and some anti organization can pass a ballot measure to end it, it will end. I understand that many people are frustrated by what is happening. I also understand that bitching about AZGFD has become a normal pastime around here, and I have participated plenty. But there is nothing to blame them for here. The HSUS is using this process to go on public record and establish the fact that thousands of Arizonans are opposed to predator hunting. Unfortunately, when the comments are posted in their entirety for everyone to see, there will not be a record of how many lion and bear tags are sold each year unless someone submits it as a comment. AZGFD manages wildlife in the interest of the public, so if the public doesn’t want them hunted, guess what? I know how dumb and frustrating this seems to people who are using common sense. Unfortunately, democracy doesn’t always follow the rules of common sense. It follows rules and processes. Right now the enemies of hunting and fishing are monopolizing one of those processes to paint a picture. The fastest and best way to combat that is to overwhelm their effort. I am begging the CMT community to set the snarkiness and apathy aside. This is important. Please comment in support of lion, bear and bobcat hunting. AZHuntGuidelines@azgfd.gov
  14. Flatlander

    Need a partner

    You can find trees to hang a hammock in.
  15. Flatlander

    Antis at it again. Lions and Bears.

    Public agencies who manage public resources are required to have a formal process for public input. If the anti’s flood the public comment process with requests to end lion, bear and bobcat hunting then if the department doesn’t consider those comments, the anti’s can sue the department on some liberal court and object to the policies, taking wildlife management away from science and into politics. Amber was likely doing hunters a favor by speaking up in a meeting with a well organized sportsmen group who could mount a response. Email your pro hunting comments here: AZHuntGuidelines@azgfd.gov
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