az4life

AZGFD also has basic info on game in each unit to give you a start. Some write ups are pretty specific so they tend to be full of other new to coues hunters. aside from specifics, This forum can be a wealth of general coues knowledge, so be sure to browse and read lots of the posts and you will be wll ahead of the newbie curve. Welcome to CWD

A few left, but nothing like the good old days when you could have hundreds of tags leftover after first draw. At least I can still hope for next year.

Josh has a couple Coues deer video clips and tons of great antler sheds on his website too, just to wet your appetite!

Well the gist of this thread agian seems to show we are a pretty good lot of sportsmen. Not sure what Silenthunter686 is trying to say, but everyone else is on target. I think many NGs are full of people that want to come off real tough and unaproachable, but not here on CWD I generally try to get someplace that I won't run into too many other hunters, and when I do see them, I give them some sort of a wave to let them know I am not target for them to look at through their scope. If they come over, quietly, a short chat is reasonable too. 43yrs plus as a native Arizonan also and in about 30 plus years of hunting I still find it hard to tell for sure if a hunter is a Resident or non Resident. (except for the dude I ran into a few years ago) I cannot tell where anyone is from until we talk. By that time we usually find something in common to bridge the NR or R gap. That said... It is Annoying as a hangnail when someone carelessly blazes through your area and then wants to sit and chat and glass with you for a couple hours. If they cannot take the hints, I think I might get a little rude at that point and ask them to move on, or maye go to another spot myself. I would help most people in emergency or breakdown situations and even with questions or advice, but some folks ATTITUDE could get them More help than others. Simple etiquette and attitude, not of their point of origin can go a long ways.

Looks like I am showing up a bit late for this topic, but Everyone has pretty much covered what I wanted to say. I did note a LOT of Guilt flowing through the thread though. Seems like we all have a collective concience and will at least be a bit more aware of the consequences of what we post and what we ask for. Rule of thimb: Generalities are good to get someone started or alert everyone to safety issues or total wastes of time, but since this group is widely recognized and praised for being helpful I do not think it should change much. "Pay it forward" is the way I look at it. Cha Ching... Another .02 in the till.

I do not see evidence it spooks most game. I have several occasions where the deer is looking right at the camera, hears it and or see's the flash and comes up to check it out. they sometimes blow through half a roll of film till they move off. Never seen a coues with tail up in the photos either! Personally, I think the noise is more likely to spook them so I muffle it as good as possible.

Keep those emails to the other sponsors going! We have found a way into the USO stronghold!

Tam Thanks for the tips. It is good to keep in mind, especially during the early seasons. Overall, I have generally seem more deer in the mid day as well. Rarely when I am out hunting are there any shots heard from surrounding areas until mid morning either. Game pics I have from later in the year ( not around water) do show more like 50/50 or 60/40 activity day and night, but this is usually after early seasons and approaching the Dec hunts. Thanks again!

Josh Great site! and I see why everyone seems to pay attention to your words of wisdom. All those sheds are awesome. I suppose you do have to spend a lot of time in the field to find that many sheds. Nice videos too! If I find anyone who needs a good guided hunt, You are on the top of my recommend list! Later

Even if I did not get drawn... At least one prayer is answered... that case of dissentary is gone.

Great posts, and good plan Muskrat. At least make the effort to lobby the AZGFD on behalf of state hunters and sportsmen (Sportswomen too)

Amanda Thanks I am using a simple photo editor and it has a funky resize feature. I tried to put size tags in another post, but the coed iw not allowed. I did re-size the 2 large ones and thought they would be updated here once I made the change on my server, but no apparent changes. I wonder if the board copies the photos using the IMG insert button, so I don't have to keep the photo on a server and any changes I make to the server copy do not show up? Let me know. I will wait to hear from you before I mess this thread up worse. I thought I saw a thread on posting photos, but cannot seem to bring it up with the search function. I would guess this is a fairly common question and subject to the administrator, so if you have a basic pre-loaded set of instructions I would appeciate it. Thanks

First try to post some pictures. Lets See how it goes Nice buck walked by camera at night and acouple does to go along. OK... My pics seem a bit large so I will try to resize tomorrow. Too late to fool with it....

I completely agree that it is going to be tougher for folks drawn in one of the "bonus tag" hunt areas to get trophy deer and elk. It will likely take a couple years to gain back the Game we will lose. What we have lost in terms of the "Big Picture" is in-calculable. This ruling has delt a major blow to hunting. I just pray the 10th circuit court finds for Wyo in theri case. Then we may have a shot at over-turning with the Supreme court.

KGAINES Here Here to your 7-19 post! You hit that one right on the head!

usafr Is that THE CHUCK YEAGER ? If that is the case I would give up my tag to meet that man. OOPS... I don't have a tag to give up

I did notice that no one named Taulman or Montoya drew on the EXTRA tags either!

Not a tag in the cards for me this year Congrats and Good Luck to all who did draw. I might have to think more about archery. Maybe a last minute trip to Wyo if I can get an OTC lope tag? Amanda, Congrats on the 6a north Elk Tag!

I wonder how many of those "Additional" tags are going to USO hunters? Taulman and Montoya's complaints and junk suit has benefited a lot of hunters Only at first glance. I think the #s being pushed around are somewhat deceiving. Lets review: The 805 extra tags while affecting 42 elk hunt units and 9 deer hunt units average out to about an extra 16 hunters per hunt unit. Doesn't sound so bad, but These are only Averages! My guess is that the greatest impact will be to a small # of hunt units that will be hit HARD with the Extra hunters. Sure the average may come out to 16 but I bet quite a few of those units are only impacted with 1 or 2 extra hunters. Averages tell you that if several units are impacted with low #s, then other units (prime units) are much harder hit. So anyone who FAIRLY drew a tag in one of the affected units will have much more hunt pressure to deal with. It is unfortunate that a real trophy unit may have been fairly drawn by someone and now they have all the extra pressure and competition to deal with. Best solution in a bad situation? Maybe, or maybe not! I definitely want to see the specific unit impact if possible.

I was just wondering if anyone else from this group went to the meeting tday? I had to leave just as the last public comment was taking place. I did not get to hear what transpired after the commissioners met in exec session or what they said before going into private. I did read the notice on the AZGFD site, but wonder if it overlooked something important. Comments....

Allen Agreed, We all need to send our thoughts on the subject to the AZGFD so they have the most possible input on the matter before the conference call with Broomfield. I didn't speak during the meeting since there were so many others with the blue slips. Once they started talking, I was really surprised at the speakers who were lacking clear points and communication skills. When I address a group like that I prepare notes and review the points I wish to make. In this case I was unsure if the public would be allowed to speak so I was not fully prepared. I had to leave as a 2.5 hour lunch was all I could do. How long did the meeting go til?

Mike I agree and felt some disappointment that these folks were the ones that the commissioners will remember, and for the wrong reasons. I sat next to the podium and had a clear view of the facial expressions and reactions the commissioners gave when everyone was speaking. Although a fair amount had decent points and good speaking presence, there were quite a few that could have fit right in with a Jef Foxworthy skit if they were given a "sign". GreyGhost I also agree that the AZ residents should not give up more for the sake of equality with non residents. The Commission has been dealing with a lot more than this one issue though. None of us like the problem we are facing, but if the commission was all bad, we would likely be in a lot worse condition. I will support them since changing boats in midstream is not usually wise. thanks all!

Well said! And from one who has observed and responded with a reasonable tone!

Some questions have come up on the board today and , I will shed a bit more light from what I heard during at the public Commision meeting Friday. The interstace commerce law is what is driving the whole enchilada. The fact that AZ allows sale of hides and horns is not the only factor as some might believe. Travel into the state by non residents can and is being construed as interstate commerce. Jim Odenkirk is the Asst State Attorney who has been on the case. He stated there is one of the top constitutional specialists working with the AZGFD on this suit. There have been public notices and one person who sat next to me told me he had been at the last several commision meetings and this was one big part of each meeting. They anticipated the ruling but had no idea it would come at this point in time. Contingent plans were not possible to be implemented until the runling formally came down. The 9th circus court of Appeals has jurisdiction in AZ. We are now waiting to see how a similar suit against Wyoming plays out before appealing further. If the 10th circuit finds in favor of Wyoming (this is what we wll should pray for) then we will lilely take both case rulings to the US Supreme court to determine the resolution on the conflict between the courts. Since the supreme court only takes about 4% of the cases brought to them (100 or so per year) it is only a slim chace they would hear AZ alone, but AZ and WY have a better chance. One individual hunter at the meeting suggested the Non resident fees be raised to $20,000, or even $40,000 - and the fee structure was explained as a result. Non Resident fees are set using a pre determined formula in direct relation to the price of the same resident tag. The State Legislature must approve significant deviations from that pre-set figure. After several minutes of discussion it was revealed the factor is 5 times the resident fee. They use this fee, in part becuase the Interstate commerce law requires the fees charged "not be unreasonable" to non residents so as to prevent interstate trade and commerce. In response to the fees the Indian nations charge, they are considered sovreign nations, so the interstate commerce laws do not apply to them. They can charge whatever the trade will bear. The President of the AZRMEF Jim (I cant remember the last name) spoke and had a number of good points. Among them, His members recommended a progressive bonus point set-up for residents. This would give bonus points to residents in a 3,2,1 structure, Complete a hunter education and if you are not drawn for elk your first year, you get 3 points, 2nd year, you get 2 more and 3rd year and after you get 1 point. This will help assure hunters have more regular opportunity to hunt and give an edge to residents. A Also suggested calculating the resident pull ratio, and applying that same ratio to non residents. If 1 in 100 Az applicaions is given a tage for an area, then the non Resident should also have a 1% chance of draw, but with higher fees. The meeting this next Monday is to address the "relief motion" filed to let the draw results go forward. The Relif motion was filed since the timing of the USO ruling is creating logistic problems notifying hunters before the earliest hunts that are affected. A copy of the motion was offered to anyone intersted if you contact the AZGFD office. There were several other groups of outdoorsman represented, including: Az Vamint Callers, Desert Christian Archers, At least 1 representative of groups from Tucson and another fron Prescott, and Wickenburg. Several Business owners potentially affected also spoke including 4 peaks game processing, Wild West Archery, And at least 1 or 2 other Archery shops. Lastly, the cooling down on the board has really helped today, and I am permanently ignoring 1 individual. Thanks all for wanting to make this state's hunting and outdoors experience the best possible for everyone. especially the youth!

Mike I somethimes forget this is a "family" forum. We all know this is a highly charged topic, but After re-reading the last day of posts it is apparent this thread is getting a bit out of hand. I for 1 will try to tone it down. Baiting may be legal, however it is not ethical on this fine board. I wish I had an "IGNORE" button as an option for those who post in a style not appropriate. Time for a cooling off break. A wise fellow once said to leave it in the hands of the Almighty. (I am with him on this one.)