knothead

I have hunted unit 9, 34 and Valle Vidal. Unit 9 & 34 have lots of private land issues for my liking. I prefer an "average" AZ unit to anything I have ever hunted in NM. It's too bad too. They have more elk, habitat and less people. NM is a beautiful state but Land owners and outfitters rule the hunting. The draw is a straight draw so you don't have to worry about having a bunch of points.

I read stuff like this and it amazes me how so many are quick to jump ship. I wonder if they do that in their personal lives too? SMH

Last year they said I didn't draw but then about 3 days later it said I did draw. I did actually draw a tag.

We sold the heck out of those Redhawks back in the 80's when I worked at Smitty's. GLWS

I made my own and saved a ton of money. Very simple and easy to do. took me about 15 minutes per window and Home depot/Ace Hardware has everything you need. Probably some youtube videos.

It sure does suck and really takes the steam out of a hunt. At least it did for me. I had a very good kill ratio when hunting with a bow and arrow for my first 30 years. Only lost one javelina over that time. I made a couple bad shots on elk but I was able to find them. Over the last 10 years I have hit 4 different animals and lost them. One of them, an antelope, I found the next morning but the coyotes got to him before I did. I put my tag on it and my hunt was over. In 2009 or 10 I had a 5B archery antelope tag and it was the first time I ever saw a guy hunt with a crossbow in AZ. We were pretty much hunting the same 60-70 antelope that had a total of 9 bucks in the area. Over time we would cross paths in the field and talk. He told me he shot 5 different bucks and he was finally able to retrieve the 5th one. I asked him why he was hunting with a crossbow because I didn't ever see anything that was disabling about him. He showed me two fingers that we loosely taped together and said it may not look bad but he cant pull his bow back. He was almost apologetic. One of the bucks he shot out from under me during one of my stalks. 114 yard shot and I couldn't figure out what made them all run. That was my first encounter with him. He claimed he didn't see me stalking them. I think the loss of animals for me has taken away a lot of my drive to kill things. I love hunting as much as I ever did but the candle definitely does not burn as bright for killing stuff. A lot of this is personal and I think every hunter has to deal with it the best they see fit.

I have 13 wyoming antelope points and I am looking at using them in fall 2027 but archery only. I hunted from a blind in 2011 and my hunt was over in about 4 hours, Rut was crazy. The latter part of Sept. the weather was nice and bucks were chasing everything. Might try decoying next time.

I reluctantly did the 1st and 2nd jab. No more for me but I had two 1st cousins in two different states who did not do any of the shots and they died during covid outbreak. They were all in early fifty's and ok health. Not sure what that means but I thought i would throw it out there. didn't mean to get off track but seems it already did.

Yes Weather!!! Sure its hot here but at least we can drive 2-3 hours and be out of it. I have lived in other states where you couldn't plan anything more than a couple of days in advance because of weather. Huge weather changes in a matter of a day or two. It sucks, scraping windows for ice every morning. When I lived in Dallas, I left my truck in 4-high for 3 weeks because of the black ice. I'll take hot weather any day over cold. There is reason why AZ has so many transplants here and its not because of our sports teams. If AZ's summers were more mild then we would have 15 million people living here. Those 115 degree days are what keep the faint of heart away. I love it when we make national news for our heat. Bring it on!!

For all you guys considering moving some place else. All I know is that the grass is not greener on the other side. I moved to Texas for 2 years in the late 80's after graduating college and NM for 1 year in the 90's. Always came back to good ol' AZ. You don't realize how much you take what we have for granted until you leave. The weather, PUBLIC LAND, geo diversity, variety of hunting opportunities and family all kept pulling me back. If you want to hunt someplace else its much easier to just go as a NR. My 2 cents.

I believe at the G&F meeting when discussing the legal use of crossbows for archery hunts the statistics they showed was 38% success for crossbow hunters and around 12% for archery.

So many things going on that are affecting deer numbers. Predation, Drought, technology, commercialization of hunting, loss of habitat, shooting dinks, 1000 yard shooters, dept issuing too many tags along with other things not mentioned. This OTC archery reporting has opened my eyes as to how many animals are being killed and its kind of shocking. As an outdoorsman and a conservationist I think we need to have some serious conversations on how to help our big game animals. Especially our mule deer. They need our help before its too late.

I believe if there is 5 or less permits issued there is no bonus pass. All 100% random.

Love the rez but the employees are definitely on rez time. I have heard of Hawaii time but they take it to a whole other level. Andy and Barney in Mayberry moved at lightspeed compared to the rez folks. I used to complain but now I'm starting to think they know something about how life is supposed to be lived.

I take my grand daughters to Paloma Park in north Peoria. Had the most luck on the east side of lake for stocker trout. Worms mostly and rainbow power bait worked best. They end up playing with all the worms.

If you want to experience a little history I recommend staying at the Hasayampa Inn. My wife and I have a couple times and it is a hidden treasure IMO. Right across the street from courthouse. Supposedly has a haunted room with a female ghost. We never saw anything suspicious. Their restaurant has the best coffee.

Where I go varmint calling near Wickenburg I am amazed at all the elk tracks and droppings. The area is flat as a pancake but I have never actually seen any elk in the area.

That's too bad. I guess letting our one (or whatever small number) AZ mtn goat live was too much for some to handle.

I continue to be fascinated by these stories. I am one of those people who like to hear how everything played out with all the the details. Old animals garner even higher respect in my book. Anything that can live that long with so many trying to kill it is pretty special. Thanks for sharing.

That's a lot of years to be dodging bullets, arrows and bolts. Was he in a remote area or a unit with limited tags or opportunity? Would like to know more about how and where you found him?

Turkey and HAM javelina here. Hoping this is the year I finally get a turkey with bow and arrow.

Curious to know about what some of your favorite memories of outdoors are. This time of year is one of mine. Even though I am not much of gun hunter anymore, the opening day of the general rifle deer hunt brings back some of my best memories outdoors. Back in the late 70's hunted unit 17a with a HS friend and his father. The getting out of school for Thursday and Friday, loading up the truck, the drive up north, breakfast at Denny's before we left Prescott, setting up camp, cold mornings, listening to world series on the radio in camp were all good stuff. We haven't done this in many years but the memories are still strong. Good Luck to all those people going deer hunting this weekend.

I want a Goulds tag but no way I am sitting out that long. I like calling and hunting them way too much. I am happy so many of you are dead set on drawing a tag because it improves the odds for guys like me to draw stinky ol' Merriam's tag. Happy Hunting!

Seems like most the early spring turkey hunts require 6-7 points nowadays. Excluding Goulds. If they would stop allowing the killing of "any" turkeys in the fall a lot more hens might live long enough to reproduce and then we might have more opportunities to hunt in the spring. From what I have seen and heard there are far more hens killed in the fall than toms.

With all that recent rain and flooding from 9-10 days ago did it have much impact on lake levels at Roosevelt and San Carlos?