IA Born

Good luck on your hunt! I put my daughter in for the 18B youth deer hunt as her first choice at her request. Unfortunately, she got her second choice and was bummed! I had to remind her that she's still deer hunting, which is more than I'm doing this year. I spend quite a bit of time over there in December/January doing the archery deer/javelina hunt and she usually goes with me. We've seen some big bucks in there, which is why she wanted that deer tag badly! She did get the youth javelina tag, though. The areas mentioned above should be good! Only advice is be careful if you get near the boundary to the Baca. They get really protective of their area and I've heard stories of less than pleasant encounters with hunters who were legally hunting on public land outside their area.

When we lived in Tucson and first got our safe, we put it in the house. It wasn't bolted down, but the guy tried to convince me to bolt it through our tile and into the wall. My wife laid the smackdown on that and I didn't argue. I pointed to our two German shepherds and said if anyone survives getting into the house unwelcome, they've earned the right to try to get that safe out. We through a big desiccant block/brick to help with seasonal humidity. Never had a problem.

Pack is SPF...

After Heat's generous offer and talking to my wife last night, I'm going to go ahead and try to sell my daughter's Eberlestock H3-Sawed Off pack. Its been worn 5-6 times at most and is in perfect condition. She's just not comfortable with it and I can't ask her to wear something she that isn't comfortable on her back all day. It does not have the optional scabbard with it, but the option to add one exists. It is the western slope camo pattern and the 3L hydration bladder will be included (fully cleaned, no cooties). With taxes, we paid about $140. Asking $100. If you want pics of the actual pack, let me know. Otherwise, here is a pic from the website and link to it. http://www.eberlestock.com/H3-SawedOff.htm

PM answered!

Piece of advice if you are hunting from a tree stand in Illinois: bend at the waist when you got to shoot. Its common to just drop your arms down, but that affects your aiming point. In 2011, I hunted a family farm back in Iowa and I missed one doe and almost missed the buck in my avatar because I got caught up in the moment and just dropped my bow arm to aim and forgot to bend at the waist. Draw normal and then bend at the waist! Its a whole different style of hunting, but I fell in love with sitting 20' up while the woods came alive! Can't wait to go back in 2015! Good luck!

Randy Lawson (Harry's son; runs the shop now) is one of the best, most humble gunsmiths I've ever met. I'm not the least bit surprised to hear you say this. He did all of my custom work when I lived in Tucson and I've had stuff sent to him from up here in Flagstaff.

PM sent. Thanks!

After a handful of hikes with her new Eberlestock H3-Sawed Off pack, my daughter figured out she's not comfortable with it. She wants something with a waist belt that gives her more support. She just got this pack in April for her 10th birthday. I'm wondering if anyone has a used, but good condition youth or women's/small frame hunting pack with a waist belt that won't break the bank. Cabela's has one for $60, but my wife wants me to see if I can find something used for cheaper that will get her through this season until we can upgrade her to something more permanent next year. I'm also considering selling her Sawed Off pack to offset the cost of an upgrade pack. Link to the H3-Sawed Off: http://www.eberlestock.com/H3-SawedOff.htm On that note, anyone know anything about the women's Tenzing TZ1215 pack?

Not much more to add beyond what's been said. TSX and TTSX are all I load for hunting. IMHO, best bullet ever! And Barnes' tech support is fantastic!

I LOVED shooting those accelerators out of my '06! But yes, EPIC FAIL!

Beautiful pics!

I just saw this post. You will be in our prayers for sure. If you need someone to help you or your wife get an elk out, I should be around that weekend. I"m waiting to see if a buddy needs me to call for his hunt, but if he doesn't I'll be there and I might be able to round up a friend or two to help. I'll PM you to make sure you get this message and know how to get ahold of me. if you need some info for where to head in 11M, I'm happy to help out there, too.

If your dog gets bit, get it to the vet immediately. I've seen the immunization shots work, but I'm not a big fan (I've seen it not work). Its too unreliable. I think there are better ways to prevent snakebites on dogs. Back when we lived in Tucson, we had both of our GSDs trained in rattlesnake avoidance because of my propensity to go out of my way to find them and always having our dogs with us. Best $100 (for both dogs) I ever spent in that regards. Not sure if there is anyone here in Flagstaff that does avoidance training, but there are places down in the valley. $50/dog (then) was way better than a $3k-$4k vet bill! As for rattlesnakes on the North Rim, more than likely it was a great basin rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus lutosus). They are the only ones I know of regularly north of the Grand Canyon in AZ and they can be yellow and in the pines. And they are still a member of the western rattlesnake complex! Blacktail rattlesnake is possible, but not likely.

Arizona Black. Part of that aforementioned Western Rattlesnake group. I've seen them as high as 7,200' in elevation. And before someone tries to correct me and say it is a timber rattler those only occur east of the Mississippi. I can't remember how many times I've seen someone say this on this site. Heck, even my Dad used to call these timbers. The only correction I have is that AZ blacks are now their own species (Crotalus cerberus)and not part of the western group anymore (since 2009). They are definitely around Flagstaff! Good call on the "not a timber rattler"! All of the local vernacular is why my major professor in grad school wouldn't let us use common names for ANYTHING! As for the diamondback not rattling, Jim, I've seen rattlesnakes rattle many times right after shedding! I think it was being coy!

I've heard that story several times and it usually includes a large rattler from south Texas, but I don't put a great deal of buy-in into the theory. Snakes evolved rattles as a defense mechanism against large ungulates and such 20,000+ years ago. Rattles are what kept them from being stepped on and, thus, killed. In all of my studies and actually looking for various species of rattlesnakes, I've only ever seen a couple of species that aren't as inclined to rattle. Most are still very eager to rattle when they need to (key phrase "need to"). At the same time, passive defense (just sitting there quietly) has always been their best defense. I've seen plenty of diamond-backed, black-tail (notoriously quiet in AZ), rock, and tiger rattlesnakes that just sat there while an entire group walked by them. When they were finally discovered and we were moving in to collect data or photos, they rattled like crazy. Rattlesnakes are highly evolved, but their brains are still small. Its like Mr. Miyagi said: "Best defense no be there!" Catalina Island rattlesnakes lost their rattle (over 1000s of years) because, originally, there were no ungulates or other natural predators on the island after it split from the mainland that forced the need for a rattle.

When I was in Tucson, our office was right along the Santa Cruz between Congress and St. Mary. It was always impressive to see the Santa Cruz running. Every so often, we'd see a kayaker and I'm pretty sure there were always police officers waiting for them. You contribute good stuff to this site. I'd hate to see you prove Darwin right...

Catalina Island rattlesnake: Crotalus catalinensis. Bucket list species for me!

Hey Christian! I'll be up there with my daughter for the same hunt. Kaffer said it best, but I'll PM you when I get a chance with some areas I know of. Hope to run into you there since we missed each other at the turkey camp! Good luck, buddy!

That's pretty much what it takes to understand it and I've been involved in it for 15 years!

Im tellin ya I thiink they are here.. the 1 I saw at lake pleasant was super pink it was also july but of last year. im learning that crittters dont always mind their borders. if it is not a western than what pink rattler lives here that fits this description and these 2 sightings are only maybe 10 miles apart if that as crow flys and the arizona rattler poster above says 5 subspecies here in arizona Both tiger rattlesnakes and speckled rattlesnakes have that pink color variation and both are found in the area of Ben Avery and Lake Pleasant. That blue Rattlesnakes of AZ poster is way outdated on taxonomy. The red one was printed to reflect the taxonomic changes. Many former subspecies of the western rattlesnake complex are now separate species. Many great herpetologists have chased and studied the rattlesnakes of AZ for decades because of their high diversity and high color variation; we know where which species are located pretty well. That poster doesn't show all color variations of speckled or tiger rattlesnakes. Even my Mojaves have wide color variation, which is why I hate the name "Mojave green"! Not all have the green coloration. Check out "A Field Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Arizona" by Brennan and Holycross (2006). Its an AGFD publication and has the most up to date range and taxonomic descriptions of all herps in AZ. I've seen plenty of speckled rattlesnakes at Lake Pleasant. Of all the color variations of the former western (viridis) group, I've never seen or even heard of a pink variation and I've chased rattlesnakes all over this state and many others in the name of research over the last 15 years.. Would love to sit down and talk snakes with you over a beer sometime! I can also email you tons of literature on the break up (genetically) of the entire western rattlesnake complex if you are interested.

Definitely not Crotalus viridis. There are only two, maybe a third subspecies of the viridis group in AZ and they aren't found anywhere near Ben Avery or central AZ, for that matter.

That attitude right there will see you well into many anniversaries and hunting trips together!

I was recently looking for good camo without breaking the bank for my daughter (10). Prois was mentioned as a top-of-the line women-specific camo brand by a guy I highly trust (http://www.proishunting.com/). I personally believe in spending good money on quality that will last vs. buying cheap and having to replace it over and over. Were my daughter not 10 and far from done growing, I wouldn't hesitate to spend the $$ on Prois. If my wife were to get into hunting, I'd get her this, too. IMO (only my opinion), guys don't spend the same amount on their wives/daughters that they do on themselves, but want them to be just as interested and enthusiastic. Get her the good stuff, for what its worth. Of course, there is also King's women's line and She-Safari. There is also the Under Armour women's camo line, too. All good stuff! Online shopping is probably your best bet for having a larger selection.

Former herpetologist here (still practicing, I guess; just not research oriented). My M.S. project was studying Mojave rattlesnakes and their venom. That's definitely not a Mojave. Mojaves don't inhabit rocky areas, they are a grassland/creosote flats species. Its either a speckled or a tiger rattlesnake. Both of those species have that color variation, can be found at Ben Avery, and inhabit rocky areas. Tigers have a very small head proportionate to their body. Its hard to tell from that pic, which one it is. Its definitely not from shedding its skin. When snakes shed their skin, they stay the same color they were before shedding. When I lived in Tucson, I relocated dozens of rattlesnakes from peoples' yards to avoid bites and to give the snakes a chance to live happy somewhere else. I try to be level-headed and, as much as I hate the idea of a snake being killed, I understand and respect those of you who have killed them in your yards. I know more about venom and both its short- and long-term effects than the average person and I you definitely don't want it in your body, your kids' bodies, of your pets' bodies. I accidentally inhaled pure, crystallized mojave toxin (neurotoxin) once in grad school. My nose went numb for three hours and I had sporadic re-occurrences every few months for about 10 years. I ALWAYS support personal safety first and that includes safety of the whole family! It is true (generally) that the adult snakes have a high occurrence of dry bites (no venom injected) and that juvenile snakes tend to inject a full load. From an evolutionary point of view, venom is expensive to make and they don't typically (emphasize TYPICALLY) waste it on non-food items. There can be residual venom in the fangs that can cause problems, though. If a paramedic is only treating venomous snake bites with Benadryl to keep the swelling down, that paramedic is not doing their job properly. Antivenin is used for a reason. It is expensive, but it sure beats the alternative (mostly massive tissue damage internal bleeding). Very few people die of snake bites anymore, due to advances in medicine, particularly antivenin. It is typically those who leave a venomous snake bite untreated that have a higher chance of dying. Anitvenin, in and of itself, has pros and cons as to its effectiveness and cost (that's a whole other topic, though).