CouesWhitetail

Wow!! House on Fire is a really appropriate name!

Awesome pics!

Wow! cool double for sure!

Awesome!! Love seeing the pics, thank you!

LOL! Good one TJ

Neat pics!

Awesome Josh! I love seeing Isaac enjoying trips with you!

I received word from Pete C that the bill sponsors have told him they are no longer going to push HB2072 or related legislation forward. Good news! I hope to hear an official announcement from AZSFW soon, but I don't know when that might happen.

How many weeks left in the legislative session this year? A couple right? So although I believe the push to pass this has ended, I suggest we remain vigilant for at least the remainder of the legislative session.

I hope everyone has a great time up at this event! I have to be in Phx for the AGFD expo, but I know alot of you will get some great deals on gear and have a great time up there! Thanks to Jeremy for creating such a neat event.

White Jeep Wrangler with the top down and a big CouesWhitetail.com sticker on the front window was in the opposite lane from me in Globe today. I waved but you didn't see me...who is it?

Wow! Great buck and great mount!!

Ernesto won a rifle!

sorry dtresca...your guess won't count since you entered after the deadline, but at least you still got to play Javacowboy will round up all the guesses for me and I will post results hopefully in the next several days. Please be patient

Great trip!

Nice instructional video Darr!

thx for presenting some ideas here...I hope something comes of it. Let's keep the discussion going and update us all on what you find out. Thank you.

Chef, do you know where the other location is in Mesa?

6 red peppers for $1!!! The prices are crazy cheap. Whenever I have to go to the valley, I see if I can't work in a trip to that little market to scoop up some great veggies at extremely cheap prices. I have started freezing a bunch of it. I love this place and it's worth a trip if you like fresh produce. AND they have some really good trail mixes and nuts that you can get for hunting/camping/hiking trips.

YUM!

Good news!!

AWESOME BUCK!

Thanks to everyone that attended, it was a fun night! I spent most of the night scoring some bucks that people brought in for me to score. Always great to see some nice trophies! Thanks to the AES for yet again hosting a fantastic banquet!

Jay Lopeman wanted to share these pics with you all....WOW! Congrats to the guides and hunter. What a beast! This was taken with one of the special commissioner tags that ran from Aug 2010 to Aug 2011, so they were getting down to the wire! Alan Hamberlin with his giant AZ elk, Mossback guided him. Alan shot the bull with a 7mm at 200 yards.

I thought this was very interesting....do you think AZ should do something like this predator control program? Do you think there is any chance it could be supported by the general public? here are a couple articles about it: Utah governor signs bills to fund coyote killings Programs aim to increase the killing of predators in order to restore deer herds. By Tom Harvey | The Salt Lake Tribune First Published Mar 17 2012 04:08 pm • Last Updated Mar 18 2012 01:19 pm Gov. Gary Herbert signed two bills on Saturday that take aim at coyotes by funding programs to step up the killing of the predators in an attempt to increase the population of mule deer and protect livestock. The governor used the backdrop of bow and arrow maker Hoyt Archery west of the Salt Lake City International Airport and a friendly crowd of employees and hunters to sign SB245 and SB87. The House and Senate overwhelmingly approved the bills during the recently concluded general session of the Utah Legislature. The Mule Deer Protection Act, SB245, appropriated $500,000 to the Division of Wildlife Resources to establish programs to reduce the coyote population in areas where the mule deer herds have suffered significant population losses over the past few decades. SB87 imposes a $5 fee on big-game hunting permits to go toward predator-control programs. Herbert touted the measures as important for Utah’s economic growth, citing hunting, fishing and wildlife watching as a $2.3 billion part of the state’s economy. "What we’re talking about today is really important for our economy going forward," he told the crowd that gave him a standing ovation. Bob Friel, a hunter from Mapleton who attended the signing ceremony, said the bills were needed to help bring back the state’s mule deer population, which would attract more hunters and boost Utah’s economy. More deer mean more licenses sold and more hunters spending money on things like meals at restaurants, he said. "This is an economic issue for the state of Utah," Friel said. The Humane Society of Utah had opposed the bills. Director Gene Baierschmidt said Saturday another part of the legislation, raising the bounty from $20 to $50 for bringing in a pair of coyote ears, is a poor method of reducing predator populations. "We think it’s ridiculous to send the public out there to do that," he said. "For example, if someone is living in St. George and they go and they bring back a bunch of ears of coyotes, there might not even be a problem in that area." Jay Banta of Torrey, a hunter, biologist and former federal wildlife manager, said the "misnamed ‘Mule Deer Protection Act’ is simply throwing money at a solution for a reduced deer herd that won’t work." -------------------------------------- Salt Lake City, Utah – March 18, 2012 – Utah Governor Gary Herbert signed two pieces of legislation into law that will bring millions to the rescue of struggling mule deer herds in the Beehive state. Gov. Herbert’s official support means that Utah coyote control funding will increase by $1.25 million a year. $500,000 comes from a $5 license fee increase, and $750,000 comes from general sales tax revenue from the state of Utah. In total, now nearly $2 million annually will be invested to control coyotes and rebuild deer herds. The governor has studied the issues surrounding why Utah’s mule deer herds are struggling at near all-time lows. SFW has worked closely with the governor and wildlife officials to identify the problems and what can be done to ease pressure on deer. “Data has shown that coyote predation is a major negative contributor to Utah’s deer survival,” according to SFW President Byron Bateman. “Our deer numbers are dwindling despite tens of millions of dollars and thousands of volunteer hours to protect winter habitat, fence highways and improve conditions for Utah’s deer. This is some of the most important legislation related to deer management that Utah has seen in many years. We are very optimistic it will have a positive impact over time for mule deer recovery.” The event was held at Hoyt Archery and Easton Technical new production facility in Salt Lake City. The world’s leader in Archery equipment is a strong supporter of SFW and mule deer recovery effortd. On hand at the signing event was state Senator Ralph Okerlund, state Senator David Hinkins, and House of Representative Kay McKiff, all leading legislative sponsors. SFW and the governor also thanked Senators Allen Christensen and Margaret Dayton and Representatives Mike Noel as well. Randy and Coni Brooks, major SFW sponsors, and many SFW volunteers and chapter leaders were on hand with several Hoyt employees. The Utah Division of Wildlife will be working with sportsmen and the Department of Agriculture to get the most bang for the buck on this coyote control program. It will be centered around rural, private contractors who will be compensated on performance-based programs, and augmenting the current aerial gunning and local county coyote bounty programs.