wetmule

Dang, and I was going to buy that house that was posted in the classified ads, oh well.

Terry, If you are serious that would be really great!!, you can call Chris or get a hold of Amanda or pm me for more details. Stan did an absolute fantastic job of running the ADA youth program and he will be sorely missed. The youth program is an important part of the ADA and for it to be in limbo without a leader would be a shame. CHD maybe you can take a youth hunting and show him Toroweap, get the youngin a big ol' buck and write an article about the hunt for the DEER TIMES ? ? What do you think, I'll even show up. Sadly Stan didn't get a whole lot of support for his efforts, but the truth is the ADA doesn't get a whole lot of support from its members in any of its endeavors. Fortunately we have a few guys and gals that fight the good fight (that have jobs & families) and still manage to get a heck of alot done. The ADA has earned a reputation for not backing down from any issue when we feel it's warranted and I'm sure that mantra will continue. One thing that is for sure IMO if hunters don't get involved and somehow get somewhat united as it relates to hunting and wildlife, you will have issues decided for you by those in power that you more than likely will not agree with.

Thanks 270, I figured you might have an idea or two since that is your neck-o-the-woods. Sounds like you did pretty good in 1. It did warm up right after the archery hunt and all the bulls not just the big ones were pretty nocturnal at least early in the hunt. They were screaming in the dark and as soon as the sun came up they were flat done for the first 3 days of the hunt, it got better as the hunt progressed. No regrets and no complaints here, I've hunted Unit 1 a fair amount but this hunt was the second time for me in 27 and the first with my own tag. I absolutely love that place and won't hesitate to apply again. As far as I'm concerned 1 & 27 are the prettiest units in the state. You guys can have all the 400 inch bulls you want in units 8,9 & 10 I'd rather hunt that country in the east no matter what size bulls it has. Saw several huge black bears lots of turkeys and of course lots of elk. Didn't see any of those transplanted hybrid poodle dogs. I still find it a little strange that only nine bulls were taken, even in a down year with as many elk as they have up there I woulda thunk it would have been at least 50% success that time of year. Thanks

Amanda posted an item asking for help regarding Senate Bill 1441 so far two people have responded, Amanda and K Gaines, just curious if you all are responding silently and not acknowledging it in her request? Guys, this habitat money (5 mill) was the G & F Departments money designated to be used for wildlife habitat improvements and it was STOLEN buy our wonderful legislators. This bill 1441 is an effort to get that money back and put it on the ground in the form of those projects listed. 1. Help restore the burnt up Kaibab winter range. 2. Anderson Mesa 3. Waters North of the River 4. Yuma area waters 5. A ton of controlled burning stuff over in Unit 27. One million badly needed bucks for each of these projects. Come on!, take a little time out of your busy lives to try and get that money back to its rightful owner !!! Thanks

Thanks Keith, I too made a bunch of calls

Stan, Very cool story and pics sounds like you had a great trip. The Deadliest Catch is awesome, those guys are completely insane. Right out of college I fished a couple seasons in Bristol Bay on a gillnetter, back when there used to be an amazing commercial salmon fishery, before all the salmon farms came into play. It was a wild, crazy, over the top, and an amazing experience that was fairly dangerous in its own right, but nothing compared to what those crabbers put themselves through. That show brings back alot of memories both good and bad. Alaska is a WILD place, especially in that part of the world. Thanks for posting, I'd like to see more of your pics.

One way the Dept. is getting archery harvest data I think, is from the taxidermist and meat processing reports, talking to people and calling people that purchased archery deer tags. They are writing citations for non-compliance and are very serious about gathering better archery harvest data. You won't lose your license over this but you will have to pay the citation. I think this last year they were somewhat lenient since it is a fairly new requirement that they realize takes time to sink in and reach the public. Not everyone reads the regs. word for word and it may not register even when it is staring them in the face in large letters and BOLD print. The word is out now and friendly honest compliance would be in the best interest of the archery community, otherwise decisions may be made for you that you may not agree with.

Sounds like fun, my advice would be to find your moose right outside your tent door. Just in case that doesn't workout, buy the biggest packframe you can find and load it up with about 250 lbs. of rocks and practice carrying it on two mile hikes while wearing your hipwaders, that should help prepare you somewhat for what you may be in for. Have fun

Before the NRA got themselves involved, 6 out of the 7 senators on the Natural Resources committee were against this nomination. Some strange backscratching and other more devious shenanigans going on here no doubt. What a shame, we now have exactly one commissioner Joe Melton that is a friend of sportsmen and the wildlife of this state, two that are absolutely pitifully pathetic in Golightly and McLean, one that just started this summer (Hernbrode) and now Martin. You watch and see where this commission takes the G & F Dept., we are in for a rough, rough ride IMO. Why the NRA which has done exactly nothing for wildlife of this state decided to change their support from a known and valued entity in Nancy Lewis and forced this nomination down our throat with their strongarm tactics and backdoor deals is beyond me. I'm PISSED, and I think we're screwed.

An "OK" commissioner is not acceptable with all that is at stake in this state as it relates to sportsmen and wildlife issues. IMO she will end up being far lees than "OK". This is a backdoor nomination that will not be good for AZ Sportsmen. The NRA, lets face it, is a gun rights lobbying group, that is what they do, and I appreciate them for it. They have Never been involved in AZ wildlife and sportsmen issues and they have never even shown an interest before. Napoloreno is a friend of the President of the NRA and thus the support for MS. Martin. The confirmation hearing is today @ 1:30 and is being held by the Senate Natural Resources & Rural Affairs Committee. I urge all that work in the downtown area or anyone that can make it to ATTEND. It is in SHR 109. You don't have to speak, you can voice your displeasure on paper before the hearing starts. If you can't make it, I urge you all to make those phone calls before NOON today using the phone numbers Amanda listed above, e-mails at this point will probably not make it in time. This is your chance to have an effect on your states Wildlife & Sportsmens future. I URGE You all to take advantage of it. THANKS

IMO, she is a stealth appointee by the Gov. The NRA originally supported Mrs. Nancy Lewis who is a NRA life member and lifetime hunter, Ms. Martin is neither. Where the heck was the NRA when we were fighting the Taulman USO fight, they were nowhere to be found, probably fighting to keep assault weapons from getting banned. I'm all for gun rights, but I'm more for our hunting rights as sportsmen and women and the nomination of (MS.) Martin on our commission will Not be in the best interest of AZ sportsmen and will continue the downward spiral of an incredibly lousy and incompetent G & F commission. Sportsmen & women have only two friends on the commission right now, commissioners Gilstrap and Melton. Gilstrap is gone as soon as the new appointee joins the commission. If this nomination goes forward and MS. Martin joins it, you will see in the coming years the degradation of our sport and our wildlife and more crap going on like the G & F wanting to have archery elk hunts in Nov. etc. etc. -- we are in big trouble, IMO.

He "stopped on the ridge to look back", are you sure he's a coues deer? Enjoyed your story and congrats on a beautiful buck.

338 win. mag

heck of a buck, hope you can get him on the ground. We all know from the scoring contests that judging a score from a pic is a lot different than seeing him in person, who cares what he scores or doesn't score. He's a JUMBO, hope you git er done, good luck.

I have heard the 10% of revenues theory from each organization as well, and it is my understanding that, that rumor was put to bed at our ADA meeting. It was my understanding that it would be a set amount that would be contributed, and that it would be a reasonable amount in order to have a seat at the table. To ask any group to cough up 10% of their revenues is unreasonable, and not an option IMO, and I would definitely NOT support such a preposturous idea.

For me I would say 200+ Gross bone even without velvet. As far as officially scoring him I would say there could be some debate on his right side as to what his G-2 is. The second photo with his head down shows that maybe that back point could be scored as the abnormal, with the next two being the G-2 & 3 as they match up and look more like the other back fork. Maybe Amanda could help with this. I agree with most of your estimates Deerslam except I would say whichever abnormal you count, it is bigger than 6", I would also say that the G-4's are maybe 14" & 12" and his left side G-2 is 20" or 21", IMO. At any rate whatever he scores he's a heck of a buck and I hope you get to wrap your tag around him Matt . Best of Luck and thanks for posting your find.

That is one fantastic Desert Buck and I would suggest Matt that you find a way to get an arrow in him and let us know for sure what he scores. I'd definitely agree with Allen and DDS and I'd have to say he's in the 200" range maybe even more. I've seen several similar narrow bucks taken that were close to or over 200" and from the pics he appears to be every bit as big or bigger than a couple bucks I'm thinking of. It's always difficult judging score from a pic as many of us can attest to by the contests Amanda has on here, but I would say no matter the score he's a fantastic and a very unique buck. Do you have to wait till Dec. to go after him? Hope you get to hunt him and good luck if you do.

A few days ago I posed a question in the classified section wondering if people thought it might be good classified ettiquette and the right thing to do - That if and when you sell something using this great free site and place a free classified add to unload some of your old or unused hunting gear and you make money with the help of this free service, it might be a nice gesture to donate a small portion of the proceeds to Amanda and CW.com for upkeep of the site. My question got no response. Some time ago Ernesto or some other poster (can't remember) created a thread challenging people to contribute to the site. CHD posted a response and said you will get little or no response. Just wondering if he is right? Some time ago I sold a pair of Swarovskis using this site and I cut Amanda a check for $50. I'm not in cahoots with Amanda, this is on my own, but I saw her the other day at the ADA clinic and she thanked me for my donation and said that so far I was the only one that has donated after selling something. She did say she has taken in other donations unrelated to classified sales. I don't know call me crazy, just makes sense to me that it would be an easy time to give a little back when you are receiving cash with the aid of this site. She could easily charge for classifieds. Maybe with some more cash flow she could create an even better site and have a couple live camera feeds on some prime coues habitat or waterholes, much like the Africa live cam. Food for thought. Thanks

Go to pissedoffhairguy.com, oops sorry, that is for guys with male pattern baldness. Feel bad for your situation just don't ever move to a neighborhood with a homeowners association. Good luck

Just curious if anyone knows if there is still a shooting range out west between SunCity and Wickenburg off Grand Ave. or whatever that road is, East side of WhiteTanks. Haven't been there in years but always liked it better than Blackcanyon, hardly anyone ever there, no Soldiers of Fortune or Rambos spraying casings all over while you're trying to shoot. If I remember right it was an honor system where you left a donation when you left. Anyone ? Thanks

Thanks alot Keith, I haven't been out that way in a long time. I was thinking that as fast as housing is going up these days that there might be a good chance that it is a mass of studs and crud and red tile roofs, glad to hear it's still around. I will go check it out soon. If you know their hours, fees etc. it would be much appreciated. Thanks

The online draw WILL be back in place next year, and have heard from reliable source that they want to eliminate the paper apps. alltogether, and, do away with the upfront fees. This is all going to be determined shortly, probably at the next few commish meetings. The paper apps. and the upfront fees are the reason any of us got tags at all this year, IMO. If they do those two things - back to online draw and no up-front fees, ALOT of AZ residents will be sitting on the sidelines in the years to come. Doing away with the upfront fees and reinstituting the online draw will allow the casual hunters res. and non-res. alike back into the pool. These are guys that apply only because it is cheap and convenient and very easy, not because they really want to go. Eliminating the upfront fees will make it easier for families to afford the application process every year but at the cost for all of us, of rarely being able to pull a permit. I thought we had already solved this problem with all the work and lobbying that alot of sportsmen, conservation groups put in this last year? What gives ? They said they want to protect the rights of Resident sportsmen and women, they must make a heck of alot of money on those $5 online app. fees. Like I said, all this will be decided at the next few Commission meetings, if you care at all one way or the other you better get you butts to the upcoming Commissh meetings and voice your concerns, if you don't it will be decided for you.

Allen, You already know this but really whatever shoots good out of your rifle is what you should use. I would echo what Lark said, it's all about shot placement, if you have the time, get a solid rest and put one in his lungs, you won't have any worries. If you are shooting factory and trying different brands and bullets I wouldn't overlook Remington corelokt 130-150 gr., they are really pretty cheap as far as ammo goes, and you can get them for reloading as well. I've seen lots and lots of big mulies on the ground as a result of corelokts. The CL's always seem to retain most of their weight and more often than not end up in a perfect mushroom, probably my favorite for big muleys. I also like the ballistic tips and have seen them take plenty of big bucks, and they shoot really, really good out of my 270. Have fun and good luck, hope you find a Jumbo.

Mike, You make some good points and I have no doubt that you and alot of others work your tails off pursuing your passion of finding big bucks & bulls where ever they may be. Not dissing you or anyone else, I just lean a little more towards the side of where is the technology gonna end up or go? I have good friends that use some of these methods and at the end of the day we are still good friends. When a guy can go out and set up a digital remote camera on a waterhole or somewhere else and without actually ever seeing in person the critters the camera takes pictures of, he could (maybe a guy already can) download that information from his office in LA or Phoenix, know exactly what that buck or bull scores, then switch to another channel and check his other trail cameras, and have his unit all scouted out without really spending a whole lot of time in his unit other than setting out his cameras. I know guys that can't take a shot unless they know the exact range with their laser rangefinders, can they not be reasonably accurate in their own range estimation? I don't know where all the technology is headed, it sure is interesting and I enjoy looking at yours and others pics from your trail cameras. Technology is changing things too fast for me. For somewhat of an oldtimer alot of this is hard to digest. Not saying everyone should shoot a longbow and take some obsidian that they found and bang out their own broadheads, just wondering how far it is all gonna go.

Whatever happened to just going hunting having a good time using the skills and knowledge you have learned from being out there or skills and knowledge that have been passed along from family and friends. Using your knowledge of an animals behavior and habits that you have gained by doing some dare I say it good old fashioned hard work in the field, and by putting some miles on your boots. All this new technology although legal comes down to hunter ethics and your own personal ethics. All the chute planes, trail cameras, spotlights yes they are legal even during hunting season, radios, deer cocaine salt potions, etc. are all unethical in my book, and would take the enjoyment out of it for me. I don't begrudge any that choose to partake, but the technology at some point reaches a point of diminishing returns, everyone has to decide for themselves what that point is.