mattys281

I have strong mixed feelings on this whole topic. I think that hunting is an ethical & natural activity and that hiding it or making it obscure enough so that it doesn't affend a bunch of bunny hugging, liberal, you-know-whats is counter productive. Taking such an approach implies that you are ashamed of what you are doing, which in turn implies that you are doing something wrong, so on that hand we should be proud of what we do and display our sport for all the world to see. On the other hand is organizations like my pals at PETA & the Humane Society that have twenty year plans laid out to systematically eliminate not only hunting, but all "human exploitation of animals", which includes clothing, commercial raising for food & dairy, circuses & zoos, medical research, etc. These people are much more vocal & a more efficient at spreading their crap propoganda then we are at spreading ours, so giving them anything that they can use against us is not smart. Even if it was legal. It's unfortunate that we're in this boat, but we are. You don't have to spend every one of your hunting days worrying about what others might think, but when in a position where nonhunters & possibly antihunters are going to see you, you'd dang sure better give a litte consideration to the impression your actions will cause. After all, it's not just your hunting that's at risk, it's all of ours. Most people buy homes close to the wildlife, because they like viewing the wildlife. They don't like viewing you shoot it. I'm not about to tell anyone where to hunt, but I think, as Lark has stated, these "fringe" areas should be voluntarily left alone, if for no other reason than that it's a good political move for our group. Matt S.

Had to ask. After her recent Dale Earnhardt Sr. impersonation, my GF is looking for a new vehicle. We'll probably end up trading my car in to get her a new one, so then I'll need something that gets good hwy mileage. Can't afford to keep driving my old blazer from Superior to Tempe everyday. If you still have that truck in a couple weeks, I'll have to come look at it. Thanks. Matt S.

Great looking truck. Almost didn't recognize it without Casey in the passenger seat. p.s. what kind of hwy mileage does it get?

Hate to interrupt a good arguement, but just because there currently are not state laws about discharging a bow near occupied structures doesn't mean there aren't laws against it. Prescott Valley has one for example, a 1/4 mile. Been warned on that for shooting in my backyard when I lived there & there's signs posted all over the fences around the praire (or at least there was before they bulldozed the antelope & built the houses). Prescott Valley isn't the only township/city/whatever with those laws in place & as hunters make themselves more visible to the Californians who are building all these new developments around our forests, you can expect many more towns to follow suit with their own laws & eventually the state will adopt the policy. As a hunter, it's your responsibility to be aware of all local laws as well as the state ones pertaining to where you are & what you're doing while you're there. Just like it's your responsibility to know whos land you're on, whether it's marked or not. Matt S.

Just let me know where they're at, I'd be happy to... uhmm... put them back in their pen, you know, so they don't bother other hunters.

Yet to have one of my trail cams call me & say, "just spotted a 400 in. bull, get over here!" Of course, the way technology goes if those aren't on the market yet, they probably will be soon. Seems to me like this is comparing apples to oranges. Congrats to the hunter, it's a beautiful trophy. Matt S.

I was out on that road a couple weekends ago & must have seen a minimum of 10 groups (30 or more vehicles) of atv'ers headin' in as I was headin out. And that was before 9 a.m., it only gets worse later in the morning. I won't go back on that road again. There's some other really nice (as in rocky as heck, but scenic) roads out around Superior. If you feel like headin east, shoot me a pm & I'll give you some FR numbers that I like out there. Unfortunately, my Blazer is going elk hunting without me this weekend, so I won't be able to tag along. Loaned it to my boss. Matt S.

Happy birthday, hope you have a great trip. Matt S.

lmao Man, this is the last website on Earth that I'd post a pic of one of my kids.... On the other hand, anyone want to photo shop a pic of their mother?

Geez kid, save some for the rest of us! Nice javi - congrats. Matt S.

Not sure if they make poop, but they sure know how to stir it up. Matt S.

Where the heck do you guys find these things. Is there a website that has a bunch of 'em?

As far as I know, cubs are legal regardless if they're with the sow or not. The regs say "any bear except sows with cubs". If it's legal & you're happy with it take the shot & don't pay attention to what someone on a soap box has to say. The G&F issues plenty of rules as it is, I don't need other hunters adding to the pile.

My eyes are brown for a reason . I don't shoot through them that often. We've got range that's marked out to 90 yards in Superior where I usually shoot & most of the time I'm standing in front of the forty where I can shoot one arrow at the 30, 40 & 50. Shooting one arrow at each target keeps me from having trouble with them banging into each other & it saves me the aggravation of not holding a golf-ball size group.

I've not seen any lately, but back in July we ran into 4 of them inside of two weeks! I'm still paranoid from that & watching every step I take.

I, personally, would take any legal bear I got a shot at, since I haven't put an arrow in one yet. After a couple I might start holding out, but have no plans of doing so this year. I don't figure that makes me a John Wayne anything, it just makes me a rookie who's willing to take what I can get. Matt S.

That's a great point DB. The only blazers I've had to replace are the ones I shoot through. Admittedly, that's quite a few , but still not as many replacements as when I was using the AAEs.

Man, you got lucky if those cord.s led you to Babes. I ended up in the parking lot of the studio where they film Oprah. Ohh well, at least it wasn't Dr. Phil. Welcome to the site, & you had better watch out for Dirk D. Matt S.

Congrads to your boy. Glad you guys had a good hunt. Matt S.

I can't throw away a worm infested rabbit carcass without feeling guilty about it. Just don't understand how someone could waste a bear or any other game animal for that matter. If you don't like the meat, you can donate it the the HFH. Hopefully they catch the SOB.

Remarkably simple, yet highly effective. The fed will never go for it.

I had to leave two messages & wait 3 or 4 days, but finally got someone from the ranch to call me back & give me some info. Apparently the wild-hogs are on a 320 acre piece of land & there's about a hundred of them in there. They won't let you go on your own, you have to have a ranch employee "escort" you & the price is $350 for a hog up to 300 lbs. & I think it was $500 for anything bigger than that. You also have to pay a $100/day escort fee for your babysitter while you're on the ranch. 320 acres w/ a ranch employee holding your hand sounds an awful lot like a canned hunt to me. They won't be getting my business.

What an awesome trophy. Glad you guys had a good hunt. Matt S.

I think that what they mean is that the entire property is "thousands of acres" & the hogs are not fenced into smaller lots on the property. They have the whole ranch to roam, and thus consider it fair chase. If I invested a bunch of cash in animals I dang sure wouldn't let them roam off my property & onto the public land surrounding, so I don't imagine they would either. At anyrate, I'm not opposed to any responsibly ran hunting business & wouldn't mind paying the $250 for a hog hunt, as long as it was fair chase & the operators had not been implicated in anything shady. Beats the heck out of driving to Ca.

House cats do a lot of howling & weird noises when in-heat. May be lions do the same & it was some big kitty out lookin for some luvin. She was just playing hard to get, that's why she stayed a short distance ahead of you. Stud. Matt S.