akaspecials

I have been going down since 2000. We always expected to get extorted for 20 to100 bucks by federales or the local policia then. Traveled once or twice a year then and it was no big deal. The fine could almost always be reduced to nothing if you spoke Spanish. We stopped having issues with their "LEOs" in 2010 or so and didn't have issues for 5 or 6 years. Traveled 3 or 4 times a year a this point. At the end of this time, around 2015, I spent some one month long stretches down there solo and had no issues, but was staying in modest accommodations with an old truck. That was the life until money ran out! There was cartel activity, but for the most part, it wasn't spilling over. I do remember 2 shootings that occurred in residential areas, but according to the locals, it was cartel on cartel violence (someone set up shop without permission) and the cartel protecting their tourist business by handling cartel members that were consistently harassing gringos and had been warned to stay away from the resorts/tourist business. I saw the bullet holes and blood, but wasn't really worried at that point. Around 2017 we got held up by what I assume was cartel on a highway near RP. There were multiple vehicles and 10-12 guys. They operated much like the federales just no uniforms and less beating around the bush about how much money they expected for safe passage. It was easier than dealing with police to be honest, because they didn't pull us out of the car and hold us for 10-15 minutes before giving the price of the bribe. They may have been looking for someone and we just got caught up in their checkpoint. It all happened so fast I really wasn't sure what was going on, but I left a 100 bucks short and the guns in my face shook me. Shortly after that my coworkers had cartel issues in Reynosa. They were trying to get back across the border before sunset, but the road had a few cones in it blocking it off. They didn't know another way back across the border so went around the cones; it looked like kids put them in the street anyways. Long story short, the cartel had blocked the road for their own business and no one was welcome to travel on it. No one was injured and they were just turned around in what they described as the scariest experience of their lives. Around the same time had an issue in 35b with a few truckloads of cartel guys near my camp at 3 am. This was a few miles north of the border. Again, no real issues came from the encounter, but trucks full of armed guys yelling get me on edge. I stopped traveling to Mexico or hunting near the border after these incidents. The cartel mostly wants to do their business in relative peace, but it's not worth the risk for me anymore. All travel was in Sonora. Mostly to RP or Hermosillo. None of my trips included hunting in Mexico.

Fill em with sunflowers. They'll grow anytime of the year with shade. Should be flowering around fall planting season if you plant this weekend.

The melon taste great; I'm not too picky though. I was getting about 3 good melons per vine before the dog found lizards in the melon patch. A few good nights of her chasing lizards and then some really hot days can put a hurt on my melon production. She recently found my eggplant too. She thinks they look like bumpers for retrieving. She stripped 6 large eggplants off and brought them to me the other night while I was in bed. I recently installed cattle/hog panel around most of my beds to keep her out; now I'm battling black birds that sneak in and destroy my melon and sunflower seedlings.

Native Seed Search. They have a lot of seeds that do well with the heat. https://www.nativeseeds.org/products/g003

Okra Roses Tohono O'odham melon Sunflowers, squash, peppers, etc. Peas at second harvest. We got 3 harvests total.

https://www.azgfd.com/hunting/regulations/

For anyone in construction or that does DIY projects, this is possibly the greatest internet thread I have ever read. 69 pages of pure gold that may surpass the hours of entertainment provided by the bowtech posse and powerline threads. Enjoy! https://www.bcsportbikes.com/threads/build-to-fail-fail-to-build-what-is-this-i-dont-even.146566/

My 2 cents: The same deer are in the same unit no matter what the season is. The rut is what makes the big boys more visible. The problem is that coues deer aren't rutting in December most years. You may get some pre rut, but rut is Jan and Feb. December tags are not what they are cracked up to be. If I were in charge, the premium tags would be issued for super bowl weekend.

Go with adjustable. It is nice to be able to make them longer for downhill stretches and shorter for steep uphills. I have a set of black diamond poles and have zero issues with the locks failing. I do tighten things up every now and then though. Any tarp system that is very tall will require you to lash poles together anyways, so adjustability may be non issue when it comes to setting up a tarp system.

The one time I actually needed the darn radio, I couldn't get a signal out. We broke down about 15 miles south of San Carlos Reservoir and had to hike out. I bought a Delomore InReach after that and never had the issue again. My father is very into it HAM and typically hands me a radio that is preset. He sets ups some stuff where the handhelds communicate to the truck and the truck acts like a repeater. All I know for sure is the radios work ten times better when I am with my father and we can talk over mountain ranges when FRS won't work. -KE7AOX

The fires will make things very interesting. We had bucks in the burns right after the fires last year though. Most of the wilderness wasn't burned that bad from the assessment that I saw this year, but most of the land was burned over the last 2 years. Coues can be found in pockets all over 24b. It's not unusual to hike through 3 or 4 miles of carp deer territory to find those pockets. Most people will be road hunting on sxs and atvs. Quality has suffered in 24b over the years, because it next to Phoenix, but they are in there if you can find those pockets. Bring glass and tripods. PM me if you want. I'm fairly tight lipped, but can help out some.

We tried new areas and got skunked today. We got a nice swim in at the end of the road though! Gonna drop elevation and head into the cholla tomorrow. The dog is gonna pissed when I leave without her...

*deleted* posted in wrong forum.