Red Rabbit

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What happened to the stickers on the rear window?

Usually too much. Here's my master list that you can add or subtract from according to the hunt and conditions: Hunting Daypack Checklist GAME DRESSING __ knife __ caping knife __ saw __ sharpening stone __ latex gloves __ nylon cord __ trash compactor bags as game bags OPTICS __ binos __ bino harness __ tripod __ tripod adapter __ lens cloth packets __ lens brush __ digital camera __ extra camera battery __ range finder __ black head cloth/drape FIRST AID KIT __ aspirin __ vicodin __ decongestant __ Benedryl __ TUMS __ Kaopectate tablets __ scissors __ tweezers __ comb __ band-aids __ wrap __ needle and thread __ gauze __ tape __ super glue __ mirror __ molefoam/moleskin __ + 2.5 reading glasses EMERGENCY __ space blanket __ matches __ Bic lighter __ fuel tabs MISCELLANEOUS __ cell phone __ topo map __ GPS __ compass __ Petzal headlamp __ Luxeon flashlight __ FRS radios __ extra batteries __ foam seat __ extra lashing straps __ hiking staff __ TP __ Wet Ones __ chapstick __ flagging tape CLOTHES __ rain jacket __ rain pants __ extra socks __ jacket/vest __ beenie __ gloves SHOOTING __ rifle __ sling __ shooting sticks __ ammo pouch w/ extra ammo __ Al rod, jag w/ patches __ electrical tape over muzzle __ Allen wrench & screwdriver ARCHERY __ bow __ release __ Allen wrench set __ Balcon sling __ Bears feet FOOD __ water __ Cytomax/Gatorade __ lunch __ snacks/Power bars __ gum

Gabe. Have you looked at the Big O XT's? I had a set on my blue Chevy, and liked them for all purpose. They seemed to do well on the snowy pavement, probabbly better than MT's on the slicker plowed highways. TR also likes his set of XTs. Not as noisy as mud tires, but more than the factory all season MS. I got about 50k miles from my set. I liked the XT's better than the Geolanders for mud. The Geolanders would be quieter on the highway. Paul T had his BFG's siped and they did well. Might have the XTs razor siped as soon as you get a set, if you go that way. Doug~RR

Did anyone go to the meeting yesterday in Mesa and have anything to share? Tonight, the open house is in Flagstaff from 6-8pm. Hope to see some of you there. Doug

The first big game animal one takes is usually special. So here are my FIRSTS. First whitetail buck that was not a spike/cull. First trophy. Texas. First bowkill. First Antelope. San Antonio Peak, NM. First Coues Whitetail. Skeleton Canyon, AZ. First Successful Elk Hunt. Coloarado Backpack Trip. First Archery Deer. Texas. First Elk. Archery. Unit 9. First Turkey. Fall Hunt. Unit 9. First Bear. San Carlos Apache Reservation, AZ First Mule Deer. Panguitch Lake, UT. First Sitka Blacktail. Kodiak Island, AK. Doug~RR

Have you thought of just going to carbon arrows? I shot some x calibers almost 20 years ago, and while they were lighter, I found them to be too soft and easily dented or bent. Aluminums are a lesser arrow than carbons, IMO. Doug~RR

Did anyone go to the Tucson meeting and have news or information to share?

What I can't understand is how someone sees the removal of permits from a Dec. hunt as a drop in quality. That IS a contradiction. I'm not sure of the number of times I've read here about having more hunters in the woods means a less-than-quality hunt. Then when the number of hunters is cut, it still means a drop in quality. Geez, it can't go both ways. -TONY Reducing the number of December tags to 15 in u27, or to 40 in the much larger u33 & u36B is not needed for quality. U36B encompasses over 500 square miles. When the permits were at 10%, were those hunters complaining about crowding?-I didn't hear it. If lowering the Dec permit numbers increases quality, then just having ONE permit would be the epitome- UH-Huh? Now wouldn't it be a dandy hunt with one permit and a month long season? Talk about ultimate quality. But of course, the quality complaint of too many hunters in the field is not new to this year's proposals; it has gone on for while here. -TONY The argument for quality (or going to a lack of) stemmed from the increase in Oct & Nov permit numbers. With the Dec permits numbers, many argued a year ago for the increase back to 10%. After having the increase to close to 10%, the ave is proposed to be reduced back to under 5% for the non-AHM units. Having 10% of the hunters in Dec was not a quality issue, that I recall. Guess both of us should buy some Super Raffle tickets

Nah, it isn't a contradiction, nor is it surprising that a LOT of guys apply for the Dec. permits. That doesn't mean they won't accept permits for an earlier season. That fact is proved true when ALL of the leftover permits disappear rather quickly once they become available. It's just the nature of the beast that many hunters will apply for the most difficult permit to pull as their 1st choice. If the department uses first&second choice applications to determine demand, then it is not a contradiction. If the survey takers really wanted to just go hunting, they would have selected these early hunts to guarantee their draw an go hunting. But they didn't. Sooo...knowing that happens, G&F removes X number of permits from a Dec. hunt that has a high success rate to another hunt where the rate is half as much or less. By doing that, they can not only add the permits from the Dec. hunt, but feasibly DOUBLE the number yet not have any more of a biological impact on the deer population in that unit. And, using simple math, more opportunites to hunt deer are available to EVERYONE. What I can't understand is how someone sees the removal of permits from a Dec. hunt as a drop in quality. That IS a contradiction. I'm not sure of the number of times I've read here about having more hunters in the woods means a less-than-quality hunt. Then when the number of hunters is cut, it still means a drop in quality. Geez, it can't go both ways. -TONY Reducing the number of December tags to 15 in u27, or to 40 in the much larger u33 & u36B is not needed for quality. U36B encompasses over 500 square miles. When the permits were at 10%, were those hunters complaining about crowding?-I didn't hear it. If lowering the Dec permit numbers increases quality, then just having ONE permit would be the epitome- UH-HUh?

Jeremy, Did you get to run a stretch of the Verde? Any pics? Doug~RR

I believe they already do use the internet, just as they use the records from taxidermists and meat processors to determine who is killing what. Yes, I was alluding to a phone interview to followup on the survey cards.

Are the successful hunters the ones more apt to return the cards? Do successful hunters lie about the kill and say NO, so that the published success rate will be lower and will subsequently draw less competition? Are hunters lying about wounding and not recovering game? Has a survey been done to all hunters drawn for a hunt to see how accurate an extrapolation would be?

Here is the schedule of open houses. Monday, April 7, 3-5 p.m. – Arizona Game and Fish Department Pinetop regional office, 2878 E. White Mountain Road. Tuesday, April 8, 3-5 p.m. – Arizona Game and Fish Department Tucson regional office, 555 N. Greasewood Road. Tuesday, April 8, 6-8 p.m. – Arizona Game and Fish Department Kingman regional office, 5325 N. Stockton Hill Road. Wednesday, April 9, 3-5 p.m. – Arizona Game and Fish Department Mesa regional office, 7200 E. University Drive. Wednesday, April 9, 3-5 p.m. – Arizona Game and Fish Department Yuma regional office, 9140 E. 28th St. Thursday, April 10, 6-8 p.m. – Arizona Game and Fish Department Flagstaff regional office, 3500 S. Lake Mary Road. Tonight is in Tucson. Did anyone go to the one last night in Pinetop? Q? Last year there were leftover permits in the border units for the early hunts. Why do more December permits still need to be shifted to the earlier hunts? Using 36B as an example, there were 1099 first and second choice applicants for the 200 December permits, and about and equal 1036 applicants for the 1025 October permits. These numbers seem to show a greater demand per permit for the December hunt, and also seemingly contradict the survey results driving the changes.

Terry, Looks like you will be getting "The World's Favorite Dad" award today. Doug~RR

The Commission should vote on the fall hunt recommendations during the April meeting. Generally before, the hunt recommendations with dates and permit numbers are available for review and public meetings are held in the regional offices. Does anyone know if they recs are available and what the meeting schedule may be? Doug~RR

Here is a link to the graduation speech he gave at Harvard. Was good to read it again and regain insight into Charlton Heston. The best read you will have today. http://www.cnsnews.com/culture/archive/CUL19990316a.html

My shotgun patterned best with the Remington 4x6 Duplex 3" loads. Have fun.

With the proposed hunt recommendations, I see some advantages: 1) The number of permits in each hunt has been reduced substantially. Those that ran into other hunters previously be may be relieved with fewer competing hunters. This reduction per hunt is due to the new Nov hunt addition. 2) There is no overlap of the coues hunts with the mule deer, junior deer, or junior javelina hunts. Those with kids will like this, and those who have a friend drawn for another hunt can help out still. 3) An increase in the number of Dec coues permits to 12-16% of the total. (Previously the % of Dec permits was less than 10%) This will fall under the guidelines that up to 30% WT killed are during the Dec hunt, as the Dec success is nearly double the Oct/Nov success. 4) A coues hunt offered over Thanksgiving weekend, which some may like due to having those 4 days off already without using vacation days. 5) The number of Kaibab archery permits is proposed at 1000, which will reduce crowding up there. 6) Archery deer hunters will be able to have a separate hunt in 13B again. 7) January archery deer hunts are proposed in units 4A,B, 8 & 9. 8) An increase of 370 Junior deer permits, a 21% increase. This is 4.78% of the total deer permits, and guidelines call for at least 3%. For disadvantages, I perceive: 1) Loss of December permits in non-AHM units to less than 5% from a previous 10%. They range from 2% - 9%, with most being 2-4%. This allowed more permits to be issued in Oct and Nov with les harvest and mor opportunity to hunt. Those that enjoy the Dec hunts like myself will lament this loss, as it was only last year that the Dec permit numbers in most units were increased to near 10%. One step forward, and then slide two back. This is a continuation of last year's move towards more opportunity at the expense of quality, buck:doe ratios, and older age class bucks. imo. 2) The loss of OTC archery permits to a draw in units 1, 3ABC, 7. 3) The loss of Dec archery season in 15A-D, 17A, 20A, 22, 23, 37A 4) the increase of 200 (~30%) Oct 12AW tags and 200 12AW doe tags, which negates last year's reductions.

It looks like you can breath easy. I do not notice a muley or coues hunt overlapping your Thanksgiving elk hunt in 21. No overlap in 6A, 8, 22, 23 either.

From Wikipedia about muzzle brakes: Disadvantages of Muzzle Brakes: The advantages of brakes and compensators are not without cost, however. The most obvious of these to the shooter or gun crew is the increase in sound pressure level as well as the increase in muzzle blast for the shooter or gun crew. This occurs because the sound, flash, and pressure waves normally projected largely away from the shooter are now partially-redirected outwards to the side or even at backward angles towards the shooter or gun crew. While eye and ear protection should always be used when shooting, this is not even enough to avoid hearing damage with the muzzle blast directed back towards the shooter or gun crew. "Recorded noise levels (on certified audiological instruments) at the muzzle of a magnum or high velocity rifle with a muzzle break normally exceed 160 decibels. Permanent ear damage occurs at 120 decibels. If you read the fine print on the finest set of ear plugs and ear muffs available, you will find the total noise reduction only between 22 and 31 decibels. This means that on a rifle with a muzzle brake, even if you are wearing hearing protection, you are suffering permanent damage." Measurements indicate that on a rifle a muzzle brake adds 5 to 10 dB to the normal noise level, increasing total noise levels to 160 dB +/- 3 dB. Painful discomfort occurs at approximately 120 to 125 dB, with some references claiming 133 dB for the threshold of pain. Active ear muffs are available with electronic noise cancellation that can reduce direct path ear canal noise by approximately 17-33 dB, depending on the low, medium, or high frequency at which attenuation is measured. Passive ear plugs vary greatly in their measured attenuation, ranging from approximately 20 dB to 30 dB, depending on whether or not they are properly used. Using both ear muffs (whether passive or active) and ear plugs simultaneously is a practice that is often used for obtaining the maximum protection, but the efficacy of such combined protection relative to preventing permanent ear damage is not conclusive, with evidence indicating that a combined noise reduction ratio (NRR) of only 36 dB is the maximum possible using ear muffs and ear plugs simultaneously, equating to only a 36 - 7 = 29 dB protection against a 160 dB noise level.Relative to a noise level of 160 dB, this means that even using ear muffs and ear plugs simultaneously cannot protect a shooter against permanent ear damage when using a muzzle brake, through leaving a shooter exposed to noise levels of approximately 131 dB that is 11 dB above the point where permanent ear damage occurs.

You're not confusing "listening" with "seeing", are you. Take away their looks, and they can't compare vocally to Patsy or Reba. Waylon and Willie and Hank sure aren't handsome either on the other gender side.

Mike, If those escaping/expanding gases could be directed back towards you, it would help thrust the rifle away from your shoulder (but would be very loud). Any angular component of the escaping gas directed away from you pushes the rifle into your shoulder. Think of it as a rocket and which direction you want the thrust directed. RR

A "quiet brake" is an oxymoron. If it directs the gas more forward to make it quieter (you can see that the ports are angled forward in the pic), it will also be less effective in reducing recoil.

Shouldn't be a problem, unless the hunter won't let the cowboy take his saddle off the elk first