AzHuntingAddict

If a road goes through a ranch to public land and it is expressed,prescribed, or dedicated as a public use roadway and maintained by public funds, sorry to burst your bubble but locking access would be a violation of law. I am not trying to start a pissing match but get information as it pertains to Everyone's right to access public lands. Being rude about the situation with the majority i.e. the guys and gals that want fair access is not the best way to work out solutions. Working with the hunting community, and AZGFD is most likely a better way to find solutions. As more blocks of state trust land go up for sale and boundary lines go up using historical roadways that close up sections of public use lands, more and more individuals will be buying these properties with the intentions of limiting access and profiting from the exclusivity of the Public lands they Gate. For those who think it is not happening now and will not happen more in the future of our state and sport. THINK AGAIN! I think the hard part to all of this is finding the real documentation of what is really easement or right of way. Game and fish can talk to a land owner and work an agreement to access public land adjacent to the property. As pertaining to public land that is being leased, I agree that the land should have access. I was in unit 37a over the weekend and came up on a section of land that had a roadway (existing dirt road) that went through the private property and would access state trust land north of it, and had a locked gate. Game and fish spelled out that there was access to some water catchments along a certain road, and this was blocked with the gate. What ended up happening was a creation of wildcat trails and roads that followed around the fencing of the private property. The property was private and not leased state land, so should this land owner be forced to open the gate since the original dirt road went through to access public land? I am not sure how I feel about that. It sucked having to go back around to access the north side, but thats what needed to happen. Now had the said property been leased land from the state, perhaps the lease holder should allow access.

If I am not mistaken, the discussion was on PRIVATE land and access to public land. Read again.

Whats up with the H.O.A. mentality here? Private is private, just deal with it. I also enjoy the bashing for spelling, really?! The issue of access onto private land is really up to the land owner, plain and simple. Your @nal enough about it, then get yourself a lawyer and save your lunch money to start a suit for access. I am tired of some other jack-waggon telling me (the land owner) what im supposed to do with MY land.

Easements on private land only allow access to a section of land to those that file the easement. Electric, irrigation or right-of-way easement is placed by a service provider or municiple interest. You can access public land, BLM, BOR, USFS etc. with a hunting license. Private land that abuts a public land is not required to allow the public access throgh the property. If the private property has an easement for right of way, say a roadway, then one could argue the access, but the land owner has the right to restrict the access unless there is a resonable request for access. To really argue the easement use, you need to find the deed or assignment of easement and read who has the authority to use the said easement. This is all spelled out in the legal description and the rights or grants of easement.

Sounds like you need to talk to your friend and get some recon details!

Opening morning. I have always heard hunting the coues deer was often times difficult, I found out why this year. We left early Friday morning to our unit since my brother-in law couldn’t get away from work sooner. Opening day was quiet and we found some nice sized bucks, but couldn’t get on them before sundown. Saturday brought the masses and it got crazy with all the jeeps, quads, and hikers crawling the mountain. Even hiking off the trails we found we were not alone as a few other hunting groups came thru. Sat on a guzzler down a ways and had some hikers come in to check it out, just couldn’t get away. Later that evening I found a good sized buck to take down, flipped open the scope cover and took off the safety. I had heard about buck fever and then realized what it was all about. Heart racing, the shakes set in and the view starts to narrow. All in a fraction of a second, it all ends. Two other hunters walk out just below me and chase after the buck I was about to take down. The thought came to fire anyways, but then the realization they would probably come up and woop my arse kept me level headed. They harvested the buck shortly after. Saturday we came up with nothing, and it got hot. Hanging out in a crack on a boulder, the only shade. Sunday morning I found a big three point coming into a tank and was again about the seal the deal, and then someone else rolls by. A road hunter strolls by on his quad and rides around the tank and heads off towards the buck I have sighted in my scope. Please, please don’t take off I am yelling to myself as the guy in the quad gets closer. The buck disappears just as quickly as he came in, skunked again. I hike back around the ridge I was sitting on to my quad and head back to camp bummed out. On the way back I pass a dozen or so jeeps out for a weekend ride. I come up the last turn up the hill to camp when a truck comes over the top and I put it into reverse to get out of the way. As I move back the quad begins to tip and rolls. I tried to bail out but got in the way as the quad rolled over the top of me. Thank goodness I didn’t lose a lot of weight for the biggest loser contest as my gut saved me. After the quad rolled over me and was about to get another roll on me, I had the guys from the truck running down to help me break free. The quad handle bars and back rack took the brunt and made me think about heading home; I was about to give up. Shaken up, the next morning I hit it again and try to forget about the day before. I head back to find the buck I saw the day before, and hike up to the ridge to my spot just before the sun comes up. A couple of spikes show up first, and then the does and kids come in. It slows down and then a forkie comes to the party. I realize that this may be my last chance to get my first deer so I take aim. The buck piles up a few feet from where he was standing………its over. The emotion floods over me as I realize I have harvested my first deer. It is a small guy, one spike and one fork so I call him my sporkie. Compared to my brother in-laws.....sad. Having fun with the monster buck from unit 33!!! The rewards of the first harvest. Now the hard part is explaining to my uncle how I jacked his quad without messing around with it.

Yep im in too.

Here a couple more from good ole sporkie. This was my first attempt at grilling backstrap, and it came out great. Even got my wife who hates venison enjoy it. Made a great Christmas dinner.

the fact is we cross private property often while hunting. from my experience if they don't want you there they will post it. I will even help him hang the signs! He could have bought some signs instead of a trail cam at his gate. There are fences everywhere even in the forest but bottom line law says they must post it if they don't want you there! If I had driven up and there was a sign that said private property I would have turned around! It's posted when you turn onto dugas rd that you are entering prescott nt'l forest. I new there was private property, but often times they let you pass through to get to public land. james Every situation is going to be different for sure. A land owner doesnt have to be nice, but doesnt have to be an acehole either. With asking hunters to leave property, I have come to realize my role as a hunter to know where I am and where I plan on traveling. I dont want to come up on a situation like having the land owner "arrest" you. You can imagine having a large parcel of land and having to fence and sign it, thats alot of money. Besides, a fence or gate that is marked is not going to stop someone from jumping it. I have had people come by and ask to hunt, and every time they have we have said yes. Asking permission goes along way, but only if you know its private land. I see it from both sides and it sucks.

Wait, is it not our responsability to know where we are? Did you make sure the area you were hunting was public land? We have to do our part too when we hunt. Not trying to cause a hassle, just a private land owner who gets alot of hunters on private land, even with marked fencing and gates. Im not an arse to the folks who roll by, just gets old asking people to leave. Maps and online sources clearly state the land as private, so if said hunters would just look it up, they would see it. Just another point to look at.

Cant tell you how many times my wife refers to my kill as "killing bambi, and not going after his dad". Little is an understatement, but hey it was my first!

18 you say????

30.06 at 200 yards. I have come to realize a 30.06 is Way to big for a small deer, pretty much cleaned the insides for me.

Funny thing about shooting downhill or uphill, I have always missed! I never considered the way the shot would land at the extreme angle. Shooting from a canyon ledge down to the bottom of a drainage, I didnt consider the angle compaired to the distance. My shot was off and I lost a good chance for a nice sized buck. For some dumb reason, I didnt think the bullet would be that off with the extreme angle, thinking gravity would have helped me shooting downwards was a rookie mistake, so I lost out. I have considered placing a chart on the rifle stock next to my windage and drop chart. Learning how the angle affects the shot made the difference for me this season, even if the buck was a tiny guy, first kill none the less with lessons learned from last year.

Dumb question, is this just a case of these guys kicking the salt lick away, or did they do something more serious?

+1 as I have yet to see a single game warden.

Can I copy the first one and use it as my desktop wallpaper background? Awesome pics!

I took road hunting to be sitting in the back of the truck in my lawn chair, drinking my pepsi looking for animals as my buddy Zeke drives along. I am always looking for game as I drive the mountains or trails. Is scouting then considered road hunting?

Vacuum sealing is a great way to go. For the fall hunt we camped for 4 nights and had the majority of our meals this way. A single large pot, with a fire or a stove and water was all we needed. We froze all the packets so they were still ice cold the last night, and this also kept the sodas cold. We had the following: Chicken and noodles, parmesan sauce with bacon Beef potato stew Spaghetti Sloppy Joes Eggs,cheese and bacon Eggs and sausage Potatoe chunk soup Clam chowder Mac and cheese with ground beef Shredded chicken with green chilli

As much as it sucks, your going to hear the same thing over and over again. You need to just pick a canyon or drainage and sit and glass, period! I too thought it was tough in 33, until I sat my butt down and glassed. I saw deer in EVERY area I scouted and glassed. I tagged out in october with a small guy, but was happy to harvest my first buck. If I had more time to hunt, I would have held out.

Anyone get the 100$ gift card, hoodie, or rifle from being in the first 500 people?

News just reported there were 3 children on board, and one has been comfirmed dead. Just sad to see this.

Walymart fashion works pretty good, and its cheap. I think I picked up the apg pattern.

If anything, for me I find it a good chance to talk to others who hunt the unit. It is also a decent way to see where the average roadie hunter goes, so you can stay away from those areas.

First deer taken this year for me, and first attempt at processing myself. I would have to admit it was all new, but I had fun learning it and also learning with my 8 year old son helping me. The deer I took was not big, so the prep was a bit easier I think. Here is some of the goods I came out with. Sorry PETA, but this was the BEST tasting formerly running around animal I have ever had!