catclaw

Has anyone seen the fee increases that are supposed to be levied on us next year? $3200 for an elk tag (non-resident), $150 for a deer tag, $30 for a javelina tag. On top of that, increases for all professional licenses- a guide's license is $500. I didn't think that the cap voted on by the legislature was anywhere near this high! I don't have the paper in front of me so I don't know all the fees, but they all went up A BUNCH. Elk res- $350 Antelope- $90 Bear- $30 Pig- $30 Turkey- $25 Lion- $19 Sheep- $335/ $3000 App fee- $10 A new structure for deer and elk with "A" tags and "B" tags- whatever these are. This is the list sent out on G&F letterhead. Sounds like the legislature approved it. I don't have the letter in front of me so I can read it verbatim. Let's see what shakes out this coming week.

I have had 15 bull tags since 1983. I didn't use my tag in 2007 and 2008. I passed bulls in 07 and a LOT of bulls in 08. It's all about the hunt. I don't really have a place to put anymore horns so my goal last year was a very SMALL 5x5 that wasn't broken or a 380 class bull. I saw NO 5x5s that weren't broken or big and I missed my one shot at a 380 bull. Not a single complaint from me. I even took a couple of days off from my unit 10 hunt and helped a guy kill a bull in 9. Elk are a lot of work when they hit the ground, I am not so inclined to kill one just to kill one any more. I have killed all my bulls during Nov rifle hunts. If you draw the right unit, they can be fantastic hunts. In 1994 I guided two guys from Mesa. We glassed up 55 bulls opening day that were 5x5s or better. Both killed 6x6s the first day and were tickled to death. Horses and mules got a good work-out. It is really fun seeing all those bulls together. Not the same as calling them in, but very gratifying to me to find a big ole bull in his brushy lair and snake him out. A November rifle hunt would be a lot tougher to pass anything up! Have fun

I agree with you on the NR- status. As it stands now, the NR have a very minimal impact on the residents draw success. The dollars are welcome. The animals are mostly on Federal public lands. There has to be some give and take. Many of us hunt in other states too- it would be very short-sighted to look at this any other way.

There are quite a few, some are more user friendly than others. I used Art Pejsa software for quite a while and I now use Exbal. Using something like Exbal or Patagonia is more accurate for the real long shots that any table you can print. With these mentioned, you can take your Palm Pilot with you. Once your quarry is spotted, you can range it, and then input the distance, azimuth, cosine angle, altitude, barometric pressure, temperature and wind speed/direction. You should have it previously set up for your bullet and velocity but can you modified in the field. It makes first shot hits possible out to 1200 yds! Fun stuff.

I just spoke to a buddy last night and he picked up the Kowas with the ED glass. He is waiting for his 50X eyepieces to come in. He said he could see some astronaut taking a leak on the moon! I told him that they should be illegal! Man, I would like a set of those.

The letters are Dated May 5, 2009. The legislature sets the caps for the fees. The commission approves the fee increases within the cap set by law. The current guide's license fee is $300. The letter doesn't answer any questions- basically it just says that they passed a new law that lets them revoke the guides that file their reports late- which many, many guides do as the dates required aren't realistic. They just have to re-take the stupid test each year. Now they will probably hold their feet to the fire with this new law. The rest is just a generic update of all the changes with no explanations accompanying. I don't know what the A and B tier are other than the A tags cannot exceed 5% of the B tags?? Non-resident elk for a B tag goes up to $775. Buffalo was NOT addressed at all so I assume it remains unchanged.

I have seen a live on at the last house (a mile away) twice, but this is the first I have of this one. I have found his scat in my raspberry bushes but until now, has been elusive!

I had the ML bug for a while and had a White systems muzzleloader. I found that I couldn't use more than ONE pellet with the standard #11 percussion cap doing the ignition. My velocities were all over the place with 2 pellets. I could easily run 120 grains of Pyrodex RS and had best accuracy with the Barnes Sabot bullets. I bought a little gizmo from Barnes that was supposed to seat the bullets straight- it did and my groups shrank. I could get 1" groups at 75 yds I had peep sights so I sighted it in at 75. I killed a pig with it at 9 yards and NEVER could draw a ML deer or elk tag so I sold it last year. I was able to shoot about 12 shots through it before I had to clean it. I used it a lot with the boy scouts and we would go through 2 cans a day! We would shoot until we couldn't get a bullet started! I don't know about all this new fangled powder but some of it is downright scary expensive! Doesn't anyone use BLACKPOWDER any more??

I can't imagine packing a varmint rifle in 308 after coues deer. If you want a heavier contour get the Sendero like Doug suggests. The 308 is a fine caliber but where you aren't limited buy Gov't specs or other limitations, I would think a little flatter shooting rifle would be better considering that you don't mind the extra weight. Get a sendero in 300 WSM or something similar and don't look back. I wouldn't plunk down anything for a Christianson Arms- I have talked to two people with bad experiences for everyone with good!

A few years ago my son shot a nice 6x6 and it turns out that another hunter had also shot it (with a 25-06). I tracked it down and both boys followed me. When I found it the bull was still very much alive. I got it to stand up and both boys shot it again- probably twice each. I called a cease-fire and the bull finally fell over for good. The question becomes, "who killed it"? My buddy on the spotting scope said that he saw blood on the bull's flank when it was standing in a saddle just before my son shot it (I watched it shudder and almost fall over at his shot). We discussed it and let the other hunter tag it but we didn't help him with the dressing chores, but went right back to our glassing spot and found another 6x6. He stalked and shot this one and didn't have to share it with anyone else. I think he was very gratified about his decision to let the other hunter have the first bull. I have seen many elk shot by two hunters at near the same time and the bull runs of and dies with two potentially fatal holes in it. I don't think the intent of the law is to distinguish between close shots, but rather to keep folks from putting a tag on something they didn't shoot. I never had a similar situation with deer though. I think if she wanted it that bad and had in fact hit it before, you made a good call. I don't think they are worth fighting over.

If you believe the capture was unintentional, then you are really gullible. I don't believe that they violated any federal laws, but I think there was some sneaky stuff going on and probably some permits that needed to be secured first. I believe that in the end you will find that there were people making false statements in an official capacity and they will lose their jobs. I think it has already been substantiated that their "volunteers" obtained jaguar urine and feces which were no doubt used to lure a jaguar. It is very unfortunate that this happened and it will remain a big black eye in wildlife biology in AZ for years to come. This ranks right up there with the G&F dept killing that crow they took away from the kid in Apache Junction a number of years ago. It takes a whole lot of good things and attaboys to make up for one dumb thing like this!

That would be my guess too- the photos are real, but as usual, the legend changes with time! Can you imagine having to put up with that all the time! What if they start rutting? My buddy has had elk eat all his trees in his yard. I told him he needs an electric fence- his elk mostly come and night and do a hit &run so you don't get to enjoy them!

Neck sizing is not as simple as it sounds. If you buy a regular neck size die from RCBS, Forster, Redding or whomever, I can almost guarantee you that you will have more runnout on your loaded ammo than if it use a properly adjusted full-length die. You should adjust your die so that it just touches your should and does not set it back. If you have a good chamber, you can get many reloads out of a piece of brass this way. If you want to maximize your brass life, you should anneal the necks every 3rd or 4th time you resize them. If you don't have a dial indicator set up to check bullet runnout, you will never know how good your reloading process is. Most all the main manufacturers make one of these. I use a Sinclair tool and have use the RCBS with good luck. If you really want to neck size, then get a bushing die and find the bushing that allows you to resize withOUT using the expander ball. This expander ball is your enemy when it comes to bullet runnout. 300 Winchester chambers are notorious for being oversized and will work brass to death in short order (many of them but not all). I have 300 WBY brass which was fired in a custom chamber, annealed regularly and sized with bushing dies until it became sticky that have been reloaded more than 20 times. I have seen 220 Russian cases with 50 reloads through them. It is easy to get 3 or 4 loads but 10 is much harder. If you are using cheap brass it is not much of a consideration, but some brass is more than $1 a piece; you want those to last as long as possible! IF you neck size, it is imperative that you cycle each and every loaded round through your rifle BEFORE you leave your reloading facility. You want to find the problem there, not in the field. I can remember an elk hunt where I grabbed a box of loaded ammo (165 grain X bullets) and didn't check them first. They were about .005 too long for my magazine. I had to set a few of them on a board and tap the bullets deeper with a rock (sic) That was a good lesson that, so far, I haven't forgotten. I did get an elk and the ammo worked out fine. If the brass had been oversized, I could not have fixed it with a rock!

Those are cool vids- keep it up Scott! Dennis

They don't have neighborhoods like that in Helena MT. Those are from a suburb of Denver.

I got home about an hour ago. I am only 2 hours away and I have to hand it to those who came from afar! It was a good time by all-especially the kids. We broke way too many arrows though! Next year I am bringing titanium arrows! To those who missed, you really missed out. Plan now for next year (I hope Lance is hosting it again) Dennis

I brought the Kaibabs to the rendezvous at Marshall Lake (shame on all you who missed this event). I set up three tripods and we compared the Kaibabs, the 15x56 SLCs and Doug's 10-15x50 Duovids. Until I put the Vortex resolution target out, we really couldn't find any difference between them, the Kaibabs that that good. With the resolution target out, the nod went to the Swarovskis, the Leicas second and a very close third to the Kaibabs. I doubt many people would be able to tell a difference between them. The best part is the the Kaibabs are able to accommodate more people as they adjust closer together than the Swarovskis by about 3/16" inch. We also compared the 8x42 ZenRay to the 8.5x42 Swarovski EL. The main difference was in the color projected by each; the ELs having a bluish cast and the ZenRays were more yellowish. They were very comparable. Again, the Vortex resolution target was used to make the final decision. The ELs resolved one block smaller than the ZenRays but theoretically are 8.5X vs 8X so who knows how much that came into play. The focus knob on the Swaros is a little smoother. My impressions are that the glass is very similar and the mechanics are better in the ELs Amazing that it takes an extra $1500 to get there! The Kaibabs were just as good in low light as the SLCs- again the slightest edge going to the SLCs. You can't go wrong with the Kaibabs. Jay's Bird Barn in Prescott has them in stock as well as the Swarovskis.

I spent most of the day yesterday shooting prairie dogs- when it wasn't raining and blowing too hard. I had different claws set up on 3 different tripods. We used 4 different heads to see how it reacted. We used a bogen ball head, a 3031 fluid head (big) a 701 HDV fluid head and a Velbon fluid head. We shot standing, sitting in lawn chairs, sitting on the ground and prone. Only the Velbon tripods would go low enough to shoot prone. With the 701 HDV head, the Claw was very stable, with any of the other heads, there was just too much movement for my liking. It sure is nice to have the 15s set up on a tripod and the rifle set up on one next to it and switch back and forth with the rifle still pointed down range. The Claw worked better with sporter weight rifles than it did with a 13 lb BR rifle. I think with an even heavy head it would be fine. To eliminate the movement more, one could simple bed a plate to the bottom of the rifle and snap it in and out of the head. I'm not sure I want this plate permanently mounted to my rifle though. It was fun to watch my son blowing rodents up at 300 yds with a Rem 600 in .222 while STANDING next to the truck. He could instantly switch to a mound in a different direction in a second or two. It was quite a handy gadget all in all. I want to get it out and shoot a little further with bigger rifles without trying to accomplish so much in a short time. The weather was terrible so we shot like crazy when the rain stopped long enough to bring the towns back to life. The 40 grain Vmaxs were impressive! Bottom line- The Claw is a much better tool when used in conjunction wtih the 501 or 701HDV head as the long dovetailed plates are far more stable than the little plates on the other heads. I wouldn't want to have to use it without one, now that I have tried it with.

Never heard of them???

I am planning on being there Friday night and part of Saturday. My wife isn't into this stuff and has to work anyway, so I will bring my son. Do we need directions, or is this easy to find. I have no idea where Marshall lake is but I have maps! Is it AT the lake? Dispersed camping or a campground? Any help is appreciated. Dennis EDIT: I just found out this morning that I have a potential conflict with a church outing. I will not know until tomorrow night now! Even the best laid plans can go awry. Thanks for the maps though.

Years ago, I was tracking a wounded buck ( mulie) and he took me through some nasty stuff- way back and gone. I ran across 3 huge whitetail sheds, one of which was the twin of these two. It was in bad shape and the buck I was trailing was a 185+ buck so I just looked at them for a sec and kept on pushing- A storm was moving in and the rain and snow finally came and ended that trail. Never have made it all the back to this spot since! I have hunted near it several times and glassed it, only to find a bear and a lion on the same mtn. I sure wish I had thrown them in my pack! I didn't even know there were whitetail on this mountain. Those are some dang nice sheds for sure-especially considering he found both of them!

I have seen literally dozens of them. Not all of them in Arizona either. I have seen about 5 or 6 in one area. This one here was in the road and wouldn't move so I moved him off the side and into the bushes so he wouldn't get run over. I found one in the Superstition Mtns one time that was between 28" and 30" long. He is the biggest I have yet seen. I have found them clinging to rocks in raging whitewater where they got stranded when the water rose too. They seem to pop up just about anywhere, but about 3000' elevation seems to be the favorite haunt.

Well??? You take her out yet? I picked up 3 claws and a 701 from Cade tonight. Will give them a whirl on PDs next week. I really think the bigger plate is important if you want to use the CLAW.

My son and I had unit 10 tags last September and we both drew tags the year before- we had only our hunter ed point. I personally saw 5 bulls over 400" DURING the hunt. I called one in for my son that hung up at 50 yds that was well over 420. I saw more than 20 bulls over 370. i don't think unit 10 is overrated. I saw all these bulls within a 5 sq mile area with the exception of one, which was on the other side of the unit. There were more BIG bulls in 10 last year than 9- fact. Where unit 10 lets you down is that it is very open in most of it without your typical cover for making setups and blinds. There is NO permanent water in the north half of the unit except that which the ranches provide. It is quite different than any other unit in the state. There are really no "bad" units in the state except possibly 6A, which is a slaughter unit with few bulls reaching maturity. I would prefer 1,7, 8, 9, 10, 23, and 27 over 5A or 5B. You can draw any archery tag in the state with 9 points with the possible exception of 9 due to the % cap on non-residents. Apply accordingly. Not everyone in 9 kills a huge bull. I saw a lot of 320 and under bulls killed in 9 last year.

I was on a hunt 2 years ago with a guy who pro-staffs for Montec. He went through 4 packages to find 3 broadheads that would shoot to his satisfaction! They are very good but very overrated. I use 85 grain Thunderheads as does my son, they fly better than any other fixed blade head I have tried and penetrate all the way through elk. My point is that we way over think this stuff- that's why there are so many broadhead makers though! I would love to find a better sight, but have no desire to change broadheads!