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NewlyMinted

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Posts posted by NewlyMinted

  3. Posted · Report reply

    1 hour ago, Lazy-H98 said:

    A few years back Arizona Game and Fish wanted to drum up some interest for the OTC opportunities down south.  To help promote the OTC deer, javelina, cudimondi, quail and predator hunting in January, they invited Randy Newberg and crew.  Since then they have been pounding 36B.  Now the likes of Gritty Bowman, Ryan Lampers, HUSH and the Hunting public are clearing their schedules to spend January down in Arizona every year.  

    Newberg, THP and HUSH have yet to bag an archery Coues over the last 3 years, but show the duck, quail, rabbit, and javelina in the area which is very cool.

     

    I thought OTC Javelina was only in the metro regions and the 36s needed a draw or left over tag?

  4. Posted · Report reply

    12 hours ago, BusterAZ said:

    While predation by wolves cannot be discounted, it is not the main factor that caused this population decline. Wolves were reintroduced in 1995 and that handful didn’t make substantial kills to this herd for several years. The major environmental factors that caused the elk herd decline was the succession of meadows into forest and harsh winters. The 1996-97 decline was the result of winter kill and not the dozen wolves that were reintroduced. This data is cherry picked to provide a false narrative. Furthermore, the wolf population in this area as been reduced for several years without any elk population rebound. The  data points to habitat as the main culprit. Elk don’t have nearly as many food sources in a mature forest as meadow areas. The previously large herds in this region can be attributed to post burn ecosystem that had more food sources for the elk. Essentially, the forest matured and preferred food sources (grasses, shrubs, etc) were choked out by the forest canopy. Below is a link explaining the severity of these historic fires, which kickstarted the secondary succession in these region.

    https://foresthistory.org/research-explore/us-forest-service-history/policy-and-law/fire-u-s-forest-service/famous-fires/the-1910-fires/

     

    I don't have a dog in this fight, but read p25 onwards of this:

    https://collaboration.idfg.idaho.gov/WildlifeTechnicalReports/Elk Statewide FY2019.pdf

    Harsh winter made the big hit, but wolves taking young Elk are clearly cited as the reason recovery is not faster.

     

  5. Posted · Report reply

    6 hours ago, jim said:

    Almost every crew on you tube came to Az this year. I think we will see a huge influx of out of state hunters in Dec and Jan because of the amount coverage and exposure this avenue provides. I don't know if it's a good or bad thing. 

    Any good videos as a result?

  8. Posted · Report reply

    6 hours ago, mc68 said:

    When I saw these bills I was surprised by the one dealing with hunting near waterholes, and don’t see how it would be enforced.

    I think it just suggests to anyone seeing a camera or blind near water that they can cut it down or remove it because it's not legal.

    I read he is running for a different office since his term limits in the House are up, maybe his new next role has more sway over these things? Hope not.

  10. Posted · Report reply

    3 hours ago, stanley said:

    One of my good friends & hunting buddies is a lobbyist with visibility to this bill (No, he is NOT lobbying on behalf of it.).  He said it is basically already dead in it's current form.

    S.

    Did he tell you why they were being written? Is it related to particular incident or area of the state, or just campaign donation nonsense?

  15. Posted · Report reply

    6 minutes ago, muledeerarea33? said:

    If you can do $1699 or under then look at the Zeiss 15’s or used swaro’s. If your closer the $1000 and under then there’s a few options. Hate to say it since I’ve heard it my whole life but..... save for the swaro’s! Once I got mine I knew why.

    As a new hunter without that kinda budget, I've been told that too. I have some Vultures I bought from a cool member on here, and a razor spotter from another great CWT member, and my optics won't be upgraded until I have put aside the cash (maybe 2025? 🤣) to get some 15x56s. I've already bought twice on the scope and other equipment that I thought i could get a decent knock-off that ultimately failed.

    I'm a broken record in mentioning this, but I was able to get a side by side comparison between Swaros and Vultures when I went on my glassing lesson with Duwane Adams, It knocked my socks off how we could be looking at the same hill. The Vultures are great, everything is clear and there isn't any edge effect. The details on the mountain and animals were good BUT colors, contrast, brightness, fine detail were nothing when compared to Duwane's Swaro setup.

    I know I'm going to be buying twice (but hey, my kid will need optics too), but I'm not buying 3 or 4 times.

    • Like 1

  22. Posted · Report reply

    On 12/30/2019 at 12:45 PM, muley224 said:

    A very concerning Stat.....

    80668418_10157880052542889_4692047446400827392_n.jpg

    Page 25 of the idfg talks about the area. Apparently The winter of 96 was awful for mortality and the current population is way below expected.

    Page 25 talks specifically about the Lolo Zone and wolves feature a starring role

    https://collaboration.idfg.idaho.gov/WildlifeTechnicalReports/Elk Statewide FY2019.pdf

    Quote

    Winter 1996–1997 was marked by severe conditions, including extremely deep snow exceeding 200% of average snow-pack in some areas. These conditions apparently caused higher-than-normal winter mortality, leading to a dramatic decline in the GMU 10 population (-48%). In addition, a survey was conducted in GMU 12 during winter 1996–1997 and those results suggested a 30% decline at that time. This data, in combination with overwhelming anecdotal information, suggests that catastrophic winter losses occurred in GMUs 10 and 12.

    Predation is acknowledged.. interesting read..

    Quote

    Management Objectives

    Long-term objectives for the Lolo Zone (Figure 5) are to maintain a population of 6,100–9,100 cows and 1,300–1,900 bulls, including 725–1,200 adult bulls. Current population levels are well below objectives with 1,137 cows, 425 bulls, and 286 adult bulls estimated in 2017.Management of the Lolo Zone elk population and setting appropriate population objectives presents a serious quandary. Existing information suggests that both predation and density dependence (habitat limitations) have been causing low calf production and recruitment.

    Further down..

    Quote

    Research in the zone indicates that wolves have had impacts on elk demographics and wolf predation has been the leading cause of mortality of adult cows and calves ≥ 6 months during some years, particularly heavysnow years. The Department has conducted numerous annual wolf removal efforts beginning in 2010, in addition to aggressive wolf harvest seasons intended to reduce impacts of predation on this elk population. Improved survival in recent years could be due to a combination of mild snow conditions and wolf removal efforts.

     

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