Red Rabbit

So the $7.50 is pure profit? I thought the application fee was to pay for transporting the envelope to the center, opening the envelope, entering the draw data, computer time, printing refund checks, envelopes and mailing refunds or printing and mailing tags.

You might consider the small version of the Mathews Genesis, and put a Whisker Biscuit on it to keep the arrow on the rest better than the standard flipper rest that come with the bow. Our club used the Genesis for youth bows. The genesis has no set draw length and poundage can be set real low for a 6 YO. There are some inexpensive carbon arrows also. We have found that the aluminum bends too easily, and the glued on nocks break too easily when the arrow misses the target. The nocks on carbons can be replaced easily in the field or range.

As this past year's contest winds down and prizes are sent to the fortunate winners, it may be time to reflect on the contest. I see that the overall picture quality has improved. I see more people registered each year, and more prizes and better are being donated. Every youth that entered a coues in the contest has received an award each of the three years for the contest. I would like to see more of our kids entered. In my mind, the hunt should not rest a large part on the score even though most of us probably like and target big bucks, myself included. But it is the overall hunt experience that matters most after the close of the season. Personally, I hunted about the whole season in a quest for a large coues. I received contact from many of you and hunted together with a few. In the end, I wounded a nice buck and did not recover it. But I must say that this season has been one of my favorites, due to the overall hunting experience. In these regards, I am thinking of how we can improve the contest so it is the hunt that is measured and rewarded and not just the number of inches of calcium. Perhaps we can have new categories for the best hunt story, the best photo essay of the hunt, best camp photo, prettiest buck, more places for smallest buck and less for biggest, awards for first coues (not you Casey ) , best spot and stalk archery, best venison dinner plate. We can do polls to judge many of these categories. What are yall's thoughts and suggestions? Doug~RR

Mine's too messy for a pic. I also thought there was a recent thread on this. Plans: http://www.somerssportsmen.com/bench.pdf Pics of other benches for ideas http://24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbth.../page/0/fpart/1 online data i refer to: http://www.loaddata.com/articles/PDF/Handl...That%20Work.pdf http://data.hodgdon.com/main_menu.asp http://www.ramshot.com/powders/ I like the Nosler manual Nosler reloading manual (#6 is the new one)

Lotsa worms wiggling in that can

If he was living in that dense PJ, you may be the first person to have seen him. Nice find. Did you find any fresh elk drops? Doug~RR

Welcome Jim! I will try and find some good past threads for you. Do you know what unit on the SC you will be hunting? Doug~RR

I have the Lowa Tibet and it is comfortable, yet sturdy. Lowas tend to fit 1/2 size small, so order/test-fit larger. http://www.summithut.com/products/mens-tibet-gtx/ The Scarpa Nepal looks like another good choice to test fit and it has no Gore-Tex unneeded in the dry AZ desert. https://www.moosejaw.com/moosejaw/product.a...56&mscssid= Summit Hut is in Tucson, and could help you with boot fitting. There was a good hiking shack on Cave Creek Rd in N Phoenix (north of the Outdoorsmans), but do not know if it is still there. You might look at REI and ask for their best boot fitter. Best to get your foot measured and find what brands have a last that fits your foot and heel. Do not want heel slippage when walking. Or toes against the front when test-kicking a wall or walking steeply downhill. I have heard of having a fingerwidth minimum of clearnce behind the heel when the foot is slid forward in unlaced boots. I do not know what kind of last various makers use for various foot shapes (European/Italian/German/American?). This is why it is important to test fit a boot with the hiking socks you'll use, and not buy blindly over the internet. I am sold on Smartwool socks and a thin liner sock. (I also like Ultimax) Doug~RR

Since the deadline was almost a month ago, I wonder if Cabelas has begun notifying its TAGS customers.

There will be many unhappy campers, especially those that had Max BP and will no longer be atop the pool.

At current flow, maybe 3 hrs from White Bridge to Beasly. You could start above the I-17 bridge and go down to make it longer, or do the run twice. If you have 3-5 days, Childs to Sheep Bridge or Horseshoe lake is a nice canoe ride.

A nice run on the Verde in canoes might be starting at the White or Black Bridge and going to Beasley Flat There is a small dam to portage above White Bridge. The Salt River below Saguaro Lake?

Taking out the application fee might constitute accepting the application. Most likely, they would be returned unopened to Cabelas.

Cabelas has a few books and DVDs listed in the shooting/reloading catalog

Beasley to Childs is considered the whitewater stretch. Make sure you have flotation bags in your canoes, and some buckets/gallon jugs for bailing. Count on flipping. There are usually calm stretches below the rapids for recovery. The water will be cold and off color, so suspect the fishing would be worthless. Have you or any in your group done much whitewater canoeing before? What kind of canoes?

Here's some pics of my first trip down the Verde about 20 years ago. The top two are in pre-falls and the lower is a friend going through the falls. I think flow was about 4k, so the falls was kinda flushed out and did not show the drop when seen in lower water. The GF said she went completely under, but I did not believe her until I saw the top pic. RR

Having the check cashed only means the app was received. One could still have the app rejected for not signing/forgot to check the resident box/etc, and then receive a warrant refund (less the app fee) just as if one were not drawn. Hope no one is thinking that if their check was cashed means they were drawn. RR

I have done it several times. Have done it in inflatable kayaks, hardshell kayaks, and whitewater canoe. Some do it in Coleman canoes with flotation bags or innertubes tied in, but would not be my choice through the rapids. Beasley to Childs is an all day trip. Do the shuttle ahead of time or hire someone to shuttle your vehicle from your put-in at Beasley Flat. I am thinking of doing a stretch this weekend, maybe Beasley to Gap Creek. Here is a river guide. there are a couple of books available also: http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/coconino/recreatio...river-guide.pdf You can get water flows here. 200 cfs is min, but may take more than a day at that level. It is 1400 cfs now. http://waterdata.usgs.gov/az/nwis/uv/?site..._cd=00065,00060 Doug~RR

IHunt2Live, I like that one and how the one cloud seems to arc at its top. RR

I would consider the Leica 1200. A step up would be the Swaro rangefinder, although its aiming circle is too large, imo. I usually find that one can get consistent readings to about 2/3 -3/4 of the unit's stated range. So while it may be a 1200 yard RF, you might get consistent readings to 800-900 yards, depending upon the reflectivity of the target. Antelope on the flat praire are tough to get good readings. Doug at Camera Land has good prices and service. He may still have a LRF 1200 available, and certainly the newer CRF 1200. RR

NOFX, That was the risk we knew we took with the registration after the start of archery, but many rifle hunters may be seasonal viewers and miss an earlier August deadline since rifle season is not till the end of October. We can easily do a dual registration deadline next year. Thanks for your input. Doug

One of the benefits and goals of the contest is to involve more new people into the CW.com. The contest started in conjunction with MonsterMuleys.com, and has been mentioned on AZOD with TLH's permission, and also in the Outdoor section of the Arizona Republic. Of course there will be new members with no posts joining initially for the contest, but there is hope that they will stay and contribute. All forums have their lurkers and those that make a first post in the free classifieds. I would like to see the contest help serve the goal of growth for CW.com, and become a contest that celebrates the joys and tales of the hunt, and go beyond just a big buck contest. So I ask y'all "how can you do this?" Doug~RR

I copied my improvement post and some replies, and started another thread. Feel free to add your suggestions there. Doug~RR

Fall 2007- Jan 2008 Coues Whitetail Buck Contest CouesWhitetail.com will be sponsoring a COUES BUCK CONTEST again for the third year. The contest’s purpose is to garner interest in the beloved Coues whitetail and this website, and to share our hunt successes and pleasures from the field chasing the gray ghost. This contest will be open to registered members of CouesWhitetail.com and their immediate families living at home (husband or wife, sons & daughters under 18). Deer must be taken between August 24, 2007 and January 31, 2008 from Arizona, New Mexico or Mexico. If you have multiple tags, i.e. from different states, you may enter deer from each hunt. Categories (10): Youth (ages 10-17) - largest Coues buck Youth (ages 10-17) - smallest Coues buck Archery- Highest P&Y gross Typical frame Coues Archery- Highest P&Y gross Non-typical Coues AZ&NM rifle- highest gross B&C Typical frame Coues AZ&NM rifle- highest gross B&C Non-typical Coues Mexico rifle- highest gross B&C Typical frame Coues Mexico rifle- highest gross B&C Non-typical Coues Smallest Coues buck Best field photo- based on composition & quality, not antler size. All contest photos will automatically be considered for this category. This post may help with taking your photo. http://forums.coueswhitetail.com/forums/in...?showtopic=3754 Register by October 15, 2007 for the contest. Send Doug/Red Rabbit a personal message. Entries received after October 15, 2007 will not be accepted. He will send a confirmation message. To register, your personal message to Doug/Red Rabbit must include the following: Member name/handle Name Telephone number E-mail address Mailing/shipping address Entry Fees & Prize Donations. There is no fee required to enter the contest. You may wish to donate a piece of hunting equipment to the prize packages. Prize donations are not required, but are appreciated. You may also send a small financial donation to help with shipping of the prizes to the winners. Prize packages, and the number of places, will depend upon the number of prizes donated. To enter your deer 1) e-mail Doug/Red Rabbit a field photo of you and your deer, its gross B&C/P&Y score, hunt unit and date killed. Amanda will then post your picture on the home page. 2) Post your picture and hunt story in the regular forums. If you have difficulty posting a picture, this thread may help, or asking another member will certainly get it done. http://www.coueswhitetail.com/forums/index...?showtopic=3721 Scoring your deer. Amanda has a nice “how-to” on the home page complete with photos, instructions and downloadable score sheets. Again, the gross score is needed for this contest. http://www.coueswhitetail.com/how_to_score..._Coues_deer.htm The contest will close January 31, 2008, at the end of archery season. Entry photos with info/story must be posted in the forums and received by Doug/Red Rabbit by Feb. 15, 2008. Hope you all enter and have a successful Coues season.

From FirstCoues: Nice Doug, way to make the contest so you can win something! Its kinda like how the smallest buck idea came to play AFER I killed the worlds smallest spike! I like all the ideas, any way to get more people involved, and give away prizes. ( I hope I dont get flamed for this) On the other hand, I think there should be some sort of minimum post rule... Lots of people join the site to throw their hat into the fire and try to win something free, but dont make a single post here. By all means, we need as many people to join as possible, it just seems we have a ton of people who join SOLELY for the purpose of trying to win something, who dont add anything to the site... Does any one at all agree with me?