azmetalman

I just received ths from AZGFD. Take some time to read it and take action. 10/24/2012 “The Greatest Story Never Told” is the mantra being extolled by the nation’s wildlife conservation community in celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Fund (WSFR). Farsighted and forward-looking sportsmen worked with Congress in 1937 to pass the Pittman-Robertson Act, whereby excise taxes on hunting equipment flow into a trust fund that is one of the most significant sources of funding for state wildlife conservation efforts. Subsequent amendments of the act and passage of the Dingell-Johnson Act and the Wallop-Breaux Act have since added excise taxes from fishing equipment, archery tackle and motorboat fuel to grow the funding available for wildlife conservation. By law, your dollars are allocated to each state to support important conservation work on the ground and to keep critical wildlife programs going. Since 1939, the State of Arizona has integrated these funds, along with dedication of license-based revenues, into the core of our financing for wildlife conservation. With these resources, the state has been able to restore elk and bighorn sheep populations, construct and operate boat ramps and shooting ranges, restore native trout species, develop a modern hatchery program and continue conservation of our wildlife heritage. Your funds have been untouched in the 75 year history of the WSFR fund and have been used only for conservation. In order to participate in the program and receive these funds, each state and territory made legal, binding commitments that these funds (and license fees) would be used only for wildlife conservation in specific, approved programs. Ironically, the current administration’s Office of Management and Budget has decided that your funds must be withheld (sequestered) under provisions of the Budget Control Act of 2012. While this action only keeps funds from being allocated to state wildlife agencies (for now) and does not in and of itself divert your funds, it does set the stage for future Congressional action which could sweep these funds from the trust accounts into the federal treasury. The fact that this diversion is occurring during the 75th anniversary of the WSFR Act is the ultimate irony. Federal agencies charged with the fiduciary protection of this trust fund are now the architects of the only authorized diversion in the fund’s history. Because of explicit language in the original acts, these funds are to be allocated to the states and are not subject to annual Congressional appropriation. It is difficult to understand how these funds are now subject to the provisions of the Budget Control Act of 2012. Excise taxes would still be collected from manufacturers of hunting and fishing equipment and excise taxes would be paid by hunters, anglers, archers, boaters and shooters. Interest will still accrue in the various accounts. However, the new action of the Budget Control Act automatically denies the full allocation of funds to each state for their intended purpose of fish and wildlife conservation. This should be a critical concern to all sportsmen and conservationists. Under the Department of Interior’s Fish and Wildlife Service, every state would see funding reductions in administration, multi-state grants, boating safety, wildlife and sport fish restoration (WSFR) that will directly affect the department’s ability to do on-the-ground conservation, permanent agency jobs, agency resources and agencies’ ability to provide public access for hunting, fishing, boating and shooting. Conservation of wildlife resources and your outdoor recreation heritage is at risk, no matter what your choice of hobby, sport or pursuit. For Arizona, the impact for 2013 could be as much as $3 million with cuts to Wildlife Restoration, Sport Fish Restoration, Boating Safety and other programs. State wildlife agencies have been working diligently with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Department of Interior to exempt State Trust Funds from being sequestered, but to no avail. Remember, these are your dollars as a sportsman or as a manufacturer of hunting and fishing equipment. If you are an Arizona citizen, your dollars support wildlife-related recreation that is a $2 billion economic driver annually; more than golf, more than professional sports. The federal administration needs to know how the sequestration of these funds and the impacts on your programs here in Arizona will affect you personally (contacts listed below). You may also want to contact your Congressional Representatives on this issue. DOI Secretary Ken Salazar Department of the Interior 1849 C Street, N.W. Washington DC 20240 Phone: (202) 208-3100 Email. feedback@ios.doi.gov USFWS Director Dan Ashe U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1849 C Street, NW Washington, DC 20240 Phone: 1-800-344-WILD Email. http://www.fws.gov/d...t/contactus.htm White House – Council on Environmental Quality Council on Environmental Quality 722 Jackson Place, N.W. Washington, DC 20503 Phone: (202) 395-5750 Email: http://www.whitehous...ns-and-comments

Once you use the gutless method you probably will never go back. 2 bull elk sold me. The first was a learning experience the second was easy. bhuntin makes an excellent point. Don't forget the tenderloins.The meat stays cleaner and you won't need to put your boots in the back of your truck for the ride back to camp or home. I used the method on my javelina this year and it was a breeze. You Tube has very good videos on this method. Go for it!!!

I have had excellent results with Reloader 22 and the 165 grain Barnes TSX. This combination is elk or deer poison. mmlj makes a great suggestion to use the .338 Mag brass. If you do that be sure to watch the trim length closely after the neck down process. If you want specifics on my load data just send me a PM.

What a great video. My heart is still racing and my hands are shaking. WOW!~! Thanks for making my day.

Don't have any to sell but.... I have been able to buy new .308 Norma brass at gunshows. Not cheap but it seems to last through many loads if you aren't jacking up the pressure to the highest limits. Keep looking and employ your friends to do the same. I buy it any time I see it. This is a great old cartridge that is often overlooked.

Bill you are a credit to our sport and to this site. Thank you for all the wisdom and sound advice over the years. CHEERS AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY !!!

Russell is a great example of a true sportsman. He has the heart of a hunter. CONGRATULATIONS !!!

I agree with Bill Quimby. My personal experience with Patrick Holehan Custom Rifles has been outstanding. He is meticulous and reliable. Google and read the articles. You can't go wrong with Patrick.

I tried a number of bullets and loads in my T/C while searching for a single bullet and load for anything that I may hunt. I settled on Harvester Muzzleloading's 300 grain Scorpion PT Gold bullet with their crush rib sabot over a 120 grain equivalent load of Blackhorn 209 and a Federal shotshell primer. This produced a15 shot average of 2050 fps. It is a real sledgehammer. I admit it was overkill on this year's javelina. However it put a 3 1/2" exit wound on a large 4x4 Rocky Mountain muledeer at 102 yards. The deer ran about 20 yards with no lungs or heart. Be careful with B209. The loads are grain equivalent which is not the same as smokeless powder grains. Do not use more than a 120 grain equivalent load per my discussion with T/C customer service. You can find conversion charts on line or send me a PM.

Go to accurateshooter.com and search "sightron". I just looked and there are enough comments on the optics forum to keep you busy for awhile. You will see that quite a few hunters and bench shooters like Sightron scopes. Good luck.

Here is the correct website. The stock seems limited. Click on .30 cal Ballistic tip and it has a few choices. Probably not what you want but it may be worth a telephone call. http://www.bulletsamples.com/

During the 1970s I purchased 3 Ruger M77s. The first was a .270, #2 was a bull barrel.22/.250 and #3 was a .300 Mag. I still own and shoot all 3. I was fortunate that they all shot under 1" right out of the box. A little judicious handloading has produced great results in all 3 rifles, especially the .22/.250. Finished working up a new load for the .270 this summer just for fun. After testing loads and various seating depths the result is a 140 grain bullet with a 17 shot average of 3,207 fps. (a max load but safe in this gun with minor pressure signs) A single 5 shot group on the paper measured .688 in. center to center with 3 shots in the group touching.This is from a rifle that has had a few hundred rounds down the barrel. You will be happy with your rifle. I suggest floating the barrel, a good action bedding job and trigger improvement. Hope you like yours as well as I like mine. PM me if you would like some of my load information. Good Luck.

Congratulations to the young lady. Also I must commend you for taking on the responsibility of being a great dad.

You can obtain a map on line on the Coconino National Forest website. I received mine in 2 days. I ordered it on a Saturday and it arrived on Tuesday. Mud....Yup. I am in 6A at the moment. Rode 33 ATV miles yesterday. Slow going in a lot of places. The mud is just like....well....mud. Just nasty. No bugling yet. Good luck.

I have a small collection of Safari International Magazines that are in perfect condition with no wrinkles or fading. They have been shelved in my library until today. There are 46 selected editions from 1987 to 2001. These were selected for hunting content covering sheep and goat species in North America and Asia. If you are not familiar this publication, it is of the highest quality with great color photos. I do not want to send these to the recycle center. PM me if you want them. They are boxed and ready to go. Pickup in Fountain Hills.

PM SENT.

Your mounts are incredibly lifelike. Thank you for sharing your beautiful work.

Not throwing cold water on your "find". With a dark toe it is a white deer with a dark toe rather than an albino. A true albino animal has a complete absence of color. It will also have pink eyes. This is still very cool and the photos are keepers regardless of quality. Thanks for sharing.

Speedygoss and Becker I agree with you 100% on the Havalon and cable saw. I prefer the gutless method for deer, elk and javelina so the Havalon gets 99.9% of the duty at the kill site. I still love my 30 year old Buck skinning knife but don't carry in my pack anymore. Age makes me appreciate light, simple and effective.

Thanks for a good write up and some great pictures. Congratulations.

BML I would almost rather have the flu than work with plastic wrap but I will defintely give it a try. I appreciate the tip. THANKS!!!

I agree with chorus. Patrick Holehan. He has done work for me and it is flawless. Another email address patrick@plholehancustomrifles.com . The NRA's magazine, The American Hunter featured some of his work about a year ago. You can see the same rifles at www.plholehancustomrifles.com Bill Quimby said it quite well and I will add super honest.

We are eating both elk and deer from 2010. It is double wrapped in Reynolds freezer paper. Occasionally there is a little freezer burn at the end of a package if the wrapper (me) didn't allow plenty of overlap. I just trim off the burn and the balance of the meat is fine. I have found packages in the back of the freezer that are 4 -5 years old occasionally. All are edible. A couple of months ago I cooked a 2007 roast that was great. I haven't started on the 2011 elk and have no concern about the quality when we start on these packages which will be several months from now. Pwrguy has the right idea......take a small amount of time to double wrap and you will be fine.

You can do a credible job yourself if you spend some time watching videos. Above all take your time and be methodical about each and every step. Marine Tex is a great bedding compound and is somewhat easier to work with than some of the other expoxy resins. (I believe Bruno's carries this product) Also you can use an aluminum arrow shaft to make your own pillars. There is no magic to the pillars once the bedding compound has cured. You can trim the arrow shaft pieces with an arrow cutter or any other cutting tool that will allow you to hold the shaft steady and square for the entire cut. Go for it and good luck.

This recipe began it's life as an alternative to the traditional method of seasoning and cooking corned beef. Personally I will never cook a corned beef in the traditional manner again. I butcher my own game meat so the cuts may not be the same as you have in the professionally cut and packaged items but the idea is the same. I call this Irish Venison since the cooking medium is Guinness Draught (not stout). I like to bone out the shoulder blade of deer, antelope or elk and make 1 roast out of each shoulder. You can use any cut you desire for this easy meal. Tonight I decided to try something different to cook a whitetail shoulder. I placed the 1-1 1/2" thick boneless shoulder in a Corning Ware baking dish. No seasoning needed. I poured a bottle of Guinness Draught over the meat and then poured 1 cup of brown sugar on the meat and patted it down firmly. Carrots and potatoes make a tasty addition when cooked with the meat. You may need to add another bottle of Guinness depending on the volume of the cooking pot. That is it for the prep except to be sure that the cook gets an equal portion of Guinness for personal consumption. The meat was cooked covered in the oven at 325 degrees for 1.5 hours. Cooking time will vary with the thickness of the meat. Serve sliced across the grain with the cooking juices on the side for dipping and a dollop of horseradish sauce if desired.