billrquimby

"Hey Bill. I didn't name it, got the recipe from the site above. Yah, basically b/c it's got some cholesterol blocking ingredients..." Thanks, Lonne. Bill Quimby

Lark: I would have liked to have spent more time with Fred Bear so we could have talked about hunting. Unfortunately, my total face-to-face contact with the man took fewer than ten minutes and our entire conversation was about a scumbag and why I couldn't refuse advertising without more cause. Bill Quimby

Wildwooly: Please don't call anyone a liar. Verbal reports passed across generations frequently become embellished and events that did not actually happen can become "fact." According to Zane Grey himself, he hunted with the Haughts for the first time in 1918 and again in the 1919. He also may have hunted with them after 1922 (when he wrote his book that told about hunting with them), but didn't write about his later hunts. At any rate, an elk he might have killed with them more likely than not would have been of the Rocky Mountain subspecies. The last (allegedly) known Merriam's elk in Arizona was gone at least twenty years before Zane Grey hunted with the Haughts. Bill Quimby

A footnote to my last post: After I retired from SCI in 1999, I was hired by Safari Press to write a biography about Prince Abdorreza and I spent a total of three weeks on two visits to his winter home in Florida interviewing him. The book is called "Royal Quest" and is in its third or fourth edition. The incident involving Fred Bear and Bill Ruger was not mentioned. Bill Quimby

I was Safari Club International's director of publications when the club sent notices to Fred Bear, Bill Ruger and Prince Abdorreza Pahlavi of Iran to invite them to the club's convention in Reno where they would be inducted into SCI's Hunting Hall of Fame. Bear and Ruger both sent letters thanking the club, and confirming they would be there. Prince Abdorreza's secretary in Paris, however, wrote to say that the prince was a "great hunter" and if the two "tradesmen" were receiving the same award the prince would not accept it. We wrote back saying it would not be the same trophy, and it wasn't. We had it placed on a bigger piece of walnut , making it about a foot taller than the trophies Bear and Ruger were presented, and presented it in a more elaborate ceremony. Bear and Ruger were never told what had happened, but after the presentation, Bear took me aside to ask that I stop running advertising for a certain well-known bowhunter's products in Safari magazine because the guy was an "unethical crook and doing harm to bowhunting" (Bear's words). I told Bear I couldn't refuse the ads without more cause. I should have listened to him because the fellow soon stopped paying his bills and took out bankruptcy, stiffing the magazine for about $10,000. A year later, he formed a different company with a different name and had an agency place the company's ads. I didn't learn who owned the company until I received a bankruptcy notice. After that, the guy left the country owing a lot more money than the first time around. Bear knew what he was talking about. Bill Quimby

Bill, In your opinion were Merriam's elk ever here and if they were, were they native or transient? Fred Fred, I have no idea. I'm just suspicious about word-of-mouth reports passed down over generations that aren't backed up by ample hard evidence. A lot more Merriam antlers from the 1800s than fewer than a dozen would have survived in homes and barns if they were here in the numbers some people claim. There also would have been more than three or four pictographs and petroglyphs purported to show elk in what now is prime elk country. There aren't. Archaeologists also would have found lots of tools and jewelry made from elk antlers and teeth in their digs across northern Arizona. They haven't. I'm especially suspicious about the only Arizona specimens of Merriam elk in the National Museum of Natural History that supposedly were collected in 1896 by a naturalist (Nelson) near the headwaters of the Black River when the guy was camping in Milligan Valley. Why would he travel twenty miles or more on horseback when he could have shot them from his tent? And finally, knowing how prolific elk are, I have trouble believing that they could have been wiped out from all of today's elk range in 15 to 20 years by a few hundred ranchers and hunters, many of them using Civil War-era single-shot rifles. What's more, the exterpation allegedly began during the last of the Indian wars, making elk hunting a risky business. There is no doubt that Merriam elk were found in northern and central New Mexico because plenty of the hard evidence I've mentioned has been found there. New Mexico also has place names that mention elk. Merriam elk from New Mexico certainly could have wandered south and west into Arizona, but if all of the elk we have here now could originate from fewer than 300 elk brought here from Yellowstone, there would have been many thousands of Merriam's elk across Arizona when the first Europeans reached here. The Coronado Expedition came across our White Mountains in 1540 and despite day-by-day reporting by scribes, no sightings of elk were recorded, or at least I've not seen them in the three or four books I've read about Coronado's travels. In fact, by the time his expedition reached Vernon, it was almost out of food. A half dozen elk, which their hunters were capable of killing, would have fed the group for a while and the event would have been recorded. Bill Quimby

Darn it, Lark. I could eat my weight in quail, but I've never thought about combining them with my favorite breakfast! White gravy and biscuits, and breast of fried quail.Yummy! Wish I were ten years younger and still could do the walking needed to collect enough of them for a meal. Bill Quimby

Incidentally, it's not surprising that Zane Grey saw elk and elk sign when hunting with the Haughts, Doyle Lee, and others in 1919. Elk from Yellowstone were released there beginning in 1913. The last of the Merriam's elk, if they ever were here, are believed to have been gone from Arizona a couple of decades earlier. Bill Quimby

"Wildwooly: Zane Grey wrote in his "Tales of Lonely Trails" about seeing elk while hunting the Tonto Basin and Mormon Lake country with three members of the Haught family. However, although he wrote quite a lot about shooting turkeys, bear, mountain lion and mule deer in Arizona, from the Kaibab Plateau to Chevelon Canyon, I've not been able to find anywhere he wrote about killing one here. If someone knows of one of his books or magazine articles that does talk about it, I'd be interested in knowing about it. You may be interested in the photo from Tales of Lonely Trails I've attached. It shows three Haughts, Zane Grey, and others on a bear hunt in 1919. The caption may be hard to read, but it says: "The author and his men: From left to right: Edd Haught; Nielsen; Haught the Bear Hunter; Al Doyle, pioneer Arizona guide; Lewis Pyle; Zane Grey; George Haught; Ben Copple; Lee Doyle." As far as I can tell, Grey hunted with the Haughts in 1918 (when he brought his son) and 1919. I've found nothing after that. Bill Quimby.

Thanks, Lark. Hadn't thought of that, probably because my pacemakers have saved my life. Twice in the 12 years I've been running on batteries my pacer got my heart going again after it stopped beating while I slept. According to the techie who did my six-month checkup, the first incident lasted 90 seconds, the second was just before last Christmas and was about half that. God bless the things. ----- Bill Quimby

As someone who had his second pacemaker implanted a few months ago, I'm curious as to why you call it "pacemaker venison." Bill Quimby

Many years ago there used to be a place near Globe where people could pay a fee and dig apache tears (black obsidian stones). Googling "apache tear stones" will bring up several photos and lots of information that you could show and read to your son. I don't know if the place still is open to the public, but if I were six years old and interested in rocks I'd love to take my little bucket and tiny shovel and spend an hour or so digging there. Amanda may know more about the place. Bill Quimby

This is my fourth attempt to show the pendant. Hope it finally works. Bill Quimby

"unless proven different - I go with elk ! nice find" Show me an elk with forks on every tine and I'll agree with you. Bill Quimby

Oops. Looks like the jewelry art didn't come across. Here it is (I hope). There's no doubt it was based on prehistoric art the artist meant to show an elk. I'm convinced the rock I posted has a mule deer on it, not an elk. Although I won't say there never were Merriam elk in Arizona, I will say there should be a heck of a lot more archaeological evidence proving they were more than just a rare visitor here, if at all. I'm not a scientist, but my limited search for "evidence" shows fewer than a dozen sets of Merriam elk antlers are claimed to have come from here. More importantly, only a very few elk-bone tools have been found in Arizona digs (and these could have been carried here by traders) and there are even fewer pictographs and petroglyphs clearly depicting elk. Bill Quimby

Here's the rock many claim shows an elk in Arizona. The other photo is of modern jewelry based on a petroglyph of elk in Colorado, I think.

AZhuntingfamily: I'm not certain the early artist was trying to depict an elk. He simply could have gotten carried away in wanting to show a mule deer with exceptional antlers. I say this because even though the animal's main beams go to the rear, as do elk antlers, nearly all of the tines are forked. I'm guessing it probably isn't an elk because "elk" pictographs are extremely rare here. I know of just two others that "experts" say show elk in Arizona. One is on a large rock found near Grasshopper and is clearly a mule deer. The other, like the one you've posted, could go either way. Bil Quimby

Mountain lions eating pets Study finds more than half of California’s lions have dogs and cats in their stomachs Of 83 mountain lions tested, 52 per cent had eaten a domesticated pet Deer meat found in the stomachs of only five per cent By JAKE POLDEN FOR MAILONLINE 06:34 EST, 15 February 2016 A staggering amount of mountain lions legally killed last year were found to have eaten a domesticated pet, according to a report. The Department of Fish and Wildlife in California carried out the study, which analyzed the stomach contents of 83 of the 107 mountain lions legally killed under provisions of special permits. The study found that of the animals successfully analyzed, an unbelievable 52 per cent were found to have eaten a dog, cat or other household pet. As a contrast, deer, which is considered to be the favored prey of the animal, was only present in the stomach of five per cent, according to SF Gate. It is believed that deer, which is better suited to living in the wild, is much harder to catch than a domesticated pet. The rest of the study found that the stomach contents of 18 per cent of the lions were too digested to be identified. While nine per cent had empty stomachs. The remaining 16 per cent of the 107 mountain lions were not studied for the report. The shocking numbers were confirmed by The Department of Fish and Wildlife, who warned pet owners to keep their animals on leashes in park lands and near open spaces. In addition to the threat from mountain lions, coyotes are another predator owners are being told to protect their pets from. Andrew Hughan, of the DFW, said that the safety of a pet is the responsibility of the owner, especially if you live in an area close to the habitat of a wild animal, reported SF Gate. He added that pet owners should keep a close eye on their pet when they are out and that the animal should always be on a leash. It is also important to consider what is around you and even behind you as coyotes have a tendency to sneak up on people. Hughan said that owners should ideally go into the yard with their pets when they let them out at night time. The presence of a human can act as a deterrent and prevent a coyote jumping over a fence and stealing a small dog or cat.

Congratulations to you and your dad for that nice mount. I'm really interested in seeing a close up of the javelina. From what I can see it's a great one. Bill Quimby

Was the muzzleloader new? 2 1/2 days from steamboat to Tucson has gotta be a record, for a conestoga. . Lark Hi Lark: It was a 45-caliber percussion rifle built in Edinburgh, Scotland, by a guy named Alexander Henry. It shot a very long, paper-patched, 500-grain lead bullet at about 1,800 fps. My friend Lynton Mackenzie, an antique firearms engraver and collector, loaned it to me. Good ol' Alex died before I started hunting, so it was used. As for our record run from Steamboat to Tucson, I'd expect nothing less. Our conestoga was powered by a whole bunch of horses. Bill Quimby

I'm convinced an individual herd has a relatively small (maybe 400-500 acres) home range that is used for generation after generation. It may be one long canyon, an entire hill, or a portion of a riverbed with a few side-canyons, but it will have food, separate bedding areas for warm and cold weather, and water. If there are several herds in an area, there may be some overlap, with two or more herds using the same water source, for example. My suggestion is to burn in your memory every place you've ever seen javelinas and the time of year you saw them because the descendants of those animals still will be using those areas. When glassing this time of year, check out patches of filaree. If none, look for fields of Spanish daggers or scattered cholla. They prefer the roots of these plants over prickly pear. As you'll learn in Jerry Day's book, prickly pear is eaten as a last resort and provides little nutrition. Incidentally, a photo of a lifesize javelina mount on this site recently show a bite taken out of prickly pear pad, presumably made by a javelina. Most of the bites you'll see on these pads are made by cows or rodents. Javelina leave pads shredded. If you watch them, you'll see them pull off a pad, stand on it and pull, leaving "strings" of fiber behind. They'll also carry an individual pad a long way from the "mother" plant. Good luck! Bill Quimby

Just as interesting, I think, is that California issued 107 permits to kill mountain lions. As far as I knew, voters approved a ballot initiative that made it illegal for anyone to harass, kill, or even possess a whisker of one. Bill Quimby

I built two kitchen-type 34-inch-wide, 30-inch tall cabinets from oak plywood, with four drawers in one, and shelves in the other. I lag-screwed the cabinets to studs in the wall, leaving a 32-inch space between the cabinets to accommodate a swivel chair. For a top, I bought four straight 4x4x8s and bolted them together with threaded 1/2-inch rods (nuts and washers were countersunk). I intended to attach the top with screws from below, but I never got around to it. The top is so heavy it doesn't move, even when I'm resizing or reforming cases. Bill Quimby

I shot a big cow bison with an original 1830s muzzleoader near Steamboat Springs many years ago and had a butcher cut, wrap, freeze and hold the meat for me until I returned a couple of months later. In the meantime, I built my own ice chest, using three sheets of 3/4-inch particle board and fitting 2-inch-thick foam building insulation on all sides and top and bottom inside, and painting the exterior white. It was heavy and it took two men to load the empty box in my truck, but it was cheap and I figured the particle board's denseness would provide additional insulation. Before loading the meat in Colorado, I placed a large plastic tarp inside the chest to make an envelope, which I duct taped to seal it after adding a 3-4 inch layer of dry ice. The chest was 4x4x2 feet, or 32 cubic feet, and the frozen packages filled it to about six to eight inches below the top, which means I had about 24 cubic feet of meat. I then placed a sheet of foam on top of the envelope, and nailed the lid of my homemade ice chest closed. This was in June or July, and it took us 2 1/2 days to drive to Tucson because my wife and I stopped in Santa Fe and Albuquerque to shop. Even so, every package of meat was rock hard when we got home. My son-in-law and I used my hastily built contraption to haul deer and elk meat for years before it eventually fell apart and he built a better one to replace it. Four years ago, three of us hauled the meat from 15 deer (the Texas limit for three hunters) from the Hill Country to Tucson in his box. He used plywood and not particle board, and it not only was lighter than mine but it also worked just as well. Bill Quimby

This arrived today as an alert to SCI members in Arizona. Safari Club International (SCI) is encouraging all of its Arizona members to provide their input to the Arizona Game and Fish Department for revisions of a portion of the Sonoran Desert National Monument (SDNM). Under a March 2015 federal court order, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is required to reanalyze the impacts of recreational target shooting in the 486,400-acre SDNM. This reanalysis will determine whether and to what extent recreational shooting will be allowed in the SDNM in the future. A 60-day public scoping period is underway through March 21 to help guide the BLM in the development of land-use management alternatives related to recreational target shooting. Alternatives will range from various degrees of restrictions on shooting to an alternative that will close the entire SDNM to shooting, including target practice and the sighting-in of firearms. Based on public input and impact analysis of each alternative, a plan amendment will be drafted and released at a later date for another round of public comment. Three public meetings have been scheduled: Feb. 24: 5:30-9:30 p.m., Arizona Game and Fish Department, 5000 W. Carefree Highway, Phoenix, AZ 85086 Feb. 25: 4-8 p.m., Gila Bend Community Center, 202 N. Euclid Ave., Gila Bend, AZ 85337 Feb. 26: 4-8 p.m., Estrella Mountain Regional Park, 14805 W. Vineyard Ave., Goodyear, AZ 85338 It is of utmost importance that SCI members who value their freedom to target shoot on federal public lands attend at least one of the public meetings listed above and submit comments to the BLM at the address below. You can be certain that those who have been fighting to close the SDNM to target shooting and who are responsible for the lawsuit that lead to the court ruling last year will be attending the meetings and submitting comments. Please dont let their voices be the ones that the BLM hears. Mail comments to the BLMs project manager, Wayne Monger, at 21605 N. 7th Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85027, or fax to (623) 580-5623, or e-mail to BLM_AZ_SDNMtargetshooting@BLM.gov.