stanley

I'm all set, thanks guys!! (Zeke, based on your description , I'm pretty sure we bought tags from the same guy. 😉). Thanks again to everyone for the info/referrals. My son and I are looking forward to a great trip! S.

Hot yoga 3-4 times per week. 70 minutes of heated work-out. Instructor at the place I go does a good job of mixing in LOTS of push-ups and crunches in throughout the workout. (Walking out reminds me of exiting the wrestling room in high school! ) S.

Very cool! Did you go DIY? Family or friends up there?? I'm in the early stages of researching a trip up there. Hoping to take my two college age sons in the next year or two. Thinking of a week or so starting in Anchorage, renting a car and then just kind of exploring along Kenai Penninsula or something. Your pics have me inspired!! Thanks for sharing! S.

Bones or no bones, either way I'm thinking the conclusion for me always has been: Skin off and guts out ASAP (gutless method counts) Good game bags (Or suitable substitute. NO garbage bags!) Shade Air (preferably cool/cold air) Then of course, after you get it out of the field/camp, there is the whole 'hanging/aging' debate! LOT'S of opinions there! S.

+100 to the previous responses! I would never leave them with guts and clothes at all for ANY length of time if at all possible. Per the previous stories, it of course cannot be avoided in some cases. Here is the only way to leave one, IMO. (Also sometimes leave a 16 year old to keep watch.... )

"For those not familiar with that species...." Um, you mean everyone but you? Biologist NERD! Cool pics! S.

Yup, the heat sure is big news. In a few weeks we'll get the annual wall to wall coverage of the usual t-storms and accompanying dust storms (oh, I mean 'haboobs'.... ). S.

115k miles? Barely broken in!

I bought a new one two years ago (2015). I had a Yukon XL when my three kids were younger. Got a LOT of good use out of that SUV!! Lots of 'family' room in that, and it was almost mandatory because on any given trip, both around town and road trips, we had friends or others with us. We would pack that baby-up full of all kinds of gear/crap, and GO!! My kids are all in college or beyond now, so I down-sized and went with the Tacoma. Bought the 4 door long-bed (long beds were a bit tougher to find...). I absolutely LOVE mine, but depending on what type of gear you are packing on your excursions, it might be a little small for a family. Could definitely work, but you will have to make some adjustments for sure, from what you are used to, IMO. Regarding towing, sorry, but I don't have any first hand knowledge of that (nor have I even looked at the towing capacity on my manual...). The V6 motor seems to have PLENTY of power for any hills/grades in the state that I have encountered, but I would kind of question putting that kind of towing stress on it over the long run. Maybe someone else can chime in. All that being said, I absolutely LOVE my Tacoma and plan on keeping it a VERY long time (and then likely buying another one). I'm in the cult!!! Good luck on your search for information to make your decision! S.

+1, hunter72! My kids all used 6X fixed for my kids when starting out. Was easy on target acquisition and seemed like a good 'trainer' set-up. Had a nice Leupold that I picked-up as a demo. Something like this: https://www.leupold.com/hunting-shooting/scopes/fixed-power-riflescopes/fx-3-6x42mm/ Good luck! S.

Thanks for the continued info, everyone! hunterforlife, I appreciate the link to the landowner list. Just starting my research, and this will help a lot. Not sure if I will try for this Fall or not. Will be patient and see what happens. Thanks again! S.

Thanks much! In looking at his website, it looks like they do fully guided (2X1). I was looking for more of a 'trespass fee' land access thing so we could do it ourselves, but I'll definitely call Dan to query him on what he knows. Appreciate it! S.

I've got the same situation X 2. Bought each of my son's 870 youth models for their 14th birthdays. Now they are 20 & 23 years old, respectively! Guns basically sitting in the safe, and they use my old shotguns for hunting these days. I guess for now, I'm going with option 4. Will just plan on leaving the guns as they are, and let the boys buy bigger 'adult' model shotguns of their own as/if they want to. Love those youth guns! S.

Ugh..... Do I need to quote Indiana Jones here??? NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Case of discrimination? :lol: Get a lawyer! Sounds like a case of someone not really knowing the rules & regulations well enough to do their job. Unfortunately, that seems to happen all to much these days.... S.

From a trip to Alaska (out in the SW part of the state) about 20 years ago. We had NO part in the hunt, but spent some time at the lodge fishing and exploring. The skinner said it was an 11' + bear. I don't know for sure, but it was BIG!!! S.

I agree even the playing field. cameras do level the playing field though. They don't level the field for the people that can't afford time off work to travel back and forth to the strip all summer and fall.Lol I'm not sure I get the 'even/level the playing field' thing. I didn't realize hunting was a competitive sport. In all seriousness though, I suppose if I was a guide making money off of it, then I might see it differently. (Got no problem with guides, either.....) Me though, I'm just a basic hack that loves to get out and hunt/fish/camp with family & friends when I get the chance. I'll go to my usual spots and sometimes try new spots. Sometimes I see cameras, but usually I don't. When I see them it is sometimes interesting (I'll usually wave if I walk in front of them), but I can't think of a time where a camera on a tree or fence post has impacted my hunt one way or the other. I've of course also run into other hunters on occasion, and luckily pretty much all of my experiences have been positive. Cams or no cams, quads or no quads (I don't have those either...), whatever..... I think I'll just continue to try to get out when I can and enjoy. S.

I'll be in Rainbow space 91 with coueswhitetail.com on the back of my 5th wheel. Stop by and say hi. Always a cold one in the cooler. Good luck fishing. TJ Hey TJ! I'll be up there for Memorial Day weekend also. Will be tent camping out in the forest, but will definitely try to swing by to say hello to you and Peg (was hoping to see you this afternoon, but hopefully upon rescheduling....). Anyway, I'll try to stop in for a chat! Best, S.

Zebco 33!!!!

The difference is that it isn't Colburn and Scott outfitters raffling their hunt. This is to benefit the Arizona Deer Association which is a nonprofit. Most likely Jay Scott gave them that hunt at a reduced rate or even free so they can use it as a raffle prize. So they certainly aren't making a "huge profit" off of it,likely it's the exact opposite of that. They also do lot of raffles through the ADA for swaro binos etc. My guess is a company donates them the binos at cost and then they sell tickets and the proceeds go to the non profit. You're missing the entire point. A raffle benefits only two people, the winner, and the seller, and in these cases the seller is a nonprofit. The rest of the guys who buy tickets are doing it to benefit the non profit not to get a good deal on a hunt or pair of binos. I personally bought 5 tickets to the ADA raffle. Not because I have any remote inclination that I'm gonna get a $100 coues deer hunt, but because it was a good way to donate to a good cause and made me anticipate the drawing a little like I do with every drawing. What he said..... No outfitter profit. Just money donated to a good charitable cause, the ADA. S.

That's what I figured would be my biggest hurdle. Not looking to make it a business, just do it enough times to pay off the debt from my daughters adoption. I talked about the idea with some buddies that hunt and told them I wouldn't even let them participate. Told my dad the same thing. I would want it to be 100% legit. +1 on bonecollector777's comments. I think that in addition to potential 'legitimacy' concerns, it just seems to me like lots of people could be turned-off to someone trying to raise money to pay off a personal debt. Possibly if there was some kind of life-altering set back that is keeping the debt holder from being able to pay, but that is what gofundme.com accounts are for. Whether you call it a 'business' or not, to me it seems like if someone is looking to make a personal profit, then it's a business. Definitely should consult an attorney (or do the research on raffle holder rules/regs) though. The 501C3 point brought-up earlier touches on the point for good reason, those are 'non-profit' orgs, and hence by nature are not going to profit from the raffles they hold. A private citizen doing it would clearly be profiting. Good luck! S.

I'm not a huge archery guy, but last year when I was lucky enough to get an archery bull tag I spent a couple of days a week at the indoor range up at Arizona Archery Club in North Phoenix. I liked those guys pretty well. Didn't buy any equipment (other than minor incidentals) or have any work done, but they were pretty cool to deal with and they had a pretty nice facility, IMO. Maybe someone with more experience with them can jump-in with an opinion. S.

Yup! I'm in the IT field here in Phoenix, and recruiting & hiring software engineers is one of my primary roles for my company. The market is VERY tough here for attracting top talent. Amazon & Google have come to town, not to mention all of the other companies that have long been here (Discover, Schwab, Wells Fargo, my company, etc....). AZGFD will have to pay quite a lot more than what is being offered if they expect to get an experienced strong developer. Possibly the benefits associated with a 'state job' will help, but they are WAY under what the market is offering with that salary range. Maybe explains why they sometimes have technical issues?? (Though I hate to cast stones at other IT guys! ) Anyway, good luck to them finding someone! S. PS: SERIOUSLY!!! If anyone has a smart kid who is wondering what to do with themselves in college, try to steer them towards software development (especially if they have a head for math). Guaranteed future employability, IMO!

+1 on Krazypilot's summary of pros & cons. I loved my pop-up when I had it. That being said though, I found though that I really was just using it to cook in and sleep in. We spent all the rest of our time outside of the trailer! I found that there really wasn't much room in the pop-up, even though it was a 17' Coleman. Just seemed cramped most of the time (especially with sleeping stuff, duffel bags with clothes, etc...). Based on that, I went back to tent camping. I sold the used pop-up, and went directly to Cabela's and bought an Alaknak, cots, and good sleeping bags for myself and 3 kids. S.

Sorry, I don't really know any info about that hunt (though a rifle any-elk tag in Sept. sounds pretty good! ). Hopefully someone with some knowledge will chime-in! Welcome to the site though, and good luck!!! S.