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Wait till the EPA and the usfw and the wolfies get done. Most of az got turned into a preserve for wolf/dogs a couple weeks ago. At least everything south of I-40. But if they go north of I-40 it won't matter. In a few years we'll be talking about the good ol' days before you had to check in before you went to the woods to get permission so you won't bother the wolf/dogs and when we could hunt animals and stuff before they were all set aside for wolf/dog food.

What do you want it mostly for, for bears? Defense or hunting? If it's defense, get a .22. Seen lots of bears fall to a .22 behind the ear over the years. A .22 is one wicked little gun if you know how to use it. A good DA revolver or .22 auto is hard to beat. Your little lcp is good too. We live smack dab in bear country. Ran one out of the orchard just this afternoon. My wife has an lcp she carries all time here. The only thing is da setup is kinda hard to get used to, but they aren't too bad. Just need to practice and figure it out so you know what to do when you need to do it. You hit close to a bear and they'll run off. You hit one and they'll dang sure leave the country. But if you want to kill bears, or any other big game, for sport with a pistol, you need to get used to loud noise and lots of recoil. I carry anything from a .22 revolver sa to a .44 mag with a scope on it. I agree with a da revolver for defense or hunting. I have a mod 13 smith, 4" with small grips in .357. It's fairly light. Fixed rear sight. Pack in a shoulder holster. But it barks pretty loud and you gotta grip it tight. S&w also makes some lady smiths that are nice in .357. Some are 5 shot so they have a smaller cylinder and alloy frames and are easy to handle. But again, with mag loads they are harsh. Another option just for defense is one of the new ruger revolvers with composite frames in .22 mag and .38. I think they make one with a hammer now too. The ones I've seen are da only with a concealed hammer. Get what want and learn how to use it. Only pistols I don't care for are the bigger da only autos that are so popular. I like a light trigger and a safety. Lark.

It's kinda funny that a kid shooting a dam sparrow has dredged up this crap about actual crimes committed by azgfd folks. This kid will do more penance than all the outlaws, that we know of, that are game "wordens". No telling the scope of the feces they've pulled that never saw daylight. We all know they have their trolls on this site. Be nice if one of em would enlighten us as to why that is? We know you're watching from cover. Did anybody ever hear what happened to their undercover creep that got caught embezzling? I'll bet a dollar he's still on the payroll. Maybe that's why the are writing sparrow tickets to kids. Gotta make up for what he stoled that they never recovered. Lark.

Now I'm cornfused, I thought this was about the army and marines hatin' each other?

I've shot a buncha stuff with a pistol. Deer, bears, lions, turks, pigs, coyotes, bobcats, a badger, coati mundi, foxes, a ringtail, snakes, porky pines, skunks, squirrels, all kindsa stuff. From a .22 to a .44 mag. I have a 8 3/8" model 29 s&w with a scope on it that is a lotta fun. I'm pretty comfortable to 200 yards with a good rest. I'm gonna try pronghorn with it in a couple weeks. If I can make one suggestion tho, I'd get a single action or double/single action or a revolver. Something with a hammer you can cock. more accurate for hunting than a double action only. Lark.

9/10" at the Nuevo Rancho Neglecto so far today. Weathermen call for 6-10" in the mountains. Report I saw said significant chance for loss of life and all kindsa stuff. Weathermen tend to err waaaay to the bad side so they can't be liable. Be interesting to see what it does. In the fall of 83 it rained stupid for weeks. Then it really started raining. We actually took my aluminum boat up the river from Crosby xing and floated a bull out, the creek was so big. It was one wild ride. We put the head up front like a Viking boat. Maybe we'll get another one like that. Clifton better hold on if we do. The frisco about washed em away. I'll say one thing. When it's over, the elk hunting will be red letter. Lark.

It's sorta like when the judge asked the axe murderer why he killed everybody in the house. "well, they wuz home".. It was there. He's a kid with a shotgun. Things happen. I killed enough of em with my red rider that that worden woulda charged me with a felony. He shoulda said he packed it out because he respected it. That seems to be the ticket with some folks. Lark.

Do they make em with scent killer? Lark.

What the he l l does respect have to do with it? I aint scared o bears so i don't respect em? How do you figure that? Because you have so much respect for bears it's ok to say that all the folks that ain't scared are just bein' "macho". Like their experience and opinion doesn't matter. But now, just cuz you say so, nobody respects any animal? You shoulda added "I'm really cereal". Why is your opinion the only one that matters? Last time I remember a fatality from a bear was the poor older gal that got mauled by a dumpster diver in pinetop. Another welfare bear. I don't recall anything since then. Dang sure no deaths. Folks creek fishing get their trucks broke into a lot by welfare bears. But not by wild ones. A couple years ago we had 3 hunter on hunter fatalities. 2 on the Rez within a few days of each other. I haft agree that humans are dangerouser than bears. So jeremiah, in my opinion, which I have formed over 5 decades of being close to bears and observing and hunting them, I feel that it is perfectly safe to hunt them. Don't worry too much about it. Just dont put your grub in the tent with ya and be careful if ya gut shoot one. I'm really cereal. Lark.

Au contrare. I'm the happiest guy I know. Get up happy, happy all day, go to bed happy. Happy, happy, happy. I'm rich, good lookin', tall, tougher than the back wall of a shootin' gallery. Good lookin' wife, sharp kids, buncha grandkids, lotsa friends. Live in paradise. I just don't let folks talk $h!t about me. Oh yeah, I forgot, I'm a genious too. And humble, real humble. And very thankful. Lark.

I know a guy who's last name is worden. They actually cited him for a sparrow? A dam sparrow? Wasn't there a big stink about some wordens killing an elk and putting another wordens tag on it in bow season awhile back? And no citations. Didn't their head undercover guy get busted for embezzling his undercover money awhile back? Last I heard he hadn't been charged either. There's a lotta stuff out there they really need to take care of. A kid shooting a sparrow is one o' them deals where you give em a heart to heart and tell em don't do it again. This just a waste of time and money. Lark.

A guy with little experience with bears asked about em. A few folks gave their opinion. Some with a lot of experience. Some with little. My opinion is that you don't have to be scared of wild bears. Guess I don't have a right to an opinion that comes from over 50 years of experience with bears because Your opinion is that my opinion doesnt count. Just like you've expressed elsewhere on here. "respect" for bears has nothing to do with it. You pull that word out to show your superior opinion. I haven't killed a bear in 20 years. I'd much rather watch em and laugh at their goofy antics. Still buy a tag every year in case the need arises. And I don't care if others wanna shoot one. In fact, i encourage it. Experience the opportunity. But I don't care to ever again. Just this summer I've seen enough bears I can't remember em all. And I was in Kansas for a month. None of em tried to eat me either. I've had some scary moments with bears but it's because I put myself in that position. The bear didn't hunt me down. If you dont want to get called out, don't say derogatory things about people. Lark.

Because bears dont scare me I'm just being macho? You need to just shut up. You have no clue what kinda jackpots I've been in. I ride horses more dangerous than any bear. If you wanna run around scared of something that will probably never happen go ahead. Hope I didn't offend you. If you lived where i do you'd be up cryin' all night, scared a bear was gonna get ya. Wild black bears are about the least dangerous animal there is. They just want to get away. Don't fear monger. Anyone that wants to hunt should never alter their plans one bit because of bears. More people get struck by lightning. You gonna stay home because it clouds up? Lark.

If it's camo inside I want one. I hate cleanin' them things. Lark.

I have literally been around hundreds of bears. A bunch of em in real close quarters. Treed em, trapped em, called em in, glassed em up. Killed em with rifle, pistol and bow. Ran em off with rocks, bb guns, snake loads, a frying pan. Only had to go Mano y pawo one time and it was a stupid black river welfare bear. One jumped in the back of my truck one night while i was sleeping in The bed. Another welfare bear. About a 60 pounder. Had one tear the screens off the house just awhile back. Seen a half dozen in the past few weeks. I'm less afraid of any bear than I am a doe muley or a javelina or rutted up bull or a stupid dog. These ain't grizzlies. Sometimes a old beat up old boar will woof at ya and maybe bounce around a little or a sow with cubs might pop her jaws, but I've never seen one I figured was gonna attack. Did see one crap on a guys head once. It had been eatin' prickly pears too. Ruined his silver belly Stetson. It was a rotten trick to play. But personally, I just ain't afraid of em. The guys that had the sow after em, I'd bet a lot that it wernt near as critical as it seemed. And if they had a shotgun and it was critical like they said, they shoulda put a load o' pellets in the middle of her. Story woulda been over. Unless you're around welfare bears in a campground or on black river, don't be spooked. A truly wild bear just wants to get away. Lark.

By the late 40's there weren't very many left. Encroachment had taken a big toll. Roads, ranches, farms, towns, homesteads, mines, industry, just civilization in general. When the gov't decided to eradicate em, there weren't a lot of em left. My uncle always said that the wolf's refusal to fear man killed em off. He told me it was the homesteader with one milk cow and some chickens that did more damage to the wolf population than gov't trappers. Mr lobo never figured out that everyone had a shotgun until it was too late. He didn't have much experience with the Sonoran griz, but he said he figured the same was probably true with them also. The whole thing is a lie and all the folks that push it are liars that refuse to let the truth get in the way of their agenda. No other way to look at it. Lark.

Treehuggers are more dangerous than bears. And even if one does bite on ya some, it don't hurt that bad and youll have some cool scars to show off. Really. Besides, you have a gun. The bear don't. Lark.

This ain't just America, it's also Arizona. You can carry a gun, bow, machete, atalatl, bow staff, etc anywhere you want to. You dont even need a hunting license. Don't just support your rights, use em. As far as hunting, coyotes are always in season. Lions too. Lark.

First off, the yellowstone elk was not reintroduced. The merriam went away and the yellowstone was introduced on its place. Much like the Mexican wolf. It went away and a wolf/dog cross was introduced in its place. But the yellowstone elk, unlike the wolf/dog cross, thrived. Also, unlike the wolf/dog cross, they realeased wild animals that only weeks before had been captured. Being a wild animal and very adaptable, with next to no help from people, they took to the country and never looked back. There are thriving herds isolated from all other elk that escaped from broken down trucks that are still in good shape a century later. In country noone looks at as typical elk habitat. The cost of the elk herds is next to nothing per animal per year. With most of their cost, if there is any at all, being paid for with permit and license fees. Where the wolf/dog cross is somewhere in the neighborhood of $1 million per animal. This is just the program cost and accounts for none of the money lost by the people affected by the program. Elk also contribute a large amount of $ to local economies through guide and outfitter services, hotels, meals, gas etc. Wolf/dogs contribute nothing in any form,except to boost the egos of the folks that love em. The Mexican wolf is extinct. Period. Like most extinct animals, It died out because of the times. There are no wild lands large enough to support them even if they had any. And they don't have any. Lark

I went back and reread some stuff. The new fiasco does include new Mex south of I-40. Oh well. I still stand by my other convictions. Lark.

There are lurkers here. Trust me. And their buddies too. And I ain't ever gonna be friends with em. The grizzly deal is even stupider than the wolf deal. They are extinct. They dont even have any crossbred ones. They wanna take tundra grizz that live way north and have unlimited resources and put em here where there ain't that much and everything is all criss crossed with roads and stuff. Stupid. Just stupid. Anyway, I digress. If you drive 35 miles north of morenci on 191 and take pine flat road til it dead ends you come to a place called the Mallet ranch. Ground zero for this wolf/dog fiasco. I own it. It's my home. There have been wolves in my front yard. How many of you can say that? Awhile back, the tracks of four were in the snow. Four that the usfw days dont exist. Dunno how they figger, but they're all liars, so it doesn't matter. Our place is the closest privately owned building, about 5 miles, give or take, as the wolf/dog wanders, from engineer spring. If you don't know where that is or what it means, then shut up. There hasn't been one word that has been made available to the public to about this matter that I haven't been privy to. Don't try to bs me about it. I've witnessed first hand the deceit that is involved in this POS. I have a little different take on all this. Ask yourself a question. These are supposed to be MEXICAN wolves. There were never more than transients in the area they are released now. So why did they release them where they did instead of in SE Az and SW new Mex? Ponder on that. Here's the answer. Private land. SE Az and SW new Mex are covered with vast areas of private land. So much that the Feds wouldn't have enough control. So why is that important? Couple reasons. 1- with all the private land folks could cap these wolf/dogs pretty much at will for killing their stock. And 2- this is the interesting one, the feds can't force their will on folks because there is so much private land that they can't control. So they put em up along the Mogollon, in an area of little private land and lots of federal land. Where they can run rough shod over things. And get established. My uncle killed more wolves than any one man. Hundreds. He's still a legend with the gov't trappers. Very few were north of where I-10 is now. Doesn't it seem logical to put em where they were? There are some huge wild areas in the sky islands. Why not there? The wolf/dog is just the tool they are using to put folks off the land. Everyone. Cowboys, hunters, anglers, campers, offroaders, etc. So, this what happened at the Honda mtg the other day. Everything you are used to on public land got shot right between the eyes. This has been going on for 20 years. In the next 20 everything that has anything to do with outdoors in Az is going to change so much it is sad. It will be worse than if it was private land, because it will be managed by the Feds. Also, unless I've read it wrong, this new part of the fiasco doesn't apply to the land south of I-40 in new Mex. Why? Private land. You just got to witness the beginning of the death of joint use in Az. Call me wrong. I don't care. But look back on September 4, 2034 and see if I'm wrong. It's about control. It ain't about these currs. So what are you gonna do about it? I don't know. And I'm a genius. It has me perplexed. I plan on living my days out in the mountains and hope I get to. I hope you good guys do too. Lark

Well, I, for one, hate it. And anyone that's for it. Can I say that? Oh well. I did. Can't take it back. The wolf/dogs are just a pawn in a big plan to herd everbuddy into town. Lark.

You tell em killer. You just made my day. It's ok to cuss every religion except the one that wants kill everbuddy. Even tho it is probably the most important, pertinent, dangerous and talked about subject on the planet. Lark.

If there is one deserving place to donate, it is the Phoenix Children's Hospital. I've spent the better part of a year there on an almost daily basis with our granddaughter. The folks there are truly amazing people and their dedication is without question. If you ever wonder where you might donate your time or treasure, think of PCH. Don't take my word for it. Go wander around on the different floors and look at the challenges these kids face and then put your kids in their place. I watched a dr massage a little girl's heart for over an hour until they could kick start it again. It was such an emergency they couldn't get her to the OR and had to do it in her room behind big glass windows for all to see. They brought Lark back from being flatlined time and again and now she is as happy and healthy as any other 4 year old and has a wonderful future ahead of her. It wouldn't be that way without PCH. The dr who saved the girl with the open chest heart massage was named Pearl. The little girl was adopted from china by an amazing couple. Her new American name is now Pearl. This is a truly wonderful organization staffed with some of the very best people I've ever met. Lark.

Green people!?!? That's profiling lance. I'm offended. I demand this thread be shut down. My people are green. Lark.