IA Born

This is like the Ford/Dodge(Ram)/Chevy/Toyota question. My daughter, at 9 thought the 870 was too big and the 1100 youth was too heavy. Got her a Mossberg 500 Bantam 20ga and she loves it. The Remingtons (870 and 1100) are absolutely great. My son has a Weatherby SA08 compact 20ga and its awesome. So is the Weatherby PA08. Tristar also makes a great youth model in both 20 and 12 and they're both semiauto. We gave away a compact Winchester 20ga at our NWTF banquet a month ago in Flagstaff and that thing is sweet, too. There are so many great compact shotguns on the market now, its unreal. Most are top brands and you won't go wrong. Just find the one that fits best and have fun. Then comes the task of finding the right choke for the ammo you want to use. Got it right the first time with my daughter's shotgun and it took two tries for my son's. With their rigs (shotgun, choke, and ammo), I wouldn't hesitate to let them shoot a bird at 50 yards.

I'd bet I could guess the name of the shotgun test and get pretty close. You can text it to me and I'll laugh. You aren't the only one with a dadfail on that hunt! I hope Melinda had good things to say about us! Ramon Criss was a great, wonderful man. He passed two years ago next month and I'll never forget receiving the news and having to tell Sydney. His area is truly a beautiful place and I'm glad they are honoring him. I have a copy of the last picture ever taken of him and I can text it to you. It was great to follow Draysen's hunt as it was happening. Congrats on two wonderful birds!!

I'm getting ready to head back down to the youth turkey camp, but holler at me sometime. I did my graduate work on the venom and genetics of Mohave rattlesnakes. I've seen strings of 5+ people walk past them because passive defense is their primary defense (most of the time).

Congrats again, Glen! I left you a voicemail yesterday. Your gift card is on the way!

Thanks for the reminder. Life has been hectic trying to meet deadlines and get ready for the youth turkey hunt. Glen Harwell, from Fountain Hills, won the gun safe. Interestingly, he sold his safe right before this and had no need for one, so he opted for the Sportsman's Warehouse gift card valued at $699.99. A local gal here in Flagstaff won the sleeping bag. We're working on getting our next raffle ready, so please stay tuned.

That's awesome! I'll PM you. Thanks!!

Our 15 year old daughter is going on a 10-day rafting trip in the Grand Canyon this summer through Grand Canyon Youth. Its a great program that exposes kids to the outdoors in various aspects, including conservation of ecosystems and is a science immersion program. One of the requirements for this trip is that she is required to raise the money, herself, to cover half of the cost of the trip. She needs to raise $550 on her own. She has opted to follow in her brother's footsteps; however, she is making jewelry instead of tying flies. She's gotten quite good at making earrings and, at this time, is limited to only earrings. She (and my wife and I) would appreciate you considering helping her. These are great for your wives, daughters, girlfriends, nieces, and self (no judging if you're not a woman who wants some of these). Like when Jacob was tying flies for his blackbelt journey, this is purely donation and she'll make you a pair of earrings for whatever you think is fair. Pics of what she's made so far are below. And, yes, my wife was an ear model in a former life! Thanks, again, for considering helping her.

PM sent

Just over a week and a half until we draw and there are only 50 tickets left. Sportman's Warehouse is also partnering with us by donating an Elk Ridge -35 sleeping bag, with all proceeds going to our Women in the Outdoors group. Tickets are $2 each and the drawing will be April 11th at the Flagstaff SW Ladies Night.

Guess I should have clarified that it should have a side door in addition to the back doors. I've never seen them with only a side door, but I'm no trailer expert.

My wife asked me if I'd heard anything, so I figured I'd bump this up. Pre-season rides and training are getting ready to start.

I was reminded that today is National Vietnam War Veterans Day. I always forget about it because every day was Vietnam Vets day growing up and it still is, at least to me. I was going through more pics again last night and came across these two pics. Yes, dad made my life heck growing up, but there were good times and the good times far outnumbered the bad times. It was more that when the bad times happened, they were beyond horrible, bu that's another story. You've heard me elude to it before in other posts. At the end of the day, he was, and always will be, my hero. He taught me more about life, being a man, being a dad, and being a leader than I'll ever be able to thank him for. I was raised, in no small part, by an entire company of hardened combat paratroopers. To all of you Vietnam Veteran's out there, thank you for all you have done, endured, suffered, and triumphed over. You have my deepest respect, admiration, and, yes, love. Here are a couple of pics of dad and his mortar squad laying down some hate on the NVA or VC (maybe both). My dad is the skinny guy in the front with the tattoo on his right arm.

We have decided that the safe raffle has dragged on long enough. We will be drawing a winner on April 13th, regardless of how many tickets we've sold! Make sure and get your ticket soon if you want a chance at a great 48-gun Cannon Safe! https://www.naznwtf.org/shop?fbclid=IwAR2A5RGYXk9jMYX67DCAKwF5V-go_xepUgtKI-mePXtth7xh28RalsYnEkM

That's the definition we use in Hunter Ed; however, its also under review. There is no strong definition of what a road is anywhere in the AGFD regs. We've poured over that topic through the Hunter Ed Advisory Committee when looking at modifying the HE final exam. The only ARS-related definition is this: A.R.S. 28-601 22. "Roadway" means that portion of a highway that is improved, designed or ordinarily used for vehicular travel, exclusive of the berm or shoulder. If a highway includes two or more separate roadways, roadway refers to any such roadway separately but not to all such roadways collectively. A.R.S. 28-7201 Chapter 20 (State Highways and Routes) Article 8 (Disposition of Public Roadways) 4. "Roadway" includes all or part of a platted or designated public street, highway, alley, lane, parkway, avenue, road, sidewalk or other public way, whether or not it has been used as such. The inference that is being discussed is that a road is defined as anything on a map. Its been a sticking point for HE discussions and what to teach, especially when discussing common violations. My bigger question is: Who the heck tucks their ears up under their hats? Every time I see that, I want to go slap them. I'll take my cane and go back to the porch now.