Coach

+1 for Wyoming.

not much access. hike in, take in water.

Sorry for the late response. I haven't been as active here lately as I used to. I absolutely think the antler restrictions in NM did work. What I was referring to was the push-back from people who didn't want to be forced into that particular type of management. We are pretty lucky down here in the SW - we can hunt deer every year. Some areas are more challenging, but we're not like most of the country where you either have to own your own big chunk of land or buy into a lease to get to hunt quality deer. We have OTC archery hunts in most units, always some left-over rifle and black-powder hunts in units that produce great bucks if you work hard and get away from the crowds. I'd just like to see what happens in unit 1 & 27 if they are managed more for quality than quantity. Great genetics, great food source, plenty of water. 200+ mule deer don't have to only be a "strip" thing - and they aren't. Many units in AZ have all the things required to produce trophy quality bucks, and many do - despite not being managed as trophy units. If you live in AZ, you can always go hunting - but don't forget our neighbor states - Utah, NM, Nevada, Colorado - if you do your homework, you can meat-hunt every year while building up your chances for a stellar trophy hunt within hours of home.

Sweet pistol. Those Kimbers have a really nice, crisp trigger. Someone is going to get a good gun at a very good price.

Seriously, He!!'s gate becomes Heck's gate? Bart Simpson moment coming on.

Funny part is, this isn't just an Arizona thing. There have been multiple rescues in Italy and Spain where these prima donna types just have to go hiking in their flip-flops and end up stranded. That said, I'm not for shutting it down. If you get yourself in a pickle in there - like heck's Gate - deal with it snowflake. But don't expect someone on the tax-payer's dime to come bail your dumb azz out.

I'm really glad to see unit 1 go to a draw. Living up here my whole life, it's obvious that unit 1 has amazing potential, especially after the burns. hunthard is absolutely correct. You only have to look at 3A/3C to see that the quality of deer goes up when you give those yearling bucks a chance to grow. Generally speaking, unit 1 used to have tons of deer. They were everywhere. But it kind of turned into a cluster "F". Lots of road hunting, yearling bucks killed en-masse. I actually advocated for an antler restriction like New Mexico has so we could rebuild the age-class deer unit 1 has to offer. Guess how well that went - ha. Our habitat is perfect for growing not only herd size, but trophy quality deer. We just have to back off a bit and let them mature. Unit 1 & 27 are rebounding after years - decades of over allocation of tags. Gents, 3A/3C, 23 are becoming strip-like tags in terms of trophy potential. 1 & 27 will do the same if we allow the bucks to mature. The stories I've heard about 27 back in the "good old days" - and I actually saw it back then when I first came here from Oklahoma. Back then, there were something like 1700 tags - anyone could hunt - and there were deer everywhere. I didn't even have a pair of binoculars the first year I hunted 27 back in the '80s. Point being, of course we all know G&F is all about over-allocating tags because that means $$$ for them. Managing 3A/C for trophy potential should be a blueprint for 1 & 27. It works.

Public land is one of the few things that separate us from just about every other state in this country. If USFS gets their way, it's going to be limited access, pay-to-play all over the state. And AZGFD won't do a thing about it because, well, they don't exactly have a track record of going against their "Big Brother" or whatever it is. Tangent starting here - we pay state, local, federal taxes + a whole bunch more, then we pay extra tax on outdoor equipment, tax on gas - then we get to Roosevelt Lake, and have to buy an additional "Tonto Pass", it's more if you have a boat or RV, just to access - you guessed it - public land. But it's not really "public" is it? We pay for the people who tell us how and when we can use it, but at the end of the day, it's theirs - not ours. And that is broken.

Youth 16 - could be a good hunt.

Awesome photos Doug, as always. Thanks for sharing.

Nice! I'm a little bummed this year - my youngest son's last year to hunt gobblers as a youth. He's got a baseball game on the 19th (opening day) at talking stick - That's pretty cool, so we can't miss that. Good news is he's gotten his fair share of them over the years. Best luck to the youth hunters this year.

Thanks, Ryan for a smooth transaction.

Sold

Bought this on their 50% off sale without looking at the dimensions, and it's a little bigger than what I was looking for. Packed dimensions are 10 1/2" x 14 1/2". It hasn't been taken out of the plastic (just arrived FedEx 10 minutes ago). It's the -10 degree long version. These were normally $160 on sale for $80. Looks like now they're $199.99 on the web site. http://www.badlandspacks.com/cinder-synthetic-sleeping-bag Asking $80. I live in Lakeside but will be in the Goodyear area tonight and tomorrow for a baseball tourney. The best way to reach me today and tomorrow will be by phone - 928.242.9350. I'll be travelling so won't be checking CWT private messages much if any until Sunday. -Jason

So sorry for your loss. But he obviously lived a very full life. As for the jacket, I'd just try and be clear and honest that it has sentimental value to you. I hope your sisters will understand.