Flatlander

WTF

One of the themes that AZGFD has been trying to demonstrate with its advertising effort is the value an annual hunting license affords people, especially NR's who have to fork it over to buy bonus points even if they have no intention of hunting that year. The irony here is that they have devalued their own commodity by running otc archery into the ground and reducing opportunity and therefore value of their product. This line of reasoning may ring true with the department, since it impacts their pocket books.

I’m not defending anyone. And no one is taking your political bait because it’s off topic. Come on dude, try to keep up.

I am not sure this was unintentional. I think AZGFD accomplished exactly what they intended to with a solid marketing plan and good execution. I am not sure people like Newberg saw the potential consequences of his actions. Ultimately, the loss of hunting opportunities in our state may very well be the unraveling of the whole system. With 7.3 million people and only 269k hunters we are in a steep deficit when a ballot initiative is put forth to restrict opportunity, add in that 51,000 Californians move here every year and it’s pretty clear where we are headed. And with no opportunity to hunt their home state people won’t care about hunting because it won’t be part of their life anymore.

I don’t suspect it’s all NR’s but I do suspect the increase in harvest is disproportionately skewed to NR’s. The statistics show a strong correlation.

I don’t agree. Although the NR’s only account for less than 20% of the tags sold, I suspect they account for a disproportionate portion of the harvest. The number of NR otc sales has increased by 40% since the department entered into this agreement with Newberg. During that same time the state has seen an unprecedented reduction in otc opportunity with a significant number of units moving to draw only. The dept argues that they have only promoted otc coues but those opportunities have also been significantly reduced with some of the very best units being converted to draw or having seasons reduced and I would argue that any promotion of otc archery attracts attention to both species.

You haven’t addressed any of the issues brought up here and want to reduce this thread to stupid partisan name calling. The BLM appointee had nothing to Dow it’s how our department is managing its budget and our wildlife. You can do better.

This is a classic detraction from the argument. If you can’t keep up with the discussion, call someone a lib. Come on man, be better.

FWIW you can find Randy’s comments on this and an outline of the agreement he has with AZGFD (through an ad agency). He shoots it straight like it is. I don’t really care much at all about most of the things on that list. Out of state quail and rabbit hunters don’t bother me. But the promotion of OTC archery deer is a major pain point. https://www.hunttalk.com/threads/otc-az-archery-units-closed.308034/

Ernie Harrold trained me, I have since gone corporate and wouldn't be of much help to you. He's straight shooter, it says "Slow, Sloppy and Expensive" on the side of his trucks. 480 988 0100

I’d suggest maybe going just a little further south, maybe 70-75 miles from Tucson. A lot less pressure.

My first rifle was a Remington 721 chambered in .270 gifted to me by my Grandpa Haskell. He bought it after he came home from the war after to upgrade from .300 Savage for elk hunting. He never did kill an elk with it. But at 14 I was able to fulfill that dream on his behalf. After refinishing the delaminated stock I took my first animal with it, a fat cow elk. The first rifle I ever bought was a Remington 700 BDL in .300 Win Mag. I bought it in college and figured with that rifle I could hunt any animal in North America. Still haven't killed an elk with it but I did use it on my 2019 Shiras hunt. I am currently working on my first build in .25 SST. I am hoping that for my crew that one is the round that does it all, from pigs to elk.

If you want to see the Kaibab just go camp there and visit the cool stuff and do some hikes and eat cookies and milkshakes. Turkey hunting might just be a distraction from even cooler things.

The Kaibab is beautiful that time of year. Fall turkey hunting is pretty boring. The population of birds is ok. Something to keep in mind is that the FA just closed several roads due to washout during the last monsoon. It could make accessing parts of the plateau a pretty big pain in the butt.

Not very big around but it sure is short!

Ammoseek is your friend. There is plenty available.

Ask for pics of his Kaibab buck. Let’s start the Dick measuring.

I do it just cause everyone else does. Same with Buffalo. I didn’t even think I would like it, but it ended up being kind of ok.

Is sheep hunting even fun? Some of those hunts sound like a really boring coues hunt. Is it just the fact that it’s so hard to get a tag that makes it cool?

No more counting on a leftover and 8+ weeks of archery while you wait for a strip tag. That was actually a pretty good gig while it lasted.

#stopthesteal

🤣

These posts are always funny. Get to see everyone trip over each other to stroke their favorite man crush. Never fails to produce a dozen posts with “Nobody knows X better than so and so” I’m sure your dad will have an awesome hunt and he is wise to make the most of his opportunity. Congrats, I hope you have a great hunt.

I have limited experience and it was all on summer hunts. But I think the only seasonal difference is accessibility. By late October there could be a pile of snow or it might be dry as a popcorn fart.

Maybe they bought into the GPO hype…