IA Born

Its that time again! We have the 2023 Western Calendars available. Get yours while you can. Buy a calendar and get a chance to win a great 2A item every week for 52 weeks. Calendars are $50 each and include an NWTF membership. We have 50 calendars available online and a few in reserve. While you're there, look at our other chances for great items. We still have chances at the $500 in Sportsman's Warehouse Gift Cards, a Marsupial Bird Bag, and a Prois Turkey Vest. https://www.naznwtf.org/shop

I grew up in Lambs Grove, right across Hwy 14 from Newton. I'll be jealous of you getting Casey's pizza and good sweet corn again (the best in the country, as far as I'm concerned). -10 degrees (with wind chill) was my limit for pheasant hunting. People thought I was nuts, but I loved chasing birds in the snow!

Where in Iowa did you move from and where are you moving back to? I left Iowa in 1997 for grad school, Grad school in El Paso had me in AZ for field work most of the time and I moved here in 1999. The lure of better turkey hunting, better fishing, and owning a good chunk of farmland is always in the back of my mind. Good luck on the move!

Always appreciative of feedback and how to make things work better. Had a long discussion with our committee and, especially, our raffle chair. We have dropped the tickets available for the Marsupial Bird Bag to 50 (minus the ones already purchased). We have about 40 tickets left for the $500 SW gift card raffle and 20-something on the Prois Turkey Vest. https://www.naznwtf.org/shop The bird bag system:

Traveling to Tucson next Thursday (August 18) to move our daughter into her dorm at UofA. Can bring stuff to Tucson (meet near campus) or meet in Phoenix area off I-10/I-17 Friday on our way home.

Sorry, been offline again and finally heard back from our raffle sponsor. I get what you're saying 100% and appreciate your feedback. I hate sketchiness and want to give you a straight answer. We have 28 tickets left on the Prois women's turkey vest, 45 left on the $500 SW gift cards. and 100 tickets (out of 103?) left on the Marsupial bird system. I inquired about the status of the Marsupial system, thinking it had been donated. Its been on our site far too long. If it were donated, we'd just pull a winner and be done. Unfortunately, the individual who set that one up wasn't thinking too far ahead and its lack of popularity or lack of desirability is showing. I'd love to just pull that one and give the few people who bought tickets their money back.

Sorry, been gone and distracted quite a bit. The lifetime license sold out a long time ago. I don't recall who won it. Our raffle coordinator never removed that from the website. The turkey vest has a limit of 30 cards and the SW gift cards and Marsupial bird bag have limits of 100 each. We have a ways to go on them, but need to get them pushed and sold out, so we can get to something else. Please help spread the word of the raffles going on!

Another vote for the InReach mini. I don't have it, but I've done the research and two of my friends have it. One stayed in daily communication as he was solo backpacking the AZT this spring. My other friend had to use is SOS function when a guy in their elk hunting party broke his leg several miles deep in the Colorado wilderness last fall. My wife has used an InReach to send "I'm ok" texts when volunteering with our fish monitoring crew deep in the Lower Colorado River up from the confluence in the Grand Canyon. Definitely worth the money.

Bump. Will be in Scottsdale this Thurs-Sat and can bring stuff

Looks like they have it set for July 23rd, starting at 0730 at the Northern Arizona Shooting Range just east of Flagstaff. Not sure of my availability, but it will likely be posted on AGFD website after July 4. I could be wrong on that. It could be earlier, depending on how AGFD runs their posting timeline. I know new classes are always posted on a Tuesday. It will likely be limited to 18 slots due to the limited number of instructors available, though, so keep a sharp eye out and get registered quickly.

Update sent out to HE Instructors this morning regarding the need for field days: "We have been granted an extension on the Hunter Education Deferral for this fall and next springs youth hunts. This should take the pressure off and help us get back to normal operations by the end of the year. HE Deferral - (applies to all youth with big game tags) is in place which defers the completion of the online field day: To ensure youth ages 10 through 13 who have big game tags for upcoming hunts are able to participate in that hunt, AZGFD will allow them to defer completion of the required, in-person portion of Hunter Education until we resume normal operations."

One of our instructors is trying to plan and organize an online field day in Flagstaff for online students post-deer draw. He's looking at either July 18 or 23. I'm on the bubble for helping on the 23rd (my only possible day). Be advised, though, we typically ask parents that bring their kids to stay behind in the shade during the walk-through/non-shooting portions (parents aren't allowed on the shooting range, anyway). We've found it eliminates parents badgering and pressuring their kids for correct/wrong answers and lets the kids be fully engaged without fear of what a parent/grandparent will do say. We have at least two instructors for every 10 students, per policy. If the parent is a registered student, then the above doesn't apply and we encourage parents to take the class with their kids for the very reason you mention. Let me know if I can help you with anything on the class up here, assuming it happens.

Oops. That's what I get for multitasking. Updated above, but $25 for the boots.

I keep cleaning out the garage and safe, as well as upgrading gear. I realized that I have a handful of posts of stuff for sale, so I’m posting one, concise post with everything. Prices are listed below with each item. In Flagstaff but will ship on buyer’s dime. Will also be in Scottsdale 23-25 June and can steal away from family gathering to meet up. Youth Block GenZ archery target. Open layered design. Good shape, but definitely used by my kids. For bows up to 40lb draw weight. $20 Wyoming Saw used once, but I only got about a quarter through my daughter's elk before I lost my patience, packed it up and went a different route. $15 3-Arrow Quiver. Never seen the field, only range time and backyards. I don't remember the brand of the quiver, but its a 3-arrrow off my daughter's old bow. $15 Apex Tundra 3-pin bow sight. Lightly used on my son’s bow. $15 Hornady 12g turkey loads. $15 Leupold Dual Dovetail 1" High rings. $20 Leupold Dual Dovetail 30mm medium rings: $20 Youth insulated hunting boots. Cabelas brand, Size 6M, 600g Thinsulate insulation: $25

The Hunter Ed Advisory Committee has a meeting tomorrow night with AGFD HE staff. This is a great question to ask since it's been clear as mud lately. I'll make sure and ask. I know we'll be putting on regular online field days in Flagstaff this summer, so stay up on the website for updates.