Snapshot

I like seeing all these great bucksthis time of year. It sparks the anticipation for the upcoming fall hunts. Great buck Amanda. One of the tallest I have ever seen.

Let's carry that thought a bit farther. How about $1,000 each per bonus point for residents and $5,000 each for non-residents? At $250 each, one of your really well-to-do applicants wouldn't blink at having to cough up $10,000 for 40 bonus points and a guaranteed bighorn or prime-unit elk tag. No way do we need this. I've said this before: we need to quit worrying about the petty details of a failed lottery system and concentrate on the real problem, which is we don't have enough deer for everyone who wants to go deer hunting. Other states with a heck of a lot less deer habitat than Arizona have no problems accommodating their hunters. In fact, a large number of small states have a problem with too many deer. If you want to debate whether management-through-a-lottery-system has failed or not, just ask yourself why Arizona issues fewer tags today than it did twenty or thirty years ago. After just one year short of four decades of permit-only deer hunting, we should have more (and not fewer) deer and deer hunters if permit-only hunting were a valid method for managing deer. And please don't say it's because the advance of civilization and a growing population has caused a dramatic shrinkage of Arizona's deer habitat. Only 18 percent of this state is in private ownership. The remainder is managed by state, tribal and federal governments and most of remains open to hunting (although it costs more to hunt on reservations). We have lost some land because of the expansion of national parks, granted, but our real problem has been a huge loss of access to many thousands of acres of public lands. Access is just one of the things we need to address, though. Predation, disease, drought, and a dozen other things may or may not be factors in the poor survival rate of deer here, and all need to be addressed. Worrying whether longtime residents should get extra bonus points is like putting Band-aids on our problem. Bill Quimby Bill, I was just joking about the bonus point purchase! It would be a total meltdown of the Bonus point system if that ever happened!

Maybe G&F could start a bonus point purchasing program, say at a price of $250.00 each. They could make a ton of cash from wealthy or overly eager applicants. I bet the "well to do" NR's would be lining up to buy points. Does anyone see this happening in the distant future?

I wish I had some vintage photos, but for one reason or another we didn't seem to take any pictures back then. I really regret not having photos from " the good ole day's".

Thanks for the info wetmule.! I did not realize those two are biologists. All of the draw change issues aside, sound biological and ecological data go along way in determining ways to maintain healthy animal herds and the long term impact and possibility of over hunting our deer with the major increase in tags for various units. What better way to get commissioners that won't turn the other cheek than a couple of gun toting, venison eating biologists who can see the big picture? Maybe I am asking for too much, but I am concerned about the future of our herds. I am certainly no expert on the subject, but I feel with the increase in permits and the extra late November hunt added into the mix, that the overcrowding and extra hunting pressure may lead to bad things in the future. An example of this is a major increase in whitetail permits for my favorite unit . There are good bucks in the unit, but in my opinion it does not have near the population that the better whitetail units have. I would like to see good data that supports the possible increase in harvest without effecting the long term buck/doe ratios and quality potential. Unfortunately science and politics dont mix well.

This scenario is a double edge sword. You just said it yourself that we are just starting to recover from the commission that Napolitano put in place. What happens if we get someone worse than Napolitano in office (if thats possible?) How long will this more hunter friendly Commission last if we get a bunny hugger for Govenor? I know that it would be segregating to just let licensed hunters vote on G&F issues, and alot of uninformed hunters might not make an educated vote, but stranger laws have been created in other circumstances? Maybe the G&F department could vote in its own commission. ? Personally, I would like to see some department wildlife biologists on the board of commissioners

My best buck is 23 6/8", taken with a spear, after an 18 pack the night before> Yes, I have a twisted sense of humor! Best whitetail = 99 5/8 approx. Rifle: Semi Custom 30-06 Memory of the hunt: That is why I hunt, for the memories, good times, solitude, and freedom.

Sorry to here about that. Best wishes to his family and friends

I certainly understand that. I guess I should clarify myself, when I say "Voters", I mean anyone with a valid hunting license only!

Nothing a wait period coun't fix. In Utah if you are successful for a premium hunt you have to wait I believe 3 yrs to be eligible again. Nothing wrong with that in my eyes. I am all for a waiting period system, for deer,elk, and antelope.

Yes sir! The .300 RUM is next on my wish list. Great caliber for anything in North America and beyond. I don't have any experience with the .300WSM.

This topic seems to come up every year after the draw. I can certainly relate to the letdown of not being drawn. If you want to hunt, you need to get drawn. To draw a tag you need to play the odds. If all you want is a prime December Tag, then the best of luck to you. Considering that they drastically lowered the available December permits, draw odds for those hunts just took a serious nosedive. I get drawn for deer every year. Second choice this year, 1st choice last year, and third and fourth choices the prior 4 years. If you play the odds to your favor you can get a tag every year, even though it may not be a primo tag. Or you can get a leftover in overcrowded units The draw was decent to me this year, but next year it might not. Then there are some folks on here that draw an elk tag 399 times in a row, I won't mention any names

I am always more worried about the weekend warrior crowd, rather than the dark haired people heading north. Its the ones heading south that you want to stay away from.

It is certainly a possibility. Best thing is not to leave any visible items in your truck that would tempt even a casual thief. Maybe park your truck close to another camp ?

All of the Southern units that extend to the mexico border can be dangerous or disruptive, some units more than others. It usally comes down to just being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I don't hunt the southern units as much, but I have heard alot of stories, and most of these are people that have had there camps ransacked and food, water and personal gear stolen. I helped some relatives in 35b a few years back and Harshaw canyon was like a BP super highway, along with a dead immigrant found by a hunter that brought in sherriff's ,search and rescue and the county coroner. Alot of traffic. I have hunted unit 30B five times in the last 10 years as it is my 3rd through 5th choice, as I hunted there alot as a kid and I know the country, I have never seen an illegal or had any problems other than overcrowding in some spots. I have harvested 4 deer and 1 Javelina in that unit over the years, and even though it is not a very good whitetail unit, some decent ones can be found with hard work.

Even though I am not an Arizona native, I have lived here for 36 of my 47 years. I have hunted in Arizona every year since the age of 11. I do not expect any special consideration for my years of hunting support, simply for the reason that I do not expect much from any Local,State, or federal government. The taxpayers are the grease that keep the machine running, and unfortunately, the machine is a hungry beast, that cares little for our personal wants and needs. That being said, I feel the only way to change any State department is to allow the voters to decide on how things are going to be run. Allow the hunters to vote on who gets elected as G&F commissioner instead of the Govenor, allow the hunters to elect the G&F commission, allow the hunters to vote on the issues that effect all of us in the long run. Force the commission to make decisions that affect game animals based on sound scientific fact and evidence and not on biased decisions that may or may not be financially driven. There are ways to change the entire system, including the draw, but it makes the system more complicated, and of course ends up costing more in the long run. The only way any Government department or agency will ever change anything is, if they are forced to do it, or they can get more money from it. Just my opinion!

This is the only listing that G&F has for the Tucson Area. Where: Tucson - Class is Full Precision Shooting Equipment (PSE) 2929 N. Fairview Tucson, AZ 85705 What: Combo When: August 6, 11, 13, 18, 20, 25, 27 September 1, 3, 8, 10, 15, 17 7:00 P.M. to 9:00 P.M. September 12 - 7:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M. Cost: $8.00 per person Registration: Class is Full Instructor: Bob Bonko

I am never bitter Even though I got my second choice, my tag is in my favorite first choice unit. It is good just to have a tag in pocket and the ability to roam the hills and canyons. The draw was good to me this year with my Unit 27 October whitetail, and Unit 27 November Archery Bull tag. 3 weeks of nothing but pure huntin pleasure ahead of me. Can't wait for the dog days of summer to be over with.

Man that is awesome.! It has always been my dream to take a full blown African safari. Good luck on your hunt and we hope you got some great pics and a good story when you are done. Stay safe out there!

Congrats on your sheep tag. Even a tough hunt is better than none. Here is a little slice of info from the G&F website. Bighorn Sheep Overview: An overview is exactly what you will have when you hunt desert bighorn sheep in Units 9 or 10. You will most likely be on the rim of Cataract Canyon looking down … a long ways down. Watch that first step. There is a small permanent population of desert bighorn in the Cataract Canyon area. This is a naturally occurring population and not a transplant, although a supplemental transplant is being considered at this time. Hunting sheep in Cataract Canyon is usually not a simple affair. A hunter should walk the rim of the canyon and look down. If sheep are above the rim the hunt could be over quickly. However, if they are below the rim, things get interesting. If they are on the middle bench, the hunt becomes more difficult, but they are still huntable. If the sheep are on the bottom talus slope or the bottom of the canyon, a lot of difficult hiking is in the hunter's future. This is "real" Grand Canyon sheep hunting. Areas: Sheep are most commonly observed in the northern portion of the hunt area along Cataract Canyon. Driftwood Canyon, Disquiba Canyon, and the main stem of Cataract Canyon itself as far south as the area around the Carlson Pothole catchment are the best locations. Sheep do use the entire canyon area and have been observed all the way south to the Box K area. The Havasupai Reservation is off limits to sheep hunters.

Unit 27 October Whitetail

There are some decent leftover tags available!

Hey Mike, No deer for you this year? I only applied for sheep bonus point this year, but if I ever get that unit 27 Rocky tag, you are always welcome in camp. Now if you are interested in coming down to unit 27 in November, I will be there trying to bowhunt Bulls!

Drew my second choice - Unit 27 October whitetail

Happy Birthday Bro, hope its a great one!