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Drew an early rifle tag this year! Had written and tried to post but it kept fighting me trying to post pics. My first rifle kill. Only my 2nd elk tag. My brother in law Scott and my wife came up to help me. Went to a spot we know on opening day. Bulls beat us there. We tried to follow but they can cover a lot of ground when just walking. Hit another spot on the backside of the hill. Heard some bugles going away and getting distant. Back to camp for lunch and then took a drive to check out some canyons and possibly glass some. No luck glassing up any bulls. Decided to just chase bugles. That afternoon we went to a spot hoping to hear some bugles. None heard. Got lost on the way back to the truck. I had forgotten my gps in the truck and google map sucks butt. Sent a pin to a buddy and he was trying to help out. Then a couple dudes out getting wood stopped. “You see a white F250?” They laugh and said yes. Gave us a beer and a ride! They were young dudes, I was thankful for the ride and being handed a beer that wasn’t bud light 🙃 Back to camp in bed around 11:30. Saturday woke up a bit late. Bulls were on the mountain already. Bugle up a different bull. They moved thru a draw below about 137yds. Nice 6x6. We passed and moved on. Been windy both days. My wife felt ill with altitude like sickness. She tried to stick it out but had to run her home Saturday evening. In bed after 11 again. Scott said some chick was coming up Thought he was kidding. Got to camp and there was a Nissan Sentra!!?? How the heck she drove in there without tearing off and oil pan or something?! I get up a bit late don’t wake Scott. Coffee, heat up the burritos and boogie. Back to where we seen the 6x6 because I lost my cow elk call. Took 15 minutes and finally found it. Walk down in the draw a bit and sit to listen for bugles. Blow my bugler(Phelps easy metal bugler awesome call for people that can’t use mouth reeds), a cow comes from my left moving down towards the draw we spotted them in before. A couple minutes later another. A few minutes and another. Then nothing. I decided to move down around a little finger where they came from. Catch a glimpse of elk color in the shadows to my left. Like under 60 yds but can’t see antlers. 15 minute stand off. Even through the scope I still can’t see. He’s feeding and I move to my left. He turns but still can’t see antlers. A minute goes by and he puts it in overdrive and I see a giant bull running away…gone. Sickening! Hit up another spot where I killed my first bull Walking in I heard a bugle but sounds far. I quickly move towards it. Slow down and scan the forest. Spot a cow, then a few more at like 40 yds. It’s really windy. He bugles then beds down. 6x6 with a broken #2 on the right side. I back out and head to camp. No more encounters that day. A cold front was supposed to hit on Monday with a high of 62 deg. And moderate winds. I had rented a room for a couple days for my wife and I. Left Scott with his skank after dinner and said I’ll see ya in the morning. She was supposed to be leaving in early am. Showed up to camp she was leaving. Scott had coffee ready and we headed out. With the full moon the elk were up on the mountain early every morning. Today there are a few bulls bugling we drive to a spot to cut them off. Hiking up the mountain we bump a heard and they spook. Make a big loop following. The bugles were strong this morning! Back to the truck as the bugles are really faint. Drive a couple miles to the west. Head into the hills chasing bugles. After a mile or so we get into some. Wind is swirling changing directions. I thought for sure they would bust but the kept doing there thing. We flanked them seeing several small bulls and a herd bull. Never get a great look at him. It seemed as a few small herds joined because there were a lot of elk running around! We flanked them for a long time bumping them occasionally but not spooking them. They bed down 40-50 yds from us. We sit and wait. Herd bull bugling like crazy from his bed. Across the draw up on a ridge another bull starts screaming! Bugling and chuckling! He sounds big! The other bull is bugling back but gets up and takes his herd with him. We follow. We get to the road and the elk were way in front of us. Still bugling! I am getting discouraged and not thinking we can catch up. I am sore, tired and everything hurts! I tell Scott we’re not catching them, we blew it. He ignores me and pushes on! I follow begrudgingly. Bump a muley doe. Spot a spike! A little boost for my mind. We get to a little hill with a good saddle and the bull we followed was just over the hill still bugling! It’s just after noon. We been on them since 9 or so. Scott says shooter bull! I see 2 bulls! I look at one bull and don’t think it is. “Dude that’s a shooter all day!” The other bull was shreading a tree and started walking towards the other bull! I thought they were going to fight, but he slowly walks by him. I look through the scope and see how long he is with an extra on the left side! I had forgotten my shooting sticks in the truck rushing to go after the bugles! He stopped broadside! I was afraid to move! Thinking I will blow it! I decided to shoot offhand! Put the gun to my shoulder, put the cross hairs on his shoulder. Take up the slack on my trigger, let out a long breath and boom! He flinches, but starts slowly walking. Scott says “you hit ‘em”. I put the cross hairs again on his shoulder. Heart rate is out of control! Rush the shot and hit his stomach! Rack another quickly as he is still walking slowly! This time tried not to rush, good breath squeezed and boom he was down! Having doubts he was as big as I thought! Gave him a couple minutes and walked over to him. I could not believe he was as big as he was! It was like a dream! Somewhere along our expedition I took my game bags out of my pack for god only knows why??!! Quarter him up andwe pack out 2 quarters and the head. Haul but back to camp grab extra bags and pillowcases lol. Found a closer road and the last part wasn’t too bad. Really surpassed my expectations! I was not really hunting a number but wanted a mature bull. 372 1/8 Sorry for sideways pics james

Easy to use, but there are a few drawbacks. You have to go to AZGFD to buy your tags. I was told that in the future they may implement kiosks at dealers to streamline the buying process tho. You need to carry some way to attach your validation number to the animal. I grabbed some large stickers from game and fish and carry a sharpie in my pack. After you Etag an animal, it will then give you a # that you need to write on something and attach it to the horn or carcass. I do like how all my tags are shown in the app and I do not need to remember to grab all my tags (deer, lion, turkey, javelina, bear) I will continue use the Etag process

AZ,s minimum auto liability is joke in todays world. If you have anything worth diddly, you had best have an upgraded policy and an umbrella policy covering your vehicles, home, boat , etc. The whole world is law suit hungry due to the ridiculous amounts of aired ads by the ambulance chasers. People fall down in my parking lot due to being idiots that don’t look where they’re walking , or on their phone, and hire attorneys. Fortunately ,more and more insurance companies are telling them to pound sand . Insurance premiums are ridiculous because of it. No one wants to accept blame for their own actions anymore.

I talked with a friend in Benson who’s been trying to retire and he only does estate law anyway but he understands all this bs and he gave me the name of Joel Boroweic (spelling?) in Sierra Vista, if it happened in Cochise. Since it happened in Pima you could call him for a referral or call Marks office in Benson and ask his daughter Ann who they’d recommend for this type of thing. I’m sure they’d give you a few minutes of their time to explain how it goes. Battaglia/Roberts PC I believe. Look it up I don’t have the office number just His cell. Hopefully whoever she can recommend would be as down to earth as they are. Good people! Good luck man!

My son, Jacob, has decided to take his love of turkey hunting and turkey calls, and fly fishing, and make it a side hustle. In the past, he's made turkey calls and tied flies for donations to help raise money for his various adventures (GCY river trips, TKD black belt promotions, etc.). Now he is stepping into the world of making turkey calls (pot calls) and tying flies to help him earn spending money. Jacob has kicked around the idea for a couple of years, but now he's committing to it. If you're interested, you can reach out to me or I can put you in touch with him directly. He's building his Instagram page, so please check that out and give him a follow @Wooldridge_Calls. He currently has one call for sale and has one posted he made for me showing their effectiveness. We're working with him on fair pricing to be competitive and still make money without being greedy. He's 2 weeks from turning 16 and learning that aspect with our guidance. He has access to various wood types for both pots and strikers and can make the calling surface and sound board slate, glass, copper, aluminum. He can work with you on a design or come up with one on his own. Jacob's pot calls are all I carry now when I'm turkey hunting and I always go for his flies first when I'm fly fishing. I've never been disappointed. Below are some pics of his earlier pot calls and some flies he's tied. He hasn't gotten any fly pics up on his IG page, but he's planning to shortly. Thanks for considering. Pot Calls Sound.mp4

The pup gets better and better every time. I was curious how she was going to do. She's a little thin and it was cold. Air temp was about 30°, yet she swam out and retrieved four ducks for me no problem. A little planning of her rout and off she goes! Finally got my first mallards of the season, and a scotch double on spoonies. 20240110_094310.mp4

Yes

Best detailed definition of the 67a recall. https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/resources/fact-sheets/cummins-settlement-frequently-asked-questions

My buddy was in 32 and saw a lot during the mornings in the sun

The Javelina we found yesterday were all bedded up in the sun @ 3pm. Terrible weather yesterday, but managed to get a pig and a shot at a muley for my out of state buddies. Javelina have a relatively small range, after a good rain storm, put in some boot miles in an area where you have seen them and try and narrow down their range. Once you find a herd or 2, the hunting will last for years and years. No need to hike miles away from roads unless you like that sort of thing. Most of the herds I hunt are spotted from high points off of roads and then stalked into and killed.

No driving roads for me! All on foot AWAY from the roads 😀. I appreciate the information, thank you!

I don’t have a turkey tag this year, but I love to see young people doing things like this!

9am sunny hillsides, knows the time to get out and walk creek bottoms and look for tracks while its wrt. They will be very fresh. Then head up shady side of ridge and glass back to the sunny side of hill. If you can find green wattles also. But find them tracks. You have better luck if you know where there neighborhood is, and its hard to find moving rocks when your looking everywhere or driving. My take only. Goodluck

Couldn't you have done that in a message?

Thank you. Life can change quickly.

Good dude. Deal with confidence!

That sounds like you’re being targeted by a scam for sure. I would call local PD and report it. You have no obligation to pay outside of insurance settlements. It’s possible that someone not even involved in the accident got a hold of your accident report and are trying to get money out of you claiming to be the other driver. Getting a lawyer is just going to cost you money. Police report is free and the police can tell them to pound sand. Make sure if you call PD emphasize that you think you’re being scammed. If you come at them like it’s a civil dispute they won’t help (because it’s civil/no crime) Have you called your insurance agent? what did they say?

Just don't respond to them anymore after you tell them you are getting an attorney and you won't communicate with them now. Usually works ... then get an attorney if you still get calls.

I think most accident attorneys want to push liability and collect money, not defend and protect money. I agree with the above, insurance companies usually have very conservative, no BS attorneys in the lineup that don’t cave. You paid for insurance use it.

I’m willing to prime a young entrepreneur’s dream and business plan. I too don’t know enough about materials to advise my choice of the raw materials to be used, so dealer’s choice. I’ll take (2). If your son crafts my order with the same attention to detail as he did for his own Dad’s slate call… that’s all I can ask. Can he complete in time for Spring 2024 hunt?

I cook daily with mine. I disagree about the soap. I find things tend to stick more when detergent had been used.

Dawn is fine. My cast iron has enough of a base built up it doesn't affect it at all. I won't oil it after since it will get used again in a day or week. Purists whine about it all the time but they are predominantly newbs edumicated on the Web, but cook with it regularly for a year or two and it will educate you if you pay attention.

Don't use Dawn. Just use water I keep a paint scraper in the drawer. I scrape it clean and the use oil to finish scrubbing. If you use Dawn it will draw the oil out of the pores and ruin your seasoning. Use mineral oil for storage. Vegetable oil will go rancid

Glad to here your going to keep it all, you'll have memories every time you use. Under different circumstances we would of bought it all. Quality iron. God bless and prayers for your father. My wife just lost hers, not easy at all.

Id just like to get a flipen tag and I would be happy!