OpticNerd

Correct me if I'm wrong but from what I've read so far is that the AZGF can't legally deal with anything political so a third party is needed(Conserve and Protect) to fight these political battles for us. The third party S&P wants the AZGF to give them tags to raffle and auction off to generate money to fight the bad guys. After which 100% of the money generated from these raffle/auction tags is then given back to the AZGF where it legally can't be used for what the sole purpose of it being raised in the first place. If this is correct how does the Serve and Protect guys get the money needed to help us fight the political bad guys if 100% of raised tag monies goes back to the AZGF?

Good to see a government agency going with the majority for once. I think the G&F should add some sort of polling system in Portal where hunters can log into and vote anonymously on new rules and regulations. Voting results can then be viewed by everyone on the G&F website. This way us hunters can effective voice our opinions on the rules and regulations to the agency and more importantly to our fellow hunters without any of the negative backlash from those who oppose with their opinion. And none of the G&F vagueness added to the questions either just straight forward questions. Do you want to see all trail camera use banned within a 1/4 mile from any man made water source yes or no?

Maybe there were more people for this new rule than those who were against it. I know a few guys that won't voice their opinion online anymore because people tend to be less civil and down right dill holes especially online when it comes to opposing the new ways of hunting and hunting tech. I'd say close to 75% of the guys I know wanted this new rule.

People can shoot long range with compound and recurve as well.

Thanks for the heads up. Going to send my letter as soon as I get the chance. A letter of appreciation thanking the G&F for getting this done. My uncle can finally hunt desert muleys in the rut with the rest of us. He's going to be pretty pumped about this. I've been calling the G&F offices quite a bit over the past two years asking them about this airgun. After all the time talking to them I really didn't think they were going to make it legal.

I'm all about fun hunts. The worst sheep tag in the state doesn't sound all that fun. From the stories I've heard a late tag on the Bab is about as fun as it gets. Deer tag for me.

I've been hunting/filming in that area and surrounding areas since 2005. I too have noticed a decrease in antler size over the years. This year was one of if not the worst year for me being able to find bigger bucks. Like others have said this seems to be a common trend in these border units as of late. I'm not going to even begin to speculate on what is causing this trend but I will say I don't think it's not just one factor causing the decrease of the older bucks in these areas. Or it could as simple as my eye sight and hunting skills are deteriorating with age.

Very cool, if my kids were of age to hunt I would do the same thing! Ive seen some down there but never thought about putting in for there! How is the public land access? I don't know much about the access just yet. I don't think there's very much area to hunt antelope in this unit. The tag is also for 35b but I don't know anything about 35b. I should have plenty of time to get out and scout out some bucks.

Agreed! AZ antelope is a very hard draw. I drew a 35a rifle tag with 17 pts. Even though this is my first antelope tag I'm thinking on signing it over to my 12 year old daughter. Should be fun either way.

If your a guide your screwed. Ain't nobody gonna believe a guide using a trail cam on water is doing it just for fun and not for hunting. Maybe this new rule was more aimed at guides over using trail cams on water sources when compared to everyone else.

Gonna be a huge game changer on the strip.

I ask myself this same question all the time. AZAV8ER what exactly do you think needs to be dialed back? Is it just the distance or is it the equipment as well?

Nice! You feel the Swaros are roughly 3-5% better than the GPO. How so exactly?

What's going to stop a guy from posting a pic of a giant buck/bull with some bogus GPS coordinates to said animal. There's no way to guarantee the animal is where it's said to be. I don't think this will work out or I'm at least hoping it won't work out.

Check this out! I'm getting one now just for this reason alone.

+1 on more pics! That thing is insane! Love to a top view pic if you guys got one. Huge congrats!

I don't have any dogs but if you shot him some what close to Sierra Vista I can help track and glass for a few hours late morning if you need it. I've been in your situation a time or two and it sucks a big one. Good luck hope you find him.

Wow! Congrats!

I'm also a sucker for big 2s but my favs are pic 2 and the 2nd to last pic buck on the right. Are these 2 deer one and the same? They look very similar. Good luck!

If your currently in the military you should really consider hunting Ft. Huachuca. Don't know if you have to be Army but it's worth looking into.

They could always treat it like the poaching hotline where the public can call in the GPS cord to any camera found violating the new law after which the G&F would issue the snitch a reward of some kind. There are more than enough T.C. haters out there to police this new law for the G&F if done this way.

Looks like I'll be using the blue envelopes next year. I bet that blue envelope stands out like a sore thumb in a pile of normal white envelopes just laying there saying "pick me pick me." Anybody else get drawn using one of these blue envelopes? I would hope that the G&F would go through all the apps received Monday before taking any apps received after Monday. Otherwise they'd need to change the name of this whole process from "first come" to something a bit more fitting. First come my big old fat harry A double S!!! :lol:

I'd rather have a great rut over great antler growth every time.

I'm interested in this as well. . Agree with Mt Man from the pics I've seen so far it looks like the bottom ends did better then the tops this year.